It’s Orange Friday!

November 29, 2019February 9, 2023Leave a comment

The boys always love receiving their Orange Art Box.

It’s something we look forward to getting and working on together. Because it’s FUN!

I wanted to share an opportunity for you to get an awesome deal on the Orange Art Box.

If you have a creative kid in your life, this will make a great Christmas present!

*Ad Disclosure: This blog uses affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase using one of the links, I receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) that helps offset the costs of maintaining this blog. Thanks for your support!

Disclaimer: “This is a sponsored post. As a member of the Orange Art Box Makers I have been provided product in exchange for my creative ideas. The views and opinions are my own.

End of the Summer Crafting with Kids

August 19, 2019February 9, 2023Leave a comment

End of the Summer Crafting with Kids

With school starting last week and our hanging out time limited, I grabbed my grandsons

for a end of summer craft day. We needed a craft day. (and a little swim time too)

We had got our August Orange Art Box earlier in the month and hadn’t found the time

to work on it yet. (Yesterday was the perfect day)

This blog uses affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase using one of the links, I receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) that helps offset the costs of maintaining this blog. Thanks for your support!

Kids love to make things and get messy. (And this box was a fun one.)

In my workshop, I have a long kid sized table and chairs that I picked up a few years ago

at a church sale aka “The Sunday School Table” which is perfect for crafting with the boys.

(FYI…until I get my new craft room completely finished, I’ve been crafting there myself.)

We painted kindness rocks…

made picture frames and games.

Everything was included in the Orange Art Box kit.

All I had to do is clear off a table and pour some water for washing brushes.

The boys couldn’t wait to start painting.

Nick was inspired to make a game board of his own. (Which I’ll laminate for him)

I love to see creativity at work and spending time with my grandsons is an extra added bonus.

*Disclosure… “This is a sponsored post. I have been provided product in exchange for my creative ideas. The views and opinions are my own.”

First Day Back to School Signs

August 4, 2019February 9, 2023Leave a comment

Watch out Kindergarten here I come!

The first day of school is a big deal. Especially when it’s your first day of Kindergarten.

My grandson is going into Kindergarten this year and will be riding the bus with his big brother.

It’s a really big deal.

So… I decided to make him something special.

Using my Silhouette Cameo Electronic Die Cutting Machine* and a variety of fun colors of

adhesive gloss craft vinyl from StyleTechCraft…I made a cute two-sided sign for them

(or Mom) to use for those First Day of School pictures.

StyleTechCraft has a large selection of adhesive vinyl colors to choose from.

*Disclosure: This blog uses affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase using one of the links, I receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) that helps offset the costs of maintaining this blog. Thanks for your support!

On the second side of the sign I made a few adjustments to my Silhouette Back to School

SVG cut file and added lines instead of dots. (too many dots for me)

Using a chalk marker or chalk you can reuse the sign for many years to come.

FYI…The base of the sign is a wood cut out from Adornit which I painted using DecoArt Chalkboard Paint*.

“This is a sponsored post. As a member of the StyleTechCraft Design Team I have been provided product and compensation in exchange for my creative ideas. The views and opinions are my own.

Crafting with Kids…all about bugs

July 8, 2019February 9, 2023Leave a comment

BUZZIN’ BUGS

The summer crafting adventures continue with Nick and Warren and the July Orange Art Box.

This month’s box is all about Bugs and I do believe it was Warren’s favorite box.

The kit came with supplies to make a bug jar, cute little felt bugs, bug stencils, stickers,

paper to make a bug book, plastic bugs, markers and several other fun crafty supplies.

Check out the boy’s video and the July Orange Art Box.

(I’m starting to wonder if I should include their bloopers. Never a dull moment.)

The Orange Art Box is a subscription art box for kids.

*Disclosure: “This is a sponsored post. I have been provided product in exchange for my creative ideas. The views and opinions are my own.”

Gnome Gardening with Kids

June 26, 2019July 13, 2021Leave a comment

Gnome Gardening with Kids

One of our favorite Summer traditions is creating our annual Gnome Gardens.

The boys and I look forward to making them every year.

I started the tradition of Gnome Gardening several years ago when Nick was only 3.

You can see our first garden here.

To create our gardens we use a variety of containers and objects we’ve picked up along the way.

For the plants, we use succulents and flowers that won’t grown too big.

I like using Asparagus Ferns to mimic trees.

As mini gardens grow in popularity… there several places you can find accessories

for your gardens. We like to get something new for our gardens every year.

This year we added items picked up at Dollar Tree*.

*Disclosure: This blog uses ads and affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase using one of the links, I receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) that helps offset the costs of maintaining this blog. Thanks for your support!

This is Nick’s 6th year making Gnome Gardens so he’s pretty proficient with his garden.

Check out last years garden. (always an adventure)

This is Warren’s 3rd year making a Gnome Garden.

He lets me help him. (maybe that’s why his is my favorite)

His garden is all about the house placement.

You can see Warren’s first Gnome Garden here.

I love seeing how much they’ve grown from their first gardens.

The extra credit award goes to my daughter-in-law (the boys mom).

She found this little gnome house at Dollar Tree* and repainted it with a Mario inspired look.

The tiny Camper and firepit was from last years garden and is available at Leisure Arts, Inc.

Leisure Arts Mini Garden Supplies… (*affiliate link)

This year was Emerson’s turn for his first Gnome Garden.

He always wants to do everything his big brothers are doing.

Water bottles are a great item to have when Gnome Gardening.

It helps the boys control how much water goes on the garden, and they’re fun too.

This little stinker sprayed me as I stuck my head out the window for a quick pic.

(I may have sprayed him first.)

Creating mini Gnome Gardens is a fun and memorable project to make with kids.

We always have a good time.

It gives them something to take care of all summer long.

And…it adds a little whimsy to my front porch.

To create a Gnome Garden you’ll need:

Container for your garden. I like finding unusual items like the top of a broken wagon. It adds a little extra whimsy to the garden.
Good Potting Soil
Small Garden Tools
Gnome or Fairy Figures
Rocks, Twigs and other found objects
Store Bought Accessories such as the gnome houses
Succulents
Annuals that won’t grow too big or tall
I like to use Asparagus Ferns to mimic trees
Water Bottle

Start the Gnome Garden by adding potting soil to your container.
Allow the kids to loosen up the soil before adding plants.
Small gardening tools are also fun to have.
Add plants to the container before adding accessories.
I like to add the largest plants first near the back of the container.
Allow the kids to add their special pieces to the garden.
Give the garden a good spray of water using the water bottles.

A Special Thanks to Leisure Arts, Inc. for providing the Mini Garden Supplies.

Crafting with Nick…Under the Sea

June 12, 2019February 9, 2023Leave a comment

Nick’s back with a fun project using the June Orange Art Box.

I think this month’s kit has been our favorite Orange Art Box so far.

The theme for the June Box is “Under the Sea” and Nick had a really fun

time creating his fish inspired Shadow Box.

Check out Nick’s video below.

The Orange Art Box is a subscription art box for kids.

*Disclosure: “This is a sponsored post. I have been provided product in exchange for my creative ideas. The views and opinions are my own.”

Nick’s finished project.

I think the Shadow Box would make a great vacation memory project with a cute beach

photograph included inside the frame.

Nick and Warren’s May Orange Art Box

May 13, 2019February 9, 2023Leave a comment

The adventure continues with Nick and Warren and the Orange Art Box for May.

May’s Orange Art Box is all about birds, birdhouses and feathers.

As you can tell by the silly video below that the boys enjoyed themselves.

The Orange Art Box is a subscription art box for kids.

Enjoy the boy’s silly video.

*Disclosure: “This is a sponsored post. I have been provided product in exchange for my creative ideas. The views and opinions are my own.”

Orange Art Box Giveaway

April 30, 2019February 9, 20231 Comment

Got a Creative Kid in you Life?

Looking for something different to keep them busy this summer?

I’m giving away the May Orange Art Box Kit to one lucky person.

To enter all you need to do is leave a comment telling me who you’d give the kit to.

Deadline to enter is tomorrow, Wednesday 5-01-19 (US only)

For extra chances you can also leave a comment on my Facebook and Instagram pages.

Here’s a silly video of my grandson’s opening up the April Orange Art Box.

To see what the boys made click here.

If you are looking for something different for your kids to do this summer

you might want to look into the Orange Box Kit.

It’s available to purchase as a 1, 3, 6 or 12 month subscription.

Perfect gift for that budding artist.

*Disclosure: “This is a sponsored post. I have been provided product in exchange for my creative ideas. The views and opinions are my own.”

The Orange Art Box

April 26, 2019February 9, 2023Leave a comment

Looking for something to keep the kids busy this summer and end the “I’m bored”.

I was recently introduced to the Orange Art Box which is an Art Subscription Box for Kids.

As you might know…I love doing crafts with my grandsons

and because the box is geared for kids ages 5-12, it was right up our alley.

*Disclosure: “This is a sponsored post. I have been provided product in exchange for my creative ideas. The views and opinions are my own.”

I was so impressed with the concept that I’ve agreed to do a monthly post with the boys for the

next few months using the products we receive in each month’s kit.

With Summer Vacation around the corner, it’s a perfect activity to keep the boys busy.

What’s inside the Orange Art Box?

A collection of projects every month to inspire your artist.

Every Orange Art Box is designed with a feature project and multiple smaller projects

for hours of fun!

The boys and I did a short video of them opening their Orange Art Boxes.

It was seriously like opening a Christmas Gift.

You may notice in the video that they were just a little bit excited.

The theme for April was Mosaics…the April Orange Art Box included a wooden box, a large bag of mosaics, mod podge, brush, book mark, door knob hanger, tissue paper squares, 6 color scented pen and a folder of ideas, tips, patterns and instructions.

Enough projects to keep them busy for quite a while.

The boys all-time favorite item was the six color “smelly” pen.

The first thing they wanted to do was work on their boxes.

It’s fun to see their creative minds at work.

I really think this will be a fun summer activity for the boys.

Nick’s Box with a combination of mosaics and decoupaged tissue paper.

Warren’s Box with a random artistic mosaic pattern.

If you are looking for something different for your kids to do this summer

you might want to look into the Orange Box Kit.

It’s available to purchase as a 1, 3, 6 or 12 month subscription.

Perfect gift for that budding artist.

May’s Orange Art Box which is all about birds, birdhouses and feathers.

Creating Holiday Tees with Personality

November 26, 2018February 9, 2023Leave a comment

Creating fun and funny personalized tees for the Holidays are a snap with the help of

Joy® Embroidered Iron-on Letters.

My grandsons are good sports and will usually let me take their pictures for my projects.

We took this picture the day before Halloween. They weren’t really into Christmas pictures.

In the picture, Nicholas is giving me his best “grinchy” face.

His mom said his shirt should read “Grandma made me do it”.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

A variety of Joy Iron Embroidered Letters* in different sizes, fonts and colors
Plain T Shirts*
Iron

Directions:

Wash t-shirt to remove any residue or sizing.
Set iron to cotton setting or follow garment care label.
Remove letters from sheet.
Position letters with shiny side down.
Cover letters with a fine cloth.
With firm pressure iron cloth over the letters for 25 seconds.
Turn t-shirt inside out and iron the back of the letters for 25 seconds.
Allow to cool for one minute before handling.

You can find a wide selection of Joy® embroidered iron-on letters and alphabet sheets in different sizes at your local craft stores.

“This is a sponsored post. As a member of the Joy® Design Team I have been provided product and compensation in exchange for my creative ideas. The views and opinions are my own.

Shop Amazon Scrapbooking Supplies*