Nature Walk {Milk Carton Basket}

Today, my boys and I went on a really fun "nature walk" -- so easy, and so wonderful to spend some time outside while the weather was still nice.  We had a great time exploring and collecting things in our homemade buckets.



My handsome boys heading out on our nature walk.

Here's how we made our buckets:

Step 1:  We cleaned out some old milk cartons.

Step 2:  We cut the tops off the milk cartons.

Step 3:  We used a hole punch to make holes in the sides and inserted a pipe cleaner handle.

Didn't they turn out cute???

We had such a great time discovering new things in our neighborhood.  What a great way to spend an afternoon. 

Here are a few pictures of our walk:

Examining some bugs.

 

Showing off the blackberries we picked for lunch.

 

Some of the treasures we found.

 

Doesn't it just make you want to put on your rubber boots and head outside?  :-)

♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Purple Halloween Plaque

I have been looking for some Halloween decor that is not orange and black.  I have seen some fun purple accents, and I thought it might be fun to make a purple sign out of a $2 wooden plaque I found at the dollar store.  I was really pleased with how it turned out, and my boys love the glittery purple spiders.  :-)

Here's how I did it:

You'll need:  a wooden sign from the dollar store, a piece of scrapbook paper, purple foam (for the letters), black paint, and Mod Podge.  (I used glittery spiders from the dollar store for embellishments, but this is optional.)

Step 1:  Lightly sand the plaque to get rid of the rough edges.  Then, paint the edges of the plaque black. 

Step 2:  Trace the top of the plaque onto a piece of decorative paper, cut it out, and glue it in place.  (Don't you love the cute spider web paper I found?)  Cover with a couple of layers of Mod Podge. 

Step 3:  Trace and cut out purple foam letters.  (I printed the word "Boo!" on my computer to use as a template.)  Glue letters in place.

Step 4:  Add embellishments if desired.  I thought some glittery purple spiders would be fun.

That's it... pretty cute for a couple of dollars, right? 

I hope this inspires you to add some "purple" to your Halloween decorations. 

♥ 

Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

FALL WREATH with DIY felt flowers

I have been on a mission to find an inexpensive, nice fall wreath ever since my husband painted our front door a few weeks ago.  (It was more difficult than I thought it would be to find what I wanted.)  Then... I found a plain 18" grapevine wreath for $4.97 at Walmart, I saw a beautiful wreath online, and I was able to make one I LOVE!  Here is my version:

So, are you excited to make one? I guarantee it is easy, and even a beginner crafter can do it.   

Here is how I made mine:

1)  Cut circles out of felt.  I used a CD as a template.  (My version uses 18 yellow flowers and 12 off white flowers -- so you will need 18 yellow circles and 12 white circles.) 

2)  Cut a "spiral" shape out of each felt circle.  

3)  Starting on the outside, wrap the felt until you form a flower.

4)  Secure the end with some hot glue. 

5)  Arrange the flowers on the wreath until you are happy with the how it looks.  Then, secure all the flowers using a hot glue gun.

Didn't it turn out great???  The beautiful fall colours even make me a little less sad that summer is over.

♥ 

Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Water Jug Pumpkins

Who doesn't love using recycled materials to create an adorable craft? Check out this super-easy Halloween craft I made with my boys -- Glow-in-the-Dark Pumpkins.  This craft was so simple, I plan to make a bunch with my boys to decorate our house on Halloween night.

All you need is:

• an empty water bottle or milk jug (washed out)
• a black Sharpie
• Green paint and paint brush
• Orange glow sticks

 

Here is how easy it is:

1)  Paint the cap green.  I just used regular old kid's craft paint.  

2)  Draw a jack-o-lantern face with a Black Sharpie.  (Note:  You might want to make your face scarier -- my five year old told me mine wasn't scary enough.  :-)

3)  Insert an orange glow stick.  I actually ended up adding a glow stick and two glow necklaces in order to get a really good "glowing" effect.

So easy, right???  Can't you just picture a bunch of these water jug pumpkins lining the path to your door on Halloween night?

♥ 

Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

PS - You can find more easy and inexpensive Halloween ideas here.

Googly Eye Vase

I saw a cute {googly eye covered} frame at A Diamond in the Stuff, and I knew I had to make something out of googly eyes with my four year old.  He just loves googly eyes and glue!

We decided to make a "spooky" vase for the flowers we grew together this summer.  So... we gathered our supplies:  a tin can (washed out), orange construction paper, glue, googly eyes, and tape.

Then....

1)  We cut a piece of orange construction paper big enough to cover the can, and we taped it in place.

2)  My son started gluing on tons of googly eyes.  {Bonus - This kept him busy and happy for 20 minutes!}

3)  We let it dry overnight, and filled it with flowers.

This was such an easy craft, and my son loves his "spooky" googly eye vase.  In fact, his older brother wants to make one using black construction paper this weekend.

♥ 

Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

PS - You can find more easy and inexpensive Halloween ideas here.

Want to Sponsor a Giveaway?

I love to review {and give away} great products that I know would be useful and/or fun for my readers. I have been getting a lot of questions lately about how my reviews/giveaways work, so here is the info:

I have two options for giveaways:

1)  Review/giveaway - I receive a product valued at $100 or more to review, and I receive an identical product to give away to one of my readers.*
2)  Giveaway - I receive a cash payment of $125 to run a giveaway.*
*Extra charges will apply if there are specific social media sharing or reporting requirements.

East Coast Mommy is a blog that is written by me (Gina Bell), and all opinions/views expressed on my blog are 100% my own. This is a PR friendly blog and no negative reviews will be posted, so…. if for any reason the product is not something I like or believe in, you will be contacted privately, and:

1.      No review will be published

2.      No giveaway will take place

If you have an item that my readers might be interested in, please email me at eastcoastmommy@gmail.com!

A few important points: 

For reviews - If I like the product, a full (positive) review will be posted within 4 weeks (or less) of my receipt of the review item.  At that time, I will run a contest, and you will provide a second (identical) item for me to give away to one of my readers.

• Any items given for review will not be returned
• All shipping/brokerage/customs fees will be paid for by you (the sponsor)
• You (the sponsor) will be responsible for shipping the giveaway prize directly to the winner

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at eastcoastmommy@gmail.com.  

Thanks!  

♥ 
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Fall Activity Tree

We just wrapped up our Summer Activity Checklist with a really fun "ice cream for supper" party.  It was a really great way to end the Summer.

Now school has started again, and the weather is getting cooler, so I decided we needed a Fall Activity Checklist.  I thought it would be fun to put each activity on a "leaf", and hang it on a cardboard cut out of a tree.  It isn't fancy {my boys did all the coloring and most of the cutting}, but here's how we did it:

1)  I drew a {rough} outline of a tree on a piece of white bristol board, the boys colored it brown, and I cut it out.

2)  I traced the outline of the boys hands on some colored paper to make"leaves".

3)  The boys cut out the leaves, and we wrote a fall activity on each one. 

5)  We hung up the tree and taped the "leaves" onto the branches.

Simple, right???  As we complete each activity, the leaf will fall to the bottom of the tree, and when all the leaves are gone, we'll start our "Winter" checklist.  :-)

PS - In case you are interested, here are the Fall Activities we included on our tree:

     1)  Bake an Apple Dessert.

     2)  Rake Leaves.

     3)  Jump in Leaves.

     4)  Make a Fall Craft.

     5)  Celebrate Thanksgiving.

     6)  Visit a Pumpkin Patch.

     7)  Carve a Pumpkin.

     8)  Decorate Halloween Cupcakes.

     9)  Go Trick or Treating.

     10)Attend a Remembrance Day Parade.

What are your family's favorite fall activities?

♥ 

Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)