Tag: DIY

DIY Father’s Day Golf Gift & Printable

This post contains affiliated links.

Looking for a fun and meaningful Father’s Day gift that’s perfect for the golf-loving guy in your life? Whether it’s for Dad, Grandpa, or another special father figure, this easy DIY idea is guaranteed to make him smile and maybe even improve his game (with some luck and love from the kids)!

This gift is simple to put together, budget-friendly, and a great way for kids to get creative. All you need are a few basic supplies and a little imagination.

Screenshot

What You’ll Need:

How to Make It:

  1. Set out the golf balls and markers, and let the kids go wild with creativity!
    • They can draw Dad’s favorite things, funny faces, or leave sweet, positive notes like “You’re tee-rific!”
  2. Once the golf balls are decorated, place them in the jar.
  3. Tie a ribbon around the top for a festive touch.
  4. Attach one of the printable tags to finish it off. Tags are available for Dad, Pops, Grandpa, and Gramps!

Not only is this gift thoughtful and personal, but it’s also something he’ll cherish. He might even sneak a couple of these special balls into his next round of golf, though don’t be surprised if he chooses to keep them on display instead.

Grab Your Free Printable Tags:

Download Here

DIY Instax Magnetic Frames with Personalized Charms

This post contains affiliated links.

If you’re like me, capturing memories with your loved ones is something special. That’s why I’m obsessed with my Instax Fuji Film printer. It lets me print my favorite moments straight from my phone and instantly bring them to life. But what I really love is finding creative ways to showcase these memories both at home and at work.

Today, I’m sharing a super fun and easy DIY project: Instax Magnetic Frames with Personalized Charms! These adorable frames are perfect for adding color, personality, and a little sparkle to your printed photos.

What You’ll Need:

How to Make Them:

  • Step 1. Print our your favorite photos using the Instax Fuji Film Print.
  • Step 2. Select your favorite charms and glue them onto your magnetic frames.
  • Step 3. Once the charms have dried, insert your printed pictures into the frame.
  • Step 4. Display them anywhere! On your fridge, white board, filing cabinet, anywhere they can be seen!

Pro tip. Try creating a seasonal set like beach photos with seashell charms for summer, or holiday memories with tiny snowflake charms for winter. It’s a great way to keep your displays fresh and fun!

DIY Painted Frames with Charms – A Fun Summer Craft for Kids!

This post contains affiliated links.

Looking for a creative and meaningful activity to do with your kids this summer? These DIY Painted Frames with Charms are the perfect way to keep them busy and the end result is a sweet keepsake you’ll treasure for years to come.

This project is not only fun, but also a great way to reflect on your favorite summer memories together. All you need is a photo that captures a special moment, this can include a beach day, a picnic, or a backyard adventure, and a few simple craft supplies.

Why You’ll Love This Craft:

  • Kid-friendly
  • Encourages creativity and storytelling
  • Doubles as a personalized décor item or gift
  • Helps turn summer memories into lasting keepsakes

Here’s what you’ll need:

This is great way for you and your kids to use your creativity to make something special. Our daughter Riley had so much fun making one for herself, she wanted to make another one to share with someone special. Adding charms gives these frames a whole new level of fun and really brings out the personality from the photo. Share your finished frames with me on Instagram, just tag @shortstopdesigns so I can see and celebrate your creations!

DIY Clay Bead Bracelet: A Perfect Craft for Kids

This post contains affiliated links.

Our daughter, Riley, loves to craft and is looking for ways to stay busy, especially at her brother’s baseball games. A couple years ago, she met another girl on one of the teams who would make things and sell them to people during games. This inspired Riley and she wanted to do the same! We thought bracelets would be perfect for her since it’s easy to put together and would keep her entertained at home and at the games.

One day while I was scrolling through Amazon, I saw these Clay Bead Spinners and thought this would be perfect for her if it really worked… I was definitely skeptical at first but decided to buy it. When we got it, we were amazed at how well it worked! We were able to complete a bracelet in 5 minutes if we kept the machine on without making any changes to the bracelet. Our boys were even fascinated by it and made a couple themselves! Here are a couple tips when using it.

1) The machine randomly throws on beads on the needle, so if you’re going for a colored pattern bracelet, you probably won’t want to use this. If you’re a go with the flow type of person, this is perfect for you! You’ll want to choose colors that go well together! In the end, it still creates something very cute and colorful.

2) Add more clay beads in the dish! This will help the clay beads fall onto the needle and make the process of making a bracelet go a little bit faster.

3) Finding the right speed and rotation of the spinner can make all the difference. You can adjust the speed of the spinner, along with having it rotate clock-wise or counter clock-wise.

Here are the materials you’ll need:

It’s a tool that is great to use when you’re having a movie/craft night and perfect for littles who love creating something for friends and family! If you or your kids love giving bracelets as gifts, take a look at this post on Boutique-Style Packaging Ideas + Printable.

Best Supplies for a Fun Lemonade Stand

This post contains affiliate links.

Looking for things to do while your kids are home for the summer? A lemonade stand is a great way to keep them busy and can be a great educational experience while they’re out of school! We have done three lemonade stands and learned the best times and best places to host a lemonade stand. Today, I’m sharing some of our tips, supplies, and our favorite cookie recipes to help you and your kiddos have a successful lemonade stand!

Lemonade Stand Tips

  1. We’ve discovered the best time to host a lemonade stand is when our neighborhood is having some type of event, like a neighborhood garage sale. These usually draw in shoppers who are already looking to spend some money, and are supportive in helping out kids with their small business venture!
  2. Location is key! We are in the back of the neighborhood, and we know that there’s going to be less “foot” traffic, which means less buyers. If it’s feasible for you, bring your lemonade stand to the front of the neighborhood for better visibility. We have brought all of our supplies in a wagon (or the car depending on how we’re feeling) with us so we don’t have to go back and forth between the house and the front of the neighborhood.
  3. Market to your friends and family to draw in a crowd! In case things get slow, it’s always a great idea to let friends and family know you’re hosting a lemonade stand. Plus, the kids also appreciate seeing familiar faces supporting them.
  4. Sell baked goods or treats! Funny enough, we’ve found that selling baked goods has brought in more money than selling lemonade.
  5. Stay hydrated and bring water with you! Depending on how long you and the kids are willing to stay out, it’s likely you’re going to be out there for 1-2 hours. Plus, you don’t want to drink up the inventory!

Cookie Recipes That We Love

As mentioned before, selling baked goods is key to making your lemonade stand successful! Remember, it’s going to be hot out there, so you’ll want to try to avoid anything that will melt and ruin the look of your treats. Here’s a few of our favorites:

Lemonade Stand Supplies

When it comes to the set up, you’ll want to create one that stands out so everyone can see it when they’re driving by! I like to add a cute table cloth, a tiered tray to hold the treats and farmhouse drink dispenser to draw some attention. You can also tie in cute cups, patterned straws and packaging for your treats. Can’t forget the lemonade! Depending on how much time I have (and effort I want to put into it) I sometimes like to make the from scratch. But this last time I decided to grab a lemonade mix and it made my life a little bit easier. Top it off with some fresh lemons and you’re all set!

There are so many ways to make your lemonade stand look fun! The biggest thing is to let your kids help out and give them a chance to see what it’s like to run a small little business for the day. It’s a memory that your kids will remember for the rest of their lives, even if you do it just once!

Printable Advent Calendar + 30 Activity Ideas

*Post may contain affiliate links

We’ve reached the end of the year and the busiest season of the year! My kids ask every year for an advent calendar and they absolutely love it. We’ve done a variety of advent calendars: candy, socks, activities, you name it! I will admit, their favorite has definitely been the candy ones, but I know they also love getting into the holiday spirit with Christmas activities.

Here is an advent calendar that you can print off and use for years. Knowing that every year is going to be different, you can also change the text so that you can plan the activities based on your schedule. The text can be changed in Canva and is free and easy to use!

Here’s what you’re going to need:

How to put it together:

  1. Print out the Advent Calendar Cover on cardstock.
  2. Using a cutting mat and precision/exacto knife, start cutting 3 sides of each box on the Advent Calendar so that it opens up like a door. You don’t want to cut off all of the sides on each box.
  3. To print out and/or change the text on the Activity Page, go to Canva and edit the text on the template.
  4. To print out the Activity Page, select “Share” at the top right corner, choose Download and for file type, choose PDF Print. Once you’ve selected the file type, click download.
  5. Line the Advent Calendar and Activity Page behind it.
  6. If using a matted frame, tape the pages to the matte and line up the 2nd page. If using a frame without a matte, sides down to fit a 8×10 frame.

See the video on how to put the Advent Calendar together: Instagram Video

Need some ideas for your Advent Calendar?

  1. Watch a Christmas Movie
  2. Look at Christmas Lights
  3. Bake Cookies
  4. Make a homemade gift and deliver to a friend/neighbor
  5. Wear an Ugly Christmas Sweater
  6. Look at Christmas Lights
  7. Make a holiday craft
  8. Write a letter to Santa
  9. Read a Christmas Book
  10. Hot Chocolate Bar
  11. Make a Ginger Bread House
  12. Make Magical Reindeer Food
  13. Donate a gift to someone in need
  14. Go Ice Skating
  15. Listen to Christmas Songs
  16. Send Christmas Cards
  17. Have a Sleepover by the Tree
  18. Visit Santa
  19. Watch a holiday show
  20. Visit a Christmas Market
  21. Play in the snow
  22. Make a Christmas Ornament
  23. Play board games in Pajamas
  24. Wrap Christmas Presents
  25. Try a new Christmas Cookie Recipe
  26. Donate Food
  27. Take family pictures
  28. Go Sledding
  29. Leave Cookies for Santa
  30. Attend or Host a Christmas Party

Fall Photo Booth Props – Free Printable

We’ve reached the busy season, and that typically means lots of parties and get togethers to celebrate the holidays. I love this time of year (like most of you) and there’s usually a lot that goes into getting ready for a party. Coming up with the food menu, activities, decorations, etc.

One of my favorite things at a party are the photo booths! I love that there are so many fun ideas to create a cute back drop and capture a moment from the party. If you’re having a photo booth, you’re definitely going to need some props! These props are the perfect addition to your Fall photo booth and you can make them at home!

These are easy to put together and add a little fun and silliness to your pictures! Who doesn’t love that? Here is what you’ll need to put these together:

–Fall Photo Booth Printable – Download here

-Color Printer

-Heavy Cardstock

-Scissors

-Wooden Dowels

-Glue / Tape

Looking for more props and want the full set? Grab them in the shop! Click on the image below:

DIY ‘HOME’ Wall Art

This post may contain affiliated links.

We moved into our brand new home the day before Thanksgiving last year making this our 7th home! This does not include all of our transition periods staying at one of our parents’ homes in between a few of those moves. We have lived in 4 different states, California, Idaho, Washington and currently Texas. It has been quite the adventure for us and our kids.

With every move I’ve found it usually takes me months before I’ve formed a plan of how I want to decorate my walls. My entry was lacking a bit of a warm welcome, and I finally found a solution! It was during the early stages of quarantine that I needed a small project to keep myself busy with all the free time we had after work, when the kids would normally occupy our evenings with sports.

This project was easy, not unbearably time consuming, and just what my entryway needed! I found everything I needed on Amazon:

All I needed to do was paint my letters white, and then after they dried I hung them up on the wall with 2 command strips on each letter. For me, the easiest way to hang it was starting from the bottom and then moving my way to the top so I knew how low I wanted my letters to be. I hung the wreath up with a nail to complete the farmhouse look. You could definitely change up this look during the holidays to make it more festive!

DIY Valentine’s Day Foil Print

DIY Valentine's Day Foil Print

*this post contains affiliate links*

I was pulling out some of my Valentine’s Day decorations this past week and realized I how little I had. I’ll be honest, I have never been too worried about going all out for Valentine’s day, but this time I felt like there were parts of my house that could use a little more “love”.  I wanted to be a little bit more crafty with this one, and took out my Minc and started to come up with some different ideas. This print was one that stuck and it has been a fun addition in my house!

If you’re looking to add another decoration in your home, here’s what you’ll need:

Materials:

Valentine's Foil Project Wall Art

Start by turning on your Minc (I usually set mine at a 3). Print out page one of the XOXO Printable and cut out a piece of the hot pink foil so it fits over the letters.

Valentine's Foil Project 00

Place your foil on top of the X’s and stick it inside the foil transfer folders. Once it’s in place, run it through the Minc.

Valentine's Foil Project Part 01

Peel off the foil after it’s gone through and and put it back into your printer making sure it’s facing the right way so that it will print out page 2 of the XOXO printable.

Valentine's Foil project 1 copy

If you’ve printed it correctly, you’re page should look like this. If you didn’t, that’s ok. It took me a couple tries to get this right…

Valentine's Foil Project Wall Art7

Do another rough cut of your light pink foil this time and set it on top. If you’re adding the gold foil to the “hugs & kisses” this would be the best time to do it. I’ve found that putting it through the Minc as little as possible helps keep from distorting the foil that was there previously.

Valentine's Foil Wall Art

Once that’s through, peel off the remainder of your foil and stick your new piece of decor in a frame and admire it.

Valentine's Day Foil Print

If you don’t have a Minc, not to worry! I’ve also made the same printable in color HERE. If you’re looking to buy a Minc, they’re available at Joann’s, Michaels, Amazon, and many other stores.

Color-Printable-XoXo

Easy Mini Valentine’s Day Donuts

mini valentines donuts

It has been crazy these past few months. We moved into our new home, I worked full time for the holiday season, and celebrated our youngest’s 2nd birthday. Now it’s time to get back to working on this little blog of mine.

We’re getting pretty excited for Valentine’s Day at our house. So yesterday, I decided to do something fun with my kids while dad was out of the house. These mini Valentine’s Day donuts are so easy to put together, my kids understood what to do pretty quickly, and they’re 5 (almost) and 2. The best part, you only need 3 ingredients!

Ingredients:

Package of Glazed (or plain) Mini Donuts – like Hostess or Little Debbie’s

Candy Melts – feel free to choose your favorite Valentine’s colors

Valentine’s Day Sprinkles

mini valentines donuts 4

  1. Dip your donut into a bowl of melted candy chocolate.

mini valentines donuts 5

2. Let any extra candy melts drizzle off of your donut and set on a cooling rack.

mini valentines donuts 2

3. Grab your favorite sprinkles (look how cute those hands are! I know this picture is pretty much unnecessary but it was too cute not to share).

mini valentines donuts 3

4. Sprinkle your hearts desire on your donut.

mini valentines donuts 6

5. Let your donuts sit and dry off for a little bit until the chocolate has hardened. And you’re all done!

Super easy and great to do with your kids. The only downside is the clean up. Like I predicted, the sprinkles got everywhere, but it was totally worth having them do something that didn’t involve sitting in front of the TV or iPad!

What a perfect gift to give away for Valentine’s Day too!

mini valentines donuts 7

Save