BY Holly Korus | Thursday, May 16, 2013 11:00am | COMMENTS (7)
Polymer clay comes in every color of the rainbow, doesn’t dry until baked in the oven, is super easy to work with, and is NOT AT ALL MESSY. It’s the perfect craft for all ages!
If anyone is still asking the question, “Who let the dogs out?”, the answer is me. My 10 year old recently had a puppy-themed birthday party and I let them all out. We picked the dog theme around the cute polymer clay poodle my ridiculously creative friend Fran Liscio made for us. Continue Reading
BY Holly Korus | Wednesday, May 08, 2013 11:30am | COMMENTS (1)
Nest: A place in which young are reared; a lair.
Our nest is the first place we bring our babies to, the haven our children seek refuge after a tough day at school, a resting place when returning home after college finals or simply our voice or arms when our children, no matter how old they are, need us. A perfect symbol summing up the beauty of motherhood.
These nest pendants are an easy lovely gift to make for any mother. You can personalize it by putting the amount of eggs (beads) for each child your mother has. Eggs can represent grandchildren, nieces, nephews, step-children or godchildren. You could also represent each child by using a bead in the color of their birthstone.
BY Holly Korus | Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 2:45pm | COMMENTS (0)
The first time I saw a Japanese kusudama (薬玉) ball I wondered, “Hmm could I make that?” Kusudama balls are origami paper flowers made by gluing or sewing modular units of paper together and used for decoration or gifts. The kusudama I saw was made with a pattern called Butterfly and after one attempt,tap dancing barefoot on glass soaked in rubbing alcohol seemed like a better idea. However, I discovered a simple origami kusudama flower pattern that is just as pretty, easy, and rewarding.
Children eight years old and up take to origami like pros. While most adults have to look at instructions over and over, kids with their sponge-like brains can fold away like they’ve been doing origami since birth. With some printer paper, scissors and glue, you can easily make one or many flowers. If you can make 12, then it’s time to glue them together and make a ball.
BY Holly Korus | Wednesday, Apr 17, 2013 2:30pm | COMMENTS (1)
Although Ariel and Nemo are no longer household names in my house, the fascination with all things “under the sea” holds strong. This is what makes an Under the Sea themed party so fantastic; it’s unisex, it can be for boy/ girl twins and it covers ages 1-101.
And let’s face it—at some point every woman has wondered what it’s like to be a mermaid. The long gorgeous hair, the perfect mid-section, two shells that need no support and of course never having to get a bikini wax… I would trade a lot of sand for a hot crustacean band any day of the week.
BY Holly Korus | Wednesday, Apr 10, 2013 10:00am | COMMENTS (6)
There is something about finding bird’s nests that can only be described as—simply magical. This spring, since we’ve been watching our own birds flying by with beaks full of twigs, I decided to craft out a way for my children and my niece Riley (my biggest fan) to make their own nests. This was probably the easiest most rewarding project we have ever created. Brown paper, starch and lawn debris—done!
BY Holly Korus | Monday, Apr 01, 2013 12:30pm | COMMENTS (1)
Need a quick and easy April Fools’ Day gag to play on your kids tonight? These pranks will have your kids singing, “Mom is great. She makes us meat cake!” Seriously my six year old stopped between bites of his “cake” and said, “Mommy this is so good you should put it on Badeestanet!”
Here are a few quick ideas that you can throw together in no time and although they may look nasty my kids went cuckoo for loco puffs over them. Looking for more gags to play on your family? Click here to see how I Pity the April Fool.
BY Holly Korus | Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 12:00pm | COMMENTS (1)
When I was a kid, you didn’t eat a carrot without putting the end in the side of your mouth and saying, “Ehhhh—What’s up doc?” It’s tragic that kids today don’t even know who Bugs Bunny is. For Easter this year, in a nod to my favorite bunny—Bugs—I decided to go carrot crazy!
Here are three simple projects that would be cute as part of any Easter celebration or would also work for a bunny themed party. So here we go ,”Yoiks!, and Away!”
BY Georgette Gilmore | Tuesday, Mar 26, 2013 9:00am | COMMENTS (0)
Easter is this Sunday, March 31. We’ve put together a round-up of our Easter stories through the years. We also have a great Everything Easter board on Pinterest that has great food, crafts and decor ideas. Be sure to check it out!
Here is our Easter Round up of events, crafts, recipes, and more:
BY Holly Korus | Thursday, Mar 21, 2013 12:30pm | COMMENTS (3)
This week the long-eared-cotton-tail-gods have smiled upon me and have shown me a better way to decorate Easter eggs without dyeing them using those Alka Seltzer-like tablets. You know, the ones the kids fight about, the pink one that turns out to be the red one, and the blue one is cracked in the package and is now all over your fingers.
No more! All you need is a little $4 package of food color and vinegar, but that’s not even the best part. Not only do you not have to buy that egg dye kit every year, but if you buy the set of McCormick food color (we love the NEON!) they give you mixing color recipes right on the back of the box. You can make green apple, apricot, dusty rose etc. and they kids love making their own colors. Don’t put those dyes too far out of reach as I have a doozy of a fun project for them next week!
BY Georgette Gilmore | Wednesday, Mar 20, 2013 7:00am | COMMENTS (2)
It’s springtime! Yeah, I know it doesn’t feel like spring, but focus on the part that it will soon—hopefully. So let’s sing out in joy along with these happy birds:
Let’s sing a gay little spring song
This is the season to sing
So I’d like to suggest
That we all do our best
And warble a song about spring
Spring, spring, spring
