No-Sew Doctor Lab Coat

My boys love to engage in pretend play, and recently they decided to set up a teddy bear clinic in our living room.  We needed a quick doctor lab coat costume, so I came up with this simple no-sew version.

Isn't it cute?  I started with an inexpensive (adult) white t-shirt.

Then, I used a sharpie to draw a red cross onto the t-shirt.

Finally, I used sharp fabric scissors to cut straight up the middle of the shirt.

My boys had a great time playing "doctor" with all of their stuffed animals.  Such a great way to spend an afternoon, don't you think?  Would your little ones love this "no-sew" doctor lab coat?

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Alphabet Crafts - Letter Q

My 4 year old and I are continuing our "craft our way through the alphabet" adventure, and this afternoon we had some fun with the Letter Q. We made a Queen's Crown for my little guy's stuffed bear, and we did some letter Q printing practice.

To make the Queen's Crown craft:

1)  Download the crown template here, print it onto a piece of card stock, and cut it out.
2)  Cut strips of paper that can be used as a headband.
3)  Decorate the crown.  {My little guy used jewel stickers that I got at the dollar store, but you can decorate it any way you want.
4)  Use the strips of paper to form a headband, add the crown to the front, and tape in place.

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

And, if you are looking for more Letter Q crafts, check out this adorable "quilt" craft. Start with a picture of the child's head, and then glue on squares of scrap paper to make a quilt. 

You can also decorate a letter Q with crayons and stickers. Painting it with a Q-tip would also be fun.

And, how sweet is this "Q is for Queen" craft. I love how this Q is transformed into a queen using paper, crayons, googly eyes, and jewel stickers from the dollar store. So cute!

Fun, right? Next up... the letter R.

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

PS (Check out more alphabet crafts here.)

Alphabet Crafts - Letter P

My 4 year old and I are continuing to "craft our way through the alphabet", and today we had some fun with the Letter P. We made a Paper Pirate Ship, and we did some letter P printing practice.

To make the Pirate Ship Craft:

1)  Download the free pirate ship template that you can find here.
2)  Color the pieces.

3)  Cut out the pieces.

4)  Glue the pieces and three craft sticks in place. 

5)  Glue on some Cheerio "windows".

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 P with your little one, you can right-click on the picture below, save it to your computer, and print it.

And if you are looking for more letter P crafts:

Why not try making this polka dot popsicle from a piece of heavy paper, a craft stick, and some stickers?

And use the leftover stickers to make a polka dot P.

This letter P pig is adorable too.

And a paper plate, some yellow tissue paper, and round paper circles make a perfect pepperoni pizza.

Fun, right?  Next up... the letter Q.

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

PS (You can find more alphabet crafts here.)

Alphabet Crafts - Letter O

My 4 year old and I are continuing to "craft our way through the alphabet", and yesterday we had some fun with the Letter O.  We made an Octopus from an empty toilet paper roll, and we did some letter O printing practice.

To make a toilet roll octopus:

1)  Paint an empty toilet roll green, and allow it to dry completely.
2)  Use glue to add googly eyes, and use a black marker to draw a mouth.
3)  Cut slits in the toilet roll all the way around to create arms.
4)  Dip a Q-tip in white paint to add "suckers" to the octopus's arms.

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

Interested in some more "Letter O" crafts for preschoolers?

Try decorating a letter O with crayons and stickers.

Or make an adorable "Letter O Owl". Start by colouring an O, and then glue on construction paper details and googly eyes.

And, for a little "cutting practice", you could make this adorable "O is for Octopus" craft. Cut a piece of construction paper in half and draw some lines for the preschooler to cut. Draw a mouth and glue on some googly eyes. Finish by rolling up the paper and taping it in place.

Fun, right?  Next up... the letter P.

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Find more alphabet crafts here.

SIMPLE Way to Save Money on Summer PJs

Every Spring I pack away the winter clothes and fill all the kids' drawers with summer clothes.  This year, I realized that I had very few pairs of summer PJs for the boys, and I came up with a great alternative to going out and spending a lot of money on a bunch of new summer PJs.

Want to know how I saved some money?  I went to Walmart and bought a bunch of plain white t-shirts.  The shirts were 2 for $6... so $3 each.  I think they work great as tops with the bottoms of their winter PJs.  Pretty clever, right?

I love how simple this idea is... and I am excited about the money I am going to save on summer PJs.  More money for ice cream!

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Indoor Campfire

Today I want to share a really simple indoor activity that my 4 year old came up with.  We decided to play "indoor camping", and my little guy had a fantastic idea for an indoor campfire.

We put a flashlight inside a container (which was actually our play tunnel), and then we covered the flashlight with crumpled up tissue paper.  Doesn't it look like a real fire?

We sang songs around our fire and pretended to "roast" marshmallows.  Such a fun way to spend an afternoon!  Have you ever played "indoor camping" with your little one?

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Alphabet Crafts - Letter N

My 4 year old and I are "crafting our way through the alphabet", and yesterday we had some fun with the letter N.  We made an adorable little paper necktie (that you can really wear), and we did some letter N printing practice.

To make the paper necktie:

1)  Download the template here.
2)  Print the template onto white card stock.
3)  Color the tie with crayons. 
4)  Punch two holes in the tie, add some reinforcements, and tie on some elastic (so that the child can easily put the tie around his/her neck).

I think this would be a fun craft for Father's Day too, don't you?  It's easy, inexpensive, and really cute.

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

Interested in more letter N crafts? What about this adorable "N is for nest" picture. The next is made from ripped up pieces of a lunch bag.

Or... you could decorate an N to look like "night". Use star stickers and a paper moon.

Fun, right? Next up, the letter "O"!

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)


You can find all our alphabet crafts here.