Toddler Time

"Homemade" Crayons!

This is super easy and gives new life to crayon bits!

Just take all your crayon bits, remove the paper, and arrange in your tins. You could get really creative with your color mixtures, but I made it pretty simple considering it was the first try. Note: I do not recommend "cheapo" crayons. It may have just been a fluke, but once they were molded, they didn't color anymore. So, stock up on the cheap Crayolas while you can!

You could use any shaped muffin tin or mold pan, I just happened to score a heart shaped one at the dollar store!

Pop in the oven at about 200 degrees.. just keep an eye on them! Once melted, set out until dried and molded. Mine popped out easily once cooled, so you shouldn't have any problems.

Perfect for little one's hands. I sprang for the Tadoodles a while back and trust me, they were not worth the money!

I will be using these for goody-bags and holidays. Very original and creative and I can't think of a kid who wouldn't love these!

Toddler Time

Another Toddler Time post for this week since I just got the pics from last week's activity and they turned out so, so cute!!

Meet my little sister, Hanlee, by the way :)

I hit the Dollar Tree and got foam shaped flowers (stickers), foam door knob hangers, and foam letters (also stickers) and sat the girls down with their supplies and a muffin tin and the fun began!

We talked about the colors and I worked with Monkey on matching the colors in each of the muffin tins.

So, $3.00 for an activity they had a blast with, an opportunity to work on our colors, hand-eye coordination, and memories and keepsakes that we will forever cherish!

Preserving Memories

I have come up with a few creative ways to preserve my daughter's artwork and I wanted to share them with you! In doing this, though, I am hoping some of you have some ideas to share, as I am losing space on my refridgerator! ;)

A few weeks ago Monkey picked me "my first flower" and luckily I got a great picture but she quickly shredded it up. So, later when she picked me another one, I held on to it for dear life! So here's what I've done:

I got a frame that matched my kitchen (Dollar Store, of course) and I "laminated" it by taping it across a plain white index card. I pressed the flower down pretty firmly to keep it from getting "icky" under the tape. I also put the date on the back.

Another thing I've done is kept a notebook for her to doodle in. I purchased a matted frame that holds 3 pictures and just cut to size a few of the doodles she made and framed it in her little classroom.

I went to our local print shop and laminated a some of her scribbles and came home and created a few gifts. Big Daddy's (Grandpa) birthday is right around the corner so I made a bookmark out of one of them and I know he will just be tickled!

So inexpensive, yet priceless!

I would love to hear some of your budget-friendly ideas!