DIY Blanket Box

I had this really great box. I had been holding on to it for several months because I have a cardboard hoarding problem. Ha! It is true, I will say "Ohhh! I am going to make a cardboard bed with that box..." and my husband will nod his head and say "Great idea!" or maybe "Interesting." He is patient and will give me a few days. If the box remains untouched, he sweetly breaks it down and recycles it to keep my hoarding to a minimum.

This box however I had managed to keep stashed out of the way in a closet used for coats. We haven't needed jackets in months now, so no one has been in that closet. Until one day. I saw him open the door. His eyes locked on the box.

He asked "What are you doing with this box?"
I knew my time was limited. It was a great box... I couldn't lose it! My mind went to work and I came up with a great way to use it and make it look pretty too!

From a swifter box to a blanket box in under 5 minutes. This project cost me about 50 cents to complete which makes this not only an upcycle, but also a frugal organization project in one.

I purchased my contact paper for $1 at Dollar General. I have enough to do another box about the same size.

First I unrolled enough paper to cover the top.

I peeled a small section of the paper off of the contact paper to carefully begin applying it to the lid of the box.

Then I did the same for the sides and the bottom.

I took a hard plastic case and smoothed out the bubbles and wrinkles in the contact paper the best I could.

My edges were a touch uneven, but that is okay. I highly doubt anyone is going to inspect my blanket box for perfection.

This box is great for storing baby blankets and it fits perfectly under Harp's crib.

This project only took a few minutes (5) and it created a really useful organizational tool for my daughters room!

Pizza Craft for Kids

My kids love to eat, they love to play with pretend food and they love to craft. Hmmm. I wonder where they get this from? I love to eat, pretend to eat play food and I love to craft. These are my kind of kids!

Every day Roo asks me these 3 questions:
"Mom, are you making lunch?"
"Mom, are you making dinner?"
"Mom, can we make a craft?"
Miss Thang always offers her 2 cents with "Eat Mom?" "Craft Mom?"

A few weeks ago I had a package with the cute little crinkly pieces of paper inside it, like the stuff you fill a gift bag with. I was just about to toss it in the trash when inspiration hit. This would be the perfect base for a craft my kids would want to gobble up!

To start off, I grabbed yellow, white, green and red paper that was left over from another craft we made, I cut simple strips of yellow for cheese. Simple circles for pepperoni, I made little curved green peppers and the hardest shapes was the white mushrooms.

I cut out quite a few of each. I knew the kids were going to LOVE this craft and I want to be able to repeat it again this winter. The extras I placed in baggies and stashed away for later.


I offered the kids some of each topping, including those crinkly little strips of red paper. They each got a paper plate.

To begin we generously applied glue to the plate, then we added our sauce.

Plate with sauce

Next we added cheese.

Cheese Please!

Then we started to add our toppings. This was a ton of fun for everyone, including me.

Green Peppers

The works! See how cute my mushrooms are!

And there you have it! We made fun pizzas from recycled materials. This was really a simple craft that both the almost 2 year old and the 5 year old enjoyed. You will have to stay tuned as this idea has spawned other pretend food crafts!

Fryer Park Offers Kids An Out Of This World Adventure

A few weeks ago, we set out on a mission! Last winter we saw this great park in the Columbus, Ohio area. I was sure I would recall the park! But then 8 months time passed, and I could only remember that there was electronic games on the playground....

Well I knew it existed, but I couldn't remember what part of town it was in, of course I had no clue about the name of the park either. Hubby turned to google and found a park that sounded like it could be it. Fryer Park in Grove City. So, we hopped in the car and headed south to the capital, then off to Grove City.

When we arrived at the park, we walked around the pond, enjoyed the sight of the ducks and made our way over to the park.

The ducks ready for a swim

My kids were amazed with the park. They thought everything from the cave to the playground equipment was fantastic. They were hoping other kids would be there, but that wasn't the case. We had the place to ourselves.

My kids loved the cave!

The park was large, spacious and perfect for kids of a variety of ages!

I loved the plaques for the planets!

I loved being able to set the kids free. They ran, they played, they had a lot of fun!

"The Moon"

There were so many things for the kids to do! They loved exploring the moon, they delighted in climbing thru the cave.

This part of the park is perfect for bigger kids looking for a thrill!

While Fryer Park was not the park we were looking for, it was a great park in the Columbus Ohio area to visit. It was well worth the drive down and we will certainly be hitting this park up again! We visit a lot of parks, it is kind of our thing these days. With that in mind, I will be as bold as to say, Fryer Park is on our top 5 list of Ohio parks and playgrounds, which is quite impressive!

Grove City in general is a charming place. It is a great place to visit with your family for shopping, dining or playing!