Search Results for: bears

DisneyNature Bears Party Ideas for Kids

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On April 18, 2014, we celebrate furry, cuddly and powerful BEARS with the release of Disneynature’s Bears.

With the magnificent Alaska as the backdrop, Disneynature Bears follows a mother and her cubs as they emerge from a long winter’s nap and discover the life, dangers, beauty and lifelong lessons of being a bear…and the same struggles, joys and strength it takes for a parent, bear or human, to raise a cub.

My kids are thrilled to learn more about the world of bears, and watch the two cubs discover the world around them. So, in honor of Earth Day and Disneynature Bears, we celebrated with a fun bear party…bear party_jsorelle

Furry stuffed animal bears, honey {a bears favorite treat}, berries {also a bears favorite}, yogurt and granola, Teddy Graham’s and books all about bears served as the perfect backdrop to our rustic celebration of bears. The kids and I spent the afternoon painting stencils on sliced wood from a tree trunk in our backyard, otherwise known as the Rocky Mountains, to spell BEARS, and of course, their initials. Then, the kids and I went on an Outdoor Scavenger Hunt {you can go on a hunt too with our amazing FREE PRINTABLE} and also an Indoor Scavenger Hunt {also available here in a FREE PRINTABLE} to find the ‘bear’ party awaiting us in the kids room.bears party_jsorelle

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I hope you celebrate the beauty and majesty in the earth that will live, breathe and play in everyday on April 18 and every day after. And, I hope you check your local listings to discover a world of bears that awaits you!

Thanks for Jenna {sister and also owner of Fleur de Lis, a paperie} for creating the Scavenger Hunt printables for us to enjoy!!

{images via j. sorelle}

Warm Up With Chic & Cozy Coats This Winter

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It’s a winter wonderland in the Rocky Mountains this weekend. December is starting out strong with lots of snow! Everyone loves the feeling of being snuggled by a warm, furry teddy bear, especially on snowy days. As adults we don’t cuddle with our teddy bears like our children do; but lucky for us this winter, fashion trends are giving us beautiful options for all those cozy vibes. But, instead of a bear, it’s in the form of a coat. Whether you call them furry, fuzzy, cozy, or teddy, all these coats feel and look amazing! Here’s some of our favorite faux fur coats of the season.

Throw A Sing Party for Kids With A DIY Outdoor Stage

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Last year, the kids were mermaids and sharks. This year, they took center stage at a Sing inspired party. There was a DIY mini stage, good music, DIY candy microphones and characters from Illumination’s Sing. Fun was had by all, including the adults who took to the stage, too.

Once again, Jessica shopped Oriental Trading for most of the party’s decorations and favors. Shop OT for the red fringe curtain, gold stars, microphone trophy, white favor boxes, glow-in-the-dark bouncing eyeballs, Inflatable guitars and star disco ball necklace.

Here’s how you can throw a Sing party for all your future super stars.

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Materials:

Directions:

Step 1: Visit Momtastic for the full DIY mini stage tutorial and materials needed. All the details are here, including the stage, Buster Moon and the moon and the DIY speakers. It’s totally affordable, and the fun can last all summer (and next summer, too) in your backyard.

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Step 2: Make the DIY candy microphones. We can’t take credit for this idea. We found it here. Fill the clear tubes with candy, add the top to the tube, and then top it off with the colorful foam microphone covers. This was a huge hit with the kids, and we can foresee a classroom holiday gift with this one. To display the candy microphones, Jessica spray painted a box (from a recent Amazon purchase) red, and cut small holes on top with an X-acto knife. Make sure the holes are not too big, and not too small – they need to be just right (and snug) to hold and secure the microphone tubes. Next, paint or add white letters to the red box. We used a comment in the movie from Buster Moon, the koala. When a contestant was nervous, he said to, “Just…sing.”

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Step 3: Prep the favor boxes. Make tags with characters on it with Microsoft Word and jpg’s of the characters online. We gave the kids bouncing eyeballs in honor of Miss Crawly’s, the chameleon assistant in the movie, bouncing eyeball. Another fun favor was the Star disco ball necklaces, trophies (see below) and toy microphones.

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Step 4: One must have a trophy for a singing competition. Luckily for our guests, they were all winners, or Sing champs. We made custom labels on the Oriental Trading microphone trophies with vinyl and our Silhouette CAMEO electronic cutting machine. We designed the words, Sing Camp, and put the vinyl on each trophy.

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Step 5: Hang the gold stars. Use a white Sharpie oil-based paint marker to write all the guests names on the stars. Hang the stars with string. Jessica used a piece of cardboard, and her Silhouette machine to cut out RISING STAR letters with Astrobrights Paper.

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Step 6: Every singer needs a microphone. We had a karaoke machine, as well as toy microphones with everyone’s name on it.  Use puff paint to add the names. White shopping Target, Jessica found an empty box with holes in it (used to store another toy on the shelf). She added it to her cart for $0, and wrapped it with wrapping paper. Each microphone fit perfectly inside each hole.

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Step 7: Sing and have a good time.

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Oriental Trading sent us some items of our choosing for this post, free of charge. We’re so happy they did! All opinions are honest, and our own. No other type of compensation was received. Thanks for supporting the companies that support j. sorelle. We love Oriental Trading, even before this post.

This post contains affiliate links. 

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How to Make a DIY Cinnamon Bear Drink Stirrer

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Our grandma, also known as Nani to 14 grandkids and Great Nani to 16 great-grandchildren, is one amazing woman. Since we were toddlers, we made monthly trips to grandma and grandpa’s house for sleepovers, homemade biscuits and gravy, hair cuts in Louise’s Beauty Salon {her basement salon}…and artificially-flavored treats.

One thing we could always count on, in addition to all the hugs and kisses, was a full pot of coffee brewing {she loved to spoon-feed us coffee in the mornings}, a bag of Twizzlers in the upstairs cabinet, and a glass jar filled with cinnamon bears in her salon.

To this day, she keeps her treats in the same spot, and everyone makes a beeline straight to the cabinet and glass jar for a sugar fix.

As silly as it may be, we have a special history with cinnamon bears. Even if the memories did not exist, we could not resist the chewy, spicy and sweet goodness of cinnamon bears.

This July 4th, after half the bag makes its way into our bellies, the other half will make its way into our party decor.

First, we made them into place cards. Success!

Now, we transformed them into a DIY edible drink stirrer. We think we can mark this one as a success, too.

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Materials:

  • Cinnamon bears
  • Red, white or blue card stock
  • Mini red pom poms
  • Toothpicks
  • Drink Stir Sticks
  • Sharpie marker
  • Hot glue gun

Directions: 

  1. Cut out mini flags and punch 2 small holes at the top.
  2. Write a name {for a drink tag}, or fun words on the flag, such as cheers! and yay!
  3. Break a toothpick in half, and then insert the toothpick through the two flag holes.
  4. Cut a mini ‘rolled out cone’ shape from the card stock.
  5. Roll the paper into a cone, and use a hot glue gun to glue the seam together.
  6. Glue a pom-pom on top.
  7. Gently push the hat into the cinnamon bears head until it’s stable.
  8. Push the toothpick with the flag into the hands of the cinnamon bear.
  9. Push the cinnamon bear onto a drink stirrer.

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Bear Party Activities and Crafts for Kids

Before the bears go back into hibernation, let’s celebrate and learn about the furry, cuddly and powerful nature of bears.

Disneynature Bears takes us on a journey where a mother bear raises her young cubs in the big and beautiful world of Alaska. And, just like humans, she does her best to guide, protect and teach her young so they can one day survive on their own.

With the recent DVD release of Disneynature Bears, here’s 10 great ways to immerse yourself and your children into the wonderful world of BEARS this fall.

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1. Rent or buy, Disneynature’s Bears on DVD now.

2. Throw a mini Bears Party for your home movie feature, followed by a Bears Scavenger Hunt {free printable here} like we did.

3. Serve delicious and nutritious bear-inspired snacks for your hungry cubs that highlights magazine shared.

4. Crafty Morning shows us how to make adorable paper bear plates with these instructions.

5. Did you know a bear’s sense of smell is 2,100 times stronger than that of a human? You can learn many more facts about bears by downloading free activity pages from Disneynature Bears.

6. What kid wouldn’t want to end the day with a treat – gummy bear popsicles? Yes, please. Foodbeast invented the yummy and colorful idea.

7. Read any and all of the creative and sweet Bear Books by Karma Wilson such as Bear’s New Friend. This book series is a household favorite around here.

8. Make sure your little ones stays warm as the weather starts to turn cold with this Bear Scarf Hat.

9. Karma Wilson’s charmed bear character needs some help dressing for the seasons. Print the sheet for a fun activity for your kids.

10. Katarina’s Paperie keeps the day bubbly with DIY honey bear bottle bubbles.

{images via Highlights, DisneyCrafty Morning, Foodbeast, Amazon, Zappos, Karma Wilson and Katarina’s Paperie}