Who needs ugly ties when you can make these t-shirts for Dad?! Easily made with an old t-shirt, some craft paint and stick on letters. You can crank some out tomorrow!
Guilt-Free Popsicles
Summer’s almost here and for my kids that means popsicles. Now, as a parent, I always go through that internal tug-of-war whenever they ask for one…..I love popsicles myself, they are synonymous with summer on one hand and on the other they are full of sugar and lacking any real nutritional value. So, I set out…
Jeannie Bed Canopy
Of course I was excited when I found out Barbara Eden was going to be on the show – duh, she’s Jeannie! This DIY is a homage to her bottle, which, of course, I was always obsessed with. Also, back in the real world, this is a great option for a kid’s room where some…
Mouse House Bedside Table
My kids won’t sleep with the lights off. Yeah, you know..the imminent threat of monsters, etc, etc. I’ve looked at night lights, but sockets in our old house aren’t in the most useful places. So I decided to make them beside tables that included a night light in the form of a little built…
Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs
Don’t get me wrong, I love a PAAS Easter egg dying kit, that’s what I grew up on. But there’s something really nice about doing it the old fashioned way and creating your own dyes. Not only do you get much more beautiful, distinctive eggs, it’s a great opportunity to teach your kids about fruits, vegetables…
Circus Car Stuffed Animal Storage
We have a bazillion stuffed animals in various stages of containment around the house. 1 four year old, 2 two year olds, 4 grandparents…..you do the math. So that (okay, and my love of Animal Crackers) led to this. You toss the toys in the top, the kids pull them out through the bungee bars!
Wired Hair Bands
As a dad I’m always trying to find easy ways to keep my girls hair under control in a stylish way. These wire hair bands do just the trick, so easy to put on the girls can do it themselves and they cost almost nothing to make!
Sweetheart Cabinet & Heart Boxes
When Dave Lowe, our Home & Family Propmaster, and I were in the garage brainstorming to find a fun way to reveal the Hallmark charms we kept coming up blank. Then we asked ourselves, what was most iconic about Valentine’s Day to us – at the top of both of our lists: Sweetheart candies! Dave took it from…
Superhero Birthday Party
When your kids want a superhero birthday party, you give them a superhero birthday party!
The Kids Table, All Grown Up
With all three of our kids now out of high chairs and heading into our first Thanksgiving with the entire extended family, the old school concept of the kids table has real world implications for me. What table do I use, where do I put it, how should it look, where will I put it…
Cauldron Cupcakes
My mother made cupcakes for my 2nd grade Halloween party, each had a black cat perched on top. An unmentionable number of years later I still think of them and how special it made the holiday feel. I’ve promised myself that I’ll try to make all the holidays as special for my kids. So in that spirit,…
Framed Silhouettes
Decorating kids rooms is always a bit of a challenge when it comes to artwork. You want something that they kids will find fun and stimulating, but something that you don’t mind looking at everyday when you’re picking up toys or changing diapers. I decided to go for an updated silhouette – it’s old fashioned,…
Sewing and Craft Armoire
I had an hour a couple of weeks ago to make some headbands for a sewing segment I was filming. It was nap time so I new I had to work fast! By the time I got the sewing machine out of the basement, my notions box out of the closet, the fabric out of the…
Scrabble Wall Art
A simple project with lots of impact. Great for the family game room, a kid’s room or the cottage at the lake where you play Scrabble incessantly every summer…. MATERIALS – 6″ wood squares (often sold as lamp bases or decoupage plaques) – 5″ vinyl letters – 1″ vinyl numbers – picture hanging hardware STEPS…
Reversible Hairbands
Having two little girls has given me a focus on hair accessories that I didn’t think was possible. And in that focus I’ve realized that cute, inexpensive, durable headbands are almost impossible to find. So, not to let my girls hair go under accessorized, I decided I was going to make my own hairbands from some scrap…
Book Lamp
I love a good lamp and one that’s distinctive and won’t set you back a pretty penny is hard to find. So why not take advantage of your corner used book store (or your boxes of books in the basement) and make this one-of-a-kind reading lamp….get it…reading lamp…made of books…sorry. There are so many ways…
Last Minute Halloween DIYs
Okay, you know who you are. It’s Halloween morning, T minus 9 hours before kids come knocking or friends are headed over and you’ve done nothing. Well, fear not, I’ve got your back! Here are 5 easy halloween decorating ideas that you can do with things around your house or things you can pick up…
Modern Day Patches
We have lots of clothing holes around our house – mostly focused around the kid’s knees and my elbows. Thankfully, patches have made a huge comeback so I get to pretend I’m being hip, while really just saving money by not having to buy new clothes for everyone! First we’ll deal with the…
I’ve Created a Monster!
All out of human cadavers and an extra brain? No worries, you can create this Frankenstein using PVC pipe, buckets and a trashcan. Engineered by our Halloween addicted prop master Dave Lowe, you can find lots of other amazing projects on his website at http://davelowe.blogspot.com. The whole thing will cost you about $50 and snaps together…
Life-size Nutcracker
So here’s our life size Nutcracker that I put together to kick off our Christmas in July week on Home & Family. I must say, I really love this guy. He was a blast to build and surprisingly easy and inexpensive. He was master minded by our Prop Master, Dave. (He’s got lot’s of…