PUPPET THEATER

Remember this puppet theater (when Elliott was bald!) we made a few years ago? Well, we loved it and no longer have it so we thought it was time for a new one. If any of you are familiar with Roxy Marj you are probably thinking "Um Kersey, you totally ripped her off. Those are her designs!" You're right. But! I designed it this way both for a DIY and to enter a rad contest she was having last week. So rest easy, friends. We had permission. We have used these puppets over the last few days and are loving them. Elliott has named them some pretty ridiculous things and has come up with really crazy background stories to go along with each one. I am probably having more fun than he is! The theater is super simple to make. The dots I made on ours took hours because they are hand drawn on with sharpies. Yes, plural. Two full, new sharpies! You can imagine the hand cramp that resulted. Totally worth it. To make your own, all you need is one of those tri-fold display boards we used for science fairs growing up. Yep, those. Then you can measure out and mark the opening you would like and cut it out with an X-acto knife on a cutting mat. After that all you have to do is decorate it! And if you are a really great parent and not controlling like me, then you might even let your kids design their own. Just a thought! I see many-a-day this summer of playing with this and coming up with new puppets. Maybe I'll let Elliott make his own puppets, how fun would that be? To make the puppets, I just drew the image onto card-stock, cut it out and taped it to a dowel rod. So stinkin' easy. Make your own and see! 

HAPPY WEEKEND + LINKS

Happy, happy friday! We're so happy to welcome the weekend. After Alt last week, this week has been work, work, work for me and I am so happy that is coming to an end! In between working, we have taken many breaks outside, playing in the sprinklers, blowing bubbles and eating large amounts of watermelon. And I am sure that will continue for the majority of the summer! This kid could eat his weight in watermelon. We have been trying out some new recipes around here too. Last night we made coconut flour fried chicken with baked sweet potato fries. It was so so good. Almost makes me with this was a food blog so I could share the recipe. Almost! If you are interested, feel free to email me. I love everything about summer and we are trying to take full advantage of all of those reasons! Are you enjoying your summer? Or are you already ready to be done with the heat? I say, bring it on nature. I hope you guys have a fantastic weekend! We will be back next week with some projects including one for the 4th of July. You can hardly wait, I know. Until then, happy weekend!

Favorite links this week:

Lego ghosts! I need them.

These look like a lot of fun!

Most colorful popsicles, ever. 

I wish this was real!

When life gives you lemons...

We're buying these and I think you should too.

Wallpaper I can get behind.

In love with this space.

CEMENT SANDCASTLES

Yes, cement sandcastles! Aren't they rad? They are SO easy to make. Please, please don't be afraid of cement. It's really easy to work with and if you get the right kind, it dries in under 30 minutes. I found these cute sandcastle molds at Target in the toy section for pretty cheap with the hopes that these would turn out, and wouldn't ya know it, they did! The great part is, we can reuse the molds for regular sandcastle making after we've made these. Or, you know. We could just make more cement sandcastles. We have been having a blast with ours and I think they would make for some pretty awesome decorations in Elliott's room. I love cement. Like really love it. I know most people find the imperfections annoying, but that's my favorite part! The little bubbles add character and character is good. I do recommend playing along with your kids when they play with these. They are very heavy and could hurt little fingers and toes. They are cement after all! Other than that, I really think you guys will love them. These would also be fun to let kids paint. We may still do that, just for fun.

To make your own, all you need is some cement, a disposable container, a disposable spoon, the molds and some cooking spray. Just spray the inside of the molds, mix the cement according to the directions on the box and let it sit till dry. Once it's dry, gently pull the sides away from the cement and turn right side up. It should slide out really easily. Your new cement castle might be a bit hot, that is totally normal. Just let it sit and cool for a while, then play!

GRAPE SCULPTURES

I have never had a very hard time getting Elliott to eat his fruits and veggies, but sometimes you need to switch things up just for fun. We made these sculptures one afternoon for snack and they were a huge hit! We have since used some sunburst tomatoes too. Equally as fun. All you need to make your own is some toothpicks and some roundish, sturdy-ish fruits or veggies. Your kids will love it and honestly, I made my own and it was a blast! To see more, check out the post I did on it over on Momtastic. 

ICE CREAM TATTOOS

It's about time we had some more temporary tattoos around here! In celebration of summer, I made some ice cream tattoos. I love them and I am pretty sure your little ones will think they are pretty great too. Just try to keep them from licking them off! You can download them right here, and per usual, print them off onto the tattoo paper of your choice and follow the directions for application. It should be something like "cover the print out with a plastic film, cut out the shapes, peel off the plastic film and apply with a wet cloth for 30 seconds" or something along those lines. These also just so happen to be the new addition to my Alt business cards, so if you are going to Alt make sure to get one!