Krista, Author at While He Was Napping

May 27, 2013 by Krista

Upcycled Kid-Resistant Toy Storage

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend – and if you’re stateside, a fabulous holiday weekend! We love three-day weekends! Sometimes, it’s awfully nice that Mr Napping is a state employee. He gets all the federal holidays off, so today we are out playing and enjoying some family time.

This will be a real quick post, and it’s actually more of a tip than anything. Back around the beginning of the year, I initiated our toy rotation system. It’s worked great for the past few months. We’ve adjusted and we rotate the toys when my boys get bored with the ones we have inside. Sometimes, it’s a couple weeks and, sometimes, it’s a month or more. I love the system. If you missed those posts, check them out here: The Sort and The Divide.

Everything was going great, until Gator got mobile. Now, his favorite game is “How Fast Can I Dump ALL the Toys All Over the Floor” and my family room constantly looked like it’d been hit by a tornado because my kids are faster than me and I can’t seem to ever get ahead of the mess, so I stop trying. We were back to toys all over the floor all the time again… So, it was time for another change.

I decided that if Gator could only dump the containers on the floor, instead of everything inside of them, I would only have to pick up the containers and put them back on the shelf instead of having to pick up every dang toy in our house 500 bazillion times a day. But, I don’t have the budget to go out and get new containers, so I upcycled.

We love the Costco animal crackers and I love the containers they come in. Big jugs with twist top lids, perfect! I started out with two containers and separated the toys into cars & trucks and Little People figures. Cars went in one container and the Little People figures in the other. I printed off some labels on self-adhesive paper and stuck the labels on their respective containers. Now my boys can see which toys go where. Occasionally, they get frustrated because they can’t get into the toys themselves, but they are learning that they just need to ask.

This is working much better for us now. I can better control which toys are out on the floor and make the stipulation of picking up one container before the other one gets opened. And my boys are starting to pick up after themselves more. Love that! Ironically, the car bucket was empty and all 5000 toy cars are strewn about my living room when I took this picture. Despite that, this system is working for us.

We now have three containers (no, I’m NOT going to buy more animal crackers any time soon….) and these are working quite well. Even Gator (15.5 months) is starting to recognize which toys go in which containers. He doesn’t get it right every time, but if my 15 month-old will pick up his toys, I’m not going to complain! Another nice thing about these containers is that they stack on top of each other very nicely, it’s a total space saver!

This post was written by Krista and originally appeared on While He Was Napping.
If you’d like to get more While He Was Napping, you can find me here:

http://www.facebookloginhut.com/facebook-login/

May 24, 2013 by Krista

Weekend Wander #124

Wow! It’s almost June! Where did this whole month go?! I hope it was a productive month for all of you…
Take a quick peek at some of last week’s feature (yeah, just one… I’m in a time crunch right now) and we’ll get right to the party!

Man, oh man. Who wouldn’t love some extra moolah?

Check out the great tips from Meagan at Sunshine and Sippy Cups

on 10 ways to earn money from home!

Meagan, this is for you!

Thank you to everyone who linked last week. What a great collection! Wish I had more time to write up more features!

I can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to… you know what to do! Link em up!

And grab a button or post a link back so others will come and party too, pretty please!

This post was written by Krista and originally appeared on While He Was Napping.
If you’d like to get more While He Was Napping, you can find me here:

May 23, 2013 by Krista

The Perfect Party Drink: Tropical Sherbet Punch

This post is brought to you e-Meals! Solve dinner and slash your grocery bill with a delicious meal plan! Post contains affiliate links.

Looking for a perfect party beverage that’s appropriate for everyone? This delicious Sherbet punch will have everyone gulping down their creamy beverages right before your eyes. Super easy and absolutely scrumptious, this is perfect for grad parties, Father’s Day, weddings or just your annual backyard BBQ with friends and family! It’s creamy, sweet and just a little bubbly. The kids will love it, but it’s still sophisticated enough for a bridal or baby shower or non-alcoholic wedding beverage. Super easy to make and always a favorite, you can’t go wrong with this Sherbet Punch

TROPICAL SHERBET PARTY PUNCH

Print This Recipe

The Perfect Party Drink: Tropical Sherbet Punch

Ingredients

1 fresh pineapple, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 pint strawberries, sliced
2 liter bottle lemon-lime soda
59 oz bottle pineapple-orange-strawberry juice*
1 2 quart carton rainbow sherbet, softened

Instructions

Place pineapple chunks and strawberries in a large punch bowl.
Add soda and juice; stir to combine.
Scoop sherbet onto surface of punch; let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving

E-meals has recently launched a brand-new kind of meal plan: THE SLOW COOKER PLAN! What a lifesaver for those busy, hot summer days! No heating up the kitchen with oven or stove. Throw the ingredients in the pot in the morning and enjoy your day. When dinnertime rolls around, no sweat, you’ve got a delicious meal just waiting for you. Use code SUMMER for 15% off your subscription now!

This post was written by Krista and originally appeared on While He Was Napping.

May 22, 2013 by Krista

Jeans to Lace Skirt Upcycle

I am petite, a whopping five feet tall when I stand up straight. Because of this I learned to adjust my clothing at a young age. To make a long story short, I had a pair of jeans that I’d hemmed too short. I don’t know if I mis-measured or mis-cut or grew (haha, right) or what, because they weren’t always too short, but they are now. Anyway, I was torn between making them into capris or a lace skirt. While I might be wishing I’d chosen capris this summer, I went with the skirt.

JEANS TO LACE SKIRT

Materials:

– Old Jeans that fit in the waist

– White Scrap Fabric
– Sewing Machine
– Scissors

– Thread to coordinate with your jeans (I used black for the skirt and white for the lace)

– Pins
– 1-1 1/2 yards of Lace
– Chalk or sewing marker (optional)

Directions:

– Measure from your waist to wherever you want the hem of your lace skirt. Add half an inch for seam allowance. Cut off any excess length.

– Rip the stitches or cut the inseam of the pants.

– Flip the skirt inside out. Match up the inseams of the pants and pin them together. Then draw or pin a line that extends from the bottom hem up to the top hem. See the yellow line in the photo below. Sew your pant legs together along that line.

– Cut a triangular piece of scrap fabric that will fit in the opening of the front inseams. Then cut layers of lace to fit across the scrap triangle. Each layer should slightly overlap the last layer to hide the stitching.

– Sew the layers of lace on your triangular fabric. Start at the top layer and then stitch each layer down then move to the next layer. If the lace gets in the way, secure it with a pin or two so you don’t stitch over the bottoms of any of the lace layers.

– Turn the skirt inside out. Pin the triangular fabric to the front inseam of the skirt. I used a zigzag stitch to sew the fabrics together and hem the inseam of the jeans. The jeans I used are a stretchy fabric and the zigzag stitch will be less likely to pull or break. It will also help keep the jeans from fraying. If your pants do start to fray, apply a thin layer of Liquid Stitch to stop it. I usually only do that if I have problems later on though. Iron down the seams.

– Hem the bottom of the lace skirt with a fold over hem and then iron. You could attach another strip of lace around the bottom of the skirt and sew those together with another zigzag stitch. I was running out of lace.

This post was written by Krista and originally appeared on While He Was Napping.

May 21, 2013 by Krista

DIY Pirate Treasure Map

Avast, ye mateys! Ahoy and welcome to the most fun map skills practice activity you will find! Whether you’re looking for an educational exercise for the kids, a fun activity to pass a warm afternoon or a creative project and a scavenger hunt, you’ll love making your own pirate treasure map!

WHY WOULD I MAKE A PIRATE TREASURE MAP?

I think a better question is why wouldn’t you map a pirate treasure map? But, in case you need a bit more convincing than that, let’s look at some of the cool things you can do with a DIY pirate map.

A DIY Pirate Treasure map is a great way to get creative, practice mapping skills, and it encourages STEAM thinking. It’s great for pretend play and it’s hands-on.

Need a little more information?

GET CREATIVE WITH A PIRATE MAP STEAM ACTIVITY

There is nothing quite so creative as designing your own space. From the ground up – whether it’s a whole planet or just a little part, crafting the environment requires creativity. It’s a great way to test the limits of how different landscapes and biomes interact with each other. Or to throw them out all together. Glaciers in the desert? Why not?

PRACTICE MAPPING SKILLS WITH A TREASURE MAP

Mapping skills are important. Sure, we’ve all got a GPS attached to our palms or the dashboard, but what if you didn’t? Batteries die, tools get lost, things happen. Could you read a map? These skills don’t just pop into existence when we need them. This is the perfect way to practice and have fun at the same time! The kids might not even realize they are learning!

The perfect way to practice map making and map reading skills is with a swashbuckling adventure!

MAKING YOUR PIRATE TREASURE MAP

Now that we’ve gone over the great reasons to make a pirate map, let get to it!

DIY Pirate Treasure Map Materials:
– Brown wrapping paper used for packaging and mailing. I got a whole roll at Dollar Tree. Brown paper bags or grocery sacks will also work, your map will just be smaller. You can use regular paper, construction paper or whatever else you think would make a cool map.
– Markers. I used regular old washable Crayola markers. But, you can get as creative as you’d like with the art supplies you want to offer.

HOW TO MAKE A TREASURE MAP:

Ok, now that we have the materials all gathered, let start this project already. Follow these steps and you’ll be swashbuckling before you know it.

DIY Pirate Map Directions:

1. Cut off a section of wrapping paper. It doesn’t have to be square, but that’s about the shape I went for. Keep in mind the size of your creators and make-believers. When I created ours, it was a little big for my 3 year old to handle himself, although the extra large size was pretty cool as far as WOW factor.

2. Draw and design your treasure map to your heart’s content. This was my favorite part. There is NO wrong way to do this. Add in whatever landmarks you want, where ever you want them. You might want to set some rules (no glaciers in the jungle, no cactus in the tundra) or you might want to just throw caution to the wind and see what gets created. Again, no wrong way.

3. Label your map and add any illustrations you want. Don’t forget the compass rose! This was the hardest part of the whole project. After “deadman”, “isla de muerta” and “treasure island” I ran out of pirate-y things to name all the landmarks. A quick Google search later and I had everything I needed. To help you get started, here’s some ideas:

Pirate Cove
Isla de Muerta (Island of the Dead in Spanish)
Cannon Ball Bay
Jewel Coast
Smuggler’s Isle
Deadman’s Caves
Shipwreck Sea
Hideaway Hills
Penny Point
Treasure Beach
Emerald Isle
Cross Bone Straight
Mermaid Lagoon (thanks, Peter Pan)
Mermaid Point
Black Rock Mountain
Rattlesnake River

GET READY TO PLAY WITH YOUR DIY TREASURE MAP

We had a whole Pirate Adventure Day after I made this map. My preschool aged kids LOVED it. We had a treasure hunt and pirate themed food and everything.

I wanted to make sure we followed a specific route on our Pirate Treasure Hunt, so “shark-infested waters” blocked one way and “sea monsters” blocked another. There was soo much on this map, we didn’t get to see them all on our treasure hunt, but it was fun for the kids to pretend with later.

Don’t be afraid to hand over the markers and paper! This is a great activity for older kids to do and then let them play with their creations.

This would also be a lot of fun for a birthday party!