Tag Archives: single motherhood

Strawberry Handprint Pot

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If you love strawberries and want a cute pot to grow them in, you’ll have to make this Strawberry Handprint Pot!

These pots are a great way to watch plants grow, but also perfect for kids to get involved too.

I’ve said it a ton before, but Mila and I are obsessed with plants. We probably have 200 houseplants. Then in the summer, we have fruits, veggies, and herbs. My front porch looks like a jungle.

Last year, strawberries were our favorite to grow. Mila would literally eat them from the plant. It was so fun to check every morning.

To make strawberry picking more fun this year, we made this Strawberry Handprint Pot.

Here’s what you’ll need to make yours:

  • Green Paint
  • Red Paint
  • Black Paint
  • Pot
  • Brush
  • Strawberry Plant
  • Potting Soil

This handprint art is actually pretty easy to do.

Just paint (or have your kiddo paint) the majority of their hand with red paint. Then the top part with green.

Press firmly on the pot. We were able to get two handprints per paint!

Once it’s dried, add the seeds on to the strawberries. I just made little hearts in black. I thought it looked cute!

When those are dry, plant your strawberry plant and you’re good to grow.

Like all our crafts, I think this turned out so cute. I know this pot will have strawberries in it for years to come!

Looking for more strawberry fun? Check out some of these recipes and crafts we’ve done in the past!

Let me know in the comments which one is your favorite! Or a recipe/craft we should try next.

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DIY Flower Book

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With spring flowers here, we’re ready to learn about as many of them as we can! To do that, we created a DIY Flower Book.

Although we only started off with one flower, I’ll make sure to update our other flower pages.

Since Mila picks flowers all the time, we had to press and keep them for a while. I thought it’d be cool to see everything in a book for us to review and go over at the end of summer.

All we had to do is start with a base. Here’s the supplies we used:

  • Cardboard
  • Scrapbook
  • Modge Podge
  • Pipe cleaner
  • Paper
  • Stickers
  • Flowers

For the actual book, I ended up using cardboard from a brownie box. It was easy to cut and I liked how it was thin cardboard too. Then, I used modge podge to paste scrapbook paper on to the cardboard pieces.

After it was dried, I used stickers to write “Mila’s Flower Book.” Then I hole punched the top corner to connect the book with a pipe cleaner.

For the inside flower pages, I just used computer paper. You could definitely do thick card stock paper or other scrapbook paper too. I’ll probably use others with some of the other flowers.

I figured we’d start with tulips since the ones we picked are starting to die.

All we did was dry the flowers, have her draw them, me draw them, and we went over the letters in tulip. It was a fun learning experience for her!

We can’t wait to get started on the other flowers. I think dandelions will be next and some of my Mother’s Day flowers too.

What’s your favorite flower that we should study? Let me know in the comments.

Flower Potion/Soup | Kid Activity

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Looking for a fun sensory activity your child can do outside? Try this Flower Potion/Soup.

Not only does it get your kid independently playing outside, it’s a fun sensory experience for them too.

Flowers are Mila and my favorite part of spring! All the pretty flowers make me smile and she loves to pick them. We try to incorporate them in a lot of play activities.

Another element Mila is obsessed with is water! I learned early on in parenting that water calmed Mila down. No matter if it was a lot or just a little.

This kid activity is a perfect mix of the two!

Everything you need is either in your backyard or your kitchen:

  • Flowers
  • Jars
  • Water
  • Big Bowl
  • Sticks
  • Water Dispenser

This activity is really child led. I did ask Mila to collect different flowers that were in our yard. Then I set up the potion/soup station.

I let her know that was her mixing bowl and she could add whatever in there.

She really took over after that!

Mila pretended she was a witch making potions the entire time. She let us know what the potions would do and who they were for. As always, I love hearing from her creative mind.

What’s your favorite spring kid’s activity? Let me know in the comments.

DIY Fingerprint Flower Jar

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Mother’s Day is almost here and we’re busy making DIY’s for all the special moms in our lives. If you’re looking for an easy one, this DIY Fingerprint Flower Jar is just right for you.

We love making presents for our loved ones. It makes gift giving more personal and shows how hard we worked on it too. Mila is always so proud when she sees something she made up in someone’s house. She’ll get a huge smile.

Since she loves to pick flowers and put them in vases, I thought this would be a perfect gift for the loved ones in our family!

There’s not a bunch of supplies you need for this DIY gift. We had everything already at home and were able to reuse an old olive jar!

  • Jar
  • Paint
  • Modge podge

All you need to do is get an area prepped for paint. Then I showed Mila what I meant by finger painting flowers on a jar. I just did it on the brown paper that I prepped the area in. This way she could see she was allowed to use her fingers as a paint brush.

Then I let her go!

She did a few alone, but then she felt better when I held it up and twisted it for her. I don’t think she wanted to smudge the flowers she already had done!

Once they’re finished making flowers, coat the jar in modge podge. I just did a thin layer so the flowers don’t go off in the future. This step isn’t required, but if you want that added protection, I’d suggest it!

To finish it up, you could add letter beads like I did or a yarn bow too.

We filled ours up with flowers, but you could add your loved ones favorite candy or even a tea light candle too. Either way, this jar is something special and easy a mom in your life will really love!

If you’re looking for more Mother’s Day DIY’s, check out these ones Mila and I have done. Let me know which one is your favorite in the comments.

DIY Floral Handprint Art

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If you’re looking for a memorable and easy craft for Mother’s Day, you’ll love this DIY Floral Handprint Art.

Not only was it simple to make, my four year old helped me through it all.

If you haven’t noticed by my last few posts on social media, we’re in a hand art phase. I think it’s a mix of wanting to preserve how little she is and they’re easy to do!

I’ve had this floating frame in my house for about a year. In my head I pictured it with pressed flowers all around. Then, the past few days I thought it’d be a perfect Mother’s Day gift to myself.

So, with Mila’s help and flowers from Josh, we created something beautiful.

For this DIY Floral Handprint Art, you’ll need:

*You can find this frame here.*

First, clean off your frame. I like to do this so I don’t noticed smudges after everything is finished. Plus, it’s nice to work with a clear area.

Then, paint your child’s hand. Mila picked pink, of course and I thought it looked beautiful. When it’s painted, firmly press your child’s hand on the inside pane of glass. If there’s a few missing space, you can repaint their hand and redo the process!

Next, let your child put the pressed flowers where they’d like.

When they have their final spot, clasp the second glass pane to keep the handprint and flowers safe.

On the outside, I decided to paint the word love and the year on the corner. “Love” was purely decorative, but the date is something I do on all of our projects!

Then you’re all finished.

I truly think this DIY Floral Handprint Art would be a lovely piece for moms, grandmas, and every other mother figure in your child’s life.

What’s your tips on pressing or drying flowers? I’d love to hear different ways… especially with Mila’s love of flower picking.

Gardening Sensory Bin

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Happy May everyone!

Lets bring on the May flowers and start this month off with a Gardening Sensory Bin.

Since kids need some type of play at parties, I thought a Gardening Sensory Bin would be great. It turns out… it was.

Although I haven’t posted about it yet, Mila’s birthday part was garden and plant themed. She loves plants so much, it was a perfect fit. All of Mila’s friends loved it and Mila kept playing with it for days after.

Just beware of beans flying everywhere.

For this bin, I used things that were around my house, but you can find everything at the dollar store:

  • Dried Beans
  • Fake Flowers or Produce
  • Gardening Accessories
  • Jars or Mini Pots
  • Sensory Bin

All you need to do is a fill a sensory bin with whatever kind of dried beans or rice.

Then, place fake produce and flowers like they’re planted in the ground. I loved the felt produce from Targets Dollar Spot or we use fake flowers from the Dollar Tree.

Next, place some jars or pots in the bin along with some gardening accessories.

Now it’s time to play!

Your child will know exactly what to do with this bin. It’s a lot of fun to watch them play and discover. I’ll have this sensory bin ready for whenever. It’s easy and has endless amounts of fun.

What are you looking forward to this month? Let me know in the comments.

Explore Dundee Falls in Dundee, Ohio.

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Ohio is a state full of hidden gems. Our favorite local one is Dundee Falls in Dundee, Ohio. With a short hike, you’ll find a beautiful waterfall and peaceful scene.

Besides the view, I love that Dundee Falls is perfect to explore for people of all ages.

For our first adventure of the season, Mila, Josh, and I all went to Dundee Falls. Mila and I have been there quite a few times, but it was Josh’s first. My family has taken Mila since she’s been one and she’s always loved it!

It’s only about a mile hike from the start to the falls. Then another mile back. It’s not long at all and it’s shaded by trees. That makes it so nice for a hot summer day.

Some things I would suggest people to bring when they come to Dundee Falls are a change of clothes, water bottle, and sunscreen.

Since it’s the first time Mila and I’ve went so early in the year, I did not expect it to be as muddy as it was. If you’re planning on visiting in the spring, prepare for the slippery mud! It’s sort of everywhere.

This time, we went a different path from normal. We crossed the stream before the falls and went the long way around.

It was fun seeing them from a different view and just getting to explore. I did fall like ten times, but it was still a blast. We also got to climb over the river rocks and just get completely immersed in nature.

If you go the regular way to get to the falls, you do have to climb down a little rock way. This is normally somewhat slippery, but it was even more muddy which made it a little difficult to get up. I can imagine it was tricky to get down too. BUT there were so many people able to get up and down of all ages and ability levels. Just know it’s not accessible for those in wheelchairs or other limiting abilities.

Mila’s favorite part is actually getting into the water at the falls. She just loves to play and jump in it. She always looking for fish, frogs, and whatever else she can find too. At this time of the year, the water felt nice. I fell in the deeper water under the falls and was soaked. It wasn’t too cold for me to get back.

Our trips to Dundee Falls are so informative and an amazing sensory experience for Mila too. We loved pointing out wildlife and talking about cleaning up our Earth.

Speaking of… the trail and park in all is really clean. People who visit are mindful of their trash if they bring a picnic. They’re also really nice too. I’ve always had positive experiences visiting Dundee Falls. Some people even bring their dogs, which is always so cute!

The three of us had an amazing time Exploring Dundee Falls. Mila and I might have ended the trail completely muddy and soaked with water, but the adventure was worth every second.

Once you’re done visiting Dundee Falls, I would suggest making a short drive to the World’s Largest Cuckoo Clock. We go every time we’re near Sugarcreek! It’s Mila’s favorite.

Another place you have to visit is The Wallhouse. They have such great ice cream. It ends the day perfectly.

If you’re from Ohio, let us know some trails or places we should visit next! Or let me know your favorite place to go to where you live. Maybe we’ll have to go too.

DIY Earth Day Handprint Artwork

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Small hands make a big different, especially when it comes to protecting our Earth.

This DIY Earth Day Handprint Artwork is perfect way to showcase your love for Earth while using recycled crafts supplies.

At a young age, I’ve taught Mila she needs to love our Earth. We’ve always talked about recycling and how we need to be mindful of our decisions. She always picks up trash off the ground and loves every part of the outside world.

It’s important to me that she knows her impact and ‘small’ hands can help our Earth heal.

This DIY Earth Day Handprint Artwork was a perfect way to showcase that. We reused supplies we already had and made it cute to show off. Hopefully signs like these will help inspire others to love Earth as deeply as we do.

Here’s all we used:

  • Wood sign
  • Paint
  • Paint brush
  • Yarn
  • Hot glue

To start off, I reused the back of an old summer sign. It was the perfect size and shape of what I had in mind. Plus, it gave it another purpose too!

Next, paint your child’s hands resembling the Earth. This was a bit tricky. I just added blue paint first then topped it off with green. Obviously it’s not going to look exactly right, but I think ours turned out pretty cute.

Then, press down on your child’s hand to get the paint to transfer to the wood sign. You have to work quick so it doesn’t completely dry on their hands.

Once the paint is dry, you can add whatever quote around the hand Earth. I was inspired by The Letter Vee’s Earth Day worksheet and used, “Small Hands Make A Big Difference.” You can write whatever speaks to you!

At this point, I could’ve been done, but I had to add a little extra.

I used scrap yarn as bows on the hanger. The color really popped and gave that earthy feel. Once I saw that, I knew this piece needed more texture than just the bows.

So, I added the fluffy white yarn around the outside of the sign. It really made it look special and stick out.

Since I wanted to spread our love for the earth, this sign is hanging on our porch. Hopefully it’ll inspire someone to make good choices. The future of our world and children are in our hands.

We can make a difference.

What ways do you celebrate our Earth? Check out these fun ways we have:

Rain Process Art

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Happy Earth Week, friends! If you’re looking for a fun way to explore the rainy April season, this Rain Process Art is perfect for kiddos

It’s a great way for kids to show how they think of rain and to see their creativity too!

To celebrate and honor our planet this week, all our DIYs will be made with recycled products. We usually try to reuse items as much as we can, but this week it will be a priority that I’ll showcase.

Even though Mila and I aren’t particularly fond of rain, we can appreciate its beauty. Blue is a special color to us and we love that rain helps water our plants. It’s important that we celebrate our earth and all its weather.

For this process art, I just found some items that reminded me of rain…

  • Shades of blue paint
  • Bubble wrap
  • Paint brushes
  • Stuffing
  • Cardboard
  • Pipe cleaner
  • Glue

For all of this, I let Mila decide what she wanted to do. That’s the best part about process art.

She started off painting bubble wrap dark blue. This makes such a cool effect on the cardboard that we love. Then she used the dark blue bingo dauber to make more blue dots.

After we experimented a little.

I added water in the lighter blues. She tried squirting some on the cardboard. Then she used a straw to make the paint look like water dripping on the window.

When she was done panting, I added left over stuffing to the top to make it look like a cloud. Then a pipe cleaner to hang it.

Like all of Mila’s artwork, I think it’s perfect. It looks like the most beautiful storm.

Keep checking in this week to see more ways we celebrate our earth. If you can’t wait until then, check out these fun Earth Day activities we’ve done in the past:

What’s your favorite type of weather? Mila and I love sunshine!

Cran Raspberry Punch

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Springtime is heating up and refreshments are needed. This Cran Raspberry Punch is fun twist on a vodka cran, but can be made for littles too!

Mila and I LOVE making punch. I feel like we’re constantly making and drinking it. For all her parties, I throw a themed punch together. Now with holidays and different seasons, I think it’s so fun to make something for them too.

Since spring is here, I wanted a light punch that Mila and I both would love. She is obsessed with cranberry juice; which I’m happy for that. We also both love raspberries so a combination of the two was a must. I always like to be able to make punches or different drinks with the capability to add some type of shot too. This reminded me of vodka cran, just with the extra sweetness of punch.

Here’s what you’ll need for this Cran Raspberry Punch:

  • Raspberry Sorbet
  • Cran Raspberry Juice
  • Raspberry Seltzer Water
  • Shot of Vodka (optional)

To make this drink, you just need to add this in either a cup or a punch bowl. When it’s just Mila and I, we just make them individually.

Personally, I start off with the raspberry sorbet. Then I’ll add the juice and alcohol for the adults. After, I like to finish off with the seltzer water. It just makes it foam up a little better. The seltzer water somehow mixes it all up perfectly too.

You could garnish with fresh raspberries or fun shaped ice. I feel like the cup I used in the picture is a whole garnish. It’s from DIY With the Wears.

Then, enjoy!

Check out some other fun punch recipes we’ve made:

What is your favorite spring drink?