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!! 

Our ever changing nursery.

 Opal and Oliver's nursery has been mostly used as a play room and storage for baby things thus far. Since moving here, Opal has been afraid to sleep in her own room, so we've just kept a crib in our room for her. But recently she has been more comfortable with her toddler bed, so we actually moved the crib to the nursery and the big girl bed to our room. So the bedrooms now look different, but I wanted to share some photos of her room BEFORE we moved everything around, along with links to wear I found some of the ideas for projects I've done.

I got Opal's bed from IKEA. It is called the MINNEN.

I really love this bed because it will grow with her. It starts out as

a toddler bed but can actually extend 2 more times and eventually be a twin size bed.

Peeking out from underneath her bed you can see the extendable mattress pieces.

This is super helpful for me, and will actually be a comfy bed for my sister to sleep on 

this summer while she visits. Way better than an air mattress. :-)

I made the "Scout Oli" banner before moving here. 

You can see the tutorial here.

My mom and I made the faux bear rug! It is my favorite of our DIY projects.

I first saw it on pinterest, and found a tutorial on a fellow Marine Wife's blog.

We ended up not following her's exactly and pretty much hand drew our own pattern.

We also gave our bear extra padding and what not. 

But for those that need a tutorial with step by step instructions THIS ONE is great! :-)

Here's a little close up image of our bear.

I got this bookcase and toy organizer from Target last summer. I think they've discontinued it, because I can't seem to find it online. I totally wish I could though, because I want another one.

I love this fabric bin so much. I use it as a toy box for Opal. I found it at home goods and plan to get another one for Oliver once we get moved into our next home. 

This is the other wall in her room. I got this chalkboard from IKEA. 

I will definitely have to take some photos of this room now that I have yet again changed it. 

It is now full with the crib, Oliver's little clothes, and I've moved around all of Opal's toys and things.

It wont be like that for long either though- because soon everything will be boxed up and on its way to our new home. Wherever in the world that may be. Hopefully I can let you guys know by the end of this month! :-)

XOXO- Chelsea.

Printable Teacher Appreciation Day Cards!

Hey everyone, so Teacher Appreciation Day is May 5th this year! I don't have a little one in school right now, but I do have a lot of friends and family who are educators. I think what they do is so very important. I don't think you have to go all out to show a little appreciation, and want to provide an easy thoughtful solution to help your little ones say "thanks!" to someone who spends so much of their day with them.

You can put a hole punch through these simple little cards and tie them to a gift bag.. You can stick them to the front of a gift card for their favorite coffee joint.. or even just give them to your kids to pass along however they please! Whether they're given by themselves or with a little something special (like baked goods that your little ones bake especially for them!) I am sure they will bring a smile to their teacher's face and they'll know they are appreciated.

They will print off as a set of four. I couldn't decide on one card, so I made options for everyone with a little water colored apple that I painted the other day. This works well for those of you with multiple kids (or teachers to thank)! These are for personal use only.

Download and print off from my Dropbox. CLICK HERE TO OPEN.

 Enjoy! xoxo- Chels.