The 413 Mom

Find missing LEGO build instructions at WorldBricks.com! #LEGOlife

Did you even KNOW that WorldBricks.com catalogues old LEGO design page?! File this under amazing! #legolife #unpluggedfun

Fourth of July upcycle crafts for the kids #celebrateamerica #makesomething

Happy Fourth of July! I have a few simple upcycle craft ideas to help you celebrate with the kiddos today -- the firework confetti poppers are so fun for the littles. And the big kids will love to make swirly Patriotic decorations from plastic cups. Learn all about it on this link from the Mass Appeal show. 

Summer Bucket Lists 2018

Happy First Day of Summer!

I've compiled all 10 of our Summer To Do Lists on one easy to find page on The413Mom.com.

I hope you'll use it often to help plan the best summer ever with your family! Hope to see you at the playground/spray park/library/hiking trail/park/craft program. That's where we'll be. #bestsummerever 

Easy Patriotic Wind Spinner Craft #craftingwithkids

Looking for a simple red, white, and blue craft to make with the kiddos? All you need to make a Patriotic Wind Spinner is:

• Paper plate
• Red paint, marker or crayon
• Blue construction paper

Check out this easy tutorial -- as seen on the Mass Appeal show on WWLP. You can find the link here. Happy Crafting! #unpluggedfun #craftingwithkids

"Force" spring with simple paper hyacinths #springfever #craftingwithkids

While we're still waiting for some spring blooms outside, I've got a super simple paper flower craft you can work on today to help springify the house inside. These paper hyacinths are perfect for Easter! All you need to make these beautiful blooms are construction paper, scissors, and a glue stick. Instructions can be found on this clip from Mass Appeal. Enjoy! 

St. Patrick's Day Crafts #craftingwithkids

I have two super simple, super fun St. Patrick's Day crafts to share with you today! You can check out all the fun on this clip from the Better Western Mass show on Western Mass News! 

How To: Turn a Girl Scout vest into a pillow #girlscoutpride #upcycle

Proud Girl Scout Mom moment! Eden recently bridged up from a Junior Girl Scout to a Cadette, which brings a change in uniform. She loved her patch adorned Junior vest so much and didn't want to just file it away in a memory box. So we decided to turn it into a decorative pillow. The project was easier than I thought and didn't require any special supplies. I just upcycled items from around the house. Here's how:

1. Reinforce any patches on the vest that may be coming loose with a quick stitch around the edges of the patch. 

 2. Choose fabric for a pillow cover. Instead of buying new we used a worn Girl Scout themed t-shirt.  

 3. Choose a pillow form. Doesn't have to be new -- again, we found an underutilized one in the house. 

 4. Prepare the pillow cover. We turned the t-shirt inside out and stitched across the top and down the sleeve openings to create a rectangular pillow 'case.'

 5. Next, we turned the t-shirt inside right and tucked the pillow form inside.  

 6. Then we tucked in the tail of the t-shirt, pinned a seam and stitched. 

7. Once the pillow cover was complete we wrapped the vest around the pillow and tucked and pinned until it had a nice shape. We made sure all of the patches were nicely displayed. (Although not shown here, her vest also had patches on the front). Finally, we stitched around the edges of the vest to secure it to the pillow. 

 

 9. Ta-da! A lovely keepsake for your Girl Scout! 

I hope you enjoy this project as much as we did. I love that we didn't need to purchase any supplies and yet here we have renewed life for her beloved vest. #girlscoutsrock #upcycle #cherishmemories

 

 

 

DIY Pumpkin Spice Play-dough #pumpkinspiceisnice #glutenfree

Pumpkin Spice everything? Yep -- even DIY Pumpkin Spice Play-dough. It's a super simple recipe: just a can of pumpkin puree and a cup of corn starch. It's even gluten free and it smells amazing. Check out this link from the Better Western Mass Show on Western Mass News and you'll see just how easy it is for yourself. #pumpkinseason #pumpkinspiceisnice

Don't throw away those pool noodles at summer's end! #upcycle #westernmassnews

 

Although it's time to start thinking about closing up the pools for the season (sniff....sniff) do NOT throw away those used pool noodles! Even if they're broken -- there are so many fun ways to upcycle the foam pieces for sneaky learning and games. I shared a few ideas today on the Better Western Mass show on Western Mass News. Check out the link here. 

Upcycle ideas for those over-loved children's books as seen on Better Western Mass

In honor of Earth Day I shared a few tips for upcycling damaged kids books on today's Better Western Mass show on Western Mass News. If you've got a stack of over-loved books on your shelf, check out the clip here! #raisingreaders #sneakylearning