Eileen

How to Make a DIY Hopscotch Mat

September 7, 2016 by Eileen 48 Comments

I’m always looking for simple do-it-yourself activities and games for my toddler to learn from and enjoy.

While planning his birthday party, I was looking to make different station-like games for kids to walk up to and play with.

Through scouring the Internet for ideas, I came across a cool hopscotch idea, where a blogger made a homemade hopscotch game from carpet samples from Home Depot. I loved this idea because it was so creative and resourceful.

I looked into making it, and the carpet samples were quite cheap. However, I was worried about toddlers who are still working on their balance tripping on the carpet squares, especially because they weren’t stuck to each other.

This was all occurring during my felt craze, and then it dawned on me.

I could make a felt hopscotch mat that I could unroll inside or outside for my toddler and his friends to play with.

It turned out awesome – it’s definitely my favorite DIY this year.

Not only did it look store-bought (I love when my DIYs look store-bought!), but it even inspired my son to learn his numbers. Here’s how to make a hopscotch mat.

Materials for the DIY Hopscotch Mat

Here are the materials and the steps for making this homemade felt hopscotch game.

One 2-yard piece of felt – I used this felt fabric in green from Crafty Cuts, which measured 72 inches x 36 inches. I like this brand of felt because it was nice, thick, and not slippery! (Some felt can be slippery like the kind you buy in craft stores in rolls). This material served as a perfect mat. (I even used a small piece of this cut for the lamp post in our photo booth backdrop)
15 pieces of felt in colors of your choice – 5 of these will be used for your numbers (2 per sheet), and 10 of these will be used for the hopscotch squares. I used a variety pack from a craft store, but Amazon has some great felt variety packs too. I used the size 9″ x 12.”
Glue – I used hot glue to stick the numbers to the squares and the squares to the felt. It held up just fine but I had to use a lot of glue. I didn’t try fabric or felt glue, but I know those choices are out there too.
Number Pattern – I made a free printable (see below) for my numbers. To save ink, you’ll notice I took a few short cuts. I only printed the 1 once (use the stencil for the 1 and the 10), and I didn’t include the 9 (use the 6).
Scissors

How to Make a Hopscotch Mat

Making the hopscotch was really simple. It’s a no-sew project that doesn’t take up too much time, and yields a great result.

Creating the Layout for the DIY Hopscotch Mat

First, I laid out the green 2-yard felt piece. Then I started to pick colors for the squares. After I had picked out my colors – yellow, pink, and two shades of blue, I laid everything down, creating a pattern that I liked.

Cutting the Felt Squares for the Mat

After the layout was down, I needed to cut the ten rectangular felt pieces into squares.

To make this as simple as possible, since the pieces were 9″ by 12,” I just cut the 12″ side to 9″ to make a 9″ by 9″ with just one cut per piece.

Also, I used my paper cutter to cut the felt. This made the process of cutting felt perfectly a cinch because I can never get a perfectly straight line with scissors.

I don’t leave my paper cutter sitting out anymore with my son running around; however the paper cutter I use takes 30 seconds to set up, and you only need to set up part of it to get a good cut.

For someone a busy mom who can’t cut straight, it’s simple and perfect!

Making the Numbers for the DIY Hopscotch Mat

After I cut the ten number squares, I started on the numbers. I decided to use felt to make the numbers. I tried fabric paint and a few other types of paint – but it just didn’t look professional.

So, I made a quick little number printable, and then cut out the numbers to use as stencils.

And, for efficiency, I skipped any redundant numbers (one stencil for 6 and 9).

Next I simply held the stencil over the black felt (I used all black for the numbers) and cut as precisely as I could.

I could have traced the stencils onto the felt first and then cut, but I skipped this time for the sake of time.

Gluing the Pieces Together

Afterward, I glued the black numbers onto the colored felt squares.

Then I started gluing the colored squares to the green felt background. It was turning out so nicely 🙂

The completed hopscotch mat 🙂 Along with a few other party decorations – the photo booth backdrop and the Sesame pom-poms in the background.

Before the party, we used the hopscotch mat in the house, as a little reading carpet. My son learned his numbers quickly and would pick a different number to sit on each time we would read 🙂

This cute, very simple to make, hopscotch mat can serve as a game or a reading mat.

The cost of the project was very little – I bought most things at the craft stores with coupons, and I used the variety pack of felt for numerous other projects, with a large pile still left.

To give an estimate, I would say I didn’t spend more than $15. I love it so much that I’m looking to make another felt mat as a reading mat for my son’s reading corner.

If you are looking for a fun activity for kids that involve learning, definitely consider making a hopscotch mat.

Easy Homemade Elmo and Cookie Monster Cupcakes

August 25, 2016 by Eileen 36 Comments

The Sesame Street desserts were my favorite part of my son’s Sesame themed party. Based on the rave reviews, I think they were my guests’ favorite part too. I made a huge Elmo cake and then I made homemade Elmo and Cookie Monster cupcakes.

I just loved how the homemade Elmo cake turned out… so much that I was actually sad cutting into it.

The DIY Elmo cake was a 12″ two-layer, gluten-free vanilla cake with chocolate icing. Red sprinkles covered the sides of the cake, along with two Elmo face cut-outs – made from cut-out cookies and chocolate melts.

The homemade Elmo and Cookie Monster cupcakes were regular vanilla cake with chocolate icing and decorated with sprinkles, icing tubes, and chocolate chip cookie halves to resemble Elmo and Cookie Monster.

Our guests were totally impressed with the Sesame Street desserts – and the homemade Elmo and Cookie Monster cakes were so easy to decorate.

DIY Cookie Monster Cupcakes Video

How to Make Elmo and Cookie Monster Cupcakes

After making the homemade Elmo and Cookie Monster cupcake batter, I filled the muffin liners 3/4 of the way full. I wanted to have a nice dome at the top of the cupcake. If the cupcake was too flat, the Sesame Street faces would be harder to make and wouldn’t look as nice.

Elmo and Cookie Monster Cupcake Decorating Materials:

a large bag of red sprinkles for the Elmo cakes – I looked for just red and just blue sprinkles everywhere – Michaels, Joann, AC Moore, Walmart, Target, the grocery stores – and couldn’t find any! I found these on Amazon. The bags are pretty big, and I had a lot of extra 🙂
a large bag of blue sprinkles for the Cookie Monster cakes
chocolate chip cookies – broken in half and used for Cookie Monster’s mouth. Homemade or store-bought both work fine. I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies a week earlier and put about a dozen (broken in half) aside and froze them for the cupcakes. Working with frozen cookies was easier too.
icing tubes in white, black, and orange .- used for the eyes, mouth, and Elmo’s nose. When looking through the aisles at Joann and Michael’s for ideas, I kept seeing pre-made candy eyes. I preferred using icing because those little candies can be a choking hazard for little ones.

Pictured above is my Cookie Monster cupcake set-up.

For Elmo’s mouth, you could always use half of an Oreo, but since I already had a black tube of icing for the pupils and I didn’t have Oreos – I went with the easier option.

If you are thinking of making the Elmo cake also, you can use leftover sprinkles and icing tubes from the cupcakes 🙂

How to Make Cookie Monster Cupcakes

First, after the homemade cupcakes cooled, I iced them. I was running a little low on icing, so I put just enough on so that the sprinkles would have something to stick too.
Next, I filled a small bowl with blue sprinkles, and then I flipped the iced cupcake upside down and dipped it into the sprinkles. I twisted it around a little to give the sprinkles a good stick.
Then, I used a white tube of icing to make Cookie’s eyes. I first made a circle outline and then carefully filled it in.
After that, I used the black tube of icing to make the pupils. I made sure to make one higher than the other, as that is Cookie’s signature look.
When the eyes were done, I took a chocolate chip cookie half and ran a strip of icing across the edge of the cookie (the part that would to stick to the cupcake), and then stuck it on.

I used a pizza pan to put the cupcakes on, so the Cookie Monster sprinkles didn’t run everywhere.

A cookie sheet would be fine too, but I was using all of those for my butterscotch batches that were baking.

Here is a picture of the finished Cookie Monster cupcakes.

The homemade cupcakes turned out so cute and were much easier to make with sprinkles, rather than the blue icing 🙂 The only decorating that was needed was the eyes. So these Cookie Monster cupcakes are pretty fool-proof!

How to Make Elmo Cupcakes

For the homemade Elmo cupcakes, I took almost the exact same steps as the Cookie Monster cupcakes listed above: I baked the cupcakes large so they would have a dome, iced the top, and then dunked them into a bowl of red sprinkles.

I then used the icing tubes to draw on the face. A little more skill was required for Elmo’s nose, eyes, and mouth (compared to just Cookie’s eyes), and I was tired from baking all day – but they still turned out pretty nice.

If your toddler can recognize Elmo, then you know it looks pretty good 🙂

The Elmo Cake

The Elmo cake consisted of three main parts – the Elmo face cut-outs used on the sides of the cake, the icing, and the actual cake. All of them were pretty simple to make. I made the face cut-outs the night before I did the Elmo cake, so two nights before the party. Then I made the Elmo cake and icing the day before. I also did the Elmo cake decorating the day before.

Elmo Cake Decorating Materials

Listed below are all of the materials for the Elmo cake. I had 50+ people coming, so I wanted to have plenty of Sesame Street desserts to go around.

Large Round Cake Pan – I used a 12″ cake pan, found on Amazon. It came in a set of four cake pans for $26, as it included a 6″, 8″, 10″, and a 12.” I figured if I was going to undertake this Elmo cake endeavor this year that I was sure to use the other sizes in future endeavors (maybe a tiered cake next year?). I also compared prices at Michaels, AC Moore, and Joann, and even with a coupon, this was the best deal.
Cardboard Cake Circle – I hemmed and hawed about purchasing these 14″ cake circles, and I’m so glad I did because in hindsight, I wouldn’t have pulled off this cake without them. Not only did they make taking the cake out of the pan so easy, but I also used them to hold the cake while in the fridge, and they easily allowed me to place the cake right on top of the cake holder. With a cake this big, cookie sheets and regular round plates would not have been a help at all.
Double Recipe of Cake Batter – I made my cake gluten-free from the most amazing recipe. Yammie’s Gluten Freedom has a recipe called The Best Gluten Free White Cake Ever. Instead of using eight egg whites, I used four whole eggs, and instead of using her gluten free flour blend, I used this one from America’s Test Kitchen called America’s Test Kitchen’s Gluten Free Flour Blend. It’s the only gluten-free recipe I have used that people have no idea it’s gluten-free. Even my gluten-loving husband was fooled. However, you can use any cake batter recipe for this – even two cake boxes. 🙂
Double Recipe of Icing – I used a chocolate recipe that my mom makes for every family birthday. It’s quite simple but results in a lot of taste-testing for the correct balance of sugar and chocolate.
Extra icing or icing tubes for decorating – I used the leftover orange icing tube from the Elmo cupcakes to write on the cake, and also I used the leftover chocolate icing to do borders on the cake.
Red sprinkles – These are for the sides of the cake – to make Elmo red. I found a great bag of red sprinkles on Amazon that I used on the cupcakes and the cake, and I still have leftovers.
Elmo’s eyes/nose cut-outs – I made these from cut-out cookies. In addition to having cut-out cookie batter (I made a half-batch), you’ll need candy melts in orange, black, and white. You will have lots of leftovers from these for future baking projects – or for delicious chocolate covered pretzels. Keep reading for instructions on these 🙂

Decorating the Elmo Cake

So my plan was to make red icing from beets to give the Elmo cake his red color.

I know that sounds crazy, but I didn’t feel like dumping a whole bunch of red dye into the icing that I knew my son would be eating by the spoonful.

I read that beets can be used for red icing, so why not try and make an MSG-free alternative?!

Well, in short, tampering with the beets was a waste of time the day before having a huge party at your house. The beets turned the icing hot pink.

Like really hot pink.

Too bad I wasn’t making an Abby Cadabby cake.

The teacher in me thought that I could still use the hot pink beet icing to ice the cake, and then put the red sprinkles over the side to make Elmo.

Well, that idea sunk when the cake started looking like Valentine’s Day with the hot pink and the bright red.

I laugh now, but oh was I frustrated!

So, how did we get the Elmo cake red?!

We sent Ash out to the store for more powdered sugar, and my sister, who is the icing master, made another huge batch of icing in chocolate.

Our altered plan was to ice the Elmo cake with chocolate frosting and then use the red sprinkles for the sides.

It worked out well, and we absolutely loved the way the Elmo cake looked!

The most time-consuming part, beets aside, was getting the sprinkles to stick to the sides of the cake.

My quick google search showed me there was no good strategy, other than tilting, and I was not tilting a two-layer 12″ cake.

So, I grabbed a handful of sprinkles and pressed them up to the icing to make it stick. It took a while, but it was worth it in the end. I absolutely love the way the Elmo cake turned out.

Making Elmo’s Face Cut-Outs

This was actually the easiest part of making the homemade Elmo cake.

First, I made a half batch of my mom’s cut-out cookies. You can make these a day early and leave the dough refrigerated overnight.

I used circle cookie cutters to get Elmo’s eyes right, overlapping the circles a little. Then, I made two different sizes – a smaller and a larger, so that I could pick the better of the two after they baked.

I made about a half dozen of each version – just to have extras.

For Elmo’s nose, I used a large oval cookie cutter to go with the larger eyes.

Since I didn’t have a smaller oval cookie cutter, I set the large one down in the dough as a guide and used a knife to cut a smaller oval. I made about two or three of each size nose.

As a visual guide, I had an Elmo party hat in front of me that I used on the party decorations. This was helpful to look at as I worked.

After the Elmo face cookies had baked and cooled, I picked from the two sizes I had made. I actually chose the smaller size, and then I got started on the decorating.

I used candy melts in white and black (see materials above).

For the whites of the Elmo’s eyes, I melted the candy melts and half dipped/half iced it onto the cookie.

Then, I simply took two chocolate morsels from the black candy melt bag and stuck them on for Elmo’s pupils.

The size was perfect!

For the orange, I thought I bought orange candy melts, but I hadn’t. Ugh!

I wasn’t making another trip to the store, so I had to improvise and use a little of the orange icing tube that was for nose on the Elmo cupcakes.

I just spread it over the nose cookie until it was smooth. It would have turned out better with the melted candy, as the icing was a little streaky.

But hey, it saved me a trip back out 🙂

If you haven’t used candy melts before, the trick with these (or melting any kind of chocolate in the microwave) is to microwave the morsels for 30 seconds at a time.

After 30 seconds, stir the chocolate up really well. Continue this pattern until the chocolate is all melted.

When you are heating it up in 30 second increments and giving it a good stir in between, you don’t run the risk of burning the chocolate.

Making Abby’s Magical Wands

For Abby’s Magical Wands, I simply bought pretzel sticks and dipped them in hot pink candy melts.

After dipping, I placed them on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. This contains the drips and sprinkles. I also used some of the white candy melts to drizzle on them too, after the pink had set.

I was so pleased with how the Elmo and Cookie Monster cakes and Abby’s wands turned out. It was definitely my best cake ever.

Last year, I tried to draw on a bear that looked more like a blob….

This year, I used cookies, sprinkles, and chocolate melts to mask my poor decorating skills 🙂

The homemade Elmo and Cookie Monster cupcakes totally impressed my party guests and myself. These simple tutorials show you exactly how you can make your own party desserts.

The homeamde Elmo and Cookie Monster cupcakes were a big hit among the kids! And, the adults loved the cake.

When you enjoy baking and creating something totally awesome, the time spent was absolutely worth it.

And, it was all in a day’s work!

How to Throw the Best DIY Sesame Street Party

August 22, 2016 by Eileen 11 Comments

Three things I love are planning, making, and decorating. And of course, seeing my son smile. This summer, I achieved all of those things through throwing a fantastic summer Sesame Street theme party. Almost every guest made a kind comment on how wonderful everything was – from the decorations to the party games to the themed food and homemade desserts.

How did I do it without going too crazy? I spent a lot of time scouring the Internet (Happy 25th Birthday today, Internet), compiling ideas, and crafting my own.

I carefully documented my techniques to make it even easier for you!

Without further ado, here are some highlights from the cutest, do-it-yourself Sesame Street party.

My sister made the above Sesame Street party lamp from planters, PVC, and spray paint! It also lights up! Pretty cool, right?!

Sesame Street Party Decorations

I love efficiency almost as much as I love a good theme party, so I had planned to make the decorating as easy as possible, without compromising my extravagant plans.

You see, I used the same Sesame Street faces to make seven awesome party decorations. I used the same character face cut-outs on the pennant banner, party hats, goody bags, balloons, party buckets, pom-poms, and photo booth props.

Decorating was super easy when you reuse the same things for each decoration. The party hats I bought at Walmart and then simply glued the faces on. I did the same with the goody bags, buckets (I used to tape so I could reuse the buckets), and balloons.

For the pennant banner, I cut the pennants out of brightly color cardstock (a combination of this pack and this pack), and then used fishing line and hot glue to connect.

The photo booth props were super simple – just glue some signs and faces to popsicle sticks. Once you have the props, you only need two more things for an easy do-it-yourself photo booth – a backdrop and the photo booth app.

Ash wrote the app Easy Photo Booth, and you can download it for free!

Last, the pom-poms were a mix of dollar store finds with homemade ones – and then again, I simply glued the faces on.

I made the party hats using the same character cut-outs from above.

Sesame Street Homemade Desserts

Let’s move on to my favorite part of the Sesame Street party (and well, every party) – the desserts!

I made a 12″ two layer, gluten free vanilla cake with my sister’s delicious chocolate icing. I used red sprinkles on the sides, and the eyes/nose are actually sugar cookie cut-outs that are dipped in chocolate melts. For step-by-step, instructions, see my cake post.

I loved this cake so much that I was actually a little sad cutting into it.

The pretzels – labeled Abby’s Magical Wands – were the easiest to make. Just dipped in melted pink chocolate!

The cupcakes were the most fun to make! They are simply dipped in sprinkles and decorated. To show you just how simple it was, I wrote a step-by-step tutorial on exactly how to make these cute Sesame cupcakes.

Sesame Street Themed Food

Making the snacks into character faces came totally from Pinterest! Look how cute Oscar turned out!

We also made a Big Bird out of cheese and crackers along with a watermelon Elmo.

With the menu not finalized until a few days before the party, I almost nixed labeling the food to coordinate with the theme of the party.

However, I’m so glad I didn’t because who doesn’t get a good laugh out of “Oscar’s Scram-burgers” and “Ernie’s Rubber Doggies?!”

Check out our full menu of creatively-labeled food.

Sesame Birthday Banner

Here you can see more of the table, the amazing DIY birthday sign (so easy to make), the party hats, and the goody bags.

Below is a close-up of the DIY sign as it was still in the making. I actually couldn’t find any free, printable letters, so I created my own.

In doing so, I created free banner letters for you (just the letters – no characters). The best thing about these is that you can customize the letters and just print what you need. Four letters fit per page too!

I love the way it turned out! Zeus did too – even though his face isn’t showing his excitement 😉

Sesame Street Party Games

Now, onto games! We had quite a few at the party. This was my favorite – Cookie Monster’s Cookie Toss.

I painted Cookie’s face on a piece of foam board from the Dollar Store, and Ash gave it a nice wooden frame.

The cookies are homemade from felt and beans. See the Cookie Monster Toss Tutorial.

We also did “Pin the Nose On Elmo” made of felt on felt…

…as well as “Count with the Count” made with card stock, wrapping paper, and 3D stickers.

There’s also Abby’s Magical Shapes, which was my son’s favorite. He learned these shapes in just days playing around with this board prior to the party.

And, last but not least, we can’t forget “Hoppin’ with Zoe,” an indoor/outdoor hopscotch rug made entirely from felt! Check out my tutorial to make your own – it’s so, so easy!

Check out all of the Sesame Street party games.

Sesame Party Photo Booth

We also had a Sesame photo booth at the party. On our deck, we set up this sheet of felt (you could also use a blanket as a backdrop), along with the computer app that Ash made!

Here are the props I made. Some of them were character cut-outs, and others I threw together. This was also a last minute activity 🙂

Here’s a few characters posing 🙂

Here I am, Ernie, cutting the cake. My sister, PK, is the Count, and seems to be concentrating pretty hard on holding that plate:

Here’s the entrance to the Sesame Street party:

It definitely was a party to remember!

Just one last picture that has left me laughing – my party decorating helpers, pretending to float away 🙂

Overall, I put a lot of time into planning and creating. However, I detailed the steps for you to make it easy. Your Sesame Street party should be a breeze!

Making a Simple Ice Cream Sundae Gift Basket

August 19, 2016 by Eileen 31 Comments

I love making cute gift baskets – so much that I have a board on Pinterest entirely devoted to homemade gift baskets and boxes.

Whenever I’m stuck for a gift, whether Christmas gifts or shower gifts, I always think about what I can put in a gift basket as a themed gift.

My sister-in-law and her family were staying with us for their family vacation this year, and I wanted to do something special for them. I made this cute DIY ice cream sundae gift basket, and it was a hit!

Collecting Materials for the Gift Box

First, I collected the materials that I needed for DIY ice cream sundae gift box. I went to Michael’s and they were having an awesome summer blowout sale on gift boxes.

I got this gift box for just three dollars! Of course, I bought a few of them for later projects.

Next, on my weekly trip to the grocery store, I purchased a few of the ice cream box necessities – chocolate syrup, strawberry syrup, cherries, and cones.

I also bought a few boxes of candy that could be used as toppings. The boxes were on sale for .99 cents.

As for other toppings, I already had tons of sprinkles and a box of walnuts at home.

My final trip was to Walmart for a cheap but cute ice cream scoop. I found one for .88 cents! (Side note – if you are looking to get a better scoop, there’s an awesome scoop on Amazon that uses the heat from your body to heat up the ice cream!)

Also at Walmart, I found polka dot napkins and turquoise spoons for a dollar per pack. I also found ice cream cups there for $3 per pack.

If you are looking to buy a kit, there’s a great ice cream sundae kit on Amazon, which has the cups, spoons, straws, and little umbrellas in bright and cheery colors.

Last, I purchased the condiment cups on Amazon. Love Amazon! I also needed the condiment cups for my son’s Sesame Street themed birthday party, so I bought a big bag.

I already had scrapbook paper and ribbon in my craft collection, so I didn’t need to buy those things 🙂

Putting the Ice Cream Sundae Box Together

The next step was the fun part – putting everything together into a cute ice cream sundae gift basket.

I poured the boxes of candy into the condiment cups. The boxes were a perfect fit because I had little to none leftover.

I also filled condiment cups with rainbow sprinkles, chocolate sprinkles, and crushed walnuts.

I unwrapped two different kinds of cones (I bought a variety pack) and wrapped a stack of them in cellophane for freshness.

Then I took a piece of ribbon and tied a few spoons to the ice cream scoop with a sign that read, “Just add ice cream.”

I took scrapbook paper and cut pieces to cover the store labels – to make them prettier 🙂

Then I printed my own labels that read “chocolate syrup, cherries, etc” (see download below) on regular white printer paper.

I glued the labels to the scrapbook paper and then taped them to the jars, for a cute, uniform look.

I didn’t love the design on the ice cream cups, so I wrapped a polka-dotted napkins around the cup, to match the napkins and make for a brighter box.

Last, I added a sign to the top of the box, covering up the bicycle design.

I love the way the box turned out! My sister-in-law and her family loved it too. We had a great time creating ice cream sundaes at home 🙂

As far as cost, I saved a lot of money with the discounted box, grocery store sales, and good finds at Walmart.

Altogether, I spent just less than $35 dollars (with the condiment cups being $10.50 and tons of these leftover for other projects) on the this DIY ice cream sundae gift basket.

Considering we had ice cream sundaes for seven people and tons of leftovers, I still think that’s a great deal!

It’s a great summer gift basket, housewarming gift, a sunshine gift for someone who needs some positivity – the list is endless, and everyone always loves it!

Making Adorable Cards from Toddler Art

August 7, 2016 by Eileen 7 Comments

I’m always looking for cute greeting card ideas for my kids to make. There are so many fun cards out there that creatively use kids’ hand and footprints. Although cute, I always had trouble getting one decent hand or footprint for a greeting card. Not to mention the mess it makes.

As soon as my son was old enough to paint, I had him “paint” with cotton swabs, instead of paint brushes, so he could easily dab the paint onto the paper. This kept the paint really confined but still allowed him to create artwork. (Sponge brushes and foam stampers are great for making cards with toddlers too.)

As any toddler’s paintings would be, my little guy’s artwork was very abstract.

I was having him make birthday cards for all of the August birthdays in my family. Yet, rather than give messy toddler paint prints, I thought of a great way to showcase his art but to also turn it into a nice-looking greeting card.

So after my son did a little painting, I did a little cutting and gluing – and voila! Don’t the birthday cards look nice?!

Materials for Making Greeting Cards from Toddlers

Making these greeting cards is so simple. The materials are so easy too. Most likely, you will even already have all of these things.

Card stock – I like having toddlers make artwork on card stock because it is so thick. When they layer paint on paint on paint, the card stock works really well. I mostly used this bright color pack. The brighter the colors, the better the cards turned out. (Looking at the purple card (below), I wished I used a brighter color for the actual card.)
Kids paint – I love this washable Crayola paint. Lots of color choices keep my son very interested in painting!
Paintbrushes – sponge brushes, cotton swabs or stampers work too! My son loves making greeting cards with these foam painting stampers. He has this farm set, but they have transportation ones, animal ones, sea-life ones, and even holiday sets too! He only uses the paintbrush for so long, but the foam stampers keep him interested for longer
Scissors – just the regular ole pair you have laying around the house 🙂
Glue – or even tape 🙂
Sharpie/Marker (if needed) – I used a sharpie to add the balloon strings. You could use ribbon too!
Stickers or embellishments (if desired)

Making Cards with Toddlers

After my toddler painted on the card stock papers, I let them dry for a few hours or so. Then, I cut his paintings into shapes – cupcakes, presents, balloons, and layered cake for the birthday cards.

I then took a new piece of card stock (a contrasting color), folded it in half, and trimmed off the top (unless I was going for a tall card – like the balloons and train). After, I took the birthday items that I cut and glued them down to the card.

I even did a train cut-out for my train-loving dad. I used a nearby water bottle cap to trace those perfect circles 🙂

Using Patterned Scrapbook Paper for Toddler Cards

After making cards for all the August birthdays, I was running low on paintings, so I substituted printed scrapbook paper (here is a similar one) that looked like a cupcake wrapper.

The greeting card turned out so cute that I wished I thought of it sooner 🙂

Birthday Shapes

As far as the shapes, I free-handed them as I cut. You could certainly draw on the paper and then cut.

Adding Embellishments

While making cards with toddlers, you can dress up the cards by adding some embellishments to the front of the card. I added the word happy with letter stickers because the present birthday card looked a little plain.

A Personal Touch

Last, to give the greeting cards just a little more of a personal touch, I had my son decorate the inside. He colored with his crayons and picked out stickers. This gave him another opportunity to be creative making birthday cards.

I just love how the birthday cards turned out! My son got to be as creative as he wanted with no restrictions (like finger prints or footprints), and I got to help my toddler create something to give to others that was refrigerator-worthy.

Even though I used birthday shapes for this batch of greeting cards, you could easily alter the shapes for holidays too.

Making cards with toddlers is a win-win for everyone involved. Your child gets to do a fun activity, you get to save some money with homemade cards, and your family members/friends get a creative, cute card, showcasing your child’s work.

And, the best part is that there is no need for hand or footprints. Now that’s a win right there 😉

A Terrific Table Saw for DIYers

July 17, 2016 by Eileen 6 Comments

The Kobalt KT1015 Table Saw

In short, the KT1015 Kobalt table saw is an outstanding saw for its value and should perfectly suit the needs of any DIYer. From ripping plywood sheets to cutting lap joints with stacked dado blades, this table saw does it all for a budget price.

Earning 4 out of 5 measuring tapes, it’s definitely one of Ash’s most treasured tools. With the Kobalt in his collection, he is able to complete a whole new range of projects.

The Nitty Gritty

For many years I got by without a table saw. I’ve always just used my trusty handsaw or circular saw.

Because our previous home was small, I just didn’t have a need for it. I couldn’t work on as many projects as I wanted to.

This changed once we bought a larger home. The list of projects we wanted to complete on our new home was endless.

A larger yard meant things like planter boxes, storage sheds and picnic tables. A more spacious garage meant custom shelving and work benches. The projects went on and on.

It was inevitable that the need for a table saw would come up. It was the construction of the shed that prompted this.

The first couple weeks of working on the shed, I used my handsaw and portable power saws. Then as I got deeper into the project, I ran into a wall.

I realized that I needed to make certain long narrow cuts. These cuts were nearly impossible to do reliably and consistently with my current means.

So it was time for a table saw. I was really excited as I had always wanted one, and this was the perfect opportunity to make the investment.

I researched many table saws online until I settled on one I liked. At the time, the prices ranged from around $250 to thousands of dollars.

I opted for the Kobalt KT1050 table saw from Lowes. After a 10% coupon I purchased on eBay for $2, I got the table saw for just under $300 with free delivery. (Here’s a very similar tablesaw on Amazon)

Deciding Factors

There were two main deciding factors for choosing this saw versus others in the same price range. The first one was the maximum cutting depth at 90 degrees.

The KT1015 Kobalt table saw allowed up to 3.5 inches of height on the blade, which meant I could cut a 4 x 4 with one pass on the blade. Most of the other saws maxed out at 3.125.”

I could also cut 2 x 4s on the longer side if I needed as well.

The second decision factor was that it came with a folding built in stand.

I didn’t fully understand the mechanics of its intended operation until watching some YouTube videos. Then I decided this saw was perfect for me.

During normal usage, the saw sits on its stand and works like a regular table saw.

Then when you’re done your cutting for the day, you press a foot lever, raise two handles and the saw tilts vertically on its side and is wheeled away for storage.

The Kobalt table saw in its wheeled storage position:

The Absolutely Best Table Saw for DIYers In this mode, it looks and maneuvers like a two wheel dolly. Because it stands up vertically, it takes up minimal space against the wall when not in use.

This was perfect for my setup as I did not want a permanent spot for the table saw and was hoping to easily pull it out as needed.

In the picture below, the lever with the lock icon transforms the saw into working position.

The Kobalt Table Saw In Action

The table saw arrived about a week later at my front door. I was held up from working on the shed project due to cuts needed from the saw, so I was eager to set it up and continue construction.

It took about an hour to assemble all of the parts and learn operation of all the features.

Since it was my first time using a table saw, I did a number of practice cuts with scrap wood to get a feel for the saw and its mechanics.

I verified the 3.5” max blade height with a piece of 4 x 4. Then, I tried some angled cuts with the included miter slide. I also ripped some bevel cuts on some 2 x 4s.

The cuts were clean and effortless.

The dust port sprayed most of the sawdust out and away from me, piling it up in a hill.

Once I was comfortable, I did the real cuts I needed for my project and was very happy with the results.

Here is a picture of the side showing the yellow power switch and the blade adjustment wheel. You can raise or lower the blade by spinning the wheel.

Also, attached to the wheel is a bevel lever that you can use to adjust the angle of the blade. I found the power switch to be in the perfect location because it is easy to turn the saw off with your knee after a cut.

The opposite side of the saw is where the sawdust shoots out.

The Absolutely Best Table Saw for DIYers One thing I was not too happy about with the Kobalt table saw was the misalignment of the riving knife. The riving knife is a metal splitter that sits just behind the blade.

As the saw blade cuts through the wood, the riving knife slides right into the freshly cut groove and forces the wood to remain parallel to the guide fence.

It’s a safety feature of table saws that helps to prevent a lot of kickback (when the spinning motion of the blade forces the wood to jerk back at you).

The riving knife is supposed to be aligned perfectly with the blade, but mine was not. It actually wasn’t too bad at the beginning, but as I used the saw over the next couple months, the alignment got worse.

The Kobalt table saw manual did come with instructions on aligning it via some hexagonal screws, but I haven’t gotten around to fixing it.

I did also read online about a number of people having trouble with the alignment and could not fix it regardless of the adjustment screw settings.

Some people have even had to stick washers into the riving knife mounting points to align it manually.

Hopefully when I get the time to look into it more, it will work out for me.

In the meantime, when I cut wood, the riving knife either happens to nudge into the cut groove, or I have to place a pre-cut block of scrap wood to force the alignment.

I do occasionally just use my finger to manually nudge the riving knife into place with the blade spinning, but this is highly dangerous and I would not recommend to anyone (note to self to stop doing this and fix the alignment).

Another thing that I was not too fond of was aligning the guide fence. This is the guide that runs parallel to the blade that you slide your wood against to ensure your cut is even.

The guide has two clamping levers on both ends that you engage to lock it down to the table saw surface.

The problem with this technique is that you have to manually ensure the guide is parallel to the blade. If the guide isn’t parallel (within a close margin of error), then your cut is not going to be straight.

Also, your wood will likely get stuck at some point as you slide it through the blade. So both ends of the guide have to be the same distance away from the blade.

It’s really not that difficult to do. However, it can get annoying if you’re making a number of cuts and constantly adjusting the fence.

I’m used to using a tape measure to ensure both ends of the guide fence are the same distance from the edge of the table. Other people use a speed square to quickly align the fence.

The fancier table saws use a rack and pinion system for the guide fence. This is where you spin a handle to slide the fence left or right.

This would be perfect for me if I had a few more hundred dollars to spend on a table saw. Yet, that was outside my budget.

Here is a picture showing the guide fence with one of the adjustment levers.

There is a ruler on the front to help you set the distance from the blade, but I find this not to be always accurate. I tend to rely on my trusty measuring tape.

Using the guide fence on the table saw So the misaligned riving knife and the work needed to setup the guide fence are my only squabbles with the KT1015 Kobalt table saw.

It’s a terrific saw for a great value and should satisfy the needs of your typical home DIYer. My most prized item in my tool collection is definitely this Kobalt table saw.

For a mere $300, it has put me on a whole new level of craftsmanship, and allowed me to accomplish projects that would have been nearly impossible in the past.

Hammering It Home…

Listed below are the projects where I used the Kobalt KT105 table saw. To see detailed steps and pictures, click the project below.

Gel Stain that Completely Transforms Furniture

July 16, 2016 by Eileen 10 Comments

General Finishes Gel Stain

General Finishes Gel Stain is a DIY dream. If you are up for the work, you can completely change the look of your dated kitchen cabinets or bathroom vanities. You can also refinish furniture with this stain.

Easy-to-use, General Finishes gel stain is undoubtedly the best gel stain brand, as it involves little prep, and produces high-quality results.

With kitchen renovations costing thousands of dollars, this gel stain is about $30 for a quart (a quart goes a long way).

My only complaint is the strong smell, but a well-ventilated area solves this.

Earning 5 out of 5 measuring tapes, it’s my best kept secret.