KIDS TIE TAC

I have the hardest time convincing Elliott that ties are not his enemy. Then it occurred to me to make the tie a little more fun with a tie tac! He loves shapes so I thought this would be perfect. You could just as easily make one using their first initial which any kid would love. It's super easy and you can make a bunch of them in no time. I might make an egg shaped one for Easter. Fun, right? I think it might work! If you want to see the full tutorial to make your own, head on over to Handmade Charlotte to check it out. 

AROUND HERE

How was your weekend? Awesome? So going unplugged on Friday was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be. Staying out of the house was a huge help of course. We had a lot of fun! So just to sum up the last several days around here, Elliott's hair was officially out of control - notice the shampoo mohawk. So we took him to this rad barber shop to get his hair cut. I loved how they treated the kids just like the grown ups there. They got a frosty cold soda and a soothing neck massage. He was in heaven. We spent a lot of time with family and unfortunately my computer's hard drive crashed. Such a bummer. There were a few things I didn't have backed up, so it's a little sad. But it is so nice to have a computer that works properly all the time! And to avoid the unreal charges for installing a new hard drive, Preston bought and installed the new hard drive himself. So we are back up and running and trying to catch up from the days that I was computer-less. A serious affliction for a blogger. Coming up this week and next, we have some fun St. Patrick's day crafts and maybe a few non-holiday ones too. So stay tuned for those! Happy Monday!

NATIONAL UNPLUGGED DAY

Today is national unplugged day so we are getting a bit creative around here. Unplugged day is exactly what it sounds like. A day of no iPads, TVs, movies, video games, etc. Of course unplugged day had to fall on a no preschool day. Ha! So far this morning we have danced, read books and played with pipe cleaners. I introduced Elliott to them yesterday after this project and he has been hooked! So far he has made letters, rockets infested with shark-fish aliens and bracelets for his friends. In preparation for today, I came up with a list of things to do that don't involve Elliott and any type of screen. So we are heading out to run some errands, go to the park to burn some energy then we are going to a playdate and then dinner with friends. Sounds do-able, right? This is our first time participating in national unplugged day and I have to say, so far so good! I just might want to make it a more regular thing than once per year. We'll see. Are you going unplugged today? What are you doing with your littles to keep them occupied? I'd love to hear! 

RAINBOW CUPCAKE TOPPERS

Are you ready for some St. Patrick's day fun? We have a lot of projects coming up over the next two weeks to make your kid's St. Patty's day extra awesome. First up, rainbow cupcake toppers! These are so easy to make and the kids are guaranteed to love them because, well, they are gum-balls on top of cupcakes. What's not to love? These would be awesome to have at a kids St. Patrick's day party. Or even just for your own family to make the day extra festive. Want to make your own? Here's how!

To make them, you'll need some pipe cleaners, some gum-balls and a needle or an awl. 

First, poke some holes in each gum-ball, going all the way through.

Then string the gum-balls onto a pipe cleaner and trim the pipe cleaner. You want there to be enough on the ends to stick into the cupcake to hold it in place. And that's it! Super easy, right?

WE LOVE: TWIG

Our friends Michelle and Steve from Twig are the husband and wife duo behind the adorable and brilliant wooden toy cameras. This past weekend they hosted an event to launch their new cameras which was amazing. New colors, new styles and the clever viewfinder so the kids can actually see what they are "photographing"! Elliott fell instantly head over heels for the new Instamatic camera. It's inspired by the 60's Kodak camera and it even comes with a color-changing viewfinder. Awesome, right? Elliott has no idea yet, but the Easter bunny will be bringing him one in his basket this year. At the event there were creative stations for the kids to work on a couple of different projects. There was tree stump rubbings, stamping and drawing, cardboard camera coloring and building and we even got a bare wooden camera from Twig to paint ourselves. Elliott chose the color and painted most of it and I might have micromanaged...just a little. All of the kids had a blast going from station to station working on their projects and showing off their skills. Twig also has some incredible children's chairs of which we are huge fans. It was such a fun launch event and we are so excited to have some fun with our new cameras! Thanks, Michelle and Steve for a seriously awesome time.