Summer Checklist Update... and a fun idea for capturing summer smiles

Summer is flying by, and the boys and I are still working on completing all the items on our Summer Checklist.  With two weeks to go before school starts, we have completed 35 of the 50 items on our list.  Yesterday we completed #36 -- have a dance party in the living room -- and let me tell you... my boys have some serious dance moves!

My boys make me smile all the time, and as a KINDERMom, I am excited to share KINDER's fantastic new app with you.  #KinderSmiles is a fun and interactive way for parents to capture and share moments of joy in a playful way.  Once you're a KINDER® fan, it's just a few simple steps:

Step 1: Like KINDER® on Facebook

Step 2: Start your photo-strip

Step 3: Upload your photos

Step 4: Choose a fancy KINDER® frame

Step 5: Choose a filter

Step 6: Save & share

It's an easy way to capture summer memories.  My strip includes pictures of my boys hosting a lemonade stand for charity, my boys at my 5 year old's pirate party, and my boys at my 7 year old's spy party.  So many #KinderSmiles, and so much summer fun!

What has been the highlight of your summer so far?  Do you have any "must do" items left on your summer bucket list?

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

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

Alphabet Crafts - Letter Z

Last week my youngest son and I completed the last craft in our "crafting our way through the alphabet" adventure.  We made an adorable Zebra mask (from a paper plate), and we did a little letter Z printing practice. Keep reading to check out all the fun letter Z alphabet crafts and activities.

To make a zebra mask:

1) Cut two "eye holes" from a paper plate.
2) Cut a strip of black construction paper for the mane, and cut slits 3/4 of the way down the paper.
3) Cut a round circle from a piece of black construction paper. Glue mane and snout onto the paper plate.
4) Cut ears from a piece of cardstock. Color the inside of the ears pink.
5) Draw zebra stripes with a marker, and color them in with a black crayon.
6) Glue two pink buttons onto the snout.
7) Allow all the glue to dry, and then tape a popsicle stick onto the back.

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

Looking for more "letter Z" crafts? I love this "letter Z zebra", don't you? Start with a Z and then glue on stripes, a nose, an ear, a googly eye, and a yarn mane.

And this "Z is for zoo" craft is simple and fun. Draw a cage, and have the little one add some zoo animal stickers. 

That's it!  We have finally completed our 26 alphabet crafts.  It was a really fun project for my little guy and myself.  Have you made any of my alphabet crafts with your child?

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

PS... Check out the fun monkey paper bag puppet here.

And find MORE alphabet crafts here.

7 Tips for Planning a Successful DIY Party for Kids

Children’s parties don’t need to be elaborate to be fun, and they shouldn’t be stressful for parents. So, today I am sharing my tips for hosting easy, inexpensive, and memorable parties for kids.

1) Plan ahead.  Do as much as you can before the day of the party so that when the big day arrives, you can enjoy it without being totally stressed out. Decide how many people you will be inviting, where you will host the party, and the date and time that will work best for you and your guests. I like to have a party in the afternoon because it gives me the entire morning to get everyone and everything ready. I also like to schedule 1-½ hours for the party. We never spend time opening gifts (as we always ask guests to bring a $2 coin in lieu of a gift), so this seems to be the proper amount of time for us. If you are opening gifts, I would suggest 2 hours.

2)  Pick a theme.  A theme will influence the invitation, the decorations, and the activities at the party. It can revolve around a character, a sport, an activity, or a color scheme. Having a theme is really about having something that ties all the elements of the party together. This year my five year old chose a Jake and the Neverland Pirates Party, and my seven year old chose a Spy Party.

3)  Add a personal touch. You can bake a special cake, craft your own decorations, or cook your signature dish to serve to guests. The unique DIY details are what the guests will remember.

4)  Have a schedule written out. You’ll have to be flexible, but a rough guide is definitely helpful. I always like to have a simple craft or activity to keep the kids busy until all the guests have arrived. Then, we eat, play games or make crafts, take a group photo, and serve the cake.

5)  Make sure that the activities at the party are fun, simple and age appropriate. You can play games, decorate cupcakes, or do a craft. If you have a large group, breaking the kids up into smaller groups can be helpful in keeping everything under control.

6)  Make sure everyone leaves with a small gift or loot bag. I try to come up with something that goes with the theme of the party. For our spy party, I put together little spy kits in a brown paper bags that were marked “top secret”. It’s a fun way to let your guests know that you appreciate having them celebrate with you.

7)  Relax and enjoy the party. Little ones are surprisingly easy to please. If good friends, music, balloons, and cake surround them, all will have a good time.

What's your best tip when planning a successful DIY party for kids?

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Alphabet Crafts - Letter Y

My youngest son and I are "crafting our way through the alphabet", and today we had some fun with the Letter Y.  We did a Yarn craft, made a yo-yo, and did a little Letter Y printing practice.

To make the yarn sewing card:

1) Cut a "Y" shape from a cereal box or other piece of thin cardboard.
2) Use a hole punch to make holes around the perimeter of the shape.
3) Attach a piece of yarn to a piece of pipe cleaner, and use the "needle and thread" to weave the yarn around the shape.

Then, to make a water balloon yo-yo:

1) Take a normal size balloon (not a water balloon) and add a small amount of water.
2) Tie the end of the balloon.
3) Add an elastic band to the end of the balloon.
4) Start "yo-yo"ing!

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

Looking for more letter Y crafts? Check out this adorable "y is for yo-yo" craft. Trace the child's hand and colour it. Then, use glue to attach two circles and a piece of string.

You could also ball up tissue paper and glue it to a "Y" to make this "y is for yellow" picture.

And how cute is this "y is for yawn or yell" picture that allows kids to practice their scissor skills? Start by colouring an oval on a sheet of paper. Then, use glue to attach a black mouth, a pom pom nose, and two googly eyes. Finish by using scissors to cut paper to make hair, and attach the hair to the paper with glue.

Fun, right? Next up, the letter Z.  I can't believe we have almost finished our "crafting our way through the alphabet" adventure!

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Find more alphabet crafts here.

Alphabet Crafts - Letter X

We took a short summer break, but we are now finishing up our "crafting through the alphabet" adventure.  Yesterday, we made a Xylophone craft and did some letter X printing practice.

To make a paper xylophone:

1) Cut strips of construction paper in various colors, and have the child cut the strips into smaller and smaller sizes.
2) Glue the strips onto a piece of cardstock.
3) Glue a couple of pom poms onto coffee stir sticks to create xylophone mallets.

Cute, right?  After our craft, we did a little letter X printing practice.  To practice writing the letter X with your little one, right click on the picture below, save it to your computer, and print.

Looking for some more "letter X" crafts? How cute is this "X marks the spot treasure map? The child can draw and colour a map and add fun pirate stickers.

A personalized "X is for x-ray" craft is another cute way to learn about the letter x. Cut up Q-tips for bones, and add an adorable photo for the face.

Turning an "X" into an x-ray with crayons, glue, and q-tips is another simple craft that kids will enjoy.

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

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Find more alphabet crafts here.

Personalized Lunch Box {Review and Giveaway} - CLOSED

Winner - Jeannie Lam 

Last spring, I hosted a review and giveaway featuring personalized stainless steel water bottles from Stuck on You.  My boys still love their water bottles, so when I was asked to review matching lunch boxes, I jumped at the chance.

These lunch boxes are functional and adorable.  Each lunchbox comes personalized with a choice of cool kid designs and the child's name.  Sweet, right?

So... do you want to win a personalized lunch box for your child? 

Just head over to the Stuck on You website, and let me know which design you would choose if you won the personalized lunchbox. To enter, leave your design choice in the comments below... and don't forget to leave your email address (if you don't have one linked to your profile) so that I can contact you if you win.

While you are there, you'll also want to check out all the other fun products from Stuck on You. They have name labels, shoe labels, book labels, clothing labels, party in a cup, bag tags, backpacks, lunch boxes, library bags, wall art, height charts, t-shirts, wooden name puzzles, and more.

This contest is open World Wide, so everyone can enter.

Good luck!

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Disclosure: I received free products in association with this review and giveaway.... however (as always) the opinions on this blog are my own.

Contest Rules:
1) The winner of the contest will be chosen by the Random Number Generator.
2) To enter the contest, you must leave a comment on this post (with contact info). Contest is open worldwide.
3) This contest is not being hosted or sanctioned in any way by Facebook.
4) Contest closes on August 24, 2014 at 11:59pm.
5) Prize will be accepted as awarded.
6) Winner will be contacted via email and will have 48 hours to respond. After 48 hours the prize will be forfeited, and another winner will be selected.

Jake and the Neverland Pirates Party Decor

Nothing sets the mood for a party better than unique and clever party signage.  Today I am sharing the fun, easy and inexpensive DIY pirate party signage that I make for my 5 year old's Jake and the Neverland Pirates party.

1) X Marks the Spot - To make this high impact sign for my front door, I painted two scraps of wood bright red.  Then, I attached them together with hot glue in the shape of an X.  I also added a ribbon (for hanging) with hot glue.  It doesn't get much easier than this one!

2) Welcome to Neverland Isle - I think this "pool noodle" palm tree was my little birthday boy's favorite sign.  To make it, I just covered a pool noodle with brown paper and added bristol board leaves and coconuts.  I also added a little wooden dollar store sign that said "Welcome to Neverland Isle".  (I just wrote it with a Sharpie!)

3) Pirate Treasure Map- I wanted to make a little sign that let the guests know what we would be doing at the party, so I made this simple pirate treasure map.  I ripped open a brown paper lunch bag, crumpled it up, and used makers and stickers to add the party activities.  Cute, right?

4) Signs for Stations - To keep the party running smoothly, I used my computer, some stickers, and some dollar store frames to create signs for the different "stations"/activities at the party.  Per below, we had Smee's Tattoo Parlor and Tinkerbell's Jewelry Making Station.

5) Jake's Hideout - During our party, we had a treasure hunt, and the last clue led the party guests to "Jake's Hideout".  I make a sign for our playhouse using a dollar store wooden plaque hot glued to a piece of scrap wood.  I decorated the sign with Sharpies, stickers and a skull I drew on a piece of white cardstock.  I really loved how this one turned out!  (You can download the skull I designed here.)

6) 8X10s from our Disney trip - To add a personal touch to the party, I printed 8X10s of Peter Pan and Jake (with my boys) from our recent trip to Disney.  They looked really cute sitting in our hallway in dollar store frames.

7) Tinker Bell - To add a touch of whimsey to the decor, I decided to include our favorite fairy. I bought a dollarstore candle holder for a "cage", and I taped a picture of Tinkerbell inside.  Then, I set it beside an 8X10 of the "real" Tinkerbell (that I took on our last trip to Disney).

8) Banner - Every party needs a "banner", and this one is super cute.  I used card stock, dollar store letters, a piece of twine, and a hole punch to create this adorable "Ahoy Mateys!" banner.

9) Peter Pan Silhouettes - I love the story of Peter Pan, so this sign was special to me.  I used coloring book pictures as templates to cut these "shadows" from black cardstock.  Aren't they sweet?

I thought all the pirate party signage turned out great, and it was all simple and inexpensive.  Which was your favorite part of my Jakc and the Neverland Pirates Party decor?

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)