Can you believe that Christmas is right around the corner? This is, by far, my favorite time of the year. I just love all of the sights, scents, and sounds of the holidays. It just feels like such a warm and inviting time and I do believe that it helps to bring out the good in people. Everything about the holidays also lends itself to some creative and colorful arts and crafts. One of my favorite memories from my childhood was my grandmother's Nativity which she put up every Christmas Eve. Those fond memories were the inspiration for this project. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Nativity Finger Puppets Supplies needed: -stretchy gloves in your choice of color - peel and stick felt nativity stickers (found at Hobby Lobby or most craft stores where scrapbooking materials are sold) - craft glue or hot glue/glue gun Directions: 1. First decide in which order you wish to place the nativity characters. For ours, we placed the Holy Family together on one side … [Read more...]
Cactus Bottle Craft
Last Fall, we remodeled our kitchen and purchased new appliances. Now that we have a refrigerator that allows us to dispense filtered water, we are not buying bottled water that much anymore. As a result, it has allowed us to see not only how much money we were spending on bottled water, but also how many empty plastic water bottles we were contributing to the environment. This inspired us to figure out creative ways to recycle these plastic bottles. You'd be surprised how many uses there are for making sure that we don't just throw these bottles away in the trash. Since the weather during the summer is perfect for enjoying the great outdoors, what better way to reuse these bottles than by using them to do crafts that will beautify your front yard. The thought inspired the following Cactus Bottle Craft which I'm sure many of you will love too! Cactus Bottle Craft Plastic water bottles Green spray paint Yellow tissue paper Toothpicks Hot glue/hot glue … [Read more...]
DIY Purple Craft Stick Unicorn
Lately I have been fascinated by anything having to do with unicorns. Did you know that they even have hair dyes to simulate unicorn colors? Since my niece loves unicorns and my Sister In Law is planning a unicorn-themed party for her this year, I have been trying to experiment with inexpensive ideas for party favors and party decorations. We all fell in in love with this idea for making unicorns using craft sticks so I wanted to share this DIY Purple Craft Stick Unicorn concept here on Tough Cookie Mommy! Purple Craft Stick Unicorn Supplies needed: 6 large wood craft sticks Paint in choice of color Paint brush Black marker White craft felt, assorted colors of craft felt Scissors Hot glue, glue gun Directions: 1. Begin by applying two coats of paint to one side of your craft sticks. You only need to paint 5 and can leave one plain. 2. Line your craft sticks up so you have 5 of them side to side. 3. Add a line of glue, and … [Read more...]
Moss And Butterfly Pomander Craft
Now that the cold weather months are here, I'm working hard to decorate our home and make it more beautiful for the holidays. I love doing my own crafts here at home because I can save money and be creative at the same time. You can find all the items we used here to make this Moss And Butterfly Pomander Craft at your local Dollar Tree store. Moss and Butterfly Pomander Craft Supplies needed: Styrofoam craft ball Green ribbon Scissors Hot glue, glue gun Silk butterflies Crafting moss Green yarn Silk flowers Directions: 1. Begin by wrapping the entire foam ball with green yarn. Continue to wrap the yarn until all of the foam is covered and no white is showing through. When finished, add a dab of glue to the end of the yarn and press it to the ball to secure it. 2. Take some crafting moss and gently pull it apart to make it easier to work with. Add dabs of hot glue to the ball. Press some of the crafting moss to … [Read more...]
Felt Lady Bug Craft
Some of my teacher friends from other states have been reaching out to me this month to pick my brain about arts and crafts activities that they could use to start the school year. You see, even though we don't start school until September here in New York City, other parts of the United States go back to school earlier since their school year ended before ours did. Even though I teach high school now, I did start off my teaching career teaching pre-kindergarten so I still have some activities up my sleeves for younger kids. Some of my favorite arts and crafts expose kids to other subjects such as science and social studies. For this reason, projects that deal with nature and insects are a favorite of mine. Felt Ladybug Craft Supplies needed: embroidery hoop red, black, white craft felt scissors craft glue Directions: 1. Begin by placing the sheet of red felt in the embroidery hoop. Tighten the hoop so the felt is securely in … [Read more...]
DIY Cardinal Craft
Lately I have been up to my ears in projects for my sons' classes. It seems like every week there is some new assignment to complete that requires some creativity or forces us to purchase expensive art supplies. This has gotten me to thinking that there is a real need out there for DIY activities that don't cost a lot of money to make and that you can use inexpensive materials to create. As you guys all know, red is my favorite color so it stands to reason that I would come up with a project that includes it. So what better way to get imaginative and experiment with the color red than by making a DIY Cardinal Craft? Not only are these a ton of fun to make, but they also don't cost a lot of money in terms of supplies. I hope you will love making them as much as we did and that you will share photos of the finished products on our social media channels. DIY Cardinal Craft Materials: Red cupcake liners … [Read more...]
DIY Easy Spring Snow Globe
I'm pretty sure that I am trying to will Spring to arrive sooner, especially since we had snow today here in New York City. Mother Nature has really been temperamental lately and it really makes you wonder how some people can say that global warming does not exist with all the fluctuating temperatures. Since I'm starting to get cabin here on the weekends, I have been keeping myself busy with some arts and crafts. I've always been a huge fan of snow globes so I fell in love with the idea of making one at home using some household items and art supplies. It turned out adorable and I plan on making more to give as gifts for Easter! DIY Easy Spring Snow Globe Supplies needed: Mason jar Mini white pebbles or fairy garden filler Mini chenille chicks Spring themed bottle brush trees (sold at Michael’s Craft Store) Ribbon of choice Directions: 1. Begin by filling the mason jar with about 1 inch of filler. You … [Read more...]
Chinese New Year Broom Craft
Chinese New Year is also known as Spring Festival in China and falls on Saturday, January 28th this year. It is the year of the Rooster and Chinese families will be gathering on New Year's Eve to eat dinner together and to clean their homes to sweep away bad fortune before New Year's Day. Chinese children love this celebration and are excited to receive red envelopes which are stuffed with "lucky money" and well wishes from their loved ones on New Year's Day. Due to modern technology, some teens even have apps on their smartphones to receive their "lucky money" electronically which demonstrates how even this ancient tradition has caught up with modern times. Since this is the most important traditional holiday in China and signals the start of spring there, it is a public holiday in mainland China for seven days from Chinese New Year's Eve to day 6 of the lunar calendar new year (January 27 – February 2, 2017). … [Read more...]
Snowman Earrings
I am way behind this year on Christmas shopping. Normally, I would have already finished buying all presents by mid November. I'm trying cut down on my spending budget and making sure I give some personalized gifts that will show my loved ones just how much they mean to me. My godmother loves to wear themed costume jewelry so I thought it would be a great idea if I made her some earrings. Since it is winter and she has been rocking her winter accessories, I came up with a plan to make her some snowman earrings using supplies that I could purchase right at our local art supply store. You'd be surprised how many great gifts you could make with just a few items that you could buy locally and are pretty inexpensive. Snowman Earrings Materials Needed: Tools (small wire cutter, round nose pliers, and chain nose pliers) 22mm Fishhook earwire 3″ Head pins Glass snowman beads Tiny silver … [Read more...]
The Very Hungry Paint Chip Caterpillar Craft
It's no surprise that I totally geek out over books since I am a Literacy Specialist. I love to take advantage of any opportunity to get kids and young people excited about reading. After all, good readers use their skills in just about every facet of their lives and it's important to impart these abilities to children early on. One of my favorite books of all time is The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Most kids can remember reading this book when they were younger because it is a classic picture book that has been enjoyed by generation after generation. The book depicts a very hungry caterpillar literally eating his way through all the pages of the book. Not only are the illustrations in this book bright and colorful, but they are a beautiful representation of the stages of butterfly metamorphosis. It's a great way to introduce these science concepts to kids through beautiful and entertaining images. I … [Read more...]
