Fun Kid's Craft: Colorful Dixie Cup Windmills

My daughter often comes up with the ideas for our projects together. Sometimes her inspiration comes from seeing something in a book or something from school or sometimes like with today’s craft, it just comes out of nowhere. We were playing restaurant together when she stopped & very confidently said, “Mama, I want to make a windmill with the spinny thing.” Ok, that sounded like fun. dora coloring pages

She said that she wanted to make a lot of them like a windmill village & that she wanted them in rainbow colors. We decided to use Dixie cups to make our windmills. I grabbed 6 Dixie cups to make one for each color of the rainbow. I filled a tray with red, orange, yellow, green, blue & purple acrylic paint with 6 separate brushed for each color & thought we could paint them together. She grabbed the red paint brush & began painting & I grabbed the orange. Little did I realize when she said rainbow colors that she meant that she was going to layer the colors to make each windmill rainbow. “Silly mama” she laughed. Regardless of my error, I continued to paint each cup in a different color, while she did hers in her rainbow layers.

We set them aside & let them dry.

She used a Sharpie to draw in the windows & door on one of her cups.

I cut blades out of construction paper straps & used a dab of glue to glue them in place like a cross. I poked a split pin through the paper & the cup to secure the blades in place. I secured the pin loosely, so that the blades could spin. ever free coloring

We finished our lighthouses & then like Mai asked, we lined them up in a row just like a little windmill village.

Cool Art Project for Kids: Firework Salt Painting

Are you are looking for an awesome art project to do with your kids? You have found it!

Bonus: This one is also super simple. This firework salt painting project is one of our favorite projects to do with kids and it looks so cool when it’s done. firework salt painting

Laying on the grass, watching the fireworks is such a magical time. You can recreate it with this cool salt painting project. This is the perfect art activity to do with your kids this summer or any other time of the year! I knew I wanted to do some kind of firework art project, and remembered doing salt paintings in elementary school when I was a kid, so this was kind of nostalgic for me. Rainbow Dash coloring pages

We only had art once a week but it was always my absolute favorite class. I am still an artist today but there is something about kids art projects that is so relaxing and fun. I chose to do fireworks for Fourth of July but let your kids be creative with it! I can see an outer space or under the sea scene being really awesome as well!

Before we get to the art project, Rachel wanted to share a few tips she’s learned as a former teacher and a mom of six. Art is great for kids but moms screw it up all the time (me included). I want to make sure you and your kids have a great experience with this.

1. Turn off the perfection. There’s a time and a place for perfection. Doing art with your kids is definitely not one of them. Take a step back, relax, and be ready to just go with it.
2. Focus on the process. Art should be fun, especially when kids are involved. Keep things light. Don’t worry so much about what the end product looks like, just have fun making it. Art is about the experience for kids. They are spending time with you, learning to express themselves, exploring materials. The final product pales in comparison to those things.
3. Don’t worry about the mess. Art can get messy. Sure, take some precautions. Lay a cheap plastic tablecloth down on the table and the floor. Have your kids wear old clothes or an art apron. Then just let go. Have fun. The mess can be cleaned up later. ever free coloring

MATERIALS NEEDED
- Table Salt
- Paper (black really makes the colors pop)
- watercolors (We love this set. It has some great color choices)
- brushes
- White Glue
- Cookie Sheet
- Optional: You could also use food coloring and an eye dropper instead of watercolors if you’d like.

INSTRUCTIONS

Start by laying your paper on a cookie sheet so the salt doesn’t get all over the place.

Draw out your design with the glue. It works better if you do it thick. If you aren’t comfortable free handing a design, draw it out with a white crayon or colored pencil first.

Next, sprinkle salt over the glue before it dries. Apply generously! You want to get everything covered. Shake off excess salt onto your tray.

Get your watercolors really wet, and lightly paint onto the salt. You can use food coloring and an eye dropper here if you’d prefer. You don’t want to drag it too much or it will mess up the salt. I tried to get my brush extra drippy so I barely had to tap the design. Have fun with colors! It looks great when they bleed together.

Let project dry completely and you are done! Your kids will love how the salt sparkles when its all dry.

*Over time this project will flake off and won’t last forever, so make sure to take pictures of your kiddos creating!

UPDATE: A reader shared this awesome tip with us. Spray your project with hairspray when you are done to make it last longer.

Summer Art Idea for Kids: Squirt Gun Painting

Bust summer boredom at home, school, or camp with Squirt Gun Painting, an amazing art experience for kids of all ages.

Yesterday I received the first official “Mom…I’m bored!” of summer. Frankly, I’m surprised it took 2 weeks! Of course it was from Colin, who is almost always bored when no one is playing with him. I gave him my old digital camera and sent him outside to photograph the elusive albino squirrel known to munch on cracked corn at our bird feeder every morning. My other kiddo can happily entertain himself for hours on end. In fact, not once in his 4-years of life, has he ever proclaimed boredom. ever free coloring

Isn’t it funny how two children, raised almost identically, can be entirely different?

BOREDOM IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ADVENTURE

Well, my aspiring photographer apparently needs to work on his stealth and shutter speed. He came back 5-minutes later and admitted defeat, “The white squirrel is in the tree hiding. I didn’t get a picture of it.” Then he informed me, once again, that he was bored. I told him that boredom was an “opportunity for adventure” and that I was sure he would think of something to do and if not, he was welcome to fold laundry. He asked for my iPhone.

I passed him a basket of socks.

The morning went on and on like this, but eventually, he found markers and a coloring book and settled quietly in the family room. Later that afternoon while the boys were eating lunch, I slipped out the side door to arrange a creative art activity on the lawn. my little pony coloring pages

ENTER SQUIRT GUN PAINTING

Squirt gun painting is a thrilling summer art experience for kids and the ultimate boredom buster! For our paintings, we used Nerf Super Soaker Alphafire Blasters. I like to avoid the super cheap multi-pack squirt guns typically found in dollar stores because they seem to end up breaking within hours. The Alphafires are still inexpensive, but have the quality one can expect from Nerf products.

MATERIALS NEEDED
- Nerf Super Soaker Alphafire Blasters
- watercolor paper
- liquid watercolors
- an easel

DIRECTIONS

I arranged our easel in the yard and clipped two sheets of watercolor paper to each side. I invited the boys to fill their squirt guns with liquid watercolors and let them go to town! They had a lot of fun, but needed several reminders not to squirt each other!

Tip: No Easel? That’s okay! Kids can use a thumbtack to secure their paper to a tree.

Each painting was bright, unique, and beautiful! My son (the one who had complained of boredom that morning) spent the entire afternoon playing independently with this super easy activity. With little clean up and minimal direction from me, I call it a win!

We’ve now placed the squirt guns in a box where the kids can access them easily so the next time he comes to me saying “I’m bored,” I’ll point him towards the squirt guns!

Absolutely Beautiful Stained Glass Art for Kids

I’ve been seeing so many fun Mother’s Day projects around everywhere, and today, I’m sharing one of my own! This Stained Glass Art is fun to make any time of the year and believe it or not, even children as young as 3 years old can do this! I shared this about a month ago over at Smart School House, and today I’m bringing over to Bitz & Giggles to share with all of you! fall coloring pages for adults

I remember seeing this project at my son’s school years ago. To prepare for it, however, the teachers were adding food coloring to empty condiment squirt bottles filled with glue and shaking them like crazy for what seemed like hours to get everything mixed. It looked like quite the process. I loved how their art turned out, but between you and me, that’s just way too much work.

I’m going to show you an easy way to achieve the same stained glass effect without all the muscle and prep. You just add the glue and the food coloring separately. Glitter glue is translucent so when you hang your art, the sun will really make the colors shine. I also love the little specks of glitter sprinkled throughout! This project is so easy and affordable and the end result is quite breathtaking. This is so much fun for families to sit down and work on together!

Here’s what you’re going to need:

Materials
- Glitter glue
- Toothpicks or paint brushes
- Food coloring (we used neon)
- Picture frames (we used 5×7 frames)
- Suction cup hangers (for hanging frames on your window later on – I found mine at Walmart)

So, first things first. Let’s talk about the frame. I found some white 5×7 frames at Walmart. They had three left on the shelf so I grabbed one for my son, one for my daughter and, of course, one for me. There’s no way I was missing out on the fun. ever free coloring

1. You want to begin by disassembling the frame. The cardboard back to the frame doesn’t get used for the project so you can set it aside.
2. Clean the glass with some glass cleaner and then place it inside the white frame.
3. Grab hold of the hanging tab and, here’s what we want to do with it:

First decide how you’re going to hang your frame when you’re don. Vertically or horizontally? I decided I wanted to hang my horizontally, so I positioned my hanging tab onto the glass in the middle of the frame and then pushed down the little tabs that hold the glass in. It worked out that one of the little tabs fit right over the hanging tab so I was able to secure it further.

If you want to be absolutely certain the glass is going nowhere (including the hanging tab), you could hot glue the glass to the frame. During my assembly, I didn’t feel it was necessary, so I opted out.

Once the frames are ready to go, cover your work surface. I used wax paper and newspapers on top of that. Then, I set out the glitter glue, toothpicks and food coloring, and called in the troops.

The kids had so much fun with this project. If you want to ensure the kiddos walk away with clean hands, you could always have them wear some plastic gloves. We braved it, and, believe it or not, the color they did get on their fingers came off pretty easily.

Alright, here’s what you’ll want to do next:

1. Position your frame so the back is facing up.
2. Squirt glue all over the glass. There is no rhyme or reason here. Add a little, add some more.
3. Add one drop of food coloring at a time to various parts of the glass. I wouldn’t suggest putting all of the colors in one place or you’ll just end up with a black puddle on your glass.
4. You can use a toothpick to blend the colors into each other and create some swirl or line designs. Here’s where the kids can get real creative.
5. Once you’re happy with your design, allow the glue to dry overnight.

I love how these frames turned out. I adore all of the bright colors. They look beautiful hanging up on our patio door.

If you look real close you can see bubbles, glitter and fine line designs. To give it a bit of a different look, you could use a paintbrush to create softer lines and blending.

Each frame will have a little bit different look to it. I love that. It’s really a work of art. It becomes even more beautiful when you allow light to shine through. Isn’t this a perfect project for Spring? I think so!

I can’t wait to hear how your frames turn out. Will you use two colors or five? Will you go with a black frame or a white one? I would love to hear about the little artists that helped you, too. As with anything glass, if you have little hands involved, just make sure the kids are supervised throughout the entire project.

I’ve never tried this technique on plastic or plexiglass. I don’t see why it wouldn’t work on one of those surfaces. However, I’ve been known to be wrong once or twice. Just ask my hubby. . .and my kids. They’re quick to tell me if that happens (of course they are).

Well, Happy Spring, friends! Bring a little pop of color into your homes with this simple and beautiful project. These frames also make great gifts. Think Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, birthdays, etc. Grab the kids and just have fun with it!

Tutorial: Easy DIY Graphic Tees

Even though almost every t-shirt i own is a plain white or black one, lately i’ve been liking retro inspired graphic tees with cute little sayings on them. but the ones i’ve wanted aren’t cheap, and so i decided to make some for real cheap. i haven’t used iron on letters since i was a kid, but they’re just as easy as i remembered.  i came up with three different phrases : okey dokey, lo siento (“sorry” in spanish), and laisse tomber (“forget it” in french), and got three different iron on letters to try out different styles. Disney Coloring Pages

Materials
- plain white tees (i got youth t-shirts to fit a little cropped)
- sans serif iron on letters (the lo siento font)
- serif iron on letters (the okey dokey font)
- embroidered letters (the laisse tomber font)

Instructions
01. wash your shirts before ironing on them.

02. play around with different layouts, try spacing out the letters, try them on one line and on two, figure out what design looks best. Ever Free Coloring

03. follow the directions on your letters packaging (all three had different instructions), preheat your iron and iron on your letters. i have to say that the okey dokey 70s font was my favorite to work with, the letters simply peeled off and were really easy to apply.

I have to say i reaaaally love all three shirts, i’m super excited about them. you gonna try it out?

How to Make Your Own Faux Fur Lined Muff

With chilly weather upon us, what better way to stay warm, than with a classic look from the winters of past eras: A Faux Fur Lined Muff! Muffs are such a nice, warm and toasty alternative to mittens. Added bonus - they're a lot harder to lose than gloves or mittens thanks to being a single piece and having a handy neck strap (which is a way to show off even more of the little deer print cuteness too): Ever Free Coloring


I used some cute reindeer print cotton for my decorative outer fabric and ultra soft faux fur to coordinate.  The cuddly faux fur not only looks pretty trimming up the ends, but it continues its coziness inside as a full lining.  There's also a insulated batting interior between them that means the muff isn't just for looks.  It keeps hands as warm as thick gloves, only now with a retro feminine style: 

The nice thing about this wearable is it doesn't require a lot of fabric either, so there's plenty to use on other winter projects like stockings, gift bags or quilts.  A big thanks to Kawaii Fabric for providing me with the cotton reindeer Christmas fabric.  They have loads of high quality festive prints over there, so whether you like classic, retro, rustic, modern or kawaii (aka cute), they'll have the holiday season fabric you want! Rapunzel Coloring Pages  

~~How To Make A Fur Lined Muff~~

Materials:
- Cotton fabric (I used Cozy Christmas Reindeer)
- Faux Fur  (I used Luxury Shag in Ivory)
- Insulated batting
- Ruler, rotary cutter/shears, pins, iron, hand sewing needle

Mine is child-sized at 9 inches in circumference and 11 inches wide when finished.  If you want adult sized, just add a few inches to the width and height.

Cut the following pieces:
- From the cotton, cut a rectangle 8 inches wide by 13 inches high and two vertical strips that are 2 inches wide by 13 inches high.
- From the faux fur, cut a rectangle 14 inches wide by 13 inches high.

Cut a piece of insulated batting to the same dimensions as the outer fabric as well.  This is usually available in the stabilizer section.  It's polyester batting that is needle punched with mylar, which makes it great for retaining heat:

Place the insulated batting behind the wrong side of the outer fabric.  I find that the texture of the batting clings to cotton well enough not to need to baste them together:

With right sides facing, stitch together one short end of each of the neck strap pieces with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.  I made sure to have the direction of the print going downward on both, so one side of the strap wouldn't look upside down when done:

Fold the strap in half lengthwise, wrong sides facing, and press, then open and fold each raw edge inward and press (as you would make double fold bias tape):

Edge stitch down the open side to finish the neck strap:

Find the midpoint of the fabric and baste the raw edges of the neck strap to either raw edge at the middle of either side:

With right sides facing (and fur nap direction going downward), clip, then stitch together the length sides of the outer fabric to the length sides of the faux fur, using a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

Now a long tube has been created:

This is what it will look like turned right side out:

To do the seam turning into a cylinder: with the muff wrong side out, match up the raw edges of the faux fur and outer fabric and clip/pin together to form a short tube like this:

Stitch all the way around, but leave a several inch gap on the outer fabric bit for turning.  Turn right side out when done.

Then slipstitch the opening closed and the muff is done.

Now this cozy muff is ready to keep hands warm:

It's a perfect companion to the new Veruca Faux Fur coat I recently got for my little lady too. In case you're wondering, it's from Mini Boden's Charlie and The Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl collection.  We're huge fans, so it only seemed right to make a cute fur muff to go with it!

Simple DIY Project: Outfit of the Day Tote Bag

Each school year, I try to come up with new ways to help make hectic school mornings a bit easier. As my kids get older, I love to give them more responsibility in their morning routine, and today’s project is one that I created specifically for that purpose. This DIY Outfit of the Day Tote (#ootd, in case you’re a hashtag lover like I am) can be made in minutes, and it is such a great way to reduce wardrobe stress on busy mornings! Kids place all of the elements of the next day’s outfit into the bag the night before, so all they have to do is grab it and get dressed once the alarm goes off in the morning. It is incredible how much this has helped reduce the stress of our school mornings since we started this little system! Read on for all of the details about this handy idea. Frozen Coloring Pages

To make an Outfit of the Day Tote, you will need…
- Tote bag
- Iron-on letter decals (I cut mine out with my Cricut using their glittered iron-on vinyl, but you can purchase them pre-made at any craft store)
- Iron

That’s it, y’all! Just three supplies/tools for this one!

Instructions
Step 1: Iron the desired letters onto the front of the tote. I opted to use the #ootd (“outfit of the day”) hashtag for ours, but a child’s name would be another fun option. Whatever you think your child will like best! Ever Free Coloring

Step 2: The tote is done. So easy! Now it’s time to put your new tote to work to make your busy mornings much easier!

Step 3: To do so, affix a command hook to an easy-to-reach place in the child’s room. I placed my daughter’s on her closet door so it is front and center where she gets dressed every morning.

Step 4: Every evening at bedtime, my daughter picks out all of the elements for her outfit for the next day (down to the socks, underwear and hair accessories) and places them in the tote.

Step 5: Once the tote is filled, it can be hung on the hook to be ready and waiting when it’s time to get dressed the next morning! It seems so simple, but it truly has revolutionized the way mornings go around our house each day!