Painted Heart Doily - Valentine Window Decorations

Painting doilies with watercolors is such a simple art activity for kids, yet the process is fun and the results are beautiful. We used them as window decorations or suncatchers!!

We love making Valentine's Day decorations, be it wall art like the Tree of Hearts or sewing a colorful heart felt garland - just anything to get us into the festive mood. We had painted heart doilies with dot markers last year, which we had strung together into a bunting. This time, we used watercolors. It is simple both for parents to set up and for kids to do—Give it a try!

MATERIALS

• white heart doilies 
• Easel Paper Roll
• watercolor paints
• Paint brush
• Water to clean brush between colors
• Double sided tape
• Yarn or embroidery floss, if you want to make bunting

I just rolled out a large piece of easel paper roll and taped the edges over the table. And then Putti got into painting the doilies by holding the doily in place over the paper roll (you can tape it lightly if you like for smaller kids). Avoid using doilies that have a shiny coating, as they will not absorb/hold the paint well. 

Paint as many doilies as you fancy. Allow them to dry well.

Because Putti had used loads of paint to almost soak the doilies and also due to the thin paper roll used, we did not get nice resist artwork unlike when we had used dot markers.  

We used double sided tape to put them on the windows. You could use these painted doily hearts to create a Valentine's Day bunting. 

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Kids Patriotic Craft - India Bunting

Today I am sharing with you India Bunting, a Kids Patriotic Craft to create a cheap, yet festive decoration for the upcoming India Independence Day holiday on 15th August.

To make this you will need:

• round coffee filters 
• Saffron(Orange) and green dot Markers
  
• glue stick 
• ribbon, yarn or string 
• newspaper to protect your table

Here's an affiliate link to the products similar to what we used to make this India Bunting!

Coffee filters are inexpensive and so fun to color. Since they are very thin and super absorbent, you could layer a couple while coloring. We have used them to make Suns and Earth. First fold your coffee filter in half and lay it flat and use dot markers to color the edges green, leaving plenty of white space. You could even use paint if you want. 

Next, add the Saffron(orange). We alternated the designs, making the bulls' eye green on some with saffron borders, and vice versa. Putti loved decorating these. 

Here's a video of my little crafter talking about the colors of the India flag!
She made a few, different from the bulls eye pattern, she started with. Here's some of the filters she had colored. They do go pretty fast!!

Once dry, open the filters and get your glue stick and string. Put some glue in the center and all over half of the filter, then lay the string in the middle, making sure to leave around some string at one end, for hanging. Fold it over, press and then add your next filter in the same way.

Keep adding filters until you are all done.  Once you've finished, display your bunting wherever you'd like- Mantle, Door, Window, Patio!!

Putti wanted some in her room too!

Enjoy and have fun! This bunting was inspired by Katydid and Kid's blog. Their blog is unavailable now.

Check out our other Posts about India:

IndependenceDayIdeas	Tricolor Food	IndiaFlag KidsCrafts

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Xtreme Customz by Ridemakerz Party from MommyParties #XtremeCustomzParty

This weekend, we gathered the kids together for an Xtreme Customz by Ridemakerz Party.  This is a review post of the toys sent to me for free to share with my friends.

The boys picked out their cars and got right to work in building them and playing!

The cars were fairly easy to put together. The only thing kids needed help was to make sure that the chassis went on in the right direction. Once all the pieces were taken out of the package, most of the cars only took about 5 minutes to put together.

Here's the assembled Batman car that was my daughter's favorite too. 

The Xtreme Customz  cars are 1:48 scale size.  The car parts are interchangeable and they have a 4-mode adjustable chassis so you can customize the way you cruise (race, lifted, jacked and off-road - with just the push of a button). Isn't that so cool !!!

I had a couple 10 year olds who too  enjoyed putting together and playing with the cars. Also, the girls at the party loved the cool cars. The 5 year olds really enjoyed playing with their new cars.

All the kids left with wish lists for their upcoming birthdays etc. I think all the kids and their moms had a GREAT time with their cool cars today. The spider man car was a favorite amongst many boys as it shoots a white stick like thing and everyone thought that was so cool!

We had some fun games, car race and yummy snacks including these car cookies!

These cars were fun, engaging and overall cool.  The kids loved the different designs and the fact that the parts interchange.  I would definitely recommend them.  They are available for purchase at Target and Toys R Us.  Thank you for this fantastic opportunity!!
Disclosure: I was sent toys for review purpose, all opinions are my own and unbiased.

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Take Part - Stop Bullying Now

TakePart is sponsoring post on bullying as a way to put it to a stop. Please take a minute to sign a pledge. 

Bullying - A parental nightmare, is one of the things I have been dreading the most. I have been worrying that this will happen somewhere along the line. But never imagined it would start even before my girl enters the school.
After we moved to a new apartment a couple of months ago, Putti was really happy to have a lovely open space right next to our house and also found a couple neighboring kids to play with. But her happiness did not last for long, she came home crying. One of the kid had called her 'scared-y cat' for not petting her dog and kept teasing her inspite of being asked to stopped by other kids. I have talked to Putti in detail about this and did discuss with the other girl and her parents too. But the damage has been done, Putti now does not go out to play if the bully girl is in the ground. This incident has made read a lot about bullying and here are some things I have learnt.

• If your child is being bullied they need to know that it is NOT OK, that they don’t have to put up with it and that they need to tell someone.
• Make sure the child knows that being bullied is not their fault. They DO NOT deserve it!
• Coax the child to tell you about their experience. Listen! Do not judge! Remind them they are very brave for sharing this situation.
•  If your child sees someone being bullied, they need to know that it is their job to step up and take some responsibility, to step in and stop it or at the very least, tell someone(parent/teacher).
• If your child is the one doing the bullying, they need to understand the amount of damage they are doing, that it is not OK and that the physical scars may heal but the person they have bullied will be damaged for a long time, if not forever. 
• Pragmatic mom has a list of 10 picture books for dealing with bullying.
• Here is a video of the popular crumpled paper anti-bullying message. Share it your kids.

Today I want you to sign the 'Take Part' pledge. By signing the pledge, you are helping to make a difference and standing up for this horrible behavior.  Share the post with anyone you know who has kids.

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Culturelle® Kids Probiotics

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Culturelle® Kids Probiotics. Continue reading to find out how you can win a sample of Kids Probiotcs.

 Do your kids get sick with every season change? Well it does happen at our house. Here, I am susceptible too especially now with all the flowers blooming and new pollen kicking up my allergies. It is awful to see my little girl feeling so bad. And I hate hate to not being able to go out just because of the pollen. So, we have developed some simple things that we do regularly to keep our health up so we all can enjoy each day outdoors inspite of the pollen and other stuff. 

• Wash hands: It’s hard to get the kids to do this initially, but once you make it a routine, they will get used to it. The key is you doing it with them. It’s important to use soap and scrub long enough. We can  try singing “Happy Birthday” to wash long enough or use a little timer, which ever excites your kids. We also change our hand towels out daily to avoid germs. Make sure you do this every time you come back from outside play, wash your face too and change your cloths to get rid of the pollens.
• Eat healthy: My girl is great at eating vegetables especially while I am chopping them ;). But she’ll still pick chocolates over vegetables any time. We love our green smoothies with an apple in it. We drink plain cold water, no juice or soda in our household  . 
• Probiotics: You’ve probably heard the saying “All disease begins in the gut” and we take probiotics to support our immunity and gut health. We also consume fermented foods but adding in a high quality probiotic has made a big difference in digestive health for us. Ever since I tried Culturelle Kids Probiotics, we have got hooked to it. It is an easy way to include good bacteria into their tummies. 
• Warm Baths: We do warm baths with epsom salts or magnesium and a sprinkle of powdered ginger to help alleviate muscle aches. Peppermint tea also works for head/muscle aches associated with an illness.

For children over the age of one, Culturelle® Kids Probiotic Packets contain a flavorless powder that dissolves easily in liquids. For children three years and older, Culturelle® Kids Probiotic Chewables are easy to take, taste great and are sugar, dairy and gluten-free.

When someone does get ill, it sometimes brings an infection that needs antibiotics. That’s another time I employ Culturelle Kids Probiotics, to add good bacteria back in to the digestive system.

Giveaway: is now closed and the winner is Cindy Jones, Congratulations!!!! 

One (1) lucky reader will receive one box of Culturelle® Kids Probiotic Packets OR Culturelle® Kids Probiotic Chewables ($26.49 value)! Just leave your name and email address in the comment box and a winner will be picked randomly on 30th March 2013 Midnight EST.Culturelle® Kids Probiotics is a natural solution for better digestive and immune health. Not only does it support a child’s digestion, helping to reduce occasional digestive upset, but it also helps to boost digestion and overall digestive health.Considering that 70% of your immune system is in your digestive tract, a healthy and balanced digestive system plays a vital role in strengthening a child’s overall health and well-being.To learn more, check out the Culturelle® website now.And if you are interested in receiving $2.00 off your next Culturelle purchase, click here. (Offer expires April 30, 2013.)

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