DIY Summer Wreath

Looking for a summer project that's easy and inexpensive? You're at the right place. This wreath is perfect for summer, and you could even keep it up through all of the other seasons too. Keep reading to find out how to make it.

Materials:

• Tree branch wreath (Not sure what it's officially called)
• Floral bush (I found some at a dollar store)
• Burlap bow (6 in.)
• 3/8 in. ribbon

Instructions:

1. Take your floral bush and cut it so that the flowers aren't all attached to one stem. Cut off all of the main stems so that they are separate. 
2. Take the larger flowers and push the floral wire in and around the twigs so that it is secure, but not sticking out in the upper left part of the wreath. Make about 3 big flowers side by side.
3. Take one stem of smaller flowers and put them on each side of the three larger flowers.
4. Tie a normal bow in the burlap without cutting it first to see how big you want the bow. After you know how long to make your burlap, cut it and tie into bow.
5. Place bow on lower right side of the wreath.
6. Cut ribbon into about three 2 in. segments.
7. Take the cut ribbon through the holes in the backside of the burlap bow and secure in a knot to the wreath. Secure the ribbon on both ears of the bow as well as the middle.

That's all! It's probably the easiest wreath you'll ever make, and it's perfect for summer!

Fine Motor Craft for Kids

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie Craft

(Age level: 4-8 years)

Material

·         2 Paper plates- $3.48

·         Construction Paper (1 white, pink, and brown)- $6.88

·         Scissors- $2.00

·         Glue stick- $1.97

·         Pen, pencil, or black marker- $.97

·         Scotch tape- $3.31

Instructions

1.      Using one blade of the scissors, poke a hole through the paper plate a little below the halfway point in the middle of the paper plate. This will be where you start cutting the mouth out.

2.      Cut the mouth out on the bottom side of the plate (the side you DO NOT eat on). Make sure it’s big enough to fit your cookies. You can make the mouth look however you want. Refer to the picture for an example.

3.      Cut the nose out of the pink construction paper. Again, make it how you want it, but I cut a triangle for mine.

4.      Using a glue stick, glue the nose a little bit above the mouth we cut out.

5.      Using the pink construction paper, cut out the pink part of the ear. Remember, you have two ears!

6.      When you are done cutting out the pink ears, use these to trace another set of ears on white construction paper, so they are the same shape, but make sure the white ears are bigger than the pink. Cut out your second pair of ears. The pink will be the inside of the ears and the white will be the outside.                                                                                  

7.      Using glue sticks, glue the pink part of the ear onto the white part.

8.      Glue one ear on each side of the top of the paper plate.

9.      Using a pencil, pen, or marker, draw the eyes and whiskers. You can also draw the lines that connect from the nose to the mouth.

10.  Tape your plates together so that the top part of the plates (the part you eat on) are facing together. Your plate should be hollow on the inside. Put one piece of tape in between the ears and one on each side. Do not tape the bottom.

11.  Time to cut out your cookies! Using your brown construction paper, cut out circles small enough to fit through the mouth of your mouse. You can decorate them to make them look like chocolate chip cookies!

12.  You’re done! Now you can feed your mouse cookies by putting the cookies in the mouth. Since we did not tape the bottom of the plates together, we can get the cookies back out!

Kids can practice grasping the cookies to put into the mouth, which builds fine motor and hand-eye coordination skills.

DIY Terrarium (for free)

To be honest, it's kind of a funny story how I thought of this. I went to Dairy Queen for lunch and got the 5 buck lunch, which came with a sundae. What does this have to do with a terrarium? Well, when I finished my sundae, I noticed that the cup didn't have anything imprinted on it that had anything to do with DQ, so I figured it would be a great way to make a terrarium! Now, I know this actually isn't free because you obviously have to pay for the sundae, but if you want to go grab a sundae, make sure you keep the cup and it really is free!

As I mentioned, the first thing you need is a clear plastic cup, which I got from Dairy Queen.

Now, it's all up to you! You can do whatever design you want with different rocks and soil. I added some rocks in first, and then some soil, and then another layer of rocks, and another layer of soil. My biggest tip? GET CREATIVE! Smaller rocks work a lot better, so you can lay them flat and not as much dirt will fall in between the rocks. That was my first mistake, as you can probably tell, so keep that in mind!

When you're done adding the layers, you can add whatever you want to be on top! You can buy a succulent, but I just added some moss and other random plants around my yard. Baby pinecones would look good as well! This is the last step and you're done!

There is your cute little decoration FOR FREE. I hope you enjoyed the post, and have an awesome day!

Valentine's Day DIY

Valentine's Day Banner

This cute Valentine's Day banner is perfect for the holiday. The things you'll need are construction paper, scissors, twine, a hole punch (or clothespins), and something to hang it up with. (I used double-sided tape.)

Here is how I made it:

1.) Cut out hearts from the construction paper. I used pink and white for Valentine's Day. The fastest way to cut these out is to fold the paper over an inch or two and cut half of a heart.

2.) Using a hole puncher, punch 2 holes in the top of the hearts like so.

                                                         

                   

3.) Now it's time to put the twine through the heart! If you choose, you can skip the hole punching and hang up your hearts with clothespins, which is super cute too.

And there is your cute, festive Valentine's Day Banner!