Summer likes to pretend to write letters and drop them in an imaginary mail box. Her pretend mail box would usually be our couch and she would sandwich pieces of paper in between throw pillows. But of course, somebody (usually Emma) would accidentally move the pillows around and wreck her imaginary mail box to her utter dismay. So last week, I decided to make a cardboard mailbox for and with her as a craft activity. As you probably already know, we never run out of cardboard boxes! 1. I used a medium sized box and sealed the flaps shut using glue and masking tape, leaving only the top part Read More
DIY Toy: Window Charms
Butterfly, Butterfly by Peter Horacek is one of Summer and Emma's favorite books. It's a book about color, insects and nature with a surprise pop-up in the end. No wonder they love it so much! So when I was coming up with ideas for their next craft project, I thought this vibrant book would be a great inspiration. We made a mobile filled with many different ornaments to hang by their bedroom window, so I decided to call it window charms. Materials needed are the following: dried branch, poster paint, cardboard, beads, yarn, assorted ribbon and string, scissors, single hole Read More
DIY Toy: Cardboard Baby Doll Bed
Right after making Summer her cardboard pizza, she immediately thought of other toys to make, specifically a doll house. But the next day, she changed her mind and asked me to make a little bed for her baby doll instead. I said okay. She was excited and insistent. Next thing I know, I was cutting up another box and doing my best to turn it into a tiny bed! Materials I used are the following: Cardboard box, scissors, poster paint, felt sticker, fabric scraps, cardboard tube, washi tape, tongue depressors, glue gun, white glue and masking tape. I didn't take photos of the process but Read More
DIY Toy: Emma’s La Pomme Handsewn Soft Doll
While organizing the girls' closet one morning last week, I found a sew-it-yourself soft doll kit, still unopened. It was a Christmas gift to me and Emma last year from some of our good friends. I hadn't had a chance to work on it since we received it half a year ago, but on that morning, I found myself in the mood to sew so I decided to finally open it and make my daughter a soft doll. It's a simple stuffed doll that looks like a little pillow so it's actually very easy to make. Step by step instructions were included in the kit as well as all the basic materials necessary, such as the Read More