As a member of the Chick-fil-A mom panel, we were given coupons to try their new Chicken Tortilla Soup and then challenged to make a fun DIY with their soup containers. Some of the moms did some amazing upcycling projects and created luminaries, succulent wall planters, play instruments, and all sorts of super crafty things, but I went practical. As soon as I saw the containers, I realized they would make the perfect DIY bead storage container. 
Now, I know that doesn't sound exciting because basically I repurposed something that stored soup and used it to store beads, but stay with me. 
I've been redoing our art supplies now that the kiddos are able to craft more on their own and this has involved a ton of organizing. I was previously the only one using the crafting supplies and therefore knew where everything was stored. But, now that they can craft on their own, I needed to give them their own storage system so anyone can find whatever they need and then know where to put it back when they are finished.
crafting
American Girl fans: DIY Tenney and Logan inspired tin drum craft
Are you as crazy excited about American Girl's new contemporary dolls, Tenney Grant and Logan Everett, as we are? We've literally been counting down to their release for months, and we're so thrilled they are finally here. To celebrate their release, we came up with a Tenney-and-Logan-inspired DIY project to make a tin drum so you can start a band just like they did.
I'm going to walk you through the steps to make your own drum, including two handy little printables you can use to add logos to your American Girl-inspired drums.
To start with, you will need to gather your supplies:
2 large tin {or tin-and-cardboard} cans – we used milk substitute tins, but you could repurpose coffee cans, formula canisters, powdered drink containers, or whatever else you have on hand.
2 long threaded rods (or bolts), 8 nuts, and 12 washers – for securing the drums together
2 printables – for covering the cans {you can download those below}
Scissors, tape, ribbon, and a small drill {optional, you can use scissors if your can is thin enough} 
DIY kids cape from an old prom dress
Have an old prom dress hanging around? Why not turn it into an awesome fancy cape for your little one {or for yourself, if you're looking to make a capelet}? I had honestly thought I purged all my old prom dresses when we moved into this house, but I discovered them tucked away in my daughter's walk-in closet while we were doing our winter cleaning. Since she has the only floor length hanging bars in the house, I remembered I had stashed a few of my nice dresses and my wedding dress in there, but I hadn't realized that there were some prom dresses mixed in.
I donated two of the prom dresses, but one of them was so out of date that it was just begging for a little DIY inspiration. I knew immediately that it would make the perfect dressy cape for my kiddos to play pretend in and the layers would add a level of drama that the kiddos would adore.
Of note: I don't claim to be the best seamstress around, and my sewing skills are basically limited to alterations and simple decor items, but even I could see the potential hidden in this 90's-style strappy number. While your DIY will depend a lot on what kind of material and length of gown you are working with, hopefully you can use this as a rough guide for a simple sewing project. 
Ready to get started? Great!
The perfect Christmas gift: The new and improved Lundby Dollhouse
As parents, we categorize toys into four main groups:
- novelty toys that are fun for a bit and then get abandoned within hours
- toys that kids play with for days and then ditch before they have even been in the house a month
- toys that don’t get played with every day but are still returned to month after month
- and, finally, those special toys that are an essential part of play nearly every single day, year after year.
As you can imagine, there are lots and lots of toys that fall in those first two groups, and not so many that fit in the third group. As for that fourth group? It’s like a rare unicorn and you never know when, or where, you will find it. 
For us, the Lundby dollhouse is one of a handful of toys that squarely fit in that fourth group without ever wavering. From the moment the kids opened the Lundby dollhouse all those years ago, they were hooked. And then, with all the redecorating, DIYs, and crafting we have done on it throughout the years, the Lundby dollhouse just kept getting more and more beloved as we all added our personal touch to the house. 
So, when we got home from Boston and were greeted with a huge package from Lundby that contained a brand new Lundby dollhouse, the sideboard/TV set, and the awesome Lundby remote, it was declared as the best.day.ever. Ever since we saw a sneak peek of the newest Lundby items on social media and got wind of the remote, I was dying to try it out.
SmartLab Toys Art and Education Kits
A girl after my own heart, my daughter likes nothing better than a good art project. Close second on her list of loves would be jewelry, so of course I was excited when I heard about the Snap Fashion Jewelry Studio from Smart Lab that would allow us to easily create our own custom rings, … Read more