Ramblings of a Crazy Woman

Here is one of my favorite crafts to get us ready for the summer. I was visiting Anne's blog, Teaching Two , she did an adorable Flip Flop project, and it made me think of one we did a few years ago. My kids had so much fun doing it then, I thought we would do it again. We made Flip Flops from empty cereal boxes (or thin cardboard). I know they are not really made for wearing, but they are cute and fun to make. We used: Cereal box, scissors, paint, brushes, beads, chenille stem and hot glue gun (or craft glue). I traced my kid's flip flops on the cereal box, and cut them out. Paint and decorate the flip flops. Allow to dry. Poke a hole where the toe grip on the flip flop would be. Place two chenille stems through the hole and fold over on the underside. Thread beads on to the chenille stems. Poke 2 holes in each flip flop between the middle and back of the flip flop to thread the chenille stem through. You may need to make some adjustments to make sure they fit. I would not ...

Here is a fun way to recycle old neck ties. Colton and Cheyanne loved making these. We used: neck ties, scissors, craft glue, wiggly eyes, and craft foam. Cut out the shapes you need from the foam. Glue on to the tie to make you snake.

My kids made these great angels today. They are made from: sea shells, ribbon, large pearl bead, plastic gold ring (used for wedding decorations)and glue. I think they turned out beautiful and a great craft for those sea shells we bring home from the beach.

My kids had fun with differenttextured materials creating their own bugs. We used : Felt, muffin cups, foam pieces, colored paper, scissors, wiggly eyes, chenille stems, markers and glue. Lace and paper dollies would be good to use especially for wings. For the younger kids, cut the materials into bugs shapes, like circle for the heads, leaf shape for the wings and pointed shapes for the body. Cheyanne and Caity had fun creating their own textured, colorful bugs. Colton, of course, did not want to make a bug, he wanted to make a textured bunny.

Here is another cute way to use those cheap Flip Flops. My kids love fly swatter, so they loved this craft. We used: A pair of children's flip flops ($.75), fly swatter ( 3 for $1)or a wooden dowel, hot glue or craft glue, scissors, craft knife or sharp pairing knife and artificial flowers. Cut a slit in the middle of the back of the flip flop. If using a fly swatter, cut off the top and place the handle in the slit or slide in wooden dowel. Glue to reinforce the handle. Decorate the flip flops with artificial flowers.

Here is a fun summer wreath that is easy to make. And this is a great time of year to make it because the flip flops are all on clearance. We used : 3 pairs of children's flip flops ($.75 a piece), artificial flowers, glue gun or craft glue, card board box and craft knife or scissors. Cut a large circle from the cardboard. Glue the flip flops on to the cardboard ring. Decorate with flowers.

Today we created candy and bug jars. I like when a basic idea can fit all the ages of my kids. The older kids made the bug jars and my youngest enjoyed making the candy jar. We used: a picture I drew of a jar, and paint for the candy jar and colored pencils for the bug jars. Cheyanne used finger prints to make the candy in the jar. The older 3 drew pictures of bugs in their jars.