DIY Easy Art/Painting Kit

Here's another easy gift tutorial for the younger artists in your life. Mine was focused on painting, but you could always switch out supplies and do a kit based on clay sculpting or pencil drawing, etc. Below I list the items I used in my kit.

You will need:

-A paintbrush set

-Palettes

-Canvases or a painting pad

-An apron

-Paints

-Other art supplies (since I used an art kit from Michaels, I also added crayons, pencils, a sharpener, and a mini paper pad)

Place your supplies inside the apron, which you will want to fold like a bag and tie with the apron strings. Add a label under the strings or with pins. Mine simply read "Lillian's Art Kit" but you could add a list of what is included, as well. 

I hope to post more gift ideas and projects soon! Thanks for stopping by!

-Lauryn

DIY Grinch Play-Doh Kit

Here is a super easy, fun Grinch-themed Play-Doh kit. This is a pretty simple gift that is especially perfect for toddlers. What child doesn't love Play-Doh? Plus it's themed around a classic movie/book favorite! 

To make this kit, you will need:

-A regular-Mason-sized jar

-Pom-poms 

-Pipe Cleaners

-Googly Eyes

-Two Play-Doh Colors (I went with red and green)

-Clear Favor Bags

-Polymer Clay

-Mini Rubber Bands 

Step 1. 

Trim the pipe cleaners so that they can fit inside of the jar. Tie them in a bundle with a rubber band.

Step 2.

Remove the Play-Doh from the containers and place them in two separate party favor bags. Mine were mini, but trim the excess plastic if you buy regular-size bags. Seal them with mini rubber bands.

Step 3. 

Put the pom-poms and googly eyes in their own bags, tied with rubber bands too, unless they come in a small package already. 

Step 4. 

Take your Polymer clay and sculpt Cindy Lou, Max, and the Grinch. I'm afraid I didn't take photos of the process so I can't go into detail, I just looked at pictures and winged it. By the way, i did mine sitting because he wouldn't stand, but make sure everything is attached well, because my legs and Cindy's antennas broke off afterward. Now he's a Veggietale character, "The Spinach That Stole Christmas". That works, right? Cook them according to the package. After they cool, if you didn't use the right colors, paint them with acrylics or nail polish. Draw the eyes and facial details with a Sharpie or gel ink pen. Coat them with a clear nail polish or other gloss finish. 

Step 5. 

Put everything in the jar, and you're finished!

I hope that you enjoyed! I have more gift tutorials on the way!

-Lauryn

My "Christmas Movie Night in a Box" Gift

This was a gift idea that has been all over Pinterest for a few years. I decided to make it for my grandfather, who is very tricky to come up with gifts for and likes movies. To make my version, you will need:

-A box of popcorn

-Candy (mine was Reeses)

-Hot cocoa mix or packets

-Trail mix or an alternative treat

-Chocolate (I used a mini sampler box, mostly because of the adorable box)

-Scrapbook paper/labels

-A pen/marker

-A card and money (optional)

-Mason jar and string/twine/ribbon (optional)

I used a small, Christmas cardstock pad I bought on sale at Michaels. I cut a big sheet out and glued it onto the popcorn box to prettify it. I wrote "Movie Theater Extra Butter Popcorn" since that was what the box read. I glued a matching cardstock trim onto the bottom of the Reeses box. I poured the trail mix into a mason jar, and tied a matching cardstock tag on with twine. I added a circle of the cardstock on the lid and wrote the trail mix title on it. Then I wrote a card and included $2 for a Redbox movie. It's a great last-minute option if you're pressed for time, too. The total price for mine was under $9. It wasn't too cheap but it wasn't too terribly expensive, either. 

Hopefully this will help give you ideas for adult movie-lovers next Christmas!

-Lauryn

DIY Dinosuar Play Doh Kit

Today I'd like to share an excellent gift idea for any dinosaur or play-doh-loving children you may know. This was not my own idea, but was inspired by an image I saw online. I didn't follow the tutorial, of course, so mine was made differently, but here is the link to the original DIY dinosaur Play-Doh kit: http://mamapapabubba.com/2015/10/15/dinosaur-play-dough-kit/.
Below is my version, which is only three simple steps:

You will need:

-Plastic Containers (Mine were a set of three from Dollar Tree)
-Play-Doh (My Play-Doh was from Walmart)
-Paper to create labels with for the tops of your containers
-Clay, preferrably Polymer (Mine was from a scrap bag that somebody gave me, and I painted it after it was cooked with acrylic paint and nail polish)
-Dinosaurs (Mine were from Dollar Tree)
-Pebbles or rocks (both Dollar Tree and Walmart carry them in various sizes and shades)

Step 1. 

First create your container's label. Cut a circle from the paper (card stock definitley works best), and handwrite "Mini Dinosaur Play-Doh Kit" with a list of what is included. You can add some doodles for good measure. If you prefer, you could use a computer program like 'Paint' or Microsoft Word to print the words instead.

Step 2.

Take your clay and mold some trees. They can be as simple as a cylinder with a cloud-like blob on top. Bake them at the specified temperature and let them cool for about half an hour, or at least fifteen minutes. You can skip steps two and three by buying trees, of course, but I wasn't able to find any and I was short on time.

Step 3. 

If you made your trees with the right clay colors, wonderful! If not, you'll need to paint them, so grab your acrylic paint or nail polish. Nail polish works way better, but it may have a bad smell. Acrylic paint will need a few coats.

Step 4. 

Now arrange your trees, Play-Doh (which you'll need to remove from the containers), pebbles, and dinosaurs in the container. Your kit is complete! Pretty simple, right?





I hope you enjoyed! I'll share another mini Play-Doh kit and other gift ideas in future posts, so if you liked this tutorial, be sure to visit soon!

-Lauryn

DIY Gardening Kit

I made this gardening kit for my cousin last Christmas for less than $5, and it is super easy to put together. Below are the steps so that you can make one for a young girl or plant-lover in your life:

Step 1.

Time to gather your supplies. I bought the trowel and shovel at Walmart for $0.50, but you can find them anywhere pretty much. I had the seed packets on hand, but you can find them for $0.10 sometimes. A lot of times they're $0.25. I bought the gloves at Walmart for $0.50-$1.00. I already had potting soil, but it is usually not too bad. I got a pretty big bag for between $2-$5. The glass dish I used for the terranium I also had on hand, but you can find things like that at most thrift stores. I bought mine for $0.50 or so. I made my figures with Polymer clay scraps. If you would rather buy them, they are often sold at thrift stores. I had twine already, but if you want to package everything with it, it is sold at both Walmart and Dollar Tree. 

Step 2. 

Put your soil in a bag. I used a paper bag, but plastic would be fine, too. Tie it with twine and label it. I placed mine inside of the glass terranium dish.

Step 3. (Optional)

Tie your seed packets and gloves with twine.

Step 4. 

Place your figurines/terranium embellishments in a bag (mine was a party favor bag), and tie it with twine. If you want, you can add a tag or label. 

Step 5. 

Place eveything in a cardboard box. Shoe boxes work great. Tape a paper that reads "DIY Gardening Kit" and lists what's included to the inside of the lid. I handwrote my label on regular paper and used Dollar Tree washi tape. 

You're done! I hope you enjoyed creating this simple, fun gift. I have more gift tutorials to share soon!

-Lauryn

DIY Frozen Troll Kits Party Favors

 If you follow and keep up with my blog, then you've seen my now four-year-old cousin's Frozen birthday party. You may recall that one of the favors were troll kits. Well, here is the tutorial I promised at last! They are super easy to make, and kids will love them! Plus, they make good boy favors at a Frozen party.

You will need:
-Scissors
-Cardboard
-An ink pen
-Rocks of various sizes
-Small plastic sandwich bags
-Felt
-String or rubber bands
-Googly eyes (optional)
-String again, this time preferably bakers' twine, hemp, or even ribbon
-Sharpies (you do not need to include these in the kits, but they will be necessary to draw mouths and noses)

Step 1. Cut out circles of cardboard and use the pen to create labels. As you can see below, I just wrote 'Create-a-Troll Kit', but you could include more specific directions I suppose.

Step 2. Cut the sheet or sheets of felt into smaller portions, fold them, and tie each bundle with string or wrap them with rubber bands. Those are for clothes. If you want to be more elaborate, you could add in fake moss or something, which I was planning on doing with mine until I realized I was out of stock. Place a bundle of felt (and moss if you use it), two googly eyes, rocks and pebbles (I forgot to gather smaller pebbles for arms and legs), and anything else you would like to include inside of each plastic bag.

3. Use hemp, twine or ribbon to tie a bow around the tops of the bags, and cut off any excess plastic from the tips. Use a hole puncher, scissors or an exacto knife to put a hole in the top of each cardboard label. String the labels on and tie the string or ribbon again to attach them. You're done!

I hope you enjoyed this! I have another Frozen party favor tutorial coming next!
-Lauryn

DIY Unicorn Play-Doh Kit in a Jar

Here's a handmade gift I came up with for my cousin, who's four. This tutorial is fairly simple, and this gift is both cheap and fun.

To make this kit, you will need:
-A Jar
-A Unicorn Figurine
-Play-Doh ($0.50 at Walmart)
-Little Jewels, gems, glitter, or anything you have on hand that seems fitting (I also used finger-nail jewels and bows)
-Gold Paint (either acrylic or spray paint)
-Hot Glue Gun
-Hot Glue Gun Sticks

Step 1. First of all, hot-glue the unicorn to the lid of the mason jar. I made my unicorn from polymer clay scraps.
Step 2. Paint the lid (unicorn and all) gold using acrylic paint, or bring it outside and spray paint it using plastic bags or something to protect the ground.
Step 3. Remove the Play-Doh from any containers, place each color, one-at-a-time, in the jar using parchment paper to separate the colors.
Step 4. Package your accessories such as glitter, jewels, sequins, and such individually. These go on top of the Play-Doh in the jar.
Step 5. Twist the lid on, and you're done!

I hope that this tutorial makes some little girls very happy!

-Lauryn