Picture Frame For Dad

I know we just celebrated Mother's Day and it's not even June yet but I wanted to post this early enough so you all have time to work on projects for Father's Day. We all love our Dads too and so here are some ideas for gifts for the Daddy in your lives.

Materials Needed:

Cardstock or a piece of poster board cut into a 5x7 (You can go as big as you like)
Glue
photos

Instructions:
Draw two D’s and an A shape onto the card/poster board and cut out. Use a small pair of scissors to cut out the inside of the letters, too (younger children will need adult help or supervision).

Decorate your letters. Embellish your letters with any kind of  stickers, gems, ribbons, sequins, pompoms etc...

Glue a photo to the back of each letter.

Layer the letters so they overlap slightly, spelling out the word "Dad", and glue together.

You can laminate to make it last longer

Links to other fun ideas:

LADYBUG TIE TACK

BEST BBQ APRON

TROPHY FOR DAD

TRAIN PAPER WEIGHT

MY DAD ROCKS PAPER WEIGHT

NUTS ABOUT DAD (PEANUT JAR)

Happy Mother's Day

I won't be posting a craft today. I have a date with my very special daughter. 

To those of you who still haven't made Mom a special gift here is a link to two crafts--HANDPRINTS and STEPPING STONE .

I want to share a special poem I wrote when I found out I was going to be a Mom.



Francessca on her 2nd birthday



My Daughter

 By MJ Daley-Prado



My belly is growing
I feel you moving inside of me
I can hardly contain myself knowing
that soon you will be here
I have dreamed about this moment all my life
Now I am holding you in my arms
Dark brown hair
Your little fingers and toes
I stare at you in disbelief
A moment in time that I will never forget
Precious and truly a gift from God
My daughter

Yes...I can hardly believe
my dreams have been answered
I am a Mom....Your Mom
I will love you forever!

Again---HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Stepping Stone

Like most people I love gardening. I have all kinds of little ornamental things in my garden,the majority being gnomes. In fact my daughter always kids me about my gnomes and it isn't that I love them it's just that they are usually cheap at the dollar store and so this is how I accumulate so many.

My daughter however got tired of all my little gnomes and ladybugs staring at her so she made me a beautiful stepping stone. I tried to post it on here but for some reason it wouldn't send. (I will add it when I can)

Here is a really neat craft idea for anytime of year. Be creative and add lots of embellishments. You can even write a name in the plaque and give it for a special gift to someone you love.

You will need:
Plaster of Paris
Aluminium pie case
Shells, pebbles, acrylic gems, marbles or other water-resistant treasures to decorate. You could even use small plastic toys such as figures or toy cars.(Many of these things you may have laying around your home and some can be bought at your local dollar store)

Instructions:

• Make sure that you have a covered surface to work on and your children have overalls to protect their clothes. Gather all your materials in advance, as Plaster of Paris dries quickly.
• Mix up the Plaster of Paris in an old jug according to the instructions on the packet. Pour into the pie case.
• Carefully lay your decoration on top (note: they will sink a little no matter how carefully you do this; if you are too rough they will sink a lot!)
• Leave to dry for a couple of hours and then remove the plaque from the pie tray.
• Dig a hole in the garden and pop in the plaque. Back-fill with soil so that the top of the plaque sits level with the flower bed.

Bubbles, Bubbles and More Bubbles

My daughter,nieces and nephews all loved bubbles. My daughter would play jumping high trying to catch it. She would giggle and screach with laughter. Something so inexpensive that brought her hours of joy (and me too for that matter!)

It wouldn't be spring if we didn't get outside and blow some bubbles. The bigger the better!! Last year we went to a show at our local library. I don't recall her name but she made some huge bubbles.
Here is a video that shows some of those epic bubbles.
 Here's a bubble recipe to make up your own bubbles. After you and your Mom make it store it in jars or bottles overnight. Let sit for 24 hours and it will be even better.

Bubble Recipe

·        1/2 cup of dish detergent

·        5 cups water (If your water is very hard consider using distilled or bottled water)

·        2 tablespoons glycerin (It's available at your local  pharmacy)

Mix ingredients together very slowly and carefully. Pour into storage containers and let sit for several hours.

You can also make your own wands--

·        Wire coat hangers or floral wire, pipe or cleaners

·        You can also use large drinking

·        Anything with round holes in it (Spoons, string etc...

 

Mother's Day or Anytime

With Mother's Day approaching I wanted to share with you a very special sentimental gift that you can make for merely pennies yet to your Mom it will be priceless!

When my daughter was in elementary school she made me a this very craft for Mother's Day. You can't see it well from the photo but in the center is a beautiful poem about handprints. If you Mom (or even Grandma) is a sentimental mush like me trust me she will love,love,love this and treasure your handprints forever!! 
Materials:

• Large piece of colored poster board or colored stock (Needs to be at least 10x13)
• Clear laminating film
• Colored tempra paint (only need 1 color)
• Printer to print out poem

Directions:

1. Print out poem and glue onto the center of the board.
2. Quickly put some paint onto your hands either via a paintbrush or sipping them into the paint (you can put some into a flat pan,either way works)
3. Now carefully lay your hands down onto the board putting one hand on each side of the board.
4. After it is completely dry you can have the child write his name in the middle of the art work and maybe sign it "I love you (insert name).
5. Once it is dry have someone help you laminate it. Be very careful as you only get one chance to cover it---it sticks like molasses!

HANDPRINT POEM 

Click onto link and the poem will open. When it opens hit Print. If you have any problems please leave me a message so I can repair it. Thanks!!

Mod Podge Stool

Mod Podge is simple to do. I have made collage pictures, trays, chairs etc..Select your theme and then either use some real photograpghs that you have laying around or select a bunch from some magazines.

For this stool my daughter chose her favorite animal ----DOGS! She actually mixed it up using a few photo's of our dogs and then a bunch of magazine photo's of all kinds of dogs. It's a fun project and it makes a terrific gift for anyone, including yourself!!

Materials Needed:

• A wooden stool (from any craft and hobbie shop such as AC Moore,Michaels etc...)
• Mod Podge glue (Or you can make it yourself using craft glue--I will give recipe later in this post)
• lots of pictures
• A Sponge paintbrush or a regular large soft paintbrush
• An old plastic tablecloth or some newspapers

Directions:

1. Spread out old cloth or some newspapers on a table
2. Set your stool on top of the cloth/newpapers
3. Spread one later of glue onto surface of stool and place pictures where you want them to be
4. Once pictures are in place you need to paint over them with them mod podge glue
5. Let it dry making sure all corners are sticking
6. Once it dries you will want to repeat step 4 at least 2-3 more times.

7. It will dry very shiny and hard

Make it yourself Mod podge Glue

• Buy any craft glue
• An old jar with a lid
• water

Empty the contents of your glue into an empty glass or plastic jar.
Now fill the empty glue bottle with water 2 times and pour contents into jar. Place the lid on the jar and shake to mix well. Voila! Modpage glue.

Foam Brushes

Mod Podge Glue

Barbie Furniture

This is a project for Mom.,and possibly some Dad's.

 I didn't have money to go out and splurge on toys for my daughter. I am a single Mom and so I  put my thinking hat on and I thought to myself why not make my daughter a house and furniture. This was a really cool project. It took a few weeks to do but it was all worth it!!

I made all sorts of furniture ranging from couches, beds, bunk beds, tables, chairs, a vanity, chaise lounge etc... It was allot of fun and enjoyment.

When I finally gave the furniture and house to my daughter she and her friends would spend hours playing Barbie's. I heard them giggling and sometimes fussing over who was going to use what piece of furniture. All the neighbor kids thought it was so cool that Fran's Mom makes Barbie stuff. It became so popular that I began making things for gifts because other children were without furniture or houses for their Barbie.

Maybe you are creative like me. Use your imagination and decorate any which way you choose! Have fun with it!!!

Materials Needed:

·        All different sizes of cans and boxes---The boxes need to range from little gifts boxes to cereal boxes to Pringles chip cans, vegetable cans.

·        Some sturdy cardboard

·        Utility knife

·        Duct Tape

·        Fabrics (all sizes and colors

·        Lace, ruffles, trims for fabric

·        Glue Sticks

·        Glue Gun

·        Polyester Filling

·        Popsicle Sticks

·        Pieces of foam, dollar store foam curlers, sanitary pads (all these make great fillers for sofas, beds and pillows.

·        Crafts Glue

·        Tiny artificial flowers

Directions:

·        Choose what you are going to make and secure boxes in place.

·        Once secured you can begin covering your couch in fabric

·        Then decorate and put the final additions on your piece using ruffles, trim etc...

**When you are done with the fabric what I like to do is I use popsicles sticks and I will glue them onto the back of the couch to make it stronger as well. You can do this before or after the fabric is added.

Below are some of the neat things that you can make.



Pringle Can Chair--

This makes a cute chair.

Materials Needed:

·        Pringle Can

·        Cardboard

·        Glue Sticks

·        Glue Gun

·        Utility Knife

·        Duck Tape

·        Fabri,ruffles,etc..

Directions:

·        Cut about 1/2 of the Pringle can off.

·        Cut 2 pieces of cardboard on a circle

·        Glue to Pringle can

·        Stuff with fabric

·        Now you are ready to cover in fabric



Bed Directions---

·        I use cereal boxes for a double bed and Kleenex boxes for single beds.

·        You want to secure it and make it sturdy so it's best to stuff the boxes with newspapers.

·        Once you do this then cut 2 pieces of heavy cardboard and glue one on the top and one on the bottom of the box. This will make it very stiff and secure.

·        Now measure the end of your bed and cut 2 pieces, now glue them on for your headboard.

·        Once you secure your boxes and headboard then you can cover in fabrics of your choice.

·        Add ruffles and lace for trim.

·        Make pillows out by covering either a sanity pad or some larger foam rollers

Bunk Beds for Little Kelly Dolls

Materials:

·        2 Small Kleenex Boxes

·        Cardboard

·        Popsicle Sticks

·        Glue Sticks

·        Glue Gun

·        Utility Knife

·        Fabric

·        Duct Tape

·        Fabric

Directions:

Look at illustration.

Glue boxes together and then decorate with Fabric.

Directions:

For Table

·        Cut 2 pieces of Cardboard in a 3x5 to use for a kitchen table.

·        Glue together

·        Now glue Popsicle sticks on top or cover in wood fabric.

·        Glue Popsicle legs onto table. (Sit doll on chair so that you can determine where to cut the height.

For Chairs--

·        Use a small gift box

·        Cut 2 popsicle sticks to use for the front legs

·        Use 2 ful length sticks for the back of the chair.

·        Cut 2 cardboard squares to use for the back of the chair

·        Once you have everything tapes and glued into place you can begin decorating with fabric





ENJOY!!!