SALT DOUGH SEA STARS
Most of us will be spending the summer at home this year but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the wonders of the sea. Bring the vacation vibe to you at home by making a salt dough sea star in your own kitchen. Salt dough is a kind of molding clay that hardens when you bake it and is simple to make.
Before you make your sea star you may want to show your child photographs of real sea stars so that they can see the variations in size, color, and texture for inspiration. You can also turn this craft into a mini science lesson and research a few interesting facts about sea stars together. A few that we found are:
Here's what you need to get started:
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Once your sea star is dry you can leave it the way it is or you can paint it. Older children may want to use acrylics whereas younger children may want to use washable tempera paint. A layer of Mod Podge may also be used to give your sea star a more finished look.
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COFFEE FILTER BUTTERFLY
This classic craft has been a crowd pleaser for years and incorporates a bit of science for that wow factor. It's a simple spring craft that your child will want to do over and over again and it will add some cheer to your home. We've hung our butterflies in our window for people passing by to admire.
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NATURE EASTER CRAFT
This is an Easter project that encourages your child to go outside, use items found in nature, and create something beautiful for the Easter celebration. This craft is simple, doesn't require much prep, fosters creativity, and is enjoyable for all. You can make your craft a permanent fixture with glue or use it as an ongoing activity as you create art that symbolizes new life.
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We hope you enjoy this creative project inspired by nature. Happy Easter!
]]>FAIRY GARDEN
The weather is warming up and Spring is almost here! This activity is sure to get your little ones excited about the upcoming season. One of our favorite springtime activities is to garden or plant flowers so we decided to add a whimsical element and create our very own fairy garden...or gnome garden, or elf garden, or whatever your child fancies.
There are so many ways to create a fairy garden, so your child can really use their creativity and imagination with this project and take the lead. Fairy gardens can be made out of any container, many of which you may have at home or can find at your local dollar store. Here are a few ideas:
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Your child may be inspired by items they already have but it's also fun to create your own! We made a bench out of craft sticks and then decided to paint it the next day. We also used items from nature such as twigs to make a teepee for our second garden. The ideas are endless and you can keep adding to your project as you wish.
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Let your child nurture their imagination and curiosity with this enchanting project.
]]>HEART COLLAGE
This is a lovely art project that your child can do independently, either for Valentine's Day or for any occasion when they want to show some love. A collage is a process where you arrange and glue various pieces onto a flat surface to create an entirely new piece. The focus of this project is the process, which means that it is art enjoyed for the simple act of making and not for the end product. Process Art gives your child a lot of creative freedom and is a lot of fun! We did this project two different ways. For the first project we used all three colors together to make one collage. For the second, we focused on monochromatic color and made three separate collages.
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We hope you enjoy the open-ended process of making these lovely hearts!
]]>WINTER ANIMAL PUPPETS
These adorable winter animal puppets are the perfect addition to your creative play. They're easy to make and are something the entire family can have fun with together. This craft can be as simple as just using paint, or you can elaborate as much as you want with elements from nature or whatever crafty odds and ends you have at home.
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We hope you enjoy the process of making these puppets as you do playing with them during the Winter months. Enjoy time with family and friends as you make up adventures for these furry friends to go on.
]]>CRAFT STICK NATIVITY ORNAMENT
As you prepare for Christmas, make wonderful memories with your children and teach them about its true meaning with this sweet ornament craft. It's simple, smells oh so lovely, and is something you'll remember each and every year. This child-friendly, lightweight ornament is one that will be fun to make and will look beautiful on your tree!
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GRATITUDE TREE
Invite your little ones to share what they are grateful for by creating a Gratitude Tree. You can add a new leaf each day with your child or make them all at once.
Older children can write their own words but younger children may need to dictate and have an adult write for them. The use of pictures or photographs is another option for little ones who can't read yet. Ideas may include: family, friends, pets, a special quality or talent, a favorite place to go, something in nature, a favorite food to eat, a feeling, etc.
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When you are finished, talk with your child about all they have to be grateful for. Make sure to display your child's Gratitude Tree somewhere special. It also makes a great centerpiece for Thanksgiving Dinner and you can extend this activity by having your guests add to the tree as they arrive.
]]>DECOUPAGE PUMPKIN
Are you getting ready to decorate pumpkins with your little ones? Decoupage is a great no-carve option and the ideas you can apply using this technique are endless!
What is decoupage? To decoupage is to glue objects onto another object. Traditionally it is done with paper but you can get creative and use materials such as leaves, flowers, fabric, photographs, book pages, wrapping paper, confetti, napkins, or tissue paper!
For our examples, we chose to use real leaves, newsprint, and tissue paper to show you how different materials look. If using real leaves, we recommend pressing them for a short while to flatten them (we pressed overnight) but make sure to use them before they dry.
Use your "create" token to make this October craft!
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Happy Decorating!
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FALL NATURE PAINTING
Fall is a beautiful time of year to go on walks and collect all sorts of treasures. Have your little ones gather objects from nature and then use them to paint with. There are so many options such as leaves, pine cones, pine needles, acorns, stones, chestnuts, tree bark and sticks. When we use unconventional objects, our painting turns into a more sensorial experience and children learn to think outside of the box.
For this activity, focus on the process rather than the end product. Children learn through play and open-ended activities and process art allows children to explore, create and have fun. The focus for this activity is the experience.
Use your "get outside" as well as your "create" token for this piece. If you do this activity with another family member or friend you can use your "share" token while you share the objects. If you want to give one of your prints to someone, maybe even your teacher, you can use your "show love" token. Hang your fall process art on the wall using a set of wooden rails from My Daughter Florence and admire your masterpiece!
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TIME CAPSULE
Before the school year begins, have your child create a "Time Capsule" that they can open on the last day of school. This a sweet little keepsake that is a lot of fun to put together. At the end of the year your child will enjoy comparing their measurements, reading what their "favorites" were, and receiving a few treats from their past selves. Use your "create" token to complete this activity!
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Do the following and add to your mason jar capsule!
UCYCLED CARDBOARD CAMERA
Does your child like to be in front of the camera or always want to view the photos you've taken of them? Are they interested in photography but aren't quite ready for a real camera of their own? If so, use your "create" token to make this upcycled cardboard camera made from common household items.
Talk with your child about why we take photographs and ask them what they might want to take photographs of. Do they want to capture special moments with family and friends or do they want to take pictures of things that interest them? They might enjoy looking through some family albums to see what you've taken photos of or browsing through the photographs in cooking, garden, home or travel magazines. You can even discuss how some people take pictures professionally.
Younger children will enjoy using their camera a part of their dramatic play at home. Older children will enjoy the creative and design process and can view their camera as a piece of art. You can follow this simple simple camera design or make yours as complex as you'd like! Provide various boxes, tubes, containers, caps, straws, paper etc. and let your child's imagination run wild.
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TWIG FLAG
We love crafts that use natural materials and this twig flag is perfect for the Fourth of July! Have your child use their "get outside" token to collect various twigs and then use their "create" token to make this craft.
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You can prop your flag on a shelf or attach a string to the back and hang it on a wall or door.
Enjoy your masterpiece and Happy Fourth of July!
]]>PRESSED FLOWER BOOKMARK
Any dad would be delighted with this thoughtful bookmark made by your little one. Use your "get outside" and "create" token to gather the flowers and make the bookmark, as well as your "show love" token when you give it to someone special.
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DOUGH ROLLER
This simple dough roller craft encourages creativity, strengthens fine motor skills, and helps the environment by reducing waste.
Upcycled projects teach children to be environmentally conscious and push them to think outside the box.
Have your child use their "create" token to make this craft.
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Glue gun safety: Please read and follow the instructions and warnings provided by your glue gun's manufacturer. For our craft, the child dictated the design and the adult used the glue gun to create it.
NATURE BUTTERFLY
Making art from nature is a great way to get outside, think creatively and have fun! This butterfly craft is the perfect spring project for your little explorers and artists.
First use your "explore/ get outside" token to go on a nature hunt and look for materials that you would like to use to make your craft. Your child can use any natural material they see such as leaves, twigs, flowers, stones, feathers, etc.
Then use your "create" token to make your butterfly craft!
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PAINTED ROCKS
This sweet and simple craft is perfect for Mother's Day! Rock painting is a great way to get outside, enjoy the sunshine, and be creative. Mother's and Grandmother's can use their rocks as paperweights or decorations in their homes and gardens. You can use your "create" and "show love" tokens to make this special gift for a loved one.
We chose to paint rocks with both spring florals and cacti and we love how they turned out! A cactus is a great option for a younger child as it only requires painting rocks green and then adding white detail. This is something that my two year old was able to do! The florals can be as simple or elaborate as you want them to be.
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Easter is almost here so I wanted to share a simple craft that family and friends are sure to love. You can use your "create" token to make this craft, and even your "show love" token if you'd like to give this craft to someone special, as we plan to do. I've included two ideas for this collage: one that can be hung as wall art (with gorgeous magnetic rails!) and another that can be hung on a hook, in the window, on a wreath, or...just about anywhere!
Materials:
Cardboard egg tracer, cardstock paper, kraft paper (2-3 for each craft depending on style), pencil for tracing, scissors, paint, brush, glue, hole puncher, string.
OPTION 1:
Step 1: Trace two egg shapes, one on white cardstock for painting and one on brown kraft for gluing pieces onto.
Step 2: Cut out brown kraft paper egg and glue onto piece of cardstock.
Step 3: Paint white cardstock egg with desired colors.
Step 4: After paint has dried, cut out painted egg shape and then cut into strips.
Step 5: Glue painted strips onto brown kraft egg.
Step 6: After craft has dried, hang to display!
OPTION 2:
Same idea as above, but only using two egg shapes. Instead of mounting the egg on cardstock, punch a hole at the top and tie a string to hang!
MEET LO
Hey there, I’m Lo! I was born and raised in NorCal but now live by the beach in sunny SoCal with my hubby, son, and dog, Parker. I have degrees in both Fine Arts as well as Elementary Education and taught kindergarten for 11 years before deciding to stay at home with my son. Now I love to create fun, meaningful, hands-on crafts and activities that both my son and I enjoy together, and I hope you will too as I’m really excited to share my ideas with the MDF community! If you'd like to see more crafting ideas, you can follow my IG account @teaching_baby_t.
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Let's take our little explorers outside and venturing through Spring with our Explore Token and Spring Explorer Guide Printable!
Print this Spring Explorer Guide and take it with you on your next adventure outdoors, taking in all the goodness Spring has to offer.
]]>If you’re a mom, you’ve definitely stressed over how you’re going to raise your kids right. One of the “right ways” I’ve stressed about, continually think about is, but how are they going to learn responsibility... and what can I do to help...
Well, here’s an article that hit the nail on the head for me.
]]>I love having a child that grounds me as an adult so that I can help teach and nurture, but also helps me to challenge myself as we learn how to live this life together.
You can also enjoy 15% off hanging rails with this code: TOGETHER
Enjoy!
Print Download 8x10 HERE
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With school back in session, and in our case, having this year the first time my 3yo daughter and I have ever spent the day away... She's in Pre-K3 and so it's been a bit of an adjustment knowing what to do with our days apart. We packed in a fun day of catching up this morning and chit-chatting over making some cookies together before we met our friends at the park.
Per Quinn's request, we decided to use our use our "service token" to make something for her friends before our park date. Love making little tasks for Quinn to do while we bake together so we can actually get the measurements some-what right... Her special job this time was to unwrap the chocolate kisses. Worked like a charm, and took her just enough time for me to finish mixing everything, get our things together for the park, and take a couple pictures. Win-win.
We tried a new recipe and it's tested and proven to be a repeat in our home. Here's the recipe! Let us know if, not when, you try it!
]]>Do you ever meet someone and automatically know you sort of want to keep track of them for life? Today's 'Mom Feature' has definitely been one of those for me! We connected while both in Tokyo (more about that below) and she's inspired me since.
]]>Do you ever meet someone and automatically know you sort of want to keep track of them for life? Today's 'Mom Feature' has definitely been one of those for me! We connected while both in Tokyo (more about that below) and she's inspired me since.
Nicole and her beautiful family live in Salt Lake City, Utah. She's got the capsule wardrobe thing down, does hip hop, and has created a way for women to prioritize creativity. Plus she has some really smart things to say about failure. Welcome, Nicole!
Tell us about you and your family:
I'm an Idahoan from Idaho Falls! I married my high school crush, and we have one beautiful little two year old daughter Remington. My husband is currently in a masters program here in Salt Lake City. I served an LDS mission in Tokyo Japan and received my associates at Utah State and then a Bachelors at BYU-I in photography. I currently run my own photography business (@colemaxfieldphoto) shooting weddings, commercial, and families. As for hobbies I love to play tennis, guitar, and musical theatre.
What do your days look like?
Ever since I added exercise to my daily routine, I've had so much more energy so that's usually in the morning if I don't have an exercise class in the afternoon. I just remember one day getting so frustrated that I would make exercising goals but never follow through. One day I just stopped my procrastination and it was a huge life changer. There's nothing extra special about my day except I like to do one thing for Remington before her nap, like go to the park, and then one thing I need to get done after her nap, for example grocery shopping, or visa versa. My husband gets home around 5, we eat dinner, give Remington a bath and then she goes to bed. Date night has been a great outlet for my husband and I to do other things outside the house besides watch Bachelor and This is Us, haha!
What’s your favorite part of nurturing your family?
I want my children to have confidence. I feel like if they understand their worth, then they'll make good decisions in their future. I heard the coolest quote online the other day from an article by Dr. Meeker called, "The Secret to Raising a Happy Confident Girl." Towards the end it says, "More than anything, kids need to know the answers to three things; What do you think about me? Do you understand me? What are your hopes for me? Express those to your girl, and her future will be brighter than ever." This is kind of my theme in nurturing my family. Every night before Remington goes to bed, I ask her a series of questions. Do you know you're kind? Do you know you're smart? Do you know you're important? etc. She always hugs me so tight after we talk about how much I love her.
Isn't it funny that when we study a subject in college we buy all these kinds of books to become a professional at our trade? Yet when it comes to the most important role of all being a parent, why don't we do the same? It's kind of motivated me to search out words of knowledge to parent better. I've come to realize that my role as a Mom holds important responsibilities, but as I love my little children, I feel like I'm in a healthy direction.
How do you change your routine and home for different seasons?
Okay this is one I'm really needing to get better at! I want to create fun traditions in our home for holidays that aren't just presents, but memories and activities. We found a really fun Halloween tradition that I'd love to share called "spooky cookies." We make Halloween cookies, put them on plates and dress up in dark clothing. We hook a long dark string on the plate, hold the other end in our hand, ring the doorbell of the person we're delivering these too, and hide as fast as you can! As we hold onto the string, right before the person reaches to pick up the cookies we pull the string and the plate moves and scares them! It's really fun, and to this day my little girl talks about how excited she is to do it again! It offers a good laugh, great conversation, and a better relationship with our neighbors and friends.
What are the hobbies/interest you still (as a mom) maintain and make time for?
I'm on a hip hop crew team that meets twice a week. This has been such a fun thing to be a part of. I've also been trying to read more books, which has kept me off of social media more, and watching less TV. Then I always love to go play tennis. I've gotten my husband to play with me, and he has gotten really good! So now I have a tennis partner to play with .
Hip hop? That's awesome. How did you get into that?
I felt like I was in a rut with life a little bit.. not exercising, not feeling like myself you know? We went to go get ice cream in downtown Salt Lake and we saw these hip hop dancers in their studio just having a ball. I turned to my husband and said, this is what I should do! He bought me a pass for my birthday, and my first class was amazing. It brought me so much joy, so I tried out for the hip hop crew and I made it!
My coach has this saying, "be a lion." There are so many scared zebras and for what? Why be scared? Nervous? Insecure? When you can be your beautiful confident self, your lion, who God wants you to be. Think if we all believed in ourselves? Loved ourselves? We would have the most beautiful relationships devoid of hate, jealousy, and more progression. So dance has taught me to not be scared and to just accept and love myself.
Any ideas about mom-friendships, supporting other moms, and finding your tribe?
Mom friendships are important, and I feel like everyone wants to feel loved and wanted. Find people who are kind, and love you for you. Don't worry and stress about those who seem to not reciprocate your efforts to be with them. Love them, but find those who want to be with you!
The older I get the more I realize that close friendships, those golden friends, don't come around all the time, so when they do, nurture them, and cherish them! Friendships are such a blessing. We weren't meant to do this life by ourselves.
Any wardrobe or beauty tips you’d like to share?
The clothing industry mass produces products all the time, so clothes almost ALWAYS will be discounted within a few weeks. You can save so much money if you just wait a week or two. I have such a minimalist view on clothing because I live in a tiny apartment, so my rule of thumb is to only buy things I REALLY REALLY like. Things that are well made, and add variety to my wardrobe capsule.
Tell us about Salt & Co Design: What is it and why did you start it?
We started Salt and Co to create more outlets for women to meet new friends. I feel like a lot of times hanging out with friends entails going out to lunch or a movie, but Salt and Co provides cheap workshops to go with someone you know, or meet new friends! You learn new fun skills from a professional, and we give you the tools to take home and continue this new talent! It's really fun! We've done a floral workshop, watercolor, fresh wreath making, and yoga! Our Instagram is @saltcodesign.
When we first met, you talked about how you have failed a lot but you try anyways, and failure puts you in the same category as some really great people - Abe Lincoln, for one. Is that still a relevant theme of your life now?
Yes. This applies so much to my life now as it does then. Being a parent humbled me very quickly. It's hard! I fail daily, and I have to learn again and again to be kind to myself. To hug my past faulty self. It's important to progress and not stay still. I ask myself, "what am I struggling with right now?" I'm a Christian so I get on my knees and ask God to help me with that specific thing. Then I get up, trust Him, and work to become better. There's a beauty in joy isn't there? To laugh and to enjoy life. If I'm not feeling joy, something is wrong. We have the right to have miracles in our lives and sometimes our mindset is what's getting in the way. If you put a flea in a jar with a lid, it'll jump about half the length of the jar. However if you take the lid off, the flea will jump almost a foot out of the jar. We as humans sometimes put lids on ourselves, and it stunts our progression and joy. So take your lids off and let yourself see and live miracles.
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Thank you, Nicole! What a great perspective on gathering knowledge in the roles of parenthood just like you would a career, and for so many ideas for incorporating fun and creativity into our lives. Oh and I'm already making a memo to 'give my past faulty self a hug'. Thanks so much for showing us how you mom!
]]>Here's a fun playlist, of old and new that could make your clean-up experience with your family a little more fun and memorable!
Hey friends, Easter weekend is almost here!
I’ve simplified our Easter baskets this year in exchange for some new traditions based more on welcoming spring and celebrating Easter Sunday. We’re doing an Easter advent this week and have been flying this simple little kite when we go outside everyday. I’m still looking for other fun ways to ‘welcome spring’. Any easy ideas? In the meantime, here are two free Easter prints for some last-minute decorating.
This bunny print:
Print up to 20”x 33”, for a clear image, download here
And for any of you celebrating the Christian origins of Easter, I recently came across this beautiful sketch done by Rembrandt himself:
Print up to 24”x17”, for a clear image, available here
Happy Easter week!
-Mariah
(Both of these images are for personal use only.)
]]>Here are some our favorite things from other small shops! Planning on stuffing our Easter Baskets full of these goodies this year!
1// Bravery Mag 2// Arrow Pack by Walker Family Goods 3// Our Chore Chart! 4// Me: A Compendium: A Fill-in Journal for Kids by Wee Society 5// Sparkle Gel Crayons 6// Ballet Dress Alice + Ames 7// Mini Natural U-Shopper by Plum & Sparrow
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