Cat in the Hat handprint craft

I have always had a love for March 2nd and Dr. Seuss’ birthday. I am an advocate for reading and the importance it has on our children’s desire to read and learn. Dr. Seuss’ birthday is always a great day in school’s and libraries to bring fun and reading to kid’s in new and bright ways. Of which, I cheer loudly! HOORAY! Bring on all of the Dr. Seuss’ crafts, treats, and fun! Like this Cat in the Hat handprint craft…

“If you never did you should. These things are fun, and fun is good.” ~Dr. Seuss

Fun IS good. And if you have never done a Cat in the Hat craft with your kids, you should. These things are fun. They get to press their hand into clay AND turn their handprint into the Cat in the Hat. Of course, involving paint and google eyes doesn’t hurt anything, either!

Homemade Salt Dough:
1 cup flour
1/3 cup salt
1/4 cup warm water, plus more if needed

Instructions

Combine the flour, water and salt into a small bowl. Mix until a soft dough forms. If you find the mixture is
dry, add 1 tablespoon warm water at a time until a dough forms.

Roll out a large circle of clay just larger than the child’s hands and about 1/2 an inch thick. Have them press their hand into the circle (press firmly-help them if necessary) and trace around their hand. Trim the circle to reflect their hand print. Microwave for 10 seconds. Then 10 more seconds. Repeat for 20 seconds at a time until the dough hardens. Allow to cool.

Tip:

For ease of cleaning, put wax paper under the clay you are working with.
You could also purchase clay from a craft store. Follow the instructions.

Get out the paint!! yahoo! At the bottom of the finger imprints have them draw a red line. Then, they should draw little red stripes where their fingers are. Good job!

Tip:

Throw an old-t-shirt or button-down (backwards) on kids to help protect their clothing from the paint.
If you like, you can have the kids paint the entire piece of clay white before they start. For older kids, this is recommended (remember to wait for it to dry before moving on!). For younger kids, they may not have the patience to achieve this step and the natural clay color is just fine.

The face is done with black paint, of course. If you like…pull out a Sharpie! Sometimes Sharpie’s are a bit easier to control. But be warned…they don’t wash off kids as easily as paint. You might have a Dalmation for a kid :).

Have them put a nose in the center of their “palm”. Then draw whiskers from the nose out. Three for each side. Now ask them to draw the shape of a large U under the nose, for the mouth.

Get out the google eyes!! Instruct the kids to put two google eyes above the nose and whiskers.

Tip:

It may be necessary to add a bit of glue to the back of the google eyes if they aren’t sticking properly.
For young children, it may be best to have them do the nose and eyes and allow you to do the remainder of the face. Or, sketch it out with a pencil and allow them to follow the lines.

After they have placed the google eyes take out the black paint one more time and instruct them to draw two upside down V’s on either side of the eyes. These are the ears.

The face is done!

Finish off the Cat in the Hat craft with a red bow.

Instruct the kids to large red dot directly under the U of the mouth, at the very bottom of the clay craft. This is the center of the bow. Now ask them to draw two triangles on either side. This makes up the bow.

Tip:

For some children, this triangle shape is unknown and you may want to sketch it for them. Simply use a pencil to give them an outline to follow with the paint.

“It is fun to have fun but you have to know how.” ~Dr. Seuss

But, now you know how to have fun with clay and paint!! This is a cute project to celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday March 2nd.

God’s Eye mirror craft

Today I have a craft project!! I know, ring the bells, send out the banners, it’s a big day! I realized I had been talking about food, food, food lately and forgetting to give you all a bit of a craft fix from time to time. Sorry about that! Today I have a fun kid’s craft that will be a great way to pass a January Saturday afternoon.

Do you remember the God’s Eye we all used to make at summer school each year? These are a glorified version of that old-school craft. Popsicle sticks and string, y’all.

These items are mostly purchased but feel free to recycle those popsicle sticks from your kids! And, if you are having kids do this project you can pull out the good ol’ Elmers glue if it makes you feel better than using a hot glue gun. Do what works best.

The mirrors are easily purchased at your craft store. You can often find small mirrors at a home improvement store, as well. There is nothing fancy about this….simply flip the mirror over and glue on the popsicle sticks.

Note: if using Elmer’s glue you will have to wait for the glue to dry before moving on to the next step.

this God's Eye craft is an update on the classic craft featuring popsicle sticks and string. We added a mirror and hung them in multiples for fun decor! — Now we go old school and wrap the string. And wrap. And wrap. Maybe drink a bit of coffee (or for kids, cocoa.) for a break. And do it again.

Wrap. And wrap.

When you get to the end of your wrapping, use a bit of hot glue (or Elmer’s, if you prefer) to tack the string end down to keep it from unraveling on you.

Ours has a bit of washi tape, buttons, and a holder to finish it out.

That, my dear friends, is an old-school craft. The way crafts were intended. With popsicle sticks, glue, and string. For real. Hang them in multiples on a wall for a fantastic bit of decor. I mean, people pay serious money for these kinds of personalized mirrors!

Mirror Craft   


Materials

Package of small mirrors (found at most dollar or big box stores)
Colored popsicle sticks
Yarn
Glue gun
Scissors
Glitter, buttons, sequins and any other embellishments of your choice
(refer to photo)

Instructions


Flip the mirror over and arrange the colored popsicle sticks into a "sun" or "flower" shape. Hot glue them into place.  (refer to photo)

Unravel a few feet of yarn, hot glue the end onto the back of the mirror between 2 popsicle sticks (refer to photo)

Start wrapping the yarn around each popsicle stick twice.  Wrap twice, and go around the next popsicle stick twice.  And so on.   (refer to photo)    

Wrap the yarn as far up the popsicle sticks as you wish,  end by securing the yarn on the back with hot glue.  (refer to photo)

Decorate as desired with glitter, buttons and more!  A braided strip of yarn glued to the back of two popsicle sticks makes a great hanger!

School Supply Storage for tiny homes

That little bag right there? It is magic for my tiny house. It holds the necessary supplies for my kids to do their homework. In one little bag that hangs on their closet doorknob.

It isn’t unusual for kids to find their way to where the action is to do their homework. Often right smack on the kitchen table or on the couch. Our kids are no different. What IS different about homework in our home is that we have utterly no space to store various supplies. There isn’t a cabinet available for art supplies and homework supplies like many homes tend to have, even without realizing they do.

So, I employed the use of a tote bag to store each of their essentials for homework. These are ordinary tote bags found at your craft store that I embellished with outgrown dress shirts and a Sharpie. Rather than sewing, I simply used Heat Bond to adhere the pocket and fabric to the tote bag. I am a no-sew kind of gal. Besides, if I can’t find storage for homework supplies where on earth would I put a sewing machine? Right!?!

Each of my children have their own tote bags that are fundamentally the same. They have a pocket on the outside, a strip of button holes attached to the outside for pencils and scissors, and a potholder electronic sleeve on the inside. Then I stock them with their favorite PaperMate mechanical pencils, colored markers, patterned erasers and various papers, scissors, notebooks, file folders, and electronic calculators from Staples.

They don’t need to pull these out each and every day because most of their homework doesn’t require anything but a computer or pencil. But, these do get pulled out once a week or so because of the need for markers, paper, graph paper, or scissors. And it has been a life-saver to have it all in one easy, accessible, and compact place!

To embellish a tote bag you truly don’t need to sew! Pick up a roll of heat bond adhesive or fabric glue (I love that stuff too!) and use it to adhere your fabric. Once you use these products you will wonder why you waited so long!

Here are the steps I took to achieve the tote bag I have…

Cut strips of the dress shirt fabric to wrap the handles in. I tied the strips at the bottom of the handle and wrapped it around tucking the next strip in as I went. I tied it again at the end.
I used a t-shirt to create a square for the pocket and then used Heat Bond to adhere the pocket to the tote bag.
For the strip of fabric with the button holes I pulled out my needle and thread and ran a couple stitches on each end of the strip. While you can use HeatBond for this, I find that the needle and thread is much stronger for the purpose of hanging pencils and pens.
The strips of fabric on the fabric on the front of the bag I adhered with Heat Bond and made sure they and the pocket aligned perfectly.
I created a striped pattern on the tote bag with a black Sharpie
The electronic sleeve inside is simply a pot holder. Isn’t that clever!

However, you decide to create your compact homework station be sure that it is stocked with the necessary supplies. Head to Staples to grab the best version of the school supplies you can! —The entire week of January 17th, 2016 save 40% off all regular priced PaperMate products. (while supplies last)—

Remember, here at NellieBellie we believe in having LESS so you can have the BEST. Minimalism is simply taking out what you don’t need to make room for living the best you can.

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Newell Rubbermaid , but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #stockup4schools http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

how to make your own cocktail umbrellas

Learn how to make a drink umbrella with this easy tutorial! Super easy and fun addition to your next party!

I have a dream. A dream of warmth, pretty cocktails, cabana boys, and lying about. In my dream, all of my cocktails –every single one- come with a cocktail umbrella. Probably a pink one. And delivered by a cabana boy whilst I lay in the warmth and chat with Nate. I don’t hear children in this dream. I don’t see dirty dishes or bills (nope, this dream is paid for) or grass that needs mowing.

Today I have an itty bitty part of my dream fulfilled…

Supplies for cocktail umbrella:

paper
scissors
wooden skewers
hot glue
tinsel garland (optional)

To Do:

Cut paper into circles about 3 inches in diameter (I used a mason jar as a guide)
Cut a slit into the circle up to the center of the circle.
Form the cocktail umbrella from the circle. Hot glue into place.
(I cut my skewers in half but use the size you prefer!) Hot glue the umbrellas onto the skewers.
For extra fun…cut up a bit of tinsel garland. Put a dab of hot glue on the top of your umbrella and dip it into the tinsel.

Now you too can have a dream worthy cocktail umbrella for your cocktail! Cheers!

Now you know how to make your own drink umbrella’s! Make a stash for New Year’s or parties and keep them in a drawer. Drinks are always better with an umbrella…wouldn’t you agree? Why not check out our great cocktail collection and include pretty umbrella’s for the glasses? Fun!

no-sew DIY fringe clutch

Plain clutches are quite easy to find at thrift stores and are very inexpensive probably because they are dull and sad clutches, eh. But when we finish them they are original and beautiful pieces that you will be complimented on again and again (believe me, I get complimented all the time!). Why purchase something new when you can give life to something old? Save the planet and maybe revamp something you already have in your closet! So, I want to clarify that we aren’t making the clutch itself but rather revamping it into something new and fresh.

The clutch I used for this is a basic white clutch that I found at the local vintage shop in a bin FULL of clutches and wallets. The suede is from a large craft store, as well as the E6000. Feel free to use leather if you like, but DO NOT skip using the strong adhesive. Any super strong adhesive similar to E6000 will do but is absolutely essential to making this bag something you can use daily. I am not about creating pretty things that can’t be used. This is meant to be pretty AND practical!

Gathering the supplies truly is the hardest part of this whole project. Putting the pieces together is a bit time-consuming but not hard, at all. Simply decide how long and how wide you want your fringe to be and cut your material accordingly. Because the material can often be a bit expensive, take your time figuring out what you want to do. Measure twice, cut once as my Grandma always said.

My grandma would be pleased with this project. She always had bags of leftover fabrics and bits and bobs for us to make things with when we visited her. We never came up with anything as sophisticated as this clutch but we still had fun glueing bits to paper. Our favorite…making doodled people with fabric clothes and hair.

Remember that you will need a wee bit of fabric at the very top of the fringe that is NOT cut and is used to glue your fringe on to your bag. Do NOT cut that part.

After you have measured your fabric and decided if you want your fringe to go all the way across your bag, or across the sides, or hey… you want little bits of fringe all over it is time to cut tiny little strips into the bottom of the fabric. This creates the fringe. And yes, it is a bit time-consuming. Grab Netflix and settle in for a bit. It’s not difficult, just takes a while.

Lately, I’ve been watching Game of Thrones and am admittedly a bit addicted. Remember back to the world without Netflix or DVR or on-demand movies? Sigh. I miss that time. Although, then I wouldn’t be able to watch Game of Thrones whenever I feel like. So, there’s that.

After you have created your strip of fringe you simply use that strong adhesive to carefully glue it in place. And repeat the process as many times as you wish, in as many colors as you wish, for as many bags as you wish.

If you have to piece two pieces of material together to make one pieces be sure to glue the seams well so they don’t catch and pull apart.

I haven’t given you step by step directions for creating my specific bag because I don’t want you to. I want you to make one that YOU have designed. I will, however, tell you that my bag uses Sharpie fabric pens to create that graphic design. And I created a tassel by wrapping a strip of fabric around a giant bundle of strips of fabric. But there is a great tutorial for making tassle’s on Tatertots and Jello that would be great! You can find that HERE.

Some ideas for creating your own design:

covering the entire front of the bag in fringe
running fringe along only the side and hanging suuuper long fringe from the corners
adding a strip of extra long fringe only at the bottom of the bag
using all one color fringe EXCEPT one single strip of a different color-cool!
making shapes into fringe
trying different fabrics (what about denim?)
bedazzling the fringe!
using long fringe and then adding beads to the end of it (simply knot them on)

Have you re-vamped something in your closet and made it new? I’d love to hear about it. Tell me about that skirt you dolled up, or the sweater you made sweet elbow patches for. Or… maybe you took this tutorial and freshened up a bag you had laying around being sad. Whatever it is, I’d love to hear how you gave something old new life!

cottonball Christmas wreath

This cottonball Christmas wreath is a project created over a year ago and lost in the drafts, never to be posted. I wanted to post it because of it’s simplicity, low cost, and brightness that many of you will appreciate. Cottonballs turned into a Christmas wreath deserves a bit of love, wouldn’t you agree! (just nod your head :))

Because our housing is much smaller than in years past, I’ve been trying to create decorations with a very small budget and the ability to dispose of them afterwards. We decorated our tree with candy this year, used pinecones as garland, and cardboard and glitter for ornaments. This white Christmas wreath is made with cotton balls and dollar ornaments. Truly. It doesn’t get much cheaper than that!

I also love how bright and colorful this wreath is. Our apartment is bright and light and airy, so traditional Christmas decorations can look out of place. Light, bright, white, and colorful Christmas decor is much more fitting for our cute little place!

White Christmas Wreath Materials

cotton balls (1 bag will do a 12 inch wreath)
mini ornaments (these are from the dollar spot at Target)
wreath form (make your own from cardboard!)
hot glue and gun.

To Make Your White Christmas Wreath:

1- Pull your cotton balls apart just a bit and apply a single layer of cotton balls on your form. Pack this layer in nice and tightly.

2- Now, add depth to your wreath by hot-gluing additional cotton balls on another layer. Fill in holes, cover sides, make that wreath look awesome!

3-Use hot glue to glue the mini ornaments onto the wreath. Be sure to watch where you place them so that they will be nice and sturdy. Tucking them in a bit is usually a good idea.

Wrap a large ribbon around your wreath and hang it on your wall. You did a great job!! Look at your beautiful wreath that didn’t cost you your entire week’s worth of lunch money! You can see ours is hanging on our Advent Wall along with our zip-tie garland.

How to make a ring dish at home.

This diy ring dish is so quick and easy to make, so adorable to have, and so incredible awesome to give!. All in all…you NEED this in your life in some fashion. And after you see how to make it you will be wondering why on earth you haven’t made one for your grandma or aunt before.

This DIY ring dish is so quick and easy to make, so adorable to have, and so incredibly awesome to give!. All in all…you NEED this in your life in some fashion. And after you see how to make it you will be wondering why on earth you haven’t made one for your grandma or aunt before. This Christmas will be the year of awesome gift giving!

The CUTEST little ring dish you ever did see…right!! And it’s so easy. Here are the materials you need…

Materials:

super glue
paint (spray paint keeps this easy!)
knickknack
dish

Let’s talk about these materials for a bit. There is no right or wrong to what you choose. You want to find a knickknack that fits nicely with the dish and stands up a bit. It can be a cow, a bell, a tree…or a man :). As long as it’s fairly skinny, and not too wide that it covers your dish. If you can find a deer with antlers…how cool would that be (rings could go on the antlers!)! And, if your figurines don’t match that doesn’t matter …because you will be painting it anyways!

Glueing is just that…glueing. Nothing fancy about this. I would recommend that you just watch that you don’t glob so much glue on that it seeps out from under the figurine and creates a yucky edge. Hold it firmly for a minute or so and then let dry.

After your dish is dry…take the paint to it!! More coats with less coverage are better than heavy coverage with fewer coats. Truly! Let dry in between coats!

The gold paint I used is awesome because it dries very quickly in between coats (remember, thinner coats!) allowing me to reapply quickly after!

Tip:

Use a large box to paint your dish. Set a fan nearby to keep the fumes from being crazy bad. Or, if it’s nice outside where you are…take it outside.

That’s truly it! It is so easy to make this sweet dish.

I think this is a wonderful gift idea! You can customize it however you like, exactly the way you know the recipient would like it! DIY ring dish= happy Christmas gift giving!