DIY Gumball Machine Craft

A few days ago, the kiddo and I had been just browsing around in stores, when she happened to stumble upon a plastic toy gumball machine. I also though how cute!... I remember my grandpa having one of these things at his house when I was little, although his was the real deal. Then I looked at the price of said "toy gumball machine"... $29.99!!!! It was no bigger than 9 inches high and about 4inches in diameter, and to me that just spelled "RIP OFF" and "Don't worry, spend money on me and I'll break in a record breaking 3 days!" Sooo... I made a deal with the kiddo. I told her that mommy would make her one! Then we went home and I Pinterested the CRAP outta of DIY gumball machine tutorials. There are sooooo many on pinterest is is quite ridiculous LOL! I kinda wish I took some pictures of my steps and process but honestly, it's not that difficult. All you need is: a terracotta plant pot and saucer. ($1.99 each at my Michales craft store). I bought a smaller saucer than the size that matched the pot also. One glass bowl, similar that to a gold fish bowl. ($2.99 at my Michaels). One round wooden knob (.75 cents at my Michaels). One letter wooden letter U (.99 cents at my Michaels). One flat round wooden disc, looks like a wooden quarter (.75 cents at my Michaels). First I spray painted both the terracotta plant pot and the saucer with purple spray paint. I then hot glued (because I ran out of my favorite epoxy, but hot glue does the trick too) the bottom of the terracotta plant pot to the bottom of the glass bowl. Then I painted both the wooden knob and flat wooden disc white and glued the knob to the bottom of the terracotta saucer and the disc to the terracotta plant pot. I used a sharpie to write the 25 cents price on the flat wooden disc to make it look just like the old fashioned machines. I drew a line with some white paint to represent the spot where you put your "quarter" in. I then glued the U upside down towards the base of the terracotta pot and then painted it white along with the area inside the U. That represents the shoot where the gumball comes out. I then used clear glitter paint and slathered the whole thing with it. Tied a bow with some cool candy ribbon and hot glued that baby on there! And waaaaahala!!! Instant gumball machine!!! And for around $10.00!!! A small fraction of the price of what the store wanted me to buy one for! I can't tell you how much the kiddo loved it and loved helping me make it. I let her choose the colors and the ribbon and then we went to the store to buy some gumballs! Easy Peasy right?!? :)

Dino-rific Weekend!

What have we been up to? Paleontology of course! LOL! And another of our magic tree house books/craft/project. I have noticed how we've been reading them a little out of order but honestly it doesn't matter to me, I'm just glad shes been taking an interest in reading and, learning about new things like dinosaurs such. We finished reading "Dinosaurs After Dark"and she has been craving to learn more about dinosaurs... so we borrowed a few books from the base library and discussed how dinosaurs lived and what fossils are. I found a few great craft/projects about dinosaurs through google and pinterest.com and well... we went a little nuts LOL!


I decided to whip up a batch of salt dough and I found some plastic dinosaurs at Walmart... I laid out our "rocks" and then smashed down a dinosaur in the middle of each of them, hence making an imprint or what I like to think looks like a fossil. ;) Then we baked them for quite a while, after they finished baking and cooling we painted them and then let them dry.


We "burried" them in sand and dirt from the back yard and then "dug" them back up to dust them off and pretend we were excavating them! It was AWESOME! And if you have a kid who's into dinosaurs... I highly recommend partaking in your own dinosaur dig! Oh so much fun! And your kids will love it!


I then glued a make shift dino of my own on some heavy stock paper and let her paint over it so she could see the "bones" of the dinosaur... she thought it was pretty neat how the paint didn't stick to the bones...


We also made a hand print dinosaur and her very own dinosaur necklace! The necklace she LOVES and I probably will have to pry it off of her at some point LOL! Best of all... soooo easy to make! I just took the left over plastic dinosaurs and screwed a frame clasp screw at the top and then threaded it through a ball chain. And wha-la! Instant dinosaur necklace and instant fun! For hours!

Recycled Notebooks Craft

In honor of girl scouts thinking day (which was Feb. 22nd 2012) munchkin and I did a fun little recycle project. We took boxes from foods around the house, like cereal boxes, pizza boxes, fruit snack boxes and even poptart boxes and made notebooks out of them using the boxes as front and back covers! They are so easy to make and the kiddo loves them! She loves the idea that she can write a "story" about her favorite foods on the front LOL! I love that she is writing, being creative and of course recycling!

I know... your probably thinking... when did she turn into such a hippy?! Well, to be truthful a part of me always has been green, I just don't show it as much. I'm not totally extreme like some who only bathe once a week because they want to conserve water, but I try to do my part. We recycle at home for various things, and I also recycle on base with a container called "Greenopolis" they are a small'ish company that has a few containers in bigger cities (and working to make more in other cities) that you can take your recyclable bottles to and they will actually reward you in coupons and movie tickets for recycling! YEAH! That's right... REWARDS for recycling!


So yeah recycling rocks! And the munchkin had loads of fun helping me cut out the cardboard and paper to put in between. I then stapled the tops up to make it "flip" style and walah! Instant notebook! You can make them however you want or even decorate them too! The best part... when they are full and used up, you can always recycle the paper & cardboard again ;)

Oh and speaking of recycling! I picked up THE BEST pair of flip flops I think I've ever owned yesterday! We got our tax refund back (YAY!) and went on our shopping spree for new family spring/summer wardrobes. Among the loads of stuff I bought, I got these awesome Sanuk flip flops from Carnival shoe store. They are insanely comfy! I feel like I am quite literally walking on air... and it's because they are made out of a yoga mat! Yup! Check them out online at www.sanuk.com or you can also find them at shoes.com or zappos.com. I'm telling you... best comfort flip flop ever!!! lol!