Sunday, January 29, 2023

How To Hydro-Dip Pencils With Nail Polish

Looking for a way to add a little bling to your school supplies? Hydro-dipped pencils are the perfect way to add some color to your school day and bring a smile to your face! This is a fun craft anyone can make that’s budget-friendly and easy to do. This would be a great craft project to do with friends at your next sleepover party! 



This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on a link and make a purchase I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks!

One of my teen daughters did this craft project with me and we had a blast! She wanted the paint to look chunky and colorful on her dipped pencils whereas I went for the marbled look.

Both styles turned out cool and we had a great time just spending time together.




How To Hydro-Dip Pencils With Nail Polish

The key to a successful nail polish hydro-dipped pencil is to have all your supplies ready before you dip the pencils.

Supply List 





Step-by-Step Tutorial


Step 1 - Fill the disposable plastic container with hot water about an inch from the top. I used a large disposable foam coffee cup for this part. 



Step 2 - Pick out 3 or 4 different nail polish colors, remove the bottles' tops, and set them aside. Place the styrofoam cups upside down on your covered work surface and poke 2-3 holes through the bottom of each cup. The styrofoam cups will be used to hold the pencils while they are drying.




Step 3 - Stir the hot water then quickly pour a few drops of each color of nail polish into the hot water. The drops will swirl around since the water is moving. Hold your pencil at a slight angle then dip it lead side first into the nail polish. Twist the pencil a little then pull it out of the water.



Slide the pencils, eraser side first, into a hole in the upside-down styrofoam cup so that it can dry.



Step 4 - Once the nail polish is completely dry brush a topcoat layer of Modge podge over the polish to seal it and to prevent the colors from rubbing off as you use it.


Tip - before you pour out the hot water take a paper towel and drag it across the top of the water to catch any excess nail polish. I don't recommend putting nail polish down the sink!




Making these nail polish hydro-dipped pencils is so much fun! I love that the final product is useful too. You could give these hydro-dipped pencils as holiday gifts even:

  • red, pink & white for Valentine's Day,
  • red, green, and gold for Christmas
  • orange, black, and yellow for Halloween
  • pastel colors for Easter
  • varied shades of green for St. Patrick's Day
  • multi-color for a birthday party




If you need some more easy & fun craft project ideas check out these other great tutorials:

Easy Craft Tutorials






Thursday, January 19, 2023

9 Essential Items to Pack In A Babysitter Bag

Finding a good babysitter can be difficult. You want someone you can trust but also someone your kids like and are willing to play and engage with them.  Good babysitters are hard to come by these days!

If you have a young teen at home looking for a way to make some money, babysitting is a great way for them to earn some cash. Becoming a good babysitter will take some practice and with your help, they will soon become that amazing babysitter everyone calls to hire! 



What Is A Mommy's Helper

When my daughters were approaching babysitting age (about 12-13 years old), I wanted them to get some supervised hands-on experience taking care of younger kids who were not their siblings. One way for them to do this was to be a Mommy's Helper. 

A Mommy's helper is a "tween"/young teen who helps take care of someone's children while the mom is home. The mom benefits from extra hands to help entertain her kids so she can get something done and the teen gets guided supervision from the mom on caring for children. 

Typically a Mommy's helper is not paid or not paid very much but more than likely after your teen is well trained the family he or she has been helping will hire them in the future for a full-paid babysitting gig! 

It is also highly recommended that your babysitter in training attend a first aid and CPR class as well as a babysitter safety class if available in your area. If this opportunity is not available in your area, it is a good idea to talk through some possible emergency situations your teen might encounter when babysitting. 

Situations like choking, burns, scrapes, and cuts as well as allergic reactions are a few areas I suggest you help your teen learn about before they start babysitting.  



What Is A Babysitter Bag 

Babysitting was one of my favorite jobs as a teen. I was a regular sitter for several different families and had the opportunity to even travel out of town as a babysitter for one family. Early on in my babysitting career, I came up with a valuable tool I used that helped me every time I had a babysitting job. That tool was my babysitter bag! 

What is a babysitter bag you ask? It is a bag full of games, crafts, activities, and other fun ideas I packed and brought along to my babysitting gigs. I always tried to change out the items in my bag on a regular basis so that the kids were surprised every time I babysat them. Not only did my babysitter bag help me pass the time quickly but the kids looked forward to playing with whatever I had packed. 

A babysitter bag takes a little forethought and planning but I've got a great list of ideas for you and your teen to use. 




9 Essential Items To Pack In Your Babysitter Bag

As you help your teen pack their babysitter bag make sure to take the age of the kids they will be babysitting into consideration. Small little toys are not the best idea for young children however baby toys probably won't go over well with older children.  For infants up to age 2, it is best to use the toys they have at home since they tend to put everything in their mouth at this age anyway.

Here are 9 great ideas to get you and your teen inspired!

1 - Storybooks  

Pack a few of your favorite childhood picture books into your babysitter bag to share with the kids you are watching. If you don't have any it might be a good idea to stop at your local library and pick up a few to bring along. Here are some favorites you could look for:



2 - Coloring books & fun-shaped crayons 

A new coloring book is always fun for kids especially if they get to use cool-shaped crayons. Pick up a few coloring books at your local Dollar Store, or Walmart or you could print off a few free coloring page printables online. 

Crayons can be made in a variety of different shapes other than the traditional shape. I like to make my own from old broken crayons! If you have never done it before it is a lot of fun! Check out this tutorial on How To Make Heart-Shaped Crayons.  

If you don't have time to make your own, order a few from Amazon. 

(If you aren't an Amazon Prime member yet, sign up today!)




3 - Board Games & Puzzles  

Everyone loves to play a new game or put together a new puzzle so pack a game or puzzle you love to play and teach it to the kids you're babysitting. Again, if you don't have any board games to bring along check with your local library to see if they offer games to check out. 

Here are some fun games you could bring along:


4 - Stuffed Animals  

Bringing several of your own stuffed animals to a babysitting gig is a great way to break the ice if this is a new family your teen is babysitting. 

Most kids love stuffed animals and will enjoy an opportunity to play with the new stuffed animals a babysitter brings with them. 

There are so many fun games and activities kids can play using stuffed animals too! While babysitting you can create a zoo, play veterinarian, hide one stuffed animal and play the "hot and cold" game where the person who hid the toy says "hot" when the seeker gets closer to the hiding location. 


5 - Crafts

Kids of all ages enjoy making crafts. This is a great activity if your teen is babysitting several kids of a variety of ages because crafts can be modified to fit abilities most of the time. Here are some simple crafts to bring along on a babysitting job:




6 - Scavenger hunt

Scavenger hunts are fun for all ages! Not only are they fun but it is a great activity to get kids outside if you plan to do a nature scavenger hunt. There are tons of free printables available so make sure to print a few off before heading to your babysitting job! Here are two free printables I created to get you started that I'm sure you and the kids you are babysitting will love!


7 - Costumes / Props

Kids have BIG imaginations and a fun way to pass the time while babysitting is to play with dress-ups! Pack some fun dress-up accessories like feather boas, fancy purses, gloves, hats, and costume jewelry for the kids to play with. 

Old prom dresses or bridesmaid dresses, men's ties, colorful vests, suit coats, or sports jerseys all make for fun dress-up costumes. A quick trip to your local thrift shop is a great place to find some fun dress-up pieces at a very reasonable price. 


8 - Ingredients to Make a Treat 

Helping in the kitchen is a great activity for kids especially when you are babysitting. Making a special treat with a babysitter while mom and dad are gone is a fun and memorable activity. It doesn't have to be a difficult and complex recipe but rather something simple that allows the kids to be the helpers and get involved in making something tasty. 

Make sure if your teen brings along something that needs to be baked that you instruct them on how to properly and safely use an oven! Here are some simple treat ideas to bring along in your babysitter bag:

  • Rice Krispie treats (gluten-free)
  • No-bake chocolate-covered graham crackers 
  • pre-made sugar cookie dough & frosting- let the kids roll out the dough and use cookie cutters to make fun shapes, bake then frost
  • Ice cream in a bag 




9 - Flashlights 

Playing with flashlights isn't an activity most kids get to do on a regular basis which is why it is so much fun to do when a babysitter comes over. There are so many fun games to play with flashlights you will not run out of activities to do with kids anytime soon! Here are a few ideas to get you started:

  • Hide and seek - everyone hides and the "seeker" uses a flashlight to shine on the people they find.
  • Flashlight freeze tag - the person who is "it" must tag the others with the light beam from a flashlight to freeze them. Those who are not "it" can use their flashlight beams to unfreeze those who are frozen.
  • "I spy" - One person finds an object in the room and gives a clue as to what they "spy/see" the rest of the players shine their flashlights on different objects as they guess what the person "spies


Planning ahead and helping your teen prepare for an upcoming babysitting job is the best way for them to have a successful experience. Not only will the children they are caring for have a great time but I'm sure your teen will too! 




A Must-Have Babysitter Information Sheet

In addition to having a well-stocked babysitter bag, it is important that your teen babysitter have all the necessary contact information, emergency numbers, home address, and special instructions for the kids they are watching readily available. I created this handy free babysitter information printable for your teen to take along with them to their next babysitting job. 

If there was an emergency your teen will have all the information they need to handle a difficult situation like allergy information, contact numbers, and even the home address where they are babysitting. Not only is it a useful tool but the parents he or she is babysitting for will love the peace of mind it brings them when they are away from their children. Make sure to click on the link to get this free printable or Pin it for later! 

The Babysitter Information Sheet 


What are you waiting for? Help your teen pack their babysitter bag today so they are ready for a great babysitting experience! 



Award Winning Kids Craft Kits Delivered!

Tuesday, January 10, 2023

How To Make Colorful Layered Salt Jar Art

Sand art jars have been popular for a long time. Layers of various colored sand fill up the jar to create a beautiful piece of art. 

Have you ever wanted to make your own jar of sand art? Colored sand is expensive and sometimes hard to find but did you know you can use a budget-friendly alternative - SALT - to make your own colorful jar of sand art? 



This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on a link and make a purchase I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. For more information please see my Disclaimer page. Thanks!


This craft activity is fun for all ages! You can enjoy this activity outside during summer break, inside for a staycation activity, with friends for a birthday party craft, or even during a family fun night.


How To Make Colorful Layered Salt Jar Art


Follow these simple steps in order to make your own beautiful jar of colored salt art. Here are the supplies you will need to make this craft:




Supplies



Easy Step-By-Step Salt Art Tutorial


Step 1 - Pour ½ cup of salt into a resealable plastic bag. Add 3 - 4 drops of food coloring or watercolor paint to the bag then seal it. Gently squish the bag to mix the food coloring into the salt. Then shake the bag until the color is fully distributed into the salt.




Make sure you don't add too many drops of liquid food coloring - you don't want the salt to get wet. If the salt appears too wet add a few teaspoons of additional salt to the Ziploc bag, and shake it gently so that the new salt can absorb some of the extra liquid.


Tip: we experimented with both food coloring and liquid watercolor paint. The food coloring tended to create wetter salt than the watercolor however the overall color was more vibrant. Both watercolors and food coloring work for this project so use what you have on hand!


Repeat this process for each color you need for your salt art jar. Feel free to mix a few colors together to make new colors and shades.


Step 2 - Insert the funnel into the glass jar then pour a small amount of colored salt into the funnel to make the first layer in the jar. You can tip the jar slightly to create angled layers of colored salt.




Continue layering the colored salt into the jar until the jar is completely full. Put the lid on the jar and secure it tightly.


Make sure not to shake the jar with colored salt otherwise the layers will disappear.


Use a variety of different-shaped glass jars to create a collection of colorful art jars. These beautiful salt art jars look great displayed on a bookshelf or even on your bathroom counter as a cool decoration


Fill up a clear empty plastic ornament to make a custom Christmas gift this year too! The ideas are endless!



More Crafts and Activities



See how to make colored pasta noodles to use for crafts! This is another fun activity your kids will enjoy. Not only is this activity fun but you can totally use it to teach colors, counting, sorting, basic math skills, art, and science! 





Splatter painting is an easy, fun, and exciting activity for kids of all ages! Encourage your child (of any age) to mix colors and use different tools to make splatters to make their one-of-a-kind piece of art.





Monday, January 2, 2023

7 Fun & Crafty Ways to Reuse An Old Calendar

No need to throw out your old calendar at the end of the year! Instead, turn those pretty pictures into something new and unique.



Just because the year is over and your favorite calendar is no longer relevant doesn't mean you have to stop enjoying the beautiful pictures and artwork from the old calendar. Did you know you can reuse your old calendar and calendar images? All you need is a little imagination and some simple craft supplies. Consider new uses for those old pages and give yourself more time to enjoy all the pictures you love.    

This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on a link and make a purchase I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks!

The Best Calendar For The New Year

Before you start crafting with your old calendars make sure to get a replacement for the new year? 

I'm still kind of old school when it comes to calendars. I prefer a paper calendar over the online version. For our family calendar, I really like the large full-size ones that I can hang up so everyone can see what is scheduled. The other requirement for a calendar is large open spaces for each day so I can write down all of our activities. With four kids our schedule is pretty full so I need a lot of room to fill out these details on the calendar. 

Shop Coloring Books at Calendars.com Now! 

I got my husband a desk calendar for Christmas with Green Bay Packers and NFL trivia questions that he really loves! 

If you still need a calendar make sure to check out Calendar.com. Their site has a ton of great options and styles for everyone!




7 Crafty & Fun Ways To Reuse An Old Calendar


I've pulled together 7 easy and fun projects you can do with your old expired calendars. I hope you are inspired to upcycle your calendar and make something new and exciting with it!

1. DIY Postcard

Sending postcards to friends and family is a great way to stay in touch when you don't have a lot to say or want to send a quick note. Postage for postcards is also cheaper than sending a full-size card or letter too. 

You can make your own postcards from old calendar pages which is a great way to recycle them! Gather up the following supplies to make your own postcards:

The acceptable dimensions for a postcard are 4.25" x 6" (maximum) to 3.5" x 5" (minimum). Measure out the dimensions for the postcard you want to make using these dimensions on the cardboard and old calendar page then cut them out. Spread a thin layer of glue on the cut-out cardboard then place the calendar page on top of that with the picture side facing up. Smooth down the calendar page making sure there are no air bubbles.  Your postcard is now ready to use! 


2. Custom Calendar Picture Tile Coaster

Making your own custom coasters is easy and fun. This is a great project to use your old calendar pictures because you can continue to enjoy them for long time. They really are very simple to make too! Follow the full tutorial at Neat Houses Sweet Home!

Supplies: tile coaster, mod podge, foam brush, spray sealer, felt or cork, scissors



3. Decorative Tin Can Planter

Another way to preserve those lovely calendar pages is to cut them out and Mod-Podge them to the outside of a tin can. After disposing of the can label and cleaning off the glue reside your can is all ready to be turned into a beautiful planter. To make your own vase follow the full tutorial at Positively Splendid. 

Supplies: empty tin can, old calendrer, Mod Podge or white craft glue, scissors, potting soil, a small plant or succulent



4. DIY Jig Saw Puzzle

When my kids were little I was always looking for ways to keep them busy. There were really into puzzles and I used to make them their very own puzzles cut from empty cereal boxes. Using old calendar pictures to make your own jigsaw puzzles is another great way to reuse outdated calendars! The pictures are a lot nicer than the pictures on a cereal box too! If your calendar page is thin you could always glue the picture to a thin piece of cardboard before cutting out the jigsaw pieces. Follow my full tutorial on how to Make Your Own Jig Saw Puzzle.

Supplies: old calendar, marker, scissors (optional: empty cereal box, craft glue)


 

5. DIY Wood Frame Picture Holder

Years ago I had a calendar with vintage artwork that I LOVED! After the year was over I couldn't bring myself to throw it away so I hung onto it knowing that I would eventually find a great use for the beautiful pictures. I ended up making a simple wood frame picture holder for the calendar prints and I just love how it turned out! Don't let the woodworking "stuff" scare you away - it is super simple and beginner friendly, I promise. Follow my full tutorial for this DIY Wood Picture Holder to make your own. 

Supplies: calendar page, wood (1" x 8' x 1/4"), hand saw, sandpaper, wood glue, leather cord, clamps, wood stain (optional)



6. DIY Calendar Collage Art

Depending on the type of calendar you have this project might be the perfect upcycle idea for you to use. I love making collages and typically use newspapers or old magazines but using an old calendar is another great way to upcycle an expired calendar into something new and useful. Collage art is also fun for kids to make too! Here is a tutorial I used to make a multi-media DIY Collage Art that will be helpful for you.  

Supplies: calendar, scissors, glue, cardstock



7. Mini Calendar Notebook

It is always nice to have a small notebook handy in my purse or in the car or even in a diaper bag. Making your own mini-notebook is simple and fun and a great way to reuse old calendar pictures that you love. I found the simplest tutorial to make your own mini-notebook at A Beautiful Mess that I encourage you to follow! 

Supplies: calendar picture, embroidery floss, embroidery needle, washi tape (optional), lined or blank paper (8.5" x 11"), scissors



Why not ring in the new year with a fun recycling project? Grab your old calendar and get crafting today! 

Don't forget to PIN this post and follow me here on Pinterest for more great inspiring ideas!



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