Handprint Rainbow

Okay, aside from the obvious - that rainbows don't really have anything to do with Saint Patrick's Day - other than there seem to be a lot of rainbows seen in Ireland - I loved this craft for so many reasons.  The "teacherly" part of me loved it for the fine motor skills practice - cutting out six handprints and staying on the lines takes some serious concentration/hard work.  The "homeschool mom" part of me loved it for the ease of preperation (all I had to do was help them trace their hands, then they were on their own!), and the fact that throughout the day they could work on it independently.  This is one of the benefits I find in doing crafts with my kids. When I'm working with one child on something like reading, and another is working on math, and the third has finished their current assignment and is showing signs of escape  - they always have something to work on at their desk!  All of them finished this craft by the end of our day - so they quickly saw the results of their hard work - and they turned out really beautifully!   I did two things differently than this website suggests:  http://www.dltk-bible.com/mhandrainbow.html   First, I did all the colors of the rainbow.  Second, I had them start with purple and work backwards to red.  I did this so you could see more of each handprint.  You'll see what I mean if you click on the link and see their photo example and then look at mine.   Overall, I loved this one.  I hope some of you try it!   Here are ours!

Have a blessed Sunday with your family.  Ours will be spent at church, Lowes, and in our kitchen -  in that order.  I'm hoping to finish getting the walls prepped for paint today.   As always, feel free to copy!

Stacy

A different spin on french braids!

This mom is amazing: http://www.princesshairstyles.com/2009/05/french-braids-with-flair.html  She has even published a book recently with all her cute hair styles!  I decided to try this one this morning.   Again, cute, out of the face - it took a little bit of time - but not too many complaints out of my own princess while it was being put in.  I think if I did it again, I'd put in a bigger flower a little higher up, but that's just me nit-picking an otherwise cute do. You'll see that we also did six sections of hair instead of the (four?) she used.  Bee wears that rainbow shirt as often as she can - so we needed six little squares of hair to use an elastic in every shade of the rainbow!  :)
 I'm sorry that some of the photos are a bit fuzzy - my camera is "over flashing" or over exposing or whatever technical term (help, Deb?) and so I had to turn off my flash to get a normally colored shot.  Seeing as a nine year old is wiggly - they came out fuzzy.   All that being said, here's our take on this fun hairstyle!

I used a ton of hairspray in the hopes that this would stay in for two days again!  She loves having her hair done,  but the every other day method seems to be making her even more cooperative.   While I type this, my dear hubby is ripping apart our kitchen - looks like a trip to Lowes today. Yipee!!  I hope you all have a great Saturday, and as always, feel free to copy!

Stacy

Leprechaun Wall Hanging

I intend to be fair in this blog - I won't tell you that I love everything I try to make or do - sometimes hairstyles or craft projects just aren't worth the effort.  It was my intention to blog about that very thing today. The project we did this week  - and when I say that I mean it literally, because we started this project on Monday and just finished it last night - was tedious.  There were (it seemed) a billion tiny pieces to trace and cut out.  We used crayons instead of paints, which took a bit of time.  Certain parts could be glued with a glue stick (my favorite) but many had to be glued with liquid elmers glue (not so much a close friend of mine).  You would have to wait for a part to dry before you could move on - this isn't a "sit down once" kinda project. We had to do it several times a day for four days in a row to complete it.   Add to that the fact that leprechauns have nothing to do with St. Patrick's Day - I mean, it's a stretch.  It rains often in Ireland with the sun shining, thus there are lots of rainbows there, and I guess more pots of gold at the ends that are being protected by little green men?
So while every part of me wants to tell you NOT to do this project, I had a change of heart last night when they were completed. (Sorry Jeni!)  You see, they are SO CUTE!   And my kids love them. They even named them!  And now they hang in our classroom, a cheery reminder of St. Patrick - a man who loved God so much he went to a place where rainbows and mythical leprechauns lived, a place where he was once enslaved, to tell people about Him. You can learn how to make your own leprechaun here: http://crafts.kaboose.com/leprechaun-wall-hanging.html

Here are ours!

  So we're snowed in today.  We'll still do a bit of school (I know, mean homeschool mothers around the world can unite on this one!), but then they'll get out in the snow again.  I hope you all stay warm, and as always, feel free to copy!

Stacy

Wrap Around Buns!

I found this style a few days ago, and both Bee and I couldn't wait to try it out.  It isn't the easiest of styles, though.   The braiding around the head is easy, but making those circle took a few tries - and the second one I did wasn't quite even with the first one.   Bee also said "ow" a lot.  I think it's because I had to pull it pretty tightly to make the braid even and neat.   This is where I found the "step by step": http://cute2tryhairdos.blogspot.com/  This mom is amazing at hair, and has some really cute ideas.  Here is our version of that do:

I'd love to hear from you and see photos if you have tried this one - I'd also love tips for how to make the circles even.   It is adorable, and I'm pretty sure that with a little fixing of the buns and bows tomorrow, it will be able to be a two day do.   We're in a snow storm today - so we'll be out in the snow later making a snow man.  If you are too, enjoy the snow with you babies, and as always, feel free to copy!

Stacy

A Stacy *gasp* Original?!?!

Okay, so I suppose this isn't totally original. All I really did was take a few of the hairstyles I'd already tried, and combined them to make a new one.  First I sectioned her hair in four sections.  I did puffy braids across her head with clear elastics, and ended in a side pony, which I then twisted into twist braids (and secured with more clear elastics).  I added one of our newly created flowers and  - viola!  A princess "do" for dance class!

This was a quick and easy style that I put in about ten minutes before she had to leave for class.  It stayed in all day yesterday as well.  We just switched out the flower for one that would match her outfit.  I'm really loving the clear elastics, because if you do a style that can last several days, you can always just switch out your bow and still have her hair match her outfit.  The best part is, they're cheap, and you can throw them out after one use!!  *Quick Tip* I usually cut the tiny clear elastics out of her hair - much less complaining this way, and it goes much faster!   I hope you all have a great day, and as always, feel free to copy!

Stacy

Tie - Dye Shamrock

This craft was easy, and my kids had so much fun with it!!  It was more a lesson for Jake (blue and yellow equals green) but the big kids had just as much fun using the droppers. 

First, we practiced with plain water just dropping one drip at a time.  This step is important, and not listed here:  http://crafts.kaboose.com/groovy-shamrock-tie-dye-paints.html where I found the craft.  We waited until the filters were dry before we cut them out, but I did trace the shamrock on the filter with pen before they started "painting" them.  If I did this again, I would use far less water so that the colors are brighter when they dry.  Quick Tip: We did this project on a paper plate, and then trasnfered the filter to the top of a thick set of newspapers to dry.  You'll find that the plate they used will be full of colored water (at least ours were).  You could try to control it more than that, and not have the extra water, but I think it would take away some of the fun.  Here is our end result:

You can get the droppers at any craft store - I'm already thinking of how we can use them again soon. Overall  I liked this craft.  The look on Jake's face as he watched the colors blend before his eyes was priceless.  Thanks for sharing your photos with me!  I can't wait to see more!  And as always, feel free to copy!!
Stacy

Hair Bows and Flowers!

On most of the styles that I've posted, the hair do is finished off with a big beautiful bow or flower.  We have lots of ribbon at our house, but only a few bows.  I started to look for them on line in esty stores, and boutiques, only to faint from sticker shock!  A big flower bow for $15??  I thought surely, they must be cheaper to make, and how hard can it be?

I found these two websites:
http://www.theribbonretreat.com/custom/free_projects.aspx
http://www.lookatmebaby.com/free_hair_bow_instructions.php

 I went to Walmart and bought about $10.00 worth of supplies, and got to it. The end results were adorable!

These are so easy to do.  I am going to estimate each of our bows/flower clips to be at or around $1.50 to make.  Some were far less.   This was just my first try, and I learned a few things. First of all, I would get crazy glue next time instead of craft glue. Although the craft glue holds GREAT!, it took overnight to dry.  I might experiment with a high-temp hot glue gun as well.  I also want to try using a wider ribbon to make some bows.  One thing that worked great was using flowers found in the clearance (one dollar or less) bin at Walmart.  You simply disassemble them and glue them on the clip one layer at a time.

I wanted to try a big flower clip today, but the little miss came out dressed like this:

  and insisted that she needed to use the rainbow clips to match her outfit.  :)

Now that we have these clips, it's time to organize them!  I've seen lots and lots of of examples of these online, but I decided to do it my own way - quick and easy!!   I simply took three lengths of ribbon and (using a simple clear pushpin) stuck them in the back of our linen closet door in our bathroom. Here we are about midway through adding ribbons and bows.  The "thing" in the middle is a toilet paper holder - for the time being it is going to house my spare ribbons.  Each set is clipped on with a tiny hair clippy so they don't fall off when the door is opened.

   I showed Bee, and her eyes lit up.  :)   I hope I've encouraged some of you to try this.  Send me picts, and as always, feel free to copy!

Stacy

Church Hair

On Sundays, we like to do up our do's a bit fancier.  Here is how my babies went to church this morning.  Bee had twisted braids into a curly side pony.  You can learn how to do this hairstyle step by step, here:  http://shaunellshair.blogspot.com/2009/09/side-pony-with-twist-braids-20-30-min.html
It's important to start with wet hair.  I had her take a shower before I started this.  This was what it looked like while it was still wet.

Then I  blew her ponytail dry, and set it in hot rollers.  She kept them in for about 30 minutes. There isn't an exact science for how long to leave them in, I just did it until it was time for us to go to church.   You can see how thrilled she was to have her photo taken, but I thought she looked so cute with the curlers in. :)

Here is the end result. I loved this!!  It was so easy to do, and yet looks so fancy.  She felt like such a princess.  We ladies know what great hair makes us feel like. She had a bounce in her step this morning!!

Of course, the little men get do's too.  And they didn't want to be left off the blog.  "Why do you only take pictures of Bridgette's hair, mommy?"  So here they are in all their glory.  Watch out ladies!  They're pretty handsome!

Big Mister

Little Mister

I hope you all had a blessed Sunday and enjoyed your family. Give your kids big smooches and hugs, and as always, feel free to copy!
Stacy