Power Cuffs

Both of my kids love to dress up, so when I say these cool power cuffs over at 4 Crazy Kings I knew I was going to have to make these for my kids.

I used felt I already had on hand to make our power cuffs.  I started by cutting two 10 inch squares for each set of power cuffs.  The white will be for my daughter's and the black for my son's.

Next, I cut some felt in different colors that would be the fringe.  I folded each felt square in half and pinned the other felt between.

 

Then, I ran a straight stitch using my sewing machine to hold the pieces together, and cut the fringe.

The kids really liked these and instantly got dressed up to play super heroes.  I really liked that I had some scraps on hand to whip these up quickly.  If you don't have a sewing machine, I bet you could use hot glue to hold these together too. 

Pretend Makeup

I saw this idea for making pretend makeup using nail polish, but never got around to trying it out until now.  It looks really pretty, but there's no mess for the little one who wants to pretend to wear makeup.  I started off with an old eye shadow case.

Next, I scraped all of the makeup out and cleaned each section.

 

Then, I poured some of my most colorful and sparkly nail polish into each section.  Go slowly and watch it settle before adding more.  I would give it a good 24-48 hours to dry completely, in a well ventilated area.  My daughter loves pretending to put on her new pretend makeup!

 

Valentine Fleece Boa Scarf

I recently saw these adorable fleece boa scarves over at my friend Laura's blog, Come Together Kids.  She provided a great tutorial on how to make these, so I knew I would have to give it a try.  I decided to make one for Valentine's Day, in red and white.  My daughter wanted to use hers for dress up play. 

I started off with 3 pieces of lightweight cotton fleece, 2 red and 1 white.  Each piece was 6 inches wide and 48 inches long. 

I made two straight stitches down the middle of all three pieces.

Then, using my rotary cutter, I cut a one inch fringe on each side.

This turned out so cute and was so easy to make!  Thanks again Laura for sharing your tutorial with us!

Roll a Snowman

Need another fun activity on this snowy day?  How about a game of Roll-a-Snowman?  You can get the free printable game sheet HERE.  You just need paper, pencil or crayon and a die.  Each number on the die corresponds to a part of the snowman you can draw.  The first person to finish their snowman first is the winner!  Calm, educational and non-messy fun is always good!

 

Salt Designs

I saw this idea in the November 2010 issue of Family Fun magazine and knew this would be an activity my kids would love to try.  Not only is it a cool art craft, but a fun way to explore science as well.  For this activity you will need a piece of cardstock, glue, salt, colored water (use food coloring), and eyedroppers.

I started by having the kids draw their design on the paper with a pencil.

 

Then, we used the glue to outline their design.

Next, the kids sprinkled salt on their paper to cover the glue.  Be sure to tap off the excess salt.

Then, the kids used the eyedroppers to drop the colored water onto their design (one drop at a time).  It was neat to see the salt absorb the liquid and send the color down the line.  We also got to see colors mix when lines intersected.

Here are our finished designs.

Chalk Drawings

I am actually so happy to be stuck inside on a real snow day!  Last year, Maryland got clobbered by Snowmageddon, but so far this year we've dodge all those big storms to hit the northeast.  But today, we are actually getting a nice amount of snow.

So, I thought today would be the perfect time to pull out some of my winter and snow crafts to share with you.  Be on the lookout, because I'll probably be posting a few activities today and tomorrow.

This activity is one of my favorites and so easy to do.  To make a chalk drawing, all you need is some chalk and dark colored paper.  Tell the kids to draw a snow scene using the chalk.  White is great for the snow, but colored chalk works great as well, especially for adding details.

 

Felt Mustaches and Lips

I've seen these cute little mustaches and lips on sticks all over bloggy-land and finally decided to make a few for the kiddos.  I used a simple template to cut out the shapes from felt, then hot glued them onto small craft sticks.

I think they turned out really cute and were so quick and easy to put together!  And my kids have loved to use these quick disguises while playing.

Aren't they so mysterious?  Who are those kids?

 

Love Plaque

I had some heart garland and mini chalkboards that I picked up from the Dollar Store.  I wanted to make a cute decoration for Valentine's Day and came up with this cute love plaque.

I started by cutting the heart garland apart, so I had individual hearts.  Using my glue gun, I glued the tiny hearts to the mini chalkboards in the shape of the letters L, O, V, and E.  I attached the mini chalkboards together with a strip of ribbon running down the back.  I added a ribbon loop at the top for hanging, and small pink roses to the mini chalkboards for a little extra decoration.  I really like how this turned out!



Sharing this craft at the following blogs:

Making the World Cuter
Skip to My Lou
Keeping it Simple
Sew Can Do
C.R.A.F.T.
Craft-O-Maniac
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Simpsonized Crafts and Then Some!
Super Stinky Boys
Tip Junkie

My 100th Post!!!


Woo Hoo - Today is my 100th post!  I was trying to figure out a special post to do today in honor of my 100th post and decided to share some of my favorites with you.  Enjoy!

My Top Ten Favorite Craft Supplies

embroidery thread

ribbon

beads

Crayola Model Magic clay

fabric

ink

glitter

felt

buttons

cardstock

My Top Ten Favorite Crafting Tools

Sewing Machine

Glue Gun

Label Maker

Paper Cutter

Rotary Cutter

Cricut

Cuttlebug

Mod Podge

See-Through Ruler

24 x 36 Rotary Mat

My Top Ten Favorite Places to Shop for Crafty Things

Michaels

Joanns

Goodwill

Church Thrift Shop

Yard Sales/Flea Markets

Target

Walmart

Home Depot/Lowes

Dollar Store

Grocery Store

My Top Ten Favorite Places to Craft

Spread out on the living room floor

Spread out on the dining room table

My craft space (aka - multi-purpose room/pantry)

On our front porch

In the minivan (while waiting to pick up kids from school)

On my bed

Poolside (in the summertime)

By the firepit (perfect on cool nights)

On the sofa

On the computer

My Top Ten Favorite Crafts I've Blogged About

Pretty Canvas Shoes

Therapy Packs

Headband Roll

Reusable Felt Gingerbread House

Halloween Pillowcase Dress

Fleece Pocket Scarves

Jumper to Apron

Twine Vase

Monogrammed Tote Bag

Fairy Birthday Party

My Top Ten Favorite Crafts For the Kids

Blow Paint Monsters

Flower Prints

Cheer Sticks

Faux Gingerbread Houses

Stained Glass Painting

Christmas Activity Chain Link

Draw a Rhyme Story

Beachy Keepsake Jar

Millions and Jillions of Bubbles

Leaf Tokens

My Top Ten Favorite Craft Books

Doodle Stitching by Aimee Ray

One Yard Wonders by Rebecca Yaker

Sew What Skirts by Francesca DenHartog

Sewing Clothes Kids Love by Nancy Langdon

Handmade Home by Amanda Blake Soule

Sewing Bits and Pieces by Sandi Henderson

Green Crafts for Children by Emma Hardy

The Handmade Marketplace by Kari Chapin

Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts by M. Stewart

Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People by Amy Sedaris

My Top Ten Favorite Quick Party Treats

chocolate covered pretzels

chocolate covered marshmallows

monkey munch

rice krispie treats

fruit kabobs

yogurt & granola cups

veggie pizza

pigs in a blanket

mini bagel pizzas

microwave smores

My Top Ten Favorite Recycable Items for Crafting

toilet paper/paper towel tubes

oatmeal canisters

caps/lids

jelly/pickle jars

CD cases

cardboard boxes

newspaper/magazines

soup cans

old greeting cards

egg cartons

My Top Ten Favorite Upcoming Crafts

marble run

easy science experiments

Disney shirts

bathroom sign

canister sleeves

power cuffs

fabric play food

ruffle bag

lapbooks

subway art

Thanks so much for stopping by today to help me celebrate my 100th post!  If you get the chance, take a second and leave a comment telling me what your favorite post has been here at The Muddy Princess and what you are most looking forward to seeing in the upcoming craftiness.  And, as always be sure to share TMP with your friends, because the more, the craftier!

Heart Hair

Before I got my daughter's hair cut, it was pretty long.  And last year, she allowed me to play with her hair.  For Valentine's Day, we made these cute heart hair styles, thanks to some inspiration from The Story of a Princess and Her Hair blog.  If you haven't checked out this blog before, be sure you do.  She has so many cute hairstyles to try, with instructions!

Since we have shorter hair now, we'll have to see what cute style we can come up with this year.  Happy Valentine's Day!

Family Recipe Boxes

This post is a little late, but it all turned out so well I just had to share it.  I helped my son's teacher and his first grade class put together these family recipe boxes.

I ordered these adorable gingerbread boxes from Oriental Trading Company and was very pleased!  Each child received a gingerbread house box and this whole big sheet of stickers - they were in heaven!

A few weeks prior to this activity the teacher sent home a note requesting a favorite family recipe used during the holidays.  We received all kinds of tasty recipes from Cabbage Rolls and Kalakand to Chicken & Hot Peppers and Pastice.  There were also lots of traditional recipes for goodies like Snickerdoodles, Pumpkin Roll, and Buckeyes.

I found Alenka's site where I was able to type in the recipes and print them out on recipe cards, for FREE!

The kids worked really hard on these!  Each student decorated a gingerbread house, then received one copy of each of the recipes to put inside.  It was a really neat gift for them to take home to their families.

Recycled Valentine Crayons

I bought these silicone heart shaped trays from the Target dollar bins a few years ago.  I'm pretty sure I've seen them at our Dollar Store too.  These were perfect for making heart shaped recycled crayons for Valentine's Day.

The first thing you need to do is set your oven to preheat to 200 degrees.  While the oven is preheating, choose the colors you want to use for your crayons.  The better quality of the crayon, the better it will melt and hold together.  Peel the paper from your crayons and break them into small pieces.

Place the broken crayons, into the tray.  You can group like colors together or mix them.

Place the silicone trays onto a cookie sheet and bake for about 15-20 minutes, keeping a careful eye on the melting process.  When the crayons look fully melted, remove them from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, then pop them out of the mold.

I used glue dots to attach them to small cardstock cards as Valentine's for my daughter's preschool class.  We also put some in a goodie bag, tied off with ribbon, to give to the teacher for the class to use.

Beaded Ribbon Necklace

I found these simple but cute wooden beads at American Science & Surplus for only $1.50 for a package of 150!  Seriously, this place is so cool, and is not only heaven for my science loving son, but for his crafty loving mommy too. 

So, I decided I wanted to use the beads to make a fun little necklace.  I used some navy ribbon and looped it around each bead.

 

I used some miscellaneous pieces I had to create the back of the necklace.  I tied off the ends of the ribbon onto the small chains, then attached a hair elastic between the chains.  The elastic actually worked out really great, because it gives the necklace enough stretch that I can put it over my head, but keeps it short while wearing.

I had a hard time taking a picture of myself wearing the necklace, so here is just the necklace itself.  As you can see in the pic, I also added two specialty beads I had.  They are a kind of terra cotta color with navy designs, so they blend in really well.  It didn't take long to put together and I thought it turned out pretty cute!