Each and every year, months before Christmas, kids start to question how long until Christmas comes! Is it the same in your home? We like to keep kids occupied and prolong their anticipation with crafting many a Kids Craft and especially DIY Christmas ornaments every year! Will you join us this year? They make wonderful little gifts that kids can give at Christmas and are a great way to also decorate gifts. We also have some amazing Christmas Sewing Projects to make and gift.

1. Reindeers and Christmas are inseparable, right? We love seeing adorable little reindeers, and when they look as cute as this felt Christmas reindeer ornament, you can’t resist to make a whole lot of them!
2. For kids who are eager to learn how to sew, easy felt stars are perfect ornament to make this Christmas. Super easy and when presented with bunch of different items for decorations, it’s super fun to make as well!
3. We like to mix things up and add different themed ornaments on our Christmas tree. So, crochet fox ornament also found a way to our Christmas tree. Adorable, isn’t it? If you like fox crafts, we have made lots in the past!
4. With Christmas falling in winter season, it’s easy to add some of the winter crafts and decorations to Christmas holiday. We love these quick to make penguin softies you can make and hang on your Christmas tree. You can choose few other penguin ornaments and make them too!
5. If you prefer paper crafts, we prepared a printable template to use and make adorable 3D reindeer ornament! Quick to make and looks so cute hanging on Christmas tree. You can even string many together and make a garland!
6. Kids always ask: Will it snow on Christmas? It’s one of the things so many associate with Christmas. If your kids are also looking forward to white Christmas, invite them to make few of these lovely pipe cleaner snowflakes!
7. Another pretty easy to make Christmas ornament, even for kids as young as toddlers and preschoolers – pipe cleaner Christmas tree. We used them for Christmas garland, but you can easily just hang easy one separately on Christmas tree as an ornament.
8. For unicorn fans, Christmas is another opportunity to add them to holiday decorations! There are many unicorn crafts to choose from, but we love these adorable and easy unicorn ornaments made from paper and wool! Cute!
9. Use smaller wooden slices to make wood slice snowman ornament or use larger ones and turn your snowman into decorative piece for Christmas mantel.You can even use it to decorate your front porch! Which one will you choose?
10. Christmas crafting provides an opportunity for younger children to work on their fine motor skills. Great example is this yarn wrapped Christmas tree which can be decorated in number of ways. Let your child’s imagination run wild as they pick materials for their wrapped tree!

From easy crafts for kids who are younger like toddlers and preschoolers, to more elaborate, like Christmas sewing crafts for kids – we have done so many over years! My kids ADORE crafting and we often use crafting sessions in our home as a way to bond as a family. We wish you lots of crafting and lots of bonding this holiday season!

If you are looking for more Kid Made Christmas Ornaments make sure you check out the Blog Hop I hosted last year:

Kid Made Christmas Ornament Blog Hop 2017

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Four Tips to Navigate Family Road Trips like a Pro

Today we have a special guest author – Meredith Sinclair, author of “Well Played: The Ultimate Guide to Awakening Your Family’s Playful Spirit?” Meredith is a mom of two boys and knows all too well the annoyances that the “Are we there yet?” phrase can have.  Read on for Four Tips to Navigate Family Road Trips like a Pro and keep your sanity while traveling!

Memorial Day is often linked as the official kick off to summer and the start of family road trip season. According to AAA, nearly 80 percent of family travelers are planning a road trip this year, but higher gas prices mean shorter trips for most families this year.

I’m a mom of two boys, and if our trip is one hour or three hours, it still comes with the annoyances of packing up the car and finding a way to keep the kids entertained in a small space. Sure, we all know the fun is in the planning and doing- landmarks to visit, must-see views, parks to stretch your legs, local attractions and favorite eateries to try. However, the journey is just as important as the destination – and one part of the planning that many parents overlook is car time. It doesn’t take a lot of extra effort, but planning ahead with a few ready-to-go ideas that will keep the kids entertained (sans screen time!) so Mom and Dad can focus on the road and you can all enjoy your time together, certainly goes a long way.

Here are a few of my favorite creative travel tips and car ride activities that will help you navigate the backseat squabbles, “are we there yets?” and much-needed pit stops when traveling near or far with kids this summer.

1. Car Ride Grab Bags: Hang a mystery bag in the back of the car. For each hour you’re on the road, have your kids open one bag to find some fun goodies they can use during the trip. For example, fill it with little toys or easy craft materials so when they are finished drinking a juice box they can turn it into a rocket ship or sailboat. The Juicy Juice Family Time website has so many great craft ideas.
2. Pocket Full of Quarters: When my boys were younger, we used to take road trips to see their grandparents eight hours away. One of their favorite things was to stop at the Turnpike rest stops and buy those small toys and trinkets from the vending machines. We turned that into a behavior incentive! As the boys displayed good car behavior, we would dole out a quarter for them to pop in their pockets. They loved EARNING change for the little goodies that in turn kept them happy and entertained in the car for the next hour!
3. Pack a Cooler: Sometimes when the crankiness or boredom sets in, your little one just needs a little boost (sound familiar?). Skip the greasy snacks and sodas with added caffeine, and save your extra cash for spending money, by packing your own cooler with no-mess options like lower-sugar Juicy Juice Splashers and high-protein trail mix to give them some extra energy.
4. LEGO Challenge: Kids vs. Parents: This one can be done in a plane, train or automobile! Fill a plastic container (with a lid), with a slew of LEGO pieces in various sizes and shapes. Give each family member a small LEGO base- the large bases can be cut into 4×4 inch squares. Now write some LEGO building challenges onto index cards like, ”build the tallest building you can,” “make a LEGO playground prefect for you and your friends,” or “create a new animal no one has ever seen before.” Then, set a timer on your phone and everyone races to complete the task. The driver of the car or one “reader of the challenge” picks the winner each round.

Bonus! Airport Scavenger Hunt

If you’re flying to your destination, I created a “Bored-ing Pass” printable for kids and parents to use together during their long lines, layovers and delayed flights at the airport. Work together to find quirky things going on in the terminal.

Find more of my travel related posts here:

Kid Friendly Trips

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Sneak Peek: Yuletide Garland with Upcycled K-Cup Bells

I’m so excited to share these adorable Upcycled K-Cup Bells the kids and I made this winter. The kids had a blast making them and they are super cute either on a garland or right on the Christmas Tree.  Pop over to Life of a Homeschool Mom to see the full post and how to make your own!

If you are looking for some more Christmas ideas take a look below and hopefully find some inspiration!

Candy Cane & Ribbon Ornaments

Top 10 Kid Made Christmas Treats

Festive Teacher Gifts for the Holidays {Free Printable}

Fingerprint Gingerbread Man Ornament

Christmas Scavenger Hunt {Free Printable}

Or visit my Kid Made Christmas Ornaments Board on Pinterest:

The post Sneak Peek: Yuletide Garland with Upcycled K-Cup Bells appeared first on Crafty Mama in ME!.

Tots2Travel passes on information about some of Janice’s favourite destinations and what worked for her as a parent, and what didn’t.  She provides tips to help make your next vacation more relaxed.  I can use all the tips I can get  I know most of my readers are stateside but who knows when you might be planning a trip abroad – so without further ado:

Visiting London – is Kew on cue for kids???

Run, run, run, fall, stumble, cry, holler, head, heels, head, heels, run again… Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Being a toddler in the countryside is dramatically similar to being a toddler in a densely populated city like London so when the tots went to the big smoke we sought out a few contrasting parks to let them do their worst.

Tiny Toddler
Tall Tree

The first hit was Kew Gardens or, by its proper name, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It’s gone out of its way to attract families, holding lots of kiddie events and activities so if you’re organised you can tap into an attraction, but if you randomly turn up, tourist stylee, that will work out just grand too. Firstly the gardens are pretty vast, 300 acres to explore. Despite Kew being desperately civilised, and in a lovely part of the city, here your wild things can run wild.

Why hello…

There are picnics to be eaten, trees to climb, geese to gape at, and elegant houses before which your child can perform modern interpretive dance – as toddlers sometimes do. This kind of open space in London is not to be sniffed at.

Mr Toddler expressing himself

The Royal Botanic Gardens sound and feel like a very adult space – parents can admire the plants and gardens, the landscaping, the architecture etc., yet kids are so very at home here too. For example the Palm House is considered to be the most important Victorian iron and glass structure in the world. But whilst parents admire the 16,000 panes of glass the tots explore the humid, lush, green interior – a space for real adventurers – and great for a rainy day too.

Mr Baby goes tropical

Creep downstairs to the Marine Aquarium where their wee eyes pop at the brightly lit tanks and subsea beasties. Four marine habitats have been created: coral reef; estuary and salt marsh; mangrove swamp; and rocky shoreline, all to educate and entertain.

Then you get the grand finale – in toddler terms – the cherry on the cake, the game changer, the creme de la creme – THE PLAYGROUNDS!!! Mr Toddler quite possibly wet himself when he saw them. Outdoors is the grandly titled Treehouse Towers – a tree themed outdoor play area where (apparently 300) little angels can climb, clamber, crawl and career. Then indoors is Climbers and Creepers – here “As ‘insects’, children climb inside a plant to learn about pollination. Thrills come when they learn about the dangers insects face from carnivorous plants when they trap model flies with Venus fly traps or are themselves ‘eaten’ by a giant pitcher plant”. I must admit Mr Toddler simply went nuts, and was a little young for such role play, but I love the thought that has clearly gone into each and every piece of equipment and the the focus on ‘education through fun’. For a location as iconic as Kew to be so wonderfully child friendly is to its merit. I have no photos of the play areas as, to their credit, they were absolutely swarming in happy children playing.

And if you really want gold star parent awards let your kid have an icecream from the kiosk cleverly situated next to the play park. Or if they’re small enough put the them in a forward facing buggy and eat one yourself – they’ll never know.

Practicalities and Logistics – Kew has a designated tube stop so public transport is on hand – click here for more info and other options. We had a hire car and found parking no problem (and free!) on nearby residential streets after midday – before noon parking permits were in force for residents only- and we accessed the park from Victoria Gate. This page tells you the best gate to enter depending on your circumstances. Prices are here – I was the guest of my pal who has the Kew equivalent of a season ticket so I was very lucky to get in for free, tots under three are free too. Getting to London – we flew with flybe (good kids’ baggage allowance) into London City, a delightfully small airport, and picked up a hire car there, a mere stone’s throw from the airport front door. When lugging children, buggies and luggage around small airports are definitely beautiful.

Thanks again Tots2Travel for sharing this wonderful blog with us.  I love hearing about traveling with little ones and other moms experiences.  Please take the time to visit Tots2Travel at their social media links below:

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Gina is a blogger and creator – her website shares blogs and also provides you with an option to buy her creations.  She will also work with you to create custom pieces.  Today’s post is about T-Shirt Quilts and managing time with a little one.  I know I can relate to that

Happy reading!

A Day in the Life…T-Shirt Quilts

When precious nap time arrives for my little two and a half old, I steal away to my corner of the house, set aside the daily grind, and work on my current project. Lately, it’s been all about the T-shirt quilt.

The first inquiry for a T-shirt quilt came at my very first Fair; a woman wanted two made as graduation presents for her son and his long time girlfriend. I’ll be honest – quilting was still pretty new to me at that point, and I didn’t know the slightest thing about T-shirt quilts. There’s no way I was going to turn down the opportunity to gain a new skill, though! Learning the technique was fun, and I chose a method that’s more modern and interesting than the standard T-shirt block quilt that is seen so often. If you find yourself up to the challenge, I recommend taking the class “The Ultimate T-Shirt Quilt” by Winnie Flemming on Craftsy. That sight is a maker’s best friend, y’all.

Managing my time on large projects with a deadline is the biggest challenge. My son had tons of fun with Play-Doh, Thomas the Train, and Toy Story on days when just working during nap time wasn’t feasible. I definitely failed to realize how much time is realistically needed to complete one quilt while balancing life as a stay at home mom. Luckily for me, I haven’t missed a deadline yet and most of my clients are fellow mamas and extremely understanding.

The quilts were finished in time and my client loved them. She told me they were so much more unique and interesting than a quilt made for another child several years earlier. This is the review she left on Etsy:

Gina created a custom quilt to commemorate our son’s high school years using various t-shirts and patches from his extra curricular activities we collected. Her layout and design were well thought out and the execution was magnificent. Our son was as thrilled and impressed as we were with her work when he received it on graduation day. We can not state more strongly how much we all love Gina’s quilt!

I fell in love with making T-shirt quilts in that moment. Taking a stack of old shirts and creating a tangible, long-lasting memory for a recipient to enjoy for years is extremely gratifying. I’ve since made another T-Shirt quilt for the annual SciPy Convention and am currently working on two quilts for twin boys. I can’t wait to show you how they turn out!

You can see pictures of all of my quilts in the Gallery.

You can follow along with Sleep Sweet by clicking the links below:

Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/SleepSweetLove

Blog: http://www.sleepsweetlove.com
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sleep.sweet.love

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sleepsweetlove

Thanks for sharing your creations with us Gina!

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