DIY Water Wall of Wonder

Little man is finally on the upswing from his daunting adenoid surgery, stomach virus and post-op infection (yep all together!), therefore we are back outside from sun up until sundown.  HOORAY!!!  We have the typical outdoor water table with recycled plastic bottles, cups, measuring bowls, etc, but it was time to take the outdoor water play to another level; I’ll admit it, I was bored with the water table.  Since our little sailor can’t keep his fingers and toes out of anything that has even a few drops of water, I knew we needed something durable yet easily accessible for his small exploratory hands and feet.  I have seen so many of the shared Facebook posts from numerous teaching pages, mommy bloggers, etc. promoting outdoor water play pop up in my newsfeed lately, so I set off to Home Depot yesterday afternoon with no plan in place other than to purchase anything we could zip-tie to our fence that would hopefully provide endless hours of water play, investigation, and imagination!  I am not sure if I should be proud of this or not, but there is an associate at our local store who will literally walk me through EVERY step of my DIY kiddo projects offering her suggestions, improvements, etc. until I leave with a bigger and better idea; unfortunately, she was on vacation yesterday, but with no plan in place, I don’t think my project turned out too shabby.  For under $30 (don’t forget the military discount they offer!) and within 30 minutes during his naptime, I was able to construct the next best thing to golden Oreos in my son’s eyes I do believe!  (Even my husband left the remote and couch behind yesterday to get wet with us!) 

*Since we live in military housing, I couldn’t screw the water wall pieces to the fence, so I purchased extra long zip ties to secure everything in place.  Don’t have a fence to utilize?  Don’t fret; you can use a recycled wooden skid, peg board, plywood, etc.    

 

Possible items to use:  funnels, tubing, PVC pipe pieces (I spray painted mine to break up the boring white), kitchen colanders, recycled plastic containers (ketchup/mustard bottles, milk jogs, cottage cheese/yogurt containers, drinking cups, measuring cups/bowls, watering cans, etc.  Get the little ones involved- look around the house for anything that could be turned into another part of your water wall!            

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Mother's Day Frame

Who doesn't love a homemade gift from a child?!  My little sailor and I made these for my mom, mother-in-law, and our grandmothers on both sides of the family.  Grab some popsicle sticks, a glue gun, some puzzle pieces, a Sharpie marker, and a picture!  (We bought our popsicle sticks at a craft store, but I found the same pack at the Dollar Tree; much cheaper too!)  You can easily make it a magnet by adding a sticky magnet to the back or maybe you would rather hang it, so add a piece of string to it!  Either way, it is easy and fun to make and will be cherished for a lifetime! 

 

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Easy DIY Tiered Flower Pots

I don’t have exactly what you would call a “green thumb,” BUT I am working on it.  Last summer we traveled a lot to visit family on the East coast so my time in the yard and gardens was limited resulting in sad, wilted plants that I spent a lot of time picking out and planting perfectly in our gardens.  This year, with baby boy #2 due in July, we won’t be traveling so I am dedicated to keeping up with the watering, fertilizing, weeding, etc around our home to keep my plants from looking neglected and mistreated. 

I do love using fresh herbs, veggies, etc. from the garden so this year I planted some herbs I know we will use regularly in my tiered flower pots; lemon mint, peppermint, Italian parsley, oregano, stevia, and sage.  Luckily, our NEX Home Gallery sells plants at a reasonable price in their garden center.  I put this project together last year for a patriotic display of flowers, but this year I changed it up a bit and added our herbs in it.  This flower pot arrangement is so simple, yet classy to dress up your porch area! 

Materials: 
-3 different size flower pots for each planter (I use the self-watering pots.)
-Potting soil
-Flowers, herbs, etc.
*You could use clay pots as well.  I have read some gardeners use a rod through the hole in the middle to keep them together, but I haven’t had any trouble with mine. 

Directions: 

1.  Fill your largest flower pot 3/4 full with soil.  Place the medium pot on top of the dirt and add soil around the outside, leaving room to add plants later.  
2.  Repeat the above step for the medium/small flower pots.  

3.  Add plants & water. 

*If you’re planting herbs, allow space for the herbs to grow outward and trim regularly. 

 

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DIY Self-Feeding Bird Feeder (Perfect for little hands!)

We had a ton of water bottles that were headed for the recycling bin this week and I pulled a few out for an unspecified art project with our little guy.  I had no idea what I was going to do with them until we were at our local NEX Home Gallery and I saw a simple bird feeder.  It was easy to recreate with the water bottles and 2 plastic spoons/sporks I had in the kitchen.  The best part about the bird feeder is that when the birds land on the spoon/spork it releases food from the bottle making it a self-feeder!  How awesome is that?!

Living in the Midwest and near the lakefront, weather is always a surprise.  Unfortunately, the day we decided to make these the temperatures were only in the mid-40's.  No worries though; I placed a table cloth on the kitchen floor and we had a no-mess craft space!

(*This project requires some adult-preparation before turning it over to small hands to finish.) 

Materials:

• empty water bottles
• birdseed
• plastic spoons (or sporks)
• funnel
• bowl/cup (to pour birdseed)
• string
• scissors
• box cutter/sharp knife

Directions:

1. Slice 2 sets of holes (4 holes in total) with the box cutter/knife to put the 2 spoons/sporks through
2. Put the spoons/sporks in place
3. Pour birdseed into bowl/measuring cup
4. Using funnel, pour birdseed into bottle
5. Tie string around the neck of the bottle and hang in tree
6. Enjoy watching the birds visit! 

 

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Snack-In-A-Box

We all know little ones are like squirrels when they eat; they gather their snacks and nibble here and there throughout the day.  We are lucky to have a little guy with a big appetite in the morning, but as the day progresses, his desire for food is much like a hunt-and-peck game.  (Fortunately, he is gaining weight perfectly and is a healthy boy!)  During one of my Pinterest journeys I came across the ice cube tray idea to store food in for little ones who like to eat frequently throughout the day.  I tried it and it didn't work for us.  When the tray was unattended, it always mysteriously ended up on the floor, spilled on the table, or our furry friend was sneaking treats.  While I was shopping at our local NEX I came across a "utility box" better known as a mini fishing tackle box to me.  (Only $2!)  I picked up 2 of them- one for the diaper bag and one for at home and so far, we have a tidy "snack-in-a-box" keeper for our little sailor.  I fill it with his favorite treats and let him visit it as needed throughout the day after breakfast.  No more mess for us and when he isn't eating a snack, he simply closes the lid keeping our 4-legged friend away from it. 

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DIY Photo Coasters

With the holidays approaching and families expanding, we wanted to give more personal gifts this year.  I have a new found love this season; MOD PODGE!  Who knew what wonders this stuff could do, ha!  I also discovered that you can upload and print your Instagram photos to Walgreens.  (They print 4 x 4.)  Ok, so my not-so-crafty self took the 4 x 4 pictures of our son since his birth at the start of this year and made photo coasters.  Super Simple!

1.  Apply a layer of Mod Podge to the coaster.
2.  Place photo on square tile. 
3.  Apply a layer of Mod Podge on top of the picture.
4.  Allow to dry. 
5.  Apply a layer of Mod Podge only to the 4 sides of the picture to seal the edges to the tile.  (I found out if you apply 2+ layers it turns your picture pinkish.)
6.  Allow to dry.
7.  Hot glue felt to the back of the coaster to prevent skidding and scratching the tabletop.
8.  Tie together with a ribbon. 

 

 

 

 

 

DIY:

Tiles:  Home Depot 13cents each

Brush:  Home Depot 80cents

Pack of felt:  Wal-Mart under $3

Ribbon:  Wal-Mart 47cents each

Pictures:  Walgreens (via Instagram app) 39cents each

Mod Podge:  Craft store $7.99 (Don't forget your coupon at most craft stores)

*Home Depot offers a military discount with ID.*

 

 

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