A Playhouse Redo

A couple months ago we bought Alex a used very inexpensive playhouse on Craigslist. It was a few years old and a little faded. We decided to give it a makeover.

I took it apart and masked off the trim with painters tape. I wanted the trim to stay the tan color.

I used Krylon Fusion for Plastic spray paint. It only came in a limited number of colors at our local store so I decided to paint the roof brown, the siding green, the chimney red and the shutters tan. It only took a couple hours to paint everything, it dries to touch in 15 minutes and it becomes chip resistance in 7 days. It really brightened up the house and we were very happy with the outcome.

It is missing the door, so we need to find a solution to fix that. We also plan on adding a mail box and making a little log fence around his playhouse very soon.

Sandy Sensory Bins

I've been slacking on making sensory bins this summer, but this afternoon I made two, A Dino Box and a Beach box. They are both made using sand as a base because Daddy ordered too much sand for the new horseshoe pits and Alex's new sandbox. Hmmm? What other sand activities can I do. : /

After our much anticipated trip to Prehistoric World in Ontario Canada, Alex has been very interested in playing with his dinosaurs. I decided to make him a playscape/sensory box for his dinosaurs.

In this box is sand, a shallow dish with water, a couple of twigs with leaves still on them, a small log, a package of plastic dinosaurs and rocks.

The second box I made I decided to make some DIY Moon Sand. I found the recipe I loosely followed on Pinterest, the original post was here.

My Moon Sand Recipe

6 cups of sand

3 cups of corn starch

1 and a half cups of water (more or less for desired consistency)

Mix all ingredients thoroughly and play.

The homemade moon sand is very close to the store bought moons sands consistency and a lot cheaper. I think it would be identical if I had finer sand. When the sand seems to dry out, you can add a little bit more water and it should be restored.

Once I made the Moon Sand, I added some shells we collected from the local beaches, small blue sea glass, some red gems,  a small shovel, a couple small sand molds and a sea turtle and that completed our Beach Sensory Bin.

Homemade Christmas Gifts

I thought I'd share some of the homemade gifts that I have been working on this year for my family. I have a couple more ideas, that I hope to accomplish this week. So here is what I have so far.


Peppermint Mocha Ornaments. I found these adorable little gift ideas here.

I changed my recipe a little bit. To make these I purchased 6 clear glass craft ornaments.  I used mint cocoa and instant coffee. About 1 and half cups of cocoa and half a cup of instant coffee. Mixed them together well and added about 6 Tbsp to each bauble. I used soft peppermint sticks to add color. They were easier than candy canes, to get the correct size for the bauble.

 

I printed out directions, Add 3 tbsp or more to hot water or milk and enjoy. Cut them out into circles and mounted them to a piece or red card stock. I added a bow to each with a little holiday ribbon.

I plan on giving this along with some Peppermint Bark to my cousins.

I also have seen a ton of people making Scrabble tile pendants on Etsy and decided to give it a try. These were fun. I plan on giving these to my tween cousins. Eight year old twins and a 7 year old.

To make these I found some scrabble tile replacements at a craft store. I purchased three 16" silver chains, some fun scrapbook paper, some jewelry bails and paper glaze. I also purchased some cute little truffle boxes to use as packaging. You can find a tutorial for making them here

Finally I made some transportation theme recycled crayons for a little 5 year old boy. I used Wiltons candy mold and some crayons from the dollars store. I bought a little blue tin for them to go into and a Disney Cars coloring posters for him to color.

These are simple to make. Take the colors you would like to put together. Peel off all the paper, and break them into small pieces. Melt the crayons. I put them into small containers and then put those containers into very hot water. They do not melt if you just stick them in a microwave. Pour into desired molds and pop out of mold when cool. Be careful not to pop them out on a hard surface so they don't break.


So today I hope to make a couple more ornaments with the help of Alex for the grandparents. Will post about them later. Happy Holidays everyone!!