Fakin' It

Bug Catcher/ Critter Carrier Tutorial

 

I  have the easiest craft for you today. You don't even need any special supplies. I call it a bug catcher or a critter carrier depending what is actually caught. This is also a great craft to do with cub scouts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All you need is an empty parmesan container, scissors, green paper, tape, stickers, string or yarn and something to punch a hole with.

 

 For the grass, snip about 2/3 of the way down on your 1 inch strip of paper until you have enough "grass" to wrap around the bottom of the jar.

 

 

 

 

Punch a hole on each side and thread the yarn from the outside in tying the knot on the inside. Now it's time for stickers. My boys didn't add a ton because they didn't want to block the view. Add some grass, leaves and sticks to the bottom of your bug jar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now it's time to go bug hunting. Screw on the lid. There's one side with air holes and one side with a larger opening to pop in your wild creature.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The boys had such a blast looking for their bugs. FYI, daddy longlegs can escape through the air hole.

 
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Summer Bucket List Banner

 

 

 

School is out but not the sun. I am beginning to think we live in the rain forest. While everything looks all lush and green and healthy, I'm hoping we don't get any tropical diseases along with the view. And while it is raining outdoors, we are indoors, dreaming about what we are going to do when we get a warm sunny afternoon. Today we decided to make those dreams a little more concrete with a Summer Bucket List Banner to remind us what we have to look forward to.

 

 

I am so in love with this "Boys Will Be Boys" Cricut cartridge. There are tons of fun images and a cool font. For this project, each kid got to dig through my cardstock piles and choose 3 colors, one for the bucket, bucket lip and shovel. This pink one is mine. I cut the bucket and layers  at 11 & 1/2 ".  
I just glued the layers down with regular old glue sticks. The note paper came from my daughters tiny princess pocket notebook. I just trimmed the edges to make it fit better.

 
Due to the small lines I did the writing for L and J but C wrote his own. Here's what's on my list:

1. Make Homemade Poptarts from this recipe at Smitten Kitchen
2. Take kids to the Columbus Ohio Zoo. It is supposed to be the best in the country and we've never been.
3. Do a photo shoot of the kids at the botanical gardens. It is so beautiful there, much prettier than any backdrop at a photo studio.
4. Redo my office/junk room into a craft room
5. Learn to can/jar
6. Read a steamy romance novel ( I sometimes take myself too seriously and will only read "literature") So if you have a title of a good summer romance for me to read, I'd love to hear it! 

I used my big bite to punch holes through the bucket handles and ribbon and then attached them with gem brads.

 
 
 What's on your summer bucket list?

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Kool Preschool Class Gift

The end of the school year is upon us and the craziness has begun. Class picnics, field trips, field days, parties, teacher gifts and class gifts. I think the schools create the parental chaos on purpose. Because like right now, I am in a bit of a panic over having three kids to entertain all day long, every day for an entire summer and that whole going to school year around starts looking better and better to me. But with all these end of the year activities and reports, projects etc.I suddenly just want it to be over. I'm thinking "Fine I'll take responsibility for my own kids for a couple of months. Just give me a break! Sheesh!"

Now that I have gotten completely off track. Let me share with you this super cute inexpensive class gift idea I found at Hot Mama Makeovers.

The Kool-Aid was on sale at the grocery store and Joann's had the straws marked 40% off. Now I just needed some festive packaging. I went into my scrapbooking supplies and found some fun patterned cardstock and my handy dandy Cricut machine. My Kool friend K loaned me her Bags Tags Boxes and More cartridge and I set to work.

 
I cut "tag pocket 1" (tgpkt>1) with window at 9". You only get two per 12x12 page. Save the window cutout for gift tags. I paired the striped tag with the polka dot pocket and vice-versa. Marks are cut into the paper to show you where to fold it.

 

I used adhesive strips to close the back flaps. If you use a lighter weight paper without the texture, I think any type of adhesive would work. Then you just slide in the Kool-Aid.

 Lay straw in flap, fold over hold together with glue dot.

Now you just need some finishing touches. Remember that tag we saved? Punch a hole and tie on with some cute ribbon.

 
 
Here's to you having a KOOL summer

and to me keeping my KOOL with three wild kids running amok!

This post linked with:

Sassy Sites

The Trendy Treehouse

Mommas Kinda Crafty

Inspiring Creations

Tip Junky

Lamb Around

Creative Jewish Mom

Craftomaniac

Simple Clothespin Magnet Photo Clip

So, C, my third grader has to do a "How To" report for school. We had to come up with a project that he could not only give a written tutorial for but also a demonstration for the class. This meant the project had to be inexpensive and simple due to the 23 other students that would be making it with him.

We came up with Clothespin Magnet Refrigerator Photo Clips. So the title is not that simple but we wanted to be thorough in our description :)

Yes that's a picture of our Beloved Mary. I thought it was appropriate being that this project is for the Catholic School and May is Mary's month. 

The button clothespin is C's design. His little sister made one too and I helped J make the caterpillar.

Here's what you need:

 
One large wooded clothespin, about 5 medium glue dots and magnet tape are needed for both projects. For the first picture you will also need about 5 buttons, depending on the size. For the caterpillar, you also need about 5 mini pom poms, 1/2" of pipe cleaner bent in a V and 2 tiny googly eyes along with some craft glue. This craft is also good for counting, sorting and estimation. Have your child sort through the colors of pom poms or buttons. Have them estimate how many it will take to fill the length of the clothespin and then count out the same number of glue dots as decorative items.

 
Rip off a sheet of the glue dots and let your child stick down his/her buttons/pom poms. This is super simple and allows the child to work independently which my kids prefer. Once all 5 are stuck on, peel off the glue dots and place in a row on the clothespin.

 
Somehow I missed photos of the final steps. Tear off about 1 inch of magnet tape and cut vertically in half. This should fit the back of each clothespin perfectly. The magnet tape comes already sticky so just stick it on. For the caterpillar, place three drops of craft glue on his head. One at top for the antennae and two on front for the eyes.

All done! Super simple for all ages and even groups.

This post is linked with : 
Someday Crafts (Button in Sidebar)

Sugar Bee Crafts

Sumos Sweet Stuff

Creative Jewish Mom

Lamb Around

Our House of Joyful Noise

Fireflies and Jellybeans (button in sidebar)

Tip Junky

Mother's Day Herb Jar Vases

So, this is a poorly photographed project. It was like 9pm Saturday night and the Grandma's were coming over Sunday morning for brunch and I still hadn't decorated the vases.

 
 
Here are the two vases left over. I made 4 completely different ones and had them on the breakfast table as centerpieces. When it was time for my mom and mother-in-law to go, they each got to pick their favorite to take with them. Wouldn't you know it, they picked my favorites and I didn't get a picture of them before they were gone.

 
I had 3 glass jars and 1 plastic (not pictured). As you can see all the glass jars are from orange rind. I go through a lot of orange peel around here because one of the family's favorite recipes is called Treasure Filled Coffee cake and it called for 2 tablespoons of the stuff. I had planned on making this for Mother's Day but was too tired after finishing the vases. The fam got monkey bread instead. The labels were difficult to get off so I soaked the jars in warm soapy water for a couple of hours and then they were easily removed.

 
I call this first one The Disco Vase. It is the plastic spice jar, coated with purple spray paint and then topped with green glitter spray paint. I wrapped some gauzy ribbon in shades of blue, purple and green around the top and then threaded two pink beads on the end for accent.

 
This second one is called The Ballerina Vase. This one was designed my middle child J who was up past his bedtime. We hot glued the wide floral ribbon in the center and then the pink fringe ribbon on the top and bottom.

 
Not sure if our cat was more interested in the vase or the jelly bean flower inside. Either way, I thought it was cute enough to include. The third vase which is not pictured and was my favorite was The Hippie Vase. I wrapped it in a natural colored hemp which was affixed with Aileen's craft glue. Then I put a few rust colored beads through a bendy beading wire and wrapped that around the center. The last one was the Classical Vase. For this one I again beaded a metal wire with pretty green stones and wrapped that in a wide spiral down the jar. I hot glued the last bead to the jar to make it all stay .

This post is linked up with:

Sumo's Sweet Stuff

Craftomaniac

Sugar Bee Crafts

SomeDay Crafts (button in side bar)

LambAround

Creative Jewish Mom