Easy Toddler St. Patrick's Day Crafts

The shamrock window clings are up and now it's time to craft some more decorations. March is just around the corner and so is St. Patricks Day. We are not Irish but we are Catholic & it's still fun to decorate the house. St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the holy trinity (Father, Son, & Holy Ghost) as he brought Christianity to Ireland. Taking time to talk about our faith & history is really important to our family. 

I am not the most artsy person but I get by ;). We made a shamrock craft as well as a rainbow/pot of gold craft. 

This was an easy craft and my 22 month old loved sticking the paper pieces down on the sticky glue. We just worked with one color at a time and now Elena officially knows the color purple! We try to make as many teaching moments as we can. 

For the shamrock you'll need:

A paper coffee filter 

Watercolor paint

Brush

Construction paper

Clear contact paper (optional)

First, flatten out a paper coffee filter. Then let your toddler go to town painting it. I limited her to green and yellow for this project. Next, cut out a shamrock shaped frame. Once dry, I attached the two using clear contact laminating paper. 

Both crafts took a total of 40 minutes to do with my crafty toddler and they really add to our decor! Elena's face when she saw her art on the wall was priceless!!!

What kind of crafts do you do in the spring?

Welcome Home.

DIY Easy Minky Blanket Tutorial in Only 30 Minutes

It's a boy!

My (husband's) niece is having a boy in a week or so and while this isn't her only gift, it is my favorite one! I'm only 26 and certainly not old enough to be a great aunt (ugh!) but my husband's sisters are much older than. Besides, nothing makes me happier than new babies in the family!!! This is such a lovely blanket and the best part is that it comes together so quickly!

I made this one with the following items:

1 yard minky fabric

1 1/2 yards patterned fabric

Scissors

Pins

Sewing machine

Coordinating thread

Place both cuts of fabric back to back with the patterned fabric hanging over by 2-3 inches on each side. You can leave less for a thinner border. Whatever amount you leave will be double the thickness of what you will see. 

Fold the patterned fabric in evenly with the minky fabric. Then fold in again over the minky fabric and pin into place. This will create the framed blanket look. 

I fold the corners like this (above) so that they look neat and even. After pinning the entire perimeter, sew two seams for a finished look at the end.

 

It still needs to be washed and ironed before being wrapped but I think it came out pretty well. All in all it only took about 30 minutes of nap time. Plenty of time left to bake a loaf of bread and clean the pantry out ;)

What kind of homemade items do you give as gifts for babies?

Post Run or Workout Smoothie

I've mentioned in previous blog entries that I'm preparing for a 5k Color Run in May. Most days I'll eat cottage cheese or a piece of fruit after my jog but today I was feeling a smoothie. Mmm Greek yogurt-y goodness. (Yes it was that good!) so here's how I made it:

Blueberry Smoothie

1/2 c greek yogurt (plain)

1/2 c milk 

Blueberries

Pineapple 

Ground flax

Blend and Enjoy!

Pretty much I just eyeball it but I knew that I'd be sharing with my toddler and she went nuts over it!

What do you use as post workout fuel?