Father’s Day Handprint/ Footprint Mugs

Posted by Nicole Carney on Jun 7, 2013 in Father's Day, Gift Ideas, Handprint / Footprint Crafts | 0 comments

When I was rooting around in my closet I came across a few extra white mugs I had recently purchased from the dollar store for the DIY painted mugs my boys and I made as Mother’s Day gifts. I decided to use the leftover mugs as an extra gift from the boys for their daddy, Grandpa, and Papa. Originally, I wanted to put M and B’s handprints on each of the mugs, but B was being less than cooperative. For some reason, he refused to let me paint his hand, but he was more than willing to let me take a print of his foot! A footprint may seem odd on a mug, but it still makes for a cute keepsake.

Father’s Day Broquet Basket

Posted by Nicole Carney on Jun 5, 2013 in Father's Day, Gift Ideas | 0 comments

The Red Green Show Father’s Day Broquet

Chances are if you didn’t grow up in Canada in the 90’s you never heard of the home improvement parody/ sketch comedy The Red Green Show. To be honest I probably wouldn’t have heard of it either if it weren’t for my dad. I have to say there were definitely some funny and ridiculous moments on that show, especially the segment titled “Handyman Corner” where Red created crazy contraptions using scraps he’d collected and, of course, duct tape!

“If You Give a Mom a Muffin” for Mother’s Day!

Posted by Nicole Carney on Apr 26, 2013 in Gift Ideas, Mother's Day | 0 comments

My kids really enjoy the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie series by Laura Joffe Numeroff. If you haven’t introduced these humorous books to your children, or students, I highly recommend that you do. They are light, funny, and follow the pattern of a circle story (a story that ends where it begins) making them perfect for writing examples. I personally enjoy the spontaneous, easily sidetracked, personalities of Numeroff’s characters. I’m pretty certain every mom, and teacher, can relate to these characters at some level, I know I do! Especially since becoming a mom, my house seems to be littered with half-finished projects and remnants of previous distractions; kids are masterminds when it comes to creating multiple diversions!

DIY Painted Mugs for Mother’s Day

Posted by Nicole Carney on Apr 22, 2013 in Gift Ideas, Mother's Day | 1 comment

These DIY painted mugs are the perfect addition to the “If You Give a Mom a Muffin” theme we are creating for Mother’s Day this year. They were surprisingly simple to make, and each one is uniquely personalized for the special moms in our life. I made two types of painted mugs for each mom, plus an extra ladybug fingerprint mug for my bugs to give to their Nana.

Sweet Tweets for Easter

Posted by Nicole Carney on Mar 29, 2013 in Easter Activities, Gift Ideas, Spring Crafts and Activities | 0 comments

M, B and I had a lot of fun making up these sweet Easter treat bags for all of their little cousins. This project combines food and art to create a thoughtful, homemade (well mostly homemade) gift.