Illustory Pt.2

We received our published Illustory books in the mail the other day- just in time for Father's Day! The girls are quite proud of their work, and love seeing it all bound up and looking "professional."

I think we have read these books 100 times since the package was opened. The girls are giddy with excitement.

Now we just have to keep it a secret until the big day. If we succeed, this may be the longest kept Father's Day present secret to date.

For more information on Illustory, go here.

Trash into Treasured Hours

Our crib was included in the recall of certain cribs purchased at Babies 'R Us last June. We used our voucher to pick up another crib, and of course I didn't want to wait until the kids were in bed to put it together (especially because it IS one of the beds). So I opened it up and tucked deep under piles and piles of styrofoam was our crib-- waiting patiently for its thousand pieces to be assembled.

The time your kids most want to help is for the project with the most pieces to lose. So how can you keep your kids happily "helping" while staying safely away from the task that needs to be done?

Yes, those are real nails, screws and screwdrivers, but not a real hammer (I'm crazy, but not that crazy)....And don't forget the eager helper!

Grab one of the styrofoam blocks/boards from the box your "assembly needed" item came in, along with the pictured items.

The rest is pretty self explanatory. The screws really will screw in and out of the styrofoam! My 3 year old enjoyed hammering the nails in the most, but my 6 year old likes using the screwdriver better.

This is a great way to teach your kids about tools. I taught my little guy that different "heads" on screws fit with different kinds of screwdrivers. He also learned the difference between a screw and a nail.

I wish I could take credit for this ready-to-go anytime project, but I heard about it when my little sister went to Marbles Kids Museum in North Carolina. It has provided us with many happy hours of "fixing stuff."

Don't have an order of styrofoam coming in anytime soon? I've seen it being discarded at JoAnn's, as well as the Home Depot. I'm sure a store would be happy to intercept it before it gets to the garbage can for you. Another way to repurpose something!

Have S'more Peeps and Jelly Bean Bling

I'm not going to tell you to do something other than eat your Easter candy...because that's exactly what I'll be doing.  The reality is that in our family we eat our candy.  And we like it.  

I figure I'm making the world a better place one sugar coated confection at a time.  Instead of watching our landfills become piled with Peeps that will never decompose, I am repurposing them for a better cause...S'mores!

As kids we enjoyed watching marshmallows balloon in the microwave.  Their cousin Peeps respond the same way.  You could do it in the oven, but the microwave is faster.  And while you're at it, why buy more chocolate when you could just use a chocolate bunny you already have?

My Microwave Peep S'mores directions:

1.  Top 1 graham cracker square with crumbled chocolate bunny.

2.  Microwave a few seconds to soften the chocolate (microwaves vary)

3.  Add the Peep on top.

4.  Microwave for only a few seconds, and do not walk away.  It will take only seconds for an unattended Peep to plaster the walls of your microwave (this is the best part, why would you want to walk away? Your kids will love this). 

5.  When it balloons, take it out and put the top square on.

6.  Enjoy the snack that took only about 30 seconds to assemble.

And for your jelly beans...

Delay eating your jelly beans for just a moment by using this idea from last year's Easter ideas. I think we will make bracelets, and we'll be using some stretchy jewelry cord.  A fun activity for the kids during spring break!  But of course, I will still be eating my jelly beans.  It will just be off my wrist instead of out of my hand.

Peeps image via seriouseats.com

Natural Egg Coloring

photo via

One of our yearly Easter traditions includes egg decoration. In the past we have used food dyes from the grocery store, or a PAAS brand kits.

Throughout this past year, I have made an effort to eliminate artificial food colorings from my children's diets, so it didn't make sense to go the traditional dye route. How many times have you dyed eggs, only to find the egg white inside almost the same color as the shell? My kids love, love, love to decorate eggs, so I was excited when I read more about natural egg coloring.

Dying your easter eggs with natural colorants will take more preparation time, and will often not produce immediate results- most ot the dyes we used had to soak overnight. With that said, it will be a fun and educational process.

My kids were quite excited to find out that we were going to color our eggs with food. Yes, magic food! For our eggs we used beets, tumeric, and grape juice.

Here is what we did:

For the Beets: (Red/Pink eggs)

Cut about three beets up into large chunks. Place the chunks in a pot with your non-cooked eggs. Add enough water to cover the beets and the eggs. Add two tablespoons of vinegar, and boil for twenty minutes. Remove the eggs. If you desire a bolder color, return the eggs to the beet colored water after it has cooled, and store for additional time in the fridge. If you desire a lighter pink color, boil the beets separate from the the eggs, then add pre-hardboiled eggs to the beet colored water after it has cooled. Allow the eggs to sit in the beet water until desired color is attained.

For the Turmeric: (Yellow Eggs)


Add water to just cover the uncooked eggs in your pan, then add 3 Tablespoons of Tumeric, and 2 Tablespoons of White Vinegar to the water. Boil the eggs for 20 minutes, then remove the eggs. Again, if you desire a more intense color, return the eggs to the tumeric colored water for additional soaking time.

For the Grape Juice: (Blue/Purple Eggs)




You can use either frozen concentrate, or actual grape juice for this. If you use concentrate, to not reconstitute, just allow the concentrate to thaw and use the syrup to color. No cooking is required, but you will need to soak your eggs in the juice or concentrate for several hours, or possibly overnight depending on the intensity desired.

These are the combinations we used, but there are so many other possibilities out there! Red cabbage and onion skins are two other very popular choices. Use the time you are preparing your egg dye to have a very scientific talk about plant pigments :). These pigments are what give the plant its color, and what dye the egg.

Beets: Betalain

Grapes/Cabbage:Anthocyanin
Turmeric:Curcumin

All of these pigments are considered to be health beneficial. In fact, several of them are considered to be cancer preventative (especially curcumin). Much better than the alternative


Here are eggs are, in all of their glory. We used brown eggs (for some reason I can only find brown organic eggs out here in NYC)- so we knew the colors would be a little muted and darker. If you use white eggs, the colors won't be so dark, and your beet colored eggs will appear more pink. Not quite the cute pastel ones we are used to, but my kids were still very excited about how dark these turned out, especially the purple ones. Afterward, we even took some time to paint with our left over dye- which makes a perfect all-natural watercolor.






I am very tempted to get these cute egg holders from to display the eggs in on the table. The set is 50% off right now....however, this recession will probably convince me otherwise.

Any of you have some Easter egg dying/decorating tips that you want to share? Leave a comment!

Have fun with your Easter preparations!

Homemade Rocket Ship

We were tricked by the weather again.  Were you?  It was warm and then it snowed, but I am hoping somewhere, someone is enjoying the sun and will be able to use this fun, easy homemade rocket ship.  My kids have enjoyed them for years and were a little sad when I pulled out all the goods only to see it was too cold outside.

You will need:

• water
• Alka-seltzer tablets
• 35mm film canister
• rocket ship clip art

It is really important to have the correct type of film canister.  The crucial part is having an inner seal.  Next time you are at a store with a photo counter ask them if they have any left over.  Costco or Sams Club usually have an abundance and collect them for recycling.  They won't have any problem giving you some since they will either throw them away or recycle them.  I came home with 25 canisters to use for my daughter's preschool class.
Next, find a rocket ship sized down to about the height of the canister.  I found several cute ones by searching "rocket ship clip art" on Google Image.  Its fun to let your kids decorate and color their own rocket.  This part builds anticipation for the launch.  Attach the rocket to the canister with tape.  Remember the bottom of the rocket is the lid of the canister.
This is definitely an outside activity.  When you find your launching site outside, drop one Alka-Seltzer tablet into each canister.
Fill the canister about half full of water.  Immediately, the Alka-Seltzer will begin to react and bubble.
Quickly, snap the lid into place.  Give the canister a little shake.  Set the rocket on the ground, lid down.  Run away.  Warn your little ones to stay away once the rocket is set.  The party would be ruined if someone got whacked in the face.
3,2,1 Blast off!  Within seconds the pressure inside the canister starts to build until the lid pops and the rocket "launches" into the air.  Oooos and ahhhs come next.  Retrieve the rocket and lid to use again.  One Alka-Seltzer tablet may have 3-4 uses before it runs out of gas.

At least an hour of amusement will come of these little rockets.  This would be easy to take to the park, beach or camping trip.  I hope you and your kids enjoy them as much as we do!

Sensory Matching Game

We are wishing daily that spring will come.  After last weeks big snow fall and a daughter almost in tears over it, we decided we needed to come up with a new game to play at home.  This sensory matching game is easy to make with items from your closet.

You will need:

• 4 card stock cut into four equal pieces (16 squares total)
• household items that fall into the following categories: rough [sandpaper, scouring pad], smooth [aluminum foil, paper, ribbon], hard [wood, metal, pasta] and soft [cotton balls, fabric, pipe cleaners] -- use your imagination.
• glue, scissors and a marker
• blindfold

Write hard, smooth, rough or soft on the back of each card.  Each category gets 4 cards.
On the front side glue on the corresponding item, making two identical cards.  For example, I used cotton balls for soft.  On two cards I wrote soft on the back and glued cotton balls on the front.  Once you have made all your cards lay them out with the item facing up.  For a younger child use fewer cards per game.

Blindfold the child playing.  Instruct her to feel all the cards and select two that are the same.   Set those aside until all the cards are matched up.  Next have your child look at all the matches she made and sort them into the appropriate categories.  Checking the back to verify the answer. 

A fun game for yet another day indoors.

Celebrating Presidents Day

If you managed to do any presidential celebrating this past Monday, I salute you. My family was busy spending time with Dad, who rarely gets a weekday off. If you, like us, did not even take a millisecond on the 16th to honor George and Abe, there is still time.

Technically, President Washington's birthday is on the 22nd of February (as was Presidents Day before 1971). And technically, Presidents Day is still formally called either Presidents Day or Washington's birthday. So, you can feel well within the holiday "boundary" if you are a little late taking some time to talk with your children, or doing some activities to honor these great men. I am feeling like this is one of those "better late than never" kind of moments.

You could start by explaining what exactly a President is. This link will help. It provides information about where the president lives, how he travels, and even provides pictures of presidential pets. I think it makes it easier to comprehend Presidents from the past, when the one presently serving seems more tangible.

Here is a list of all the Presidents, and when they have served. Here is a slideshow of what our past presidents looked/look like, and a link to each individual's biography. My kids think Van Buren's sideburns are hilarious. Actually, they got a kick out of quite a few pictures.


Presidents' Day officially became a Federal Holiday in the 1880's (as Washington's Birthday), and at the time celebrated only President Washington achievements. Officially, this holiday still only honors George Washington, but our country has become more inclusive of other presidents in the celebration, specifically Abraham Lincoln- whose birthday is February 12th.


Here are some craft/activity ideas for some belated Presidents' Day festivities:

George Washington Coloring Page

Abraham Lincoln Coloring Page

Abraham Lincoln Hat











Pretzel Log Cabin

Presidential Pins

Several Presidential Activity Books/Coloring Pages- these are great, especially if you have a child in Pre-K to 3rd grade. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see them.

Top and Log Cabin Picture via Martha Stewart

A Week's Wardrobe

Mornings can be tricky when we are trying to get ourselves out the door in a rush.  It never helps when my girls don't know what to wear or can't find what they want to wear.   They are also young enough to make choices like a skirt and short sleeve shirt for 10 degree weather.  We tried taking time each night to lay out their outfits for the next day, but we are not consistent.  Bedtime is too hectic.  Here is our solution: Days of the Week Outfit Organizer Tags.  

I stumbled on these cute tags designed by Amy Locurto over at www.livinglocurto.com.  She provides them as a free download and are available in bold or pastel colors.  (As a side note she has a lot of cute free downloads for every occasion; birthdays, baby, holidays etc.  Its worth taking a peak.)  

I printed mine on cardstock, cut them out and laminated them for greater durability.  My five year old got super excited about this new routine.  Amy said she and her son would make funny  poses as they laid the clothes out the night before.  Very cute!

Family Fun also has the same idea if you want to make your own.  This would be fun for your older child to design and create her own out of felt.  It may even give her a greater sense of ownership in the dressing process.

A Valentine Medley

With Valentine's this week, I have pink, red, hearts and love on the brain.  Here are three things we are doing in our house.

1) Valentines for classmates = Heart Flower Lollipops

You will need Valentine paper of your choice (something sturdy like card stock is preferable), scissors, glue, a hole punch and of course lollipops.
Cut out hearts (the size will depend on the size of your lollipop...eyeball it).  Using 4 hearts at a time punch a hole through all of them at the bottom of the heart.
Line up the hole and hearts to make a flower.  Glue the layers together.  Write "to" and "from".
Insert lollipop and you have a Heart Flower Lollipop Valentine for your classmates.

2) This little number is for my hubby.  He loves herbal tea.  I like the idea that each time he takes out a tea bag he finds another love note from me...the gift that keeps on loving.  I was thinking you can do this to anything your hubby uses over time, maybe even notes in different pant pockets.  Just an idea.

3) Now lets not forget the old time classics.  Roses from chocolate kisses for the teachers.  You will need red cellophane, thick wire, green paper hearts (for the leaves), floral tape and chocolate kisses.

Put bottoms of kisses together.  Wrap with cellophane.  Hold firmly with wire and tightly wrap with floral tape around the kisses and wire adding in leaves down the stem.

A bunch of these cute things, a ribbon and a simple tag made by my daughter will be the perfect gift for her teachers.

Please share any fun ideas you have going this Valentine's week.  

Happy L O V E Day!

Out with the Old, in with the New-ish

It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt. In this case, it was my husband's sweater. He likes to spin my 15 month old girl above him like a pizza, and that was the last daredevil stunt that sweater performed. I'm sure you wonder how I can handle the spinning and tossing my husband does with all our kids. I'll tell you... You look away. I have to admit, it is nice to know we could move seamlessly into a circus act if the economy gets any worse.

So back to the real victim in all of this-- the sweater. It was a small rip, but not in a fixable location (his bicep--yeah he was proud of that one). So what do I do with a sweater we love, can't wear, but can't bear to throw away? Play Frankenstein and end up with a pair of mittens you will love!

I found this idea through my best friend growing up, Sara. She got me starting birthday week and I wish her and her fun husband all the best in their hope to adopt their first! Sara is so crafty, so of course she has crafty friends. One of which was on a morning show to give step-by- step instructions for these "handy" mittens. So cute, and so just what my freezing hands need right now.

Click here for the free mitten pattern, and click here for the free written directions. OR shell out $50 for a pair just like them (minus being your old sweater) from baabaazuzu.com

You never realized cutting up an old sweater could save you $50, did you?

Crayon Hearts

I was inspired by Martha Stewart today.  My daughter and I had a fun afternoon putting these cute Valentine hearts together with a few things we already had at home.

Start with unwrapping some Valentine color crayons; pink, red, purple, and even some red-orange.  I went over board on this step.  We really only ended up using about 10 crayons, but hey they are ready and unwrapped for the next project.
Ellie used a pencil sharpener to create her crayon shavings while I used a vegetable peeler.
Place a piece of paper, brown paper bag or newspaper on your ironing board to protect it.  Then lay down a sheet of wax paper.  Lightly sprinkle on your crayon shavings.  Be mindful to evenly spread your crayons throughout. 
Apply another sheet of wax paper on top of the crayon shavings.  Then add another sheet of paper, brown paper bag or newspaper on top of that.   This will protect your iron. 
With your iron on medium heat, make several passes over the papers.  Check often.  Once  your crayons have melted and your wax paper seals then you are done.  Allow to cool.  We decided on a marbled look.  The more you melt the crayons the more the colors blend and disperse throughout.  For a marbled heart, be careful to check often and stop ironing just when the crayon melts but doesn't quite blend.
We traced hearts in three different sizes using our cookie cutters.  Cut them out.   Thread with string and hang them on a window.  The picture doesn't really show how the light shines through.  They are a happy addition to our Valentine festivities.

2 favorite, easy Christmas crafts

Our family loves making snowflakes, especially my husband.  Years ago we made intricate snowflakes to adorn our Christmas tree.  We still use them.  I love that the dark green Christmas tree provides a nice backdrop for the white snowflakes.  

Last year my husband spent hours cutting small snowflakes for our Christmas cards.  I attached them to green and red card stock using spray adhesive.  Simple and inexpensive. 

This year my daughter is interested in making her own.  Our secret: use tissue paper.  Its light-weight feature is perfect for tiny hands and scissors.  

My snowflakes never turn out as impressive as my husbands.  I finally found out why.  There is an art to making the perfect snowflake.  Click here for step by step instructions.  You can't go wrong.  These whimsical art pieces are perfect for decorating this holiday season.

These adorable mini stockings were a cinch to make.  The template comes from Martha Stewart and is easy to follow and takes little time to whip up (there's still time).    Using felt means no lining.  Don't even bother to turn them inside out.  Cut the hem with pinking shears for a cute zig-zag edge.  

I love the versatility of these small beauties.  Martha suggests using them for an advent calendar, which I love (maybe next year).   I've used them on a garland swag, as a gift card holder, to decorate a present, to hold a special treat or note and even as a Christmas tree ornament.

There are hundreds of Christmas craft choices our there....these are 2 of my favorites....because they are easy.  Happy holiday crafting.