Tag: diy

Creative Christmas: 15 Easy Christmas Crafts You CAN Make

15 Easy Christmas Crafts You Can Make #FestiveFamily #holiday #craft

Around our house, Christmas is a time for crafting. I’ve had my fair share of craft fails so I thought I’d share 15 easy Christmas crafts that are really and truly doable. I’ve made several of the ones on this list and plan to do a few more this year. All of these projects are frugal and can be done while you watch a favorite Christmas movie. Pick a project, turn on Elf, and get to crafting. Don’t forget to check out the other Creative Christmas posts from the Festive Family bloggers at the bottom of this post, and enter our HUGE Holiday Gift Guide Giveaway.

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Create a DIY Holiday Garland with Your Child’s Art

Create a DIY Holiday Garland Using your Child's Art

If a child lives in your home, the chances are good you have a collection of their art stashed in an ever growing pile. My kids love to color and paint and create, and their masterpieces start to really add up. I love their little creations, but I’m not trying to end up on Hoarders. You just can’t keep everything, right? I came up with a way to keep pieces of their paintings without hoarding and creating something lovely and decorative at the same time. I shared a garland we made for the Bear’s room here, and this time we decided to make a DIY holiday garland and love how it turned out. Read on to find out how to make one of your own.

DIY Holiday Garland Prep

You’ll need a collection of drawings or paintings. This project works best with toddler and preschool art because it is typically a little more “abstract”. If letting your kids paint intimidates you, read about how we finger paint without stress here.

Materials:

Measuring for a DIY Holiday Garland

Strategically punch out shapes from the paintings. You may have to cut pieces to get the look you want. I try to get a good mix of colors. After you get a pile punched, line them out how you want them to hang. I did mine about 4 inches apart. This will help you measure the string you need. I always leave a little extra when i cut the string in case I need more. Punch holes in the shapes and then let your child string them on your garland. This is great fine motor skill practice. If your child is older they can help with the punching as well.

practicing fine motor skills threading the garland

Let them thread all of the shapes on to the string. We had a lot of fun with it. They were so excited to be making something with their artwork.

Creating a DIY Holiday Garland with Kids

After the kids were done stringing the shapes on to the twine, I went back and knotted each piece in to place. Now it is ready to hang and decorate our home for Christmas.

Create a DIY Holiday Garland with your Child's Art

Don’t forget to visit our Festive Family Holiday Gift Guide & Giveaway for prizes and more holiday fun. Read more about how we simplify the holiday season here. How do you make the holidays special for your kids?

Follow Becca Eby ~ Bare Feet on the Dashboard’s board Festive Family Holiday on Pinterest.

Simple Fall Leaf Wreath Tutorial with Felt and Burlap

Simple Fall Felt Leaf Wreath Tutorial with felt and burlap

My old faithful burlap interchangeable wreath is back in business for the fall. I created a strand of colorful fall leaves from felt scraps and added a wool letter to make a simple fall leaf wreath for our front door. Who knew a pool noodle covered in burlap could be so useful? Here is the super cute Easter version of my burlap interchangeable wreath, a summer version with pinwheels, and a 4th of July version with fun tulle fireworks. If you love to change out decorations every season, a burlap wreath is the way to go. As you’ll see below, it is super easy to change it up often.

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Create DIY Fall Felt Leaf Headbands for Girls {& Mamas} #GoodyGorgeous

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Goody, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #GoodyGorgeous http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV
DIY Fall Felt Leaf Headbands Tutorial Easy Mother Daughter Fall Fashion #GoodyGorgeous #Pmedia #ad

My sweet girl officially has hair long enough to style, and it is a daily challenge for this mama. She may look cute and innocent, but my little peanut turns in to a MMA fighter when I try to style her hair. Thankfully I’ve learned a few tricks that are making it easier on both of us. Sorting out her tangles with the Goody TangleFix brush and then throwing on a cute headband is our new daily hair routine. I created a fun fall felt leaf headband for a mother/daughter style that is easy to throw together. Read on for the full tutorial and more of our toddler hair tips.

fall felt leaf headbands #goodygorgeous #pmedia #ad

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Top 10 Fun Family DIY Halloween Costumes

Ten Fun Family DIY Halloween CostumesWe love to dress up for Halloween with a family theme every year.  Dressing as a family unit makes for fun photos and precious memories. I’ve gathered my top ten favorite family Halloween costume ideas to share with you. They all include a little DIY on your part, but are all super easy to throw together. Several are ideas we’ve done as a family, while others I’ve gathered from awesome creative bloggers. For fun ideas to get help you get more use out of your Halloween costumes you can read more about how we encourage pretend play and throw costume dance parties. Read on and find inspiration for your family this Halloween.

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Create a DIY Outdoor Play Table for Kids from Reclaimed Wood

create a diy outdoor play table for kids

We took back our yard last spring, fighting for control of the space against a formidible foe of Asian jasmine and ivy. Once we had established our dominance and set up an enjoyable outdoor room, it was time to bring in a table for the kids and some play structures. I’ve shared with you our DIY water table already, and today I’m showing our DIY wood table, stools, and play structure. We created them all from wood found in the neighborhood after a storm, for free, and will share how you can make them for your own family.

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Easy DIY Football Themed Halloween Family Halloween Costumes

easy diy football themed family halloween costumes

Last year was our first Halloween as a family of four, and I was so excited to dress our crew up in family Halloween costumes for the holiday. We go to a neighborhood Halloween parade in a friend’s neighborhood, and trick or treat in our own (mostly to meet and greet neighbors). I wanted our costumes to be simple and frugal, but still cute and made to fit a family theme. You can read about the Bear’s first Halloween costume here. When the Bear got a hand me down football jersey from his big cousins I knew I’d found it. Read on to find out how I pieced our costumes together quickly and easily.

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Super Easy & Delicious DIY Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe

simple diy pumpkin spice latte

Fall is so close I can almost taste it. Oh wait, that’s the delicious DIY pumpkin spice latte I whipped up this morning. I love a coffee shop treat as much as the next girl, but a daily splurge would wreck havoc on our budget. Instead of spending $5 a day on my favorite fall treat I’m making my own this year. There are quite a few of these recipes floating around Pinterest, and I’ve tried several but not found one I just loved until now. The main difference is that I don’t add any type of sweetener, because I don’t like super sweet coffee. I normally drink my coffee with just a touch of flavored creamer, so most pumpkin spice latte recipes are far too sweet for me. Mine keeps it simple and you can sweeten it up to your taste. Best of all, in under ten minutes you can make enough for a work week’s full of frugal  treats.

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Make a DIY Water Table for Less than $15

diywatertable

One of our sweet toddler friends received a water table at his birthday party this past spring, and every kid from 10 months to 6 years old was instantly obsessed. The Bear talked about it endlessly after we left, so we looked into buying one. The plastic ones we found online ran anywhere from $30-50, and sturdier wooden ones were much more expensive. Jed knew he could build one, so we headed out to pick out materials. Below you’ll find a tutorial for our simple and sturdy DIY water table, perfect for water play and sensory play. You can make it at home for less than $15, and is sturdy enough to put up with the abuse preschoolers can dish out. We still plan to paint it with outdoor paint, but haven’t gotten around to it yet because the kids use it almost every day.

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