Thrfit to FAB! Chevron Frames

   I was looking to fill some wall space in my son's room so I immediately took a trip to the thrift store (Goodwill in this case) to score a new treasure. I got soooo lucky this time. I found eight identical metal frames in awesome condition.  I knew I wanted to display photos of my little guy but I didn't want to use a typical large frame with multiple pictures inside a boring matte, I wanted it to look unique. I think I accomplished the look I was going for in the end...classic yet fun enough for a child's room.

Materials:

• Thrift store frames in good condition
• Spray paint (I used Krylon metal spray paint)
• Acrylic paint
• Thick Paper ( I used dry cleaner cardboard inserts)
• Photos
• Scotch Tape
• Painter's Tape

  Start by taking apart your frames. If you are using a grouping with several different size frames, make sure you keep the 'parts' of each frame together so it is easier to assemble them at the end.  Separate the actual frame from the backing and glass and clean it with a damp paper towel to remove any dirt.  Spray paint the frames any color. I suggest doing at least two coats, depending on what shade you are trying to paint them they may need additional coats for 100% coverage. Wait at least 15 minutes in between coats and apply a light dusting rather than a soaking. If you apply too much spray paint at once it will drip and not look very cute :)
  For the background of the frame, use painter's tape to create a striped pattern. I chose a chevron pattern so I taped my paper off in a diagonal direction, you could also do vertical or horizontal stripes just as easily.        Smooth the painter's tape so there are no leaks and paint over it using acrylic paint. I just used one thick coat of acrylic  for this step becuase I was looking for a 'worn out' look. If you want the stripes to be solid, paint two coats of acrylic and wait at least 30 minutes in between coats.
  Slowly peel the tape away from the paper once the paint has completely dried. If you try to rip the paint off too quickly you may pull chunks of paint off.
   Now choose the pictures you want to display and secure them to the center of your patterned paper using scotch tape. Re-assemble your frames and oogle at your accomplishments! 
   My grouping of eight (8.5"x11") custom frames only cost me about $8 :) How can you not be happy about that?!?!?!

 Don't want to take the extra step of creating your own background? Check out my Repurposed frames  post and discover how easy (and cheap!) it is to create a beautiful photo grouping!

 

Recycled Alligator

My son had so much fun making this little guy. He loves learning about any kind of animal and especially loves painting new things so this was right up his alley. I had all the 'recycled parts' laying around so I was excited when this project came to mind. It's also a great opportunity to teach your kids the importance of recycling. My little guy got a brand new toy from practically nothing and he really enjoys making his alligator CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP!

Materials:

• Half an Egg Carton
• One Toilet Paper Tube (or half a paper towel tube)
• Construction Paper  
• Craft Glue (or hot glue gun)
• Green Paint
• Googlie Eyes

  Start by cutting your egg carton in half long ways to create the alligator's body. Now cut the two egg holders off of the top of the strand and keep them to use for the Alligator's eyes later.  Allow your child to paint the egg carton pieces and the toilet paper tube together.  We took a break to allow the parts to dry and ate lunch. It's hard to assemble when it's wet so I reccommend letting them dry first. You could always let your child color the 'parts' with marker if you are in a time crunch or just don't have the patience to wait :)
   When all the parts are dry, attach the eyes (the two egg holders) to the Alligator body (egg carton) by applying craft glue to the base of the eyes. Hold it in place for about 20 seconds until the glue sets.  Then attach the toilet paper tube to the eyes the same way.  Put two dots of glue on the eye egg holder and apply the googlie eyes wherever you think looks best.
   I created the alligator's legs and teeth from construction paper. Simply cut rough leg shapes out and glue to the underside of the alligator.  Cut a zig zag pattern from white construction paper and glue them to either side of the toilet paper tube, creating the teeth on the snout of the alligator. 
  Check out the alligator canvas on Etsy I made after being inspired by this project! Happy crafting!
   What are you going to do with the other half of your egg carton??? Why, make an Egg Carton Caterpillar of course!

'Marble-ized' Easter Eggs

   This post is a little late, but you still have time to create these beautiful Easter eggs for your family and friends! Or you could use them as decorations like we did... either way this project is quick, easy to clean up and the end result is quite impressive :)

Materials:

• White Construction Paper
• Washable Paint (a few different colors)
• Marbles (or beads)
• Shoe Box
• Glitter

   Cut an Easter egg shape out of your construction paper, don't worry, it doesn't have to be perfect!  Now place the paper egg into your shoebox. Set the box aside and get ready to use some paint.

   Choose 3-5 colors to use on your eggs. We used 'eastery' colors but you can pick colors you want.  Dip your marble or round bead into one color and drop it anywhere in the box.  Dip at least one marble into each color and drop each the box.
   Let your child move the box around so the marbles roll over the egg. (Watch the video to the right of my little man loving this project!) Continue rolling the marbles around until you are happy with the overall look of your egg.  If you want to add glitter, allow them to sprinkle any color glitter onto the egg when the paint is still dry. Voila! Now you have a beautiful Easter decoration!!!
   For another Easter egg project, use the same technique on another egg as I did on my Shaving Cream Fish Bowl!

Recycled Train!

This week I took my little guy to a The Train Museum. Ok, it was actually called The Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History, but we call it the Train Museum in our house, for obvious reasons.  "We" are obsessed with trains. My husband found this site when we were looking for new parks to visit and thought Eli would love it. He did. We spend over 3 hours there! They even had a mommy and me class that we attended (free with museum admission) and loved every second of it! The class teacher, Mr. Ken, is a former kindergarten teacher and was absolutely great at keeping the kids attention. Always a plus when you are attending any kind of class like that, especially with a two year old. 
  We learned and sang about the parts of the train, saw what made the train move, climbed on a foam train and we even made a recycled train at the end of the class. I was most impressed with the craft train. You know I love a good craft, but I love a good recycled craft even more :)  We will definitely be attending many more classes at The Train Museum that is for sure! If you are in the Kennesaw, Ga. area I highly recommend you stop by for a visit, especially on a Thursday when they are having the train class!

   Materials:

• Small Cardboard box (Tea Bag boxes are great)
• Toilet paper roll
• Wine cork
• Black construction paper (any color will do if you don't have black)
• Half an egg carton
• Paper plate
• Washable Paint
• Paintbrush
• Crafter's Glue/ Hot Glue
• Scotch tape

   Start by cutting your egg carton in half with a long, serrated knife.  Tape both sides together so your train body will stay intact when you are painting in the end.  Next, cut your box in half using the same large knife. This is obviously a job for a grown up before they kids are involved :)  I like to get all of my 'supplies' together before we sit down so I don't end up with a frustrated little boy.  The last 'prep step' is cutting a triangle out of a paper plate. If you have a small paper plate you can just quarter it and use one of the pieces for your 'cow-catcher' on the front of the train.
  Now that the prep is done you can get your little one involved. Using the crafter's glue, attach the Tea Box to the top of the upside-down egg carton.  I like crafter's glue because it dries faster than Elmer's but is still safe for them to use...with supervision. Hold the box in place for about 15 seconds to let it set. Count out loud and encourage your kids to count with you.  Eli is really into counting now so he digs this part.
   Next, attach the toilet paper roll to the top of the train body, or egg carton. Hold it for about 15 seconds. 
   Attach the quarter piece of paper plate to the front of the train using scotch tape. The teacher called this a 'cow catcher' at the mommy and me train class, but it is actually called a 'cow killer' as one of the other moms so eloquently put it...adding that our kids are to sheltered these days. I just shook my head and quietly agreed as I turned by chair back around :)

  Now attach the wine cork to the center of the toilet paper roll using some more craft glue. Hold it for a bit longer, maybe 25 seconds,  so it can dry and will stay put. 
   The last step to assembling the train is adding the wheels. Cut small circles out of black construction paper, or any color you have on hand, and glue them to the bottom of the train. We used 3 or 4 on either side.
   Let your train dry for a few minutes before you start to paint. Let your child choose a few colors for their train and let them paint it all over. We chose red and blue because Thomas is blue and Norman is red :)  I was so pleased with the end result and so was Eli. He gave this to his Daddy to take to work to show off to his buddies.
   If you are feeling REALLY crafty, check out this recycled train!

 

Custom Coloring sheet!

Because I love all of you so much, I have decided to offer an (almost) FREE coloring sheet! Use this sheet to customize your child's next birthday party or just at home on those rainy days! Set up a coloring station at the party where you provide everything they need to 'customize their ride.'  Set out crayons, glue sticks, stickers, pom poms, glitter, anything to help them create a custom truck.  Use the coloring sheet in an activity station or roll it up and tie it with a ribbon to stick in the party favor bags :)


Click Here to purchase this custom coloring sheet in my Etsy shop.



Are you having a truck themed party? Well check out my adorable Truck Invitations and printable party accessories! Click the links below to find more Truck themed Stationery!

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Truck Birthday Invitations and Envelopes.


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Printable Truck Birthday Invitations.


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Printable Truck Party Set.

Scrap Paper Project!

Scrap paper. Should I save it? Toss it? No! Don't throw it away, save it for goodness sake! If you are into crafts with your kid at all, you know what I am talking about. Those little pieces of construction paper left over after you practice cutting, gluing, etc. that really start to get on your nerves. I started doing this little project with my son to utilize all those extra scraps. Just save all your left-overs in a ziploc bag and use then when you have enough for this fun art project. When they are gone...start saving again!

 

Materials:

• Scrap paper (any old kind will do!)
•  Glue Stick
• Washable Markers

   Start by drawing a shape of an animal, letter, number, anything you can think of! I used an octopus because this is what my son requested. We did a car after that.  
   Tare up all your scraps that you have saved in your little ziploc baggie.  Make the pieces small enough so little hands can grab them and glue them on, you also want them to fit throughout the entire shape. You could even tare up longer pieces for legs, arms, etc.  Now let your child glue the little pieces of scrap onto their 'octopus.'  This project is great for hand eye coordination and can really help them with patience.
   Try to encourage them to glue 'inside the lines' and talk to them about why they are putting the pieces where they are. "Are you gluing the eyes? Good Job! Where is that green piece going? Oh cool...the tentacles!" Kids are more likely to get into something if they see that you are enjoying it, too. Enjoy this time when they will sit down and communicate with you because I am told that will not last long :)

  Do they want more?!?! Give it to them! Use your scraps from this project to add buttons to your Recycled Race Car, or add little feet to your Egg Carton Caterpillar! These are just a few of many ideas! Happy crafting, everyone! :)

Cotton Ball Polar Bear

   With the weather so unbelievably cold lately that even us Georgians are getting snow flurries, I thought this wintery craft was appropriate.  The last time it snowed Eli was still a newborn, so I wanted to explain to him what was happening and where the snow came from. Naturally, I turned to a craft and some printouts to do the trick. Now Eli is well versed in snow and we have a beautiful craft to show for it! 
Materials: 

• Construction Paper
• Cotton Balls 
• Q-tip
• Blue and White Washable Paint 
• Paintbrush
• Elmer's Glue
• Googlie Eyes  

  You can use any color construction paper, but I suggest not using white so the 'snow' sticks out a bit more (we used gray).  Draw a line about 2/3 of the way down the paper and ask your child to paint snow on the top section of the page, above the line.  It's important, especially for toddlers, to learn to follow instruction. Guiding them through a craft is the perfect way to teach them how to be patient and how to follow the rules.  Now, let your child dip the Q-tip in blue and white paint to create the snow falling from the sky.   Show them how to dot the paper so they make little dots of snow, instead of using the Q-tip like a paintbrush to create strokes.
   Now grab the cotton balls and the Elmer's glue. Coat, or have your child coat, the bottom portion of the paper with glue. Then show them how the cotton balls stick to the paper when they place them on the page.  My son really loves to use his glue stick so this is probably his favorite part :) Explain to them what snow looks like, what it feels like and why it happens.  If you need some help explaining the scientific details on snow, play this educational video all about snow while you are creating your own!
     Now that your 'snow' is covering the page, you are ready for the polar bear. Trace a polar bear outline on white paper, cut him out and let your child glue him on. If you'd rather print out a polar bear or need some drawing inspiration, (come on, you can draw one!) go here to see some cute polar bears.  All that's left to do is give him some googlie eyes-everything looks better with googlie eyes!  Happy Cotton-ballin', everyone!
  *** I love new ideas~ Share your crafts or DIY projects on my facebook page! If you are out of ideas, check out my Pinterest boards!***