"Tie-Dye" Painting Craft

My original inspiration for this craft was found on Pinterest (see original post here).  I knew Carson wasn't going to make straight lines like the pin I saw, but I liked the process.  Here's a look at what they did:

I didn't want to buy anything for this craft so I decided to use cotton balls instead of pom poms.  I'm not sure if it was Carson's artistic creativity or the cotton balls, but our egg came out looking tie-dyed which I LOVE!  Carson had so much fun making this, too!

What You Need:

-Paints (I let Carson choose 4 colors)

-Cotton balls & clothespins (you'll need one set for each paint color)

-Paper plate to use as a "palette"

-Egg template (I just found mine on Google images, you could also just sketch one out)

How to Make:

1. Clip a cotton ball onto each clothespin.

2. Squirt a little of each color paint onto your fancy paper plate artist's palette.

3. Depending on your child's age, you can give them all of the clips at once, or choose one at a time.  I let Carson explore a clothespin with no paint first because I knew he'd put it all over his body.  Once he was ready, I gave him one color to start "making dots" and eventually he used two at a time.  Like I said, use your own judgment!
4. Once your child is satisfied with their egg, set it aside and let it dry.
[Optional]: I cut out Carson's egg and glued it to a background with his name, date, and a Happy Easter message.  Do whatever you want with yours!

Here are some pictures of Carson creating his masterpiece:

The cotton balls started to fall apart and he didn't like the "fuzzies"! :)

Toddler Hand Print Easter Craft

For Easter I knew I wanted to do some painting crafts because Carson is SO into coloring and painting right now!  At the same time, he's a super wiggly 22 month old so I wanted to keep it fairly simple.

What You Need:
-white paint + paintbrush
-pink paint (or marker)
-black marker
-pastel paper

How to Make:
1. Before putting paint on your child's hand, make sure to have your paper near and ready.  Carson wanted to make a fist the whole time so this took a few tries!  Paint your child's palm and two fingers.  I chose to paint Carson's index finger and pinky.  Once the hand is painted, don't waste any time and get that print on the paper!
2. Once the hand print dries, you can add the nose, mouth, whiskers, and eyes.  I used pink paint for the nose and sharpie for everything else.

Easy peasy!  Here are a few that we gave as little cards:

Here's a look at the hand print craft we did for Easter last year:

Toddler Easter Basket Ideas

Last year I did a post with ideas for Baby's First Easter Basket.  This year, I decided to share some ideas for toddlers.  At 22 months, I feel like Carson is in an in-between stage with Easter baskets.  He's not quite ready for candy, but he also doesn't need Easter bibs/outfits anymore.  This year I didn't want to spend a lot since a.) we just moved, b.) we have a new baby coming very soon, and c.) Carson's birthday is in May!

Here is what I came up with for a toddler Easter basket on a budget!

I feel like Carson's Easter basket looks like it was sponsored by Crayola but I promise it wasn't....they just have good prices!

Here's a look at what's inside (click the links to find the products)

• Crayola Coloring Book (Target dollar spot)
• Crayola Twistables Crayons (I bought these with a 50% off coupon at JoAnn's)
• Crayola Bath Dropz (I got an 8-pack at the Target dollar spot)
• Jelly Belly Scented Bubbles (Target) - these are pop-up NO SPILL! :)
• Crayola Bathtub Finger Paint (Target Dollar Spot)
• Circo Swim Trunks (Target clearance)
• Spring Board Book (Target dollar spot)
• Crayola Sidewalk Chalk (Target - purchased with 15% cartwheel discount!)
• Pottery Barn Kids Bunny Ears (Target Dollar Spot has some that are almost identical!)

I think I might also add in some bunny-themed treats like bunny crackers or bunny grahams.  Here's a breakdown of what I spent and my total approximate cost:

Coloring Book: $1

Crayons: $2

Bath Drops: $1

Bubbles: $3

Bathtub Finger Paint (2): $2

Swim Trunks: $5
Book: $1

Sidewalk Chalk: $2.50
Bunny Ears: $0 (these were saved from last year!)
Total Cost: $17.50!

What are you putting in your child's Easter basket this year?  

A Spring Treat [Tasty Tuesday]

If you read my post from yesterday, you saw that one of my April goals is to get pregnant.  You'll also notice that the post was published on April 1st.  Are you picking up what I'm putting down?  April Fool's!  In hindsight, it was kind of a lame joke because we really do want our kids close in age!  We're not planning on getting pregnant just quite yet though!

I made this cute little treat for Easter, but I think it's a great treat for Spring...especially if you have some leftover peeps or candy eggs!  Before you read this post, I'll go ahead and be honest.  These weren't the most delicious treats I've made.  BUT they were pretty darn cute, right?!  The cereal I used wasn't very tasty to begin with so I wasn't surprised but I love how they turned out anyway!

Easy Bird's Nest Treats

What You Need

6 cups Fiber One bran cereal (I used the store brand)

1 bag mini marshmallows

3 Tbsp. butter or margerine

Candy eggs (I used Hershey's chocolate eggs but you could also use jelly beans or malted eggs!)

Optional: Peeps (I actually like how these look without the birds!)

How to Make Them

You're going to make the nests just like you make Rice Krispie Treats:

Melt your butter in a large pot on medium heat.  Once the butter is melted, add your marshmallows and heat until fully melted, stirring frequently.  

Remove from heat and add in your 6 cups of cereal, a few cups at a time, gently stirring.

Prepare an area for your nests, I just put some wax paper down on my counter.  

Prepare your hands to handle the treats.  The original recipe said to coat your hands with butter or shortening.  I just sprayed my hands with some non-stick cooking spray - so much easier!

Grab a handful of the cereal treat mixture and roll into a ball.  Use your thumb to push down in the center to create a nest shape.  You'll need to work quickly before the treats are completely cool because they harden up a bit.

Once your nests have completely cooled, "garnish" (ha!) with your eggs and birds!

I'm linking up with Katie & Stephanie this week:



Here is the original pin:

Source: isavea2z.com via Emily on Pinterest

Baby's First Easter Basket Ideas

Any other moms out there excited to put together your little one's Easter basket?  I make one for my husband every year, but this is the first year I get to make one for Carson and I'm so excited!  He's only 10 months so I didn't want to go overboard and I wanted to get things that we would use.  It took me a while to decide what to put in there so I decided to share some ideas for boys and girls!

Where to Find Everything:

Bunny Sippy cup via Target (these were recalled in 2012 so make sure you're getting the NEW cups!)

Medium Jellycat stuffed bunny (SO soft) in "Bashful Beige"

Peter Rabbit plush teether

Argyle pastel bowtie via Etsy

Carter's blue Easter bib

Plum Organic Super Puffs (or any of your baby's favorite snacks!)

Board books about Easter & bunnies (Carson LOVES the Touch & Feel series!)

The Children's Place bunny stretchie PJ's

Carter's 2-piece Easter set

Where to Find Everything:

Bunny Sippy cup via Target (these were recalled in 2012 so make sure you're getting the NEW cups!)

Medium Jellycat stuffed bunny in "Bashful Blossom"

Bright Starts pink bunny teether (Carson has a similar giraffe and loves it!)

pastel flower headbands via Etsy

Carter's pink Easter bib

Plum Organic Super Puffs (or something else like Yogurt Melts!)

Board books about Easter & bunnies (Pat the Bunny is a fav in our house!)

The Children's Place bunny stretchie PJ's

Carter's 2-piece Easter set

Carson's basket isn't complete yet (I'm still missing the most important part - the basket)!  I did get him a jellycat bunny (the same one listed in the boy basket ideas.  After I heard everyone raving about them I had to get one and I'm so glad I did, it's SUPER soft!  He's also getting the Bunny Baby Touch & Feel book.  We've checked out quite a few of those books from the library and some of the stuff they have to touch/feel is pretty questionable.  This bunny book has so many soft bunnies to pet, I know Carson will love it!  I didn't get him a teether or sippy because he doesn't need those right now.  I did get him a little Easter outfit from Target but it's a little different than the one I posted.  He's also going to get some puffs and yogurt melts in his basket.  Like I said earlier, I wanted to make sure to get stuff we'll actually use!

**I was not compensated in any way for promoting these products!


I'm linking up with Jamie today!


P.S. I love you all.  Thank you for this: