Diaper Box Fire Truck

There are few things that kids like more than cardboard boxes. Often they'll open a gift and seem to enjoy the box more than the toy inside. A box is a blank canvas; it inspires the imagination. The possibilities are endless.

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Superhero Valentine Pops (Free Printable)

Tootsie Roll Pops are among the cheaper bags of candy out there, so this is simple and cheap. If you have a hundred of these to do, you might want to skip the little masks to avoid killing your hands---just a heads-up! Free printable below...

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Printable Toy Bin Labels

My oldest child can put away his own toys---in theory, anyway. I thought I'd start labeling bins to get him in the habit of putting things in the right place, instead of just "away." A pipe dream with a 4-year-old, perhaps?  Anyway, you can download the printable labels below.

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Another Benefit of Hand-me-downs

Everyone says that my two boys look a lot alike; even more so when they're wearing exactly the same outfit! 

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"Learn to tell time" Free Printable

When I have an idea for something I want to make for my kids (or myself), I troll the internet to see if I can find a free printable, tutorial, or something else that will make the project faster and easier. This time, it didn't exist. Lots of paper clock faces, but nothing cute that matched what I had in mind...

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Make a Collage of Kids' Art

I had a very full magnetic clip on my fridge holding my son's artwork. And those were only my favorites---I regularly recycle paper that comes into the house. I wanted to both put away the gigantic pile and display his artwork. Here's what I did...

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Baby Mittens!

A normal person, when discovering that the pair of baby mittens in the closet somehow became a single mitten, would go out and buy a new pair.  I, however,  decided I'd make a pair....

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Reusable Shopping Bag Re-do

Earlier this year, we went to our local Target store's Read Across America day. In addition to Dr. Seuss storytime, there were some cute goody bags that were essentially reusable shopping bags. When my son began insisting on carrying multiple Thomas trains along with us, I started looking for a little bag he could use. A tiny paper gift bag lasted for one day.  And then I found this red bag, just sitting there with no purpose in its lonely little life. [...]

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Free Printable: Fruit & Veggie Stickers + Chart

What's been on my mind lately:  getting a toddler to eat new foods....or foods that he once ate and loved, but suddenly and inexplicably will not touch anymore.  I was so proud of my son (ok, proud of myself) for his varied diet that included lots of fruits and vegetables. And then, for no apparent reason, he stopped eating them. Even the yummy ones---like strawberries. (He gets plenty via smoothies, fruit leather, squeezable fruit, and veggies mixed into things.) But he recently has been VERY into stickers, so I thought I'd try to use that to my advantage and promise him a sticker for each new food he tries.

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Hooded Towel for Big(ger) Kids

We had a couple of adorable hooded towels for our son when he was an infant, but by the time he was a year old, the thing was barely covering everything---not keeping him warm at all.  I started looking around, and found nothing in stores for bigger kids. Ok, I did find a very expensive hooded beach towel online, but I didn't want to spend that much, and preferred a bath towel, anyway.  SO, I found a cheap set of towels on clearance at Bed Bath & Beyond, and went to work.

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Make Toddler Pants from a T-Shirt

The seasons were changing, and so were the sizes... I really don't like buying something if it's only going to be used for a month or two, tops.  So, since we're heading into fall, this might help you bridge the gap between short summer jammies and fuzzy, warm winter ones!  If you have a sewing machine, you really CAN do this!

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Free Printable: 8x8 "Growth Chart" pages

I dabble a bit in many things, including the world of digital scrapbooking. I'm a graphic designer by profession, so if I can't find something that exists in a store, I try to make it. In this case, we had a "Baby's First Year" book, and never did find a "Baby's Second Year Through School Age, When They Start Making Scrapbooks Again" scrapbook.  Seriously, I couldn't find anything that started at year two.  [...]

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Rainbow Cake & Easy Decorating

First of all, a disclaimer:  I got the idea to make a rainbow cake from multiple sources online, primarily at Whisk Kid, and her excellent tutorial on the Martha Stewart Show.  Tons of people have done this before me, but I still wanted to post the pics.  It's MUCH easier than you might think!  I used white cake mix and pre-made white frosting, so there are really only a couple of extra steps.  And I don't have the patience to learn to write on a cake, so I came up with a simpler solution...

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Put those toddlers to work! (thank you notes)

After our recent (2nd) birthday party, we had some thank-you notes to send.  I'm not sure when he'll be able to write his own, but not for a loooong time.  Can't even write his name yet.  BUT, he sure can sling a paintbrush!  [...]

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DIY Train Playboard Tutorial (for wood trains)

Our son received quite a few trains for his birthday this month, plus his first set of tracks!  In our little condo, there's no way we'd ever have room for a train table (nor did I want to spend ANY money on one). When I set up the tracks on the living room rug, they kept falling apart, so I crafted this compact playboard. It makes the train set a little more colorful, stable, and once we clean out his room, it should slide underneath his bed.  Or at least off to the side.  Keep reading for more photos and a tutorial.

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Cutting the clutter on the wall: Picture Wall!

I went through a phase of giving everyone I knew framed photos for Christmas, Mother's Day, etc. Now I'm realizing all that did was add clutter to people's lives, and I've ended up with the same situation at my place. I'd been putting every new photo in a new frame (silly, I know), and putting them all over the place. Come see my remedy for this spot, below.

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DIY Cardboard Playhouse

I ran across this playhouse, which is incredible, but beyond my budget. When we bought a gas grill, the giant empty box was the perfect opportunity to make one myself!  Check out the step-by-step instructions and more photos here.  [...]

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Balcony-Size Water Fun!

Today, in honor of this crazy-hot weather that we've been having (here in Chicago), I thought I'd share a water-play activity spot that I made to fit on our little condo balcony. It's so simple, so cheap, and so much smaller than the water tables that all of you lucky people with backyards can buy! Here's what I did.  [...]

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