Di Gata Defenders- Free Printable Stones

My son saw this "new" show on Netflix called Di-Gata Defenders and immediately was into it! I don't know too much about it but the characters throw stones that draw on mystic energy and unleash it in the form of pure power. They battle kind of like Pokemon, but with stones instead of poke balls!

My son is SO into this show that he is BEGGING me to make him a costume like this main character, Seth (pictured below). I will probably be making his shirt for my son because he could just pair it with any of his black pants and he could even wear it to school! To make the costume complete, add his spy belt and all he would need are some stones!

Since I wasn't about to start making the shirt yesterday, when he was asking, I decided to help him make stones so he could play/pretend with them!

I don't know if the symbols go on the stones a certain way because I never actually watched the show. So I looked up the symbols and randomly added them to a paper box template. Here is what we came up with!

Now if your child is into this show, they can have their own stones too 

AND for FREE!!!!!

DiGadaDice

Here's the finished product!

Personalized Step Stool

I have had this step stool for years now and don't like the way it looks in the bathroom but the kids need it to wash their hands....

What do you do!?!

I'm so obsessed with foot and handprints right now,

So I decided to put all three of my kids footprints on the step stool to personalize it!

It's so easy to do!

First spray paint it the desired color!

 Then have your kids put their footprints in a row!

I thought it was nice and simple to keep it black and white!

Don't forget to seal with Mod Podge!

You don't want those cute footprints to get scratched off or fade as the years go by!

 And there you have it!!!

A cute step stool that I can treasure for YEARS!

If you haven't checked it out...

HERE is the recent Handprint art I have done with my kids!

Easy No Sew Pacifier Clip

If you have a child that uses a Pacifier, then you know how pacifier clips come in handy!

It's easier not to lose the pacifier and it also won't fall on the nasty floor when you are out and about!

However, they cost at least 5 bucks and they normally only have ONE design that you have to live with!

I don't know about you but I like things to match or at least look cute with the outfit my child is wearing!
Now it can!
I don't know why I've never done this before but making your own clip is SO EASY and SO CHEAP!!! 

If you don't have a baby, make them for a present for someone who does! They will love you for it!

Here is what you need: 

• Some fun ribbon
• Velcro
• Fastener clips 
• Hot glue gun
• *Optional* Mod Podge

All you do is cut your ribbon about three inches longer than you want the actual pacifier clip to be! 

These next steps I did the "lazy" way... you could hand sew with needle and thread but I say it's so much easier to hot glue!

First, I folded over the edge of the ribbon and glued it down.

Then I glued the velcro on to the ribbon with about an inch between.

 

Now, on the other side of your ribbon, fold in the edge and glue it down!

Then get your fastener and fold the ribbon through the end and glue it together!

This is seriously SO EASY it only takes a minute and you are done!

This next step I was experimenting with just to make my clips a little more personal!

I printed out little Tiger faces just on regular printing paper.

I cut them out! I also hot glued a piece of black ribbon to my blue ribbon, just for fun.

Next, I got out my trusty Mod Podge and used it as glue to stick the tigers where I wanted them and then painted over top of them to seal them to the ribbon!

*Another idea*

You could also use letters in paper or fabric, to put your childs name on the clip. 

Here they are! 

Have fun creating your own unique clips!

I just wanted to add something I found on another blog!

Disney from Ruffles and Stuff has a cute tutorial on Pacifier Clips. Click HERE to see it!

A GREAT tip that I wished I had seen before making my pacifier clips is that she used Ironing Board cover fasteners for her clips! She got it from the dollar store....

That's EIGHT clips for a dollar instead of TWO for $1.99 at a craft store!

SCORE!!!

***TIP***After a while, the one end that holds the pacifier will come unglued because you have to open and close it so much! You can simple re-glue it or I would put a few hand stitches on that end so you will never have to deal with "fixing" it!

Before & After Pregnancy Photo/Mom Poem

I just wanted to share this fun Pregnancy picture we took!

Above I am 38 weeks pregnant and below two weeks postpartum!

Here is one more fun idea!
Take a picture of your child's feet in a V shape. Then, I simply added the letters in Illustrator!
It only took me a minute and its such a sweet photo!
You could also put the real letters next to your child's feet
or another idea is to have your other children in the picture holding the letters!

Along with this, I wanted to share a beautiful poem my mom shared with me shortly after having my baby....

I don't know the author! If you do...please leave it in my comments! I love to give credit where deserved!

*Read with caution it WILL make you cry!!!*

Before I was a Mom,

I never tripped over toys

or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry whether or not

my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,

I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind

and my thoughts

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,

I never held down a screaming child

so doctors could do tests.

Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night

watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,

I never held a sleeping baby just because

I didn't want to put her down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces

when I couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small

could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,

I didn't know the feeling of

having my heart outside my body...

I didn't know how special it could feel

to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond

between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small

could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night

every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth,

the joy,

the love,

the heartache,

the wonderment

or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,

before I was a Mom.

Simple Craft idea!

I wanted to share with you all one of my "go to" craft ideas when everyone is bored and Mama doesn't have a lot of time and energy! 

These are the kinds of crafts we have been doing lately because of having a newborn in the house!

Believe me when I say, ALL kids love a huge roll of white paper! 

I have over 15 years of experience with this simple craft!

I don't know what the difference is to children but getting out a huge roll of paper instead of a small sheet is so exciting! There are so many possibilities! 

*You can trace your child's body and then let them have fun coloring it in!

*You can make a special sign for a holiday that is coming up next!

*Sometimes I print out a few favorite characters off of the internet (free coloring pages) and they can cut them out and glue them to the huge poster paper and add them to the scene they are making!

*If it's hot outside you can tape the paper to the driveway and paint with Kool-aid and Ice!

*You can just throw the markers and crayons all over the floor and let them do whatever they want!

This is what we did the other day! I have been really trying to keep Brenden interested in writing over the summer so it's also turned out to be one of Kiki's favorite things! We decided to draw a HUGE caterpillar with the whole alphabet! It was really fun and of course we didn't finish coloring it so I have something to pull out when there is nothing to do! =)

Get Creative! Believe me, if you don't have the ideas for your simple white roll of paper... your child WILL!

Handprint Art Ideas

Having a new baby in the house has been challenging and at the same time so much fun!

As you all know they grow up so fast, one of my favorite things is how small their hands and feet are especially compared to older siblings!

I came up with a few cute ideas, with handprints, that you could do no matter the age of your kids, you don't have to have an infant!

First, I love the idea of handprints being leaves on a tree.
I added a sweet bible verse to the bottom.
I printed the tree and verse on a paper with a design but it might just be better on white so you can read the verse better! I made up a FREE pdf file so you can print your own and just add your kids handprints. My kids chose the colors painted on their hands!

Handprint Tree

I also added a picture of the kids and their names and ages!

After you finish this part, you can just frame yours.

 I wanted to do something different with mine.

I ended up using it as a cover of one of my sketchbooks! I think it turned out awesome!

All you need is Mod Podge and a sketchbook!

 You paint the Mod Podge like glue to the top of the sketchbook then place your tree on top. Then, as pictured below, paint another layer of Mod Podge over to coat & seal it to the book!

 Here it is, my new sketchbook, ready to be used!

The second handprint project I thought of was to make a heart out of my two older kids prints and then add my baby's handprint to the center! If you only have one older child you can just use their left and right print for the heart and your little one in the center!

 I used an ink pad to get my baby's print! It turns out a lot better than paint!

 Here is the finished product! My daughter painted the frame for me!

Check out my post about how I personalized a target step stool! Click HERE!

Lastly, here is an idea that I got off of Pinterest! It's SO CUTE! I just haven't gotten to it yet!

I want to get all 3 of my kids foot prints on one large paper and write at the bottom, "Mommy's Little Butterfly's". Here is the link to the butterfly footprint craft...CLICK HERE!

FREE 4th of July Coloring Page

I saw this neat Idea on a website that I follow! Joel from Made By Joel drew his own 4th of July color sheet for his kids and has it free to print out for anyone!

Here it is! You could follow the link above to print it out and check out his website!

It's pretty cool!

I thought it would be fun to make up my own!

Have fun coloring & Happy 4th Of July!!!

Fourth of July