Crafts

Children’s DIY Chalkboard

0 · Jun 28, 2013 · 2 Comments

This post brought to you by Michaels // This summer has been a blast so far. I've been having a ball coming up with fun projects and activities for the kiddos while they are home. Emily has been going to Michaels Passport to Imagination Craft Camp for the last couple of weeks, and she has been having a ball. She's made some fun new friends and has really enjoyed learning about North & South America through some fabulous hands on activities. In the next couple of weeks, they will be traveling to several other parts of the world. Don't worry if you haven't had a chance to head over to your local Michaels stores, The Passport to Imagination runs for several more weeks and is only $2 for each class. Come on over your kiddos will love it!

Emily enjoying Michael's Passport to Imagination Craft Camp

Emily decided we wanted to come up with a project that would be perfect for your kiddos over the summer. After class we went and wandered Michaels and she decided that we needed to make a Children's Chalkboard. She has been around for all of my chalkboard projects and has developed a love for the slate & chalk just like her Mom. We decided that kiddos need to have a chalkboard of their very own that they can play around with, but if it's loved a little too much, it won't be a big deal. Here is what we came up with…

Here are the supplies that we gathered…

Stylish wood frame
Krylon Cherry Red spray paint
Ultra black mounting board
Chalk
Water bottle

This is so easy and fun to do with your kiddos. First, you need to spray paint your frame, let it dry completely. Cut your ultra black mounting board down to size and then hot glue onto the back of the frame. You should probably take care of the hot glue part, rather than the kiddos. But, this is a great beginners spray paint project. Take them outside and teach them the finer points of spray paint.

Next, all you have to do is rub white chalk all over the board and rub it off with a paper towel. Your chalkboard seasoned and ready to go!!

Emily thought it would be cool to have a special spot for her chalk as well, so we found and inexpensive water bottle at Michaels and used it as a chalk keeper.

We just dressed it up with some ribbon and yarn that we had laying around and voila… You have a fun chalk keeper for your kiddos to go along with their chalkboard! Now they can make all kinds of lists or play games on their board and after it's loved a little too much you can replace the mounting board and it's as good as new!! Total Rock Star Mom Move!!

Come on over to Michael's this week and check out the Passport to Inspiration along with Emily. After class you can grab some chalkboard supplies and go home and make your very own children's chalkboard.

Disclaimer // This is a post sponsored by Michaels Crafts. I received free product for this post, however… all thoughts, ideas and opinions are my very own.

Friday Flair Link Party // Feature Edition No. 3

0 · Jun 28, 2013 · 30 Comments

Friday Flair Link Party // It's FRIDAY!! I'm so happy. This week has been super busy… My sweetheart has been out of town and I've had projects galore going all week, not to mention taking care of the kiddos. Hopefully we can slow down for a bit this weekend… I'm not holding my breath.

All of our Canadian friends are celebrating Canada Day this weekend as we get ready to celebrate the 4th of July.. Wow, summer is almost half over! Here are some fabulous summer inspiration from Last week's Friday Flair…

german chocolate cake // peanut butter banana creamsicles // aloha burger

pinwheel flag // dipped ice cream cones // chevron flag pillow

painted front door // diy notebook // vichyssoise

4th of july dessert // porch rules // wood shim flag

diy para cord necklace // diy polka dot denim jeans

Let's get the party started

Creative Flashcard Design Ideas | For Students and Kids

24 · Jun 27, 2013 · 12 Comments

Looking for creative flashcard design ideas? I think you’re going to love these! This post was originally created back in 2013 but has been updated some now. These flashcards were for my kids when they were really young but would be great for students as well. These were so much fun to make.

So, it’s that time… Gage is three… Time to work on mastering his letters. With the girls home for the summer, I thought this would be a great time to make some Alphabet Flash Cards for the girls to play school with. That way Gage will get excited about learning. My first thought was… Those Project Life cards are PERFECT for making flash cards. So many great colors and patterns, with a little creativity these cards can transform a stack of photos into a quick meaningful memory book but… What if you just want to craft with your Project life kit? I took some cards from my Midnight Kit and turned them into some amazing flash cards…

How to Make These Flashcards

Sometimes you have leftover cards or maybe you just want to use these amazing kits to create with, no matter… Project Life is getting easier and easier to find. The cool thing is that if you don’t have some Project Life cards on hand, you don’t need to worry! Project Life products are now available at several different retailers here in the United States, Canada, Australia, and many other countries. I found my Midnight core kit at my local Hobby Lobby here in Lincoln but you can also find them at Michaels, Craft Warehouse, Beverly’s Fabrics & Archivers. Not to mention a whole bunch of smaller craft and scrapbook supply stores. You can also find Project Life online at Two Peas in a Bucket & Scrapbooks.com.

I thought this kit would look great for some flashcards for a little boy…

I took out my Silhouette CAMEO and my trusty glue stick and went to town…

It was just so slick… I could easily coordinate the colors and patterns to create this fun set for Gage.

This is a perfect starting point for him. Next, I am going to add sight words onto the ring of cards and use the letter cards at dividers. It will be great… The girls can play school with him and help him learn his letters. Total score for the summer downtime when the girls are home and Gage is going to love it!

Other Creative Flashcard Design Ideas to Try

If you’re looking for other flashcard ideas to help out in the classroom or at home, you might like these next three. The first section of this post was how to be creative and make your own cards that look great. Below are some other Flashcards you can buy and make them look nice yourself.

These Assorted Blank Flash Cards

These assorted blank flashcards would be great for you to make your own flashcards with. The colors are nice and the texture is just right. You can get a large pack of 1,000 for a very good price.

These Thick Number and Letters Cards

These cards are great for younger students. You can play games with these cards like the jump game. You call out a letter or a number and have the students jump from one card to the next. This is a great way to introduce physical activity into learning and make the games fun for the kids. Give them a try!

What have you made with your Project Life cards? Do you only use them for your memory books or do you think outside the box?

Disclaimer // This is a post sponsored by American Crafts. I have received free products and payment for the post. However, the ideas, thoughts and opinions are my very own.

DIY Polka Dot Denim

0 · Jun 25, 2013 · 7 Comments

DIY Polka Dot Denim Jeans // Here is our last Creative Team post for this month. I'm thrilled to introduce Haley from Life is Sweet! Haley has been a long time WhipperBerry friend from back when WhipperBerry was the new kid on the block. She has always been so supportive and a wonderful friend. Haley may not know this but she is a real example to me… She is such a wonderful mother and a positive example that has a gift for lifting others and making them feel special. Haley has amazing style and shares fun projects and recipes peppered in a blog about her beautiful family and the lessons she learns in this daily journey we call life & parenthood!

Hello WhipperBerry friends! I'm still on cloud 9 to be able to share here with the rest of the lovely ladies on the WhipperBerry Creative Team…thank you Heather! Today I'll be sharing a tutorial involving one of my favorite patterns: polka dots. They can be fun and casual, classy and bold. I've seen polka dotted pants here and there for a little while now, and I love them! Recently I found a pair of white denim pants with black polka dots that I couldn't help but gush over, sadly the price tag put a stop to that train rather quick. So I made them happen with a pair of pants I already owned! And they're my new favorite pair of jeans. Do you like polka dots? If so, give this a try!

– Denim (or any kind of pants or skirt really…needs to be washed at least once prior to painting)

– Fabric paint (I love the Tulip brand…can be found at most craft stores and even Walmart)

– Pencil to mark the dots

– Stamp/Eraser of a pencil to stamp the dots (or something that is the right size of dot you're wanting)

– Paper, cut in a diamond-shape for the stencil (mine had a long cross-section of 3 inches, and a short cross-section of 2 inches)

STEP 1:

You'll want to set the diamond stencil on the denim and mark all four corners with small dots. Then move the diamond, matching up one of the sides with two of the dots, and then mark the remaining two corners. And repeat…over and over.

TIP: Do your best to match them up, but don't stress about having them be exactly in alignment. 🙂 That is why I chose to do a diamond as opposed to a square, I think it hides imperfections better.

STEP 2:

Lay your pants on a flat surface. With your eraser (or other tool for painting the dots) dab a small amount of fabric paint and then lightly press it onto denim over your pencil marks. Repeat for each dot.

TIP: You may need to dap/press twice if the dot needs to be darker/more solid, just be sure not to have too much paint on the eraser, you can always mark it again, but you can't make an already-painted mark smaller.

STEP 3:

Let the one side dry (a couple hours should be good, but lightly touch the last dot you painted to be sure the paint isn't wet) and then flip over to mark and paint the other side (Steps 1 and 2). Let fully dry…then have fun wearing them out on the town!

Past posts:

Shabby to Chic DIY Photo Gallery

Roasted Coconut and Almond Hawaiian Pizza

"You Are My Sunshine" Printables

You can also connect with me here:

Instagram // Pinterest

xo,
Haley

My Favorite Camera Bags for Women // the Jeanne Oliver Mia Bag

0 · Jun 25, 2013 · 4 Comments

Jeanne Oliver Mia Camera Bag Review // I'm super excited to share one of my favorite finds with you guys today. A couple of years ago, I bought a new camera and with a new camera… I needed a new bag. First I googled "camera bags for women" and found a few bags, but nothing really hit the spot. Then I hit the Twitterverse and asked if anyone knew of some great, stylish camera bags that I should check out. Within just a few minutes, someone (I wish I could remember who) messaged me back with an amazing (new to me) find… The amazing Jeanne Oliver and her stunning bags!

My Twitter friend showed me the now retired camera bag that I've been using for over a year now.

This bag is not only my camera bag, I've used it as a purse, diaper bag, conference bag and carry-on. I LOVE this bag!! Recently Jeanne launched her new line of bags and with this new launch she has introduced a new camera bag called the Mia Bag. From the minute I saw the new bag on Instagram, I fell head over heels.

Isn't it just divine? The fabric, the colors, the workmanship… I just love it all! Here, I'll give you a quick tour!

Here's the inside. I have one of my cameras in one of the padded pockets. Keep in mind, this is a Canon Rebel so it's the standard, non-professional sized camera and it fits nicely in that pocket. If I were to put my Canon 5D Mark II in the bag, it would fit in the main compartment and have two padded spaces for extra lenses or an external flash. But, with the smaller camera I can also fit my wallet, my iPad, a notebook AND my Macbook Pro along with other smaller items.

The bag is fully padded and has two padded pockets along with a side zipper pocket perfect for keys, makeup and other small items. It has a cell phone pocket as well as a smaller pocket perfect for items like memory cards and such. This is the perfect purse / camera bag!!

The fabric is a heavy duty upholstery fabric that is easy to wipe clean and holds up to a lot of use. The front flap secures with a magnetic closure which I love. I hate fussy closures on bags.

The bags construction is superb and is up to any challenge you have to throw at it. The strap is sturdy and comfortable to wear.

I just love Jeanne's tag inside the bag, it's just so darn pretty!

AND, the handmade fabric flower on the front flap!! I just adore this detail. I love that my bag does not scream CAMERA BAG. That it's stylish and looks one of a kind. Now that I have two of Jeanne's camera bags (I also have one of her ruffled totes that I just LOVE) I can honestly say… They are by far my favorite camera bags!

You should check out the Jeanne Oliver Designs Site… she is one extremely talent lady who has her hand in many different creative pots these days. She designs bags and has two more in this summer's collection along with a handful of other items for sale.

The Sadie Handbag and the Elsie Linen Messenger Bag

Jeanne is also an amazing artist and photographer and she also teaches some amazing classes through her Jeanne Oliver Creative Network. This site is FULL of talented friends who have a passion for their work and love to share their talents along with what they have learned along their creative journey. It's an amazing site, you should check it out. All in all, I am a HUGE Jeanne Oliver fan and just had to share one of my loves with you guys!

Disclaimer // This is not a sponsored post. I did however, receive one free bag to review. All thoughts, ideas, opinions are my very own.