Category Archives: Crafts & DIY

Aug23

Recipe Binder

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Recipe Binder

One of the hardest things as we grow older is buying a meaningful birthday gift. I was recently challenged with that with one of my friend’s birthdays.

I had no idea what I could possibly get her that was worth her friendship and wouldn’t dent my budget… We are very similar in some of our hobbies and one thing she always came back to me about was some of my recipes.

So I came up with making her a personalized Recipe Binder. Thankfully there were so many samples that I found on pinetrest to help me get my creative juices flowing. I wanted to go simple and meaningful and my design had to be just that.

The first thing I did was buy a regular Binder and separators from the bookstore.
 

BinderLabel
 

I Chose to go with a chevron design for the labels so I made those for the cover, the separators and separator sides.

Then printed out a few of my favorite recipes to put inside the binder as a quick start.

 

Binder1
 
 
 
Viola a meaningful, personalized birthday gift.

I was actually very please and the objective of meaningful was spot on when I saw my friend’s reaction when she unwrapped her gift. It left the exact impression I had intended and that Making Life Memorable!

Aug17

Things to do Indoors with Kids.

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Things to do Indoors with Kids.

Having kids and keeping them entertained and busy is always a challenge for parents. When you have issues like weather to worry about be it dust, heat, rain or for the lucky ones snow the challenge seems to be bigger.

I have came up with a list of things for myself that I would like to share and hopefully assist parents & their kids. This is in no way a static list!! I keep adding but it’s a start for you….. Mind you I have 2 girls so you’re probably going to notice that many of the suggestions are girl oriented (Sorry Boys!)

1. Bake
2. Play with blocks
3. Color
4. Paint
5. Make homemade Play dough.
6. Play with Play Dough.
7. Build a fort with pillows, bed sheets, chairs and
8. Read and let the kids act out the story
9. Dance
10. Dress up and create a play
11. Play Tea party
12. Do Puzzles
13. Play Board games
14. Play Uno or cards
15. Take a bubble bath and play with bathroom toys & crayons
16. Have a spa day with lots of lotions, hair curlers and nail polish
17. Play with Barbies or Action Men.
18. Build lego or happyland village
19. Make an obstacle course
20. Make Sock Puppets and create a puppet show.
21. Design a T-Shirt with Fabric Markers
22. Make Popsicles.
23. Make Paper Airplanes
24. Play with Chalboard and Chalk or Whiteboard
25. Play with Bubbles
26. Prepare a dinner buffet… we usually make fresh burgers and put all the fixens on the table.
27. Make cookies
28. Read
29. Make an Experiment
30. Organize the playroom.
31. Craft
32. Finger & Foot Paint
33. Make your own treasure hunt
34. Have an indoor picnic
35. Play hide and seek
36. Paint rocks or shells
37. Play hairdresser
38. Wash all the barbies
39. Make fruit salad
40. Movie night with popcorn
41. Make bead Jewlery
42. Make pizza
43. Create an architecture project using marshmallows & toothpicks
44. Plant fruit seeds into indoor pots
45. Skip rope and hula hoop
46. Choose an interesting topic and research on google
47. Have a fashion show
48. Make a volcano
49. Make paper mâché
50. Have friend & cousins over

Feb19

Photo Booth

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Photo Booth

One of my favorite things to prepare for the girls’ birthdays are props for our DIY photobooth. There are companies out there that set it up for you but I like to do it myself and people nowadays are all photographers with their smart phones so they get to play and have fun on their own without a professional “probing”

We always have a theme for our birthdays so I always have to make sure that the props I make are related. Then I just add the usual things like funky sunglasses, Boas, decorative items that can be used as props.

MonkeyPhotoProp
For Zeenah’s 3rd birthday she wanted a monkey theme so I had printed out a template of a monkey mask.

I then cut out the outline of the mask on brown cardstock. The details of the face and ears with off-white paper.

The step of cutting out the eye holes evenly was a challenge but I managed to do it.

I added a little flower on the monkey’s ear and a little detail on the nose.

Off course the last step is adding the stick for kids to hold the mask up. I use craft sticks that have rounded tips (if I have them available or can find them) I have used the wooden skewers in the past but made sure I taped the sharp ends.
monkeymask

The next on my list was to make a sign to put on the Prop table. I was lucky to find funky frames at one of the local 100fils stores (the Kuwaiti equivalent of the dollar store) so I bought all the colors they had. I knew they would come in handy some day.

monkeyFrame

table
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Lastly was the setup of the actual booth. We’re lucky to have a big garden that hosts our birthdays. We have an olive tree that provides the best branches to hang an empty frame border, balloons, paper chains and whatever else I can think of. Here’s me posing with my monkey sunglasses during Zeenah’s 3rd Birthday.
PHOTOBOOTH
 
 

HeartsProps
 
 
Jennah’s 7th birthday she had chosen a queen of hearts theme.
I absolutely and utterly enjoyed planning and decorating for it.
It was so hard to actually make decisions to STOP.
I had made lots of props for that. Queen of hearts hair & Crown, Heart lips, Cheshire cat smile, Mini Golden crown and Teedle Dee/Dum cap.
 
 
 
 

An Now it’s time to plan Zeenah’s 4th Birthday coming in March!!!

Its all about making life memorable!!

Feb17

Yarn Scrap

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Yarn Scrap

My girls Love to play with yarn. Yes it’s a random thing we have in our household but give them a ball of yarn and they’re like little kitties thinking of what to do with them.

After many yarn crafting sessions, scissors and just cutting for no reason I end up with all sort of lengths of yarn.

YarnIn an effort to keep everything organized I collect all the scraps of yarn and into the Yarn box they go. Well one fine Friday morning while thinking of a crafting session with the girls I decided its time to get “yarny”.

I had the girls sort out all the different colors and try to unknot as much as they can. Off course some were just unknot-able and we had to cut them leaving us with odd lengths and that’s when I had a moment. Lets just do Yarn pompoms. A great way to recycle all this little pieces!

 
 
 
 
 

First we placed a large loop of orange yarn as the base of the pompom. Loop
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Next it was placing all the different colors and stacking them up over the looped yarn. placement

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The last step was weavng the loose end of the looped yarn into the loop and tightening it. looping

Viola!! A Yarn pomom was made 

 
 
 Pompom
 
 
 
 
And more importantly the yarn box is nice and neat…..for now!
organize

Oct28

Fabric Heaven

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Fabric Heaven

My girls have caught on way to quickly on my “if I can’t find it I’m gonna make it” mentality… It’s supposed to be my little secret… Well secrets out apparently!

Since occasions/parties and dressing up is a big thing in my household my girls get a choice of what they want to be for Halloween.

zoe
Jennah wanted to be Zoe from Sesame street and suggested I make it since I couldn’t find a ready made costume (in Kuwait and online). Poor Zoe even sesame online doesn’t have a costume for her. Trust my daughter to choose the underdog! Protector of the weak.

So off to the Fabric Souq in sharq I go….. oodles and oodles of fun. No seriously I wanted to buy it all even though I had absolutely no use for it.

Store after store I was looking for orange fury or feathery fabric. I could find one or the other, either orange but not the texture or Fury but not the color.

All the while thinking, it’s Thursday evening and she needs to wear it on Friday to her cousin’s “Halloween Birthday Party”… Serves me right for asking them! My mind racing and reminding me the faster I get the fabric the quicker I can start designing and sewing.

 
zoe-reemas

Finally I was led to a shop called Reemas Bazar, my wishes came true……What a fabulous selection!!! The have more than just fabric, they have all sorts of accessories, beads, and the works!!

Zoe-fabric
The main highlight of the whole thing is that I was in Sesame street heaven!!! I actually found all of the colors and textures for Big Bird, Elmo, Cookie monster, Abby and most importantly Zoe!
 

I got what I wanted and rushed to pick up the girls from their playdate and couldn’t wait to get home. Mind you I hadn’t thought the whole costume through…. There was still the question of the bug eyes….
 

I quickly manage to put the girls in bed to get started…ooops I can’t!!! I had to finish the cake and cupcakes I was making for my niece!!! (that’ a whole other POST!!!)
 

zoe-step1
Fast Forward to the next morning……So I set out to make Jennah’s Zoe Costume. I got a visual idea of the main components of the costume and it was time to get all the supplies. I dug through my craft supplies and got two Styrofoam balls, googly eyes, brown glittery foam paper and confiscated a headband from the girls’ dresser.

I’m all set. So I knew that all I needed to use the fabric for was her arms, a little chest area and somehow a wig. I sat there for a while staring at the fabric then it kinda hit me. I made a shrug that she wore backside front. Just a few stiches for the arms and that’s it. I put elastic through the hem the sleeve to hold it onto her wrists.

 
 
 
 
 
Zoe-headband
 
 
 
 
 
Next came the real crafty job… I stuck the two Styrofoam balls together and glues each of the googly eyes. I cut out eyelashes from the brown glittery foam paper and also glued them to the eyeballs. Lastly the pair of eyes were glued to the headband.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Now it was time to try it all on and hope for the best.

Zoe-Jennah
 
 
 
 
Jennah was extremely quick to put her ballet clothes on and just waited for me to turn her into Zoe…. Keeping my fingers crossed that it all fits and makes sense.

She wore the arms and I fixed the extra fabric into a wig and placed the headband to hold it all together. And Viola!!! Another creation I am proud to have made.

So this season its all about “Making Life Memorable” the creative way! Oh wait…..isn’t that always the case in my house?!

P.S. If you’re planning a Sesame street character you know where to find the tools to make it!

Oct22

It’s Costume Season

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It’s Costume Season

After the rush of “Back to School” is all over and I ever so gladly welcome the routine of a so-called organized life (HAH! made myself laugh) the fun begins!

Yes I’m intentionally going to ignore the endless drives back and forth, school drop-offs and pick-ups, homework and extra-curricular activities and I’m going to talk about FUN stuff like Halloweeeeeen!! coloriage-halloween@coloriage_lapinoo_com_

What a fabulous holiday that lets me get dressed up all crazy!! Oh and the kids too….

Every year I keep thinking how am I going to outdo myself this time?? Especially now that I have to think of not just myself (as a couple) but also for the girls!

I take events very seriously and try to be really creative.

It’s a mix of wanting to be unique and the lack of variety when it comes to shopping for costumes in Kuwait.

I mean so seriously that last year I couldn’t find the right wig for my costume so I went and chopped my hair!
 

Recoverd_jpg_file(130)

 
I was really happy about last year’s couple costume.

It took me a while to figure out and off course I resorted to ordering it from amazon which made me spend more on shipping than the costume itself. But what’s a girl gonna do?!

We were Neo & Trinity from The Matrix granted I didn’t have Trinity’s long sleek legs but I believe we pulled it off… Not bad Yeh!

I wasn’t that lucky to have enough time to order Jennah’s costume when I got the note from school about the Halloween event stating to “Dress up as a book character” only 4 days prior.

Needless to say I was frazzled and frantic. Halloween comes the same time every year, why would they tell us a few days before?

I know why….. to torture ME!

 
Off course my child of reading age says “I want to be Dorothy” Why oh why did she read the note?? Then I thought I love the idea. Off to the stores I go…..

NO Dorothy costume to be found. 3 days in search and still no luck.

Recoverd_jpg_file(296)
 

Finally I thought I’m wasting time! Valuable Samoor time.

It’s time to take actions in my own hands. Off to the Fabric Souq I go.

Oh Wow! What fun, rows and rows & columns and columns of fabric from every color of the rainbow.

I stood there wanting to buy it all while thinking “Why didn’t I do this to begin with?”
 
 
 

dorthy
I found the blue checkered fabric that’s Soooooo Dorothy, an elastic band and two buttons is all I needed.

A quick run to centerpoint for cheap red glitter shoes and I’m halfway set!!

Jennah was smart in digging through her stuffed animals and finding Toto. I guess the obsession of getting it perfect is contagious!

I quickly put the girls in bed and started designing and cutting the dress pattern. I spent the whole night hand stitching Jennah’s Dorothy costume, hoping that the measurements fit.

Now that I think of it I had no back up plan if it didn’t fit in the morning what would I have done? Yikes! Just thinking of that made me quiver.

Recoverd_jpg_file(58)
 
 
 
 
Morning came and it was a PERFECT PERFECT fit!

I made Jeenah wear one of her white tutus under the dress to give it that extra fluff it needed.

Two braids, white shirt & socks and lets not forget Toto! The whole outfit made complete sense.

I felt such accomplishment and relief that she got what she wanted and “Made Life Memorable” for the both of us.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
On the other hand I’ve set myself up without realizing it. The girls are invited to 2 Halloween parties and have already decided on costumes (that I’m not exactly happy about!) but I have to let them have it…..

I’m having a really hard time adjusting to not having control.

Off course the search begins with no results as expected so I told Jennah I can’t find the costume she chose she barely looked my way then chuckled and said “Just make it mama” as a matter of fact….

I guess I’m heading to the Fabric souq and getting my needle and thread ready! Let’s see if I can pull it off this time too.

Sep17

Invitations

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Invitations

You’ve decided on a theme and figured out your Guest list…

Next comes the invitations. This is where the fun begins and I bring out all my creativity to work.

I absolutely love making my own invitations. Cardstock, printing, designing, tape and all! I try my best to also create a fun wording to the invite too that’s theme related.

In this post I’m going to show what I’ve done in the past, I’ll also recommend alternatives if you’re not the DIY or creative type.

First there are essentials to what goes ON the invitation. I’ll divide it into MUST have and FUN to have.

You must include:
Child’s name. It’s a good idea to use the full name if you’re sending the invite to school that way if there are several Sarahs in the class the parents now which one it is.
Child’s Age. Make the parents’ life easier for choosing gifts especially if the friends are from different age groups.
Date & Time When putting the date it’s also nice to include the day. As for the time you should include a start & end time that way parents can also gauge when the cake will be served.
Address Be specific, if you have a green roof or a special landmark include it
Telephone number I usually put an RSVP, but in Kuwait I think they consider that “optional” but a number is always important. The worst thing is for a parent to be lost and can’t get a hold of you while the child is nagging “Are we there yet?”

You May want to include
A Map especially if the street address isn’t clear.
Theme based Poem you’ll see later in my past invites.
Special instructions. Is it a pool party? in the garden, costume….etc

So you’re all set with the invitation?? Here’s a sample of an invitation I’ve made?
ZeeInviteMonkey

For Zeenah’s 3rd birthday I had REEEEEELAY wanted to do a caterpillar theme. Off course her choice was a monkey theme. When I asked why she said “because I’m a Monkey!” fair enough. Her birthday her choice and its fairly easy to work with!

So I researched ideas and I came up with this…

Color scheme Brown, Lime green, pink and touches of yellow.

Pink envelopes with yellow labels

Pink printing paper for the card and a framing of green lime paper and heavy Brown cardstock.

Finally you need to distribute the invitations. I advise to send in between 10 days to a week in advance. I think this is probably applicable only in Kuwait. Reasons….. If you do it any time before that people are most likely to forget.

You can always send a “Save the Date” in advance via text message in case you’re worried people will get booked.

Some people choose to send a reminder Text message a day before the birthday. I don’t particularly favor that, if the person didn’t mark it down and forgot then they’re probably not that close and too flaky. Who needs that as a friend? Not you nor your child deserves that.

Yes I’m funny like that. “You didn’t remember my daughter’s birthday what horror how dare you!!” 🙂

If you choose not to make your own invitation the “old fashioned way” You can always use websites that actually do it for you and you can either print it at home or have it shipped to you (if you have enough time).

Here’s a list of websites that may be useful to look at:
Personalized Party invites
Tiny Prints
Shutterfly
Paper Style

Don’t forget to have fun with it. The whole process is about “Making life Memorable” for you, your kids and everyone attending.

Sep14

Labels & Tags

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Labels & Tags

I’ve had many requests asking about the labels and tags that I’ve made for the girls.

I’m posting here the popcorn tags I made for the girls’ first day of school. I’ll add more eventually but I thought I’d try out this way and get your feedback on printing quality as I’m adding them as images….

I left the “from” part blank so you can make it your own.

Let me know if it works!! If not I’ll keep investigating for better “downloading” options.

Sep2

Back to School Treats

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Back to School Treats

I was determined to make something special for the girl’s first day of school. I wanted to make sure they were super excited about the year ahead. The hardest part was making sure it was something the kids would enjoy and it be a healthy treat.

First I thought maybe it should be a non-edible something….but it didn’t make sense to send a notepad and pencil favor with the amount of supplies we’ve already sent to school and for the younger ones sending crayons home didn’t seem appealing.

So plan B edible…healthy omits cookies, candy and chocolates. I was not about to send apples & bananas, where’s the creativity in that???

Then it dawned on me Popcorn!!! Kids of all ages love popcorn, it’s air popped and healthy. No allergy issues and extremely simple!!!
POP_1
 
 

Pop_Labels
 
 
 

Next came the labels!! That’s where the creativity kicked in….
 
 

I tried to choose something fun on each Label…it read It’s gonna be a “POPin” year with you in my class! and the girls’ names. I made sure that I used different borders for each of the girls so that they were unique to them.
 
 
 
 

And viola!! Amazing popcorn treats for the girls classmates to kick of the School year with a POP! and all you needed was a bowl of popcorn and a few simple supplies.
POP_supplies
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Now that’s “Making life memorable”
POP all
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Stay tuned for the “Teacher’s Survival Kit”

Aug19

CAP kids Art program

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CAP kids Art program

Today I’ll be taking Jennah to her first class at the CAP kids art classes. I think I’m more excited than she is. I was happy to actually read about it on @whats_kickin.

The program duration is 1 month for twice a week, each session is 2 hours. The great thing is that the program is teaching everything about art. Techniques, artists and practical drawing too. I’m actually curious to see how the end result of their Art work. Hopefully it will light something up in Jennah and she can pursue it further…..but with school closing in I’m not sure if I’ll continue after the first month.

For those that are interested be sure to visit their website. They’re located in Life Center (same building as Eureka and Midas), Industrial Shuwaikh. I also highly recommend visiting their art library. So many books to go through and learn about artists and techniques. I’m planning to sit with Zeenah my 3 year old in their library and hopefully do some “learning about Art” while Jennah’s in class.

For those of you that are wondering how serious these classes are…check out the supply list we had to buy.
Art Supplies

Defintatly going to see some frame worthy artwork!! Jennah’s “Making life Memorable”