When my son started preschool, I didn’t realize how much “homework” I would end up having. Making homemade play dough was one of them but it turned out to be quite fun; as an added bonus, I finally found a use for cream of tartar (who knew?!). Anyway, I searched online for a simple recipe and came across one on Pinterest from Art Nest. The consistency was great, the colors are endless (it’s a great project to help your kids learn which combination of colors make new ones!) and it… Continue reading…

This idea was actually inspired by a trip to the doctor’s office. My son went in for his 3-year check up and one of the questions that was asked on the child development guide was something like “Can your child use scissors?” It had never dawned on me to let him try. So what a better way to start than with a craft day!   Knowing my son would have little patience, I prepped EVERYTHING ahead of time. I laid all of our crafting materials on the table and made… Continue reading…

My sister in Texas has this toy playhouse that her kids have outgrown. It would be perfect for my kids right now but the cost to ship it up here would have been way too much. After she mentioned it again during one of our phone conversations, it got me thinking about making a playhouse for my kids. It just so happened that I had a large box from an elliptical machine in the basement. I never got around to tearing it down to recycle and good thing I didn’t!… Continue reading…

We got our 16-month little girl a little kitchen set for Christmas. Just recently she’s joined her big brother in the kitchen and has been having a blast feeding me plastic food. This new activity for her inspired me to create our latest handmade item, the little apron skirt & oven mitt. They’re so adorable and fun that even my son has gotten into wearing the skirt version (I’ll just have to find more boy fabrics).  They’re so cute I’m going to have to make myself an adult size one… Continue reading…

We’re a gadget family as you probably noticed here and here. Lately though we’ve been partial to everything Apple – iPhone, iTouch, iPad, Macbooks…. maybe an Apple TV soon?! Hint hint hubby! After I got over the “wow it’s my shiny new phone that I can check my email, Facebook and Twitter on” phase I discovered the apps. (It’s a little embarrassing to admit but even though I’m in the IT industry the iPhone 4 is my first smartphone!) The commercials were right- there is an app for that! Of… Continue reading…

My son is all about pretend play and he especially loves “cooking”. I thought about getting him a kitchen set but then I thought about all the space that it would take up let alone the cost of it! So I put on my creative cap and designed a stove top table cloth that could be placed on his existing table since he ALREADY plays with my real pots and pans! Here’s what I did: 1) I dug through my fabric bin and found a neutral fabric for my son’s… Continue reading…

Wait, what? The Children’s Museum is free? Not every day but it is on every third Sunday of the month thanks to Target Corp. There are 4 levels to the museum and many different play areas.  The Little Peanut had so much fun that we’re planning on heading back whenever we can. We had to drag her away from World Works, the water filled “action-packed, hands-on environment that encourages investigating, experimenting, problem-solving, and observing.” She also had so much fun grocery shopping and cooking in Our World, the “unique neighborhood… Continue reading…

With the weather warming up and my daughter getting older now I’ve been on the hunt for fun things to do in the Twin Cities. It also just happens that everything I’ve found so far is also FREE, which is great because an outing with the family can get pretty expensive these days – and so starts my new series “Fun & free 4 kids!” Fun & Free 4 kids ~ Stillwater, MN A few weekends ago I delivered some consignment goods to Darn. Knit. {Anyway} in Stillwater. (DKA is… Continue reading…

As my little peanut’s first birthday comes closer and closer I’ve been thinking about what type of party to have for her. Of course I turned to some of my favorite blogs for inspiration- and boy am I in awe of some of these party themes. Check these out… Tinkerbright theme from Hostest with the Mostest blog When I do buy clothes for my daughter I tend to go with the brightly colored ones since we get a lot of pastels as gifts. That’s what drew me to this one… Continue reading…