Homemade Playdough

We are having a snow day here in Oregon. It's actually just a 2 hr delay, but our hill is terrible right now. We've been watching cars and trucks slide down the hill and struggle to get up it all morning., so we opted to stay safe at home today.

So, with all the kids home we pulled out our homemade playdough recipe and got to work. This is one of my kids favorite things to make, probably because I let them each choose their own color. It's more fun that way.

This is a very simple recipe, hardly costs a thing and is totally safe for your little ones to play with, especially if they decide to "taste" it. This is a recipe that we've been making for years.

Homemade Playdough
1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
1 TB cooking oil
1 tsp cream of tarter *
Food coloring

Put all ingredients in a saucepan. Cook over low-med heat until a soft ball forms. Use a rubber spatula to scrape dough from bottom and sides of pan as it heats. It only takes 1-3 minutes for the ball to form. Turn off heat and dump ball out on countertop. Knead the ball for about 30 seconds (careful, it's hot) and then you're ready to play!

Store in an airtight container and it will keep for about 2 weeks.

*If you don't have cream of tarter you can leave it out or substitute baking powder. However, the playdough will probably only last about 2-3 days before it gets sticky.

Favorite Things Birthday Banner!

Today is my husband's birthday and our cute little kids really wanted to decorate his birthday cake with all of his favorite things (Blazers, Tim Tebow, Boise State Football etc. . .). However, he doesn't really like cake and will be having pie for his birthday so I directed them to make a banner instead.

So they got to work finding and printing out pictures all of his favorite sports teams and hobbies. Our 8, 6, and 4 year olds all cut out the pictures and then stapled them to a ribbon and hung it on the mantle.

I wish I would have taken a picture of them in the creating process cutting, determining an order and taking turns stapling. They were so excited and things even got a little tense as they were trying to make it perfect for their Papi. They couldn't wait to show off their master piece!

I envisioned making it a pendant banner with cardstock and then glueing the pictures on top, but I really wanted the kids to do this on their own. I think it turned out so great and it was a perfect way to celebrate Cole and his favorite things!

I think we might make this 'Favorite Things Banner'  a new tradition in our family! Your birthday is about YOU, right?!

Candy Cane Reindeer

This little craft brings back so many memories of Christmas as a kid. I used to love making these little guys with my mom and decided it was time to introduce them to my own kids. They loved them and had so much fun picking out different eyeball combinations!!

This is such a quick and easy craft to do with your kids. Just be sure you are the one doing the hot glueing :)

All you need are a few simple things:
* Candy canes
* Brown pipe cleaners (found at walmart)
* Google Eyes
* Red nose (candy, holly berry, etc . . .)
* Hot Glue gun

Cut pipe cleaners in sections - about 4-5 inches for main antlers and about 1-2 inches for smaller forks of the antlers.

Twist the large pipe cleaner around the candy cane to secure and them bend ends up. Take a small piece and wrap it around the larger section to make the forks of the antlers.

Glue on the eyes and nose and you've got a cute little reindeer to share with friends, hang on your tree etc. . . . Have fun!!

Holly Wreath

I am more than thrilled with my thrift store wreath make-over!

My trip to the Goodwill recently was a hit. I was in need of a something to put on my mantle and I saw this plain twig wreath and thought I could make-it over and make it pretty. I LOVE the way it turned out and it was so cheap!!

Total spent on this project: $5.00!
Wreath: 2.99 @ Goodwill
Star: 1.00 @ Dollar Tree
Holly: Free - my own back yard (check your local christmas tree farms)
Mirror: Free - hand-me-down from my mom
Spray Paint: 1.00 (for the amount I used)


So hit up your thrift store, dollar store, yard and own garage to see what you have to make-over a wreath of your own! It's really fun and quite simple, plus you'll probably love it so much that you'll just sit and gaze at it with a smile on your face (at least I do).

1: Spray paint the wreath - I chose silver.

2. Cut holly from bush (or use greenery/berry sprigs from craft store).

3. Attach to wreath using wire or hot glue. I used wire since my holly is real and I wanted to be able to remove it after the holidays before I put the wreath in storage.

4. Paint the frame of mirror. My frame was gold, but I wanted white. After few coats of spray paint  I wasn't getting a solid color (probably because I didn't sand it before . . . oops). However I really like how the pain kind of crackled!

4. Attach the wreath to the mirror/frame. I used fishing string so it would be invisible. I looped it through the wreath and then glued it to the back of the frame. The wreath was tipping forward so I put a small dab of hot glue at on the mirror and stuck it to it. Worked like a charm.

 Loving the completed project!!

Reindeer make-over - Tomorrow!

I linked to Home Stories A to Z.




Bringing Books to Life

We love to read books in our home. We have a few of our own, but most of our large piles are borrowed from the library. My kids love the library and often get hooked on a book or two and don't want to return it.

So we've taken a few of their favorite stories and made them come alive with a craft or activity of some sort. Be creative and let the imaginations soar to get those characters and rhymes to jump off the page and into your home!

Here are some of the ways we've brought our books to life.

Where The Wild Things Are - Maurice Sendak


A few years ago my daughter became obsessed with the children's book Where The Wild Things Are. It is no exaggeration that we read that book more than 10 times a day almost everyday for quite some time. Her love for the book was propelled by the way my husband would read the book with fabulous voices and sound effects each night at bed time.

Soon enough she and my husband had that book memorized in both English and Spanish and full on plays were being acted out. Several years later these night time story tellings and plays are still going on.

One day we decided to make a prop and chose Max's boat.

We used a empty diaper box, paper, wooden skewer, glue, tape and a pen to make the boat.

It was simple, frugal and added a lot of fun to the story telling! I'm thinking it's time to make another one, or two or four!

Disney Stories


Back in college I took a children's literature class. It was such a fun class. We got to read children's books, give book reports, and order from the Scholastic book order forms just like when we where in Elementary school.

One of the books I ordered was a Disney Stories Collection book.

My kids like all the short stories from the book that summarize the Disney movies (many which they've never seen).

This summer in our efforts to keep up on reading and learning the kids chose the story of Aladdin. We decided to make paper bag puppets of some of the main characters.

We used lots of papers, markers and glue. Again, nothing elaborate was done or used but everyone got to help create and bring the characters to life.

When done with the crafting I read the story and they played with the puppet characters.



I Wish That I Had Duck Feet by Dr. Suess

Oh boy! My three oldest kids (7, 4 and 3) have this book nearly memorized! They love, love, love this book and we read it a lot. It's silly, creative, has a good message, and is a classic rhyming tale by Dr. Suess.

This time we got a little messy and did pudding painting (find out more about this HERE) to bring this story to life.

While reading the story to my kids I would stop every few pages and they would a picture in the pudding about what I was reading.

Don't forget to lick your fingers many times throughout this activity. That is what makes it the most fun!


How do you make books come to life in your home?!
Please share. I'd love to implement or even showcase your ideas here on my blog!


Want a book collection of your own at a great price?!  They have books for all ages and a huge collection to choose from. Books are my favorite to give and recieve! Check out this book club - it would make a great gift too.

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Bat-O-Lanterns

A few years ago my mom gave me a subscription to Family Fun magazine. Oh, how I love it (it's a great gift idea)! I've made so many things with my kids from the ideas shared in there.

One of my favorite Halloween crafts and decorations is the Bat-O-Lanterns they had featured. I just went on to the Family Fun site and they have a video of how to make these fun little guys!

My daughter and I had a lot of fun making these and kept all the pieces to use again year after year. As you will see in the video she used foam paper stuff but we just used cardstock. Just make adjustments where you need to keep this as frugal and fun a project as can be!

So simple and fun right?! It's not too late to get your home decorated.

No Slip Socks

Welcome Sisters Stuff friends and visitors! So happy to have you. Become a follower or subscribe to my blog to keep up with all the fun we have here!


Most of you have probably already switched out your flips flops for slippers or socks. My littlest is just learning to walk and loves to crawl up our stairs. Our house is nothing but old hardwood floors. In order to keep her toes warm and not have her slipping around the house I pulled out an old classic -

puff paint!


I love the non-slip socks you can buy for kids, but not the price. In keeping with my frugal efforts I "stickied" up my baby's regular 'ol socks with some puff paint!

Such a easy and frugal solution!

What You Need:
Puff Paint
Socks

To Do: 
Apply puff paint to clean socks in any pattern or design you desire. Let dry for 4 hours. They can be washed in 72 hours.

Bert and Ernie Pumpkins

Last year my husband had to decorate some pumpkins to take into work for a contest. They weren't allowed to carve them. He decided to do Bert and Ernie.

He gave me an idea of materials he wanted to use, I did the shopping and then he did all the work. I think I may have only done touch up painting on the ears but other than that my husband did all the creating himself and ended up with quite the masterpiece.

He did amazing huh?!

Although I have no pictures of him doing the project here is list of some of the items I remember him using.

* Black Yarn
* Felt - white, black, orange, red
* Paint - rust color, red, orange
* Foam - ball and egg shape
* Hot glue gun
* Paint brush

I think that's it!  Although not shown, once displayed at his school he placed some of our son's red and blue striped pajamas under the pumpkins for the clothes. It was the perfect touch!

Handkerchief Skirt

I was at Dollar Tree two weeks ago and spotted these darling handkerchiefs that were only 2/$1. Loved the price and colors so I picked up a few packs knowing I could could think up something cute to use them for.

So I made a cute little skirt for my daughter and she loves it! It's perfect for everyday, church, or play.

This skirt cost me only $1.00 to make! Love that! This a very easy project that anyone can make.

Here's how to do it!

Handkerchief Skirt
Best for sizes 3T and smaller

Supplies:
1 Handkerchief
1/4-1/2 wide elastic - enough to go around the waist
Sewing machine, thread, pins, scissors

Assembly:
1. Cut your handkerchief in half.

2. Put right sides together and sew the two side seams.

3. Fold the top edge down about 1 inch (depending on your elastic width) and pin. This will be your casing to put the elastic through.  Mark off a spot by crossing 2 pins to leave an opening for the elastic.

4. Sew right on top of the raw edge with a zigzag stitch. This will keep the fabric from fraying in the wash. If you'd like you could fold under the raw edge and then ssw (just be sure the casing is wide enough for your elastic).

5. Measure the elastic around the waist of your subject so it is fits, but is not snug. Cut. Then place a safety pin on one end.

6. Now push the safety end through the opening in the casing you sewed.

7. Once the elastic is through push all the fabric to one side so you can grab both ends of the elastic. Overlap the elastic 1 - 1.5 inches so it will now be snug around the wearers waist.

8. Sew the elastic ends together several times.

9. Push the elastic all the way into the casing. Pull the fabric flat and sew the opening closed being sure to backstich to secure the ends. I forgot a picture - sorry!

Now you're done!

The Finished Project:

So simple and cute for only a $1! 

Trick-or-Treat Bag Tutorial

Oh, I'm so excited to share with you the trick-or-treat bag I made! It's cute, simple, fun, and incredibly more easy to store than those plastic pumpkin buckets. I fell in love with all the Halloween fabric out there (which is sure to be on sale) so I decided to make a two-toned bag and I love how it turned out.

So here is how you can make one for your kids, grand kids, nieces, nephews and friends!

Trick-or-Treat Bag Tutorial
What you need (in addition to sewing machine, thread, pins etc. . .):
Fabric - 1/2 yard of 2 different fabrics (this is actually more than you need for the size of bag I made, but you might decide to make you bag larger or have other projects you could use the scraps for. Exact dimensions are below.)
Ribbon - gross grain - 1 spool (I used 2- 17 inch pieces for the handle) I also used lots of scrap ribbon to make the little ribbon puff attached to the bag.


#1 Cut out the pieces of the bag, 2 of each fabric - kitty fabric - 9.5 X 14 inches, Boo fabric - 6.5 X14 

#2 Line up and pin right sides together - one of each fabric making sure that if your fabric has a picture that it is going in the right direction. You will have two sets.

#3 Sew the pinned edge with about a 1/4 inch seam. I did double seams for added strength. Do this with both sets.

#4 - Fold the top edge of the bag in a 1/2 inch and then fold another 1/2 inch and pin down. This will be the top seam of your bag. 

#5 Lay both sets (sides of bag) on top of each other - right sides together. Now line up your seams - the seams of the connecting fabrics should be lined up first and then check to see that the top of the bag is matching and adjust accordingly. Pin bag in place around the bottom and both sides.

#6 Now sew around the bag on the two sides and bottom. Be sure to secure your threads by back stitching at the ends. I did double seams for added strength.

#7 Cut two 17 inch strips of ribbon. You will need to heat seal the ends by quickly brushing a flame (lighter or candle) across the end. Seems scary, but it just barely melts the end to keep it from fraying. See the difference in the picture.

#8 Line up your ribbon 4 inches from the outside edge of the bag with the right side of the ribbon facing in. Pin in place.

#9 Open the bag and slip it around the arm of the sewing machine. Sew on the seam close to the bottom edge of the fold and then another seam near the top edge of the bag. I backstiched a few times over the ribbon for added strength.

#10  To square off the bag on the bottom grab both side of the bag and pull out. Grab the bottom corner (which is now a triangle shape) and feel with your hands to line up the seams. Measure 2 inches from the corner and pin. (Need help with this step - see it in more detail on another bag I made HERE.) Sew a seam securing the ends. You can cut the extra fabric off if desired.

#11 Turn the bag right side out and you are done!!

Optional String Puff - I just cut small ribbon pieces, tied them together and then used one string to tie them to the handle of the bag. I like how it dresses up the bag a bit and gives it more character.

I hope you have fun make some washable, durable and easy to store bags for Halloween!