Summer Survival

Here we are just 6 days into summer and I am more then done.  The kids are NUTS.  The house is a mess and I think that I have pulled all of my hair out.  The $30 worth of crafts I bought on Friday have all been done and I have no gas to take a trip.  I am not sure where to go from here.  We are all a little cranky and the baby is wondering why all of these other people are on her turf in the middle of the day!  I am lacking the motivation to do anything about it and the patience not to boil over.

Why is it that Summer vacation is still something that we need to have.  It was started to accomidate farming.  I am sorry to say that there are few farming families left here in NY.  I know of just 3 in the town I live in.  Why is it then that we have not changed all of this.  Why can’t the kids just go to school in the summer?

I know that all of this sounds bad but I also know that I am not alone in my angst!  Please September come quick.  I am not sure how long I can hang on here!

Becca

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Easter Pictures: Spring Break Survival

OK so as I mentioned I am having a hard time with this entire Spring Break thing!  So today my mother and I dressed all of the kids in their Easter outfits and threw them into the car and were off to Sears.  Now I know what you are thinking… why did you head to Sears.  We were off to Sears for Easter pictures.  We have not had pictures in YEARS.  The last time was when the baby was a month old.  For those of you who do not know she will be 2 in a month!  So needless to say it has been a while.

We have never been to Sears so I was a little bit aprehansive.  It was great though.  They had a kid friendly waiting area which I did not have to wait in because they were ready for us when we got there.  The girls did great although it is difficult to make them all smile at once.  Abigail kept trying to make the baby smile and Emma had the fakest smile.  Even with all of these obsticales we were able to come out of the seccion with a few really nice shots.

So day two of Spring Break has been a success.  We did the pictures, went to lunch, had a play date and now we are getting ready for bed.   I am so happy that it is all working out.  I would say that going and having pictures done is a great way to survive Spring Break!  You should give it a try!  I found that it really occupied a lot of time, the kids had fun and we were out of the house.  We will not discuss how much Grandma spent though!  We will keep that part to ourselves!  Either way day two survived.  Nine days to go!

Becca

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National Craft Month

I had not idea that in addition to national disability awareness month it was also national craft month.  I am really starting to think that there is a month for EVERYTHING.  While I do feel that some of these months are important such as Breast Cancer Awareness month and National Disability Awareness Month.  I just think that some just feel silly.  It would seem to me that the craft stores are the ones that began this national craft month!   Who else would have felt that crafts should have their own month?

While I do think that it is silly to have national craft month I am excited about the coupon that JoAnn Fabrics sent to my email!  Crafts  a great way for children and adults to express themselves.  It is a way to learn and have fun.  Crafts are fun and enjoyable.  As so many of you know I love crafts!  I am just not sure that they need their own month!

Either way I am going to take my 30% coupon and stock up on supplies.  Letting them go to waste would be a complete shame.  I am not one to let a bargin get away!

Becca

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Valentine’s Day kids Craft

HEART BOXES

This is an easy and cute craft for the kids or the moms.  My girls loved it!  Send us pictures of how yours comes out.  We  would love to see all the things that could be done!  You can add a gift inside or just give the box.  The possibilities are certainly endless.   Alli and I had fun with this one.

Difficulty Rating:  2 Stars Beginner 5-100

Supplies:

1. Heart shaped box
2. Paint
3. paint bush
4. decorations
5. Glue (depending on which decorations you choose)

Step 1:                                                                              

For step 1 we painted our box.  This came out more like a light stain.  If you are looking for a bolder color you need to prime the box.

Step 2:

Let the box dry.  WHile this would seem like a logical step we felt it was important to include.  If you do not allow proper drying time the decorations may not stick to your heart box.

Step 3:

The last step is to decorate your heart box.  We chose to do this with all self sticking items.  This meant that we did not have to get the glue guns out and is a great way to accomplish this step.  I believe that when working with smaller children this is the better way to go.  They are able to indepentently complete their craft and bring it home complete rather then leaving it to dry.  AC Moore has great sticker gems, foam hearts, button decorations and much more.  I also think that these would come out great decopauged.

That is it!  This craft is really that simple.  I love the way that it comes out and the kids will have a use for it.  My girls chose to place their Webkinz codes in their hearts.  This is a perfect size and a great way to keep track of those little papers that you are suposed to hold onto for life!  We hope that you enjoy this craft and again please share how yours come out.

Becca and Alli

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Valentine’s Day Bookmarks

A craft for kids:

This is a simple yet cute craft to enjoy this valentines.  It would be great for preschool, 4H groups, Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts.  I think that it is better for children ages 3-6 but I know Abigail enjoyed making one.  As always let Alli and I know how it comes out.  We would love the feedback!

Difficulty Level: 1 Star

Supplies:

1. Popcycle sticks
2. Glue
3. Wooden conersational hearts
4. crayons, markers or paint

Step 1:

Have the children color or paint their popcycle stick.  They can decorate it in any way they want.  Younger children could just color the stick while older kids can get a little more creative adding designs, words and just about anything else they can think of.

Step 2:

Glue the conversational heart to the top of the popcycle stick.

Step 3:

Let it all dry and you have a new bookmark to keep as children begin to learn to read or they can pass it along to parents or grandparents as a great little gift.

We hope that you enjoy the valentines day bookmarks.  Our kids all had a blast making them.  We would love to hear and see how yours came out.  Please leave us a message in the comment box!

Becca and Alli

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Valentine’s Day Bear Pins

This is a great craft for scouts, class craft projects or just for gifts for grandparents.  This craft is designed to make 15 bears.  Each bear will end up costing $0.51 each!  Here is all that you will need:

Difficulty level: 1 star

Supplies:                                                                                                                                                   

1. Felt Board in cocoa
2. Tacky glue
3. Google eyes
4. 1 bag of pins
5. 1 hot glue stick
6. hot glue gun
7. sizzers
8. Sticker or wood conversation hearts
9. Black marker
10. Printed template

Step 1:

Click here to print bear template and then cut the template out.

Step 2:

Trace the template onto the felt board.

Step 3:

Cut out individual bears

Step 4:

Hot glue pin onto the back of the bear.

Step 5:

Glue on google eyes

Step 6:

Glue on conversation heart

Step 7:

Draw bears paws, ears, nose and mouth

We hope that you enjoyed our first craft together.  Come back each week to see what we will think of next

Becca and Alli’s Craft Corner

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Children’s Crafts

Coming soon to www.askbecca.com is a new focus for the new year.  I know that time and time again I am looking for crafts to do with 4H, daisy scouts and brownie scouts.  There are even times I want to do something fun on a snowy day with the kids.  I will be introducing a new section to askbecca.com.

Becca and Alli’s craft corner is a new place to find all of your favorite crafts for kids and more.  Once a week we will be introducing a new, low cost craft that you can enjoy with the children in your life.   Each new craft will have a 1-5 star rating.  This rating will determine the difficulty level of each craft.

We are so excited to be crafting away!  Perhaps we will become the Martha Stewart of the kids crafts world!  You know a girl has to think big.  We will see you here!

Becca and Alli

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