DIY Paper Lantern Hot Air Balloons

I just love seeing hot air balloons floating up in the sky.  They are so beautiful!  I wanted to recreate that beauty at home, and made some gorgeous colorful hot air balloons out of paper lanterns.  They really are very easy to put together, and look great in a nursery, child's room, or as party decor!

I'm sharing my fun tutorial today over on the Darice blog Live. Craft. Love.  I'd love for you to check it out and leave a comment.

Have a great day!

xo, Laura

Apple Candy Dish for Teacher Appreciation Week

With Teacher Appreciation Week quickly approaching (May 5th-9th this year), I thought I'd whip up a quick and easy craft that is the perfect gift to show a teacher you care.  As a former elementary school teacher, I know how much work really goes into teaching our little ones, and how great it feels when students take the time to write a quick little note or make me something- it was the best feeling!

This week I'm excited to be teaming up with the Craft Lightening ladies to bring you lots of great ideas for Teacher Appreciation Week!  This little apple candy dish would look great on a teacher's desk, and is filled with candy for when the end of the day is coming and he or she needs a little sugar… been there done that!

I chose gold coins, because our teachers are truly worth their weight in gold!  This craft is pretty easy, and can be made in under 15 minutes (not including the paint drying time).

Here's what you'll need:

• Paper mache apple (I bought mine at Michael's a year or two ago, but found a link to them in an etsy shop here)
• Red spray paint
• Craft knife
• Sharp knife
• Free leaf printable
• Candy to go inside the apple- you could also use school supplies like paper clips, erasers, etc.

Directions:

1.  Using a pencil, draw a light line horizontally all the way around the apple to show where you will cut.  Use a craft knife to carefully cut the apple in half .  I assumed that the apple would be hollow, but it was Styrofoam in the middle.  Once you have made the cut with the craft knife, use a regular sharp knife (be careful) to slice the apple all the way through so there is a top half and a bottom half.

2.  Once the apple is cut, use the knife to cut down around the inside top and bottom of the apple, and scoop out the excess Styrofoam with a spoon.  Cut and remove until the apple is hollowed out and smooth around the edges.  

3.  Spray the apple inside and out with a few light coats of red glossy spray paint.

4.  Print out the free leaf printable and cut out the leaf.  Wrap the leaf stem around the base of the apple stem, and use a small piece of tape to secure the leaf to the apple.

5.  Fill the apple with treats or small school supplies for the teacher.

Told you it was easy!

Your child will move to the head of the class with this cute little apple teacher gift, and you'll be glad that it only took you 15 minutes of hands-on time to make!

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

xo, Laura

DIY Lighted Marquee Letters

I just love the look of those large beautiful marquee letters with round lights inside each letter.  I love them so much in fact, I made my own mini set!

These letters look great as a decoration for a party, or even just to add a little something to your decor at home!  You can check out the full tutorial on my first design team post on Darice's blog, Live. Craft. Love.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

xo, Laura

Painted Easter Bunny Jars

If you're a regular reader of my blog, then you probably already know that I'm a huge fan of baby food jars.  What's not to love about them?  They're cute and petite, durable, and free if you have a baby, or a friend with a baby!  I thought I'd put the rest of my baby food jars to good use to create a cute Easter craft- painted Easter bunny jars!

These jars can be used as decor items, to fill with treats and give away to friends and family, or even as little favors or treats for everyone on the Easter table.  However you decide to use them, these cute little bunnies are very easy to make, and look great!

I put my big box of paint to use again that Krylon sent me (see yesterday's $2 candy dish post for another great use for their spray paint), but this time I used their Dual Paint + Primer in Modern White Gloss, which was perfect for the job because it is a paint and primer in one can that gives a great thick coverage, which means less coats for you to paint!

Supplies:

• Baby food jars (I used varying sizes of jars)
• White spray paint
• Pink and black multi-surface paint
• Small paintbrush
• Small piece of white felt
• Scissors (fabric scissors work best to cut the felt)
• Glue gun

Spray the outside each of the jars that you're using with white spray paint.  Make sure to spray multiple layers of thin, even coats for the best coverage and to avoid drips.  I sprayed these right side up on some newspaper with the lids left on, since I didn't want any paint going inside the jars (paint + food = big no no).  Let dry between coats, and then let the jars dry thoroughly before the next step.

Using a small paintbrush and some black multi-surface black craft paint, paint two tiny eyes, a little triangle nose, and a small line going straight down for the nose.  To add a little more color and character, once the black paint was dry I painted on two small pink circles for rosy cheeks.

While the cheeks are drying, cut out two ears for each bunny jar from the white felt.  I had planned on cutting two pink pieces to go inside the white ears, but realized two late that all of my pink felt had been used.  Use a glue gun to carefully glue a thick line of glue on the top center of the jar, and stick the ears right down in the glue and let cool.  This worked perfectly to create those cute little bunny ears!

And there you have it, adorable little bunny jars to decorate with or give away, that you made out of something that probably would have been thrown away!  Give yourself a pat on the back ;)

For more baby food jar fun, check out these popular projects that I've also made with baby food jars!

Rainbow Cakes in a Jar, perfect for St. Patrick's Day, or any time of the year.  You can even make these in custom colors for a birthday party or holiday!

Monsters University Mini Cakes, baked inside baby food jars.

Baby Food Jar Planter- You can make this great decor piece from a scrap piece of wood and baby food jars and use it as planters, vases, or candleholders!

Baby Food Jar Party Favors, customizable for any party.

xo, Laura

DIY Candy Dish {Made for Just $2}

I love throwing parties and entertaining family and friends, and today I'm sharing with you a great way I came up with to serve candy (or anything else) in a pretty pedestal bowl with a stand that can be customized in any color! 

Want to know the best part?  Each candy bowl on a stand can be made for only $2!  Cool, right?  These little dishes are the perfect holders for serving candy at parties, entertaining, decoration, or just for snacking on at home!  You can fill it with anything, too, it doesn't have to be just candy…. there's endless possibilities!  My friends at Krylon sent me a big box of free paint to play with, so I have been doing lots of painting this week, and can't wait to share more fun crafts with you!

Here are the easy directions!  These dishes do come with a warning- "Highly Addictive," because once you make one, you're going to want to keep going and making more!  You have been warned.

Supplies: 

• Small- medium-glass bowl (Check your local dollar store- my bowl was only $1)
• Candlestick (Also from the dollar store for just $1)
• Spray paint in your preferred color (I used Krylon's Blue Ocean Breeze, one of my favorite Krylon colors!)
• E6000 adhesive, or another strong adhesive or glue

1.  Spray paint the top, bottom, and sides of the candlestick.  Be sure to spray in multiple thin coats, which will allow for better coverage.  

2.  Once the paint is dry, use some E600 to trace a thin ring of adhesive around the top of the candlestick.  Don't use too much glue- you don't want it oozing out from the candlestick.

Let dry according to the directions on the glue that you use, and voila, a beautiful little glass candy dish that matches your home or party decor!  And for only $2?  As Martha would say, "It's a good thing." ;)

Happy crafting!

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

xo, Laura

Creative Indoor Kids Crafts with Crayola

These creative kids crafts are part of a sponsored post for Collective Bias and Crayola at Walmart. #ColorfulCreations #Collective Bias

This weekend we had a couple very rare rainstorms here in Southern California, which was a nice change, but meant that we were stuck inside for a few days.  Luckily for me, I had just purchased some Crayola crayons, washable kids paint, and sidewalk chalk at Walmart, so we were all set for some fun craft time!  You know I'll find any excuse to get creative and make something, and luckily my kids love creating just as much as I do!

There was a large area devoted to Crayola products at Walmart and a huge selection, which was great, because they had tons to choose from.



We decided to create three different crafts with our new Crayola supplies- painted animal rocks, leaf and flower rubbings, and fingerprint animals.

Painted Animal Rocks

Supplies:

• Small to medium sized rocks
• Crayola Washable Kids Paint
• Paintbrushes

These painted animal rocks were the kids' favorite craft of the day.  When there was a break in the rain, we went outside and collected rocks that we could paint to look like different animals.  We went back inside and the kids brainstormed what animals they thought their rocks looked like, and then got to work painting!

My kindergartner decided to paint her rock blue, with a cheerful pink and purple butterfly in the center.

My son found the perfect broken rock to make the shell of a turtle!  

He decided to paint an oval rock brown for the head, and then we glued them together with a strong glue to make them stick.

My oldest made a blue dragon, complete with small, detailed scales.  She used smaller sharp rocks painted white for the ears, and added a few colored scales to the dragon's back.  

I loved her creativity!

You know I had to get in on the fun, too!  I chose to make two insects, a ladybug and a bumblebee!

Even my two year old had fun creating!  The best thing about this paint is that it's washable!  I didn't worry when my son had paint all over his shirt and hands because it all washed right out, which is perfect for my four kids and their messes!  

Fingerprint Animals:

Supplies:

• Ink pads (or paint would work as well)
• Crayola crayons
• Paper, blank cards, to tags

This fingerprint animal craft was SO easy, and kept my kids occupied for a long time, which is always a good thing!  

All they had to do was press their finger or thumb into one of my ink pads, press their finger down onto paper or a tag to leave a round print, and then use their crayons to add the details to their fingerprint animals with their crayons. 

My five year old made two cute little tags, one for her grandma and one for her grandpa who were taking her to a play later that day.

My son decided to create a jungle scene with his thumbprints, complete with a swinging monkey and bird up in her nest!

I love that there are so many possibilities with this craft!  You can create any animal you want with just the tips of your fingers, ink, and some crayons, which makes this craft easy and so fun!  Plus, who doesn't love a fresh new big pack of crayons?  My kids were practically drooling when they saw the new big box I bought them, and all of the great color choices they had!

Leaf Rubbings:

Supplies:

• Leaves, flowers, and other mostly flat items from nature
• Crayola sidewalk chalk
• paper

Now when you think sidewalk chalk, you think about big pictures drawn by your kids out in the yard, right?  But when it's raining or snowing outside, that's not an option.  We decided to get creative with the sidewalk chalk indoors, and make nature rubbings with the chalk and some leaves, flowers, etc. that we found out in the yard when there was a small break in the rain.

Here's what we gathered…

The directions are simple.  Place a leaf or other somewhat flat item from nature underneath a piece of paper (the thinner the better- we used copy paper which worked great), and carefully rub over the paper and leaf with the sidewalk chalk.

You'll find that some leaves and items work better than others, so it's an experiment to see what worked and what doesn't.  This is a great opportunity for discussion with your kids, too, as to why one leaf made a great rubbing (maybe it was thicker and had deeper veins), and flower didn't work as well (maybe the petals were too thin to leave a mark).  

You could also use this as a way to discuss different types of plants and their characteristics, what plants need to grow, etc.  As a former elementary school teacher, I know that the best way to teach is to tie learning into fun activities, and sometimes your kids won't even realize you're teaching them science because they're having so much fun!

I hope I inspired you to get creative with your kids indoors!  Crayola has so many great products, perfect for keeping your kids thinking and creating when the weather isn't cooperating and your kids are stuck indoors.  

Happy creating!

xo, Laura

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