Creative Mom Cafe

I recently ordered a few things from an Etsy shop and with my order came a small thank you card. The card was made from homemade paper and had held within it a collection of flower seeds. The instructions printed on the back of the card was to plant it under a light layer of dirt, keep moist, and enjoy the blooms that sprouted up. I thought that was such a great idea I went looking online for something similar.

I found this great tutorial on Making Paper From The Garden that might be just what I am looking for. I hope to get my hands on some mixed flower seeds and try making a few sheets of paper. The directions are simple enough that even children can follow them.

I immediately knew this would be a great project to make for Mother’s Day. Make sheets of paper with flower seeds and fold them gently into cards. Make these seed paper cards to give to all of the mothers and grandmothers in your life. Of course if you do not want to try to make them yourself you can always buy some. Try this set of three with a beautiful leaf image in the center. Or check out this beautiful wedding invitation with seeds in the cake. This set of 10 cute mini note cards are also perfect for sending out to the moms you love this Mother’s day.

Go out and try this for yourself! I would love to see all the fun things you can do with some plantable paper.

Mother’s Day, flower seeds, plantable paper, flower seed paper

Pretty Easter dresses, colorful eggs, delighted faces running through the grass. These are the things that make moms carry their cameras every where they go in hopes of getting a few good photos. With Spring almost here and Easter on the horizon I wanted to share some fun ideas for you scrapbook lovers out there. After all, you have to do something with the mountain of photos you are taking every day.

This is an Easter scrapbook page I did when my oldest son was not quite a year and a half yet. The giant rabbit handing out suckers and taking photos was too fun to resist, at least to me it was. Making the page was just as fun, mixing bright colors with the unique patchwork quilt pattern gave a look I loved. And of course the embellishments added the perfect Easter touch.

• Go with the unusual. Instead of the typical soft pastels look for a bright green or yellow, or mix up colors that you would not normally use together. Just think of wild flowers bursting into bloom.
• Use photos that tell a different story. Instead of the sweet faced child in her best dress use the one later, where she’s covered in chocolate looking for trouble.
• Add some nature to your pages. Not just in photos of nature but with some dried flowers, pressed leaves, or even a muddy hand print begging to be preserved.
• Create a paper garden. Toss together little bits of this and that into a scrap paper garden. All those little ends and sides that leave paper messes every where could be reused into a funky and colorful Spring flowerbed.

If you are looking for something great to say but hitting a writer’s block here is a collection of poems and quotes perfect for Spring time use. You might even be inspired by the quotes themselves. “In like a lion, out like a lamb” is already giving me an idea involving two great pictures. one of my youngest screaming as he waits impatiently for his chocolate candy, and the other as he slept peacefully on the couch, chocolate smears across his lips. You can also get inspired by checking out the great pages other scrapbookers are doing for spring at Flickr.

Spring, Easter, scrapbook, scrapbooking, crafts, photos

There are a lot of great sites out there that offer fun and creative craft ideas for parents to do with their kids. I wanted to highlight a few of my favorite ones for you to explore. When I am not sure what I want to do these are the places I stop by first. Even creative moms need some idea help now and then.

• Enchanted Learning - This site is overflowing with crafts, printables, and more. Geared towards education for young children you will find both fun crafts and ones to help your kids learn something new.
• DLTK - Another fun site with creative ideas and things for you to print off to do with your kids. This site is run by a very creative mom so you can be sure the ideas here are kid friendly.
• Kids Craft Weekly - This weekly newsletter always has great ideas  that I love.  You can look back through the past newsletters to find fun themed ideas.
• Family Fun - This magazine styled site has up to date ideas for seasons, holidays, and every day creative play. You can find crafts, recipes, games, and everything else all geared for kids.
• Kaboose - Another magazine styled site that I love to visit. I cannot leave the site without at least one great idea in my head.
• Family Crafts - About.com always has the bet information you can find, and their family craft section is no exception. Updated frequently with fun crafts for you to do with your kids this is certainly one place to explore.

These are my favorite places to hang out, but I am sure there are hundreds more online. If you know of any good craft sites for moms and kids to get creative ideas from leave a comment and let me know.

I just wanted to write a quick post to share a review I found online. Melissa Wiley wrote about Great Yarns for the Close-Knit Family, a book that combines beloved children’s stories with creative knitting projects. This sounds like the perfect book for a creative mom to have on her shelf.

The stories include classics such as Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, stories that most of us read and reread as children ourselves. Now we can takes those favorite stories to a new level with our children by adding fun crafts with them. Knit a pair of Ma’s boot socks or create your own cloak like Mrs. Sowerby wore. I’m absolutely in love with this idea and on pins and needles waiting for the book to come out. Luckily I won’t have to wait much longer as it is expected to come out mid-March. To tempt you a little more if you pre-order before March 8th you will also get a set of wooden knitting needles free.

Be sure to visit the author’s blog to read more about Great Yarns for the Close-Knit Family. I know this book is going on my wish list, I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy. Especially as a homeschooling mom having some fun creative ideas to go with great children’s stories is invaluable. And it sounds like the crafts would sure beat the usually paper and glue crafts in both function and style.

book, knitting, crafts, children, stories, Great Yarns for the Close-Knit Family

Over at Unplug Your Kids there are fun weekly projects going on. This is one of the blogs that I absolutely love reading for all the fun ideas and easy crafts that are always going on. This week the kids made a pillow and small banner flags out of fabric. They turned out so cute and the kids were entertained for hours. Sounds great doesn’t it?

Those of you that sew, go ahead and pull out your own bins of fabric and see what scraps and pieces you might have hiding in there. Eve if you’re not a sewer you can usually find fun pieces of fabrics at thrift shops for very cheap. It could easily become a full day of fun by letting the kids pick out their own materials and come up with their own creations. Those who can’t, or don’t want to, sew you could always look for fleece. Because fleece does not fray on the edges you can make many no-sew projects.

With Easter coming up you could try sewing some cute fabric eggs with your kids, make liners for Easter baskets, sew an Easter kite, or make this sweet Easter bunny (pdf).

Stuffed animals is one Easter staple that never seems to go out of style. Everyone ends up with two or three new bunnies, chicks, and sheep before the candy has been eaten. So sewing up some cute handmade stuffed toys would be a great simple sewing project to do to. Follow in Sew Green’s footsteps and recycle old material to make the toys out of. Socks without a match and out grown clothes could be remade into sweet little lovies.

Know any other great Easter sewing projects out there? Leave a comment and let me know!

crafts, kids, sewing, Easter

Spring is in the air. Or not, depending on where you live.

But no matter the climate there is a feeling of spring coming on soon. Or at least a yearning for spring to come along soon and end this nasty snow.

If you are looking to burn some creative energy and anticipate the spring thaw a great creative idea is to start planting some seeds. No matter how old or young your kids are they can help in some way with this. Even just sprinkling the seeds on the dirt can make them feel happy. With Valentine’s Day coming up you can turn this into a fun last minute gift idea. Paint and decorate some interesting pots and plant flower seeds in them.

If you want to be eco-friendly and creative you can look to your own garbage for interesting planting ideas. You might just be surprised at what you are tossing out that could be used again as a nice home for your seedlings. If digging out the trash is too much for you visit your local thrift shops and see what can be given new life as a funky flower pot. Old tea cups, glass jars, and large bowels all hold the potential to be cleaned up and turned into a flower pot that will turn heads.

If you are really feeling creative here is something you could try to create yourself using old milk jugs. Warning, it does requiring wiring and electricty, so you might want to save this for the older children only.

plants, environmental, recycling, trash

wordless wednesday, felt, sewing

Now that the rush of Christmas is over it’s time to start thinking about sending thank you cards. Sending a great card with a heartfelt note of thanks is the perfect way to let someone know their gift was appriciated. Of course with kids you will probably be lucky to get a scribbled “thanks”. At least you can make the cards look great!

One of my favorite ideas is to make handmade cards using the wrapping paper from the gifts. You can use pieces of cardstock cut down and folded into a card or buy a box of blank cards that you can decorate yourself. If you are really organized you could decorate each card individually using the paper that that particular prson used. Though I doubt many people keep track of who sent what gift and used what paper.

This can be a fun project to do with your kids. Cutting and gluing and being creative always makes for ahppy kids, especially if you’re snowed in the house right now. You can be as creative as you want to be. Lay a piece of silver paper down as the background then use red and green paper to stencil out “Thank You”. Cut out images from the paper, presents or snowflakes or Santa Claus and glue them to the front. Or go for a montage of pieces of different paper glued on randomly. Glue on ribbons, add stickers, toss on the glitter. Whatever you and your kids want. It does not have to look perfect at all. This is one case where the thought really does count!

If you’ve already sent back thank you cards to friends and family this is a great idea to store away for future birthdays, baby showers, or any other celebrations.

Christmas cards, thank you cards, cards

There’s something warm and snuggly about a soft, fleece hat. They are perfect when you’re going out in the cold weather, especially if you are going to be out there a while playing. I mentioned the other day that with the latest cold front that has hit here I rumaged around and found enough fleece to make my nieces each a fleece hat to wear. They aren’t as creative as a dinosaur fleece hat, but they’ll keep warm still.

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There is no better time for mom to show off her creative side than the holiday season. Decorating, making gifts, and putting together a fun holiday get together really flexes that mental muscle. Michelle at Scribbit has the best creative idea I have seen yet for holiday decoration. This felt gingerbread house is the cutest thing, and it looks so easy to make. Every one should have one of these to set up each year!

I love to head over to Etsy and see what others have whipped up there for fun holiday decorating. This small sled would look perfect sitting on my counter filled with candies. And this set of 4 paintings (here, here, here, and here) would give a fun holiday mood to the room by hanging just above my couch. And I would love to snuggle up under this quilt featuring Santa.

If you’re like me and not putting up a big tree this year you can also decorate with smaller trees. Like these adorable Christmas trees that you can make from recycled materials. I love them! Any other moms getting creative this year? I’d love to hear how you’re decorating for the holidays.

Christmas, decorations, holidays

For the last day of November and the last of the gift ideas I am going to suggest something a friend recently posted about on her site. Making your own advent calender. An advent calendar is a small calendar used to countdown the days until Christmas. It is a great way to let children see visually how time draws closer and closer to the big day. And it’s just plain fun! Though not specifically a gift to give for Christmas, you could give them to count down to this Christmas or create special ones they can use time and time again.

There is no one right way to make an advent calendar. You can make yours as simple or as intriquet as you please. Some make small paper loops joined in a chain that they can take apart day by day. Others create wall hangings with small pockets that open to reveal chocolates or small toys. You can be as creative and inspired as you want! If you are creative with paper crafts you could try this cute advent calendar card. It only takes 2 pieces of paper, an exacto knife, and creativity to make. You can find a ton more great creative ideas for making your own advent calendars at Alpha mom.

Making a personal advent calendar can be a wonderful gift to give. It can reflect the recipient’s personal feelings on the holiday and their sense of style. Go ahad and make one this year to give to the kids in your life.

advent calendar, 30 Gifts in 30 Days

Sometimes the best gifts we can give aren’t what we make, but the thought behind them. Young children espcially love to give but cannot always make something they feel is good enough. Today’s gift idea is one where it’s the thought that really does count.

Make a special coupon book to give! This is something that anyone can make, including young children. Take a sheet of printer paper and cut it into several small strips. I make mine by folding the paper in half long ways then cutting it into 5 strips. Each strip is then cut in half along the fold line for 10 seprate coupons. You can first create your coupons on your computer and print them off before cutting or decorate each one by hand. Get as creative as you want! Draw, paint, glue, or even stitch each coupon into a unique prize.

What you want to give is up to you. Offer a plate of cookies or a loaf of homemade bread once a month to an older relative that lives alone. The company is often worth more than the treat. Give your spouce a coupon book full of special back rubs and candle light dinners. Offer trips to the ice cream store, pizza for dinner, or a free hour of TV to your kids. Coupon books like this make perfect stocking stuffers or go great in a special card.

Once you have your coupons ready then you just need to put them togther. You can do it the simple way by stapling them in a flipbook style, you could even use color yard or ribbon and sew them together. If you want the coupons to last you should laminate them on both sides. It could easily turn into a second gift idea by keeping each coupon as they are used and creating a special memory book. Take pictures and write some journaling on what each coupon was for and what you did.

coupons, coupon book, gifts, 30 Gifts in 30 Days

I hope everyone is having a happy Thanksgiving Day! Eat lots of food, laugh with family you don’t get to see often enough, and take a nap in the afternoon. Oh, and don’t forget to say thanks for all the things you have in your life.

Today’s gift idea is a simple one, inspired by the holiday. Find a nice, large plate. Fill it with lots of yummy food. Wrap the whole thing up and top with a bow. Now take it ovr to someone’s house who isn’t getting out this holiday season, someone who could use a little company. That’s the best gift you could give, and it’s handmade too.

Thanksgiving

We all have those special recipes, the ones passed down through the generations and the ones we created ourselves. The dishes we always make to bring along because we know someone will be asking for them. Why not compile all of those favorite dishes into a personal recipe book?

There are many blank recipe books available today that you can fill in with your own special dishes. Some come complete with dividers, stickers, and page protectors to fish the recipe book a finished and professional appeal. Of course you can always create your own book. Put togethr your recipes on your computer and print them off. You can decorate and style them however you want using your computer programs. Microsoft even offers a tutorial on making a family cookbook on your computer.

To begin you will need to decide what recipes you are going to offer. If the recipent has special dietary needs you will need to consider that. For instance you wouldn’t give a pot roast ecipe to a vegan or a fudge recipe to a diabetic. Be sure that the recipes you are giving will suit the receiver. Once you have you recipes ready you should sort them into categories. This will make it easier to put the cookbook together later. You can use traditional categoris such as deserts, coups, breads, etc… Or you can get creative and group them by ease or difficulty, by expense, or for a multi-cultural book by area the recipes are from. The choice is up to you.

Once you have your recipes compiled and sorted then you can decide how you will make the cookbook. Are you printing pages off the computer, writing them by hand, or using a precreated blank book. Have fun, be original, and remember who you are making this for.

gifts, cookbook, recipes, 30 Gifts in 30 Days

I shared yesterday a fun knit project to give to mothers who wear their babies in carriers. It was for a blanket type thing that buttons onto the mother’s coat to help keep her little one warm. Today I wanted to share how to make a simple ring sling that you can give as a gift also. Ring sling carrirs are by far the easiest to make and to use. It is just a long piece of fabric that wraps around the baby and mother and is held firmly in place by two metal rings.

What you will need is 2 1/4 yards of your choice of fabric and a pair of metal rings. I prefer using aluminum rings as they end to be stronger and hold better. For the fabric you can use just about anything you want. Just remember that the fabric must be able to withstand every day use. Some fabrics, such as quilting fabrics, do not hold up well with the wear and tear over time. If you choose a stretchy fabric such as interlock or jersey you can shorten the length needed.

You will want to cut your fabric down to a good width to hold your baby. For a full term infant up to a toddler you will need your fabric to be between 30″ and 36″ wide. If you are making a sling for a mother to wear a preemie you will need a small sling, about 25″ wide. Once you have it cut down hem along one of th short end edges and along both of the long edges. You will have one, unfinished end. This unhemmed edge is where your rings will go.

There are many varriations on how to put in your rings. Some people fan the fabric to create a pleated look while others simple fold it over and sew. The choice is yours. You want the rings to be sewn in securely as this is what will be holding the weight of the baby. Here is a great set of detailed instructions on how to make a ring sling. You can also find other patterns for carriers here and here.