Apr 19, 2021 | DIY Crafts, FREE Patterns, FREE Printables
Kids and their parents can craft a collaborative family tree using paper and glue.
At our house, you won’t find family photos hanging on the walls. But you will find art. Lots and lots of art.
And although we (my husband, my mom, my kiddo and I) all make art on a regular basis, we rarely collaborate on pieces.
Until now.
Before he passed away, my dad became interested in genealogy and started piecing together a family history of sorts. I’ve always loved the idea of creating a family tree and have plans to (someday) organize the information my father collected to design something informative and decorative. However, until that day comes, I thought it would be fun to make a mini version – as a family – using materials we have kicking around the house.
To make your own collage – unique to your kin – all you need is a willingness to get messy, a desire to tear some paper, a few enthusiastic family participants and the following supplies…
- A variety of paper (construction paper, tissue paper, wrapping paper, scrapbooking paper, etc.)
- A canvas board or piece of cardboard (something stiff)
- Scissors
- An old paintbrush and a yogurt (or similar) container
- Mod Podge® (this is an all-in-one glue, sealer and finish but if you can’t find it, use watered-down craft glue instead)
- Old magazines
- Wax paper (to protect your work surface)
First, select some texture-rich paper and cut it into shapes. We decided on long and short rectangles, but that doesn’t mean you have to.
Using an old paintbrush, slather the canvas with Mod Podge®, lay down the paper and paint more Mod Podge® on top. In this case, more is more. Don’t be afraid to use LOTS of glue.
Once the first layer has dried, glue some torn tissue paper over top of the textured paper until you feel happy.
Next, each family member can start cutting out some shapes. Our collage features figures made up of long, narrow rectangles and three different-sized circles. I think they are reminiscent of people, or trees. My daughter insists they are lollipops.
Meanwhile, someone can start cutting out letters from old magazines for everyone’s titles. This is a pretty tedious task so I’ll come clean right here and tell you that after we cut and pieced together several letters, I went to my computer and printed out the rest. These were all glued (using my kiddo’s glue stick) onto rectangular pieces of paper.
I included my late father because – although he’s been gone for seven years – I like to think he still drops in from time to time.
Then, everyone can start to place the paper cutouts onto the prepared background.
One at a time, remove the shapes, paint a layer of Mod Podge®, replace the shapes and finish with another layer.
Voila! A wonderful keepsake for you and your kid(s) that you will be proud to put on display. Unlike our family photos. Kidding. Not kidding.
This post first appeared on YMC with the title: A Genius Way to Bring Your Family History to Life.
Apr 16, 2021 | Corner, DIY Crafts, Family Activities & Events, FREE Printables, Parties
Looking for a fun and flirty party theme for your next big event?! Check out this completely darling Spring Flamingo Birthday Party
Its vibrant color combination, festive sweets, and super cute stationery are sure to give you the inspiration needed to plan one fabulous fête; a fête that will most certainly have friends and family a flocking!
Here are the details included in this fabulous birthday celebration that I can’t seem to get enough of:
- Spring Flamingo-inspired stationery + printables
- Pineapple cake pops
- Custom Flamingo and flower cupcake toppers
- Paper fan arch backdrop
- Colorful balloon bunches
- Flamingo, pineapple and fern-shaped sugar cookies
- Banana marshmallows
- Hand-painted macarons
- And more!
Spring Flamingo Party Details:
This is what Angie shared about the party- “Since Caitlin’s birthday is in April, we thought it is just fitting to have her 1st birthday with an array of Spring colors and flowers to make it vibrant and festive. And for an extra dose of fun, we added pink flamingos and pineapple and ferns to the mix!
We added custom made cute flamingo and flowers cupcake toppers as well as the pineapple shaped cake pops to reinforce the theme. On top of the flamingos lawn decoration flanking the birthday cake, and the cookies, we also had to spice up our macarons by hand painting it with flamingos and pineapples for an extra dose of cuteness. Glass bottles are dressed up in custom wrapper ready for the orange punch, while banana marshmallows adds just a zest of yellow to the table. The backdrop with the colorful combination of paper fans and honeycombs just brings everything alive! We are very thrilled with how this table came together.”
Apr 12, 2021 | FREE Printables
Snatch up these Star Wars printables for a no-stress way to plan a Star Wars party!
They’re modern, free and the newest addition to the best kids birthday party ideas.
You know you should’ve planned for this weeks ago, but every year it sneaks up on you.
Suddenly you look at your calendar and BAM!
You realize your kid’s birthday is next week.
Next week?
How did this happen?
Then, you’re flooded with all sorts of thoughts like:
I’m a terrible mom.
If I had it pulled together I would’ve been done with this ages ago.
How can I plan a party is such a short amount of time?
How’s my kid going to feel when he sees me rushing around at the last minute trying to get his party together?
Don’t let yourself believe those lies.
The point is, don’t beat yourself up about it. It happens to the best of us.
But, back to the problem. Exactly how are you going to salvage your kid’s party?
Bring things back to the basics.
No giant bouncy houses. No expensive party venues. No face painting artists. No birthday party cakes made by the most renowned cake decorator in your state.
Just release those things now.
Whew, don’t you feel better already?
Remember, you can throw a phenomenal kids birthday party on a budget.
In fact, I recently threw my son a Star Wars themed birthday party and the longest part of planning it was simply creating the printables.
And since that part is now complete, you’ll be free to spend your precious moments actually putting the party together.
Star Wars Party Printables
Inside this free Star Wars party printable pack (which you can download via the form below) you’ll find the following printables:
- Darth Vader invitations
- Lightsaber thank you tags
- Brunch themed food labels
- Mini water bottle labels
- 6 sets of Star Wars bingo cards
- UPDATE: Now includes 3″ gift tags (to put the name of the party guest on for favor bags)
Basically, the kit includes everything you need to have a simple and awesome Star Wars party.
If you’re looking to add a few more Star Wars touches to the party without the hassle, then check out my favorite picks for ready-made Star Wars party supplies:
This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. Read my full disclosure here.
No Hassle Star Wars Party Supplies
Find the same Star Wars backdrop I used here.
Remember- you don’t have to make it complicated, expensive and overwhelming to make your child feel special and loved on his birthday!
Big thanks to Sensible World, All Silhouettes and FreePik for allowing me to use some of their amazing Star Wars graphics for these party printables.
Below you’ll find pictures of the included items plus a little information on how to print them for best results.
Star Wars Party Printables: Invitations
The invitations are formatted as 5″x7″. Print on thick 8.5″x11″ paper .
Theses lightsaber thank you tags are formatted as 4″x6″. I also used the thick cover paper I mentioned above.
I had my son sign the back and then popped them in the goody bag that all the kids brought home.
Star Wars Free Printable Water Bottle Labels
These labels are for mini water bottles and measure about 1.4″x8.3″. Print them out on standard printer paper and use clear packing tape to secure to the mini water bottles.
They’ll stand up perfectly to cold water, but don’t put them in ice.
Star Wars Bingo Cards
Feb 8, 2021 | Corner, DIY Crafts, DIY Holiday Crafts, FREE Printables, Valentine's Day
I know I said that we’d be focusing solely on our Becoming interviews this month but I just can’t let my second favorite holiday go by without any project ideas for you. SO! Our first Valentine’s Day project is up! And it’s very knotty…Ba dum, ching! The older I get, the more I get into projects that require little brain power and friendship bracelets are just that–a perfect TV project, no?! Today we’re providing you with adorable printable Valentine to go with a friendship bracelet (stay tuned for our heart friendship bracelet tutorial!). Our Warhol-inspired cards read “Threaded together” and “You always come in handy, friend”. Because Valentine’s Day isn’t just for lovers! And stay tuned later today for a big announcement! (hint: love is in the air).
Friendship Bracelet Printable
DIY Birthday Flag Ribbon Cake Topper
- Threaded together (white background)
- You always come in handy, friend (pink background)
Notes:
The cards are 5×7″. We like to print them on cardstock so they are nice and heavy. If you’d like to find envelopes, you can use size A7 (5 1/4″ x 7 1/4″)
Here are some envelope suggestions:
- Pastel pink envelopes
- Red envelopes
- Hot pink envelopes
Feb 5, 2021 | Corner, DIY Holiday Crafts, DIY Projects, FREE Printables, Valentine's Day
Except for Christmas, I don’t change the house the decor at each holiday. But it’s nice to add a little detail here or there, like a printable or a small item.
Looking for more paper crafts ideas? You will find all the tutorials featured in this video on my “Best off” page
This year to celebrate Valentine’s day I made a heart marquee sign. As it’s made with paper and cardboard it’s quite simple to realize. For now it stands on the shelve in my office but I think I will move it in the living room so we can all enjoy a pretty heart-shaped lighting!
How to make a heart marquee sign
Material you will need :
- white cardboard
- a thick color paper
- LED cord-light with 20 lights
- Scissors
- cutter
- Ruler
- Pencil
- A glue gun or silicone glue
- The free template, which you can download HERE
You first need to download and print the PDF heart template. It comes in two parts, so cut along the dotted line and glue both sheets of paper together with some tape.
Report the heart shape and the small circles on the cardboard. Cut the cardboard, if you wonder, the little circles mark the place of every LED light. So you need to cut them out too. Take a sheet of colored paper and cut two strips of 2 inches width by 18 inches long. I choose a violet shade but feel free to pick the tone you like.
You will use the paper strips to make the edges of the marquee sign. Glue the paper on the edge of the cardboard, starting from the heart tip.
Apply very little glue at the time to prevent the glue from overflowing. If some area requires more glue you can add an extra dot on the backside. I worked with a glue gun, but silicone glue is also a good option.
Once the first strip is glued, continue with the second one. Before gluing you can trace a line lengthwise to mark the strip center, so you just have to apply the glue on the line and you will be sure the strips are glued straight.
Once all the edge is covered with the paper, you can trim the extra length if necessary.
Cut 2 more strips to cover the inside edge of the heart. You have to do the same to cover the heart center.
Take off the little bulbs from the LED lights and push them into the cardboard holes then, from the back of the marquee sign, put back the LED into the bulbs.
Light the cord and DONE! Enjoy you lovely Marquee Sign! It’s a nice Valentine’s day detail that you may what to keep around even passed February! The cord-light I used work on battery so I hid the box behind the books…just in case you wonder!
Dec 21, 2020 | Christmas, Corner, DIY Crafts, DIY Holiday Crafts, DIY Projects, FREE Patterns, FREE Printables
I have a neat tutorial to share with you that can really be expounded upon in so many different ways, your creativity can go rampant. We all know about my urge to save glass bottles and jars and have gone as far as enlisting family members to do the same. So when inspiration strikes, bottles of all sorts are available.
Here’s a list of what I used for this project: Glass bottle, sheet music, glitter, Mod Podge, jute twine, snowflake ornament, jingle bells.
I was given several of these schnapps bottles, that have really taken me a while to come up with a use for. They are tall and flat and can’t really be used for my Waterless Snow globes…but finally inspiration hit in the form of ‘Altered Bottle’ which is fancy for saying decorating the bottle to serve some sort of purpose beyond it’s intended use. SO I washed up the bottle, removed the label with handy dandy Goo-Gone (thank goodness for that stuff!!) and a pretty bottle is what you have. It no long looks like a schnapps bottle…but in my mind looks like a ‘message in a bottle’ type of bottle…cue The Police Just a castaway
An island lost at sea, oh.. I didn’t use the lids and used wire cutters to cut off the little ring left around the neck.
I have been lucky enough to find some old sheet music and believe me when I say this book is happy to be given a second chance at life in the form of art…the pages were so weakened with age and fragile….it just couldn’t be used anymore. In fact, when I tried to use my paper cutter, it just shredded the paper, so I ended up just scoring and tearing. The idea is to use the music paper to create a label of sorts around the bottle, so I tore the paper to fit the center of the bottle, leaving a little glass on the bottom and the neck of the bottle still exposed. Slather the back of the page with Mod Podge:
Eye-ball it on the center of the bottle:
Do the same for the back so you have something that looks like this:
Be sure to smooth it on well. Next, to soften the edges of the ‘label’ and for a little glitz, use Mod Podge and glitter around the edge ( I used a paint brush and spooned on the glitter). This a messier way to do it, if you want, you can use glitter glue or something similar. Once dry, use a soft dry brush to remove excess glitter.
Next, wrap twine around the center of the bottle, leaving two ends for tying. I used about three yards of jute twine. If twine isn’t your thing, ribbon would also look good.
I needed a focal point and found it by way of snowflakes. I found this package of small glittered snowflakes at Hobby Lobby…but you can use several different things….if you crochet, crochet a snowflake…stiffened doily….just something in proportion and creates a focal point.
Tie the twine through the snowflake:
String jingle bells on the twine (I just love the sound of jingle bells!)
Tie a shoestring bow, tightening the bells up and giving the snowflake a finished look. Like I said though, you can get really creative…see what you can come up with!
I think these would make great gifts, bud vases, candle holders….
…or how about writing a message rolling it up and putting in there for a loved one to read. Wouldn’t it be fun to write your yearly Family Letter and put it in there and share with your extended family. Write hope and dreams and put in there. Lots of different things can be done…..or really, it’s just pretty to look at.
Whatever you do, the bottle has been given a second life and been made into something beautiful.
What bottles do you have that can be altered?
***
It is almost Thanksgiving and I really cannot believe it! I know I haven’t been around much this past week, but I sure do appreciate you for being here. If I don’t talk to you before then I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving spending it with the people you love and cherish. Give your kids an extra hug and your husband an extra kiss, that is what I will be doing….and hopefully eating pumpkin pie! Love to all of you!
