M IS FOR MERMAID 🐚

DIY PROJECTS

You can create Christmas decor using any theme right?! I think so! As little girls, my sisters and I spent countless hours playing pretend that we were mermaids. We would take the pillow covers off of our pillows and put them over our legs, then narrate an underwater world to life. 🐚

Playing make believe with my sisters are my most cherished childhood memories and trust me … we have TONS of stories!

 While I was photographing the Hotwheels Christmas Wreath DIY I was thinking about what a fun wreath would be for a little girl (if she didn't care for cars) and I was SOOOO very excited when the word MERMAIDS!!!!! came into my mind. I got right to work and hand drew + cut out all of these little underwater ladies out of foam, got to gluing them together and started attaching them to this beautiful white wreath.

// Are there any seashell collectors out there? 🙋🏻 I spend hours collecting shells on the beach when I get a chance to go and my collection is finally being put into good use! I picked some of my favorites and painted them with watercolors.

// This part was fun! I wasn't sure how the paint would adhere to the shells but I was pleasantly surprised at the richness of color that I got and the texture in the shells made each of them a beautiful piece of art!

// I glued these shells on with a glue gun around the mermaids, attached some mini trees and DONE!

* If you love and want to re-create this wreath but don't want to hand draw all your mermaids, comment "DIY PLEASE" below and I will draw out a free downloadable template for you to print for them! I will include it (along with a few instructions to make them) into this post for you to access it! Happy Christmas memory making loves! * ❤️❄️🐠

HOT WHEELS CHRISTMAS WREATH DIY 🎄

DIY PROJECTS

If you didn't know this by now, then I think after this post you will for sure know that my boys LOVE hot wheels cars! When I thought of the idea for this wreath, I was really excited to see their reaction to the finished product. Just like I thought that they would: they jumped, laughed and yelled "COOOOL!!!!!". These reactions are always so rewarding, keep the ideas flowing, and my heart so full! I love making my little men happy! ❤️

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MESSY LEVEL: 1
This project isn't very messy, there is some gluing with the hot glue gun and string cutting. 

SUPPLIES:

• Wreath of your choice

• Hot wheels cars

• String

• Racing words printed on cardstock + cut out (optional). Download for racing words available HERE.

• Paper straws in color / pattern of choice.

1.) The first thing you're going to need is a wreath of your choice. 

2.) Then round up all the Hot Wheels cars that you want to use.

3.) It was helpful for us to stage them on the wreath where we were going to want them to go. (This step is optional)

4.) Then you start to cut your string into 5 inch pieces, cut as many pieces as there are cars. You'll be using these pieces to tie your racers all around your wreath! Wrapping the string around the cars twice, then tying held them on more securely.

5.) If you decide to use the racing words, you can print the download out on cardstock. Cut each letter out and glue each word to a paper straw. You can then cut the remnant of each straw off. This made it easier for me to attach the words to the wreath. Then you can glue your words with a hot glue gun all around your wreath.

// That's it! Your Hot Wheels race car wreath is done + ready to hang!

// Also, how cute are these little Hot Wheels cars that we attached reindeer antlers + a red nose to?! 😍

// Have SO much fun making these with your kiddos or on your own to surprise them! The squeals of excitement will leave you so happy that you did! Happy Holidays and have fun decking your halls + joining in all the Holiday festivities! ❤️❄️

MINI SCARECROW DIY 🍂

DIY PROJECTS

When I was thinking about a great Fall DIY to create ... one that would also serve as a great Thanksgiving accent or decor; the idea of a small, adorable hand-held scarecrow came to mind. A really stylish one! The more I thought about it, the more I knew it needed to be a reality! The boys were really excited about them too! So I set out to make our scarecrow(s) come to life! 

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MESSY LEVEL: 3
There is a good amount of gluing and lots of cutting of different materials.

SUPPLIES:
• Body •

• Cardboard (for head + torso)

• 5/16 x 36 wood dowel (can get these at any craft stores)

• Cardstock in color desired for details

• Small cup + pencil for tracing

• Canvas fabric

• A bag of Aspenwood excelsior you can purchase HERE or locally in any Joann store.

• Glue gun and/or E600 glue

• Scissors

• Ruler

• Sharpie and/or acrylic paint

• Clear prepping gesso / gloss to seal canvas fabric

• Outfit •

• Felt fabric in color desired (we wanted a "denim" look so we went with navy blue)

• Plaid fabric (or whichever pattern or look preferred for scarecrow shirt)

• Fun patterned fabric for scarf + leggings (optional)

• Wire for glasses (optional)

1.) First you're going to create a circle that will be the head of the scarecrow. The size will differ depending on how big you want your scarecrow to be. We traced around a kids cup which is 3 inches wide at the top. Then you'll make a rectangle for the body. We made ours to be 3.5 x 5 inches. After you're done tracing, cut your shapes.

2.) Next you're going to measure and cut your wood dowel, we made ours out to be 10 1/2 inches long. After cutting it, we glued it down to the head and body of the scarecrow. We used E600 glue which you can find HERE, but a glue gun will work as well!

3.) After that, you'll be tracing the head of your scarecrow onto your canvas fabric twice for the front and back of your scarecrow's head and then cutting them out. You'll be left with 2 circles in the same size. We used a canvas fabric and that worked really well! Once you cut your circles out you'll be gluing them to the front and back of the cardboard that makes the scarecrows head.

4.) Then it's time to dress your scarecrow! We measured our fabric to the length of our scarecrow's "torso" then folded it over a bit longer. This will hide any raw edges, now cut your fabric. After that you'll want to glue the fabric down.  Also make sure you glue down the raw edges that will be visible and cut any loose threads on the fabric and scarecrow's head as well.

5.) Next are the bottoms, we decided to do " skinny jean overalls". We cut a rectangle wide enough to be able to fold towards the center where the wood dowel is ... from both sides. Basically you'll want to measure so that both the right and left flaps can meet in the middle at the wood dowel. Then we cut the waist of the overalls by making the felt fabric overlap a little with the shirt. We glued the felt fabric down a on the back of the waist so that it wasn't moving around during the next step. 

6.) Cut a slit at a small angle as you can see below. Fold the left side of your jeans to meet that cut. Before gluing, take a piece of your Aspen wood excelsior and bunch it up. You will glue this to the inside of your pant leg as modeled below, these will be the scarecrow's feet. Once you've repeated these steps on the right side, cut the excess fabric in the middle, this will form a sharp triangle. Then voila!! You have scarecrow legs and feet wearing stylish skinny jeans :) . 

7.) Since we LOVE cuffed skinny jeans, I cut a small strip of felt to glue to the bottom of each pant leg to form a cuff. This step is completely optional and if cuffed jeans aren't your thing, go ahead and skip ahead to the next step!

// Aren't they SO cute?! 😍

8.) For the scarecrow's shirt sleeves, you're basically going to do the same thing that you did for the pant legs except for you're just going to cut 2 rectangle pieces, ours measured out to 4 1/2 x 2 inches. Then you'll just insert the wood excelsior for the hands and for the sleeve over in half +  glue it shut except for  you'll leave the top inner part unglued. That will be glued to the top of the rectangle that makes the scarecrow's torso. You open it, put glue in the gap with your glue gun and slide the top corner of the torso into the slit which ends up gluing the "arm" to both the front and back of the scarecrows' torso, creating a "shoulder".  Do this to the other arm as well.

9.) Now you're ready to create the top part of your scarecrows' overalls! If you like how your scarecrow looks wearing the skinny jeans and top then you're done with this part. You can scroll down to creating your scarecrow's face. If you want to create the overalls then continue on ... measure a rectangle that will cover the front of the shirt and cut the corners so they get more of an "overall" look. Do the same with another piece of felt for the back of the overalls as well. Then glue them down to the front and back of your scarecrows' shirt.

10.) We created overall straps by cutting thin pieces of felt that are 1/2 and inch wide and about 2 inches long. The straps measured out to reach both the front and back of the overall tops. Cut any excess fabric and glue those to your overalls as well.

11.) How fun is it to draw scarecrow faces?! This is the part where you get to make your scarecrow look however you want! We prepped our canvas with two layers of an acrylic polymer so that it wouldn't bleed when we drew or painted our faces on. You can use a clear gesso or any transparent paint prep liquid as well. Paint one coat on, let dry well and do the same to the second coat. Now you have a prepped surface that won't create ink or paint bleeds on your scarecrows' face. If you don't mind that effect, then you don't have to prep it. What worked really well for us was drawing the face first then filling it in with a sharpie. We also painted over the sharpie with black acrylic paint for a darker look!

12.) Now the funnest part: accessorizing your scarecrow! We added hair, a beanie, an overall pocket to the top of his overalls and a neck scarf! We also made our scarecrow a friend! She has bangs, a bob haircut, cool glasses, rosy cheeks, a neck scarf and wears a denim vest and skirt with cool patterned leggings! We love our little hipster scarecrows and hope that you love the ones you create too!

YOU'LL BE HER FIRST ROLE MODEL, HER FIRST FRIEND, HER FIRST LOVE.

LAUREN + FLORENCE | IG: @HOGANTREMPER

MAMA STYLE

Little Florence is going places! She has such a never ending curiosity and is not afraid to say what she wants or what she's thinking, even at the young age of 2 years old. She has the most darling matter-of fact tiny little voice that just makes your face and heart smile when you hear her talk.

Lauren is so patient, loving, educating and always has an answer and/or explanation ready for all of the things Florence wants to know more about. As you spend time with them you realize it's similar to watching a graceful little dance where Florence takes one step and Lauren is right there to land the second step with her. We can already tell that Florence is going to be SUCH a great big sis to baby on the way! 

Just like Lauren and her husband take the time day in and day out to teach Florence everything her beautiful heart desires to know, we have no doubt that she'll do the same for her baby sister! This stylish Mama is definitely kicking Motherhood's butt and looks SO great doing it! 

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LAUREN'S OUTFIT DETAILS
CHAMBRAY SHIRT: Shop similar HERE
TRENCH COAT: Shop similar HERE
PANTS: Shop similar HERE
SHOES: Target // Shop HERE

FLORENCE'S OUTFIT DETAILS
DRESS: Shop similar style HERE
SHOES: Cat and Jack for Target // Shop HERE

I DREAM OF PAINTING AND THEN I PAINT MY DREAM. 🌟

VERA | AGE: 5 

GIFTED WITH CREATIVITY

You can instantly tell that Vera is a little artist when you meet her. She has such a FUN personality and a fun + creative style to match. Her drive and love for all things creative is so inspiring. She also LOVES giving her friends gifts and has such a huge heart! Can I be your friend too Vera?! Haha! It was a pleasure spending some time with her while she was in her art zone ... aren't her beautiful drawings so very detailed and colorful? I can't wait to watch her move on to different mediums because I know she will conquer them all with a colorful love and grace like no other! I also had to mention: her mama is a VERY talented artist herself, who is also SUCH an inspiring and dear friend! Check out her work on Instagram: @cheerfulink ! ❤️

• Enjoy a mini Q&A between Vera's Mommy (Q) and Vera (A) •

Q: WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR IDEAS FOR YOUR DRAWINGS? 
A: I just think about it. I ask myself, "how cute can I make this art?"

Q: WHAT KID OF ART TECHNIQUE WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEARN NEXT?
A: I would really like to do some sculptures.

Q: IF YOU COULD CHOOSE ONLY 2 COLORS TO WORK WITH ON A PROJECT, WHAT WOULD THOSE COLORS BE?
A: Pink and Purple. Definitely.

“Vera wakes up in the morning ready to create. I literally trip over her and her art supplies as I try to get the coffee started! I think her creativity has definitely increased since she started school last year. But she has always been a huge fan of coloring and play-dough, even as a toddler.
She loves to think of an idea and then find bits and pieces all over the house to make it happen. Yesterday, she invented a robot out of boxes and water bottles that helped clean the house (this was probably mommy’s favorite!). She also loves to draw and write stories to go along with the characters she creates. I love to watch her when she’s in her creative zone, she lights up! ”

— Vera's Mommy

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VERA'S OUTFIT DETAILS
DENIM BLOUSE: Calvin Klein
SKIRT: Similar one HERE
LEGGINGS: Shop HERE

KID COSTUMES : BLUE ANGELS FIGHTER JET PILOTS ✈️

We definitely get into costume picking and creation in our house. I love to include our kiddos in the whole process: choosing what to be, shopping for materials and making whatever it is that we need to make together, that's what makes it so fun! It's something we've always done and I plan to continue making it happen as a family tradition!

This year, when I asked our boys: "What do you want to be for Halloween?" The answer from our oldest: "JET PILOOOOOTTTTT" was instant. It was followed by a mini (and oh so adorable) "PILOOOOTTTTT" from our littlest little. Then they both screamed: "BLUE ANGELS JETSSSS VROOOM VROOOOOM" and they ran around making jet noises with their arms spread in the air like jet wings.

So there you have it, that's how these costumes came to be! We started hunting for clothes and accessories, and lastly making the props come to life.

I really thought that making one costume look like a vintage air pilot and one look like a modern little hipster pilot would be fun! You can find the costume details below! We hope you have so much fun choosing and/or creating costumes with YOUR kiddos! All Kids are Gifted wishes you a super fun and safe Halloween loves! 🎃❤️

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COSTUME DETAILS:
SHIRTS: H&M // Shop similar HERE
PANTS: H&M // Shop HERE
BOOTS: Hunter Boots // Shop HERE
DENIM JACKET: Thrifted // Shop similar lighter wash HERE
BOMBER JACKET: Thrifted, older Baby Gap
HELMETS: Halloweencostumes.com // Shop HERE
BLUE ANGELS KITE (on the left) Onlinesports.com: Shop HERE
BLUE ANGELS HANDHELD PROP (on the right): Purchased kite + handmade support & handle @ All Kids workspace.

DONT THINK. JUST RIDE.

ANTHONY | AGE: 11

GIFTED WITH MOVES

Something that has always interested us (and our littles) here at All Kids is BMX and skateboarding. Kids are so fascinated by it and let's be honest: they ARE super cool action sports! Meet Anthony,  there isn't a sport that he isn't good at! He also has the stamina and athletic capabilities that many times surpasses that of grown men! He doesn't back down to from a challenge, and he pushes himself with such strength! We had lots of fun hanging out with him while he showed us all of his moves!

Not only is Anthony very athletic, we have to add that he is also incredibly smart! This really should be a double feature, gifted with moves and gifted with brains ... also, let's not forget his huge heart ... we are SO blessed to call this cool dude family! He has two little kiddos on this side of the state who admire him (and his equally as talented siblings) tremendously and go on and on about their "Cousents" (cousins). Something else we really look up to  and love is that his entire family spends a lot of time going on hikes, bike rides, camping, etc. to bond and be athletic and healthy together.  What else can bring a family closer?  We can't wait to see all that you do with your amazing talents Anthony! 

• Enjoy a mini Q&A between Anthony's Mom (Q) and Anthony (A) •

Q: WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO BE A BMX RIDER? 
A: I love bikes and being creative on jumps and bumps plus it is an awesome workout.

Q: I HEARD THAT YOU WANT TO COMPETE IN LOCAL COMPETITIONS, WOULD YOU EVER WANT TO BE A PROFESSIONAL BMX ATHLETE?
A: Not necessarily a professional athlete but I do enjoy accomplishing maneuvers and trick that I couldn’t do if I didn’t try it.

Q: WHAT CAREER DO YOU THINK WOULD BEST SHOWCASE HOW SMART YOU ARE AND HOW ATHLETICALLY TALENTED YOU ARE? 
A: Well I have thought that being a Trip Leader could showcase my athletic and mental abilities and I can experience the outdoors and guide travelers on an amazing excursion.

“Riding bikes has been a fun family tradition but for Anthony, since he was six years old ... the challenge of a hill, or a new trail, or riding in a group of men three or four times his age has never intimidated him, its just what he loves and enjoys. Since he’s always after new challenges and searching DIY videos he has taken up soccer and skate boarding for fun and he is enjoying every moment of his life. ”

— Anthony's Mom