Oh how I love this DIY coconut oat milk bath… It’s so soothing and gentle and believe it or not, it doubles as a cleanser, so no soap required! We use it daily, but it’s our go-to solution for diaper rashes, dry itchy skin, and eczema flare ups too.
Category Archives: DIY
Will You Be My Valen-SLIME? Valentine’s Day Slime Favours
One thing both Miss G and I just LOVE doing is creating little favours for her classmates on Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day. Okay, and maybe on the last day of school too. ☺︎ And while we have given other things {these heart balloon valentines are proof}, our go-to is usually play dough or slime. A) because both are super fun, and B) because they’re something outside of the usual candy / chocolate.
Calm Down Kit for Kids
Oh my… Have we ever been dealing with some big emotions lately. Miss G’s always been a spirited kiddo who feels things deeply, but in the last few months it’s been at a whole new level. Especially after school. I’ve been doing my best to to not bombard her with questions immediately after picking her up, to not ask too much of her as soon as we walk in the door, and to make sure she’s got a big snack and glass of water once home, but even then – some days are just extremely emotional for her.
As frustrating and as hard as it can be sometimes, I’m trying to tackle it as we would any other difficult situation – by helping her find strategies to cope and get through it. Things that help her work through her emotions. And so when I came across this anti-anxiety kit created by Sharla of The Chaos and the Clutter, I wondered if something similar would help Miss G in situations when she was feeling anxious, upset, or angry. I asked and she was totally on board, so we began collecting the items for this little calm down kit together.
Create Your Own Peg Doll Family Kit
This summer, just before we left Vancouver for good, we were lucky enough to sneak in a birthday party for one of Miss G’s special little friends. We had been swamped with the move and we were living with next to nothing and sleeping on foams by the time we got around to putting together a gift for the birthday girl if I remember correctly, but we just couldn’t help but put together something special. {Miss G’s totally inherited my love of gift giving.}
The Ultimate Gift for Kids’ Book Lovers
If you know me well, you know just how much I love putting together creative gifts for kids. I don’t know what it is… I know I could just pop into a store, buy something fun that’s all ready to go, wrap it, and be done, but putting something special together for a particular kiddo is just so much more fun. I love it.
Inventing Kit for Kids
Last fall, Miss G went through a huge ‘inventing’ stage. She loved nothing more than putting random bits and bobs together to create these elaborate structures and objects… It was SO cool to watch her imagination come to life. Since she was constantly rifling through our craft drawers and recycling bins to find what she needed {and often wanted help locating specific things}, I asked her if she’d like to help put together a DIY Inventing Kit – a collection of items that she could have organized and in one spot whenever the urge to invent struck – and of course she did! The result was this awesome kit full of colourful recyclables, materials, and adhesives, plus a couple of inspirational books.
DIY Art Kit for Kids
Oh, the awesomeness that is the annual ‘cousins’ birthday’… A few years back, my sister-in-law and I came up with a plan that allowed us to celebrate all of our kiddos’ birthdays in person, despite living in different provinces {or on different sides of the world}. With all 5 of our kiddos having birthdays between July and November, we simply decided we’d do ONE celebration the one time we were guaranteed to be together each year – August long weekend in the Okanagan – and make it an official celebration of everyone! And that’s what we’ve done ever since. It’s super low-key… We sing a big ‘happy birthday’ song that includes everyone’s names, each cousin opens a special gift, and then we play or hang out or get on with whatever else we had planned. It’s something we look forward to each year!
Potted Salad Garden Gift
Last year, Miss G’s very first year of school, was a doozy. Beyond having just left her home, friends, and most of her possessions in the Middle East to start over here in Canada, Miss G was also becoming a big sister after 5 years of being an only child and starting school for the very first time. When we got settled in Vancouver, we decided that we’d give traditional public school a try, despite the fact that we’d long decided that we’d homeschool if we were to stay in Kuwait. I had gotten excited about the possibility of homeschooling and wasn’t 100% sure about the decision, but after meeting what quite possibly might have been the greatest principal / office administrator combo EVER, we were hopeful it would be a great year. Our cautious and sensitive girl was even excited about Kindergarten!
Play Dough Fairy Gardens
I try really hard not to be that person who is constantly complaining about the weather {because who are we kidding – we have it so good here in Vancouver}, but let me tell you… I am SO ready for spring. Not that cold, grey, rainy everyday version of spring either. I’m ready for full-on sunshiny spring with blossoming trees, the buzzing of bees, warm temperatures, and rainy days only here and there. I’ve been willing it to come our way for weeks if I’m being honest. And with all of that wishful thinking, I was reminded of the amazing play dough fairy gardens Miss G and I did last year.
Kid-Made Kindness Potion
We had such a lovely time spreading kindness and love with the help of our Kindness Elves throughout the month of December and Miss G was definitely sad to see them go after they left her one final note on Christmas night. They did say that they’d be back at some point, but we didn’t know when that would be…
Shake and Search I Spy Bottle
Let’s be honest here… Who really has the patience to sit for ages making perler bead creations?? I wish I did. Miss G and I made a few little things the other day and had fun, but truth be told, what we really wanted to do was run our fingers through them – hah! That, or use them for something completely different {and less fine motor skill intensive} than what they’re intended for – like making a simple shake and search I spy bottle.
Baking Soda Clay Baby Footprint Keepsake
It’s hard to believe, but we’re already amidst December, and in our house, December 1st means that all things Christmas are fair game. We’re doing a very low key Christmas this year {like really low key}, but low key doesn’t mean without tradition. Our fun little traditions are much too special anticipated to let go of, so this year we’ll simply pare down a little bit when needed. Like instead of 10 different types of homemade Christmas ornaments, maybe one or two will do…
Coffee Sugar Scrub Kids Can Make
After making a super fun, soap-included funfetti sugar scrub for Miss G last week, we decided that this mama needed a sugar scrub of her own too! My little helper and I hit the kitchen with some basic ingredients from our pantry and came up with an amazing smelling scrub that involves two of my very favourite things – COFFEE and being pampered!
Yearly Handprint Canvas {Year 5}
Though more than a month behind schedule, we finally got Miss G’s fifth yearly handprint canvas done and hung on her bedroom wall today.
Goodnight Moon I Spy Bottle
Preschool Book Club weeks are the best weeks. ☺ Miss G and I love exploring books and coming up with engaging, playful activities to go with them. And the best part? When we’re done with ours, we get to try the activities our friends at Buggy and Buddy, Sugar Aunts, Frogs Snails and Puppy Dog Tails, and Homegrown Friends came up with too! So much fun.