Try It Tuesday: T-Shirt Super Hero Cape

This is one of the presents that my 7 year old daughter made for her brother for Christmas. I have the kids each make 2 gifts for each other. They like to be crafty and love to see how happy people are when they give them a gift they took the time to make.

This is a no-sew project, just cutting. So, be sure you are using sharp scissors. If they are dulling, they may not cut through the fabric very well and will be frustrating for them. 

After she was done cutting I let her use the permanent markers to draw a design and write on the back. I like to let me kids do as much of the work as possible so that they really feel this is something they made and they are learning new skills in the process.

These are the instructions I gave my daughter on cutting up one her her dad's old t-shirts (t-shirts work great because the jersey material won't fray, so no sewing is needed.)

• Cut up the side seams and around the arm hold on both sides.
• Next cut from around the outside of the collar in the front from shoulder to shoulder.
• Finally, cut a diagonal line from about half way down (I put a dot there so she knew exactly where I meant) up to the collar on the backside. Do not cut through the collar. 
• Discard the leftover pieces.

This picture here you can see how she is starting her diagonal cut.

Depending upon the age of the child you may want to do all the cutting and let them do the decorating. This is a fun way to create your own custom costume and possibly make someone a gift.

Fitness Friday: DIY Medals from Juice Lids

This was a fun project that hardly cost anything. If you have all the supplies, this could be a no-cost project. I had most of the supplies, but I did buy the thick red ribbon, but it was in the big bin of $1 ribbon at Michael's but I could have used other ribbon I had leftover or yarn if I wanted, but this was the look I was going for. The red and white ribbon was leftover from when I made these Rolled Fabric Rosettes and matching dresses for my daughter and her American Girl Doll.

The large medals are made from juice lids and the smaller medals are made from the ends of tubes of croissants. I painted them with paint I had in gold, silver and bronze. Then just cut the ribbon and hot glued it to the back.

These would be a lot of fun to give to kids if you have some kind of race or obstacle course at a playgroup or for a neighborhood picnic. Or try our Hopscotch With Our Rules (much more fun and interesting!). Get kids exercising by providing external motivation and don't forget to join them because kids love modeling behavior!

Want some other ideas of things to make with Juice Lids? Check out this list:

• Memory Game
• Snowman Activity
• Chalkboard Gift Tags
• Plant Markers #1
• Plant Markers #2
• Coasters
• Vertical Name Plaque
• Dishwasher Sign
• Magic Princess Wand

Try It Tuesday: Reclaimed Wood Name Sign

So, we bought this little rustic cabin recently and are working making it our own. We wanted to keep the rustic charm of it, but make it look more rustic intentionally through decor and some updates. This is one of those projects, which was simple to do.

This project was a no-cost one. I used some reclaimed lumber that was left behind in our garage from the previous owners, sticks from out yard and a rock (apostrophe) and acorn cap (dot over the i) that I found in our yard, and some twine and hot glue purchased for other projects that was leftover.

I just cut the wood to the size we wanted and cleaned it up. I left the paint on the wood the way it was so that it helped add to the rustic quality of it. Then I just drilled holes in the top so I could tie my twine through and laid out my twigs to spell out the words and then hot glued them in to place.

Below you can see the picture of the sign as it hangs on our little rustic cabin. I wasn't there when my husband went up to work on adding some new windows and siding and trim (these were all added new to make it look more cabin-y) and hung it at that time. I have not seen it yet, but soon. He says everything looks even better in person.