Paw Patrol Family Halloween Costume

February 15, 2016September 1, 2020 / ProjectMom / 10 Comments

Since my Ghostbusters Costumes / DIY Proton Pack has been receiving the most amount of blog traffic, I thought I’d throwback to 2014 and share details on how I made our Paw Patrol Halloween costumes as well…

With Jacob’s obsession for the color red, it was no surprise he wanted to be Marshall the fire pup! I purchased a toy fireman hat and red t-shirt from Amazon. After cutting off the sleeves to the t-shirt, I sewed on arms and made pants by using white fleece fabric and attaching black felt spots with Stitch Witchery (a no-sew/iron-on fusible tape – LOVE this stuff!). I hot glued ears to the helmet, added a collar with yellow strapping, and finished it with the final touch of his pup badge (from the Action Pack Pup & Badge toy) and Paw Patrol hat sticker (printed on sticker paper).

Evan wanted to be “Rubble on the double!”, so I purchased a toy construction hat and yellow t-shirt. I cut off the t-shirt sleeves to sew on arms, and made pants by using fleece fabric. I created his ears with the same fabric, and gave them dimension by using Poly-fill and pipe cleaners. After attaching the ears with a glue gun, I added the Paw Patrol hat sticker (printed on sticker paper). Using black strapping, I added the collar and attached Rubble’s pup badge (from the Action Pack Pup & Badge toy) to the shirt.

It was only appropriate for Avery to be Skye (this was before Everest was introduced), so I purchased pink aviator goggles, sewed ears using fleece fabric stuffed with Poly-fill, then attached the ears by sewing them around the goggle straps (leaving flexibility for all sizes to wear – even adults!). I already had a pink aviator-style hat from GAP that worked perfectly (it is now sold out, but Amazon has a similar one), and I kept it simple with a pink long-sleeve onesie and black pants. And of course, can’t forget the pup badge!

As male leader of the pack, Cory dressed up as Ryder, wearing a red puffer vest that I found on Amazon (the exact one I used has since been discontinued but they offer other options as well, like this one). They also offer kid puffer vests, (option #2) as well as fleece vests for a lower cost option. I used white, yellow and blue duct tape to create the illusion of Ryder’s vest and added a badge (printed on sticker paper) for more authenticity.

Don’t lose it, re-use it! I decided to be Rocky, so got myself a green shirt and trucker cap. Creating simple ears using felt, I attached them to the cap with hot glue, then added the Paw Patrol hat sticker, and attached Rocky’s pup badge to my shirt.

It’s Paw Patrol, we’re on a roll!!…

Over a year later, the boys still cram their heads through these 2T neck holes, just so they can team up and pretend to save Adventure Bay!… Pretend play at it’s best.

Related: DIY Lion Guard Costumes

Constellation Sticker Craft

January 18, 2016February 1, 2019 / ProjectMom / 1 Comment

All things outer space has been a huge interest of the boys lately. They enjoy star gazing, identifying planets in the sky, and were thrilled to see the Super Blood Moon this past summer.

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Although it would be amazing if the moon were really that huge, it’s enlarged for effect 🙂

Jacob’s favorite thing to wear are his constellation pajama pants (as seen above) and he’s always asking us to point out the Big Dipper, especially after reading Touch the Brightest Star – one of his favorite interactive books, where you trace the Big and Little Dipper with your finger as part of the story. (Great book for any toddler’s bed time collection!)

I wanted a fun way to teach them the basic constellations, and ones that are easy to spot in the sky, so I came up with the following craft worksheets…

Click on individual worksheet above for FREE printable, or HERE for pdf with ALL Worksheets.

First I had the boys place star stickers on the grey dots, then using the picture as reference, draw lines to create each constellation.

After learning the constellations, the boys got creative with their worksheets – connecting the dots without stickers, outlining the constellation in all star stickers, putting other stars in the sky, tracing the letters to spell the constellations, etc. I enjoy watching them explore whatever materials I give them. It’s fun when they think outside the box and come up with new ways to do things… A great hands-on way to learn while using imagination and creativity!

“Don’t wait for the stars to align. Reach up, rearrange them the way you want them to be. Create your own constellation.” – Pharrell Williams

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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

preschool

Constellation Sticker Craft

DIY Milk Bottle Holiday Candy Gift

Stained Glass Sun Catcher Ornament

Fall Leaf Lantern