This adorable gumdrop topiary DIY is great for home decor and parties, as well as being a fun craft for kids highlighting math skills and textures.
Create A Gumdrop Topiary
A Sweet DIY
Who knew math could be so fun? Your preschooler or kindergartener will delight in this counting activity that results in a beautiful holiday decoration for the whole family to enjoy. Your child can count out loud as he adds each gumdrop to the topiary, and as he sees how high he can go, he will be practicing important math skills! This activity will also help your child practice color recognition and learn about different materials and textures.
Beauty and the Beast – Lumiere_and_Cogsworth_Topiary – Disney Wiki – Wikia
Topiary is the art of trimming and shaping trees into sculptural, ornamental shapes. Disneyland boasts some of the most famous American Portable style topiaries. In the early 1960’s Walt Disney used the theme park’s landscape shrubbery to recreate his beloved cartoon characters. They continue to be a highlight today!
What You Need:
Large Styrofoam ball (this will be the “canopy” of your topiary)
Wooden dowel, up to 1” thick and approximately 15” long
Green spray paint
Flower pot or vase
Moss, faux grass, or shredded paper
Floral foam (available at your local arts and crafts store)
Toothpicks, broken in half
Gumdrops in many different colors
Ribbon (optional)
What You Do:
Spray the dowel green with the spray paint and let it dry completely overnight.
Cut a block of floral foam to fit inside the flower pot or vase and place it inside.
Help your child insert the dowel into the center of the Styrofoam ball about 3” deep.
Help your child insert the other end of the dowel into the floral foam all the way down so that it touches the bottom of the vase. Make sure the dowel is stable.
Have your child sort the gumdrops by color.
Have your child stick a gumdrop onto one end of the toothpick and push the other end of the toothpick into the Styrofoam ball. Working in rows, continue placing gumdrops all the way around the ball.
As your child works, ask him to count each gumdrop out loud. Occasionally ask how many of each color he has used or has left.
Once the Styrofoam ball is completely covered, assist your child in placing moss, faux grass, or shredded paper into the vase to cover the floral foam.
Tie a bow around the dowel with the ribbon (optional).
Now stand back and enjoy your new Candyland-inspired table topper!
Isn’t this a fabulously fun and festive DIY project? What a bonus that it provides practice with math skills, dexterity, and textures for your little ones too. This would even make a cute Mother’s Day present!
I have a special treat for everyone! I am participating in the 12 Days of Christmas Ideas Blog Hop with a group of fantastic bloggers. You are going to love all of the Christmas goodness that is headed your way over the next several days. Don’t miss a single day — they are all different and promise tons of holiday cheer and inspiration! Enjoy…
Join us for the 12 Days of Christmas Ideas Series along with eleven other talented bloggers. We’ve rounded up the best of the best Christmas ideas to make your holiday season more festive and fun.
Every day December 1-12th we will be sharing a new collection of Christmas Ideas rounded up from our best blogging friends around the web. That’s a total of 144 awesome Christmas Ideas to make your holiday season easier and more fun! Some of our topics include Decor, DIY, Organization, Food, Games and so much more. We don’t want to spoil the fun by telling you too much. We want you to be surprised! Now is the perfect time to subscribe so you’ll be the first to know!
Find out how to have a Magical Christmas for your kids. You are going to love all of the Christmas goodness that is headed your way over the next several days. Don’t miss a single day — they are all different and promise tons of holiday cheer and inspiration! Enjoy…
Join us for the 12 Days of Christmas Ideas Series along with eleven other talented bloggers. We’ve rounded up the best of the best Christmas ideas to make your holiday season more festive and fun.
Every day December 1-12th we will be sharing a new collection of Christmas Ideas rounded up from our best blogging friends around the web. That’s a total of 144 awesome Christmas Ideas to make your holiday season easier and more fun! Some of our topics include Decor, DIY, Organization, Food, Games and so much more. We don’t want to spoil the fun by telling you too much. We want you to be surprised! Now is the perfect time to subscribe so you’ll be the first to know!
I absolutely love Christmas. Growing up, it was always my favorite time of year, the shinging light in the midst of brutal Chicago winters. Our family tradition was to get everyone together on Christmas Eve at my family’s ancestral home (over 100 years old and counting!) for a big extended family Christmas.
There was food and laughter and it was tradition to watch the 1966 How the Grinch Stole Christmas right after dinner. We never got to finish it, since as soon as little Max started up that hill, there would come a booming knock on the door and the jingle of sleigh bells, as Santa came in with a sack full of presents!
I love creating these kinds of long lasting memories for my children, and today’s post is designed to help you do the same.
So let’s make some magic!
#1 A Shameless Plug But Oh So Fun
Yes, this one is mine, but I also spent years creating fun (and basic) Elf on the Shelf Ideas for you….plus I made a whole batch of free printables for you! You can’t beat that. 😉
#2 Secret Good Deeds
This Santa Secret Service tradition from The Dating Divas is such a wonderful idea! Very creative way to teach kids about being responsible and charitable.
#3 Santa’s Mailbox
Sunny Day Family has an easy and fun craft for kids to work on – a Santa Mailbox for all those changing Christmas lists!
#4 Random Acts of Kindness Cootie Catcher
This Random Acts of Kindness Cootie Catcher from Bren Did reminds me of all those fun paper games we played as kids!
#5 Grow Your Own Candy Canes
Part of making Christmas magical for kids is to invite them to be whimsical and to believe anything is possible. So why wouldn’t you be able to grow candy canes like Growing a Jeweled Rose?
#6 Christmas Eve Surprise Box
Start a fun new tradition with your kids by gifting them these Christmas Eve Boxes from Money Saving Sisters!
#7 Christmas Countdown Box
Speaking of boxes, this Christmas Countdown Box from Teach Me Mommy would help keep the magic of Christmas alive every day leading up to it!
#8 Make Your Own Play Snow
Whether you live in a warm climate without snow, or just don’t want to freeze in the real stuff, this play snow from Huckleberry Love definitely promotes some Christmas magic – can you say indoor snowman??
#9 Baking Soda Gingerbread Ornaments
Christmas cookies are sort of a holiday staple of traditions, but what if you made cookies you could keep? These Baking Soda Gingerbread Ornaments from My Pinterventures look good enough to eat, but last much longer!
#10 Puzzle Piece Holiday Wreath
Dazzle While Frazzled has a fun activity for you and the kids both with this festive puzzle piece wreath!
#11 DIY Elf Coat
Is your Elf feeling chilled? Get the kids together and make him a coat with this easy tutorial from Exquisitely Unremarkable!
#12 Elf on the Shelf Printable Calendar
Speaking of that whimsical Elf, you can keep yours hopping with a Printable Calendar from Time Saving Mom so you never run out of ideas or forget to move him!
Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for Day Eleven!
Here’s a collection of 12 fabulously festive Christmas Gift Wrapping Ideas. You are going to love all of the Christmas goodness that is headed your way over the next several days. Don’t miss a single day — they are all different and promise tons of holiday cheer and inspiration! Enjoy…
Join us for the 12 Days of Christmas Ideas Series along with eleven other talented bloggers. We’ve rounded up the best of the best Christmas ideas to make your holiday season more festive and fun.
Every day December 1-12th we will be sharing a new collection of Christmas Ideas rounded up from our best blogging friends around the web. That’s a total of 144 awesome Christmas Ideas to make your holiday season easier and more fun! Some of our topics include Decor, DIY, Organization, Food, Games and so much more. We don’t want to spoil the fun by telling you too much. We want you to be surprised! Now is the perfect time to subscribe so you’ll be the first to know!
I have a special treat for everyone! I am participating in the 12 Days of Christmas Ideas Blog Hop with a group of fantastic bloggers. We are starting the fun with Christmas Party Games. You are going to love all of the Christmas goodness that is headed your way over the next several days. Don’t miss a single day — they are all different and promise tons of holiday cheer and inspiration! Enjoy…
Join us for the 12 Days of Christmas Ideas Series along with eleven other talented bloggers. We’ve rounded up the best of the best Christmas ideas to make your holiday season more festive and fun.
Every day December 1-12th we will be sharing a new collection of Christmas Ideas rounded up from our best blogging friends around the web. That’s a total of 144 awesome Christmas Ideas to make your holiday season easier and more fun! Some of our topics include Decor, DIY, Organization, Food, Games and so much more. We don’t want to spoil the fun by telling you too much. We want you to be surprised! Now is the perfect time to subscribe so you’ll be the first to know!
Santa’s Delivery Game is a hilarious Christmas party relay game.
How To Play Santa’s Delivery Game
The winning team will successfully deliver the most packages.
Provide a large quantity of wrapped boxes and gift bags in various sizes with jingle bells inside for fun. No need for ribbon or bows.
Place a card table on both ends of the room. One will be the starting point where the packages will be placed. Select one person to be the hub manager. The hub manager is in charge of keeping count of the number of packages successfully delivered.
One by one, team members aka delivery drivers, will pick up as many packages as they can carry and quickly deliver them to the table at the other end of the room. Once there they will put them all down then pick them back up and deliver them back to the first table where the next member of their delivery team will then go.
Any packages dropped on the floor must remain on the floor and cannot be retrieved except by the hub manager who will return them to the starting table.
As the competition continues, the later players will need to carry more and more packages. The team to deliver the most packages successfully wins.
#2
Do You Hear What I Hear ‘sounds’ like so much fun! We’ll be playing this at our party this year.
Do You Hear What I Hearfrom Your Homebased Mom requires normal Christmas items you will already have and ‘sounds’ like so much fun!
#3
Christmas Carol Opposites Gameis a free printable from Crafting Chicks. You may want to pair folks up in teams of two and encourage a little friendly competition with this one.
#4
Pinned thousands of times and updated with free printables, Holiday Family Feud will make your party memorable!
Holiday Family Feudfrom Journey with Johnsons is complete with printable answers. This popular game will be lots of laughs at your party!
#5
The Crepe Paper Christmas Game is a relay game adaptable to all ages
You will be wrapping a victim, party guest in crepe paper to resemble either a Christmas tree, a snowman or a Reindeer.
Supplies
All supplies for this game are available at the Dollar store
White, Green or Brown crepe paper
2 Hats for the snowmen
2 sets of reindeer ears
Cheap stick on bows for the tree
2 Christmas head bands for tree topper
One person on each team will be the subject being decorated with the crepe paper. Team members will wrap the subject around and around with the crepe paper until well wrapped. Once the wrapping is complete, top with the hat for the snowman or reindeer ears for the reindeer or the bows for the tree. The first team to finish wins.
#6
Jingle Bell Toss will be popular with guests of all ages especially those who love Corn Hole.
Jingle Bell Tosstakes only a few minutes to create using simple supplies. Grab the easy tutorial from PlaygroundParkbench.
#7
Break out some Kisses candy and grab these free printable Christmas Bingo cards!
Who doesn’t want to play a game with candy involved! Thanks to The Girl Creative for these free printableChristmas Bingogame cards available in English or Spanish.
#8
This Kids Christmas Charades Game will entertain the children at your party or you could make an adult version.
Katrina’s Paperie has this simple DIYKid’s Christmas Charades Gamewhich I’m sure your children will take out to play year round, especially on rainy days.
#9
The Reindeer Antler Game is one of the most popular Christmas party games we have seen.
TheReindeer Antler Game is almost too much fun if there was such a thing as too much fun! This is a team game from Intelligent Domestications for those with a competitive spirit! You’ll want to repeat this game year after year for rivalry revenge!
#10
The Stocking Stuffer Game can either be a team relay or a one on one competition.
You will need two Christmas Stockings, a bowl full of stocking stuffer goodies such as candy or Dollar Store trinkets and two spoons.
Hang the stockings. Place a large bowl full of the stocking stuffers onto a table near the stockings. Each player gets a spoon which they will use to scoop up the stocking stuffers and fill their Stocking. The first player to fill a stocking wins.
#11
There are so many different ways to use Candy Canes in Christmas games. I found this one on You Tube which looks like a lot of fun for families.
The object here is to get as many candy canes onto the one in your mouth as you can hold. You could do this as a relay by picking up one and carrying it to a designated location or filling a Christmas stocking with them. Use your imagination.
#12
This free printable Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt Game is a great way to get the competition started early.
Begin this Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt Game from Intelligent Domestications about a week before your party. Set up a Facebook page for everyone to submit pictures of each item as they find them and watch the competition begin! You may want to give a nice prize to your winner for this one!
Be sure to bookmark this blog and stop by tomorrow for 12 Best Homemade Christmas Food Gifts. We will have an exciting new collection of ideas every day now through December 12th!
Decorate for the holidays with Christmas Ornaments you can use all year long. Check out these fun ideas that will justify your spending.
Fun Ways To Use Christmas Ornaments All Year Long
During the first few years of home ownership, it can be hard to justify spending money on expensive decorations. You want to celebrate the season and create an inviting environment, but it’s hard to justify spending money on something that will sit in storage for the rest of the year.
Fortunately, it’s possible to have amazing decorations while staying true to your thrifty self. Creative homeowners can use their Christmas ornaments, lights, and even pinecones all year round. Follow these three decorating tips to learn more.
Use Pastel Christmas Ornaments as Easter Decorations
If you have an unconventional Christmas tree with bright blues, pastel pinks, whites, and light greens, consider using your ornaments again during Easter. You can place them in mason jars as table centerpieces, or string them up for a party or Easter egg hunt.
Some creative decorators find ways to use their ornaments all year round. If you invest in blue ornaments this year, you can pair them with your white and red ones during the 4th of July or Memorial Day. Your green ornaments can also make an appearance for St. Patrick’s Day. The colors are easy, and the creative part is finding a way to display your ornaments during the year.
Christmas lights look amazing during the holiday season, but putting them up and taking them down can become incredibly frustrating for all parties involved. Plus, you have to store them in the attic or basement until they’re ready for display.
Instead, homeowners should consider investing in strands of LED lights that can stay outdoors all year long. You can use them for other holidays like the 4th of July, or use them for patio lighting during a picnic or barbeque. Specialty sites like christmaslightsetc.com have programmable lights so you can change the colors based on the event or mood.
Rustic-chic is one of the most popular decoration styles right now, from mason jar glasses to burlap at weddings. This is great if you incorporate pinecones into your holiday decoration. Use them in the spring or summer as centerpieces, and feature them in the fall when you break out brown and orange throw pillows and napkins.
Pinecones aren’t necessarily related to the holidays, and they have stronger ties to the outdoors than Christmas. While they’re often used with holly to create a romantic setting, they’re actually an easy and affordable decoration that can be used 12 months out of the year. If you’re worried about making them stand out, invest in moss to cover them in the warm months and fake snow to cover them in the winter.
Once you start thinking about using Christmas decorations throughout the year, you will start shopping with multipurpose items in mind. Soon, you will have a collection of decorations for any event, not just for the holidays that end after January 1. Also, you don’t have to complete your decoration shopping in one year. If you buy a little every year, your collection will continue to grow.
This shop, Hoot Owl Craft DIY Centerpiece For Autumn, has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CoffeeCreamerCombos #CollectiveBias
Hoo’s ready for Fall? I am, that is for sure, and I am so excited to share with you one of the ways I celebrate this amazing season — Coffee with friends and fun decor like my Hoot Owl Craft Centerpiece.
Hoot Owl Centerpiece
A Fun and Easy DIY Craft for Autumn
Fall is such a wonderful time of year. I love the rich colors, the crunch of leaves beneath my feet, pumpkins, the cooler weather, and holidays denoting autumn. Here in Southern California, I don’t get much of the traditional fall, so I have to create my own glorious autumn atmosphere with fun decor and tasty holiday flavors.
I love have friends over for coffee, and it is so fun to offer them a variety of holiday flavored coffees and creamers. One of my new favorites is the Dunkin’ Donuts Caramel Coffee Cake from their Bakery Series with the International Delight Pumpkin Spice creamer. Ooh, yummy! It’s like a pumpkin caramel latte…so good.
Several years ago, I saw a really cute craft in a magazine, making hoot owls using cardboard tubes and cupcake liners. So, I thought I would put together an adorable centerpiece using this idea.
Cupcake Liners – (I used regular and mini sized liners.)
Cardboard Tubes – (Paper towel and toilet paper tubes work great.)
Paper – (cardstock or construction paper – I used yellow and white cardstock.)
Glue – (glue stick or regular glue)
Hot Glue Gun with Hot Glue Sticks
Markers – ( I used black and orange.)
Scissors
Pencil
1 – Quarter
1 – Nickle
For making the Centerpiece —
1 – Terra Cotta Pot
1 bag – Marble Stones
Ribbon
Fall Decor Sticks (optional)
Directions:
For the Owls:
Cut the Cardboard Tube to the height you want.
Fold the top of the tube so the flaps meet in the middle. This will create a swoop, forming the top of the head and ears of the owl.
Cut the Cupcake Liners into quarters, and trim off the flat part of the liner (what would be the bottom of the liner).
Make your owl eyes. Using the yellow paper, trace around a quarter with your pencil making six circles. Then, do the same with a nickle on the white paper. Cut the circles out, just to the inside of the pencil line.
Using your black marker, color in the center of the white circles, leaving a slight white mark somewhere in the black, so the owl’s eye will shine. You will have three owls, so create three PAIRS of eyes.
Use the glue stick or tacky glue to adhere the whites of the eyes to the yellow circles. Let dry.
Starting at the bottom of the tub and work your way toward the owl’s head, add one quarter piece of regular size cupcake liner at a time. Hot Glue the underside of the flat edge and stick it to the tube. Overlap the layers. I started on the front sides, and then placed a cupcake liner of the center area. You will also do the back side bottom of the tube.
On the front, I tucked in a row of my mini cupcake liners; and then, topped that with a row of my metallic mini cupcake liners.
Fold two regular size cupcake liners in half, do not cut. These will be the wings for the hoot owl.
Hold the wings on the back, checking to be sure they are where you want them, and mark the cardboard tube with a pencil to denote wing location.
Add quartered cupcake liners to the back to cover where the wings will not.
Hot Glue eyes to the front of the owl. The tops of the eyes should stick up slightly above the cardboard tube, but not above the ears.
Cut small long triangles out of the yellow paper and color them orange with your marker. This is the hoot owl’s beak.
Hot Glue the beak on the lower center of the eyes.
Hot glue the wings on the back side of the owl.
Voila! You’re finished making your owls. Now, it’s onto creating the centerpiece.
For the Centerpiece:
Tie Ribbon around the top edge of a terra cotta pot.
Fill the pot to almost full with marble stones.
Stick twigs and branches into the marbles.
Set hoot owls over the tops of twigs. You can give these a little glue if needed.
Stick in your additional fall decor sticks if you have them.
Isn’t that an adorable autumn centerpiece?
Invite your friends over for coffee and show off your new Hoot Owl Craft centerpiece. Be sure to enhance the seasons atmosphere by serving up your Dunkin’ Donuts Caramel Coffee Cake coffee and International Delight Pumpkin Spice creamer. Rory really loves the Salted Caramel Mocha creamer from International Delight as well. And, the Land O’ Lakes Fat Free Half and Half is amazing–so many uses!
I truly enjoy the challenge of creating new things for my home. I love the entire project, from idea, to planning, to building, and the finished product. It brings a sense of pride and accomplishment. That is why I am so excited to have Debbie Lewis sharing these 5 DIY projects for first-timers.
5 DIY Projects For First-Timers
With sites like Pinterest, Etsy, and Youtube, people are finding it easier to master DIY projects instead of buying an item or paying someone else to do it. If you’re new to DIY projects, these projects can ease you in and help you realize how fun and rewarding these projects can be.
If you have a lot of necklaces and bracelets getting tangled in a drawer, consider this simple DIY project to proudly display your jewelry. For the simplest version, buy screw-in wall hooks and a small two-by-four piece of wood. While that would suffice to hang your necklaces, you can inject some creativity by using a piece of drift wood or by painting the two-by-four. Instead of using basic wall hooks, you could also use an eclectic assortment of furniture knobs.
If you have dining room chairs, a rocking chair, or — if you’re feeling particularly ambitious — a sofa that needs some TLC, consider reupholstering the furniture yourself. Head to a craft store and pick out the fabric you like. If it’s high-traffic furniture, make sure you buy a sturdy fabric. Using pliers, remove the staples holding the current fabric in place. Cut the fabric so it’s the right size and place it tightly around the frame. Staple the new fabric into place, and voilà, you have up-cycled your chairs.
Chalkboard Wall
A chalkboard is great for your kitchen or a child’s play area, but chalkboard paint gets expensive. Luckily, it’s easy to make your own chalkboard paint with latex paint and non-sanded grout. You may need a little trial and error to find the exact mix, but a good starting point is one part grout to eight parts paint. Just mix the two together, and you have your own chalkboard paint.
Upgrade a Dresser
Dressers are typically pricey, so consider refurbishing one you already own. If you want to start small, replace the hardware on an older dresser for an updated look. If you already own a dresser, sand it down and paint it, stain it, or white-wash it for a modern touch. You can also buy inexpensive dressers that are ready to be painted or stained to your desired color. Find hardware you like, and you have a modern and affordable dresser.
Build a Rolling Bar Cart
This project is manageable even for the novice handyman, but probably shouldn’t be your first DIY project. Once you’ve mastered smaller projects, it’s time to try this rolling bar cart. A rolling bar cart is the perfect accessory for any kitchen, and allows you to free up counter space while adding an attractive piece of furniture. For this project, you’ll need lumber, wheels, washers, screws, nails, and paint. You could also stain the wood. While this project certainly takes some time, the finished project is well worth it.
Start with small DIY projects. Once you’ve mastered them, you will feel more confidant to tackle bigger projects. Just be careful, because DIY projects get addicting, and soon you will have your whole home remodeled.
Hi! I am so glad to be back at Life With Lorelai today. I don’t know about you, but we have had a couple of nice weather days in a row. I was busy today cleaning up my back yard. I have wanted a wooden garden sign for my “new” old garden gate, so I found a piece of scrap wood and got to work.
Wooden Garden Sign
A Humorous DIY Project for Your Garden
I created this fun section in my yard by the back door with an old garden gate. I had been wanting a gate for so long. I thought I was going to have to purchase something new and make it look old; but then, I ran into a great garage sale. It still wasn’t as cheap as wanted, but I bought it anyway because I loved it. And, it was exactly what I was looking for.
I planted flowers and greenery in the boys’ old wagon and place a smaller container on the other side, but have known from the beginning that I wanted a fun sign too. I just could not figure out what I wanted it to say.
So many of the signs out there have been used so much, maybe this one has too, but I hadn’t seen it. When I saw it on the internet it made me laugh. I am not sure of the original creator though, and I could not find an original post.
I found a scrap piece of masonite in the garage and decided to spray it with my teal spray paint.
After a couple of coats, I took it inside to the Silhouette machine. I used Arial and Glamorous Brush fonts for the wording.
This is what it looked like on my Silhouette studio screen.
I cut it out with black vinyl. This makes it easier to trace. If you look closely, you can see that I have traced around the first three letters. I used a black sharpie. I usually use a pencil, but the teal paint was not allowing the pencil to show, so I had to resort to the sharpie and be pretty careful with my tracing. (I am not the neatest tracer).
Here they are all traced and ready for paint.
I used regular black acrylic paint for the letters. And here it is all done. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It is hand painted!
After it was completely dry, I took it out to the garage and used a sanding block to distress it a bit. The weather and time will do the rest!
Right now, it is just tucked in and resting on the gate latch, but I think I will need to drill a couple of holes and use some wire to make it more permanent. I am afraid our Iowa winds may take it away.
What do you think? I love the final look!
It was a fun little project, and it makes me smile every time I come home!
Have a great day, and I will be back in a couple of weeks!
Summer is here, and that means the kids are out of school and looking for something to do. Keeping your sanity as a mom, grandparent, or daycare provider means being able to entertain those kids all day long. This can make for a YIKES! moment when it comes to summer planning. What you need are some brilliant ideas for kids activities.
When looking for activity ideas, you want the kids to have fun. But you also want them to get some exercise for both their body and mind. Another consideration is cost. You don’t want summer fun to break the piggy bank.
Here are some ideas to take the YIKES! out of summer…
The first thing to do is to check your local area for summer kids programs such as:
A Summer Reading Program at the Library or Book Store. A lot of children’s libraries have other fun programs available too, like story time, magic shows, animal or science shows.
Free or low cost Movies for kids at the local Theater.
Check with your city or town for free or low cost Swimming sessions, or other programs they may have available.
I like to inspire you to allow your kids to use their imaginations and get outside and move. Check these out…
