Love and Lollipops: Favorite Blogs Tour

This is the last (but definitely not least) of the blogs from our Favorite Bloggers Tour.  I've used several of Georgia's projects as inspiration for things I've made for my kids.  You're going to love her!

Hi there Helping Little Hands readers - It's really great to be here guest blogging today.

I thought I would share some of my favourite posts of the past two years of blogging with you. (I can't believe it's been two years!)

 

I don't sew (really), but after being so inspired by ideas I saw around the net, I gave some small felt toys a try. I made this very hungry caterpillar

to go with the book as a Christmas gift for one of my nephews.

This colour car mat was part of a Colour Fun series I did and it thrilled me to hear friends say that they had recreated it for their little ones.

Squeezy pictures are one of my older son's favourite art activities and are great for strengthening those finger muscles too. I took his squeezy art creations and turned them into these pretty cards.

Our pot scourer creations were also great fun to make.

I love how something as simple as an orange can lead to so many learning opportunity's and lots of playful fun.

A chocolate bar wrapped up like a school bus made for a fun teacher gift at the end of the school year. 

I never would have thought that this  no-sew caterpillar and butterfly  would have been so popular with my readers.  

And lastly, a skeleton made from your name...can you spot the name?

Thanks so much Polly for giving me the opportunity to share some of the fun we get up to over at Love and Lollipops. It's been great to be here :).

Pen Pals and Picture Books: Favorite Blogs Tour

Pen Pals and Picture Books is a blog I only discovered in the last month or so, but they have such great ideas for kids and books, you'll want to check them out.

Hi!  We are Robyn and Whitney.  You'll usually find us jabbering about children's books (etc) over at Pen Pals and Picture Books Monday-Friday.  Today we're very happy to be Polly's guests (thank you so much for letting us be here!) and also a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Polly and her entire family.  There's nothing more wonderful and miraculous than the arrival of a new little one into a loving family.... enjoy!

Now about PP and PB.  We are book crazy.  We collect, read, drool over, laugh at and often plan activities around our favorite children's books.  We'd LOVE to have you come stop by sometime soon and see what we're all about.  Without further ado we'd like to share a few teasers from our site...

Using the book As the Crow Flies (which is a great introductory to maps book) I collaborated with my son to create a couple of maps seen here.  Simple activity, hours of play.  -Robyn

Activities inspired by Jan Brett's The Mitten.  Here you'll find a sewing lesson for children and taking a favorite book, then turning it into a play!  So much fun!  -Robyn

Here we have a little color mixing fun ala Mouse Paint and the lovely little hands of my four year old.  Plus! This post has painting tips to make it more managable for mama! Fun, easy, I'm in! -Whitney

Things that Go?  Yes please!  In conjunction with Mo Willems beloved Pigeon (Don't let Pigeon Drive the Bus & Pigeon Loves Things That Go) we experimented with art that 'goes'.  -Robyn

These food faces were a tasty and HUGE hit at my house!  They are book inspired too, of course. And the secret ingredient? It's fun! -Whitney

This activity created a whole lotta fun at my house! (And, after we'd tried it out together, my kids played with it on their own.  They even took turns-- and it was without quarreling! Amazing, right?)  All thanks to Jan Brett and an empty box  -Whitney

There you have it, a small taste of what goes on over at our site.  We'd more than LOVE to have you come for a visit and browse a while.  Thanks again to Polly, and give that new baby an extra hug and kiss from us!

Just Lu: Favorite Blogs Tour

Hello, friends of Helping Little Hands! I am so happy to be here today to give Polly a bit of time to breathe and enjoy the newness of a new baby and a new house. :)

I am Lorene, or Lu, and I blog over at just Lu. I am married to an amazing man and mom to two adorable little things. I've been blogging since early 2010, but I'm not very good at sticking to just one topic. I blog about all of the good things in my life, from crafting to food to books and more! Since my daughter was born in August, I haven't been blogging as regularly, but I still love sharing the things that are meaningful in my life, so feel free to come over and say hello!

One of my favorite things that I've done on my blog was the Housewife MacGyver series that I hosted last year. Thanks to many, many amazing guests (including Polly!), we had a year of becoming more self-reliant in many different areas, such as financially, domestically, around the house, and spiritually and emotionally. You can get more details and see all of the posts here. On the more crafty and creative side, I dabble in a little bit of everything.... My all-time favorite project (so far, anyway ;), as well as my most popular post, is my Beach Rock Souvenir Collage.

On top of being fairly easy (despite my tendency to complicate things :), the project was inexpensive, brings back sweet memories of a favorite vacation, and is a beautiful addition to my home -- the trifecta of any craft! (If you decide to create one of your own, I suggest you just glue the string for the word(s), not follow my crazy convoluted method...:)

The Felt Game Board is another favorite and popular project, that, for better or for worse, illustrates my tendency to complicate things, but still end up with an awesome end product... It's not the quickest of projects, but it is still one of my favorite and most popular posts. Get the tutorial here for this inexpensive, double-sided portable game board, featuring tic tac toe and checkers. For the younger set (and a simpler construction), see the felt activity board tutorial. 

If you have a birthday party coming up and want some simple, non-character dominated hats, check out my Fabric Party Hat tutorial. I provide a template for a young child's hat, and the instructions for creating your own template to fit any size party-goer. A few of my other favorite DIY projects (because I am indecisive like that :) include (from left to right):

An Elephant's Welcome (cardboard sign) Quilled (curled paper) Monograms  Rock n' Roll guitar pick and stamped washer earrings  The Dahlia Top Harley Davidson T-Shirt Quilt The Daddy Diaper Pail  Paper Bag Brag Books  Pink or Blue: button jewelry set

I'd love to have you stop by! Thanks for having me, Polly -- and enjoy all of the exciting and new things in your life!

Little Family Fun: Favorite Blogs Tour

I'm excited to welcome Linda from Little Family Fun on our Favorite Blogs Tour. I love her blog because her ideas are so do-able and fun.  You're going to love her...

Hello everyone!

I'd like to thank Polly for giving me a chance to write up a guest post on her awesome blog!

My name is Linda, and I am a mother of 2 little boys (5 & 2 1/2) and 1 little girl (newborn).

I love coming up with fun ideas of things to do with my kids, and sharing them with others on my blog: Little Family Fun. 

Here are a few of our favorites! 

(For more details on each project, click on the links below each picture.)

Square Felt Farm Animals

These were so fun to make! We use these to sing Old McDonald.

Wiggle Worms Game

This is such a fun game to play with a group of kids or as a family. It helps create a feeling of love while also helping to get the wiggles out!

Chicken Craft

We made this craft to go along with a book we read. It was so easy and turned out really cute!

Fish for Numbers

This is a fun way to practice numbers and counting!

Exercise Cube

Another fun and simple way to get the wiggles out!

We've had so much fun with these crafts and activities and have tons more to share! Come check them out!

littlefamilyfun.blogspot.com

A Turtle's Life for Me: Favorite Blogs Tour

I'd like to introduce you to Natalie from a Turtle's Life for Me today.  I'm a newer-ish follower of her blog in the last few months.  I love her ideas because they seem like things I could actually try.  I'm excited to have her here for our Favorite Blogs Tour.  Enjoy...

Hi!  I'm Natalie from A Turtle's Life for Me and am so excited to be guest posting here today! I just started blogging about a year ago and am constantly amazed at how much I love this little community!  I've been having a blast at A Turtle's Life for Me getting to know so many of you and decorating my house at the same time!  I may possibly be the cheapest person you'll ever meet, so you won't find anything too extravagant over at my blog. Just lots of easy, quick, low-cost projects (decorating and recipes!), so I thought I'd share a few of my favorites from this past year!

My daughter's Dress-up Center that I made out of an old, broken dresser, is still one of my all-time favorite projects.  I personally love it because it cost me pretty much nothing, I love taking pieces that others would throw away and making them useful, and it's extremely functional!

 The Beadboard Headboard that my husband and I installed in our bedroom is another one of my personal favorites!  It was cheap, quick and brought our whole room together!  I still go back often and look at the before and afters because I just can't believe what a difference it made! It also highlights the turquoise and yellow wreath I made.

I'm also a huge fan of themed parties and one of my favorites from this past year was the BaByQ Shower I threw for my best friend for my goddaughter's impending arrival!  It was a very casual backyard BBQ and we had a ton of fun! 

I do love to post about food, as well and without a doubt, the most popular food posts I write are my freezer meal ones!  My original freezer meal post, the 2 follow-ups ( #1 and #2), the spaghetti freezer sauce and the football freezer cooking have totally taken my blog in a direction I never expected it to go!  It was just something I've been doing for years, that I casually shared one day and still get daily emails about almost a year later!

I also, have been known to decorate cakes and cupcakes in my spare time!  This one was always one of my favorites and I still enjoy looking at it!

That's just a little sneak peek at what I'm up to, but there's lots more over on A Turtle's Life for Me!!

So stop by and say hi! I love meeting new people!

Thanks, Polly, for letting me invade your little corner for the day!

Fireflies and Jellybeans: Favorite Blogs Tour

I'm excited to have Fawnda from Fireflies and Jellybeans here today on our Favorite Blogs Tour to share some of her favorite projects with you...and I was happy to see they're some of the favorites I've seen on her blog too...I especially love the counter top update and the dress up aprons.

Hello Helping Little Hands readers! I am so excited to be helping Polly out during this BUSY time for her!

Let me introduce myself to you!

I am Fawnda and you can find me at Fireflies and Jellybeans!  I am a thirty-something mom of a son (4 years old) and a daughter (22 months)!  My Husband is my best friend and biggest supporter {I am every lucky}!

We have all sorts of fun over at Fireflies and Jellybeans! I share crafty tutorials with you, and we have a fun Show Off Your Stuff linky party on Thursdays. today I am going to show you my top 5...er...8 favorite projects that I have done!  It was so hard to pick just 5!   :) Here they are in no particular order:

 Updating my Counter tops on the CHEAP! 

Painted Floor Wood Rug

Airplane Shelf For my Son's Room

Chalkboard mugs
 

Princess Dress-Up Aprons

Easy Toddler Summer Dress

Vintage Photo Tags from a Paper Bag

Marker Roll

Thanks so much for having me over today, Polly!  It was so FUN! 

Older and Wisor: Favorite Blogs Tour

I'm excited to have Rebecca from Older and Wisor here today  on our Favorite Blogs Tour.   I discovered Rebecca's blog around just before the Christmas holidays when her 31 Ways to Wrap Your Crap (which she's linked to below) series opened up a whole new world to me of using scraps and and a glue gun to wrap things.  All of my own scrappy wrapping posts have been inspired by her genius.  I started following her blog because she just has so much personality and her posts are always a fun read.  I hope you enjoy...

When I agreed to jack Polly's blog for the day while she takes a well deserved baby rest (live it up, girlfriend!), I had no idea how hard it would be to introduce my blog. I don't know that it falls under any particular niche.....it's kinda like an internet extension of stuff that's in my brain. Minus the random song lyrics. I talk about whatever has my attention at the moment, but somehow it usually involves DIY projects and making stuff.

By "making stuff" I didn't mean babies, but I've done that a few times too.

My favorite posts have been more about what they represent, rather than how popular they were. I was given directions to pick five that make me happy so here we go:

#5: Because my oldest son has autism, our house is full of all kinds of ongoing...."issues"....and how to address them. Suffice it to say, this makes for fascinating dinner conversation.

Special Ed Classrooms: The Happiest Place On Earth

:

#4: Our monthly budget usually doesn't have wiggle room for big home renovations, so we've gotta make do with what we've got. Almost everything in our house is either off Craigslist, off the curb, or has been slapped with a coat of paint.

Updating Ugly Built-Ins

#3: I have not and never will believe that I am a perfect mother, and the universe wants to make sure I have constant reminders of this truth.

Reverence Is More Than Just Quietly Sitting

#2: Sometimes things that are hard end up being much more fun than you anticipated.

{this is a perfect set-up for a slightly suggestive remark, but since isn't my blog? I'm leaving it alone}

{and giggling to myself} In October I shared ideas EVERY SINGLE DAY on the art of gifting, and now there's an index of all the cheap and easy ideas in one spot for your package pimping pleasure.

31 Ways To Wrap Your Crap

#1: Why not bring two things you're passionate about together into one project? For April Fools Day that involves my love of chocolate combined with my ongoing commitment to embarrass my children.

Who Ordered The Poo Poo Platter?

Thanks for having me over to play, Polly. Now go take a nap.