DIY I Spy Christmas Ornaments

I searched and searched for what Anna and I could make her little friends for Christmas and I finally found the perfect gift....thanks to Pinterest!

These I Spy ornaments are just too darn cute.  And they are so easy to make!  

Anna and I had a lot of fun filling up the ornaments with cute little Christmas goodies...and Anna really enjoyed just playing with all the little pieces.

I found all of the little goodies in the Christmas section of the craft store.  The store is kind of picked over right now, but they do have everything 60% off so you might just get lucky!!

We used clear plastic ornaments instead of glass since I knew they would be getting lots of handling from little hands.

I used a funnel to pour in filling beads into each ornament.   The filling beads are actually the same little beads they use in stuffed animals and other sewing projects.  They are with the batting and stuffing at the craft store.

I hot glued on the lid after we were finished to make sure all the little goodies stayed safely inside.

And then Anna called out all the little goodies inside the ornament and I typed up a little list to attach to each ornament!

We made a couple extra to keep her and some to give to our neighbors!!  It's a perfect gift for a preschooler!!

DIY Christmas Gift Ideas

I always love homemade gifts.  I love making them and I love receiving them!  Right now I'm busy working on a special little gift for a special little two year old. 

Here are some of my favorite homemade gifts.  Links to each gift is below the picture. You have plenty enough time to make something homemade for Christmas!!  Get crafty!!

Family Memory Game

Fairy Garden

Block puzzles

Rainbow Peg People

Pretend Make Up

Making Mini Books

Anna is really into storytelling right now and is starting to make up her own stories.  Most of her stories closely follow other stories that we have read or she has heard....and most of them are about Dora, the Snow Princess or Mariana the Mermaid (all from Dora books).

I want to continue to encourage her storytelling so I put together these little mini books following this simple tutorial from Playful Learning.  

After the books were assembled, I invited Anna over to make up some stories with me.  We talked about how stories have a beginning, middle and end and we talked about some of her favorite stories.  Of course, all the Dora stories were the top of her list so she told me a few stories and I wrote them down for her.

She wanted her little books to have a picture on the front so we looked online and I printed off several pictures that correlated with her stories.

Below is the story of Dora and Mariana the Mermaid.

Anna carries these books with her everywhere and reads them to anyone who will listen.  She's quite proud of her books and I love that she loves them.  We will definitely be making many more!!

DIY Finger Paints

I'm on a big "homemade" art supply kick right now, so I decided to give finger paints a try.  We usually just use whatever paint we have handy for finger paints rather than buying actual paint labeled "finger paint".  

These paints turned out a little thick the first time, but with a little more water, they were great and super colorful.  I think I used waaaay more of the gel food coloring than I needed, but oh well.  They were a hit!

Supplies needed:

Salt

Flour

Cornstarch

Food coloring

Small containers

Start by mixing together 3 TBSP sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 cornstarch and about 2 1/4 - 2 1/2 cups of water in a medium sized pot.   After it's well mixed, put over med-low heat and let it "cook" for a few minutes until it starts to thicken slightly.  If it seems way too thick, add a little more water, and stir.

Divide the mixture into your containers and then stir in a few drops of your food coloring.  (Side note....if you are using gel food coloring, you only need a teeny-tiny bit...)

Once they paints have cooled, it's time to paint your heart out.  (In the picture above, you can kinda tell how the first batch was a little thicker and clumpier than it should be).

This is our second batch...much smoother and much better!!

Enjoy!

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