Free Printable: Place Mats For Picky Eaters

Free printable place mats for kids designed by Christina from Christina Williams (style, craft and life with kids blog).  These place mats help kids who are picky eaters or kids who need to become a little more engaged in the foods they eat at mealtime. Christina explains, "Are you lucky enough to have a picky eater at your house? One of my kids will eat anything I give her. The other one, well, I can pretty much count the number of healthy foods he'll eat on one hand. I'm sure you know the challenge this presents when mealtime rolls around. A while back I devised a strategy to help Hudson become more engaged in mealtime, and more interested in what he was putting into his body." To find out more details on how she used the place mat to help with meal time visit her post explaining. 

Print the place mat at your local copy shop. The place mat can be printed on 11 x 17 and laminated. Dry erase markers can be used to check off the food eaten.

The "choose my plate" USDA  dietary guidelines.

Thanks Christina for sharing such wonderful goodies with our readers!!



Yummy Placemat



Hungry Placemat

My Favorites: From The Link Up Party

Homespun with Love shares how to create a cool t-shirt with a bleach pen. Easy peasy - great idea!

Check out Moore Minutes to learn how to make these glow stick lanterns.

Fruit and yogurt cones created by Come Together Kids - yummy yet healthy snack!

Alice in Wonderland un-birthday party by Kidspired Creations

Sweeter Than Sweets makes this adorable art smock.

Fancy Frugal Life shows how-to make Cat in the Hat snacks - perfect for a Dr. Seuss day.

Make a darling bunny completely out of marshmallows tutorial by Stixn Pops!

Thank you everyone who linked up to our party. This is our last week of Summer Camp. We've had some amazing Summer Camp Counselors share awesome posts on Design Dazzle. We will still be featuring our link up party every Friday with a  couple of changes :)

{Summer Camp} How to Make a Sit Upon

 Hello to all the Design Dazzle campers out there! My name is Amanda Formaro, I blog over at Crafts by Amanda. I was excited when Toni asked me to be a camp counselor during this fun summer camp and knew just what we were going to make together. So let's get started shall we?

If you ever participated in Girl Scouts, then you know what a "sit upon" is. A sit upon is usually made from some sort of waterproof fabric, like a fabric backed vinyl tablecloth, and filled with some padding. The padding can be a stack of newspapers, crumpled newspaper, foam squares, scraps of fabric, or even a preformed throw pillow. Everything is sewn together by using some yarn and a hole punch and when used it will protect a child's backside from the wet grass or dirty ground.

In my version of the sit upon, I recycled an old, ratty bed pillow to use as the innards. You know the kind. Those yucky looking pillows that your kids have been drooling sleeping on for ages. So you go out and buy new pillows for the kids, but what to do with the old ones? Feel guilty about throwing them in the garbage? Then remove the outer fabric casing and make a sit upon with me!



you will need:



water resistant fabric (I used a roll of heavy duty shelf liner)

recycled pillow

hole punch

scissors

ruler

yarn

tape



These items are optional for the shoulder strap:

wide ribbon

needle

clear thread



what you do:

You'll want to start by measuring your fabric to be two inches wider than your pillow. Because I used an actual bed pillow, I used my scissors to cut the pillow to approximately 13" square.

Now take your fabric of choice and fold it over the pillow so that you have 3 open sides.

Trim the 3 sides so that they are 2 inches of fabric overlap on all three sides. Now remove the pillow and set aside and fold the fabric so that the right sides are facing out. Use a hole punch to create holes 1-inch apart about 1/2-inch from the three open edges.

Cut a piece of yarn about two times the length of one side of the fabric. Tie a knot in one end and wrap a piece of tape around the other end (to make it easier to thread through the holes). Starting near the folded end, sew up one side of the fabric using a blanket stitch. I started my stitch at the first hole, but taped the end of the yarn inside the fabric so that the knotted end didn't come loose and come through the large hole, which could have unraveled the entire thing.

Repeat this process on the other side, leaving the top open. Insert the pillow into the opening.

If you plan to add handles you will need some clear thread and a needle. First, to measure the correct length of ribbon, have child stand comfortably and drape the ribbon over their shoulder. Cut the proper length based on where you want the cushion end to be. You will need 2 equal lengths of ribbon. Place the ribbon inside the opening and hand sew the ends inside the fabric. Finally, finish the stitching across the top opening.

This is a fun project for kids that involves only a little help from a grown up. You can skip the shoulder strap to simplify this project even more.

By using a water resistant fabric, you will be able to easily wipe the sit upon clean with a damp cloth.

I hope you'll stop by and visit me at Crafts by Amanda where I have quite a few more camp crafts listed! A special thanks to Toni for letting me share with you today. :)

We're having a Summer Camp Link Up Party!

The Link Up Party is for ideas and projects for summertime fun that you've created! The party starts Friday 12:01 AM (EST) or if you're PST  - 9:01 PM Thursday. Come back and share your awesomeness!  I will choose my favorites to highlight and feature : ) 

{Summer Camp} Bird Feeders

Hello Campers!!

We are the girls from eighteen25... and we are so excited to be here today!!

Thank you so much Toni for inviting us to be Summer Camp Counselors.

One of our most favorite things to do during the summer is have craft days with the kids.

So we are happy to be sharing what we made recently. The kids thought they were fun to make (so did we) and they turned out so cute!!

Bird Feeders

We've seen a few different versions of these bird feeders around. We thought it would be good for the kids to get their hands dirty and make something for our little feathered friends.

what you'll need:

• 3/4 cup birdseed (we got the seed for small birds at wal-mart)


• 1/4 cup water


• 1 small envelope of knox gelatine


• twine or string


• cookie cutters, molds or mason jar lids


• wax paper

what you'll do:

• mix together the envelope of gelatine with 1/4 cup of water and bring to a simmer while stirring. continue stirring until the gelatine is dissolved.


• remove from heat and let cool for a minute.


• stir in the 3/4 cup birdseed. adding a little more if there is liquid still in the bottom of the pan.


• lay your cookie cutters out on wax paper and fill half way with the birdseed mixture.


• cut your twine, knot the end and push the knot down into your birdseed.


• continue filling with birdseed, covering the end of your twine and knot.


• push the birdseed evenly into the cookie cutter until it's full.


• allow them to dry overnight. turning them over every now and then.


• remove from the cookie cutters and hang them in your trees.


• then wait by the window to watch for your first guest.

We're having our Summer Camp Link Up Party!

The Link Up Party is for ideas and projects for summertime fun that you've created! The party starts Friday 12:01 AM (EST) or if you're PST  - 9:01 PM Thursday (tonight). Come back and share your awesomeness!  I will choose my favorites to highlight over the weekend : )

{Summer Camp} DIY Initials Necklace

Hi everyone!!  I am so thrilled that Toni has invited me to be a camp counselor in her AWESOME Summer Camp!  How FuN!  I can't wait to see everyone's FaBULouS ideas!!

Anyhoo.....here is a FuN necklace idea that I recently made with my girls.

Lets dive in!

{Simple} DIY Initials Necklace

Supplies Needed:

Tim Holtz Fragments {I bought mine @ JoAnns}

Diamond Glaze  

E6000 Adhesive

Scrapbook Embellishments with initials {I found these at Craft Warehouse and are stickers} 

1 Necklace backer

1 Necklace Chain

Exact-o Knife

First spread the Diamond Glaze on your little plexi-glass fragment...

Then place on top of the scrapbook embellishment of your choice...firmly press...and let dry...

Trim edge with exact-o knife if needed...

Use E6000 to glue on your necklace backer and let dry completely...

Add a chain...and there you have it!  

A FuN, SIMPLE and Very CuTE lil' necklace for any girly to make!

HaPpY SumMer Everyone!!!

By: Stacie from The Creative Crate

We're having our 2nd ever Summer Camp Link-Up Party tomorrow!

The Link-Up Party is open to ideas and projects for summertime fun that you've made or created and would like to share!  For example - crafts, games, art, recipes, parties, sewing, summer activities, books, etc. All of the link-ups should be related to fun with kids (babies, kids or teens)!!

Come back tomorrow morning and link-up your amazing summer fun ideas!!

Last chance to enter the Charm Design and Shabby Apple giveaway - ends tonight.

 

{Summer Camp} Rubber Band Gun Fun

 

I was so excited when Toni asked me to be a Camp Counselor for her Summer Camp series!  Last weekend I just took my kids camping to Lake Havasu (in Arizona...yes, it was ridiculously hot!) and I brought along our Rubber Band Guns.  I thought they would be a great addition to summer camping fun, and would be perfect to share with Toni’s readers! 

 

 

A few years ago we, at Roots And Wings Co, had a super fun carnival.  Who doesn’t love carnival games?!  One of the biggest hits of the carnival was Katrina’s homemade rubber band guns!  We still have ours and the kids love it whenever I bring the rubber band guns out to play with them. 

 

I figured out a fun way to use these rubber band guns while camping.  Just stack up your plastic cups (empty soda cans work as well).  You could have various stacks around your campsite for different levels of difficulty!  The rubber band guns work great on these plastic cups! 

Other easy to find ideas: 

-Targets to shoot through like hoops or paper with holes cut out. 

-Targets that make noise when they are hit like your container of water, metal containers, and paper. 

-Targets to hit into like circles on the ground (made out of rocks or twigs), Frisbees, and plates.

   

These rubber band guns are so easy to make.  They are just made out of a dowel, clothespin, and E6000 glue.  Ours were also painted up pretty, and decorative options are only limited by your creativity!   Don’t forget to make a notch at the end of the gun for the rubber bands to sit in! Thanks, Toni, for letting me be a Camp Counselor at your fun Summer Camp!  I can’t wait to see what other fun you have planned! 

Rebecca with Roots And Wings Co

Check here to view our Summer Camp Series.  Our Summer Camp Counselors publish amazing activities and ideas for kids Monday - Friday.