Family Tree Calendar with Bottle Cap Accents!

If you are ready for a project with tons of room for creative variety, then today is your lucky day!

I know the new year is already here, but for those of you who didn't receive a calendar for Christmas, or for those (slightly crazy) people who want to begin a special 2012 Christmas present, then here you go.


To get started, you will need several things.
A sheet of metal. You can find this at your local Hardware store. My husband cut our metal sheet to 15"X15."
The following can be purchased online or at a craft store:

• Bottle caps
• Epoxy 1" bottle cap toppers like these
• Magnets
• Super glue & craft glue
• Decorative craft paper (for tree) and cardstock to print numbers

After the metal sheet was cut, my husband framed it nicely with painted wood. This is optional, the metal sheet is nice by itself, but since we are trying to make this an interactive family calendar, the sharp metal edges made me nervous. If you don't have a custom framer in your home, I'm sure some decorative duct tape or something similar would work well to frame around the edges. 

Once we had our metal ready to go, I cut out my tree.  I drew a tree freehand onto a manila envelope; once I was happy with the size and shape I cut it out as a stencil. Then I traced this tree onto a large piece of black scrapbook paper with a white pencil.  I used an exacto knife and sharp scissors to carefully cut the black paper.  This is not a project that you are going to just whip out in a few hours!  It is a labor of love.

Next, I used craft glue to adhere the tree to the metal.  Not just any glue will work since it is a metallic surface.  If you have a favorite glue that will spread quickly and easily over the surface of the tree--go for it!  Carefully spread a layer of glue over the back of your paper tree and place it wherever you want it on your calendar.  Press and smooth it down as much as possible...it is slightly tricky!


While your tree is drying, you can begin thinking about how you want to decorate your family calendar.  Disclaimer: I was inspired by this neat idea in October and am just now finishing up, so don't be discouraged if you don't get around to it right away!  It will take a while to gather all the materials, etc.
First, decide how you want the Month displayed at the top. I scratched out several ideas along the way.  If you have the colorful magnetic alphabet letters on your fridge at home, then this might be an option.  You will need several uniform packets to have enough letters, but it will be bright and fun.  I also printed out and laminated the month, but I didn't like how that turned out.  I ended up using these wooden letters that I found in a packet at Hobby Lobby in the wooden crafts aisle.  They were very cheap (less than $5 for 2 packets) and I only had to super glue a magnet to the back.  Quick and done.

1st attempt using fridge magnets

2nd Attempt using wooden circle letters

Now it is time to start having fun with bottle caps.  I have been introduced to the world of bottle caps and there is no turning back.  There are now mysterious 1" holes throughout many paper products in my home thanks to this project.  If you don't have a 1" paper punch, it is definitely an investment ($10 or less) that I recommend!
For this project, I created a template to have uniform numbers on our calendar.  Like I said though, this project can be modified so much.  Feel free to let your kids track down all the numbers in magazines and punch them out so that each number is unique! If you like uniformity, then here is a printout for you:

Simply print this on cardstock and let your 1" paper punch do the rest.  If you haven't had time to collect 31 bottle caps, you can buy them at most craft stores.  I used a hot glue gun to secure all 31 numbers inside their own respective bottle cap.  When the glue was fairly set I placed a clear epoxy bottle cap cover on top.  After that I used Gorilla Glue (super glue) to attach a circular magnet to the back of each bottle cap.  This process is tedious, but each bottle cap is a mini work of art!

 

I used clothespins to hold the magnets still while the glue dried!

Now it's time to put everything together!  To finish our calendar I printed a picture of the kids and laminated it.  I used a few flat, adhesive magnets on the back, and they were ready to go! Start adding your magnetic letters and numbers and watch your calendar come to life.  To hang our calendar, I screwed an eye hook on either side of the back of the frame and tied wired ribbon through the back. 

My kids have enjoyed seeing which magnets will work on our calendar, and it will be fun to add a new magnet for each day of the month.  I plan on making (or having Kylee make...) a little bag to hold the extra numbers that are not in use until the end of the month.  I also plan on making special bottle cap magnets for days like birthdays, no school, vacation, anniversary, etc.  I want to add our family name to the top with large letters or painted directly onto the metal. I intend to decorate the tree with leaves in the Spring and snowflakes in the Winter, and the inspiration goes on and on.  

This is a fun project that the whole family will enjoy on a daily basis for many months and years to come. I'd love to hear all about your success stories and variations if you choose to tackle this calendar. Have fun!

Tomato Cage Christmas Tree!

How do you display your Christmas cards? Hung on a doorframe? Taped to the wall in a tree shape? In a basket? I am typically frustrated with constantly propping them back up on my mantle, and couldn't wait to try this super-cute AND decorative display idea that Tara ran across...using Tomato Cages!

We realize it's probably a leee-tle bit late to make a Card Holder for this Christmas, but maybe you'll want to tuck this idea away for next year. Tara happened to have two colorful cages in her garden just begging to be trimmed for Christmas. Plain wire ones (new or charmingly used) would be just as cute! She tied the legs together with floral wire to make the tree top, and we each had an instant wire tree.

I wanted to decorate our Card Tree on the cheap (free, actually), so I pulled out some pages from an old book, retrieved my craft bin, and we spent a couple of fun hours creating little ornaments. My kids loved tracing Christmas cookie cutters and then outlining them in glitter glue. I folded some pages like fans and then glued them into circle shapes, adding colorful scrapbook paper accents. A snowflake wearing a little fabric yo-yo with a button center formed our tree topper.

We tore paper into snowmen and added scrapbook paper buttons and faces. Paper strips glued together made stars. We clipped everything in place with mini-clothespins and mini-binder clips.

We love our little Card Trees...and how they proudly display each lovely card received from family and friends!

Short and Sweet: 5 Quick Christmas Activities!

Whether you are a fan of chaotic messes or not, the December forecasters are calling for mounds of crumpled Christmas wrapping paper, flurries of pine needles and occasional sprinkles of sprinkles. 'Tis the season for glitter and boxes and clutter. 
Embrace it and hang in there; you will have plenty of time to clean it all up in January and February when you are trapped inside your home staring at your walls.
Around here, the kids are beside themselves with energy from the combination of Christmas activities and sugar, so yesterday I tried to channel the excitement into some fun little activities for them.  Here are a few quick suggestions that will keep your little elves busy, happy, and involved in some fun this season.
Yesterday my kids came up with the idea of creating their own Christmas Party in their rooms.  Of course the party required decorations, which is where I came into play. The first thing we did was:


1. Make a decorative paper chain.
The paper chain has been around for many centuries and many holidays, but the timeless joy created by a few simple pieces of construction paper, scissors and staples (or tape) is classic.  It took me 5 minutes to cut strips of paper and staple them into this chain. This was nothing fancy, but the kids thought I was a super hero.

2. Glue and Glitter: Don't be scared of it.

You are going to be vacuuming up pine needles and dried leaves and cookie sprinkles for the next 4 weeks anyway--this is the perfect time to let the kids go ahead and break out the glitter.  If your kids are big enough to use the Elmer's to write something on paper, let them do it! Otherwise, make some signs for your Christmas Party or personalize (and glitterize!) those impersonal Christmas cards you know you will be sending out shortly.

3. Paper Snowflakes. Remember those?
We might assume that everyone knows how to make a paper snowflake, but this might be the first year for your child to experience the joys of folding, cutting and opening a wonderful paper snowflake. It's exciting and unique every time!  If you forget how to do it or want a little help, here is a great sight with some templates.  Simply print, fold and cut. 

4.  "I'm already tired of wrapping presents!"
You might be tired of wrapping presents, but it will turn into hours of fun for your kids!  My kids are planning to exchange gifts at their little party, so I simply provided them with some paper (those useless, oblong leftover scraps are the best!) some tape and scissors and let them wrap up random toys and books in their rooms. I gave my daughter an empty box to fill with little toys so it would be easier to wrap. They enjoyed the wrapping and are even more excited to let each other open the special gifts tomorrow!

5. Tripping over Amazon boxes?
Create the Polar Express!  Last week I counted 6 various boxes throughout the house that were the result of Cyber Christmas shopping. While I gathered the boxes to throw them away, I decided I might as well let the kids play in them for the rest of the day.  We didn't even decorate them, we simply lined them up and the rest is left to the imagination of your little ones.  If they have wrapped up their little presents, it might be fun to let them have a Christmas train and push their "train" filled with gifts around the house.

**More Bonus Thoughts**
If you have a Light Bright in your home, tucked away in the tallest shelf of your closet with the glitter and the Easy Bake Oven, now is the time for Light Bright to shine.  You will already be busy vacuuming up pine needles and cookie sprinkles, so you might as well be on the lookout for those tiny lights that are sure to scatter and hide across your carpet.  Pull out the green, red and white lights, and be prepared to see some smiling kids.

Finally, a word about tinsel and bows from Dollar General.  Remember, our kids are only little for a few years.  If you are willing to clean up some messes, you will reap the reward of fond childhood memories with your kids.  This year I got a packet of tinsel for $1 and it was by far one of the best dollars I have spent in a while.  The kids LOVED placing tinsel on the tree--the strands that are splotched all over our tree and the pieces that have gracefully fallen to the ground are marks that we live in a home filled with kids.  If you are unwilling to let them decorate the main tree, maybe you can let them toss some tinsel on a little tree in their room (or in the yard!) And although it is nice to carefully decorate and wrap each present and put all that Pinterest pinning to use, if you are willing to set aside a few gifts to let your kids help wrap (Grandparents, cousins, etc.) they will love being involved.  I picked up a large packet of sticker bows at Target for $1 and my kids really enjoyed removing the stickers and matching up bows with the gifts.
Enjoy making a mound of memories this season!

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” 

~Dr. Seuss

Decorate your Mask Contest!

The air is crisp, the leaves are falling, the store shelves are lined with rainbows of cheap, multicolored plastic pumpkins and ridiculous amounts of sugar-filled candy.


What can we do to join in (or escape from) all this festive Fall fun?
It's time to hold a contest. It's time to decorate a mask.  That's right. From now until October 26th we are hosting our first annual "Muddy Mask Decorating contest!"  The rules are simple. 
1. Print this mask. Go here for the PDF:

2. Decorate the Mask.  There are 2 Categories in our contest! They are:

• Best, most creative & original design by a 3-6 year old child. Let your baby go to work on this mask and see what he or she can do!
• Best, most creative & original design by anyone. Let's see what your muddy, creative juices can create with this piece of paper and the amazing left side of your brain.

3. What to do when your mask is done!

• Take a photo of your child (or you!) wearing the completed mask and upload it to our FB site. We can't wait to see all your photos!

4. PRIZES!

• We have a great prize lined up for our 1st place overall mask winner.  Check out this super cute, customized initial necklace from our good friend Amy's Etsy shop, My3Chickadees!!! Also be sure to check out all the great ideas at her blog, Living The Allergic Life...to the Fullest!

• The winner in our 3-6 year old category for our Mask Decorating contest will receive a $10 gift card to Hobby Lobby so you can restock your creative genius's art supply shelf.

The Fine Print!

Feel free to enter both categories, but only one winner will be chosen per household.  The last entries will be considered on Oct. 26th, 2011. The winners will be notified and announced on Friday, Oct. 28th. Judging will be based on originality, creativity, and overall appeal of the photo itself. 

**Thanks for joining in on the fun...we can't wait to see your photos! Use this time to enjoy creating something  special with your little ones!

Featured on: