Ice Chalk

Posted in Blog, Crafts, DIY, Uncategorized by Mommyhood Land Blog

One of my favourite things to do in the summer is make coloured ice in the evening, and in the morning its ready to go. Its one of the first things we do in the morning, get up, kids eat breakfast and then outside to play with ice cubes. Why do we do this? Because it ensures I get to drink a hot coffee while the kids are distracted and having fun.

You can make simple coloured ice cubes with just water and food colouring.

You can fill up a container with water, food colouring (optional) and place little toys into it before freezing (also optional) (also make sure the toys are safe to put in water and freeze!). This adds another level of discovery to play time.

And now, lets talk Ice Chalk.

Its super easy and fun.

– Half Cornstarch
– Half Water (or maybe a little bit more water depending on the consistency you want)
– Food Colouring
Optional: Glitter, small toys.

And freeze.

You can use normal ice cube trays, or fun shapes. We use both.

And have fun!

~ Michelle

12May2017

Bored Jar DIY

Posted in Crafts, DIY, Motherhood by Mommyhood Land Blog

Summer is almost here, which means the kids are off school, which means parents will hear them say “I’m bored” about a 2847292843092849328202 times a day.

I decided to make a bored jar, that way when they complain I can send them to the jar and they can pick an activity. However they use it with caution, because I didn’t just put fun things in there to do. To keep it interesting I also added chores. If they want to tell me they are bored they run the risk of having to clean the toilet.

So here is what you need to make your own jar:

– A Jar. (This can be a washed out pasta jar, pickle jar, whatever you have on hand.)
– Popsicle sticks
– Pens or markers
– Optional, tape to decorate the popsicle sticks.

Next write out ideas on the sticks, and put them in the jar. For added fun, you can cover up the jar with paper or tape so they can’t see what is inside.

Here is what I wrote down:

1. Write a story
2. Do the laundry
3. Make a treasure map
4. Play a card game
5. Build a card house
6. Nature walk
7. Play I SPY
8. Plant a flower
9. Play a board game
10. Play with Lego
11. Find and make a Pet Rock
12. Look at old family pictures
13. Play wii
14. 15 push ups and 15 sit ups
15. Research a topic that mom or dad picks
16. Bake cookies
17. One Chore – mom or dad picks
18. Explore on Google Earth
19. Play with Play Dough
20. Write a letter to a family member
21. Build a fort
22. Play Simon Says
23. Wash the dishes
24. Play marbles
25. Paint
26. Organize your clothes by colour
27. Bubble bath
28. Watch a movie
29. Clean your room
30. Write 5 things you love about yourself
31. Do a puzzle
32. Go to the library
33. Dance party
34. Make a craft
35. Photo scavenger hunt
36. Clean your bathroom
37. Read for 30 minutes
38. Write 5 things you love
39. Vacuum
40. Alphabetize your books
41. Draw
42. Go for a walk
43. Create a city
44. Play on your iPod
45. Make a family tree
46. Make and fly paper airplanes
47. Play catch
48. Geocaching
49. Write 5 things you love about our family
50. Journal
51. Read for 1 hour
52. Do Yoga for 30 minutes
53. Clean all the toilets
54. Mediate for 20 minutes
55. Do school work (Printed sheets from online)

Let the fun begin and put a stop to “I’m bored”.

~ Michelle

12Apr2017

Rainbow Easter Eggs

Posted in Blog, DIY by Mommyhood Land Blog

Every Easter my kids look forward to dying the Easter Eggs.

We have always done it the same way, bowls of water and food coloring. It is usually messy, but still so much fun.

This year I thought we would try it a different way. Maybe with very little to no mess! Cut out the water all together. We decided to go with Rainbow Easter Eggs.

Here is what you will need:

-Hard boiled Eggs
-Ziploc Bags
-Food Coloring
– A place to dry the eggs

First you will need to hard boil the eggs. When finished cooking let them cool down and dry.

Then you will place an egg in a Ziploc bag and add 2-3 drops of different food coloring onto the egg. (Or a lot of drops if you let the kids do it on their own!) We only used one Ziploc Bag and washed it out after each egg.

Then comes the part the kids liked to call the “squishy” part. Let the kids rub the egg around in the bag until covered in food coloring. (Adding more colors if needed)

Next let them dry. If you have extra food coloring dripping off the egg simply wipe it off with a paper tower.

I made the egg holders myself with strips of paper, quick and easy to do. Cut a strip of paper, form a circle, cut on side and slide it together.

And there you have it! You are done!
Find a nice place to display the kids new art work.
You can even use them as a pretty centre piece on the table for Easter dinner!

Happy decorating!

~Michelle

24Aug2016

Backyard Painting With A Shower Curtain

Posted in Blog, Crafts, DIY, Motherhood by Mommyhood Land Blog

A few weeks ago I was on Facebook and I saw that Todays Parent Magazine shared this story about a moms amazing backyard for her kids. I fell completely in love with her yard! It is amazing! I want to play in it. It also got me thinking. I don’t have a forest in my backyard, but I do have a backyard for my kids, and I have been thinking of what to do about painting with my toddler. My toddler LOVES to paint. But paper outside just doesn’t seem to do it, and we would paint right on the fence, but she didn’t like to finger paint on that. So this is where this article gave me the solution.

Hang up a clear shower curtain in the backyard! Its perfect! The rain can wash it clean, or you can. And the possibilities for my little artist are endless!

We didn’t have two trees close enough to tie it to like the mom in the article. So this is what we did, and you can to! All you need is a shower curtain, string, and a fence!

First stop, the dollar store!

Next go outside, get some string, and string it through the loops. Next tie up the ends to the fence! Poke holes in the bottom so you can tie down the bottom corners as well!

Next step, get paint and have fun!

Even the big kids got into it! Everyone LOVED IT!

This has quickly become the favourite spot in the backyard!

We put this up yesterday and already this morning my toddler was asking for this as soon as she finished breakfast!

I have a feeling we will be going through a lot more paint now!

~ Michelle

12Aug2016

Moms Command Centre

Posted in Blog, DIY, Motherhood by Mommyhood Land Blog

Its that time of year again. Back to school.
Its a time filled with mixed emotions, excitement and anxiety. But mostly for me its a time to reorganize after a summer of fun.
I want to share with you a “Command Centre” I made up a couple of years ago.
Want your own Command Centre?
Start off with a wall with a lot of space that is in a room in your house that you will be in every day. I picked my kitchen.

Next you will need a calendar. I LOVE the Ultimate Mom Calendar. Its all sorts of awesome. It is huge so there is tons of space for writing down appointments and notes and anything else you may need to write down.

Next I find a white board/ cork board / chalk board works wonders.
Or if you are like me, all 3. Because, why not?

I found this beauty of a chalk board while out on a drive with my hubby at some handmade store we passed by. I’m in love with it.

( I love the message the kids put on it).

Put all these pieces together, and Ta-Da! A Command Centre for the school year!

The chalk board is used for meal lists, and to-do lists for mom and dad and to hold mail.
Calendar is for the family.
The cork board and white board at the end is for the boys. Reminders for school, pin up paper work and such.

Now to stay on top of the school year and all the kids projects, deadlines and appointments!
~Michelle

6Jan2016

Ladder Display

Posted in Blog, DIY, Motherhood by Mommyhood Land Blog

My boys had bunkbeds, for about 3 years or so. They recently decided they no longer wanted bunkbeds, ever again, so when we took them apart I didn’t want to just throw away the ladder, and I have no place to really store it.

So I thought I would hang on to it, and use it for something other than collecting dust in a corner some where.
And lets face it, I may have some sentimental value towards the thing.

So here it is.

A little ladder display I put up on my bedroom wall. Still not exactly sure what to do with it, just playing around with it and displaying my wooden animals from Kenya.

First of many DIY projects I have in mind for this year.

Do you have any favourite DIY projects that you have done? I would love to hear about them.

~ Michelle

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11Dec2015

Snowflake Art

Posted in Blog, Crafts, DIY, Uncategorized by Mommyhood Land Blog

My daughter is 20 months and just loves to paint. Any art work that involves paint she is all for.

So naturally with it being winter and the Christmas holiday season, we (and by “we” I mean me) decided to do some snowflake art work.

This is a super fun and easy art work you can do with your little one. (And best part, you can gift the finished product to a proud Grandparent, Aunt or Uncle to add to their holiday decorations.)

What you will need:

Paint.
Painters Tape.
Paint Brush.
Canvas.
Something to put the paint on.

Next. Draw your design on your canvas with the painters tape.

When you are happy with your design, pick out your the colours you want.
I went with white, blue and pink. You could pick just blue, blue and white, or what ever other colour combination you like.

Now the fun part! Painting!

Paint brush optional.

When your little one is done let their art work dry completely.

After it is dry, peel off the tape.
You have two options here, leave it as is, or take a black sharpie and outline the snowflakes.

Which ever option you decide, the important thing is to have fun creating art with your little one.

After my two boys saw this they wanted in on the fun. You can do this craft with your toddler or kids, or even yourself. It is a fun craft for all ages to take part in!

Happy painting!

~ Michelle

27Nov2015

DIY Paper Christmas Tree

Posted in Blog, Crafts, DIY by Mommyhood Land Blog

My daughter loves to craft. And with the holiday season quickly approaching, there are so many different crafts to choose from.
This week we decided to make our own paper Christmas tree.

Here is what you will need:

White paper to draw your paper on
Coloured paper, green, red, or holiday themed if you would like.
Stickers – “Ornaments” to decorate the tree
Glue
Scissors
Marker to outline your tree

Next cut your coloured paper into small pieces.
Draw a Christmas tree outline on the white paper.

Fill in the Christmas tree with glue and start letting your little one put the pieces on it.
(My daughter loved this part. She loved playing with the little pieces of paper)

Keep filling in your tree till it is full, or whenever your little one is finished.

Next and final step.
Add on the Christmas tree decorations.

Enjoy making your own Christmas tree with your little one.

~ Michelle

24Nov2015

Cotton Ball Snowflake Craft

Posted in Blog, Crafts, DIY, Holiday by Mommyhood Land Blog

My toddler loves crafts. We try to do something every day. So naturally with winter upon us and Christmas quickly coming up we decided to do some snowflake crafts.
We did an easy and fun cotton ball craft.

Here is what you will need:

Paper
Cotton Balls
Glue
Optional: You can either just simply spread the glue on, or use a paint brush. In that case you will need a bowl and paint brush.

Next draw out your design with glue.

Next fill in with cotton balls. My daughter thought this was funny and so much fun. After she had to squish some of the cotton balls and throw them around the kitchen.

And done!
It’s that simple!

After we finished the snowflake she ran to the living room pointing at my snowman decoration. So we attempted to make a snowman after. It pretty much turned out like a lump of cotton balls on the paper, but she had fun, and that is what matters.

So here is our lump of cotton balls, I mean snowman!

Hope you and your little ones have as much fun as my toddler and I had making these fun cotton ball crafts!

~ Michelle

18Nov2015

Keeping My Toddler Busy

Posted in Blog, Crafts, DIY by Mommyhood Land Blog

I love play time with my daughter. But sometimes she doesn’t want to play with her toys, or read books.
I found this great activity for her. She loves it. It is fun. Best of all, it does not take any batteries!