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by MinefortheMaking

Mommy Tell All Monday: DIY Rain Stick

April 21, 2014 in ad, crafts, kid-friendly, Mommy Tell All Monday, motherhood, tutorial by MinefortheMaking

“This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Scott Brand, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #Scottvalue http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV”

Hello and welcome to Mommy Tell All Monday… a place where we share all things related to motherhood. I hope you had a Happy Easter yesterday! Today I’m going to share an on-the-fly, child-lead teaching moment I had with my daughter.

The other day we had some unexpected cloudy, rainy weather here in sunny Arizona. It was so beautiful and so peaceful outside and my daughter was very interested in the rain, asking lots of questions. I took the opportunity to teach her a bit about rain and where it comes from. Then we rounded up materials we already had on hand and made a DIY Rain Stick together.

We read this storybook about rain and we also used the Internet to look up more interesting facts about rain… which is how we stumbled upon rain sticks. We learned that the Native American culture uses the rain stick as a tool to bring rain during drought seasons, so we plan to use this rain stick OFTEN in hopes that it rains a bit more here in Arizona :) My daughter was interested in this activity and actively engaged in the learning the entire time…because I took something she was interested in and turned it into a teaching moment.

Would you like to make one with your kids? I bet you have most all the materials you need on hand already!

You will need:

1/4 cup of uncooked rice
20 inches of aluminum foil
2 small pieces of parchment or wax paper
duct tape
dowel or skewer
Scott Towels roll

Let’s make a DIY Rain Stick, shall we?

First, roll the aluminum foil up long ways, then wrap it around the dowel or skewer to make a spiral/coil. Next, use duct tape and wax/parchment paper to tape one end of your Scott Towels roll closed. Remove the dowel/skewer from your aluminum foil coil and insert the coil into the roll. Carefully pour the uncooked rice into the roll and seal up the other side with more wax/parchment paper and duct tape. Continue to cover the Scott Towels roll in duct tape. And DONE! You have yourself a DIY Rain Stick.

As I said, I had all of my materials on hand to make our DIY Rain Stick. Lucky for me, I just shopped at Kmart and stocked up on Scott Tissue products. Scott Towels clean up my everyday big and small messes PLUS I can recycle the rolls to make fun crafts with my daughter.

Check out Kmart’s Shop Your Way rewards for great coupon offers on SCOTT® products this week! Coupons are treasures in this house. You know what I’m saying, right moms? I was able to stock up on Scott toilet paper, towels, and wipes all for $10 ($15 + $5 coupon) at Kmart. I’ll go ahead and say you’re welcome. ;)

A kid-friendly craft and coupon offers… I’d say that’s a good Mommy Tell All Monday, wouldn’t you?

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by MinefortheMaking

Easter Bunny Burlap Canvas

April 19, 2014 in crafts, easter, spring, tutorial by MinefortheMaking

Hello there friends!

I am sharing the last of my Easter projects with you today. I actually made it over a month ago, but it’s been so busy around these parts I haven’t had the time to photograph it and type up the post. But alas, here we are, finally! Say hello to my sweet little Easter Bunny Burlap Canvas!

It’s the perfect addition to my springy Easter entry table. I purchased the 10×10 burlap canvas from Hobby Lobby and everything else I had on hand in my craft stash.

Here’s the easy HOW-TO so that you can make your own.

Place a bunny stencil on the canvas and paint with a sponge brush. I created my bunny stencil on my Silhouette, but you could trace an image or draw one yourself too.

Cut out an egg shape from a scrap piece of fabric and glue onto the bunny’s hands. Add ric-rack or other embellishments if you choose.

Make a yarn pom pom and glue it to the bunny’s bum.

Add ribbon to the sides of the canvas with fabric glue.

DONE!

Cute little Easter Bunny…I do love him!

See how cute it is on my entry table? It goes perfectly! Here’s the break down for the table starting from left to right…

Scrappy Spring Wreath

Bunny Blocks

Spring Monogram Door Decor

Yarn bird from Target

Easter egg tree from Target

Bird cage from Michael’s

Faux Easter eggs from JoAnn

Mini Easter Bunny figurine from Kmart

Thanks for stopping by today friends!! I hope you have a blessed Easter weekend with your family and friends. I am so grateful for this holiday and the reminder it brings to the world of our Savior, who died so that we can live again.

Happy Easter!

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by MinefortheMaking

Mason Jar Edible Bird Nests

April 17, 2014 in easter, mason jar, print, printable, recipe, tutorial by MinefortheMaking

Hello there friends!

I’m super excited to share this last minute Easter treat with you. It’s easy to make, affordable, and I even made cute printable tags to go with them. How adorable are these Mason Jar Edible Bird Nests?

I just love them! And they are easy for the kids to help with too. Here is a list of supplies you will need:

Mini mason jars
Edible Easter grass (or green coconut)
Egg shaped candy such as Jelly Beans, Robin’s Eggs, etc.
Baker’s twine
Hole punch
Printable “You are an EGGSellent someBUNNY” tag

Just place the grass and eggs in the jars, twist on the lids, print off the tags and attach them to the jar with baker’s twine. Cute and easy right? These would make great gifts for teachers, coaches, neighbors, coworkers, friends…

You can download and print off the Easter tags I made HERE. I just love the cute little bunny peaking in, don’t you? Please remember all freebies are for Mine for the Making readers’ personal use only.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I have one more Easter project I’m hoping to share…BEFORE… Easter. Fingers crossed! ;)

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by MinefortheMaking

Mommy Tell All Monday: 4 Easy Ways to Teach Kids How to Keep a Healthy Home, Body, and Planet

April 14, 2014 in ad, kid-friendly, Mommy Tell All Monday, motherhood, sponsors, tips by MinefortheMaking

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for #CollectiveBias and its advertiser. #WalgreensOlogy

Hello and welcome to Mommy Tell All Monday, a place where I share all things related to motherhood!

Today I am sharing 4 easy ways to teach kids how to keep a healthy home, body, and planet using Ology products, exclusively at Walgreens. Around our house, we are making simple, positive changes that will not only better our health, but will leave the planet a better place! Ology is making it SUPER easy for us busy moms to do that.

Ology products help me create a healthier and safer environment by avoiding toxic ingredients. I have children in my home on a regular basis as I teach children’s cooking classes, so it’s extremely important to me to not only keep my home clean, but to avoid chemicals as well.

1. Wash clothing, towels, blankets, (and in my case aprons) using detergent with no harmful chemicals, detergents that are plant based and are not tested on animals. I love Ology’s detergent because it’s tough on stains (cooking class with kids is MESSY) but gentle on clothing and skin.

2. Wash your hands, body and hair with chemical free, non toxic soaps. Ology soaps have no Parabens or Sulfates either! Nourish your skin and hair without the harmful chemicals. I keep a bar of the Oatmeal and Honey bar soap at the kitchen sink, especially for little hands. Plus, my daughter has very sensitive skin and her hands chap easily when we use harsh soaps. Ology’s soaps have been so gentle on her hands! We love it!

3. Wipe down counters, tables, and other surfaces using chemical free, non toxic all-purpose cleaners. I’m even okay with my 3 year old little chefs wiping down their work areas with Ology’s All-Purpose Cleaner during cooking class! It cuts through grease and grime without using solvents or ammonia. Perfect for little hands. Plus, I’m teaching my 6 year old how to read labels on products and foods so that we are really looking at how things and made and what they are made with. Shopping trips can definitely be a learning experience!

4. Use Tree Free paper products such as towels, bath tissue, and facial tissue. Can I just tell you I had NO IDEA there was such a thing? Ology paper products are made from sugarcane husk and bamboo. How awesome is that?! Let’s teach our children early on how important it is to make choices that are safer and better for our environment.

Ology products can be found all over your local Walgreens store. I love that Ology is on almost every aisle in Walgreens…that means I have lots of chemical free products that are readily available and affordable.

How are you teaching your kids about keeping a healthy home, body, and planet? Every little bit helps! Let’s be great examples to the little ones in our lives!

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by MinefortheMaking

Food-a-licious Friday: Gluten Free Bird Nest Snacks

April 11, 2014 in Food-a-licious Friday, gluten free, kid-friendly, recipe by MinefortheMaking

Hello there and Happy Friday, friends!

I have been taking a bit of a break from blogging the last couple of weeks with my daughter’s birthday and our trip to Utah. I’m happy to be back in business and am excited to share a couple of the Easter and spring projects I have been working on! Today I am going to share the snack I made with my preschool chefs during our cooking class this week. This month our recipes are spring themed, so we made Gluten Free Bird Nest Snacks to celebrate spring!

The kiddos had so much fun making these snacks and they were such a tasty treat too! Are you ready to make some with your kids?

You will need:

gluten free Chex cereal
marshmallows
coconut oil
gluten free jelly beans (or another candy that’s egg shaped)

In a hot pot on the stove, melt 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and 2 cups of marshmallows, stirring them together often. Pour 3 cups of Chex into a mixing bowl. Once marshmallows and coconut oil are melted together, pour it over the cereal and carefully fold into eachother until all of the cereal is coated with marshmallow. Have the kids rub their hands with coconut oil and the inside of a cupcake tin to prevent the marshmallow from sticking to everything. Grab handfuls of Chex/marshmallow mix and place into the cupcake pan, pressing down in the center to make it look more like a next. Let the nests sit in the cupcake pan for about 5 minutes to set up. Remove the ‘nests’ and add candy eggs to them. EAT!

We also read a book about spring and colored a picture about spring. SO much fun celebrating spring with a fun snack!

Thanks for stopping by today, friends! I will see you back here tomorrow!

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by MinefortheMaking

Teach Me Tuesday: 25 Ways to Do Easter Eggs with Kids

April 1, 2014 in easter, kid-friendly, round up, spring, Teach Me Tuesday by MinefortheMaking

Hello there and welcome to Teach Me Tuesday… a weekly series where I share all things that are kid-friendly and that you can teach your children to do!

We absolutely LOVE spring and all it has to offer. From the weather to the holidays, we love it all! I want to do an entire Easter Egg unit (week) with my daughter for homeschool so I thought I would round up 25 Ways to Do Easter Eggs with Kids! They all look so fun and there is something for all ages. Science is even incorporated in a lot of them! Check out the full tutorials by clicking the links below.

I think we are going to do the Natural Dyed Eggs and the Nail Polish Easter Eggs first. What about you?

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by MinefortheMaking

Mommy Tell All Monday: My Baby Turns Six

March 24, 2014 in mom, Mommy Tell All Monday, motherhood by MinefortheMaking

Hello there mommies and welcome to Mommy Tell All Monday… a place to share all things related to motherhood.

The little girl who made me a momma is celebrating a birthday this weekend. That’s right. My baby turns six. I’m not even sure how it’s possible that 6 years have gone by since she was inside my belly. What a crazy-fun-amazingly-awesome journey motherhood is. From the once sleepless nights to the little girl who loves to sleep in until 8:30 AM every morning. From the baby that HAD to be held almost every second, to the little girl who still loves to snuggle with her mommy and daddy. From the 2 year old who relied on sign language to communicate, to the almost-6-year-old whose vocabulary astounds me. From the baby who danced inside my belly every night, to the little girl who dreams of singing and dancing on stage someday for packed audiences. This little girl of mine has no idea how much I have grown because of her…how much I have learned because of her. I am a better person because I am her momma, that’s a fact.

Typically around my daughter’s birthday, I get a bit sad. It’s so silly, I know. I just want to keep her little forever is all. You mommas can relate, right? But this year, I decided that I’m not going to be sad. I am going to embrace my last week with a 5 year old, and welcome year SIX with a big, fat smile. I’m going to enjoy this ‘season’ of her life and mine. After all, she’s only six once right?

Happy 6th birthday to my baby girl! I hope this year brings you joy, good health, laughter, new friendships, adventures, and loads of blessings. Continue to SHINE, my Lucianna. And always know that we love you to the moon and back again.

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by MinefortheMaking

Disney FROZEN Fun Pom Pom Crafts

March 21, 2014 in ad, crafts, Disney, FROZEN, kid-friendly, tutorial by MinefortheMaking

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser.

I don’t know about your house, but our house has been buzzing around excitedly about the release of Disney’s FROZEN DVD this week (March 18th)! We saw it in theaters three times and my daughter has literally been counting down the days for the release so that she can have her very own copy…to watch everyday I’m sure. Not to mention that her birthday party this month is FROZEN themed… we pretty much live in a world of all things FROZEN at this point. Haha! So, to celebrate this glorious occasion even more, we got our craft on. Check out our Disney FROZEN Fun Pom Pom Crafts that we made!

We used yarn pom poms to create an Olaf snowman…because let’s be honest, that cheery, cute, positive little guy is our favorite character! My daughter even named her new pet dwarf bunny after him! His character is just too sweet not to love. And the yarn pom poms make cute little snowballs, don’t you think?

We ran to Walmart for the FROZEN DVD and some other fun FROZEN products (including the toddler Elsa doll, a FROZEN story book, and a FROZEN t-shirt). I was super excited to see that the movie was marked down to $14.96! And there’s even a coupon on specially marked packages of Eggo Waffles (24 count) for a $5 off offer for the FROZEN DVD… talk about an awesome deal!! My girl was ECSTATIC to say the least. Once we were home, we got busy with our Disney FROZEN Fun Pom Pom Crafts.

Do you wanna build a {pom pom} snowman with us? You will need 3 white yarn pom poms, brown pipe cleaners, orange ribbon scrap, black and white mini pom poms, small googly eyes, black and white scraps of felt, black ric-rack scrap, hot glue gun and glue sticks. Simply cut out the pieces to make your pom pom snowman and glue them all on. Really easy!

After our pom pom snowman craft, we decided to have a picnic with {pom pom} Olaf and Elsa outside. My daughter insisted on wearing her FROZEN shirt and having Elsa hair, so I whipped up a quick hair bow and gave her a side braid that had a silver glittery ribbon intertwined. For this craft you need one white yarn pom pom, aqua glitter ribbon, silver glitter ribbon, scissors, a hair clip, a hot glue gun and glue sticks. I made two circles out of the aqua ribbon, then pinched them in the middle and glued them. Then I overlapped the aqua circles and glued them in a ‘X’ shape. I glued the yarn pom pom in the middle and glued a long piece of silver ribbon to the back. Then I glued on the hair clip and DONE! Clipped it in my girl’s hair and braided the silver ribbon into her side braid. CUTENESS!

The FROZEN tea party was a hit and so simple too! I just spread out a quilt in our grass, collected the tea set on a tray, and we headed out to the backyard for some FROZEN fun. The best part about having a tea party outside is that we get to put water in our tea kettle…it’s like the real deal guys.

How fun would it be to surprise your kiddos with the FROZEN DVD, toys, and a fun craft or two? You can even make the crafts while watching the movie! Head to Walmart to get your copy with a price drop of $14.96 and be sure to follow the hashtags #FROZENfun and #CollectiveBias on social media for even more FROZEN fun! And be sure to check back her in a couple of weeks for the recap of my daughter’s FROZEN birthday party!

Thanks for stopping by today friends! Who is your favorite FROZEN character?

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by MinefortheMaking

Teach Me Tuesday: Top 10 Spring Projects for Kids

March 18, 2014 in kid-friendly, round up, spring, Teach Me Tuesday by MinefortheMaking

Hello and welcome to Teach Me Tuesday… a weekly series where I share all things kid-friendly that you can essentially *teach* them. Crafts, games, printables, educational activities, and more!

Spring is in the air, my friends! And we couldn’t be more thrilled! I am busily planning a spring unit for my kindergartener, so I thought I would share our Top 10 Spring Projects for Kids list. We are hoping to do everything listed below this spring…won’t you join us??

Simple Spring Science Experiment at Delicate Construction
Egg Shell Planters at Lilliedale
Birdseed Cakes at Little Wonders’ Days
Coffee Filter Butterfly Craft at Mommy Gaga
Ladybug Rocks at Parenting
Let’s Build a Fairy Garden at Inner Child Fun
Easy Painted Egg Cartons by Design Mom
Are Seeds the Same Science Investigation at Fantastic Fun and Learning
Spring Scene Mason Jar at Happy Happy Nester
Plant Pals at Momaha

Don’t they all look so incredibly fun?! My girl and I can hardly wait to get started.

Are there any spring crafts or activities that you are looking forward to?

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by MinefortheMaking

Spring Monogram Door Decor

March 15, 2014 in crafts, JoAnn, spring, tutorial by MinefortheMaking

The following review is part of the Jo-Ann Fabric And Craft Stores® National Craft Month campaign. I received compensation for this review; however, this is my personal, honest opinion based on my experience.

Hello and happy weekend to you, friends! We are loving the beautiful weather here in sunny Arizona. And with spring just around the corner, I am in the mood to get my craft on with all things that remind me of spring. Plus, it’s National Craft Month!! Lucky for me (and YOU) Jo-Ann Craft and Fabric Stores has a great spring crafting inspiration website chalk full of fun spring ideas and tutorials. After visiting the website, I was totally inspired to make something using flowers and floral print. Check out the Spring Monogram Door Decor I created!

It’s such a pretty, happy invite to our family and guests as we enter our home. I love the floral print with the glittery gold bunting, don’t you?

Would you like to make your own? All supplies were purchased at Jo-Ann!

3D cardboard letter
floral scrapbook paper
gold glitter scrapbook paper
paper flowers
faux spring bird
jute
Mod Podge
scissors
sponge brush
pencil
hot glue gun and glue sticks
ribbon or ric-rack

Jo-Ann makes spring crafting easy with the coupon for $5 off a $25 or more purchase.

How-To:

With your floral paper print side down, lay your 3D cardboard letter on top (right side down) and trace with a pencil. Using your scissors, cut out your letter. With a sponge brush, paint the front of your cardboard letter with Mod Podge and lay the floral paper on top, smoothing it out as you go so that there are little to no air bubbles under the paper. Allow dry time. (*Optional: Add an additional layer of Mod Podge on top of the floral paper.) Hot glue the bird and paper flowers where you’d like them on your monogram. Cut out glittery gold bunting pieces and hot glue them to the jute. Then hot glue the ends of the jute to your monogram. Hot glue a loop of ribbon or ric rack to the back top of your letter so that you can hang it from your door easily. DONE!

I really love the way it turned out. Now, are you ready to get your spring craft on with Jo-Ann? Grab your coupon and head to Jo-Ann for supplies and don’t forget to check out their spring craft inspiration website too!

Have a great weekend, friends!

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