Handmade toddler friendly Christmas gifts.

Before I get into this- let me apologize for the crummy photos! I am using my phone for this post and my mom's house is kind of dark at the moment!!

Hi everyone! It is that time of year to spread joy and love. I really have been stumped on what to do for my in laws who live out of state and don't get to enjoy the kids year round. Opal is finally at the age to really be creative and she just LOVES to paint and color, so I figured we'd pull out some of my art/ craft stuff and see what we could put together. Here's a little list of things we've created together and what you need to make them. Almost everything you need can be found at the dollar tree so this really is affordable too. 

First off- these really easy snow globes!! I bought everything at target in the dollar bins. You will need a hot glue gun.

The mason jars are in 2 packs for $3 each. 

The little "snow" was $1 and I still have half of a bag left. 

I bought a 3 pack of ornaments for $3 in the Christmas section too. 

Glitter, stickers and Pom Poms were all $1 each there too. 

I hot glued the ornament down and used tongs from the kitchen to place them in the jar. I let Opal tell me where to place the stickers and then I let her go crazy filling them with everything else.

 It's a really easy dry snow globe that is safe to ship cross country or wrap and deliver on the special day. Easy least and I got 4 made for under $15! What a deal.

Next up are some really easy cards.

Now, I already had fingerpaint on hand so I used that. You can buy it at the dollar tree or a craft store or even Walmart or target. I have a big box from target that I got for probably less than $10. 

I also already had the gold paint pen in my junk drawer. 

Thick card stock or small poster board from dollar tree.

I helped her keep her hand flat and not to smear- but she was LOVING this one. She did such a good job. I let her decide pink for rudolphs nose was cuter. 

Cut them out and decorate the trees however. I was thinking of adding some sequins and Pom Poms but ran out of time. 

Next up are these cuties. Ornaments!! 

All you need for these guys are thin foam sheets (Michaels, joanns, dollar tree, etc) in black and white.

Pipe cleaners- even target has these in the dollar bins right now..

Googly eyes

String, ribbon, etc

Hole puncher 

Hot glue gun- because I'm impatient and hate to wait for glue to dry. I hot glue everything!!

After I glued these guys together for Opal I let her color on them. She decided to keep them simple and refused to use any other color but red.. But- that's okay! It's her project! 

Next were these cute little photo ornaments. 

I had the sticks on hand, you can use Popsicle sticks. 

I also had buttons. I kept these mess free and let Opal pick the buttons. I hot glued them down and glued their Christmas photo down in the middle. 

SUPER easy, SUPER cheap, SUPER cute.

Next- a painted canvas! I had a bunch of these from a huge sale Michaels had a while back, so I figured why not? I let Opal go to town on this. I had more of them but I don't want to spoil the surprises for those people so you get the simple one as an example! 

This can be done on paper and framed too! How cute and special would that be!!

Last but not least- salt dough ornaments. I still have to paint these and add a string or ribbon- but don't want to spoil that surprise either. I'll update this post with extra photos later on. 

So there you have it! 5 super easy and cheap toddler crafting gift perfect for their grandparents or your spouse or even for decor for your home! Happy crafting!! 

DIY Banners for the nursery.

"Scout Opal"

 *sorry for the poor lighting of these last minute photos*

 I've been working on little projects for Opal and Oliver's nursery this week before my move. I saw something similar on Pinterest, and even noted them here on this blog post. I didn't want to be a total copy cat, so I made this my own.

I also did notttttt want them to look like I personally made them. (insert how crazy for detail I can be about things being straight/ even) So, because of this preference for a handmade look I free hand cut the letters out and let it be.

We are going with a cabin theme for their room, so I loved the idea of calling them "scouts". Especially because we hope they will want to go to summer camps and maybe even cub/ girl scouts in the future.

"Scout Oli"

I plan to hang these over their bed/ crib. I'm excited to see them on the walls of the new apartment. I really hope that we can pull the whole "woodsy" look in their room. I don't want it to be too many brown tones though, that is why I used some bright pops of colors. I plan to use turquoise and apricot a lot in their room.

I actually already bought the fabric for their custom quilts that will be put together by my wonderful mom. I am just so darn excited for this. I love being a mom because I get to plan and execute things like this. Growing up, I never really got to decorate my room, so that's something I plan to always do with these 2. I want them to express themselves freely, for sure.

close up of Opal's banner.

 Materials needed:

• printed fabric of choice
• felt in one or more colors
• one large piece of felt (can be purchased at Michael's in individual packaged pieces)
• scissors
• hot glue gun
• dowel rod
• yarn, string, ribbon, or whatever you choose for hanging purposes.

close up of Oli's banner.

Directions:

1. Cut your banner out of the large prepackaged piece of felt. 
2. At the top, glue your dowel rod to the back. Best to roll the fabric over it so that it is hidden.
3. Next, cut your background shape/ image out of your patterned fabric. (I chose a heart)
4. Hot glue your shape down to the fabric.
5. Cut out your letters for whatever phrase, saying, name etc.. that you chose.
6. Lay the pieces down to make sure they fit. 
7. Glue them to the proper places you want.
8. Lastly, glue the yarn with an appropriate amount of slack to hang.

These are two other banners that I did in hopes they will look like a younger child made them. I didn't use any patterns or anything, kind of just rolled with it. I hope my bear and bunny actually look like a bear and bunny!! (haha!) I plan to use these over their dresser with a collage of framed photos, art pieces and maybe a shelf with some special treasures on it.

I hope this gives you inspiration to make a banner of your own. I think I am going to make something for my bedroom and living room next. A little less handmade-by-a-child though. Maybe some nice family or marriage quotes? hmmm! Now to plan my next project!

xoxo,

 Chelsea

stool makeover!

My husband and I have been really bored with the house lately and decided to start making small changes to things we already have, to make it feel like everything is fresh and new! Everyone has basic stuff that is covered with cheap fake leather from Target and Walmart, right? Well, we looked at the prices of cute upholstered furniture in funky prints... and then we ran the opposite direction at full speed! The prices these days are OUTRAGEOUS! So, I decided to do it myself!

 These are our cheap stools, we purchased over a year ago from Target, 

back when we lived in a one bedroom studio in Capitol Hill.

I had random fabric laying around my craft room and decided while my husband was at 

work I was going to take one of the stools apart and show him what I had in mind. 

He ended up liking the idea, (not the fabric) so when the weekend came along we ran to 

Walmart (Joann's is an hour drive away..) and we snagged some fabric for $2.50.

  

 I had my husband take the cushions off of the legs while we watched a movie. 

This is pretty much all he did. He was feeling a little lazy.

 

All I used for this easy project was:

• staple gun
• fabric scissors
• enough fabric to cover my cushion.
• screw driver
• small power drill (not pictured)

(Ignore my toes and pregnant belly!!!!)

I stapled the edges down (as neatly as possible for using the couch as a work space)

I reassembled the stools afterwards, and TA-DA!

 

This is such an easy project and only took me about 30 minutes.

OH, and only cost me $2.50!

If you're hating how boring or common your home looks, just start getting creative! 

You won't regret it!