Red, White...and Fun!

I am a huge fan of 4th of July...I have fond memories of watching fireworks with my family from the "east" side and love the picnics and affairs that come with the holiday. That may be wide we chose our wedding date (July 1st) to be so close to the holiday.

Good Housekeeping magazine featured a section on throwing a 4th of July party in their July 2010 issue...Here's the full article, and here's some info on a few of my favorite details:

Patriot Games: For safer-than-sparklers favors, fill a pail full of cheery DIY scrapbook-paper pinwheels mounted on slim wooden dowels. Get the how-to instructions for the pinwheels here -

Earn Your Stripes: This crepe paper runner is made in minutes: Cover a table with a white paper tablecloth; snip lengths of blue and red crepe paper to the lengths of the cloth. Weave the colors, as shown; affix at table's edges with double-sided tape.

Tea Party: Serve thirsty guests strawberry tea garnished with frozen tea cubes and skewered blueberries. To make the platter, remove a decorative flag from its dowel, double-stick-tape it to the tray, and trim with ribbon. Get the recipe here.

A Star Is Born: Melted candies take center stage in these treats. Cut out celestial cookies with smaller star shapes in the middle. Bake partially, sprinkle crushed red and blue hard candies (Jolly Ranchers or Life Savers) into the cutouts, then finish baking. Get the recipe here.

Forget Apple Pie: End the Yankee Doodle day by letting partygoers vote for a star or stripe on the flag "cake." Here, cupcakes slathered with white icing are garnished with blueberries, raspberries, or shaved coconut. Arrange in a confectionery salute to Old Glory. They're such a snap to make, you'll be at liberty to enjoy the party! Get the recipe here.

DIY Headboard...Beadboard

We've been contemplating what kind of furniture we'll get for the boys once they are out of cribs. I saw this in Good Housekeeping (June 2010), and thought this could be a really cute option.

You can find the directions here.

Dancing Dragon for the Chinese New Year

I saw this crafty dragon in Kiwi Magazine (February/March 2010), and had to share.

Happy Chinese New Year! Celebrate the Year of the Tiger on February 14 with your own mini parade—the dragon is usually the grand finale, so be sure to add plenty of ribbon to make yours extra festive!

By Ellen Goldberg

Materials
1 egg carton
1 cereal box or piece of cardboard
4 craft sticks
1 sheet of newspaper
Ribbon, rickrack, buttons, fabric scraps
Green craft paint
Scissors
Glue

Directions
1. Cut 2 of the egg cups from the carton. From the cereal box, cut 2 small triangles (for the ears) and 2 squares with rounded edges that are slightly larger than the base of the egg cups. Paint all of these pieces green.

2. On 1 corner of the squares, glue an ear to each of the top corners. Then, glue a square to the base of each egg cup.

3. Create the front handle by gluing 2 craft sticks together, then gluing them to the back of the dragon's face. Glue 2 more craft sticks together, then glue them to the other egg cup to create the back handle.

4. Cut 2 pieces of newspaper 14 inches long by 4 inches wide, then fold over so the narrow side is 2 inches wide.

5. To create the dragon's body, place the strips at a 90 degree angle, overlapping the ends. Fold the bottom strip over the top one and repeat until you've folded all the paper together.

6. Glue 1 end of the newspaper to the back of the dragon's face. Turn the rear egg cup so the 2 craft-tick handles point in opposite directions, then glue the other end of the newspaper to the rear cup. This will make your dragon open properly when you hold the handles parallel in each hand.

7. Decorate the head with buttons and rickrack to create eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Glue ribbons and fabric scraps to the center of the rear cup to create the tail, then add more to the head.

8. Open the dragon and use the handles to make him dance!

Brotherly (and sisterly) love - Heart Chart

From Kiwi Magazine, February/March 2010
Written by Traci Paige Johnson

This Valentine's Day (and throughout the year), jump-start sibling bonding by creating a "heart chart," which encourages kids to be kind to each other to earn rewards. At the end of each day, ask your kids these three questions:

* "Did you treat your brother (or sister) the way you would want to be treated?"
* "Did you use nice words to express yourself?"
* "Did you give your brother (or sister) a compliment or perform a good deed for him (or her) today?"

If the answer for every one is "yes," your kids earn a heart sticker on their calendar. Once they receive 10 hearts, they get to pick something special for you to do together as a family (see a movie, go bowling, get ice cream even though it's freezing outside - whatever they want). You can take this idea beyond siblings, too: See how nice your child can be to friends, classmates, even you! Kids will not only learn how to treat other people kindly, but they'll see how much more fun it is to be nice than it is to be mean.

"Hearts and Crafts"

Parents Magazine featured some Valentine's Day projects in their February 2010 issue.

Hearts & Crafts - Teach your children that love is all around with a whimsical party of sweet valentine projects and charming eats and treats.

Here's information on some of my favorites from this article, but you can find the entire article and other crafts here.

Yarn Heart Cards

What you'll need: Colored cardstock, scissors, tape, needle, plastic child-safe tapestry needles, colored yarn

Make it:

Parent: Cut a 4"x8" piece of cardstock and fold in half. Print the heart template (download below) cut it out, and lightly tape to the front of the card. Unfold the card and lay it flat. Using the template as a guide, punch holes in the card with a needle; discard template.

Child: Thread a tapestry needle with colored yarn and knot the end. Starting from the inside of the card, stitch yarn from side to side. Finish by knotting on the inside of the card and trimming any excess yarn.

Paper Blooms - A simple wooden spool covered in ribbon holds a precious flower bouquet.

What You'll Need: Cardstock, small circle and heart craft punches, straight pin, craft glue, cloth-covered floral wire, small buttons, wooden spool, grosgrain ribbon (same width as spool)

Make It: The Flowers

Parent: Punch out a circle from cardstock and poke a small hole in the center with a straight pin.

Child: Punch out five heart shapes and fold in half lengthwise for petals. Glue the petals around the circle, leaving the hole unobscured; set aside to dry. Thread one end of a length of floral wire through two holes on a button and twist to secure. Push the opposite end of the wire through the hole in the middle of the flower shape for a stem. Repeat to make more flowers.

The Vase: Wrap a length of ribbon around the spool and glue to secure. Trim the flower stems and stick them into the spool to display.

Flair and Square - Decorate simple sugar cookies with anything your heart desires!

Flower Power - Guests can play she loves me/she loves me know when pulling a veggie petal to eat. Place small bowls of ranch or Thousand Island in the center for dipping.

Valentine's Day Activities

Parenting Magazine featured these "9 Ways to Have Fun" in their February 2010 issue. There's some cute ideas to celebrate Valentine's Day!

9 Ways to Have Fun
1. Give love a thumbs-up. Decorate valentines with thumbprint hearts. Have your child dip his thumb in red poster paint (fingers work fine, too), then show him how to press it onto paper twice to create a heart shape.

2. Eat your hearts out. Make a pan of Rice Krispies Treats, cool slightly, and then let your kids use a heart-shaped cookie cutter (coated with cooking spray) to punch out edible valentines. Decorate with frosting and/or candies.

3. Look for love. Play the "I love you to pieces" game: Cut out a big heart from construction paper, and tear it up. Hide the various pieces around the house for kids to find and then reassemble with tape.

4. Go cocoa. Melt a bag of chocolate chips in the microwave, then stir in raisins, marshmallows, candy hearts, etc. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto a baking sheet, and let set in the fridge until hard. Wrap the candies in pink cellophane and tie with ribbon to give to friends, sitters, and teachers.

5. Name that passion. At dinner, hand out three scraps of paper to each family member and ask them to write down something they love on each one (parents can transcribe for little ones). You might write "cheese," "tennis," and "sleep" on yours, for example. Fold up the papers, put them in a bowl, and take turns picking one out and guessing who loves what.

6. Have a heart-y laugh! What do you call a very small valentine? A valentiny! How about this one: What does a caveman give his wife on Valentine's Day? Ughs and kisses!

7. Check your pulse. Teach your child how to find her pulse in her neck or wrist. Then tell her to run or jump in place for 30 seconds. How fast is her heart rate now? What about after she lies down for a minute?

8. Get carded. Make a pop-up Valentine's card from Crafting With Kids, by Catherine Woram: Cut out three hearts of descending size from decorative paper. Fold all the hearts in half, and adhere the largest one to the inside of a blank card with a single line of glue down the fold line. Layer the smaller hearts on top the same way for a three-dimensional greeting.

9. Cozy up. Cuddle together on the couch and watch Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown.