Crafts

Make Chemical-Free Wood Stain (With Kitchen Ingredients)

January 29, 2018 by Eileen 59 Comments

I was picking apples at the grocery store when my toddler asked, “Mommy, are those organic?” I laughed, thinking how he repeats absolutely everything he hears.

My husband and I have really made the push toward more natural and organic living, and it started in our kitchen.

While purging the pantry the other day, I was ready to toss some instant coffee. Before it hit the trash can, I wondered if I could use this to stain wood.

I’ve heard of staining wood with tea and steel wool, but I was interested to see if I could make a chemical-free stain.

Long story short, you can make a chemical-free, natural stain using just a few items from your pantry. Not only does this homemade stain save you money but it spares you from working with harsh chemicals.

Making Homemade Wood Stain that’s Chemical-Free

If you are looking to save a few bucks or to avoid the smells that come from store-bought wood stain, follow these simple instructions to make your own DIY wood stain. It’s simple and easy – and you get great results!

DIY Wood Stain Materials

I experimented with a bunch of mixtures to see what kind of colors they produced, and I encourage you to do the same. Write down the mixtures you make, so you see what you like and can easily replicate it. Below I’ll be sharing the mixtures I created. However, color could vary based on the brand and type of ingredients.

Scrap wood – I used a piece of pine leftover from another project
Coffee – I used two types – just a regular instant coffee and a special caramel latte.
Cocoa powder – I used Hershey’s Special Dark (because that’s what I had on hand)
Tea – I used just a regular black tea
Hot Water
Mason jars or bowls for your mixtures
Paint brush, foam brush, or rag for applying your stain

Pictured below is my setup, with all of the mentioned ingredients.

Making Wood Stain from Coffee and Chocolate

I gathered all of my materials ahead of time. With two little ones, DIY time is hard to find. So, I had all of my ingredients ready to go and jumped right into the project while my toddler was finishing up his dinner. I use every minute of the day 🙂

First, I put on a pot of tea, so I had piping hot water to use to mix the wood stain. I decided to make three mixtures. So, I filled three masons jars up a little more than halfway with the hot water.

In the first mason jar, I dropped four tea bags in.

In the second mason jar, I put two heaping spoonfuls of regular instant coffee and one heaping spoonful of cocoa powder.

And, in the third mason jar, I put two heaping spoonfuls of specialty coffee (caramel latte) and one heaping spoonful of cocoa powder.

I mixed each of them up and let them sit for 5-10 minutes.

As I was waiting for the mixtures to gain strength, I thought about how awesome it was that I could stain the wood on my kitchen table AND with my kids around! No awful fumes and no exposure to chemicals – such a win!

Not to mention, the coffees and chocolate smelled lovely – and when my little guy was done with his dinner, he helped me “paint.”

After that, I simply used the foam brush to apply the stain to the piece of pine scrap wood. The first coat was really light. You can use a hair dryer to speed up dry time, or just wait and keep reapplying.

I did three or four coats of each. Just don’t let your mixtures sit out for days – because they might grow some strange stuff inside.

Pictured below is an image I snapped after the first coat.

After a couple more coats, I was starting to see some nice colors come through.

Below is picture I snapped while the wood was still drying.

DIY Wood Stain Results

I left the piece to dry overnight and was surprised to see how the wood dried. The DIY stain looked awesome!

As far as each of the three mixtures, I found that the tea barely changed the wood color.

However, the tea would make for a GREAT homemade pre-stain, rather buying store-bought pre-stain filled with chemicals.

The wood absorbed the tea really nicely and worked just like a pre-stain would.

The two coffee mixtures were really close in color when they dried, yet I was pleased with both of them.

If you are aiming to make a darker stain, you can experiment with adding more chocolate and coffee. Just remember to write down what you did, so that you can do it again.

Seal it!

If you’re making this wood stain for a project, definitely seal it afterward. You can make a DIY stain sealer with beeswax or there are a few more natural options too. I like Annie Sloan’s furniture wax, but I’ll be DIYing a beeswax sealer in the near future.

I’ll be updating this post to let you know how the color has held up – so check back for updates.

Also, if you would like to see a project featuring this homemade wood stain from coffee and chocolate, check back later this week for my DIY hook rack project.

If you are trying to make the switch to more natural ingredients in your home, try experimenting with this homemade, chemical-free wood stain.

The wood stain is free if you have all the common household items. If you don’t, you won’t need to spend more than a few bucks. Save money and spare yourself the fumes from regular stain. Your nose will thank you 🙂

How to Make an Oversized Wooden Jigsaw Puzzle

January 21, 2018 by Ash 42 Comments

Looking for a fun DIY project to work on? If you have some wooden boards lying around and a saw, here’s a one hour project that’s sure to be a puzzling hit with the kids.

For our little one’s recent birthday, Eileen and I decided to throw a puzzle theme party. We had the idea to make a giant jigsaw puzzle as a fun yard activity for the kids.

My son is always watching (and pretend helping) me build projects around our home, so I thought that he would love that I was working on a special project for his birthday.

So, I made a 3-foot tall custom-made puppy puzzle.

It was a cute puppy with vibrant colors and caught all of the kids’ eyes. It was really easy to put together too. But most importantly, my son loved it.

When assembled, the puzzle was even firm enough to be a standing toy dog. So, it worked as a fun prop for photos too, especially since it was almost as tall as the kids at the party.

How to Make an Oversized Wood Jigsaw Puzzle

When figuring out how to make an oversized wood jigsaw puzzle, I started with some 10” wooden squares, each ¾” thick.

Making the squares was easy as I just bought a piece of 1 x 10 x 6 board from Home Depot and cut it into five 10” pieces (well, technically 9.25” pieces as that was the true width of the board).

Then I laid out the boards and sketched a simple outline of a dog.

I used silhouettes from dog images online as inspiration for my own design. After I was happy with the sketch, I moved to the garage to complete the puzzle.

To cut out the design, I tried both a jigsaw and a scroll saw. The scroll saw worked out to be the easiest method.

Funny thing about this scroll saw is that I picked it up from the local Habitat for Humanity store for $5. It looks like it’s from the ‘70s too, but it worked like a charm.

If you don’t have a jigsaw or scroll saw, a regular hand (or hack) saw can work just as well, just a bit slower.

After the pieces were all cut, I placed them in a clamp and sanded the edges smooth.Next I had to attach all the interlocking pieces. One disadvantage of cutting my design out of squares was that the interlocking puzzle connectors would need manual attachment.

I cut the interlocking pieces out of the adjacent pieces. Then I opted to use pocket hole screws for attaching them. My Kreg pocket hole jig made this a super easy task. This was the fastest method for me, and also made for a very sturdy connection.

Here I am drilling some of the pocket holes:

I also labeled each connection so I would not attach the wrong piece on accident, and put some alignment marks to make sure they were in the correct position (or else the puzzle would look misaligned).Soon all the connectors were attached and the puzzle construction was complete.

The last step was painting. I used kid-friendly acrylic paints that Eileen had on hand. As far as colors, I used various bright colors.

The puppy puzzle was all done. I tested it with our little one and he loved it. He quickly put it together and started petting it.

This project fast, easy and cheap. It took only an hour to make, was a simple design and cost $11 for the board. It can easily be extended to other designs too.

How fun would it be to have a zoo of puzzle animals!

8 Ways to Find Time for DIY Projects (Even When You Have a Hectic Schedule)

January 6, 2018 by Eileen 61 Comments

If you ask my husband, he knows it makes me crazy when he says he didn’t have time to do something.

You didn’t put the trash out? (as it’s overflowing and the dog is licking the sides of the can…)

Sorry, didn’t have time.

Can you change the batteries in the smoke detector? (after it’s been beeping for a few days…)

Yeah, I’ll have time later.

Even though I know how busy we are, the time excuse makes me crazy.

Why? Because the way we keep our schedules, if you want more time, you have to make it.

And you can, if you manage your time well.

I first learned to manage time when I was waitressing in college. For the first few weeks, I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off.

Then, I eased into a routine.

While one table was waiting for their food, I would head off to take another’s order, stopping by the beverage station to grab a refill for a third table, and extra sugar packets for a fourth.

I definitely put those skills to use when I started teaching classes of 35+ kids in the inner city.

After all this, I thought I was awesome at managing time… until I had my own kids.

Nursing a newborn while potty training a toddler had me feeling the same way I did when I was a new waitress in the weeds.

However, I have learned if you manage your time well, there are so many ways to find extra time in a hectic schedule.

And, extra time means more time for all those DIY projects you keep pinning. 🙂

How to Find Time for DIY Projects

With the follow eight tips, you’ll be making extra time in your crazy schedule – in no time 🙂 You’ll be amazed at just how much more time you will have.

1. Get up an hour earlier

I know what you’re thinking.

You already set snooze as many times as you possibly can, so how can you get up earlier?!

I felt the same way… until I did it.

Getting up an hour earlier gives you time to work on your projects.

The chance to work on your project first thing is a great motivator to get you out of bed.

Or, start your day (throw dinner in the crockpot, get the day’s chores done), to free up that hour later for your diy projects.

It’s so peaceful in the mornings. The house is so quiet that you’ll never sleep in again.

2. Cut some things out

You know when you are throwing a party and the day of the party, you still have a long list of things to do?

Then some guests show up early. And, the rest of the list goes out the window.

And you know what?

No one noticed anyway.

Think about your day, your week, your schedule. What things can you cut out – that wouldn’t be noticed?

Maybe you start vacuuming once a week instead of every other day.

Maybe you really don’t need to do laundry every day?

If you can cut a couple things out of your busy days, you’ll dust off some much needed diy time.

3. Let kids work with you

Have little ones and a project you’re dying to work on?

You can actually manage both at the same time. Simply set up a little station for your kids to work too.

If you’re painting a piece of wood, give them something to paint too.

If you’re sewing a craft, give them some fabric to play with or color.

My toddler LOVES our craft time. He usually picks up all of my scraps and makes things with them. He put together a bunch of foam scraps into the shape of a train the other day.

While my husband wondered what I was teaching him, I got a solid hour of craft time in while spending time with my toddler. 🙂

Working alongside your child inspires creativity and gives you quality time together.

4. Delegate what you can

I LOVE to delegate.

Why?

Because the job still gets done – but not by you. 😉

Maybe your husband can take over dinner or packing lunches a few times a week.

Kids can start making their beds or doing their laundry.

Maybe your mom or a mommy’s helper can come watch your little ones while you get some DIY time.

Think about your schedule. And find a few ways that you can delegate some of your tasks.

Delegation is definitely a win-win that you can benefit from.

5. Organize your project ahead of time

There’s nothing like FINALLY having time for your diy project, and then you can’t find the painters tape, or the ribbon you wanted to use, or the tools you need.

Or, maybe your workspace is covered in junk.

Or, maybe you can’t find the website with the instructions (or the pin you thought you pinned).

Take a few minutes during the day and get your project, your workspace, and your instructions organized.

Read through the instructions to familiarize yourself with the steps (it’s like pre-reading – can you tell I was a literacy teacher?!)

When you finally have the time, you can jump right in.

6. Multi-task, multi-task, multi-task

Talking on the phone?

Get the dishes washed. Delete your emails. Steam the floor.

Have a slow eater in your family?

Clean up the kitchen while they’re finishing up. Make the kids lunches for the next day. Write down your shopping list.

As much as you want to relax, using this time wisely lets you cross TWO things off your list, instead of one. How’s that for productivity?!

6. Put the devices down

Even though I manage my time well, my cell phone is my downfall.

I check Facebook, then I see what’s trending on twitter.

I look at the news, my instagram feed, and of course, reply to all my text messages.

Yet, once I started realizing all of the time I was wasting, my mind was blown.

All those minutes add up into hours a day. Those hours across a whole week – the number was insane.

Even though I love to relax by checking my phone, I would much rather be spending this time on my DIY projects.

7. Use wait time to the max

During my college orientation, one of the deans gave amazing advice that I still follow today.

He said that in the next four years, you will find yourself waiting a lot.

Waiting for that awkward amount of time in between classes – where you have more than a few minutes but not enough time to go back to the dorm.

Waiting for professor’s office hours to start, waiting for your study group to show up, waiting for class to start.

He said that all that time adds up – so use it wisely.

His advice undoubtedly applies to more than just college.

Waiting is a big part of life, especially with kids.

So use those few minutes you are waiting in the school parking lot to answer emails or make a hair appointment.

It will make your to do list shorter later – giving you more time for your projects.

How do I start?

Pick just one or two of the above tasks to work on.

You’ll soon start to see that you’ve freed up some time for your DIY projects.

With your hectic schedule and the constant running, you will finally have time for yourself and the projects that you’ve been dying to start.

How to Create a Custom Jigsaw Puzzle

December 20, 2017 by Eileen 51 Comments

My sister PK is sharing a cute little craft puzzle that she gave our little guy. Not just a puzzle, it had a sweet request for her upcoming wedding. Below she shares the details so you can make your own 🙂

I love a good excuse for crafting. With my busy schedule, I feel like I never have a reason to make fun things. So when an opportunity arises, I jump on it.

I recently got engaged to be married, and I could not pass up the opportunity to make some sentimental gifts for my immediate family members, who have always known they’d be included in our wedding.

Backtracking a few years, Eileen and Ash decided to announce their first pregnancy with a surprise photo puzzle. We all love puzzles and thought nothing of being given a puzzle to complete.

Totally clueless, we worked on the puzzle and were completely surprised and excited when we figured out it was a pregnancy announcement for our sweet little nephew.

Fast forward to present day, our nephew just loves completing jigsaw puzzles. He assembles 100-piece puzzles with ease and a lot of excitement, shocking the adults around him. If the puzzle has numbers or letters, he recites each, one-by-one.

It’s endearing and sweet and helped us decide exactly what we wanted to do to ask him to be our ring bearer – with a custom jigsaw puzzle!

How to Make a Custom Jigsaw Puzzle

I looked at various DIY puzzle products and wandered around the craft store for quite some time to decide on the best materials.

Then I found a pack of 9 plain, wooden puzzle pieces that were 2.5 inches – ready to decorate!

I grabbed two just in case and went looking for some letter stickers.

I decided on stickers from the scrapbooking section, about 1.25″ in height, in a very dark navy blue so they would be in a good contrast with whatever I decided to paint behind the letters.

Materials

Wooden puzzle
Acrylic Paints
Alphabet Stickers – like these
Xacto Knife
Sand paper
Paint brush
Scissors

Planning the Wedding Message

I anxiously assembled the puzzle pieces and was pleasantly surprised at how well they fit together out of the package. A few were snug but I knew I wanted to sand them down to be safer for my nephew’s hands.

I also couldn’t wait to test out the letters, so I cut out each letter of our intended message to place over the square puzzle before getting the sandpaper.

The three rows of pieces easily fit:

Will you

be our

RING

bearer?

I ran out of lowercase Rs, but I improvised.

As awesome as I thought it looked, it was really missing the personalization of all of our names!

Then I remembered I got a second set and I could easily add one more row of pieces.

So, I combined the two sets to make a larger puzzle.

Sanding the Rough Edges

These new pieces were not as easy to fit with the rest, but I was ready to get sanding!

I grabbed a sheet of sandpaper and smoothed each side and divet until each piece fit well with its adjacent piece and made sure each pair worked well whichever one was placed in on top.

Painting the Puzzle Background

While working on the letters, I decided to paint a landscape of a grassy hill on the pieces, just like our ceremony venue! I gathered my painting supplies and assembled the now 12-piece puzzle on a few layers of newspaper.

Then, I painted a cartoonish outdoor scene with colors overlapping the puzzle pieces so each looked unique.

I made sure to paint lightly to avoid getting excess paint in between the pieces. It was quick-drying acrylic paint, but I let it dry overnight before placing the stickers.

Next, I took the pieces apart and sanded some of the pieces again as needed for one final run before placing the stickers.

I cut more of the excess white off the back of each sticker for a better idea of the background before calling it a finished picture.

Attaching the Letters

Ready to go, I grabbed a book slightly larger than the puzzle for easy transport later. Then I pulled off the backing of the first letter and not entirely to my surprise, the outline was much thicker than I thought.

I immediately pushed all of the letters closer to the center of their row then placed the first letter more to the right than planned.

After adding the letters, I placed another hardcover book on top and put the two books on a table puzzle-side down. For good measure, I added another stack of books on top and let it sit overnight.

Making the Puzzle Piece Letter Cuts

Next, I grabbed an x-acto knife to carefully slice the stickers between puzzle pieces. This was a daunting task, but I was very happy at the level of sanding I had done.

I originally thought I would have to turn the puzzle over and run through each, but it was not necessary!

(first row omitted from pic)

To secure it once more, I put the pieces unassembled under a stack of books again. I left it for a day while I decided how to box up these pieces!

If you’re looking for a unique gift idea for your wedding (like us) or just a simple craft to make for the kids, these custom-made jigsaw puzzles are cute as can be and very simple to make 🙂

How to Make a String Art Nativity Scene

December 2, 2017 by Eileen 23 Comments

This Christmas I haven’t done any projects with the nativity scene, which is what Christmas is all about. So of course, I wanted to incorporate a nativity scene into my holiday DIY this week.

This week is the conclusion of our holiday blog hop – Deck the Home, which is a five-week series of amazing Christmas DIY projects of the home. Hundreds of projects have been shared by 25 very talented DIY bloggers. Be sure to scroll to the end of the post to check out everyone’s home decor. And even though the hop is ending, we have quite a few weeks before Christmas, giving you plenty of time to work on some of your favorites.

So back to the nativity scene project. I wanted to create a giant nativity scene for the yard, but my hubby insisted on a simple reindeer and Santa sleigh instead. Since it was the last week of the hop, it was final chance to incorporate the nativity.

I had also been wanting to try DIY string art because I’ve seen so many cool designs. Therefore, I decided to try my hand at creating a DIY string art nativity scene.

How to Make a String Art Nativity Scene

Here are the steps I took to create the DIY string art nativity scene. Since this was my first time doing string art, I hope you find all the string art tips and tricks for beginners helpful.

Tools and Materials for DIY String Art Nativity

- Piece of wood
- Saw to trim wood (if necessary)
- Stain – I used my homemade natural stain
- Nails – This scene used over 100 nails. I used silver nails, which made the scene look lit up 🙂
- Hammer
- Embroidery floss string – white
- Template – Free download below

Drawing the Nativity Template

First, I drew the nativity scene on a piece of card stock. I figured the 8.5×11 paper was about the size that I wanted the nativity. You could draw the design out yourself or you could use the one I drew.

Subscribe to our mailing list for DIY updates and tips PLUS get instant access to the nativity template and lots of others files and free printables.

Marking the Nail Holes

The next thing I did on my DIY string art project was I marked my nail holes with a black pen. You want your nails to be about 3/4″ apart. The more consistent, the better because then you can make more even/symmetrical patterns. In fact, you could even use a spacer (grab a drinking straw and cut it down to 3/4″) to be consistent.

In Hindsight: Some of my nails were marked way too close. I did this to try to get the curves of Mary and Joseph and a tight outline of the manger. But it makes your string harder to tie – and the pattern more confusing to follow.

Also, I ended up leaving the hand off of Mary because there wasn’t enough space in between her and baby Jesus to give a nice outline. When you are drawing and marking your nail holes, be sure to have a nice clean outline of your shapes or people.

Tapping the Nail Holes

After I marked the nail holes, I taped my picture to a piece of wood. Then I took one nail and started tapping it through the paper into the wood, to mark the hole.

I used the same nail and continued to do this for all of the holes.

When I removed the paper, I had each of my holes marked for the string art.

If you look at the below picture, you will see that my holes are marked too closely between Mary and baby Jesus. Again, you want to make sure that each area has a clean outline. It shouldn’t be hard to decipher, like this part.

Trimming the Wood to Size

Next, I used my table saw to trim off the top of the wood. I sanded down this side and any rough areas too.

Stain the Wood

After my nativity scene pattern was on and my wood was trimmed, it was time to stain the wood. I used a homemade natural stain for this – which I absolutely love.

Hammering in the Nails

After the stain on the nativity scene dried, I then hammered in all of the nails into the wood. It took about a little over 100 nails. Here are the results:

Wrapping the String

I did a lot of research to learn how to wrap the string around the nails to create beautiful string art. However, everybody the same thing – there’s no right or wrong way to do it. Although true, I like a little more guidance than that, so here are my DIY string art tips for beginners:

First Things First

Decide you want to use the positive space or the negative space. I went with the negative space – which means instead of filling Mary, Joseph, Jesus, the star, etc in with string, I left them blank. Instead I filled the space around them with the string. When you are thinking about positive and negative space, think of using a cookie cutter in dough. The actual cook is the positive space and the scraps around where the cookie cutter went are the negative space.
Take your string and start in a corner. Wrap your string around the nail and tie it a couple of times. Be sure to leave a tail on your string so you can hide it later.
If you are starting with a busy scene or design, such as this nativity scene, then start with an outline of your scene. It will help you see your pattern and go from there. Here I am using my pattern to making an outline with my string.

Here is the finished outline of the nativity string art. I’m sorry for poor pictures – I get most of my projects done at night when the kids are sleeping. 🙂

How to Wrap the String

To wrap your string, you can use a variety of different ways.
- You can weave the string around the nail holes in an almost zig-zag pattern – like if you were running an obstacle course lined with cones.
- You can wrap the string around each nail hole in a loop. This is good for keeping a straight line or for anchoring your string once in a while.
- You can make patterns – such as lines coming out from one point, zig zags back and forth, or up and down hills with the string, making almost triangular mountains.

Basically, you can wrap your string any way you want it.

Once you have your outline, bring your string over to where you want to start “filling in” the nativity scene.
To bring back your string, you just keep wrapping it or weaving it around the nails until you are in the desired place.
Then, start “filling in” the nativity scene using one of the ways above – or using your own way to wrap the string.
Be careful not to cross the string over any areas you don’t want filled in. I did that waaaaay too many times.

Below is a picture of me starting to do a zig-zag pattern with the string art, working my way around the picture.

You’ll keep wrapping your string and filling in your picture until you are content with it. I used a ton of string and kept wrapping and weaving in all sorts of patterns to get a filled in look.

More String Art Tips

If you feel like you are losing the shape of any of the things in your nativity scene, then work your string to the point and outline it with the string again. To do this, just work your string around the perimeter of your shape. I did this with the star – I had so much string everywhere and I had only outlined the star once, that I felt that the star got lost.Then, I just worked my way around its perimeter again and again until I was happy with how it looked. I also went around the perimeter of the stable a few times too, to give it a nice clean outline.

Finishing your DIY String Art

Once you are satisfied with your string art scene, then bring your string back to your starting point. (Do this by weaving or wrapping it until you are in the desired place).
Then, take your ends and tie them together.
With the tails, you can either weave them through your string art (easiest way is by using an embroidery needle). Or you can just hide it underneath.

Here is my finished string art nativity scene. Not bad for my first time with string art!?

Here is a close-up of the star:

Time and Cost

It was a little time-consuming to hammer all the nails and to wrap the strings. However, wrapping the string was very therapeutic. Like doing a puzzle or coloring. Of course, you had to pay attention to your outlines – but overall it was a very calming activity.

As far as total time, I would say maybe about 3-4 hours total. The cost for me was just the string, which I bought for a buck or two. The nails and wood we had – and I made the stain with ingredients from my pantry.

Also, factor in whether you are going to add hanging hardware to back. I think I’ll keep ours leaning on the wall.

If you are looking for a fun, calming holiday DIY project that you can decorate your home with or give as a gift, definitely try string art. There’s no fancy skills involved!

Just you and some string 🙂

That’s it for our holiday Deck the Home DIY projects. If you missed any, check out all of the 2018 Deck the Home holiday projects.

8 DIY Gifts that You Can Easily Make

November 30, 2017 by Eileen 47 Comments

Hands down, the holidays are my favorite time of year. Growing up, my sisters and I loved making creative DIY Christmas gifts for our family members.

I remember painting small scrap wood blocks to make buildings for my dad’s hobby train setup. I drew signs on each of the buildings and stores, naming them after our family, such as Momma’s Art Studio and Bridget’s Bakery.

More than 20 years later, my dad still has these little buildings.

Years ago, I made everyone in my family crocheted scarves handpicking the yarn and style for each person. This past weekend, my mother-in-law was visiting and was delightfully wearing the cranberry red scarf I made her so long ago.

That’s the thing about homemade presents – they become such cherished gifts. So much more thought and time goes into them that they really do become treasured.

8 Creative DIY Christmas Gifts

So today I’m sharing 8 DIY gifts that you can easily make this holiday season – along with a homemaking bundle that you and your family members will love. These can be easy homemade gifts for friends or family or even kids.

Homemade Lamp from Anything

Did you know that you can make a lamp from anything? This DIY lamp was made using a model train! How cool is that?!

The idea came from an old fisherman’s lamp that my dad repurposed into a lamp that he would enjoy. His train-collecting friend loved it so much that my dad made another one from scratch. It was simple to make – and we have really thorough, easy-to-follow instructions here.

If you have someone in your family that’s difficult to shop for, think about their hobbies, and turn one of their interests into a cool lamp. This is a perfect homemade gift for friends or family members.

Gorgeous Canvas Wall Art

If you are looking for an easy DIY gift that looks store-bought but has creative charm, make these homemade canvases.

First, find some cool wall stickers (we love the wall stickers from My Wonderful Walls). Then, paint a few canvases. Let them dry and then apply the stickers. You can also adorn them with washi tape or letter stickers – the possibilities are endless.

I made the ones below for my toddler’s big boy room. I included the letter stickers in an effort to get him to start spelling his favorite vehicles. 🙂

We have a full tutorial here – along with links to the products we used.

With this easy DIY gift, you’ll have beautiful wall art in a matter of minutes. These are great creative Christmas gifts that kids can make for mom or dad – or that gifts that siblings can make for each other. It’s also a great gift idea for craft lovers to make.

Themed Homemade Gift Basket Ideas

One thing people love is a thoughtful gift. And, giving homemade gift baskets enables you to be so creative and thoughtful.

But I’m not referring to the premade gift baskets that you buy online or from the stores. I’m talking about one that’s hand-picked and made with your recipient in mind.

Homemade gift baskets are without a doubt my favorite gifts to give – I love everything from picking out the basket to finding creative gift ideas to put inside.

I have so many gift basket ideas on our blog – from an ice cream sundae gift to a cookie decorating gift basket.

Heck, I even made a huge list of all types of items to include in themed gift baskets. From “gift baskets for mommas” to “gift baskets for practical people,” check out the full gift basket list here.

These are easy and creative DIY Christmas gifts to make, and you’ll definitely find something for every person on your list. As an added bonus, your friends and family will love the thought that you put into this easy DIY gift. It’s a simple homemade gift idea that always goes over well.

Easy Picture Ledge from Scrap Wood

Who loves photos?! And who would love to not make a million nail holes in their walls?! These picture ledges are perfect for those on your list that cherish photographs and would love an easier way to display them.

If you have the right tools, they take just an hour to make and they look amazingly elegant.

We have the step-by-step instructions here. And, did I mention that the cost was less than $10?!

This creative gift idea could be paired with some pretty frames or gorgeous photos or a photography gift card. Or, the standalone shelves are a perfect Christmas gift too. Easy DIY gifts are simply the best 🙂

Thoughtful, Themed Photo Book Ideas

Speaking of those who love photos, we have a gift that we love to give in my family – photo books. But not just any photo book. We love making our books personal by pairing pictures with funny or special sayings.

You see, for my mom’s 60th, we made her a book with pictures all throughout her life paired with cliches and common sayings she frequently utters. For my sister’s 30th, we made a book of pictures from her life paired with hilarious Seinfeld quotes (her favorite TV show).

And, for my in-laws who have lived in a few different countries, we paired pictures from their life with sayings from those countries. To see these books, check them out here.

You can make these books scrapbook style (pictured below), or you can make them with a photo site, such as Walgreens. We’ve done both, and they both turn out awesome.

I can’t even express how much our friends and family have loved these books. The extra thought has made the books something they cherish.

Not to mention photo books are extremely reasonably priced, and they are one of the easiest DIY gifts to make. Using sayings or quotations makes it a creative gift too – that’s always so appreciated. These easy homemade gifts are perfect gifts for parents, grandparents, and significant others.

Stenciled Wall Art

This gorgeous world map was DIYed with just a wood canvas, a stencil, and acrylic paint. Just choose a stencil and you can make a pretty piece just like this one. It’s a really thrift gift because something like this would cost a pretty penny in the stores.

DIY Finger Puppets

If you’re searching for an easy DIY gift for kids, these super cute, no-sew finger puppets are made from card stock and felt.

My toddler has a blast playing with these. He loves singing the Finger Family Song, so these finger puppets certainly made his day.

You only need a few materials – including a hot glue gun, and in less than an hour, you can churn out these cute little finger puppets for the little ones that you love.

These are perfect for a homemade gift for kids, or they make for a great gift that kids could make too! They are simply one of the easiest and most creative DIY Christmas gifts to give.

Homemade Hopscotch Mat

This diy hopscotch mat is simply adorable and so easy to make. It’s a perfect creative DIY Christmas gift for kids. It’s another felt, no-sew project that you can complete in an hour. The mat is perfect for indoor or outdoor hopscotch as well as the perfect reading mat for kids.

We have one of these for outside, and my kids loved it so much that we have one inside too. It’s my toddler’s favorite reading spot 🙂

I even have free printable letters for you to download – to make the tracing easy.

This easy DIY gift idea is perfect for kids – or it’s so simple that kids could help make it for others too!

These 8 creative DIY Christmas gifts certainly are very simple to make and in my experience are always so appreciated! They are definitely some of my favorite gifts to make.

With these easy homemade gift ideas, you can make someone’s day with the extra thought and creativity you put into their gift this year. Not to mention, you can definitely stay on budget by saving with these thrifty ideas that make for easy DIY gifts.

In years to come, I’m sure your friends and family will treasure the homemade gifts you made, just as my dad still has his scrap wood train buildings 🙂

8 Organization Mistakes You’re Making (and How to Fix Them Now)

October 20, 2017 by Eileen 110 Comments

8 Organization Mistakes You’re Making (and How to Fix Them) Post Preview: Tired of coming home to a disorganized house? Check out these DIY organization tips and ideas for the home, and you’ll have an organized home in no time. Ideas such as wire closet racks, cubby storage, wall storage, kids storage and more are discussed.

With my eyes half open, I sluggishly got out of bed. Making my way across the room, I lost my balance on a toy car that wasn’t put away.

After a loud sigh, I scooped it up along with a few other toys and dumped them in the corner. I head to the closet to grab a towel, where I am greeted by a completely disheveled mountain of linens.

Room after room, the story was the same. The closets were overflowing, toys were strewn, nothing seemed to have a place.

Truth is, if I didn’t start using my space wisely, my home “organization” would remain a mess. In order to keep my sanity, I had to figure out what I was doing wrong.

DIY Organization for Your Home

The following home organization tips will help you add some DIY organization to your home. From using closet space wisely to utilizing wall space, these simple home organization ideas will help you bring more order and less chaos into your home.

Mistake #1 – Not Using Closet Space Wisely

Closet space is gold. I mean, it’s storage space hidden behind closed doors. Because it’s out of sight, it usually becomes embarrassingly sloppy.

In our current home, all of our closets contained only a clothes rod and a top shelf. So as you can imagine, each of these closets became a disaster in a matter of weeks.

In our previous home, we had wall-mounted wire shelving configurations in each closet, so everything was much more organized with wire shelving that already existed.

However, custom shelving configurations for closets can be really expensive.

So to save money, we simply installed a few standalone wire shelving racks for our closet shelving.

Rather than have piles of items shoved into the closet (I had so many of those huge storage bins stacked up), you can neatly slide storage bins, laundry baskets, or other containers on and off the wire shelves.

The wiring shelving was especially helpful in coat closets and kids rooms, where that single clothes rod isn’t always the best use of space.

The closet shelving gave us extra space, and I can easily find everything. Installing some of these standalone wire shelving is definitely one of the best DIY organization ideas for your home.

Save money buying a few wire closet racks rather than a whole closet system

Another home organization idea is to install double top shelves in your closets. Rather than have one shelf running across the top, add another one above it. This is an easy change that doubles your shelving instantly, using more of that high space wisely. If you use wire shelving, it’s easy to install another top shelf.

Speaking of wasted space, I then took a look at our closets to see where else I could utilize otherwise wasted space.

To add more home organization, I hung small racks on side walls and hooks on standalone doors.

These diy home organization ideas for your closet space will have you using every inch wisely, making more space for all of your things.

Install an extra top shelf in your closet and double your space.

Where to Buy Closet Shelving:

Closet shelving sets can be really expensive, so rather than buy a hundred dollar kit, just buy a few wire shelving racks that are right size for your closet and attach them to the wall.

I found a few wire shelves at a flea market for a couple bucks (you could also check out your local Habitat for Humanity Restore).

If you can’t find some cheap wire shelves, home improvement stores have the racks for about $10-$15 plus the hardware, which isn’t too bad for quick, cheap organization.

How to Make Closet Shelving:

If you don’t want to spend but have extra wood laying around, you can install a few wooden shelves instead of the wire shelves. Paint them white and they’ll blend right in, creating a more uniform and organized look for your closet shelving.

Also, look around for anything you can repurpose into closet shelving.

Every time I’m ready to kick something to the curb, the wheels in my husband’s head start turning. His most recent trash-night-intercept was a CD tower that he installed in our pantry as extra side shelving.

By making great use of closet space, you can really up your home organization game. You’ll get more into your closets, which means less laying around the house. With these DIY organization tips, everything in your closet will have a space.

Mistake #2 – Disregarding Empty Wall Space

Closets overstuffed? Attic full? Start using the walls!

Wall space is one of the best space-saving secrets and my absolute favorite of the DIY home organization ideas.

My husband recently mounted a huge shelf to the wall behind my desk. What once was an empty wall is now housing all of my desk and craft supplies!

Corner wall space is the perfect spot to put up some floating shelves or even cubby shelves. You can fill the shelves with baskets and bins of anything – craft supplies, shoes, extra towels, toiletries, accessories, bows, kids clothes, etc.

Putting up a few extra shelves and utilizing empty wall space can easily thin out your otherwise packed closets, making your closets and yourself more organized. 🙂

Use otherwise overlooked wall space to add tons and tons of wall storage

If you have a little extra floor space – maybe in a basement or garage, you could use it for a vertical storage tower. We did this in our garage with a space about 6 feet wide and 3 feet deep, and gained tons of storage space. The storage tower holds all of our Christmas decorations (and I have 3 trees!), Ash’s oversized tools, and more.

Ash and I are little storage-obsessed… I mean, half of our DIY projects are about storage organization. Ash goes around tapping on walls looking for hollow space, and I am always oogling at empty wall space 🙂

So, take it from us – look for areas that you could turn into a little extra wall storage and you will be thrilled with the DIY organization that space provides.

Where to Buy:

There are tons of great shelves that can easily be mounted to your walls for vertical storage. This iron pipe shelf holds a ton of items and looks amazing. I also just adore farmhouse floating shelves. Aren’t they charming?! I love the finish on these shelves, and farmhouse style shelving looks amazing in any home.

How to Make:

If you make your own shelves, you can choose your exact measurements, which is beneficial because then you can customize them to fit exactly what you need.

We built two basic shelves for my office and made the measurements to fit four fabric storage bins on each shelf. With two shelves, that’s 8 storage bins that are organized and filled. And instead of taking of space elsewhere, they are on the wall!

The shelves were simple to make and mount, and we have free plans available.

Using wall space is definitely one of the best DIY organization tips I can give you. It has created so much space, where we thought we had none. When thinking about ideas for organization, don’t forget to look on your walls.

Mistake #3 – Not Using Cubby Storage

Cubby storage is an organizational gem. The individual cubbies keep items super organized and in plain sight. You don’t have to dig through drawers, toy bins, or storage bins to find what you are looking for. Everything is compartmentalized in neat little spaces using cubby shelves.

Cubby shelves also make for for the perfect bookshelf (no more books sliding around). Cubby storage is an excellent use of corner or closet space and is perfect for organizing toys, crafts, or office supplies.

Cubby shelves are inexpensive and make for the perfect bookshelf.

Yet one of the best parts about cubby shelving is that you can stack your items in the cubbies, or you can also use storage bins in some or all of the cubbies.

Cubby storage is also very versatile, as you can arrange them in many ways – vertically, horizontally, stacked, or even hang them on your wall.

Where to Buy Cubby Storage:

We love these cubby shelves from Amazon – they have quite a few finishes and are really nice. We use cubby storage in our kids’ rooms for bookshelves along with the playroom for toy storage and organization.

As far as storage bins, the dollar store is carrying storage bins now as well as lots of other useful containers. You can’t beat that for cheap storage.

You can also get some good deals on storage during back-to-school sales. If you don’t feel like running to the store, Amazon has lots of cute storage bins too.

How to Make Cubby Storage:

Although buying cubby shelves is probably cheaper than making them, Ash made me customized cubby storage for organizing all my craft supplies.

But here’s the best part – he mounted the cubby shelves to the wall, which frees up ground space AND uses otherwise lost wall space.

I was able to empty my entire desk out with cubby storage!

No more digging through my desk or my filing cabinet or those huge storage containers that were in my closet.

Each little cubby holds something different, and I just need to spin my desk chair around to find what I’m looking for.

As far as storage bins, you can also make your own. I made several DIY storage bins for our changing table and coat closets (holding mittens, hats, scarves, etc) from cardboard boxes, contact paper, and knobs.

Attach cubby shelves to the wall – and gain space and organization

When thinking about how to have more home organization, think about where you could add cubby storage. They don’t take up too much, aren’t too expensive, and they add a lot of DIY organization.

Mistake #4 – Leaving out items that could be hidden

You know that feeling you get at the end of the day when your house is nice and organized – there aren’t toys everywhere, the pillows are back where they belong, and everything is in its place. It just looks so perfect.

Unfortunately, this usually isn’t the case.

However, if you create a spot for everything, you can hide some of those eyesores, keeping your home always looking organized.

My favorite trick, especially for toy storage, is to use pretty boxes to hide otherwise ugly things.

Our toddler has toys in every single room (literally every room except the master bathroom). The biggest problem area was our family room. I mean, blocks everywhere, tools scattered across the room, puzzle pieces wedged between couch cushions.

I was attempting to organize the toy mess with those clear storage bins – the ones that are a little bigger than a shoe box. However, I just didn’t like the way these tacky storage bins looked in our family room. They certainly didn’t complement the Pottery Barn pillows that I spent way too much on. 😉

So, I started buying cute baskets and boxes that were on sale at craft stores. Rather than have tacky storage boxes, I have trendy bins and baskets all around the house.

The great thing is that you can’t see the contents of what’s in the bins. So, you would never know that the boxs and bins contain toy storage.

Even if your home isn’t filled with toys, take a look around and see what you can hide. Cleaning up some of these things and creating a space for them definitely makes for a more organized home.

Decorative boxes make for great hidden toy storage

You’d never know this box houses the entire Mr. Potato Family 🙂 How’s that for toy storage?!

Where to Buy:

You can get baskets and boxes super cheap at Michael’s when they have end of season sales. I have purchased many of these boxes for just a few dollars at 70% off. Pick things you like to hide those toys or other storage items.

I would definitely recommend checking there periodically because I have gotten so many bargains on end-of-season bins and boxes.

As far as baskets, AC Moore and Michaels have a great selection and you can either use one of their coupons or catch one of their frequent 40% off sales. These craft stores offer so much as far as diy home organization ideas.

How to Make:

To make boxes, you could reuse any box and cover it with contact paper to make it look nice. I have a tutorial on how I DIYed these storage bins. You can usually find decent contact paper at the dollar stores too 🙂

As far as home organizing ideas go, finding a space for everything definitely works wonders. And using pretty boxes to store some of the things that need to be organized is a great home organizing technique.

Mistake #5 – Ignoring Messy Drawers

Who doesn’t have a junk drawer in their home… or like five or six of them? I think every drawer in our house became a junk drawer at some point.

There’s little I despise more than wasting precious time looking for something. Rather than succumb to disorganized drawers, think what solutions will work for your items.

I eliminated my entire desk of office and craft supplies by using cubby shelves and pegboard. At first, I wasn’t sure I would put things back on the pegboard after I used them. Yet, there’s nowhere else for it go, since I ditched my old desk.

I am loving the pegboard organization – I can clearly see everything I have, and it looks really cool.

Mount a pegboard to the wall and empty a few drawers

If you don’t have a huge space for a pegboard, it’s no problem. You can use small pieces of pegboard in creative spots, such as on the back of kitchen cabinet doors to hang measuring cups or special utensils.

You’ll be surprised just how many messy drawers you can empty with this DIY organization trick.

Another idea is to use drawer dividers to separate things. I put these in our kids’ bedroom drawers to separate socks, bibs, accessories, and more. I also organized our kitchen junk drawer with bins.

And, as another home organization tip, don’t forget to give your drawers a good ole clean-out, especially those kitchen junk drawers.

You don’t need to keep take-out menus because everything is online. Those extra ketchup and soy sauce packets never get used either.

Lotion, nail polish, and make-up all get old after a while.

So, definitely clean up your drawers a bit as you are organizing, and you will easily gain some coveted space.

Where to Buy:

The Dollar Tree and Big Lots are my favorite places to find storage and organization bins, especially around back-to-school time. You’ll find lots of neat little bins and baskets.

If you like your storage bins to match, buy a few more than you need because it’s hard to find the same bins and baskets again. But overall these stores are great for frugal diy home organization ideas.

If you would rather shop online, these interlocking bins are awesome. There’s eight of them, and you can use them individually or interlock them. Did you know they make adjustable drawer organizers too?! I love anything that can be easily customized.

Last, here’s a great drawer organizing kit for dressers.

How to Make:

Look around your house, or your recycling bin, for things you could use as drawer dividers.

You could use empty plastic or cardboard bins or boxes, such as shoe boxes or cereal boxes. Cut them to size or reshape with some masking tape, and you’ll have yourself free organization.

You could even make dividers from cardboard – and spiffy them up with some cute contact paper.

This DIY home organization tip shouldn’t be overlooked. Handling those messy drawers will make for a much neater and more organized home.

Mistake #6 – Not using doors and walls for hooks and racks

Every time I came home with the kids, I would always drop the diaper bag on the ground. Sometimes it would make its way over to the closet and embarrassingly, sometimes it remained on the ground for a few days.

I don’t know why it took me so long to realize the solution was to buy a $2 hook for the mudroom.

I can now easily grab the diaper bag when I’m on my way out the door, and it doesn’t drive me crazy on the floor for days. If you always have school bags on the floor, add hooks in your mudroom or entryway for kids to hang their bag up.

If your kids are always leaving their hoodies around, put some hooks up for them in a hidden spot.

Simply find the problem areas, and then think about how you can create a spot for it. Don’t disregard your doors and little spaces on the walls, where you can easily add a hook or a rack.

Don’t overlook the organization that hooks provide – they are also an easy DIY project

The back of the closet door is perfect for holding towels – rather than throwing them over a door, having kids leave wet towels on the floor, or cramming them all on the same towel rack.

Closet doors are also perfect for little containers, such as spice racks, to hold toiletries. Pantry doors are perfect to add basket storage too.

Look around your home and identify what is driving you nuts and then create spots for these things.

Where to Buy:

You can buy command hooks to attach easily to walls (no tools involved and easy removal). These provide a solution in just minutes. You could also go for a more classic hook. These hooks are very inexpensive and add classy organization.

I love this hook rack with a cute shelf. It’s so modern-looking, and I love the way three of them look on the wall – it’s like a gallery of home organization. 🙂

If you are trying to maximize closet door organization, this organization rack is huge and can hold so much! You can even attach it to your door (or wall) with command hooks. It doesn’t get easier than that!

How to Make:

You can easily DIY a hook rack with a wooden board and a few hooks from the store. Or instead of hooks, get a little creative and use washers or screws, as long as they have enough length to hold your items.

To DIY racks to attach to doors, use dollar store bins and a few screws to get the same effect. If you have any spice racks that aren’t being utilized in the kitchen or garage, you can attach them to closet doors to hold toiletries.

Attach spice racks (or other containers) to closet doors of panties or linen closets for easy DIY organization

Adding hooks and containers to doors and walls is a great DIY home organization tip that definitely keeps your home neater.

Mistake # 7 – Missing out on furniture storage

Furniture takes up most of the space in our rooms, so why not capitalize on it?!

If you are looking for a new piece of furniture, think about furniture with built-in storage. We were in the market for a couch that converted to a bed, and we found one that had a massive amount of storage under the cushion.

Stools, ottomans, and end-of-the-bed tables all usually have storage space built in too. If you are looking for a kids bed, lots of them have drawers built-in underneath the bed.

You can also buy under-the-bed storage containers to slide under beds. These are great for holding things like kids artwork collections, craft supplies, pillows, out-of-season clothes. Depending on the size of your bed, you can get quite a few bins underneath.

As far as DIY home organization ideas go, using furniture as storage is really underutilized and can offer so much additional storage.

Where to Buy:

Amazon has lots of options for under-the-bed storage – from the plastic containers to carts to clothes storage bags. I am loving the clothes storage bags. I purchased a few of them to store comforters, blankets, and extra throw pillows in and was able to clear out two shelves in our hall closet!

Think about all that storage you will gain by using the space under your bed more wisely.

How to Make:

There are tons of awesome tutorials out there that have storage built-in furniture. You can make a platform bed frame that has tons of storage underneath. I’ve also seen cubby bookshelves built into beds. There also are coffee tables you could make, where the top opens and provides hidden storage.

And, if you are feeling really ambitious, you could make a couch or chaise lounge with storage entirely underneath. We haven’t tackled any of these projects yet. If we do, we will be sure to post them 🙂

Thinking about furniture storage is a great DIY home organization idea that really creates extra space.

Mistake #8 – Lack of using labels

If you have ever felt the frustration of pulling down bin after bin looking for something, then you know the importance of labels. I’ve pulled down many closet bins looking for scarves – only to find shoes, hats, and everything in between.

When you label items not only do you save yourself time when you go to use those things, but you keep yourself and your items more organized. You get used to seeing the labels, so you know where everything is. And, you know exactly where to put things back.

Labels are great for kids too, giving them the tools they need to put their own things away. For younger kids, include a picture of the item, so they can clean up on their own. (The picture label then becomes a learning activity – as kids see the picture along with the word and learn the word.) This will easily help you with toy bins and toy storage.

Additionally, labels are great for husbands too. 🙂 You’ll notice things get put back in the right spot much more easily.

Using labels with pictures encourage kids (and husbands) to put toys away

How to Make:

For extra home organization, labels are really easy to make. Just use masking tape or paper, but I do love the idea of adding pictures for kids to help clean up.

Simply google the item, grab a picture, and paste it into a printable document. I was definitely surprised at how much cleaner my toddler’s toys were when he knew where everything went.

Where to Buy:

As easy as masking tape and paper are for labels, I love my label maker. It makes everything look much more neat, organized, and consistent.

I LOVE this label maker– and it is a dream come true! It has tons of fonts and decorative options, making for very cute labels and of course, easy organization.

You can also find cute labels at the craft stores. I found a bunch of mini chalk boards attached to a clothes pin and used these to label my fabric storage bins. The dollar section at Michaels never lets me down as far as DIY home organization ideas 🙂

Taking Action

Picture a completely organized home. You can walk to the bathroom without tripping on toys. You can reach into your linen closet and easily find a pillow case. You can find a pen in the junk drawer with one swift reach.

Everything has a place. It’s perfection.

By choosing a few of the above DIY home organization tips and ideas and seeing them through, you will start to regain your sanity. Start small – with just one or two items, and you’ll start to see a great change.

You’ll make more space in your home. You’ll create places for things to be put away. And, you’ll use the space you have more wisely.

Above all, you will no longer be stressed out by a disorganized house. Instead, your organized home will be your place of zen.

Throwing an Amazing Puzzle Theme Party

October 1, 2017 by Eileen 26 Comments

When deciding what kind of birthday party to have for our toddler, I was stumped. He wasn’t really into too many cartoon characters. He did enjoy tools, dinosaurs, and building – but none were a huge interest right now.

I started to think about how he spent most of his playtime and realized how often he gravitated toward puzzles. He enjoyed putting things together, he relished in accomplishment when completing a puzzle, and he loved staring at the pictures he put together.

So, a puzzle party it was! 🙂

There weren’t too many ideas on Pinterest or google for puzzle parties, which was great because I got to start with a blank canvas. Sometimes there are too many ideas out there, and it gets so overwhelming.

Now usually I’m a super crazy organizer and planner, but I have to be completely honest and say that I didn’t start planning this party months or even weeks ahead of time. I was super behind and quite a bit pregnant, so the entire party came together in just a week and a half. However, I took my own party planning advice and kept everything extremely simple.

I also created printables each step of the way, so I can easily share them with you!

Making Puzzle Decorations

My favorite part of every party is working on the decorations because you can take one little idea and run with it. To your guests, it will look like you went overboard, when really you are using the same item over and over.

Puzzle Piece Cut-Outs

Used for Goody Bags, Food Labels, Banners, and Balloons

Since the theme of the party was puzzles, I just cut a bazillion puzzle pieces out – and used them everywhere. (I have puzzle piece cut-outs in our free resource library in two different sizes, so you can efficiently use your paper).

I used large puzzle pieces for the birthday banners. Then, I cut medium-sized ones out of card stock (I love using bright color colored card stock.) With the medium sized pieces, I decorated the goody bags, labeled the food, made puzzle banners, and decorated the balloons.

I found the cute striped paper bags at Michaels and used my 40% coupon – then I simple taped a puzzle piece on. Simple and pretty, right!?

What’s inside the goody bags?

Inside the goody bags, I included blank puzzles (gotta love Amazon!) with crayons or markers, depending upon the age of the party guest. I also put in small wooden puzzles that I found at the dollar store for the younger kids. For the older kids, I included puzzle pair puzzles that I found at the dollar section of Target.

I also threw in some other things – bubbles are always a thrifty yet fun summer choice, and I found a few puzzles-in-a-bag at the craft store too.

To save money, I definitely recommend going to the dollar store, dollar section of Target, and the craft stores to find items that work. 🙂

Puzzle Piece Banners

For the puzzle banners, I simply glued a bunch of puzzle pieces to fishing line and then strung them on our shade sail outside.

I had my son work with me on counting and patterns as I put the banners together.

Balloons and More

You can use the puzzle pieces that you cut out for pretty much anything – decorating entrances to the party, taping a few to the balloons or pom-poms. Just cut out a whole bunch when you’re watching some mindless TV, and you’ll be surprised at how much you have to decorate with 🙂

If I had a little extra time, I would have done pom-poms too, but when you are short on time and super pregnant, something gets cut from the list 🙂

Download the Puzzle Party Pack

To make your puzzle party or puzzle activity planning simple, I created this party pack for you! It includes puzzle piece cut-outs in two sizes, all of the below game signs and activity descriptions, blank puzzle piece signs, and more. Simply join our mailing list 🙂

Painted Puzzle Pieces

Used for banners, party hats, and party crowns

For other decorations, I wanted to use smaller puzzle pieces, but didn’t want to spend the time cutting out such tiny pieces. So, I bought a bunch of dollar store puzzles (24 or 30 pieces seem to provide the best size pieces). I flipped them over and painted the back of the pieces. It helps if the back of the puzzle piece is white and not brown cardboard.

I then used these puzzle pieces to glue to party hats and to our little guy’s “Puzzle Prince” crown, and I even made a few fishing line strings of puzzle pieces to decorate the DIY photo booth.

This is a great pre-party activity that kids can help with too!

Making Puzzle Party Games

For the little ones, I love having party games that are more like activities or centers. Kids can freely move around and play at the stations – it’s perfect for toddlers and little kids.

Here’s a list of puzzle party games that I put together, and I have the signs and descriptions available to you in our free resource library.

Almost every game was super, super simple, but all together the array of activities was perfect.

1.) Puzzle Dig

This puzzle party game was simply a “sandbox” with puzzle pieces. I just took an under-bed storage container (with a lid) and filled it up with rice.

Then, I hid puzzle pieces from the dollar section at Target in the rice and tossed in some scoopers and sand toys from the Dollar Store.

This entertained my son for DAYS before the party, and the kids loved it!

2.) Puzzle Pitch

This party activity was simply a ball toss with a puzzle spin on it. I bought two foam boards from the dollar store and drew a huge puzzle piece on them.

Then, I did a little taping and then painted it with acrylic paints that I had laying around the house. After that, I cut a few holes for the bean bags or balls to go through. Last, I taped it to wooden dowels, so it would stand firm in the ground.

I tossed a few balls and bean bags in a bucket, and voila! The puzzle pitch was ready to go 🙂

3.) Puzzling Obstacle Course

This was another super simple party activity. I grabbed six pool noodles (another Dollar store find you can reuse) along with a few cones and threw together an obstacle course suited for little ones.

Then, I used duct tape to shape each pool noodle into a circle and then taped the circles together.

I spread the cones out to elongate the obstacle course. Also, I put out a few soccer balls, so kids could kick around the cones.

4.) Puzzle Island

This was by far the easiest of the puzzle party games. I just filled the water table up and threw in some foam puzzle pieces (yet another dollar store find!). If you are having a backyard toddler or kid party in the warm weather, a water table is the perfect thing to keep kids occupied and entertained.

Every year, I’m impressed at how much time the kids spend playing in the water table at our summer parties. It’s definitely a must-have for easiness and entertainment!

5.) Giant Jigsaws

This was by far my favorite of the games, and it made our little guy the happiest! With his love for puzzles, he couldn’t have been more excited that instead of building shelves and painting walls that Mommy and Daddy were building and painting a puzzle for him!

We shaped it into a dog and painted it with acrylic paints. We used…. but more details will be forthcoming on a future post 🙂

6.) Puzzle Palace

I also placed a Puzzle Palace sign on the little playhouse we have in the yard and tossed some more foam puzzles in the little kitchen area.

I was going to add a craft station, where kids could decorate their own puzzle crown, but I figured this age group was a little young for that.

This was the perfect example of how something so simple (hanging a sign and tossing in some puzzle pieces) makes for another cute touch at a child’s birthday party. See, you don’t need to go crazy to throw a great party. Simple ideas and activities can tie everything together nicely.

And for the grown-ups…

With Ash and my large immediate families, we always have a decent amount of adults at our little kid parties. I thought it would be fun to throw a bunch of puzzle pieces in a container and have party attendees guess how many pieces were in the container. And, of course the prize was…. a puzzle!

It was super cute, and I had my son stand on a chair and announce the winner. He was really excited – and it gave him the opportunity to give someone else a gift on his birthday. 🙂

Making a DIY Puzzle Banner

For every party or small celebration we have, my go-to banner is this simple one that I made – which is available in our free resource library. I love it because it’s easily customizable (no printing extra letters) and you can easily glue the letters to any kind of background.

For this banner, I used card stock that I cut into puzzle pieces. I simply taped the Happy Birthday letters to the puzzle pieces. Then, I used fishing line and hot glue to attach the pieces.

It was quick and worked like a charm!

Puzzle-Themed Food?

As far as food, I love a good theme party, so I can label all of the food after the theme of the party. (Check out the amazing menu from our Beatles party). However, not only did the puzzle party theme give me less to work with – but our eating has really changed the past year or so.

Our family has moved into a gluten-free, high fruit and vegetable-based diet. We love eating this way, and we want our parents and sisters to be eating well too. So chips, sugary cakes, cheesy pastas, and hot dogs won’t be found on our table. Instead, we made a really healthy spread (that went over really well!), and as far as creative food labels, we just used the puzzle pieces to label what everything was. It wasn’t as creative as our past parties, but it tied everything together well.

So, I guess you are probably wondering about the cake. We did have a cake of some sorts – it was chocolate coconut fudge that I last-minutely shaped into a puzzle piece. Perfect for a puzzle party!

There was some sugar in the chocolate chips, but overall it was a pretty healthy dessert that we were comfortable with and everyone loved!! It’s our new go-to birthday treat in our house – check out the recipe here 🙂

So, why did my super pregnant self still throw a party this year?! Because there’s nothing more special than seeing that smile on your child’s face when they see the decorations and games you made for them 🙂

And, through keeping the DIY party decorations, games, and preparation easy, it was completely manageable. If you were wondering if you can pull off a DIY party, the answer is yes!

Just keep it simple and reuse the same decorations again and again.

How to Make Easy Fall Puppets (With a Puppet Theater)

September 17, 2017 by Eileen 17 Comments

I was sitting with my toddler the day after his birthday, surrounded by all kinds of new gifts. But what was he playing with? An empty cardboard box that previously housed one of his new toys.

All these new toys, and he’s playing with the with boxes and wrapping.

Every time we have an empty box – usually a diaper box – our son climbs in and pretends he’s driving some kind of vehicle. Or he fills it with his stuffed animals and pushes it around. Or, he tries to get the dog in the box.

Just as much as our toddler loves to play with the diaper boxes, I love when I can upcycle them into something useful. We’ve made a fire truck diaper box halloween costume, storage bins (you can’t tell they are diaper boxes when you cover them with cute contact paper and add a knob), and pretend race cars.

I was looking for an easy fall craft for toddlers, and as my son was running around the house with the empty diaper box on his head, inspiration struck.

We could make simple popsicle stick puppets with a fall theme and use the diaper box for a puppet theater. I got to upcycle a cardboard box, and my son got his “toy” of choice. 🙂

Easy Fall Kids Craft

I love to keep things simple. If it’s too many steps or materials, then it’s not the craft for us.

For our popsicle stick puppets and diaper box puppet theater, all of our materials came from around the house – making the cost nothing!

It was also an easy craft to do, which gave my son enough room to be creative.

Making the Popsicle Stick Puppets

I figured the easiest way to make popsicle stick puppets for fall was by using simple shapes to do so. Since my son is still so young, I drew a few shapes – circles, squares, triangles of various sizes, ovals, and trapezoids and cut them out.

To make the fall craft even easier for you, I created a printable (scroll to end for free printable) with all of the shapes we used – that you could simply print, trace, and cut.

Materials for the Popsicle Stick Puppets

Card stock or construction paper – I prefer card stock for kids crafts because it’s thicker and easier to work with
Popsicle sticks
Markers, crayons, or chalk – for drawing faces
Embellishments – yarn, googly eyes, stickers, buttons, or anything you have around the house
Glue, Tape, and Scissors
Optional – Shapes Template (see bottom of the page)

How to Make Popsicle Stick Puppets for Fall

First, trace and cut out the shapes. Then, I placed all of the shapes in front of my little guy and helped him to create fun fall faces. For example, we matched a big triangle to a big oval to make the witch’s hat.

Then, we simply glued the hat to a circle to make the witch’s face. Next, we decorated her face with yarn hair and googly eyes. Last, we taped the face to a popsicle stick.

For embellishments on your puppets, you can use anything that you have around the house. I like to go around and collect things and put them in a bin – and then we have all of our materials in front of us. It’s fun to also include the kids in this – like a scavenger hunt.

My little guy loves running around and finding things to use for our projects. In collecting things, we found some leftover burlap from a banner and cut a piece to use for the scarecrow’s hat. I think that was our best find 🙂

So, we then continued to choose shapes and decorate, turning our shapes into fun fall figures for our puppet theater. My son, who barely sits still, looooved decorating the faces.

I was so impressed with this cute little monster he made. That’s one of things I love about doing crafts with kids – they will surprise you 🙂

Making the Cardboard Box Puppet Theater

The puppet theater was fun to make because I love upcycling things – less to recycle too 🙂 I simple grabbed a diaper box and got to work 🙂

Materials for the Puppet Theater

Cardboard box or even a piece of cardboard that you can bend into a trifold
Xacto Knife (to cut the window)
Item of your choice to cover the box with – felt, wrapping paper, construction paper, etc
Ruler
Glue (type of glue depends on the material you use to cover the box)
Optional – embellishments such as stickers, felt shapes, letters, etc

How to Make a Cardboard Box Puppet Theater

Since our diaper box was on the small side, our puppet theater was going to be a tabletop theater. You could always use a bigger box or a big trifold and make it a bigger theater. However, I like to use what we have, so a diaper box it was 🙂

First, I cut off the top flaps of the box. I also cut off one of the four sides – to turn the box into a tri-fold. I also removed one of the bottom flaps. Next, I drew a window and cut it out with an Xacto knife.

After that, I grabbed some felt and hot glued it to the box. Surprisingly, I only used three sheets of felt. I love to work with felt and had a huge stack of it, but you could also use wrapping paper or construction paper or whatever you have lying around the house.

Last, my son decorated the front of the theater with shape stickers.

Learning Extensions – Easy Fall Kids Craft

There are so many ways you can tie learning into crafts with kids. This easy fall craft for toddlers was centered upon shapes.

Not only was my little guy identifying shapes but he was working with them to create fun fall puppets – i.e. small triangles make cat ears, large triangles are perfect for hats, and heads can be circles or squares. Other skills that this easy fall craft for toddlers included was the use of fine motor skills to glue, cut out simple shapes, and draw faces.

You can also tie this activity in with a fall book, like this pumpkin shapes book. This one is a great Halloween lift-the-flap book – the drawings in this one make it easy to pick out different shapes you see. You could also take a trip to the local library for an extension too.

Last, if your kids are not toddlers, they can totally do this craft and more independently. In fact, you could simply print the shapes template, have them trace, cut, and decorate themselves. And, puppet theaters are perfect for kids of all ages.

So, if you have a box laying around the house or if it’s a rainy, cold day and you are looking for something to occupy the kids, making these easy popsicle stick puppets with a cardboard box theater is the perfect activity.

Your child will love playing with the decked out cardboard box, and you’ll have yourself a few hours of free time after an easy upcycled project. 🙂

How to Make an Amazing Robot Scarecrow

September 7, 2017 by Ash 21 Comments

With fall around the corner, there was a local scarecrow festival coming up. Eileen and I check out their scarecrows every year and always talk about making one when our son was old enough to understand and be excited about it.

Well, this was the year to actually do. Even better, they had a new “Out of this World” category which was right up my alley. I love anything outer space related. So I put my thinking cap on to come up with an idea.

Then, as my son was singing nursery rhymes one day, inspiration struck when he got around to “Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle..”

I was going to make a robot cow titled “Moo-bot Over the Moon.”

Unlike your traditional scarecrow made from straw, I planned on ditching the straw in favor of sheet metal – a more robot friendly material. I also envisioned an interactive scarecrow. In all our years of visiting this competition, I’ve never saw a scarecrow that invited you to interact with it.

So, to make my robot really stand out, I wanted a button that people could press. The button would wake up the robot and he would start telling some cow related jokes. Who doesn’t like some good cow humor?

How to Make a Robot Scarecrow

Here’s a video of Moo-bot in action. He’s an interactive cow that has blinking eyes, a moon that lights up, and plays through a reel of jokes every time the button is pressed.

Pretty cool, right? So here’s how to make a robot scarecrow. First, I started with the robot body, and then I housed the electrical components. After that I worked on the robot head and then I covered everything with sheet metal to make it weather-proof.

Next, I added some cow accessories, and then I mounted it to the post with a moon – completing the play on the nursery rhyme – “Moo-Bot Over the Moon.”

How to Make a Robot Body

To start, I needed to come up with a design. After a few pencil and paper drawings, I relied on TinkerCAD to assist with the design.

Here is what I came up with (I made the body semi-transparent so you can see what the inside looks like):I designed Moo-Bot to be easy to transport. So it separates into three parts – the body, head and post. Each attaches to one another securely with a large bolt and wingnut.

Constructing the Robot Cow’s Body

First I started working on the body. I constructed a frame using ¾” strips of wood cut from my table saw. I did use some 3.5” thick pieces for extra rigidity though. The body frame needed to be strong as it would house all the electronics. I connected all the pieces using construction adhesive and wood screws.

Here is a picture of the completed frame:

Constructing the Mount

At the bottom middle of the frame was a mount to insert the post. The post would have a hole drilled into it. Once the post was inserted into the mount, a bolt would run through both of them, making a very secure connection.

Here is a closeup of the mount before I attached it to the body:

How to House the Electrical Components

With the body done, I added in some of the internal electrical components as shown below:

The top left contained a removable board hosting some circuitry for the brains of our robot cow. The top right contains the speakers, and below are eight D sized batteries, split into two sections.

For the speakers, I MacGyvered the power adapter below:

The speakers supported four AA batteries, but I wanted to power it from eight D batteries. So I saw an area in the battery compartment to insert some wires, and secured them in place with some metal washers. I then drilled a small hole in the compartment lid for the wires to stick out.

To activate our robot cow, I added this on/off toggle switch:

Even though the switch was located inside our robot cow, it was positioned so I could access it from underneath.

Building the Robot’s Head

The next part of Moo-Bot I tackled was the head. The design was really just one rectangular frame sitting perpendicular on top another identical frame. Here’s what the finished robot’s head looks like.

Similar to the body design, I made the frames from more strips of ¾” wood. I connected the pieces together with construction adhesive and my finishing nail gun.

Here’s a picture showing the individual frames:

Here are the frames assembled to form the iconic robot cow’s head:

Wrapping the Robot’s Head with Sheet Metal

Next up was the sheet metal wrapping.

I first did the sides of the head, as those were the easiest. Using some metal shears, I cut pieces out to match the outline of the side of the head. Then I clamped the pieces down and attached to the wooden frame with some screws.

Here is the first cut piece of sheet metal:

I had to be careful with the sharp edges and corners. Most of the time I wore thick gloves to protect my hands while cutting.

Flattening the Metal

Occasionally, I would get slightly warped cut corners due to the shears pinching the metal. These warps and bumps needed to be flattened for a proper finish.

I found that my Kreg face clamp did an amazing job flattening uneven pieces of sheet metal, as seen below:

Making the Robot Weather-Proof

For the next pieces, I had to think carefully about which ones needed to be bent and overlap other pieces. This was a critical step in making a rainproof head.

All pieces of sheet metal cuts that left a crevice or opening for rain to run inside the head needed an overlapping sheet to divert the water. I was essentially wrapping the head in flashing.

The next cut of sheet metal was the face piece where the eyes were. This part needed some bending at the bottom to divert any rain water, as well as an eyehole cut.

To bend the sheet metal, I used this nifty metal bending tool.

Here’s a picture showing the bent robot face piece:

After cutting the face piece, I worked on the eye holes. I etched an outline with my utility knife and cut a hole with my jigsaw (using metal cutting blades).

Unfortunately, I didn’t do such a great job cutting and the hole was a bit jagged. So I masked my mistakes by wrapping the cut edges with some black weatherproofing tape. It actually turned out to be a really nice visual touch.

Here’s a picture of the finished face piece:

It sort of looks like a welding masking. It was perfect for a robot.

Adding Accessories and a Mount to the Robot

The next step of the process was adding accessories to our robot cow.

Finishing the Robot’s Eyes

For the eyes, I first attached a piece of plexiglass inside the head. This would keep rain out.

Next, I came up with this clever design for positioning the LED screens for the two eyes:

Here is a picture of the partially completed head, sitting next to the body:

Moo-Bot is really starting to take shape at this point.

Mounting the Robot Head

Here is a picture of the mounting mechanism I used to secure the head to the body (you can also see my fancy ears made from springs and pipe straps):

Next, I attached the mouthpiece containing the interaction button.

Creative Robot Nostrils

Also, I wanted to add some sort of decoration representing nostrils.

I dug around the garage looking for inspiration when I came across some rubber washers. I think they were meant to be used in a hose. Regardless, they would be perfect for nostrils.

I stacked four of them together, and attached to the mousepiece with a regular metal washer for a cool robotic nostril effect.

Here’s the completed head capped off at the top:

Giving the Robot Head a Plug and Play Design

Since I wanted the head to be easily detachable, I needed a quick way to disconnect/reconnect the wiring.

I really didn’t want to have to plug back in all the wires from the body to the head when I disconnected the head. So I came up with a clever custom made adapter, as seen below:

These adapters are actually for a computer power supply, but I repurposed them into cow robot adapters.

Here is a different view of the adapters:

The wires on the right plug straight into the body and the head. The cable on the left connects these two adapters. This setup allowed me to literally plug/unplug the head without the hassle of managing different wires and risk mangling my setup.

Fabricating a Sheet Metal Enclosure for the Robot Cow

Next came the fun task of building the sheet metal enclosure for the body. The enclosure was essentially two boxes, joined at a slight 15 degree angle. Each box was made from a long strip of sheet metal, bent twice to form a U shape.

So first I had to cut the sheet metal to size. I didn’t want to use my metal shears because it would take too long, and I probably would not get too accurate of a cut.

So I used some scrap wood and clamped the sheet down to a table, and made the cut quickly with my jigsaw (using a metal blade).

Here is a picture showing my cutting station:

After the cuts were made, I re-used my cutting station to also perform the folds:

Here are the completed boxes:

Here I am assembling the boxes at the 15 degree angle:

Bending the Robot Body

I could have just left the robot cow with a straight body without the slight bend (and a lot easier to build too), but aesthetically it would have looked boring. Also, I wanted an intentional bend in the body to highlight the fact that Moo-Bot was jumping over the moon.

I connected the overlapping boxes with small nuts and bolts, as seen below:

When the two body segments were joined, I needed to do something about the ridge they created at the top.

If left this way, our DIY robot would be very vulnerable to rain seeping in. So I made a simple ridge cap and attached it, as seen at the top of the picture below:

I also reinforced the ridge with some weatherproofing tape underneath, just in case rain still managed to find its way in:

Cutting Out an Access Panel

It was finally time to join the enclosure to the body frame. However, I had one remaining task to cut out a large hole in the back of the enclosure to serve as an access panel.

The hole would normally be covered by a rectangular cut piece of sheet metal, attached to the body frame with several screws. Then to gain access to Moo-Bot’s insides, it would just be a matter of removing those screws to take off the access panel covering.

Below is the access panel hole cut for the robot cow:

Here’s a picture showing the access panel covered (you’ll also notice that I added some wooden legs to help support our robot cow):

Adding in Robot Details

Here are some little feet I made for our robot cow scarecrow (springs would be inserted into the holes and attached to the wooden legs above):

Here’s a close-up of them dangling off the cow:

Making the Cow Spots

Eileen made some laminated decals for Moo-Bot’s cow spots. She drew them, printed them on our printer, and ran them through a laminator. The results were awesome, and would last in any weather.

Here is the laminator at work:

Cutting and Reinforcing the Scarecrow Post

Finally, it was time to work on the final piece – the scarecrow post. Per the competition’s instructions, the post had to be a 1 ½” square post. It also had to allow for about 18” of clearance at the bottom to be inserted into a metal stake secured into the ground.

So, I cut the post from a 2×4 piece of wood using my table saw. Next, I reinforced the scarecrow post with some metal bars.

The cow robot scarecrow was not that heavy, but I was worried that strong gusts of wind could snap the post. So metal reinforcement was essential, as seen below:

Constructing a Wooden Moon

To make the moon, I needed an 18” diameter wooden circle to attach to the post. I had a lot of plywood lying around, but I knew that the plywood edges would not fare well in the rain. So I needed to use solid boards.

Since boards didn’t come that large, I started with two 9”x18” boards as shown below:

Next, I joined them together with some pocket hole screws (using my Kreg pocket hole jig), forming a single 18”x18” square wood.

To form the circle, I simply used a 9” piece of wire, a pencil and a screw, as shown in the picture below:

I tied one end of the wire to the pencil and the other end to the screw.

Then while holding the screw down in the middle of the board, I ran the pencil around the board (with full extension of the wire), drawing a nearly perfect circle. Pretty nifty, right?

Next, I used my jigsaw to cut around the perimeter of the circle:

Once the complete circle for the moon prop was cut out, I placed the piece in a large clamp to sand down the edges really smooth:

After I sanded, I dusted it off and spray painted it outside with an exterior off-white paint.

When the paint was dry the next day, I got some help attaching it to the post:

Finally, I wrapped some LED lights around the moon, and quickly fabricated an adapter to plug into the body.

This is similar to the adapters used for plugging in the head.

As a side note, the LED lights I used for the moon were self-powered with their own batteries. The Arduino simply turns them off and on.

So, I didn’t have to worry about these lights competing with Moo-Bot’s batteries.

Wiring Up the Inside of the Robot Cow

The goal was to make the robot cow interactive. My thought was for Moo-Bot to play a friendly greeting when you pressed the button. After that, I compiled a series of cow-related jokes, such as the classic interrupting cow joke.

How did I get the robot to talk?

So, I had to include speakers for the sound and I decided to include two LED displays for the eyes. I got a little fancy and had the the moon light up too.

Since there would be no electrical outlet to plug into at the competition, our robot cow would also need to be battery powered and be capable of at least 2 months of continuous operation.

In order to do this, I made Moo-Bot’s brain a programmable Arduino microprocessor. This is just a simple device that made it easy for me to sync electronics up to a script.

An Arduino would be perfect because it was really easy to use, very cheap to buy, and extremely conservative on power consumption.

Here’s a picture of the Arduino:

How to Use the Ardunio Processor

Using the Arduino is simple. You plug it into your computer with a USB cable.

Then, use the free Arduino IDE software to write a program and upload the code to the device. The Arduino has a number of ports you can plug things into. Some carry power to accessories, while others receive and transmit information.

For example, when someone presses the interaction button on our robot cow’s face, that button sends a signal to one of the Arduino’s receive ports. My code detects that signal and sends a message (through a transmit port) to a mini MP3 player, telling it to play some pre-recorded audio.

I also programmed the Arduino to go to sleep every 60 seconds of idleness. This was to conserve on battery power. The robot cow only wakes up when the interaction button is pressed, then goes to sleep if no one presses the button again within one minute.

Sleep mode cuts off power to the speakers and lights, and turns off a majority of processing on the Arduino. While in sleep mode, only minimal battery power is used to check when the interaction button is pressed.

Moo-Bot’s Script

Here’s the exact script that Moo-Bot follows when woken up by the interaction button:

Plays “whirring” startup MP3 and the eyes open
Plays “introduction” MP3
Waits for button to be pressed again
On every button press, cycles through a number of pre-recorded MP3s telling cow jokes
30 seconds after no button press, plays, “Did you forget about me?” MP3
20 more seconds of no button press, plays “I am getting sleepy” MP3 and the eyes close
10 more seconds of still no button press, plays “goodbye” MP3 and Arduino goes to sleep

With the sleep logic in place, and powered by eight D sized batteries, I estimated our robot cow capable of lasting 3-6 months on battery, which was more than enough for the scarecrow competition.

The Robot’s Circuitry

Here is a barebones prototype of our robot cow’s circuitry and code in action:

The Arduino is on the far right. On the left is a circuit breadboard, where I have a number of accessories plugged in. The breadboard allows you to quickly connect electrical components without the need for soldering. The Arduino also has a limited number of ports physically available, so I use the breadboard to expand those ports.

I plugged into the breadboard above is a mini MP3 player (with an external speaker plugged in), and I used two LED displays for the eyes.

My favorite part of Moo-Bot are the eyes. The eyes are animated, randomly blink, and open really wide when you press the interaction button. They added a nice touch of character to our robot cow.

Here is a schematic of the complete circuit, if you are interested:

Finally, here is the electronic parts list if you are trying to make something similar yourself:

Entering the Robot Cow in the Competition

The day finally came when Moo-Bot had to say goodbye to my garage and join the rest of the scarecrows at the competition. We drove out there anxious to see our designated spot and to set up our robot cow.

I quickly got our robot cow setup (thanks to my modular plug and play design) and had him entertaining the crowd.

The robot cow scarecrow is all decked out in decals and fancy foot wear (below):

Moo-Bot was a sure blast to work on and everyone misses him here at home. We plan on visiting him regularly to make sure he is still fully operational, and wish him the best of luck in his competition.

Good luck Moo-Bot!

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