Beautiful DIY Bean Art The Whole Family Can Create

DIY bean art for kids and tweens

Handmade Charlotte inspired us to create with beans after we saw their amazing masterpieces based on Dr. Dolittle. It’s a great movie for kids, by the way. Our kids loved it! There is always major creativity and talent happening at Handmade Charlotte, so check it out.

So, we recently invested about $8 in a couple bags of beans, and had so much fun. Gabriella and I spent the afternoon creating unique art…with beans! You can do this year-round, and all ages will enjoy it. No glue-gun needed. Just basic Elmer’s for this.

We shared all the details here, at Momtastic.

Christmas Home Decor: Mini Gingerbread House Village

diy bird house gingerbread houses (2)

I’m not only in a bell phase this Christmas season, I’m having a gingerbread moment, too. First it was our DIY gingerbread paper bag advent calendar, and now it’s a cute mini DIY gingerbread village made from tiny wood bird houses. I’ve never made homemade gingerbread, and I actually don’t like the taste of it. But, I love how festive the houses are, and can’t resist a homemade gingerbread house. This gingerbread house village is so easy, and so cute. You don’t need to worry about candy getting stale, because nothing is edible on these tiny houses. You can give these as gifts, or set them up year after year with your holiday decor. Plus, you can do it this weekend with the kids. It would be really fun to see all the colors and designs the kids come up with.

Stick around for the bottom of the post if REAL gingerbread houses are more your jam. Some really talented pastry chefs, and members of the Vail community displayed some amazing Gingerbread Houses at the Vail Library in November as part of Revely Vail

gingerbread house- christmas decor

DIY Gingerbread House Village Made With Mini Wood Birdhouses

Materials:

  • mini wood bird houses, Walmart or Amazon
  • acrylic paint
  • paint brush
  • Elmer’s white paint pens, fine tip
  • glass cookie jars, Walmart
  • mini bottle brush Christmas trees

Instructions:

Step 1: Paint the houses. I had to do two coats of paint per house. I used a two different colors of brown paint to get a “gingerbread” color.

mini wood gingerbread houses for christmas decor

Step 2: Once the paint is dry, begin to draw/doodle decorations on the house with the paint pen. I drew it free-hand, and it worked out great. Draw swirls, icicles, windows, doors, hearts, candy canes, etc. on the front, back and top of the house. Make each house different.

gingerbread house- christmas decor

gingerbread house- christmas decor

Step 3: Set the houses on a cake stand with bottle brush trees, twinkle lights and fake snow. Or, make a pretty glass jar display with all the fun winter accessories, and twinkle lights, too.

gingerbread house display

gingerbread house display

 

Revely Vail Gingerbread House Competition (just a small snippet of the 30+ entries):

 

Hovey & Harrison

Hovey & Harrison

 

The Arrabelle at Vail

The Arrabelle at Vail

 

The Sebastian Hotel

The Sebastian Hotel

 

Gru's Christmas House, 3rd graders

Gru’s Christmas House, 3rd graders

 

age 6-10 entry, Sweet As Can Be

age 6-10 entry, Sweet As Can Be

 

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DIY Winter Snowflake Ornaments


diy-marbled-clay-ornaments-with-photos-for-kids

This week my children’s school held bake sales and homemade ornament sales to raise money for a school in Houston whose families have suffered tremendous loss from the hurricane. My kids were thrilled to participate, and wanted to make as many ornaments as they could to raise as they said, “a ton of money.” While they made DIY marbled clay snowflake ornaments of their own, I made a couple, too. It’s a super simple craft for kids and adults of all ages, which is why I’m sharing it with you today. Plus, this is a wonderful gift to encourage the kids to give their family and friends.

Materials:

Directions:

Step 1: Lay down parchment paper, and roll balls of clay with the various colors.

Step 2: Combine colors, and then twist and turn to blend the colors together for that marbled effect. With a rolling-pin, roll it out so it’s about 1/4 inch thick.

clay-crafts-with-kids-marbled-clay

Step 3: Press the cookie cutters into the clay, both the large snowflake and the small one. Remove excess clay around the cutter.

diy-marbled-clay-christmas ornaments-for-kids

Step 5: With a small straw (like the ones used in coffee shops), punch a small hole through the top of the ornament.

diy-marbled-clay-snowflake-ornaments

Step 6: Bake on parchment paper according to clay package directions.

Step 7: Add a wallet size photo with glue dots on the back of the ornament, string and hang it.

diy-frozen-snowflake-marbled-ornaments

diy-marbled-clay-ornaments-with-photos-for-kids

Sunny Days Call For DIY Trucker Hats

kids-wearing-diy-trucker-hats-with-a-watermelon-orange-and-blue-rainbow-and-black-and-white-mountains

As I painted some super cool DIY trucker hats for my kids for Momtastic, I realized that I have never seen Jenna in a baseball hat. It’s a go-to for Jodi and I, and our mom has more baseball hats than shoes (maybe that’s where we get it). Jenna prefers shoes. Maybe if I make Jenna a DIY trucker hat, she will wear it?!

You can read the tutorial for DIY trucker hats here. No sewing required.

kids-wearing-diy-trucker-hats-with-a-watermelon-orange-and-blue-rainbow-and-black-and-white-mountains

If you’re not up for making a DIY, shop for some cute one’s below. We picked some out for the whole family.

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DIY Paint Splatter Jeans

diy-paint-splatter-skirt

Jessica and her daughter went crazy with paint! It was the first, and maybe only time, Gabriella could throw paint around and cover her jean skirt with non-washable bright colors. It’s a must-do project for any color and paint-loving kids.

Get all the details here at Momtastic.