Summer Project ~ New Crayons!

  One of my Summer Bucket List items was to make new crayons from all of our old, broken ones.  I'd been saving the broken crayon pieces for at least a year.  I also used the cheap waxy crayons that you get for free at restaurants (see photo of red crayons below).  I found the hardest part of this project to be taking the paper off the old crayons.  Luckily I had Sophie's help.  NOT.  She peeled one or two crayons and I peeled about 300.  It took a while. Whew.  

Putting down some plastic or paper is a very good idea ~ this was also messy.

I purchased a silicone mold from Michael's (about $6 with a 40% off coupon) and we filled them up.  There are tons of tutorials for this project online and, while I like the mixed, rainbow crayons, the Type A in me HAD to separate the colors.  Thank goodness Sophie agreed!!

We put them in a 230 degree oven for about 30 minutes and WALA....

Melted wax.  We let them cool on the counter for an hour or two (who can keep track of time when you're losing your mind having so much fun!).

The girls love the new crayons.  Clara has been asking to use them every day.  The star shape is actually ideal for her baby chub hands and it's pretty clear she prefers these over the regular crayons.

I've been wanting to do this project for a long time ~ I'm happy it turned out so well!

A Rock of Love!

In our house, we've been BIG FANS of Linda Kranz's books for years now.  When Sophie was about three, we started reading "Only One You".  

I immediately fell in love with Linda's colorful painted rocks!!!  I think we all did. 

I was out shopping a few weeks ago when I saw Linda's most recent release....."Love You When".  

Perfect timing for Valentine's Day!!!  I knew Sophie would love it.  As I flipped through the pages, I was amazed at the creativity and inspired to make a sweet little rock of my own.....to give to Sophie for Valentine's Day.  It was so much fun painting it and I think she loved it as much as I'd hoped she would!

I also went out and bought a paint pen with which to write a little message to my sweet girl on the bottom of the rock.  This was truly one of my favorite presents ever!

Hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day!!!

A Good Hanukkah Craft Is Hard To Find

It's true.  So we made our own.  Ribbon dreidels. Inspired by this pin, I went on a ribbon shopping spree.  Blue, silver & glittery are what I was seeking.  We also used some old ribbon scraps we had on hand.  I knew they'd come in handy at some point!!!  Of course, I had to make a "sample".  I did it one night after the girls were in bed and it was so, so, so therapeutic!  Here's my "sample":

I was going for a vintage, fabric-scrap quilt look.

Note to self: Make sure that dreidel outline is not showing once finished. Ahem.

Halfway through, the girls decided that glittery ribbons weren't enough.  They went off and found some glitter in Sophie's craft drawer.  Green and pink glitter. Ahem. Still, here are their almost-finished dreidels:

{Charlotte's dreidel}

{Sophie's dreidel}

In typical Sophie "more is more" fashion, she started to decorate the rest of the paper.

Even though the girls said they enjoyed the project, I am thinking it might be best for children a little older (these girls are 6).

Will keep searching and trying to create that elusive perfect Hanukkah craft.  To be continued....

My First Bento Box

Sophie's first day of Summer Camp is tomorrow.  She is anxious, curious and excited.  As am I.  To make her feel special, I created a Bento Box for her morning snack.  I don't think it's too bad for my first attempt.  And you should have seen Sophie's face when I showed it to her.  A huge grin slowly spread from ear to ear.  Mission accomplished.  

Note #1: Those delicious looking cherry tomatoes are straight out of my Garden of Happiness.

Note #2: All of my Bento Box inspiration comes straight from Meet the Dubiens.

I Got My Craft On!

It's no secret that I'm addicted to Pinterest (feel free to visit my boards here.) Several months ago I came across the image below and fell in love with the project.

{image from American Crafts Studio via Pinterest}

I have a small thing for buttons and I immediately thought I should make one of these for the nursery. It was fun looking for and picking out the buttons for the project. I decided to create a smaller version and this was a good thing. I'm not the craftiest person and I have perfectionist tendencies when it comes to projects like these. Overall it took me several hours to finish ~ it wasn't easy getting the buttons in just the right place! But I am thrilled with the final product.

Everyone who visits the nursery asks about it and wants to know where to get one. That makes me happy! I only hope Clara grows up to love it as much as I do.....