Alphabet Crafts - Letter U

My 4 year old and I are continuing to craft our way through the alphabet, and after today, we only have 5 letters left!  This time, we made a paper plate umbrella craft, and we did a little letter U printing practice.

To make the paper plate umbrella:

1)  Cut a paper plate in half, paint it, and allow it to dry completely.  (You can also add some "scalloping" at the bottom, but this step is optional.)
2)  Glue the paper plate to a piece of paper.
3)  Draw a handle on the umbrella.  (My son insisted on using a pipe cleaner, but it takes a lot of glue to make it stick.  I think drawing it is easier, but I leave it up to you!)
4)  Crumple up bits of tissue paper, and glue them onto the paper to make raindrops and puddles.

Cute, right?  After our craft we did a little printing practice. If you want to practice printing the letter U with your little one, you can right-click on the picture below, save it to your computer, and print it.

Want to make more "letter u" crafts with your Preschooler? Check out this sweet underwater scene. Start with a "U" and colour it blue. Then glue on some seaweed and add some underwater stickers.

And how sweet is this "letter U" unicorn? Start with a U, colour it, and add a unicorn head and feet. Then, glue on a googly eye and a yarn tail.

Fun, right? Next up... the Letter V!

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Find more alphabet crafts here.

Have an "Egg"cellent Summer {free printable tags}

It's that time of year again -- school is ending and summer vacation is just around the corner.  My boys enjoy bringing little gifts to share with their classmates on the last day of school, and today I am sharing an idea for a fun treat little ones will love (and I have designed free printable tag for you to download).

Cute, right?  My boys love Kinder Eggs.  What's not to love about a chocolate treat and a toy surprise?

If you want to make these treats for your child's classmates (or just for your little ones as a special "last day of school" surprise), just right click on the 4X6 picture below, save it to your computer, and print it like a normal photo.

We are really getting excited for summer around here, and we have already started to work our way through our Summer Checklist.  We are especially looking forward to our road trips to Halifax and PEI.  Maybe I'll pop a few Kinder Eggs into my purse to keep the boys happy in the van.

What are you most looking forward to this summer?  I'd love to hear about the summer adventure you have planned with your family.

♥
Gina Bell (aka East CoastMommy)

Disclosure: I’m part of theKinder® Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation withthis group.  The opinions on this blog are my own.

Alphabet Crafts - Letter T

My 4 year old and I are continuing to craft our way through the alphabet, and yesterday afternoon we had some fun with the letter T. We made a turtle puppet from a paper plate, and we did some letter T printing practice.

To make this turtle puppet:

1)  Cut a paper plate in half.
2)  Paint the paper plate yellow.
3)  Use a cotton ball to add green dots to the turtle's shell, and allow to dry completely.
4)  Cut a head, 4 legs and a tail from green construction paper, and tape to the back of the paper plate.
5)  Tape a craft stick to the back of the turtle.
6)  Glue on a googly eye, and draw on a mouth.

That's it! Isn't it a cute little craft?

After our craft, we did a little printing practice. If you want to practice printing the letter T with your little one, you can right-click on the picture below, save it to your computer, and print it.

Looking for more "letter T" crafts?

Try turning a "T" into a tree. Colour the trunk brown, and glue on scrunched up squares of tissue paper to create leaves.

This scrapbook paper turkey is another sweet and simple letter T craft. Cut a square of scrapbook paper, and glue it to a piece of cardstock. Add some heart feathers, a beak, and a heart wattle under the beak. Finish by gluing on a googly eye and drawing some feet. This would be a darling Thanksgiving craft too! 

And how much fun is this paper towel roll train that stands up on its own? The children colour a train that is printed on cardstock and cut it out. Then, an adult makes it stand by cutting slits in pieces of a paper towel roll. 

Adorable, right? Next up... the letter U.

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Find more alphabet crafts here.

DIY Teacher Gift {Candy Flower Bouquet}

Last week I shared the DIY Candy Bouquet I made for my husband for Father's Day.  This week, I am showing you how easily it can be transformed into a fun and inexpensive teacher gift.

Isn't it cute?  You can find the full tutorial for making a candy bouquet here.  

Then, after you create your candy bouquet, you just need to add the cute "I couldn't have picked a better teacher" tag that I designed.

To download the 4X6 tag I designed: right-click on the photo below, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular photo.

I just love this little gift on its own, but you could also add a gift card and a hand written note to make it even more special.  What is the best teacher gift you have ever gotten/received?

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

6 Father's Day Gifts {kids can make}

Homemade gifts are the best, and they are especially meaningful when they are coming from a child. Today, I am sharing 6 {simple} DIY Father's Day gifts that kids can make for the special man in their lives.

1)  Find a picture of your little one, ask a few questions about his/her dad, and (with one hour photo processing) you will have a special photo gift for dad that he will love.  You can find all the DIY details here.  

2)  Print this tie, have your little one decorate it, add some elastic, and you're done.  Easy peasy!  You can download the tie template here.  

3)  Fill a paper bag with Dad's favorite treats, and add a cute tie embellishment.  Total cuteness with loads of time to spare!  You can find all the DIY details for father's day gift wrap here.  

4)  Set the mood for a festive day about dad with this adorable father's day book page banner.  This little project is sure to bring a smile to Dad's face.  You can find the simple "how to" here.  

5)  If the way to Dad's heart is through his stomach, then this gift will definitely be a winner.  This candy bouquet is easy to put together and costs less than $10.  Now that's a sweet deal!  You can find the candy bouquet tutorial here.

6) With summer just around the corner, any dad will love this little s'more kits. It's perfect for when you are sitting around the campfire spending time together. You can download the tags (for free) here.

Don't you just love a simple DIY gift that the kids can make? Happy Father's Day!

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

DIY Candy Bouquet

I love flowers, but sometimes it is fun to give a gift that is a little more unique.  This tasty DIY Candy Bouquet is cute, delicious, and costs less than $10 to make. 

To make your own candy bouquet, head to the dollar store and pick out some of the recipients favorite treats.  (I used a lot of "mini" bars and a couple of full size ones... but you can choose whatever you like.  Healthier options will work too.)  You'll also need to purchase a box, floral foam, BBQ skewers, tape, and tissue paper.

Then:

1)  Cut floral foam to fit snuggly inside the box.

2)  Using a hot glue gun, attach treats to BBQ skewers.

3)  Add tissue paper embellishments to the "candy flowers" (if desired).  Secure with tape.

4)  Insert "candy flowers"into the floral foam, and hide the foam by sticking tissue paper into the box.

That's it!  Pretty cute right?  Do you know someone who would like to receive this DIY Candy Bouquet?

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Father's Day Gift Wrap

Father's Day is just around the corner, and today I am sharing a DIY gift idea that kids will love making for their dads. 

First, fill a paper bag with all of dad's favorite treats.  Then, secure the top of the bag with a custom designed tie that you can download here.

Cute, right?

What little one wouldn't be proud to present this cute gift to his/her father this Sunday?  Happy Father's Day!

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)