Easy and Fun Nature Walk Bracelets for Kids
Are you looking for more ways to get your kids outside having fun? If you’re like me, the answer is pretty much always yes. We recently spent some time outside making these nature walk bracelets, and it was fun, easy, and they turned out really pretty!
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Preparing Your Bracelets
The only material you need for this activity is clear packing tape (get some here if you don’t have any at home!). And setup is ridiculously easy, too - create your child’s bracelet by putting the tape inside out around their wrist. You want the sticky part of the tape facing out, NOT toward their skin.
Aside from your packing tape bracelets, my five year old decided to bring a magnifying glass out with us, and that was a fun addition, too! (If you want to be really extra, this Kids’ Explorer Kit from Amazon looks really fun and is well priced.)
Decorating Your Nature Bracelets
All you need to do to create a beautiful bracelet is find different nature elements and stick them on your bracelet!
We headed outside and barely made it past the front door when both of my girls spotted some flowers and started investigating. Ella whipped out her magnifying glass to get a closer look, and Ruthie (my 17 month old) was intrigued by all of the different textures.
17 month old Ruthie working on her nature bracelet, with her favorite plastic french fry in tow. ;)
Not surprisingly, Ruthie’s bracelet didn’t last long. I helped her take it off after about three minutes, and she was happy to walk around exploring on her own.
Ella and I had fun finding different colored flowers in our yard, and I love how she arranged them, along with some leaves for variety!
These bracelets obviously aren’t meant to be worn long-term, so when we came inside, Ella cut hers off and laid it out flat in her room. It looks beautiful laid out, too! The wheels are already turning in my head - maybe we’ll turn this into a bookmark!
Download my Free Nature Scavenger Hunt
If you’re looking for more fun ways to play in nature, this activity pairs perfectly with my nature scavenger hunt activity, which you can read about here and then download your own for FREE! Just enter your email below and I’ll send it right to your inbox!
How to Make Ice Cream in a Bag
It is HOT here in Florida right now… and my oldest is home for summer vacation, so we are in full-on summer mode!
And what better way to celebrate the season than with homemade ice cream?
DISCLOSURE: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING I GET A COMMISSION IF YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A PURCHASE THROUGH MY LINKS, AT NO COST TO YOU. PLEASE READ MY TERMS OF USE POLICY FOR MORE INFO.
We don’t have an ice cream maker (yet), but good news - you don’t need one to make your own ice cream at home!
(Want to make more than about a pint of ice cream? An ice cream maker might be the way to go. This one is affordable and has good reviews!)
Elementary school science teachers have been doing this for years, and yes, it really works.
With just a few ingredients that you probably already have at home (the only thing I needed to pick up was half & half, and I got some with my Walmart+ grocery order - you can sign up for a free trial by clicking here).
What You Need
1 cup of half & half
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp sugar
¼ cup salt
Ice (enough to fill a large Ziploc bag about ¾ way full)
Ziploc bags - 1 gallon sized, 2 sandwich sized
How to Make Your Ice Cream
Pour 1 cup of half & half into one of your small ziploc bags. Add in ½ tsp of vanilla extract and 1 tbsp of sugar. Seal the bag, making sure to let excess air out.
Place your bag with the ice cream mixture inside your other small baggie. Let the air out and seal that bag. (This step is to make sure you don’t end up with salty ice cream!)
3. Fill your large Ziploc bag at least halfway full with ice, and sprinkle the ¼ cup of salt onto the ice. Give the bag a shake.
4. Place your double-bagged ice cream mixture inside the large bag with ice. We added a little more ice and a little more salt on top. Then seal the large bag.
5. Now comes the fun part! You are going to SHAKE your large Ziploc bag, for six to eight minutes! I set a timer for eight minutes and then played some shake-themed music (see below - I’ve got a list for you!), and we took turns turning and shaking the bag. It’s going to get COLD, so feel free to wear oven mitts!
6. Carefully open the large bag and remove your double-bagged ice cream. Remember, the goal here is to not get any salt in your ice cream!
7. Open your small bags. You did it! Your final step is to eat and enjoy!
A Few Notes and Options
*I’ve read that you can use regular whole milk instead of half & half, the ice cream just doesn’t come out quite as creamy. We haven’t tried it, but if you do, I’d love to hear about how yours comes out!
*Want to make chocolate ice cream? Leave out the vanilla extract and sugar and add chocolate syrup instead!
*Using quality bags will most likely save you from making a mess. We used a cheap gallon sized bag (I think it was from the dollar store) and it leaked while we were shaking. It didn’t affect our ice cream at all but it did make a mess.
The Science (Why this Works)
Salt lowers the freezing temperature of water, making ice melt faster (that’s why they salt icy roads when it snows!). This is called freezing point depression. The ice pulls heat from surrounding sources - in this case, the ice cream mixture - in order to melt. This causes the ice cream mixture to freeze!
And as promised, some shake-themed songs for your ice cream shaking dance party
Shake it Off by Taylor Swift
Shake Your Booty by KC and the Sunshine Gang
Shake a Tail Feather by the Blue Brothers
Shake Your Groove Thing by Peaches & Herbs
Shake Your Pom Pom by Missy Elliott
Shake That by Scooter
Shake it Like That by Metro Station
If you make some homemade ice cream in a bag, I’d love to hear how yours turns out! Comment below or tag me on Instagram to tell me about yours!
—-> Looking for more fun ideas to do as a family over summer vacation? Make sure to check out my EPIC summer bucket list craft and idea list!
How To Throw an Epic Harry Potter Themed Baby Shower
As the oldest of four girls, my mom, my sisters, and I have some experience throwing showers, and we really believe the magic is in the details. Last weekend, we threw a Harry Potter themed baby shower for my youngest sister. Dreaming up details for this theme was so much fun!
DISCLOSURE: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING I GET A COMMISSION IF YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A PURCHASE THROUGH MY LINKS, AT NO COST TO YOU. PLEASE READ MY TERMS OF USE POLICY FOR MORE INFO.
Golden Snitches
The golden snitch is a Harry Potter staple, and these chocolate snitches couldn’t be easier to put together! Ferrero Roche chocolates with wings cut from cardstock and glued on make the perfect golden snitches.
Chocolate Frogs
My sister used a silicone frog mold and chocolate melting candies to make these chocolate frogs. They came out so cute and were delicious, too!
Screaming Mandrakes
This was quite possibly everyone’s favorite detail from the whole shower, and it was deceptively easy to make! We put a chocolate cupcake inside a small flower pot, and used a stone for our Screaming Mandrake. We drew a little face with a Sharpie. Add some lettuce for hair, and your Mandrake is good to go!
Professor Sprout’s Garden
We turned our charcuterie board into Professor Sprout’s Garden! The small white picket fence came from Hobby Lobby, and a head of lettuce in one corner and a “Professor Sprout’s Garden” sign in another tied it all together!
Magic Broomsticks
Another EASY and festive DIY! Mini peanut butter cups and pretzel sticks are all you need to make the perfect broomsticks for your party.
Accio Donuts
To make this fun donut display, we taped an empty Amazon box shut and wrapped it in brown kraft paper. Then we wrote “Accio Donuts” on one side and pushed (clean) nails in at a slight angle. The mini donuts hung perfectly!
It’s MimOsa Not MimosA
Are you team adult beverages at baby showers? We are! This fun sign was an easy way to tie in our theme at our mimosa bar!
Sign Baby’s First Harry Potter Book
You could easily just grab a copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and that would work well for this cute activity too. But we found this Harry Potter Fill-In Book and it was perfect for having everyone sign the inside front cover!
Baby Making Potion Favors
Our favors for party games were a fun play on “potions”. These “Baby Making Potions” included a small bottle of margarita mix, and one of tequila!
9 ¾ Pregnant Sash
I ordered a plain sash from Amazon and whipped this up with my Cricut in no time flat. (Amazon also has these already made, too!) My sister, Emily, looked adorable wearing it!
Welcome Baby Muggle Sign
This is one of the few items on the list that wasn’t a DIY - this cute banner came from Amazon! It wouldn’t be hard to DIY a similar one, though!
Harry Potter Onesies
I made these fun baby bodysuits and we hung them on a clothesline with baby socks for a festive decoration. Of course, baby boy will get to wear them later on! (Read about how I made these HERE!)
“Don’t Say Baby” House Ties
If you’ve never played the “Don’t Say Baby” game at a baby shower, the traditional game involves wearing a clothespin on your shirt, and if someone catches you saying the word “baby”, they get to steal your clothespin! The person at the end of the shower with the most clothespins is the winner!
We put a Harry Potter spin on the game by creating ties in the color of the four houses. We cut the ties from felt and hot glued stripes on, but you could also print yours out (these ones from Etsy are so cute).
Sorting Hat Scratch Offs
This was the only other non-DIY - we bought these cute scratch off tickets from Etsy and people scratched to see what house they would be sorted into! (Also featured in this photo: adorable baby pics of the mom- and dad-to-be!)
P.S. -Most of the links I share in this post are Walmart links. Want to get these items delivered to your house, for free (in most cases, TODAY)? We started using Walmart+ earlier this year and I swear I’ll never go back. Free shipping on everything, and free same-day delivery for orders over $35. You can start a free trial here!
How To Make a Onesie with Your Cricut
Last weekend we hosted a Harry Potter themed baby shower for my youngest sister! As the crafter of the family, I was in charge of making some cute onesies to display at the shower (and then, of course, for baby boy to wear later on!).
DISCLOSURE: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING I GET A COMMISSION IF YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A PURCHASE THROUGH MY LINKS, AT NO COST TO YOU. PLEASE READ MY TERMS OF USE POLICY FOR MORE INFO.
I decided this was the perfect opportunity to share a tutorial! Using your Cricut and heat transfer vinyl, you can easily make personalized baby onesies, shirts, and so much more.
If you’ve been on the fence about buying a Cricut, this is your sign! There is a bit of a learning curve but once you get the hang of it, creating with your Cricut can be fun and easy. And BONUS - I’ve got a tip that makes it so much easier!
Gather Your Materials
Cricut (I use the Cricut Maker 3 but if you know you’re going to stick to small designs like baby body suits, you could get the Cricut Joy)
Cutting mat
Heat press (it is possibly to do this with a household iron - I did it for months - but it’s much harder! This is the heat press I have and it’s saved me SO much time.)
——> Again, if you know you’re planning on sticking to smaller projects, you could grab a mini heat press
Heat press mat
Heat transfer vinyl
Weeding tool (I have a set like this one)
Creating Your Design
The first thing you’ll want to do is open Cricut Design Space. This is the free program that you were instructed to download when you first set up your Cricut, and it’s where you’ll design all of your projects. You can browse their image library, or upload a design that you created in Canva, or you can purchase one from somewhere like Etsy. Size your image and hit “Make.”
Etsy is a great place to find cute images!
Editing and sizing my image after uploading it to Cricut Design Space.
Follow the steps on screen (be sure to turn on “Mirror Image”), and apply your vinyl to your cutting mat. Make sure the shiny side is facing down! Insert the mat into your Cricut machine. Cricut walks you through how to cut your vinyl.
Cutting and Weeding Your Image
HERE’S MY TIP for making things so much easier: after you’ve cut the vinyl, DON’T REMOVE IT FROM THE MACHINE YET. Don’t touch it! Press the “go” button again, and it will cut the design again. This makes for a deeper cut, and makes it SO much easier to weed your vinyl! Before I learned this trick, I had SO much trouble weeding my designs.
After you’ve cut your design TWICE, you can remove it from your Cricut and peel the vinyl from the mat. Now you’re ready to weed your design! Using your weeding tool, find a spot to start peeling away at the excess vinyl. It should be relatively easy since you cut twice!
Once you’re done weeding, you’re ready to iron on your design! You can use a regular household iron - I did it for quite a while - but it’s a lot more challenging. Using a heat press makes the process MUCH easier. I have this one, but you could try a smaller one like this, especially if you know you’re going to stick to small projects like onesies.
Applying Your Design
Head back to Cricut Design Space and find the Cricut Heat Guide. You can enter the type of materials you’r using and they’ll tell you exactly how hot to make your heat press and how long to press for.
Preheat your onesie, line up your design carefully on the front, and you’re ready to go!
After you use your heat press (following the directions from the Cricut Heat Guide), you’re ready to peel off the plastic backing from your onesie. Go slow and peel at an angle down against the shirt. If the vinyl doesn’t stick to the shirt, you may need to use the heat press again.
And that’s it - you did it! Congratulations on DIYing your very own onesie! Once you’ve mastered this technique, the possibilities really are endless for what you can create!
Looking for more fun crafts you can do with your Cricut? Check out this blog post about creating a DIY Personalized Hand Sanitizer craft!
P.S. - The links I shared in this post are all Walmart links. Want to get these items delivered to your house, for free (in most cases, TODAY)? We started using Walmart+ earlier this year and I swear I’ll never go back. Free shipping on everything, and free same-day delivery for orders over $35. You can start a free trial here!
DIY Personalized Hand Sanitizer Craft
Can you believe Teacher Appreciation Week is less than two weeks away? Time is FLYING!
As a former teacher, I like to think I have a pretty good idea about what teachers really want to receive as gifts. And I can tell you what it’s not: more mugs, candles, or lotion sets.
Don’t feel bad if you’ve given these gifts before! We really do appreciate each and every gift and we’re thankful you’re thinking of us at all. But if you want to know the formula for the perfect teacher gift, I’ve got it for you! -
Something useful + a gift card!
The “something” useful can be small, and it can be edible (or drinkable). It could also be something for the classroom like pens, stationary, or in this case… hand sanitizer!
Today I’m bringing you a fun Cricut craft that any teacher is sure to love. Personalizing a bottle of hand sanitizer makes it fun and special- and the teacher in your life can refill it to use it again and again!
And if you DON’T own a Cricut yet… I highly recommend buying one! I know it’s a bigger purchase, but the possibilities of what you can create are endless! Click here to purchase one!
DISCLOSURE: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING I GET A COMMISSION IF YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A PURCHASE THROUGH MY LINKS, AT NO COST TO YOU. PLEASE READ MY TERMS OF USE POLICY FOR MORE INFO.
Supplies I used:
Hand sanitizer (I got mine from Dollar Tree)
Cricut Maker 3
Permanent vinyl
Weeding tool & scraper (I have this Basic Tool Set)
Transfer tape
Ribbon
Printable gift tag
How to Create a Personalized Hand Sanitizer Gift:
I started by peeling the label off of the front of the sanitizer bottle, and making sure the surface was clean and dry.
I then went into Cricut Design Space and designed a label I liked with my daughter’s teacher’s name and a small flower. I cut the design on red permanent vinyl and used my weeding tool to weed the design.
Once I had weeded my design, I used transfer tape to move the design onto the sanitizer bottle. Make sure to use your scraper to smooth the transfer tape!
Finally, I carefully peeled off the transfer tape, added a ribbon and a gift tag — and perhaps most importantly, added a gift card to go with it!
I’d love to know- is this a DIY project you would try? If you do, tag me on Instagram (@kindofcraftymom) and let me know how yours turns out!
Looking for more fun crafts you can do with your Cricut? I’ve got you! Check out my tutorial on creating a personalized onesie with your Cricut here. I share my BEST tip for weeding over there, too!
