A Bookshelf Dollhouse for Miss G

{this post contains affiliate links}

Miss G has talked about one day having her own dollhouse for a long while now. I did do some poking around back when we were still in Vancouver and found several that I absolutely adored {like this doll chalet, this all season home, this high-rise, this eco house, and my very, VERY favourite, this ‘green’ dollhouse by plan toys}, but knowing that we were moving overseas, it just didn’t make sense buy something only to have to leave it behind.

The thing is, now that we’re here in Kuwait, I’ve been having a hard time committing to purchasing one here. First off, the ones I really love are not readily available in Kuwait, and secondly, decent wooden versions that are available are really pricey. The fact that we don’t know how long we’ll be here for doesn’t help either as I don’t want to purchase a gorgeous {expensive} dollhouse and have to leave it behind in a year or two.

Simple Origami Heart Garland

1 / 13 / 141 / 15 / 14

Gracen is all about holiday decorations. So needless to say, when we announced that it was nearly time to dismantle our tree and put our Christmas things away a while back, she was not really happy about it. After talking about why we put Christmas things away come January, she asked, ‘So what’s next then? Like what should we decorate for?’ Hahaha – my little planner. ☺

Bird Seed Cookies {for the birds, obviously}

1 / 6 / 141 / 7 / 14

It’s become somewhat of a yearly tradition for Miss G and I to make fun homemade bird feeders for our feathered friends each winter. As much as I’m {admittedly} not a huge bird lover, I certainly don’t want them to go hungry while their usual food sources are scarce or unavailable. Plus, our little lady adores them and that’s enough for me.

Gingerbread People Play Dough and Cookie Cutter Gifts

12 / 18 / 1312 / 24 / 13

I truly love giving gifts and it seems as though Gracen feels the same way. Whether it is homemade ribbon wands or jars of pink sparkly slime for her ballet buddies, lavender rosemary bath fizzies or homemade cleaners for her grandmas, or fun play kits for her friends’ birthdays (we’ve done a craft kit, play dough kit, and a sensory play kit), she is genuinely tickled pink when she gets the opportunity to create something and give it to someone special.

Upcycled Light Bulb Santa Ornament

12 / 16 / 1311 / 30 / 18

Gracen and I have been busy crafting up all sorts of fun homemade ornaments for our tree this week, and this cute little Santa is the latest addition to the fleet. I’ve made these with several classes of students during my time teaching, and while they’re a perfect project for older kids, Miss G and I had a great time working on one together.

Glitter Monogram Ornaments

12 / 14 / 1311 / 30 / 18

{this post contains affiliate links}

While Miss G and I were out oohing and ahhing at all of the pretty things in Pottery Barn Kids earlier this week, I spotted some beautiful glitter monogram ornaments that I knew we could easily make at home.

Cranberry Popcorn Garland for the Birds

12 / 4 / 131 / 6 / 14

When I spotted fresh cranberries at our local grocery store here in Kuwait, I grabbed a bag immediately, knowing just how we’d put them to good use. Cranberry popcorn garlands are just one of those things – a craft so classic that it’s a shame to not try at least once.

Button Ornament Christmas Tree

12 / 3 / 1310 / 8 / 14

{this post contains affiliate links}

After seeing Buddy & Buggy’s awesome 3 dimensional felt trees, I went in search of styrofoam cones {again with the styrofoam, I know…} Lo and behold, I found some at our beloved City Star in Egaila. I came home excited to cover them with felt, but when I spotted our star-shaped buttons in our crafting closet, a new project took shape.

Simple Tissue Paper Christmas Wreath

12 / 1 / 1312 / 9 / 13

Up until this morning, our poppy wreath we’d made for Remembrance Day was still hanging on our apartment door. It was time for a change. Truthfully, I had no plans to create a new wreath today, so we kept things really easy and made a simple tissue paper Christmas Wreath.

Snowman Building Creative Table

11 / 26 / 1312 / 6 / 13

Last year’s Christmas tree decorating creative table just may be Gracen’s most talked about activity of all time. She’s literally talked about it multiple times each month for a year straight now. I’m not sure what has made that particular activity so loved, but we’ll definitely be doing it again this year. In the meantime, I decided we’d try something similar, but not exactly the same… This time, a snowman building creative table!

Paper Roll Handprint Reindeer

11 / 19 / 1311 / 22 / 13

Miss G and I have been collecting toilet paper rolls since moving to Kuwait with a certain project in mind (yes, it seems I’ve gotten over my phobia of crafting with something that once was housed in the washroom – phew!) With 30+ rolls now in our collection, we sat down to finally begin our project, and somehow, we ended up doing something completely different. I’m not quite sure what happened… Our paints were out, we were raring to go, and then Miss G mentioned reindeers. The rest is history. Before long, we had this cute little paper roll handprint reindeer, and absolutely no start on our much anticipated project. I guess that’s what happens when you try your best to follow the interests of your child – wonderful unexpected projects! Now I’m not going to lie and say that this is an open-ended project that inspires a ton of creativity – it’s not. Buuut, Miss G is all about ‘making decorations’ for the holidays, and she absolutely loved the process, despite it being quite structured. I figure as long as we’re doing a lot of open-ended creativity-inducing activities, the odd cutesy craft here and there is just fine!

Homemade Play Dough Kit {A Simple and Fun Gift}

11 / 17 / 1311 / 11 / 14

Now I know it’s good for kids to learn that they don’t always get something when someone else does, but I still really enjoy bringing a small and simple ‘sibling gift’ when Miss G and I attend one of her friends’ birthday parties. Most of the time it’s something handmade and useful or consumable – meaning not just another little plastic toy to add to the heap – so I don’t feel bad about gifting it.

Craft Kit Gift

11 / 16 / 1311 / 11 / 14

So it’s very possible that I’ve passed my love of gift giving onto Miss G… Besides regularly packaging up her personal belongings in paper envelopes held shut with washi tape to hand out to people during our day-to-day, she’s always suggesting we buy things to surprise people with while we’re out shopping too. This simple gift, however, took it to a whole new level. I don’t think she’s ever been so excited to give something to someone in her whole life. We made it to take to a crafty little friend’s birthday party today and what was Grae most excited about? Not a morning full of friends, treats, and fun. Nope. She was most excited to give her gift.

To date, most of our gifts to Miss G’s friends have been personalized wooden block sets, wooden memory match games, pretty headbands, and DIY felt boards with a few of our favourite felt board games (can you tell that I’m a big fan of handmade?), but here at The Dunes, those things are a little too ‘young’ for the slightly order crew of kiddos. With the birthday girl being a big fan of arts and crafts, we knew exactly what we could put together for her… A fun craft kit filled with all sorts of interesting supplies! So that’s just what we did.

First Ballet Slippers Shadow Box

11 / 13 / 1311 / 16 / 13

Aw… My little lady is growing up. We arrived to Kuwait, enrolled in a parent and tot ballet program, and arrived to the first class only to discover that the ballet slippers I was sure would last her until next summer were already too small. Sad day. Those little slippers – her very first pair – have been a part of many lovely memories and a ridiculous amount of cuteness {like this and this and this} and I couldn’t bear to get rid of them.

Baking Soda Clay Handprint Keepsakes

11 / 12 / 1311 / 30 / 18

Okay, I fully admit it… Between the yearly handprint canvas we did just a couple of months ago and the paper strip handprint art we did just a couple of days ago, we may be a teensy bit handprint obsessed. I can’t help it. I don’t know if it’s the Kindergarten teacher in me or the mama in me, but having these little handprints frozen in time just makes my heart happy.

These keepsakes are a favourite in our house. Miss G and I have made variations of this project many times in the past, some of which have become decor, some heartfelt gifts, and others Christmas tree ornaments.

No matter what they become in the end, we always make them out of our very favourite homemade baking soda clay. This stuff is a dream to work with and is super easy and inexpensive to make {plus you most likely have erything you need to make it in your kitchen at this very moment!}

How you decorate them is up to you, but we went with GLITTER this time around, which both Miss G and I loved. So pretty, right?! {Not to mention that it’s super forgiving when it comes to little cracks and imperfections along the edges of the keepsake… Add glitter and consider them gone!}

For all of the details of this project, as well as our simple baking soda clay recipe, pop on over to CBC Parents and check out our Baking Soda Clay Handprint Keepsakes post.

FYI: With the recipe in the link, we made our handprint keepsake, plus 20 small cookie cutter ornaments, which is probably equivalent to 3 or 4 handprint ornaments {depending on the size you make them of course}.

Admittedly, baking soda clay can be a little finicky sometimes… For tips and tricks we’ve learned over the years, click here.

While you’re at it, check out some of our other favourite handprint projects here.

Are you following us on social media? Find us on:
Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

We’d love to have you!