What We Love Right Now May 2, 2012: Dream Catcher Frame Craft

Dream catchers are one of the oldest traditions of Native Americans. The traditional dream catcher was intended to protect the sleeping person from negative dreams by only allowing positive, happy dreams through. The positive dreams would slip through the hole in the center of the dream catcher and glide down the feathers to the sleeping person nearby. The negative dreams would get caught up in the web and vanish once the first rays of sunlight hit the web in the morning.

Why not create a dream catcher with your child? It’s the perfect way to do something fun together and help your child get a good night’s rest full of peaceful, happy dreams. Hang it on your child’s bed post or nightstand.

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You can create this dream catcher using this kit from Oriental Trading. If they happen to be sold out simply use popsicle sticks, leather cord, beads, feathers, brown yarn, and light colored fabric to create your dream catcher. All the supplies needed can be found at your local craft store.

Fun Birthday Countdown Printables {It’s FREE!}

Birthdays can be a big deal, especially with kids. Why not countdown to your family member’s next birthday? These printable are FREE and super cute.

Here’s just one design…

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Just click here and choose a design that you can print at home or at a local store, like Walmart or Target. Then put the printable in a frame and use a dry erase marker to change the number from day to day!

Thanks to Life Sweet Life for creating such cute printables!

Baby Birds in a Nest Plastic Eggs & Paper Plate Craft

Still have plenty of plastic eggs left to recycle? Try this super cute birds in a nest craft and use up some of those Easter eggs!

You’ll Need:

2-3 Plastic Eggs

Construction Paper

Brown Paint or a Brown Party Plate

Craft Glue

Scissors

Black Permanent Marker

Make It:

1. Paint your paper plate brown. If you have a brown party plate, skip this step.

2. Begin crafting the baby birds. First, fold a small piece of orange construction paper and cut a triangle. This will make the beak.

3. Cut wings out of construction paper. Again, you can go with a triangle shape.

4. Glue beak on top of egg. Use a permanent marker to draw two small eyes on either side of the beak.

5. Glue on wings.

6. Put glue on the bottom of each egg and adhere to plate.

7. Cut brown strips of construction paper to make the nest straw. Glue the strips around the edge of the plate.

Thanks for sharing the great idea Busy Bee Kids Crafts!

Disney Jr.’s Doc McStuffins Games and More!

Has your child fallen in love with the new Disney Jr. series Doc McStuffins? My kids love this cute new show. What child doesn’t like to pretend play and help their favorite stuffed animals?! My kids enjoy fixing up their stuffed animals just like Doc McStuffins. If you haven’t seen tuned in yet, then be sure to check it out online. You can watch the episodes right from Disney Jr.’s site!

There are also new games and crafts too. Make your own Doc McStuffins door hanger, print off some fun coloring pages, and more! Your child will love Stuffy’s Scramble, a search and find game. Girls will especially enjoy Lambie’s Ballet, a fun game where Lambie comes to life and takes the stage. In addition to all this online fun, your child can also create their own Book of Boo Boo’s for their stuffed animals too–just like Doc!

image rights are that of DisneyJr.com. All thoughts expressed in this blog are opinions of SharpMoms.com.

What We Love Right Now April 4, 2012: Cute Easter Cupcakes

Baking for holidays doesn’t have to be an elaborate ordeal! We made these cute cupcakes for Easter and they required very little effort! Great addition to your Easter brunch or dinner dessert table or an Easter play date!

All you need to make these cupcakes are:

Boxed Cake Mix (any flavor)

White Icing (we like the premade in a jar!)

Red, Blue, and Green Food Coloring

Easter Candy of Your Choice (We chose coated chocolate eggs)

Fix it Fast:

1. Bake cake mix according to package.

2. In three separate bowls, mix icing with small amounts of food coloring. The less you use, the more pastel the coloring will be.

3. Put icing in a Ziploc bag, snip corner, and use decorating tip to ice cupcakes.

4. Place candies on top and enjoy!

Vistaprint Only Gets Better! New Nickelodeon Merchandise Added

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I’ve always been a HUGE fan of Vistaprint! They offer so many products and at a stellar price. Anytime I can’t find a design I like with other companies I can always find something I like with Vistaprint. I especially love their invitations and announcements. Recently added to their designs are Nickelodeon prints featuring Dora, Diego, Sponge Bob, and more!

Click here to begin creating your Vistaprint invitation!

Torn Paper Rainbow Craft

I don’t know what it is about my childhood elementary art classes, but torn paper projects stick out to me. They were kind of fun and really gave whatever you were trying to create a neat look. I’ve done a few torn paper crafts at home with my own kids and it’s one of their favorite projects! I think they like it because they can do it on their own with little help from me just by using the paper pieces and a glue stick. Here is one of our latest creations for spring, a rainbow. We may add some St. Patrick’s Day things to it too like a pot of gold or clovers! Have fun creating torn paper crafts with your kids!

Kid Party Ideas: Construction Dump Truck Themed Birthday Party

My toddler loves cars and trucks, so when I started planning his second birthday party I knew a vehicle themed party was a no-brainer! He especially loves his Chuck dump truck and all of Chuck’s Pals so I decided on a construction themed party. Here’s what we created with the help of great online party supplies like Birthday Express, Birthday in a Box and Kid’s Parties by Lori {highly recommend all three!}

It was all very simple. We had a small gathering, but still wanted to have some cute decor and fun with food.

Peppermints: Rocks

Pudding Cups with Gummie Worms: Dirt Cups

Donuts: Spare Tires

Cupcakes: Boulders (cupcake picks from Lori’s Parties)

Brownies: Cinder Blocks

Catered Sandwiches and other sides: Work Site Grub

The cake came from a local grocery store bakery. It was delish! I am not a baker, but wanted a mud look, so chocolate icing with chocolate sprinkles did the trick! All candles were purchased from Birthday in a Box.

The mantle was decorated with a DIY scrapbook paper pennant and some favorite Chuck trucks.

We like sweets so that was a major part of the snacks. You could be creative and go any direction with pebbles, rocks, and other things you might find on a construction site. All the dump trucks and construction cars were ones we already had, so be sure to utilize what you’ve got for decorations. Also, you can’t really see it in the picture, but the black plastic table cover had silver tape down the center giving it a “road” look. The kids loved it!

**All paper products were purchased from Birthday Express.

What We Love Right Now December 14, 2011: Easy to Make Holiday Treats

Christmastime is a great time to roll up your sleeves and bake. If you’ve baking up a storm maybe you’re looking for an easy treat to make or, if you’re not really into baking, you might be looking for a cookie recipe that requires just a couple of ingredients and just a little time. Our two holiday cookie ideas are perfect for either category you may fall in!

Christmas Cookie Sammies

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We found this cookie idea on another blog and thought it was a great, simple idea to share! All you need are the Pillsbury slice and bake cookies, some yummy icing (homemade or store bought), and some fun, festive sprinkles! These require little effort and they’ll be yummy and, not to mention, cute on a nice little platter. For the full recipe click here.

Christmas Tree Brownies

Another simple creation, these treats take just a few minutes to bake and decorate and it’s the perfect way to involve you little bakers as well. You’ll need one box of brownie mix, candy cane sticks, green gel icing, and peppermint M & M’s.

1. Bake the brownies according to the box.

2. After brownies have cooled, cut into triangle, tree shape with a steak knife.

3. Insert candy cane stick at bottom of brownies for the tree stem.

4. Apply icing and place M & M’s on brownie.

Hanukkah Popsicle Stick Craft

Hanukkah is just around the corner and this craft is super easy for your little ones to create. You just need popsicle sticks, yellow construction paper, craft glue, and paint.

1. Cut paper into small flames.

2. Paint sticks any color you like and assemble to make a very festive menorah!

What We Love Right Now November 16, 2011: No Bake Pilgrim Hat Cookies

Our no bake streak continues with these super cute, simple pilgrim hat cookies! They’re sure to be the big hit at your weekly play group or as the centerpiece and dessert at the Thanksgiving kid’s table!

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All you need to make these cute creations are fudge stripe cookies, mini Reese’s cups, and yellow icing. The picture shown uses orange Chiclets at the hat buckle, but we think substituting with orange M&M’s or Reese’s Pieces would be just as adorable!

Give Thanks: A Cute DIY Thanksgiving Board

Can you believe it’s November?! It seemed like as soon as Halloween was over the holiday ads started up. I love this time year and all the holidays that come along with it. Thanksgiving tends to kind of be forgotten holiday, but it’s really one of the most important and a great time to relax and enjoy a day of family, food, and blessings. Making turkeys, pilgrims, and other cute crafts with your children is always fun, but this Thanksgiving board is something a little different and just as fun and easy to create. All you need are left over scraps of scrapbook paper or wrapping paper, index cards, ribbon, and a large piece of poster board or cardboard. Use the scraps of paper, along with glue, to create pockets (one for each day of the month). Then fill each day with something you and your family are thankful for. You’ll all have a great time sharing what you’re thankful for each day!

Spooky Eyeballs: The Yummiest Halloween Treat

With Halloween just a few days away, we’ve got the perfect little treat for your ghosts and goblins. These donuts are SO simple to create and will make a great addition to your Halloween gathering! The directions are pretty easy (this is another no-bake creation!). Just grab a pack of powdered donuts, red icing, and green m&m’s and in a few minutes you’ll have a platter full of the spookiest eyeballs you’ve ever seen!

Do you have a great no-bake Halloween creation? Share it and link up with us in the comments below!

No-Bake Chocolate Acorns

Here at SharpMoms we’re all about making things as simple as possible. Whether you work or stay at home, have one child or four, everything you do should be as easy as it can be. These no-bake chocolate and peanut butter acorns are the perfect little fall treat and are so simple to make. Not to mention all the ingredients are the perfect size for the little helpers your kitchen!

What You’ll Need:

1 bag of semi sweet mini chocolate chips

1-2 bags of Hershey Kisses

1-2 bags of Nutter Butters (you’ll need the bite-sized)

Fix it Fast:

1. Melt 1/2 bag of mini chocolate chips in microwave {5 second intervals, stirring very well each time}
2. Dip the flat end of the Hershey Kiss into melted chocolate, or spread chocolate on flat side of Kiss with a butter knife, and top with a bite-size Nutter Butter.
3. Dip the flat end of the mini chocolate chip into the melted chocolate and stick it to the top of the Nutter Butter bite.

These acorns are the perfect treat for your next fall party at home, school, or play date. If you have a child with a peanut allergy, you can always substitute your Nutter Butters with bite-sized Ritz Bitz of Vanilla Wafers.

Fall in a Bottle!

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We’re all about decorating for the season, especially when it’s something that can be enjoyed and remain out in your home for a lengthy period of time (and surpass the Halloween craze). We absolutely love these cute fall bottles. They are super simple DIY project that can be done in minutes and at a low cost. All you need are four amber bottles from a local craft store (or maybe you have some at home– left over from a girls wine night?), vinyl stick on letters from your local craft store (we happen to heart Hobby Lobby), and some super fallesque wheat stalks or any fall floral you like (also from your local craft store). We think these cute fall bottles would look amazing on your mantle, entryway table, or dining buffet. Happy fall decorating!

What We Love Right Now October 19, 2011: Spooky Spider Pumpkins

Halloween is coming up soon and we’ve got all things scary on the brain. We love the idea of DIY, simple projects that you can do with your kids and these cute, spooky spiders are perfect. We love pumpkins because they make for great fall decor that can last from September to November, but these fun spiders will add a little extra fun to your displays around Halloween time.

What You’ll Need:

6 mini pumpkins (or as many as you like!)

black glitter glue

small paint brush

googly eyes

black pipe cleaner (for spider legs)

craft glue or glue gun

How to Make it:

1. Hold pumpkins by the stem and cover in black glitter glue. Allow pumpkins to dry.

2. Apply googly eyes and (shaped) pipe cleaner legs to pumpkin using craft glue or glue gun.

Chocolate Chip Dip

This yummy dip recipe is just what every kid ( and every kid at heart) is sure to love. Serve it up with graham cracker sticks, apple slices, or mini pretzels if you’re in the mood for a little something salty and sweet.

Chocolate Chip Dip Recipe

What You Need:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (6 ounces) miniature semisweet chocolate chips
Graham cracker sticks
Fix it Fast:

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugars and vanilla; beat until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Serve with graham cracker sticks.

Recipe and image from Taste of Home

Party Nachos

If you’re planning a get together anytime soon, these nachos are a must! They are so easy to make and absolutely delicious.

Party Nachos

What You’ll Need:

1 carton (18 ounces) refrigerated fully cooked barbecued shredded pork
1 package (12-1/2 ounces) nacho tortilla chips
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Mexican cheese blend
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup shredded lettuce
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup sliced ripe olives, optional

Fix it Fast:

1. Heat pork according to package directions. Place tortilla chips on a large microwave-safe serving plate. Layer with pork and cheese.
2. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 1-2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Top with sour cream, salsa, lettuce and onions. Sprinkle with olives, if desired. Makes about 12 servings.

What We Love Right Now June 22, 2011: Decorating with Seashells

If you’ve already been to the beach, plan on going, or have a collection of shells lying around from past vacations you might be wondering what in the world to do with those shells. Seashells make beautiful decorative accents, no matter how big or small. We love these ideas for decorating with seashells.

Fill a vase with your favorite shells. This works best with a lot of small shells. You can fill several vases of different sizes and then place them on a buffet table, mantle, or in your bathroom. This could also make a wonderful table centerpiece. Just remember, shells of different sizes and colors work best. You can also add some sand to the bottom of the vase to give the shells a little base to sit on.

For your bathroom…During the summer months seashells add a wonderful decorative touch to bathrooms. You can use large shells you may have as a soap dish or even a catch-all for jewelry or loose change you might remove while at the sink. If you have a flat framed mirror and a lot of small shells, arrange the shells around the mirror and glue into place with craft glue or a hot glue gun.

Create a little door decor. Wreaths are a wonderful addition to any door in your home. If you want to add a summery feel to your entryway create a seashell wreath, perfect for greeting guests during the summer months. All you need are your shells, a blank wreath from your local craft store, and any other nautical items you may want to add, such as netting, starfish, etc. Arrange the pieces on wreath. Once they are placed how you like, attach with hot glue or use wire, depending on how your pieces need to attach.

Outdoor lighting. If you want to jazz up your screened porch or back deck, you can create a string of seashell lights from a string of small white lights. To do this, you’ll need flat, thin, clam-like shells. Just lay the string of white lights on a table and apply epoxy to the straight edge of a shell. Then, attach the shells to the base of each light on the string. The light from each tiny bulb will shine through the shell setting off a nice glow, perfect for creating a nice summer mood at your next BBQ!

Our Best Mocktail Recipes

We love mocktails! They are fun looking – just like cocktails. And, one major plus, they don’t give you a sick feeling in the morning – unlike cocktails! Mocktails aren’t just for adults either, they can be a lot of fun for children too. Especially for tweens and teens. What a great teen party addition! Here are a couple of our favorite mocktail recipes!

Virgin Pina Colada

What You’ll Need:

1 cup ice
1 1/4 cups pineapple juice
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons white sugar

Fix it Fast:

1. In an electric blender, blend ice, pineapple juice, milk, cream, and sugar and blend until smooth.

Tornado Twist

What You’ll Need:

12 fluid ounces cranberry-raspberry juice
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage

Fix it Fast:
1. In a pitcher, mix cranberry-raspberry juice with lemon-lime soda. Pour over ice and serve.

Tickle Me Pink

What You’ll Need:

1/4 cup sparkling cider
1/4 cup cranberry juice
1/4 cup pineapple juice
whipped cream

Fix it Fast:

1. Mix sparkling cider with pineapple and cranberry juice. Top with whipped cream.

Passion Punch

What You’ll Need:

3/4 cup club soda or ginger ale
1 Tablespoon cranberry juice
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup passion fruit syrup

Fix it Fast:

1. Add fruit juices and passion fruit syrup to glass and stir until mixed. Top with club soda. Stir briskly.

2. Add a cherry on top for fun!

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