Just Add Stickers

I had wanted to make a family tree for my son’s nursery when I was pregnant but as many of my ideas that fell to the side.   The other day I was inspired by a clip on Disney Junior and I decided that this would be a perfect time to pick up the project that I had abandoned and let my son add his own touches.   It is a great project to make together and an opportunity to talk about the different relationships that make up a family. In this day of digital cameras we don’t have pictures lying around anymore waiting to be put into albums.   So you’ll have to  take a trip to a photo kiosk or print them at home if you have a good printer. Time : 1 hour Cost : Under $10.00 (other than the cost of printing the pictures I used what I had at home) Material : ·          Cardstock or construction paper (I used some scrapbooking leftovers for this project) ·          Family pictures ·          Glue ·          Scissors ·          Frame Directions : 1.        Cut ou

I love making piñatas they are a great activity for kids at any occasion!  I make them out of cardboard boxes that are destined for the recycling fill them with candy, stickers and little toys from the dollar store cover them in papier-mâché and then paint them.   It takes several days to make it from start to finish with the drying times but it is worth it at the end to hear all the laughter and excitement. Time : 4 hours divided over 3 days, leaving time to dry over night between steps. Cost : About $10.00 for candy and toys Materials : ·          Large cardboard box (I use diaper boxes) ·          Small soft cardboard box (I use soft drink cartons) ·          Toys & candy ·          Newspaper ·          String ·          Flour & water ·          Paint ·          Tape Directions : Day 1 (2 hours) 1.        Decide what design or character you want the piñata to be and make a rough draft on a piece of paper.  C ut the shape of th

One perfect hot summer day last week we were looking for something to do.   We go to the park often in the summer and I was tired of always going to the same parks.   There are three parks within walking distance three more if we go by bike and even more that I could drive to but we don’t go to very often.   So my activity that day was to go park hopping.   I packed some snacks and a lunch and off we went.   A little research goes a long way.   By going on the city website to find out where the parks were exactly I found out that there are free activities for kids in some of the parks in the area.   There are camp counsellors at one park who are paid by the city to organize activities for kids.   There is also a mobile library that sets up a tent in different parks for two hours at a time and the librarians read stories to the kids for as long as their attention span holds out or until the park calls them back to play.    I discovered that we have a wide range of p

One rainy day I was in the mall with my son, looking for something to do when I found this cute hand puppet kit on sale at a toy store.   We went home and made the puppets but then they needed a home.   I found an old diaper box and cut up a large gift bag and then used the tissue paper and cord from the handle for decoration.   This was very easy to make and was a good surprise when he woke up from his nap. Cost : Use recycled material for this project what you have around the house will do. Time : 30 minutes Material : ·          Empty box ·          1 gift bag & tissue paper ·          Glue gun ·          Scissors Directions : 1.       Cut one side off of the box and cut out a window in the opposite side. 2.       Undo the knots of the string that make the handles and save for decoration.   Cut the gift bag along the side seam on both sides. 3.       Wrap the box with the gift bag gluing as you go and cutting any extra bag to use on the