reMade USA=Awesome

     I literally stumble(d)upon this store on the Internet and it has quickly become on of my daily places to stalk. It's called reMade USA. It's a design company that upcycles used materials turning them into one of a kind handbags and home decor. Upcycling is the term used for taking what is essentially waste and turning it into art. The handbags are fabulous but check this out :

     Yes, those are doilies. Each lamp is made by hand, stitching vintage doilies together, one at a time. Details will always be unique and each is one-of-a-kind. Wow. I mean WOW! I absolutely LOVE this. My mom has so many doilies my grandmother and great-grandmothers have crocheted. I can finally do something with them besides putting them on the curio or the mantle where they will look ridiculous and will NOT go with anything else at all. EVER. I'm in awe. This is epic.

Muffin Dot Mania!

    Today we are doing Muffin Tin Art. Well, if I can manage to clean what they have already messed up, we are. How do you other moms do it? How do you manage the cleaning with running around behind a one year old, and a four year old picking up messes, while the baby screams? I'm finding it more and more challenging in the mornings when my toddler is extra feisty, and the baby is extra cranky....anyone else?
      Anyway, back to today's activity. This one is really simple and produces great results. I did this one when I taught kindergarten, and recently read someone's blog where they had done it. It reminded me of the astonishing results this can produce. It's VERY easy. All you need is a muffin tin, paints, and large sheets of paper. I use poster paper cut into fourths or butcher paper.

    I recommend going outside for this one. Flip the muffin tin over so that the inside of the muffin cups are facing down. Let the kids paint the tops of the muffin cups with different colored paints

Then flip the muffin tin, paint side down, onto a large sheet of paper. This is what it looks like when an adult does the flipping

Perfecto! I love this! The results are stunning and would look great framed! Here's what happens when a child does the flipping

How great is that?? A totally new design since she was wobbly and pulled the tin a little. I love this one as well. These painting are perfectly modern and would look stunning in a black frame! Try it out and send me your pics!

Fairy Toadstools

      I absolutely love, love, love The Imagination Tree. What an awesome resource for moms and teachers, alike. I've been using this site for several months to help me kill two birds with one stone, per se, by entertaining and educating my children at the same time. Today I found a really great project I can't wait to try. It's making little fairy toadstools out of leftover wine corks. Here's the pic...

How precious is that? These are for putting in a child's outdoor play area, which I will post about next.

This is a fairy garden made under the trees with cork toadstools.

    An outdoor play area is basically just a plot of dirt set off with a border of rock, tiles, or whatever you like. In it you could put digging toys, plastic bugs, treasures to unearth, or whatever your creative minds come up with! Here's a pic from The Imagination Tree's site with a great example:

  So simple...yet such a great learning tool! We're working on ours this weekend!
Kids can dig, plant, make mudpies, look for treasures you put in, etc. This is an excellent way to nurture growing imaginations!So, get out and get DIRTY!

Clever Tips For Parents

Loving these new "hacks" I'm finding on Parent Hacks! I'm such  a sucker for finding other uses for things. The latest one is using empty cereal bags to pipe frosting on cakes and cookies! Just fill the bag with frosting, cut off a bottom corner, and get busy! Another recent fave is using an inexpensive make-up sponge to apply Desitin or other creams to baby for less messy hands! Love it! What a great site for thrifty mommies! (and daddies!)