Fiskafriends- The Power of Community Blog Hop 2015

Fiskafriends- The Power of Community Blog Hop

Welcome to Happiness is Homemade!

Thank you for visiting my little corner of the world.  So happy you stopped by!

DIY Sticker Book

When you think about your childhood, did you have an interest or hobby that seems totally outdated in today's world of technology?  An activity that kids of today might not enjoy or even see the purpose in? I sure did!  Besides collecting random rocks around the yard, I was a BIG sticker enthusiast.

Yes, the Scratch and Sniff still smell!

I loved receiving stickers from my teachers, for my birthday and those free ones that would sometimes come in the mail for magazine subscriptions.  Over the course of my childhood, I carefully curated my collection into three sticker books.

I remember carefully peeling stickers off class work and tests so that I could add them to my collection.  I loved going through my books again and again to scratch the smelly stickers or feel the fuzzy ones.

In my constant quest to steer my own boys away from technology and enjoy true play, I worked with them to create their own sticker books.  This is a perfect activity for cold, rainy days or during quiet times when my little one was napping.

I purchased 3-ring binders and page protectors from the office department at Wal-Mart.  The bigger boys picked out some bold binders, while the little guy went plain.  I think the colorful ones keep with the cool 80's vibe I had!

Totally Radical

I made a cover for my little one's plain binder

In each page protector, I inserted a plain piece of white printer paper, so that it would give a solid background for the stickers to be showcased.

After that step, they were ready to get to work!

The boys simply peeled the stickers and adhered them to the outside of the page protectors.  They were repositionable when first applied, probably not so much later.

Great activity for those developing small muscles

This book has been great after doctor visits when they hand my boys a stack of stickers to take home with them.  It has encouraged them to keep the stickers "safe" until they get home to put in their book instead of plastering the back seat with them (or themselves).


I would love to know what  your simple pleasures were as a child...and do you share them with your child/grandchild/etc. today?

Blog Hop Info:

If you would like to be eligible for the sponsor giveaway drawing, START at the Fiskafriends blog http://fiskafriends.blogspot.com/ and follow the instructions there. If you have already done that, I would love for you to leave a comment on my blog.

You do not have to be a Fiskafriend to visit the blogs and comment on our blogger's pages.  International friends are welcome!
 The blog hop begins on March 27th at 6PM (PDT) and will end on March 29th at 11:59 PM PDT. The full contest rules and blog hop list will be revealed on the blog on March 27th. 

Start here and then you're your way:   http://fiskafriends.blogspot.com/

1. Jean Bullock, #8889, http://ez3dpopups.blogspot.com 
2. Susan Slomski, #6150,  http://sueinct.blogspot.com 
3. Cindy deRosier, #4113, http://www.cindyderosier.com
4. Tifany DeGough, #5942, http://inkblotsbytrd.blogspot.com 
5. Cheryl Waters, #002, http://blog.artsyfindings.com
6. Jean Marmo, #7358, http://pagesintime.blogspot.com/
7. Teresa Godines #6857 http://purplebunnypapercrafts.blogspot.com/
8. Michelle O'Driscoll #7586 http://scrapbookingsos.blogspot.ca/
9. Nancy Carroll  #11488  http://nancecarroll.blogspot.com
10. Maya Oren-Dahan #351  http://mayadahan.blogspot.com
11. Amy Martin Jones #8546 http://thetigershaven.blogspot.com/
12. Karen Poirier-Brode (Ladydoc) #2858 http://www.karenscorneroftheweb.blogspot.com
13. Tanya Napier #5407  http://mamabirdy-happinessishomemade.blogspot.com/  (You are here)
14. Pamela Haskin #8040 www.cottagebelow.com
15. Stasia Sloma #9314 http://www.stampzone.blogspot.com
16. Tracy Moloney  #6773 http://tracyscraftyadventures.blogspot.com.au/
17. Kim Chenez #5612 http://scrapbooknstampingfun.blogspot.com/

A Sweet Little Top for a Sweet Little Girl

One of the goals I was most excited about reaching for my 40 Before 40 quest (http://mamabirdy-happinessishomemade.blogspot.com/2014/07/40-before-40.html), was sewing a dress for my adorable neice, Scarlett.  Mind you, I haven't sewn a piece of clothing in several years!  I was a little intimidated by it all, but I was ready to accept my own challenge.

B caught me sewing away

What I Learned:

• I went for a top instead of a dress.  I didn't originally plan this, but I liked this pattern so I decided to go with it.
• How to use bias tape on the arm holes
• How to add a pocket and top stitching
• How much sewing challenges me and I like it!
• How to ask for help!  I was completely stuck on the yoke of the top.  I needed an extra set of eyes to look at the directions for me.  I am not one to ask for help, but I gave in to my need.  My wonderful Aunt M was just the person to help.  She was able to help me translate the directions and get me past my roadblock.

I am so happy with how it turned out and I have definitely been re-bitten by the sewing bug!

The Perfect Model

Those curls!

Time to play

Sidewalk Paint

The weather here the last few days has been so strange! Very humid and warm, but not too warm.  It even sprinkled a little on Monday.  For my Southern California boys, a little bit of moisture freaks them out.  They wanted to play outside, but didn't want to get "wet."  I figured it was a perfect time to play under the awning in our front yard and try out a recipe I came across for sidewalk paint.

You simply mix equal parts of cornstarch and water and add food coloring.  I added a lot for more vibrant colors.  The results were super fun!  We took it a step further and experimented with chalk dipped in water.  My little one was amazed at how this step can change the intensity of the color.  Simple, summer fun.

On Being Bored...

We are on Day 2 of summer break from school.  On Day 1, I heard the "B" word.  You know the one.
Do they really miss school so much already that they can't entertain themselves at home?  Or do they really expect me to entertain them All.The.Time?

On Day 1, I declared on our agenda would be NOTHING.  No meeting up with friends, no outings, no housework, no crafts.  Nothing.  It started out well enough- The World Cup was on and they wanted to design their own jerseys on a printable template I had found.  They spent time in the yard recreating the soccer they had just been watching.  They played a little Lego.  But then it happened...Boredom.

I decided we would have a chat about boredom.  We talked about what summer will look like for us this year.  I don't need to entertain them every waking hour of their day.  They WILL be bored and they WILL have to figure out how to remedy this by using something amazing called "imagination." I reminded them that there are times that I would like to enjoy reading or working on a craft project myself.  Or that there will be days when I need to do laundry or we need to run errands or do housework. I also informed them that I had plenty of things for them to do for me if they were truly bored.  Those little faces showed they were not pleased.

I saw this article this morning on Facebook and it made me happy:

http://wearethatfamily.com/2014/06/dear-children-let-me-explain-this-thing-called-summer/

Someone on the same team!

As Mamas, we are constantly bombarded with 101 Things to Do in the Summer and Build a Backyard Water Park. We are told we need to plan every minute of every day and make it magical and memorable. We need to have perfectly staged lemonade stands with chevron-striped paper straws.  We need to buy 100 pool noodles to create our own foam pit.  We need to create a bored jar so they can pick an activity on a stick when they are bored.

Listen, I am a planner and I LOVE Pinterest and I do have a Summertime board.  I love planning for them and executing fun outings and activities.  But I also know that they NEED to be bored.  They NEED to use their brains for play.  They NEED to use their hands and bodies for more than electronic devices and games.
I NEED to have my own summer bucket list, which includes finishing 3 classes that I am enrolled in.

So, what happened after our talk?  They went outside, again, but for hours.  They re-discovered our chalk bucket with a neighbor girl and drew a castle, village and traced outlines of their bodies (kinda looks like a crime scene on our patio right now).  They made a propeller type thing out of found wood and screws.  They ate popsicles and got really sweaty.  It was a good day...

Monster Playdough

I hope everyone had a safe and sane Fourth of July!  Ours wasn't exactly those things, but no one got hurt. :)


The heat was on yesterday at our house, so I needed an activity to get through those afternoon hours that are too hot to play outside and don't involve electricity.


I decided to make some Kool-Aid Playdough for the boys.  I didn't feel like digging up my playdough recipes, so a quick google search led me to this recipe from http://ecocrazymom.com.  It is simple and quick and yields enough for my 3 to each have a small amount.  I might double it next time.  We chose to do grape Kool-Aid, but any flavor would do.  The only thing I had to add to the recipe was a little more flour during the kneading process- it was still a bit sticky.  After it was cooled and ready, I set out pipe cleaners, craft sticks and googly eyes on the table to create monsters or whatever they were inspired to create.  It turned out to be quite funny.

 B's creation

 My personal favorite.  Creepy!

 N's

Stay cool and have a terrific day!

 Homemade Kool-Aid Playdough Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup salt
• 1 package unsweetened Kool-Aid mix
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons oil

Directions:

1. Mix flour, salt and Kool-Aid in a large bowl.
2. Add boiling water and oil, then mix with a wooden spoon until a dough ball starts to form.
3. Once the dough is cool enough to handle knead by hand until you have a nice even color. Hint: Children love helping with the kneading process, it’s a great hand exercise and the warmth of the dough adds additional sensory value!