With my kids getting older and my youngest getting more independent, I have more time in my days to devote to creative exploration. I’ve been throwing around ideas for what to do with all that newfound free time and wanted to do something special in 2024. Problem is, I could never come up with ONE BIG THING that I wanted to focus my time on. Instead, I came up with a million and one little things — things that I have always wanted to explore, old things that I want to return to, and stockpiles of supplies and artwork that I…
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If there’s one thing we have a lot of in this house, it’s art. The kids love to paint and make collages, so we are always swimming in paper. The problem is, not everything is fridge or frame worthy so it just sits in a pile collecting dust. In the past, I have cut their creations into 3×3 squares and mounted them on little wooden canvases to create cool abstract art. This time, I wanted to try something new. Several (SEVERAL) years ago, I came across an artisan who had sewn bits of paper onto notecards to create some really…
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If you know me at all, you know I love a good project to dive into. Case in point: The 100 Day Project (and here). (I’ve done it for like eight years running.) Before that, I ran several iterations of something I lovingly called Project: Miracles (all about the power of gratitude journaling based on the book Make Miracles in Forty Days* by Melodie Beattie) and Project: Food Budget (tracking food spending for a specific period of time). So it came as no surprise to me, the husband, my mom, and the rest of my family when I told them…
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DIY eye glass cleaner is incredibly easy to make. It requires a grand total of 3 ingredients and will make your glasses sparkle. One of my biggest pet peeves is dirty eye glasses. You know, the kind of dirt and grease that requires actual eye glass cleaner to fix and not a microfiber cloth or end of your shirt. With a baby who loves to grab the glasses off of my face and put her hands all over the lenses, I have had more than my fair share of dirty eye glasses this past year. And by dirty, I mean…
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If you’re looking for projects to make FOR or WITH your littles, I’ve got you covered. Here are five kid-friendly sewing projects I’ve done and loved and would do again in a heart beat. I have always been enamored by sewing. When I was in high school, my favorite sewing projects included scouring the racks for jeans at the local thrift store and then sewing in patchwork panels down the side and turning every pair I could find into bell bottoms. I even went so far as to have my great aunt, who was a professional seamstress, teach me how…
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Anna and I made big paper stars from plain old lunch bags today. When we saw a video of this being done for the first time, we both let out a gasp of delight. We knew that this was on our must-do list and made sure it was in our rotation ASAP. We have a feeling it will be on yours, too. Why? Because it’s an easy craft, even for those who are self-described as craft-impaired. All you need is a handful of paper lunch bags, a glue stick, a pair of scissors, and your hands. But don’t let the…
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Looking for new ideas for crafting with kids? Here are 7 fun projects that we have tried and loved to add to your must-do list. It’s hard to believe that we’ve been crafting daily for the last 3 weeks now. The only reason I know this is true is because of the piles of crafty goodness that are strewn throughout the house. Some of it’s in the kitchen, others are downstairs in Anna’s play area, and more still is sitting on the edge of the kitchen table waiting for a new home. Why do you care about any of that?…