Creative Mom Cafe

This time of year my scrap book obsession really comes out. The sun is coming out of hiding and there are a lot more things going on. Suddenly everywhere I look is inspiration for some great scrap book pages. The best, at least to me, are the natural photos of my kids at play.

This is one of my favorite photos of my oldest when he was younger. Splashing through puddles in his rain boots on a hot summer day. There was no posing or working with lighting. I just snapped a few playful pictures of him enjoying some fun outside. With just a little cropping I managed to turn this photo and a few others into a great scrap book page.

Click image to enlarge.

I put together a small list of some of the best advice for capturing perfect photos of your kids without forcing them to sit and smile.

• How to photograph children; where the magic comes from - An eBay guide that has a lot of great advice for moms with cameras.
• The Complete Guide to Children Photography - Part I and Part II - This two aprt guide really is perfect reading material when wondering how to get the best shots of your children.
• Photographing Children - A Quick Tip - A good tip to follow, and some relevant books listed at the bottom if you want to learn more.
• How to Photograph Children - A great video series for capturing many different great shots.
• Photographing Children - An article from the School of Photography that will help you decide which picture to aim for.

Even if you are not a scrapbooker knowing how to capture a great photo of your children is a useful skill to have. It might even turn into a new creative hobby or career.

children, photography, scrapbooking, scrap book

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

Nothing else says spring like flowers. Here is another fun little spring craft you can do with your kids to get you all in a spring state of mind.

• cardboard
• paints, crayons, or markers
• scissors
• glue
• a small photo of your child

You can make a cute flower photo frame to show off your child’s artistic talents and spring time smile all in one shot. First you will need to print off the flower template to use. Or create your own flower head to show off your child’s face. For the template click on the small image below.

Use the flower template to cut a flower shape out of your cardboard. You can make this a great recycling project by using cardboard from boxes. If you use food boxes, such as from cereal or pastas you may want to cut two flowers to layer together for a sturdier flower frame. Cut the center circle out for your child’s picture.

Most children will have fun decorating their flowers for unique spring time treasures. You can use just the flower heads, or cut stems and leaves to glue to your flower frames. Once dry add your child’s picture to the center and you have a fun spring time frame. The great thing about this craft is that it is so simple you can adapt it in any way that you want. Attach magnets to the back to hang your flower frames on your fridge or glue each flower onto a doweling rod and “plant’ them in a flower pot. You can get as creative as you want to with these simple frames.

crafts, kid’s crafts, spring, pictures, picture frame

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

After my craft the other day of making purses from recycled plastic shopping bags I wanted to share another recycling gift idea. Using up items you already have on hand is a great way to recycle and bring someone a smile.

Most parents have a small collection of those small, baby food jars. The tiny glass jars with tin lids can be reused in a though sand different ways. These are perfect for storing tihngs, for decorations, and for fun gifts. Here are a few ideas you can use to crate holiday gifts this year and clear out your old jars.

• Use the small jars as decorative candle holders. Tie ribbon or string around the jars. I have used small, clear glass rocks and glued them around the jars. Add a small tea light candle in the center and you have a perfect decorative gift.
• Create a storage unit with them. If you know someone who has a lot of small pieces, such as nails or beads, you can create a simple storage unit for them. All you need is a large board, a hammer, and nails. Nail the lids of the jars onto the board. Use strong nails so that they will stay in place. You can then fill the jars with what ever pieces and screw them into the lids. Use paint to decorate the board however you wish.
• Turn the jars into mini snowglobes. This is one project that my oldst loved doing last year. Use small figures, beads, or whatevr you want to create a personal snowglobe. Fill with water and screw the lid on tight. Add a few drops of superglue to make sure that the lid stays on.

baby food jars, recycled gifts, 30 Gifts in 30 Days

Is there a blooming writer in your life? Someone that you want to give the perfect gift to, a gift that will help develope those writing talents into something grand? Well I have the perfect idea. A writing prompt journal!

Remember my post about making a picture book for younger children? Well we are going to build on this. There is a great video at the end on how to make your own book. You can use this same method to create a personal journal. This will also work for the artist in your life, as you can create a one of a kind sketchbook that they can use to get their thoughts down on paper. And because you are making the book yourself you can create the cover that you feel suits their personality. Use scrapbook paper, glitter, ribbons, pictures cut from magazines, stencling, anything that you want. Design the cover to fit the recipient. You can even use your left over supplies and create a matching bookmark they can use with their book.

Once you have the book completed you need a list of prompts to give along with it. I created one of these books a couple yars ago for a friend. I choose 52 prompts, printed them on a sheet of paper, and cut them into strips. The strips were then curled on a pencil and placed inside a small glass jar. I decorated the lid of the jar with the same paper and ribbon as I used on the cover of the book and added a beautiful new pen. You can do the same, or print a prompt on each page itself. Decorate around the individual prompts then leave the rest of the page blank for writing or drawing.

You can find a ton of great prompt ideas at Creative Writing Prompts, Writers Digest, and this simple prompt generator. For sketch book ideas there is a group called Daily Drawing that has artistic prompts you can use.

book, journal, make a book, 30 Gifts in 30 Days

If you have young children in your life you probably know how much they enjoy looking at picture books. You can easily put together a personal picture book just for them to enjoy. All you need is a good camera and you are ready to go!

There are online photo site such as Snapfish that print your digital photos for you as well as make special gifts with your photos. You can use their services to put together and order a special picture book full of people and things that your little one would love. Family members, favorite toys, important places, and even pets all make great subjects for photos.
(more…)

Scrapbooking is a fun craft that many people enjoy. I started scrapbooking when my first son was a newborn and I’ve been hooked ever since. It is a fun way to spruce up photos, tell a story, and let your creative side come through. It is also a great gift idea for this holiday season.

Putting together a special scrapbook to give as a gift can be a great way to share memories. If you have a child going off to college, a friend moving far away, or just a family member you do not get to see often you can share pieces of your life with them. Sift through your old photos and find the ones that really capture special moments. They do not have to be posed, in fact the best photos are spontanious and fun. You can also give someone a scrapbook that you put together to remember a special moment in their life. Use photos you have of thir wedding or of their children. Any moment that you think they would enjoy looking back on you can scrapbook.

If you do not have the photos to use you can still put together a fun scrapbook. Create the pages as you normally would but leave the places for the photos blank. You might include small tags that say “place photo here” and let them put in their own favorite pictures. Be as creative as you want to be! You do not have to stick with a specific theme. You can just create fun pages and let the receiver decide what photos they want to use.

A few tips for putting together perfect scrapbook pages:

• Map them out first. It helps you to have a ready made plan before getting to the cutting and glueing part.
• Lay out what you want to use and gt a look at it first. What might sem like a good match in your mind’s eye may not be so impressive in real life.
• Get inspired! Do a seach for scrapbooking on Flickr to see what great pages other people have made. If you see something you take take it and run with it.
• Have fun!

scrapbooking, photos, gifts, 30 Gifts in 30 Days

Who doesn’t love snuggling up under a warm quilt? Even better is if the quilt is made just for you! Creating a personalized quilt is a perfect gift idea, and one that can be fairly inexpensive too.

If you have a music lover who has a dozen or so concert and band shirts, or a sports junkie that collects shirts for his favorite teams you can turn them into a one of a kind t-shirt quilt. This can be a great way to use what you already have and turn them into a unique gift that the recipient is sure to love. You can find several free patterns and how to guides online. A few of my favorite ones are here, here, and here.

If you do not have old t-shirts to cut up or do not want to make a shirt quilt you can still make a fun and personalized quilt. Choose a favorite color and create a quilt that you know they will love. If you are handy with embroidery you can add their name or a special message to give the quilt the perfect touch. You can find thousands of free quilt patterns online to fit any size or shape of quilt you want to make. And you do not have to spend a fortune to make a grat quilt ither. Use fabric from thrift shops, or remains sold in the clearence section of your local craft store. You can even make a warm quilt from old flannel shirts found at your local thrift shop.

Putting together a one of a kind quilt is a wonderful creative gift idea that almost anyone can make. From the simplest quilts to the most complex there are patterns for everyone and every style. And if you start now you might even be done in time for Christmas.

quilting, quilts, t-shirt quilt, 30 Gifts in 30 Days, gift ideas, holidays

I finally put the finishing touches on my oldest son’s costume. He wanted to be a pirate this year, which I love. However, I didn’t want to go the boring mass produced costume route. How creative would that be? But I also haven’t had much luck being historically accurate with a pirate look.

So here’s what I put together from thrift store finds and back of the closet treasures: a white, over sized shirt. Shredded at the bottom and sleeves. Loose black slacks, also shredded. A red bandana. A patch. A sword. And a felt pirate hat. I’m calling it “pirate lost at seas for too long”. Hey, thre is nothing wrong with taking creative license with Halloween costumes.

Spaking of fun Halloween costumes. Tomorrow (the 26th) is the last day to have your creative costume up on Etsy for the contest. A search through the costumes already entered shows you just how much fun people have ben having with this contst. And who can blame them?

A. it’s Halloween for crying out loud, and
B. the prizes are pretty sweet

My favorite, and what I tried for months to talk my oldst son into being this year, is Max from Where The Wild Things Are. That is a favorite book around here, one that I have loved since I was a little girl. Too bad this costume is too small and too expensive. But it does give me some ideas for next year. Maybe my youngest will be more willing.

What is everyone else whipping up this year? Anyone else going to make their own costumes?

Halloween, costumes, etsy, contest

There are many stories your family has written already. But they most likely are not written down - just spoken off the top of your head. The story about Daddy walking through the fresh cement or when Mommy dropped the birthday cake onto the kitchen floor.

Write these stories down with your children and archive them in hardcopy book form! This is easier than you think.

Snapfish.com has a great memory book project that allows you to upload photos right into book form. You can change the layout and add words. It is a wonderful gift to commemorate a date or for your little ones to remember a funny family moment.

Don’t have pictures of the cake falling to the ground? No problem, you can scan in drawings, too. Have your budding illustrators do the work and VOILA!

You can order these in any quantity. A great idea for each season!