Making Lemonade

http://makinglemonadeblog.com/

Join us as we DIY through daily life-- easy recipes, family friendly fun, inspired craft projects, and a Mommy Misadventure or two along the way. Bring your sense of humor, heart, and glue gun and meet me for some lemonade!

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Where do you discover new kid-friendly crafts?

Mostly, I make them up as I go! Strolling the aisles of craft and discount stores inspires lots of ideas for crafts and projects for kids. This Kids Craft Series I wrote last year was inspired by browsing the kids craft section at my local craft store and finding inexpensive ideas using common crafting supplies:

http://makinglemonadeblog.com/kids-craft-camp-round-up-and-link-up/

What's one creative product you would recommend to all moms?

A box of markers and a clean sheet of paper, haha! Aside from that, we love Melissa and Doug craft products and large sticker activity pads. They can be found for about $5 each and my kids love the variety of ideas and fun projects.

How do you encourage your child to explore their creativity?

I try to have arts and craft supplies within easy reach so they can grab materials and get started during quiet moments. Having supplies organized and easy to see encourages the flow of ideas. Sometimes my daughter will grab crayons and a coloring book, other times a glue stick and tissue paper. I rotate new items in as well, sometimes a bag of pom poms is all it takes to spark a creative idea!

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What's an easy and fun Spring or Easter-themed craft?

Carrie

We love making bunny ears! Simply cut out two long ear shapes from construction paper and have the kids decorate them. Tape or staple upright onto a long strip of paper (or tagboard) fashioned as a crown on the head, and let their inner rabbits shine!
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What are your best tips for easy DIY nursery decor? (If there's an image or post on your blog, please link to it.)

Carrie

Fabric can be used in so many ways, and is fairly cheap if you find a good sale. Pick a bunch of patterns that coordinate. Use it for curtains, in embroidery hoops-- they act as cheap circular frames, to make throw pillows, crib skirts, etc. Here's my son's nautical nursery with lots of fun yet inexpensive fabric: http://makinglemonadeblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/baby-bees-nautical-nursery-design-big.html Also, canvases Mod Podged with scrapbook paper are inexpensive and oh-so-easy. Here's a huge tree and a letters I made for my daughter: http://makinglemonadeblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/noodles-bird-themed-nursery.html
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We're looking for decorating inspiration! Please share a link to a photo of your child's room.

Carrie

It was orange and aqua for this room makeover when we transitioned it from a nursery to a 'big girl' room! My daughter's favorite parts are the colorful bunting, reading nook, and comfy bedding. My favorite part? That she finally sleeps on her own in there! http://www.makinglemonadeblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/noodles-big-girl-room-makeover.html
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What are your best tips for birthday party invitations? (What to include, where to make them online, etc?)

Carrie

I purchase mine from Etsy. I can usually find exactly what I'm looking for, they are personalized, and the seller will either send them digitally for me to email out or print myself. I've also had them printed out by the seller if I'm running out of time and they always look great!
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How do you store your child's toys? Please include a link to a photo if you have one.

Carrie

I use large baskets in general areas like the living room and kitchen to make clean-up a breeze, but in our playroom they are organized in clear plastic bins with labels. Puzzles are stored in a wire puzzle rack to keep pieces in place, and books in a large shallow basket so it's easy to see the covers. We also "weed" and clean them out every other month to get rid of outgrown, broken, or unused toys.
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What's a cute or creative way to decorate the walls of a child's room? Please include a link to an image.

Carrie

We did a few things in my daughter's room that make it extra cheery and bright. First, we attached two parallel lines of thin moulding around the room to create a stripe and painted the inside a contrasting color. Then we hung bunting created from fun and trendy fabrics. Last but not least, we stuck feather butterflies flying out of a repainted thrift store picture frame and it continues to delight my daughter (and her friends) to this day!
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