DIY Board Game for Father's Day (Defend the Castle)

My boys were so excited about Father's Day this year. They have been making cards, planning breakfast in bed, and working on a play to perform. Somehow...they made all that happen this morning! It was priceless. I also helped them make a Castle board game with knights and princesses to play with their dad. They named the game Defend the Castle. I thought I would include our easy tutorial on how to make your own board game. Remember you can use any theme you want!

 

 

Supplies:

 

Old board game

Printed pictures

Modge Podge

Dice

 

Directions:

 

I think the easiest way to build a new board game is from an old board game. We had a cheap one from Dollar General we didn't play anymore. You could easily pick up one at a garage sale for $1-$2.

My boys decided on a castle theme. I googled castle images and they had the best time picking out their own castle for the board. (I had no idea how much FUN they would have making this!) 

 

 

We cut our images to fit the four corners of our game. Then I modge podged them on to the existing game. Remember, you can cover the entire game board or just replace parts of it.

 

Here is my son planning out his castle. (Such a serious look)

 

We used the little stands from the existing game and then selected knights and princesses to use as our board game pieces. If you don't have stands, I saw this cute idea below to personalize pieces.

 

Unfortunately, the link I found does not give credit to the true genius behind this idea. Sorry!

 

We happened to have some mini weapons lying around, so we used them as part of our game. As the characters move around the game, they can land at a castle. Then the owner of the castle must defend their castle by rolling a regular dice. The one who rolls the highest number wins the battle and the weapon.

 

Here are some examples of the cards we made. We placed some stickers on our board of shields. If a player landed on a shield they got to draw a card and follow the instructions.

 

Some examples:

 

The handle of your sword breaks. Move back 1 space.

 

The King and Queen requested your presence. Move ahead 2 spaces.

 

Fight like a knight and move ahead one space.

 

The dragon blew his fiery breath at you. Move back 2 spaces.

 

Show how you would defend yourself in battle. Move ahead 2 spaces.

 

 

The kids had fun coming up with fun things to do on the cards. Their favorite cards to draw were the ones that allowed them to be interactive. What little boy does not like to pretend sword fight?!

 

I think I am going to end up laminating the pieces if they keep playing it so much so they will keep their integrity. I have a feeling we will be creating more board games for some summer fun. This project cost us little more then paper and ink and it was fun to make together.

 

Hope you all have a Great Father's Day!!!

 

 

DIY Wooden Child Picnic Table Instructions

My husband made this adorable child size picnic table last summer for our boys...and as usual...I never got around to posting it in the right season. With Summer here, we are enjoying quite a few picnics outside again. I truly think my boys eat better when we are outside. There is just no fuss about sitting down for lunch in the backyard.

 

We are still packing like crazy around our house so I am exhausted. My crafting skills have been confined to making cardboard boxes lately!

 

 

The only major problem with posting a project like this a year later...is that I didn't write down all the directions. Hopefully, I took enough pictures that the explanation will be somewhat self explanatory.

 

I am thinking we started with eight 2x4's.

 

We started by cutting:

*Five 42" 2"x4" for picnic table top

*Two 16" pieces of 2"x4" to mount under picnic table top

*Four 42" 2"x4" with angled edges for picnic table seats

* Four 26" 2"x4" for picnic table legs

* Two 42" boards to support seats

 

The supports for the picnic table top were placed 5 1/2" from the ends of the table.

 

This is how my husband assembled it pictured above. Their might be an easier way...but we are by no means carpenters! We did pull out the level though.

 

We loved ours so much that we ended up making some more child size picnic tables as presents. Depending on the price of wood in your area, this project should cost you $25-$35.

 

Last...but not least...we stained the table. This project only took a few hours to make, and it was well worth the effort. The boys love it and it is the perfect size!

 

Valentine Felt Tea Bags

With Valentine's Day around the corner, these sweet little felt heart tea bags would be perfect to make for your little girl. I am always trying to find an easy do it yourself gift for Valentine's day for my children that does not involve only candy and sweets. It cost only $2 to make these little pretend tea bags.

 

Supplies:

 

White, pink and red felt

Embroidery thread (red and pink)

Red and pink ribbon

Stuffing

 

Directions:

 

1. Cut your tea bags out of white felt. You will need a front and back.

 

2. Embroider your heart on the front of the tea bag. I used a chain stitch.

 

 

 

3. Cut your ribbon about 3 1/2"

 

4. Layer the back of the tea bag, a tuft of stuffing, the edge of the ribbon, and then top with your embroidered heart tea bag front.

 

5. Sew around the edge of the tea bag.

 

6. Cut two small triangles of felt and attach to the other end of the ribbon.

 

7. Play hours of pretend tea party with your little one for Valentine's Day!

 

 

What fun Valentine gifts/crafts do you have planned?

 

 

 

 

Fairy Land Little Girl Gift

Welcome to the magical and mystical fairy land! I made this little village a month ago for a birthday party gift for a sweet little girl. Apparently, fairies are the rage right now. I wouldn't know...I have two little boys. However, it ended up that my boys had just as much fun playing with it! This would be an awesome little DIY present for a little girl for Christmas.

 

 

I have to admit I had a LOT of fun making this little fairy village. I would have loved this as a little girl. I really enjoy toys that encourage a child's natural curiosity and imagination. This project is amazing for creative play.

 

Supplies:

 

Bird houses

Paint

Moss

Dirt

Artificial flowers and leaves

Twigs and branches

String or Yarn

Hot Glue

 

Directions:

 

I started transforming my bird houses to fairy houses first. I bought two of them at Michael's, and stumbled upon the other one at a garage sale. My husband helped enlarge the naturally small bird entry to fit a fairy instead.

 

 

 

Next, I began painting the fairy houses.

 

 

I hot glued leaves on to one of the homes to make it a bit more woodsy in appearance.

 

I set it up on a table to get my design layout. Small stumps cut from a dead tree branch served as a path. A stripped off portion of a tree became a bridge. Small logs were fashioned into outdoor benches.

 

In order to create the fairy land back drop, I drilled a small hole in some small pieces of wood. I was able to glue my fake trees (leaves) into them to stand upright.

 

I glued moss on the garage sale bird house find to help camouflage it into the fairy woods.

 

My 2 year old could hardly stand it as the fairy village was being transformed. He began to play with the miniature fairies as he walked them along the path to their homes.

 

The longer I built, the more ideas came to mind. I was able to carefully drill two holes in a small branch, tie yarn through the holes, and set up a swing for the lovely ladies.

 

Come and swing a spell!

 

Ta Da!  Welcome! Here is my new home. It even has a flower pot with flowers outside the front door.

 

My husband helped make a box with some landscape timbers and plywood. I used real dirt in the bottom with fake moss on top. It truly was magical as the burlap pennant sign reads. 

 

 

Oops. I almost forgot to mention the ladder. Another stick and yarn creation!

 

Here is fairy land as a bird's eye view. It looks so welcoming that even I would love to go stay for the weekend. Lol! Another sweet friend saw this creation in the works and has already nicely requested one for her daughter's birthday next week. I better get to work and fast!

 

DIY Child Size BBQ Grill

Hello! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We have been out of town for a few days and we are glad to be home. Our family has had such a busy month, and I would be crazy to think December would be any less then the same. In the last 6 weeks we have probably been to 9 or 10 birthday parties. I decided I needed to start making some of my gifts by the 4th or 5th one. Therefore, I whipped up two of these child size BBQ grills for two different sweet little boys.

 

Supplies:

 

Red plastic bowl

1 1/4" dowel rod

1" x 2" wood

1/4"-1/3" dowel rods

Wood glue

Drill

3 screws and washers

Silver spray paint

 

Let me start by saying I did these without my husband's assistance, which proves they are simple to make. However, if you have not used a saw before please get some safety lessons first!

 

Directions:

 

1. Cut two 1" x 2" pieces of wood to the appropriate length to slide into your bowl. I cut a 45 degree angle at both ends to help them fit snugly.

 

 

2. Cut small dowel rods as shown above. Make sure you allow room for them to hang off both sides of the bowl.

 

3. I marked my wood and put the design on a flat surface for the next step. Use wood glue to adhere your small dowel rods to the 1" x 2" pieces of wood at your marks.

 

 

4. Spray your grill top silver. (It remains removable.)

 

5. Cut 3 pieces of 1 1/4" dowel rod for your legs. I made my grill short for the 1-3 year old age range. I cut the top of the dowel rods at a 45 degree angle.

 

6. Next, I  drilled holes in the top of my dowel rods (the 45 degree angle section) and I drilled holes in the bottom of my red plastic bowl.

 

7. Drill your screws in place with a washer between the screw head and the red plastic bowl.

 

I made up a little grill basket to go with the grill and I had a little apron monogrammed to match.

 

Next, I tied it up in a cellophane wrap for a special birthday delivery!

 

I almost didn't make it out of the house with the child size grill because my 2 year old wanted to keep it!

 

 

Optional: You may want to put some supports between the legs if necessary. One of my plastic bowls held it securely without supports. However, the other style I bought did not. Just a tip.

 

I am wishing now I had taken a few more pictures along the way. Please let me know if the description does not make sense and I would be glad to help! Good luck! This would make a fun Christmas gift for a little boy or girl too. I think handmade unique gifts for kids are often the biggest hit!

 

DIY Felt Halloween Sugar Cookies

I saw some cute Halloween cookies on Etsy and was inspired to make similar ones of my own. You can always click the link and order an embroidery pattern. I wish my sewing machine was that fancy. I made a set of these for my boys to play with and for a sweet little girl whose birthday party we have later this month. I never realized felt food was so popular until I started looking around etsy. We may just have to make some more because it was a huge hit at our house today.

 

Supplies:

White Felt

Orange Felt

Black Felt

Beige Felt

Sewing supplies

 

Directions:

 

1. I started by drawing my patterns on paper. For the pumpkin, I cut out my orange shape first. Then I laid it on top of double layers of beige felt and cut out two background (sugar cookie) pieces at the same time.

 

2. Next, I used some black thread to sew on the design for eyes and a mouth. Embroidery thread would have worked even better, but I didn't have any laying around.

 

3. Then, I sewed my orange pumpkin on top of my top layer of the sugar cookie. I tried some with hand stitching and some with my machine. (Both ways worked well. Of course the machine was MUCH faster)

 

4. Fill with a small amount of stuffing.

 

5. Sew your two layers of "sugar cookies" together.

 

Apparently, my little one thinks cookies should be cooked on the stove top. Ha!

 

Our cookies provided tons of fun this morning. I hope they make a great birthday present as well!

 

DIY Taggie Sensory Toy for Baby

In case you have not been in the baby world for a few years, I would like to introduce you to Taggies. Some genious realized little one's love to grab the tags on stuffed animals or toys and play with them. It is generally a babies favorite part. Hence, the Taggies brand was likely born. It is very simple to make your own Taggies. I wanted to share this simple tutorial for the crinkle version of this baby sensory toy. What do I mean by crinkle? I enclosed a layer inside that crinkles when  a baby handles it and plays with the tags.

I found these cute designs on etsy here. I am sure this link will not be good forever though.

   

We will start today by making the super simple square version and then you can vary it from there.

Supplies:

Two 6" squares of material

Crinkle material (explanation to follow)

Various ribbons of different colors and sizes

Sewing machine

Directions:

1. Cut two 6" squares of fabric. (6" is my size of choice) I used a soft blue bumpy fabric and a dinosaur print.

2. Place printed fabric right side up. Pin ribbons of different colors and sizes on as shown below. Be creative in your color choices.

3. Place right sides of 6" fabric squares together. Cut 6" square of crinkle material to place on top as shown. I chose to use a square cut from the bag baby wipe refills come inside. It has the best crinkle sound to me. Choose anything you desire to use in the middle that crinkles.

4. Pin the three layers together and sew with 1/4" seam allowance, leaving opening to turn project inside out. Next, I place my fingers in the opening to carefully remove all the pins that were holding my ribbon pieces in place. Turn inside out.

5. Once your project is turned inside out, sew 1/4" seam around the squares as shown below.

6. Share it with a baby you love and watch their face light up as they chew and crinkle their new toy. This is the first sensory toy I used with my little one.

Here is another variation of the taggie toy idea that I liked. I thought it would be the perfect gift to enlist a older sibling to help make for a new baby on the way. I saw this clever idea at HavingFunAtHome.

She had her kids use fabric markers to draw on the new gift for baby. Precious!

Disclaimer: The inside crinkle material is a choking hazard if this toy were to ever come apart. I have never had any issues personally and I love that it is machine washable.