DIY Disney Autograph Memory Book

January 12, 2016April 4, 2020 / ProjectMom / 16 Comments

The beginning of winter in Chicago can be quite exciting – the anticipation of snow, holiday season cheer, ringing in a new year… then BOOM – January rolls in and the magical part of winter seems to come to a screeching halt. Next comes months of frigid cold, making it seem as though spring is an eternity away. For me, winter sanity is planning something to look forward to – like a nice warm vacation.

We decided to book a trip to Florida and try our hand at Disney World for a few days. Cory and I have both been to Disney World when we were little, but this will be our 1st trip as parents… Although all the information for planning a “WDW” vacation can be overwhelming, and some websites even require a secret decoder ring to figure out their acronyms, I find most advise has the same staple suggestions. One of these recommendations is to be prepared with an autograph book for character photographs and signatures.

The Disney Store sells autograph books anywhere from $8 to $20, and customizable books can be found on Etsy for up to $75 (you read that right – SEVENTY FIVE!) To sell me on $75 I’d hope for them to be encrusted with princess jewels or sprinkled with Tinkerbell’s fairy dust, but my guess is they are not… I understand some Disney enthusiasts might be willing to fork over that kind of cash for a memory book, but I have 3 toddlers who – to my best guess – will develop stage fright and not even get close enough to the oversized, slightly terrifying characters for me to snap a photograph, let alone ask for an autograph… Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about keepsakes. But if I can create a quality, personalized version myself and save money, I’m definitely going to choose that route.

To keep the cost of their autograph books at a minimum, I scoped out Hobby Lobby’s 40% off Art Pads & Sketchbooks sale and purchased 6″ x 6″ Master’s Touch Wire Bound Sketch Books for $2.99 each. Here is a similar Wire Bound 6″ x 6″ Sketch Book from Amazon.

I created my own image featuring the kids’ favorite characters/movies…

Click HERE for editable PDF (accurate print size for above sketch book) or HERE for jpg format.

I then personalized each cover using a free New Waltograph font I found on Fontspace.com.

If you have a Mac — After downloading the New Waltograph font, you can open the PDF file in Preview and follow the below steps to add your text:

Step 1: Select the Edit button from the toolbar at the top of the Preview window.
Step 2: Select the Text tool .
Step 3: Select the color [white], [Waltograph] font, appropriate size – I used [48 pt], and [center] alignment.
Step 4: Click on document and type name / text. Note: You may have to do this a few times to get accurate placement.

Printing the images on card stock looked fabulous, but for an extra crisp result – I had them professionally printed online using matte photo paper (Note: Maintaining image size to scale is extremely important). I then trimmed the images with a paper cutter (leaving a white border) and used spray adhesive to attach each design to the kids’ autograph book covers.

This photograph shows image printed on card stock.

We are now prepared for character autographs… Take us to the mouse!

WANT MORE COLOR OPTIONS?? SEE MY NEW POST!!
DIY Disney Autograph Memory Book – Multiple Color Options

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“Today’s special moments are tomorrow’s memories.” – Genie, The Return of Jafar

DIY Milk Bottle Holiday Candy Gift

December 16, 2015January 11, 2020 / ProjectMom / Leave a comment

I’ve always thought Mason jar gifts are super cute, so I wanted to create something similar for the boys’ teachers this year. I decided to steer clear of any gifts that give the gifted a task – such as “here are some ingredients, now go bake cookies!”… Let’s be real, if a teacher is on “break” that last thing I’d want to do is give her something that requires additional work . That said, I chose the traditional route of candy. Most everyone loves chocolate, right?

I included the following festive assortment:

Holiday M&Ms
Kit Kat Holiday Assortment
Andes Mints
Lindor Milk Chocolate Truffles
Soft Mint Candy

I found these adorable plastic milk bottles at Jo-Ann Fabric for 1/2 off (Score!). They have since sold out, however you can find similar ones HERE on Amazon. Two of the teachers have preschool aged children as well, so I thought they might be interested in re-using the milk bottles. I bought one for myself as well, and plan on using it for “Santa’s Milk” to be left out on Christmas Eve with the cookies.

I’m usually not a fan of puns, but I came up with this “sweet” saying for the tag, so decided to run with it…

FREE Printable

The boys helped me fill the milk bottles with candy, and signed the back of the tags with their name (Note: Leaving the straw in the bottle while stuffing the candy in, avoids you from having to stab through the candy pile later)… Hopefully their teachers enjoy the candy as much as we enjoyed the pieces we taste-tested (for quality purposes of course).

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“Chocolate comes from cocoa… which is a tree.

That makes it a plant.

Chocolate is salad.”

Stained Glass Sun Catcher Ornament

December 11, 2015September 26, 2016 / ProjectMom / 2 Comments

‘Tis the season for Christmas crafts!

Stained Glass Ornament 2

We decided to make these beautiful sun catcher ornaments, to look like stained glass. They make great window decorations and help set the mood for the season. A super-easy, no-mess craft, perfect for all ages!

1st a little prep-work to get the project ready…

Click HERE for free printable.

Print this ornament shape (provided above), ideally on card stock, and cut out the CENTER of the ornament frame with an X-Acto knife or scissors.

Prepare colored tissue paper by cutting them into squares, strips and/or shapes. For toddlers, squares are perfect. For older kids, shapes would give them the opportunity to experiment with more complex designs (Example: A star in the center with stripes in the background, etc.)… NOTE: I separated the tissue paper squares into coordinating cup colors for easy selection. I’m not pointing this out to show how overly organized I can be, I’m sharing this to display one of the MANY ways I’ve re-purposed the cups provided in our Easter egg dying kit. Great items to save and reuse!

Adhere a piece of contact paper to the FRONT of your pre-cut ornament print-out, covering the entire ornament frame. Lay the paper down, sticky side up, onto a table. (I ran out of contact paper and discovered that clear packaging tape works as a wonderful substitute!) Now it’s time for your little artist(s) to decorate their ornaments. Have them select their tissue paper pieces, and press them down onto the contact paper.

When your ornament decorating is complete, seal the back with another piece of clear contact paper. Trim around the outside of your ornament frame and tape or hang your masterpiece in a window to enjoy the beautiful stained glass colors!

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“People are like stained glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.” – Elisabeth Kubler Ross

Fall Leaf Lantern

November 15, 2015February 7, 2016 / ProjectMom / 3 Comments

While it can be difficult saying goodbye to long sunny days of summer, there are several things that help me embrace fall with open arms: sweater weather, boots, apple picking, Halloween, pumpkin spice, and of course the beautiful foliage. Thank you autumn, for one of nature’s best free kid toys – leaves! To bring some of these enchanting colors indoors, I decided to create fall leaf lanterns with the kids.

SUPPLIES:
– Cardboard Goldfish Carton (or 1/2 Gallon Milk Carton)
– Box Cutter and/or Scissors
– Flameless Candle
– Contact Paper
– Hole Puncher
– String
– White Duct Tape (Optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Step 1: Collect leaves.

Step 2: Using a box cutter, cut 4 rectangular sections out of each side of the carton.

Step 3: (Optional) Use white Duct Tape to cover print on the carton.

Step 4: Using scissors, cut contact paper into 8 rectangles that are just larger than the sections cut out of the cartons (my rectangles were 10×15 squares).

Step 5: Adhere contact paper rectangle, sticky side out, onto the inside of each side of the carton and reinforce sections by taping each inside edge and corner.

Step 7: Gently press leaves on each side of the carton’s contact paper sections.

Step 8: Use remaining 4 sections of contact paper to cover each side of the carton, holding leaves onto the lantern.

Step 9: Hole punch top of carton and tie string as a handle for the lantern. Create Duct Tape tab to hold lantern top closed.

Step 10: Insert flameless candle.

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Projects In Parenting

Fun ideas for kid's crafts, activities and DIY projects – including free printables

Crafts

DIY Disney Autograph Memory Book

DIY Milk Bottle Holiday Candy Gift

Stained Glass Sun Catcher Ornament

Fall Leaf Lantern