Spooky, Fun Halloween Felt Wall

Hey friends!
I thought I was all done with my Halloween crafts and activities for the season (besides trick or treating of course!). But, as always, my kiddos inspired me to create another fun, seasonal activity.

Leighton and Kade had been working on creating a "spider web" out of string for days, or dare I say it..weeks! They were using tape to put the strings up in doorways and on walls. I let them experiment with it for quite some time until I finally got sick of finding scraps of tape everywhere and "spider web" blocked doorways around every corner. (What a grump, I know!) As I was cleaning up one evening, shoving all the lose strings into a drawer, the idea of a fun felt wall popped into my mind. I made a mental list and was off to the store for supplies the next day.

Here is a list of the supplies!

1. FELT-

  2 yards of black for the spider web, ( I got extra in case I made a mistake while cutting!)1 yard of grey for the background, 2ft of purple, green, white, & small sheets of felt for any other colors you would like to use for shapes. You can find the smaller sheets of felt in the kids craft areas in most stores. The options are endless! 

2. GOOD SCISSORS -

You will want to make sure your scissors are sharp to cut the felt shapes out accurately. 

3. THUMB TACKS - 

I used these to hang up the felt to the wall. 

4. GOOGLY EYES- 

I was originally going to glue these to the shapes I cut out, but decided to instead glue felt to the back of the eyes so the kids were able to move the eyes and put them wherever their little hearts desire. 

After gathering the supplies, I began cutting. I just cut out a large circle for the spider web. Then cut a slightly larger square for the background. After that I folded the circle three times over, and cut it like this. 

After that I laid it out and tacked it all onto the wall. I put it in the play room area in our house next to the kids' rooms, low enough for them to both be able to reach it. Then I began cutting out fun shapes for the kids to stick onto the web. I did ghosts, spiders & bats. I wish I would have bought some orange felt to add to the mix! I ended up having a ton of extra fabric so Kade and I decided to make a house along with the web. Next, I glued the felt to the back of the googly eyes. I think they both turned out super fun and cute! 

As soon as Leighton got home from school she started playing with it and moving the shapes around. She ended up also creating her own shape! A monster! I kept the extra felt out so she is able to create whatever she wants to add. While I was at the store I saw some pre cut felt letters. I feel like this would be an awesome purchase, along with the orange felt to add to the potential of this activity. 

Thanks for reading friends! When it comes to felt, the options are endless.Such a great activity for developing fine motor skills, along with creativity, colors and shapes. Adding the pre-cut letters would really add to the fun, too. There are tons of other fun shapes and things you could add to this project. I know there are some super creative people reading, I would love to see some of your felt ideas and projects!

-Kaci

EASY Halloween Activities to do with Your Kids

Hey friends!
Am I the only one who thinks these holidays come faster and faster each year? Something about having kids makes everything just fly by, I swear. Well, it is almost Halloween! I usually try to do fun things with the kiddos around each holiday. Creating things together is something they always seem to remember the most. I know there are a bazillion ideas on Pinterest, but life is busy! Many of the projects look super cool but also look super time consuming. Here is a list of my favorite EASY Halloween activities you can do with your kids at home!

#1: Hand Bats

These are super duper easy and fun for the kids. All you need is some black paper, a pencil and some scissors. You can add googly eyes if you want to, we had some leftover from a different project so we used them. Leighton is actually the one who gave me this idea, she may have done it at school. All you do is fold the paper in half , then trace your kiddos hand, then cut and glue some eyes on. They could also color eyes or a face on the bats using a white crayon! These are fun decorations to hang on your fridge or place on a shelf. We decided to make a garland out of ours and it turned out really cute! I'll post pictures of the garland on my Facebook and Instagram pages, check it out!

#2: Painting Pumpkins

Painting pumpkins is something that can be fun for all ages, weather you are a 2 year old or an 80 year old! Sometimes carving pumpkins with little ones is fun, other times you just want to avoid the sharp objects, and let's face it, who is going to be doing most of the work? YOU, not them. This way they really feel included in making their pumpkin their very own masterpiece! This picture is an oldie but one of my favorites of my daughter painting her pumpkin. The options are endless and you can use any type of paint you want to! You could even glue on things or use stickers. An added bonus to this method is that your pumpkins will last longer.

#3: Spooky Expanding Ghost

This is something I had been wanting to try for a while now, and I am so glad we did! I couldn't pick one picture because I just love seeing his facial expressions change throughout the process. Both of my kids loved it. Super easy, and easy to clean up. This literally took us 10 minutes to set up and do! I got the idea on Pinterest, here. You can check it out for the full tutorial! All you need is an empty water bottle, baking soda, a balloon, vinegar, and a small funnel! Most people can find this in their kitchen already.

#4: Pumpkin Hammering

Pumpkin hammering is an activity my kids both did at their cooperative preschool. It is so simple but toddlers love it. I found this tutorial on Pinterest, I couldn't find any old pictures of my kids doing it so I used this one! All you need for this one is a pumpkin, (preferably one that has been around for a bit), a toy hammer or kids wooden mallet, and golf tees. You can get some of the tees started for them to show them how it works, or just lay out all the supplies and see what they come up with. This is a great open ended learning opportunity for kids and it is also an awesome tool for fine motor skill development. 

#5: Halloween Glow in the Dark Slime

What kid doesn't love slime? I already posted about this in my "Friday Faves" last week, (you can find the link to the full tutorial there), but it is so simple and the glow in the dark glue makes it great for Halloween! 3 ingredients, and the kids are entertained for hours! It can be stored in any airtight container or baggie and used again and again. TIP: The more contact solution you add, the less sticky, icky it is. 

#6: Simply Spending Time Together

It is easy to get caught up trying to do it all. Sure, all these activities and the thousands of others on 

pinterest are great, but a fool proof way to make your kiddos day is to simply take the time to hang out with them. 

Hope you all have a fabulous day and I would love to see how some of your projects turn out, if you do any. Do you have any easy and fun Halloween inspired activities? I am always looking for new ideas! Comment below!

-Kaci

Easy Couples Costume Idea

Happy Monday, friends!

Halloween is quickly approaching and if you're anything like me, you probably haven't put much thought into what you will be for Halloween; it's really all about the kids these days. Some years I have these "epic" family costume ideas, and plan it out for months, but usually I just try to come up with something that is easy & inexpensive. This year I wanted to be The Incredibles, but after looking at the body suit I would have to wear, I decided against it! This mom bod is a work in progress, can't pull that off quite yet!

Each year a good friend of ours throws an adults only halloween costume party early in October. It's fun to get dressed up and a great excuse for date night with the hubs. She does an amazing job every year with her decorations and they are pretty much all D.I.Y., which is amazing!  I meant to take more pictures of them this year, but I was having so much fun, I forgot! (Not a bad thing, right?)

This year we decided at the last minute to basically dress as each other. Ty was a "Starbucks Barista" and I was an "Air Traffic Controller". We got a good laugh over it and so did our friends. Ty even had a stranger at the store come up to him and ask for a picture. This would be easy to do for any occupation (as long as you can handle a joke!). For those of you that may not know much about what an air traffic controller does; here is a photo to help you out a little. I found it here, on pinterest.

I think most everyone already knows what a stereotypical Starbucks barista would look like, so I won't post a picture for that one. Here we are in our costumes, the photo was taken in the dark so I apologize for the horrible quality!

"Air Traffic Controller Costume"

• Vest (borrowed from the airport where Ty works).
• Headphones (also borrowed from the airport).
• Wands (Ty made using PVC pipe, orange spray paint and duct tape).

"Starbucks Barista"

• Apron & Name Tag (borrowed from yours truly).
• Sharpies (taken from my vast collection).
• Skinny Jeans (also borrowed from me).
• Dress Shoes (Ty's).
• Fake Sleeve Tattoo (Party City).
• Prince Charming Wig (Party City). I should note that our first choice was the man bun wig. We waited til the last minute to put this together, so we were unable to find one in a hurry. They have them here on Amazon though!
• Headset (Party City)

Hope you all get a good laugh out of this. My husband wearing skinny jeans and having a full head of HAIR was enough to get me rolling. I am curious to hear what your costumes would be if you used this idea, or simply share what you are planning to be for Halloween! Adults can have fun with Halloween, too!

-Kaci