Gift Tags from Recycled Cardboard

Looking for a use for all the cardboard boxes you have sitting in your recycling bin?  Why not make some cute gift tags?

Here is a tutorial for a charming Christmas tag {and I have also included a template for an adorable Birthday tag}.

You'll need:  a cardboard box (like a cereal box or granola bar box), yarn or ribbon, scraps of paper in different colors/patterns, scissors, and glue.

 Here's what you need to do:

1)  Use the templates found here to cut two gift tag shapes -- one from the decorative paper and one from the cardboard.  Also, cut out the tree shape in a contrasting paper color.

2)  Glue the decorative paper to the colorful side of the cardboard (so that the blank side of the cardboard is on the back of the tag)  Then, glue the tree to the top of the decorative paper.

3)  Punch a hole at the top of the tag, and loop a piece of thread or ribbon through the hole.

 

Easy, cute, and made with stuff you have lying around the house.  Use your imagination to decorate the tags any way you want... and let the kids try too.  The tree and cupcake templates are just to get you started.  :-)

♥

Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Happy 6th Birthday (Birthday Letter)

My oldest "baby" turns six today.  Why does six seem so much older than five?  It hurts my heart a little to see him getting so grown up, but I am so proud of the little boy he is growing up to be. 

Earlier this year, I came up with the idea of writing letters to my boys each year on their birthdays.  Here is my birthday letter to my darling first born son:

You are such a special boy.... my little angel.  Here are just a few of the things that make you my favorite six year old in the whole wide world.  :-)

• You have a kind heart, and you always want to help others. 
  
• You are an awesome big brother.  You are patient and kind, and your little brothers love you very much... and they love all the adventures you take them on.
• Your little boy laugh (especially when Daddy tickles you) makes me smile.
• You always try your best and give 100% when trying anything new.
• You love to draw (and you are great with detail).  Every day when you get home from school, you ask me for a piece of paper and a peanut butter sandwich.
• Your favorite movie is The Fox and the Hound, your favorite food is a peanut butter sandwich, and your favorite sport is Hockey. 
• You have lots of friends, and you love when the girls chase you at recess.
• You still let me kiss and hug you when I drop you off at school.  I know it won't last forever, but I cherish every one I am getting now.

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!  You may be six, but you will always be my first baby.

Lots of Love,

Mommy  xoxo

Magic Elf Key - for our "Elf on the Shelf"... including a free printable

Do you have an Elf on the Shelf at your house?  He arrives at our house on December 1, and it is one of our favorite Christmas traditions.  

I recently posted about a Magic Santa key, and I thought it would be fun to give our elf {"Elfie"} his own magic key.  I was totally excited when I found a tiny key, which was meant to be a necklace pendant.

(This tag is intended for personal use only.  Copyright belongs to East Coast Mommy.  Thanks!)

Cute, right?  I wrote a short poem and designed a sweet little key tag.  I have made it into a free printable that you can find here.  Just print it out and attach a split ring and a key.   (Feel free to use this printable and share it with friends, but I wrote this poem, so the copyright belongs to me.  Please don't reprint it without permission, and please don't link directly to the download.  Thank you!)

Now Elfie will have no trouble getting into our house after a long trip to the North Pole (where he reports to Santa on how "good" my boys have been that day.  :-)

♥

Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

** If you haven't already "liked" me on facebook, I would love to have you join me here.

Recycled Matching Game

Do you ever wonder what to do with all those milk/water jug caps?  I have a bunch of them in my "stuff to recycle into crafts" box.  I thought it would be fun to make a matching game for my boys.  It was so easy, fun, and absolutely free.

Here's how we did it:

1)  We decided to do a matching game with numbers from 1-10, so we counted out 20 bottle caps.  (You can do it for letters, colors, people in your family... whatever you want.)

2)  We traced 20 circles onto a piece of paper, and my four year old printed the numbers in each circle.

3)  I cut out all the circles (just inside the lines I had drawn) and put them in the caps.  You don't even need to use glue because the grooves in the lid keep the paper in place.  Easy, right?  :-)

That's it!

To play the game, simply flip over all the lids, and take turns trying to make matches.  If you get a match, you get another turn.  When all the lids are gone, the person who made the most matches wins.



Happy Matching!



♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Magic Santa Key (with free PRINTABLE)

Have your kids ever asked you how Santa gets into your house on Christmas Eve?  We don't have a chimney, so it is always a question at our house.  So, when I saw a bunch of Magic Santa Keys on Pinterest, I knew we needed one.  Here is my version:

Cute, right?  I wrote a short poem and designed a sweet little key tag.  I have made it into a free printable that you can find here.  Just print it out and attach a split ring and a key.  (Feel free to use this printable and share it with friends, but I wrote this poem, so the copyright belongs to me.  Please don't reprint it without permission, and please don't link directly to the download.  Thank you!)

Leave your Magic Santa Key for Santa on Christmas Eve, and he will have no trouble getting in to fill those stockings.  :-)

♥

Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

PS (One of my readers suggested giving the key to your child when they leave home -- to use as an ornament on his/her Christmas tree.  Brilliant!  Such clever people you all are!  :-) 

**  If you liked this post, you might also be interested in my Magic Elf Key Free Printable.  You can find it here.

You might also like the fantastic Christmas ideas here.

REVIEW & GIVEAWAY {Avon's FOOTWORKS Products} - CLOSED

This contest is now CLOSED.  The winner of the Avon FOOTWORKS products is Comment #4 (Dawn Oliver).

No one warned me that becoming a mother would mean I would no longer have any time to properly look after myself.  Taking a shower has become somewhat of a luxury these days.  lol!

So, when Tammie (from Pampered by Tammy) contacted me about reviewing (and giving away) some Avon foot products, I knew I had to say "yes".

Lavender Comfort Foot Soak {my favorite}

I was not disappointed.  I tried: FOOTWORKS Triple Smooth Foot Scrub, FOOTWORKS Lavender Comfort Foot Soak, FOOTWORKS Therapeutic Cracked Heel Relief Cream, FOOTWORKS Tropical Coconut Foot Lotion, and Avon's Nailwear Pro polish.

I will spare you the before and after pictures, but take my word for it, my feet look and feel a hundred times better than they did a week ago.

So... ready for some pampering???   

Comment (below) letting me know which Avon product you would most like to try, and you will win ALL 5 of the products I tried.  Just leave your answer (and email address if you aren't logged in) before Saturday, November 13, 2011.

You can visit Tammie's online store here.

Good luck!

♥

Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Rules {I am a mom... I can't help it}:

1. The winner of the contest will be chosen by the Random Number Generator.
2. To enter the contest, you must leave me a comment telling me your favorite Avon product.  Contest is open to Canadian and US residents only.
3. This contest is not being hosted or sanctioned in any way by facebook.
4. Contest closes on November 13, 2011 at 11:59pm.
5. Prize will be accepted as awarded.
6. Winners 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.

Please note:  I was provided with this product (free of charge) for reviewing purposes only.  No monetary compensation was received, and all opinions are 100% my own.

DIY Obstacle Course

I think it is so important to keep kids moving and active.  One fun thing we like to do is set up Obstacle Courses.  It keeps my boys entertained for hours.... and when they are done, they are exhausted.  Does it get any better than that?  :-)

It doesn't have to be fancy -- and you can make it as simple or as elaborate as you want.  We just used things we had lying around.  Once I started putting it together, the kids starting coming up with their own ideas.  Here's what our course looked like:

Fun, right?  Give it a try, and let me now how it goes.

♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

The Book Fairy

Now that Halloween is over, I know there are a lot of moms out there who are overwhelmed with all the Halloween Candy their little ones brought home.  Thought you might like to know what we did...

First, the kids sat in a circle and took turns choosing their favorites.  They each filled a ziploc bag with all their picks.

Then, we put the leftover candy in a bag, and put it by the front door for the "Book Fairy".  The next morning, the candy was gone, and the boys had new books and a new Spiderman costume for their dress up box (which was marked down by 75% after Halloween -- book fairies love good deals!)  ;-)

Here are some other ideas (from my awesome readers):

• donate the candy to a children's hospital... for the kids who were not able to trick or treat
• offer to buy the candy from the kids, and let them use the money to buy a new toy or book
• donate it to a food bank
• take it to work

Got another idea?  What do you do with your leftover candy?

♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Giveaway -- Reel Babies Movie Passes -- CLOSED

This contest is now CLOSED.  The winners of the movie passes are:  

Comment #14  (stephie322)   replaced by comment #17 (murphydawna@hotmail.com)

Comment #3    (Lindsay)

Comment #2    (Bree’s Mom)  replaced by comment #9 (crystalbrophy@hotmail.com)

Comment #5    (Aldona MacNeil)

Comment #11  (Margaret Langille)

As a new mom, it is common to feel isolated from the outside world.  When my first son was born, one of my favorite things to do (to keep myself sane) was go to "mom and baby" movies.  Empire Theatres has a great program called Reel Babies.  If there is one where you live, you should totally check it out.  :-)

Twice a month you can enjoy a new-release movie in a baby-friendly environment.  Each theatre is equipped with a change table, bottle warmer, play mat and swing... and they keep the lights on dim and lower the volume a bit.

Now, for the exciting part:  I have 10 tickets to give away,  and I am going to give them away in five pairs.  Fun, right?

All you have to do is leave a comment (below this post) telling me your favorite family movie.  If you don't have a Reel Babies near you, you can always enter and give them to a friend if you win.  

Contest closes November 9, 2011.  (If you aren't logged in when you comment, don't forget your email address.)

Thanks for sharing, and good luck!

♥

Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Rules {I am a mom... I can't help it}:

1. The winner of the contest will be chosen by the Random Number Generator.
2. To enter the contest, you must leave me a comment telling me your favorite family movie.  Contest is open to Canadian residents only.
3. This contest is not being hosted or sanctioned in any way by facebook.
4. Contest closes on November 9, 2011 at 11:59pm.
5. Prize will be accepted as awarded.
6. Winners 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.

** For further information on Reel Babies, please visit www.empiretheatres.com/reelbabies.

** This is a sponsored post, but the opinions expressed are 100% my own.

Magic Pumpkin Seeds

I saw a post on Pinterest about planting "magic pumpkin seeds", and I knew it was something I wanted to do with my boys.  (I love that they all still believe in "magic".) 

In the version I saw (which you can find here), they plant seeds outside and grow baby pumpkins, but I came up with a fun "indoor" version.  Here it is:

First, we carved our pumpkins. 

Then, we roasted most of the pumpkin seeds, but set aside some "special" ones for planting.  (To roast pumpkin seeds: clean and pat them dry, spread on a cookie sheet, drizzle with melted butter, sprinkle with salt, and bake at 300 for approximately 45 minutes... stirring occasionally.) 

 

In order to make the "magic" seeds grow, we planted them in sugar and set them by the window so that the "night before Halloween moon" could shine on them while the boys were sleeping.

It totally worked... and tomorrow morning {Halloween Day}, the boys will see that the seeds have grown into cookie pop flowers.

I am so excited for the boys to see their cookie pops.  Would your little ones have fun waiting for magic pumpkin seeds to grow? 

♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

PS (Look at what I just packed in my oldest son's lunch.  I wonder if he'll get the pun?  It doesn't really matter though... he'll only care about the Smarties anyway.  :-)

For MORE easy and inexpensive Halloween ideas, click here.

Make your own Bird Feeders

Recently, a good friend of mine told me about a cute bird feeder her daughter made at Preschool using a toilet paper roll, peanut butter (or shortening if you have nut allergies), and bird seed.  I thought it would be a fun activity to do with my boys... and it was!

In fact, it was such a success that we decided to make two other variations:  Cheerio bird feeders and bird feeders using pine cones we found in our yard. 

Here's how you can make three different kinds of bird feeders:

1)  Gather the supplies (pipe cleaners, pine cones, toilet paper rolls, string, bird seed, peanut butter, and Cheerios).

2)  To make the Cheerio feeders, all you need to do is bend one end of pipe cleaner (so the Cheerios don't fall off), and then thread the Cheerios on.  To finish, make a loop at the top to hang it on the tree.  {My two year old loved this one, and he was able to do it all by himself, which made him super-proud.}

3)  To make the Toilet Paper Roll feeder:

     a)  Use a hole punch to make two holes at the top of your toilet paper roll.  (This is where you will be attaching the pipe cleaner.)

     b)  Cover the toilet paper roll with peanut butter, and then roll it in bird seed until it is completely covered.  (This part is a bit messy.)

     c)  Attach a pipe cleaner, and you're done!

4)  To make the pine cone bird feeder, simply cover the pine cone in peanut butter, roll it in birdseed, and attach a string.  Easy!

We have already attracted a lot of birds with our bird feeders.  Let me know how it works for you.

♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

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New Halloween Tradition -- Booing!

As you have probably already guessed, I love holiday traditions.  I really believe they are the foundation for great childhood memories.

So.... when family friends introduced us to "Ghosting" this year, I could not have been more excited.  "Ghosting" or "Booing" is a tradition where you leave treats, a note, and a "You've been Booed/Ghosted" sign for your neighbours.... secretly.... kind of like a Secret Santa for Halloween.  :-)

It is a ton of fun!

You can find the printable that we used (from The TomKat Studio) here, but there are tons of versions out there in blog world if you do a search.  Find your favorite, and HAPPY BOOING!

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)
 
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