Washcloth Animals – #1 – Bunny

Have you ever made an animal out of a washcloth? This week I’ll be sharing how you can do just that and how to make 3 different animals. Today’s craft is making a bunny from a washcloth.

This can be a fun project for kids to do or we’ve even made these for baby shower favors. They are cute, cuddly and easy to make. Depending on the age of the child the bunny is being made for, you can decide on how many details you want to add. You’ll need 1 washcloth, 1 rubber band and a piece of ribbon. Other things you might want to use include 2 wiggly eyes, a small pompom, a medium sized pompom and some glue. Lay the washcloth flat on the surface you’ll be working on.

Grab one corner of the washcloth and take fold it across to the opposite diagonal corner so you have a triangle.

Starting at the point across from the long side, begin rolling the washcloth tightly until you’ve formed one long roll.

Fold the roll in half…

Holding the 2 strips together fold them the other direction.

Can you see where the bunny’s ears will be? Take a minute now and make sure the 2 sides look about even on the end of the fold. This will be the bunny’s face.

Holding the “ears” back, put a rubber band around the “face” end.

Now you can fluff up the bunny’s ear and make sure the face part looks rounded.

Tie a piece of ribbon around the neck area to hide the rubber band.

Your bunny can be finished now or you can continue on to add a few more details. You can glue on 2 wiggly eyes.

A little pompom can be glued on for a nose.

A medium sized pompom can be glued on for a tail.

And there you have it! Your adorable bunny is finished and ready for some hugs!

I hope you enjoyed making a bunny from a washcloth! Be sure to check back on Wednesday when we’ll be making a teddy bear from a washcloth! 🙂

Quick Tip for Long Distance Grandkids

Do you have young grandchildren that don’t live close to you and you don’t see them very often? If so, this tip is for you! When sending little care packages or letters to your long distance grandkids, take a minute to print out a picture of yourself and include it in your package. That way the grandchildren have a picture of you to remind them of who you are and who sent them their special package.

I taped our picture to the top side of the card that I wrote a letter on. The picture doesn’t have to be top quality. I used regular printer paper. Its just a nice way to remind the kids who you are and that you cared enough to send a little something special. 😊🥰

Taco Tuesday Casserole

Happy Cinco De Mayo day, everyone! Whether you usually celebrate or not, aren’t Tuesday’s meant for tacos? Today’s post is about having a yummy taco tasting dish but made in a casserole so it’s simple and quick to do. Kids can have fun helping to make this meal. Items needed for Taco Tuesday Casserole are: 2 cups cooked rice, 1 – 14.5 oz can of cooked pork OR 1 pound of hamburger, 1 – 15.25 oz canned corn, 1 – 15 oz can of black beans, 1 – 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (we use fire-roasted), 1 – 4 oz can of canned green chiles, 1 package of taco seasoning and 1 – 8 oz bag of grated cheddar cheese. Other optional items would be chips for eating the casserole, sour cream, salsa, lettuce, etc. Whatever items you like with tacos. This recipe is very versatile, so feel free to change it up. Grease a 9″ x 13″ pan and turn your oven on to 350 degrees.

If you are using hamburger, start by browning it in a large skillet. After the hamburger is cooked thoroughly, (or if you are using cooked pork) mix the meat, corn, black beans, diced tomatoes, the package of taco seasoning and diced green chiles, together in a large skillet and heat until everything is heated through.

You can make a layer of rice in the bottom of your 9″ x 13″ pan and then pour the combined ingredients over the rice. OR you can mix the rice into the skillet with the other ingredients. This time I mixed the rice in. Pour combined ingredients into the 9″ x 13″ pan.

You can mix about 1/3 of the package of grated cheese into the mixture or just sprinkle it all on the top. Bake at 350 degrees for around 30 minutes or until its bubbly.

This time around we just had Tostitos Scoops chips and sour cream with the casserole.

Doesn’t it look yummy?

Mmmm! It tastes great! Since I’m late getting this posted, maybe you can try it next Tuesday! Ha! Enjoy and thanks for visiting my blog!

Let’s Draw Carly the Cat

Hello and welcome to today’s drawing fun! All you need is some paper and something to draw with. Let’s get started drawing Carly the Cat. Meow!

Start out with a circle.

To add Carly’s ears, draw 2 triangles on the top side of the circle. Then add 2 smaller triangles inside the first ones, and color the smaller triangles in with your pencil.

Now for 2 eyes. Draw 2 ovals, then a circle in the bottom part of each oval. Color in the circles.

Draw an upside down triangle for her nose.

Now draw 2 circles, one on each side of the triangle you drew for her nose. Under that draw a “U” with a smaller “U” inside of it. This is Carly’s mouth. Color in the smaller “U”.

Now let’s add some whiskers by drawing 3 lines out on each side of Carly’s face, starting inside the mouth circles.

If you want to draw only a cat’s head, then you are finished! Good job! If you would like to add a body, then keep going with me. Add 2 curved lines under the head like you see in the following picture.

Let’s add 2 front legs and 2 front feet.

Draw the lines for the body on down till they meet the legs and then draw a small line between the legs to finish Carly’s body.

Add 2 ovals for her back feet and add 2 curved lines to each foot to make her toes.

Let’s see…are we done? Have we forgotten anything? Wait…check again…what’s missing? Her tail? Of course! Draw her tail coming out the side.

If you would like your cat to look like a boy, then you are finished. If you’d like your cat to look like a girl, then you can add 3 eyelashes to the top of each eye.

Great job! Now you’re ready to draw a whole litter of kittens! Hope you had fun with our latest drawing project! 🙂

Paper Packet Surprises

Are you looking for a little something to cheer up some kids that have been cooped up inside waaaaay too long? Here’s a fun idea for making packets out of paper and sticking a little surprise inside. Its a sure way to liven up an otherwise boring day. Or a way to send some little surprises to those grand kids you can’t be with right now…which is what I’m doing with the ones I’ve made. 🙂

Let’s start out with a piece of paper, scissors and glue. Your paper can have a design on it or just be plain or solid colored. You can draw pictures, make designs or add messages to them. I decided to use some white printer paper and some scrap booking paper I had on hand. Depending on the item you would like to hide inside, how big you need to make the starting piece of paper. This one I think started out at 6″ x 8″. If you cut a piece of 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper in half to make it 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″, it makes a nice sized packet.

Put a line of glue across one of the shorter ends.

Bring the other shorter end around so your paper forms a tube and glue the two ends together. Press it flat with the glued line in the center of the side. Like this picture…

It doesn’t matter if it’s exactly in the middle or not. Next fold in both long edges approximately 1/4″ or a little more and crease. Again, no need to be exact. Side #1…

And side #2 is folded up too.

Working with one of the folded sides at a time, open the folded edge up.

You’ll see 3 creases…the 2 creases on the outside edges need to be folded “out” and the center crease needs to fold “in”. It’s a little hard to explain this way, but hopefully the next two pictures will help you see what I’m trying to explain.

Do that for both folded sides. This makes your packet able to hold something inside it. Next apply a thin line of glue to ONE of the open ends.

Press that end closed and hold for a few seconds while the glue starts to work.

Slide your surprise inside the open end. Here are a few ideas that I came up with to use for surprises. Stickers…

Granola bar…

Small candy bars…

Color with water pages and a few Q-tips to use for painting…

Just fold the color with water page and it will fit nicely inside your packet along with the Q-tips.

How about a package of hot chocolate mix? I folded the end in on them to make them fit inside better.

Maybe some pom poms or pipe cleaners…

For older kids you might use a Sudoku puzzle page or another type of puzzle sheet. Gift cards would be awesome! Once you have your surprise inside, glue the other end closed. If you like, you can cut the ends with scrap booking scissors to give it a more finished look.

I added one more twist to my packets by writing a message on the outside of something the kids need to do before they can open the packet. For instance…”Sing a song”, “Do a somersault”, “Clap your hands”, “Hop on one foot”, “Do 5 jumping jacks”, or “Run in slow motion”. You can tailor the message to fit the age of the child you’re making the paper packets for.

Hope this craft will brighten your day! Thanks for visiting! 🙂

Sharing Free Corner Bookmarks

I love sharing free things to help you or just things to make you and your kids’ lives more fun! Today’s fun comes from The Country Chic Cottage in the form of free corner bookmarks. Angie is offering 3 corner bookmarks that you can print, fold and use on your favorite books. All you do is sign up for their email newsletter and she will send the files for the bookmarks to your email address. Here is the link to go to her page: https://www.thecountrychiccottage.net/corner-bookmarks/ These bookmarks are cute, fast and fun! There is a video or pictures to help show you how to easily make these. Let me show you the ones I enjoyed making. 🙂

Click on the link above and sign up for her newsletter. When the files come to your email address, open them and print the ones you’d like to make. You’ll need scissors and double sided tape or glue.

Cut out each shape using your scissors.

Turn the bookmark over and fold in one side of the semi-circle over the square.

Fold in the second printed semi-circle in the same way.

With one side folded in, apply the double-sided tape or glue to the top of the semi-circle you folded in first.

Fold the second side on top and you’ve made your corner bookmark!

I printed and made all 3 bookmarks.

Now you can keep your place in your book marked until you can read the next time. 🙂

A special thanks to Angie at https://www.thecountrychiccottage.net/corner-bookmarks/ for sharing this fun project! 🙂

Some Awesome Freebies for You

I learned about 2 great items that you can get for FREE! Yep, free! I follow a great blogger who shares all types of great free items and those on sale for a great price. Her website is https://freebies4mom.com/ . That’s where I heard of these 2 great deals that I just have to share with you!

Freebie #1.) Hallmark is offering more free cards! Were you able to get some free cards the last time they offered them? I did and they were nice cards and came pretty quickly. Hallmark is giving away another 2 million cards to help us show gratitude and appreciation to the heroes in our lives. Just fill out the form to sign up for your free 3-card pack. This offer is good while supplies last. You’ll find the form here: https://greetings.hallmark.com/careenough/

Share gratitude with free cards
Just fill out this form and we'll send a free 3-pack of gratitude cards your way.

Freebie #2.) This free item is a packet of wildflower seeds – just in time as we move into warmer weather. (At least I hope we are moving into warmer weather…its cold and rainy and windy here again today. But it’s almost May, so it’s gotta be soon, right?!) This offer is from Arm & Hammer. Again, just fill out the form and hit “submit”. Here’s the link to their offer: https://www.armandhammer.com/seedgiveaway

Sign up for wildflowers

Move on these offers quickly before they run out! Hope you’re having a good day! 🙂

Some Comic Relief for Parents

With all that’s going on these days, sometimes its just hard to find a reason to smile. A friend of mine shared this post on Facebook yesterday and it cheered me up immensely. So I’m sharing with you in hopes it will brighten your day too. 🙂

Paul SappApril 16 at 9:18 AM

THIS IS WHY WE LOVE CHILDREN

1) NUDITY I was driving with my three young children one warm summer evening when a woman in the convertible ahead of us stood up and waved. She was stark naked! As I was reeling from the shock, I heard my 5-year-old shout from the back seat, ‘Mom, that lady isn’t wearing a seat belt!’

2) OPINIONS On the first day of school, a first-grader handed his teacher a note from his mother. The note read, ‘The opinions expressed by this child are not necessarily those of his parents.’

3) KETCHUP A woman was trying hard to get the ketchup out of the jar. During her struggle the phone rang so she asked her 4-year-old daughter to answer the phone. ‘Mommy can’t come to the phone to talk to you right now. She’s hitting the bottle.’

4) MORE NUDITY A little boy got lost at the YMCA and found himself in the women’s locker room. When he was spotted, the room burst into shrieks, with ladies grabbing towels and running for cover. The little boy watched in amazement and then asked, ‘What’s the matter, haven’t you ever seen a little boy before?’

5) POLICE # 1 While taking a routine vandalism report at an elementary school, I was interrupted by a little girl about 6 years old. Looking up and down at my uniform, she asked, ‘Are you a cop?

Yes,’ I answered and continued writing the report.

‘My mother said if I ever needed help I should ask the police. Is that right?’

‘Yes, that’s right,’ I told her.

‘Well, then,’ she said as she extended her foot toward me, ‘would you please tie my shoe?’

6) POLICE # 2 It was the end of the day when I parked my police van in front of the station. As I gathered my equipment, my K-9 partner, Jake, was barking, and I saw a little boy staring in at me.

‘Is that a dog you got back there?’ he asked.

‘It sure is,’ I replied.

Puzzled, the boy looked at me and then towards the back of the van. Finally he said, ‘What’d he do?’

7) ELDERLY While working for an organization that delivers lunches to elderly shut-ins, I used to take my 4-year-old daughter on my afternoon rounds. She was unfailingly intrigued by the various appliances of old age, particularly the canes, walkers and wheelchairs. One day I found her staring at a pair of false teeth soaking in a glass. As I braced myself for the inevitable barrage of questions, she merely turned and whispered, ‘The tooth fairy will never believe this!’

8) DRESS-UP A little girl was watching her parents dress for a party. When she saw her dad donning his tuxedo, she warned, ‘Daddy, you shouldn’t wear that suit.’

‘And why not, darling?’

‘You know that it always gives you a headache the next morning.’

9) DEATH While walking along the sidewalk in front of his church, our minister heard the intoning of a prayer that nearly made his collar wilt. Apparently, his 5-year-old son and his playmates had found a dead robin. Feeling that proper burial should be performed, they had secured a small box and cottonwool, then dug a hole and made ready for the disposal of the deceased.

The minister’s son was chosen to say the appropriate prayers and with sonorous dignity intoned his version of what he thought his father always said: ‘Glory be unto the Faaather, and unto the Sonnn, and into the hole he goooes.’ (I want this line used at my funeral!)

10) SCHOOL A little girl had just finished her first week of school. ‘I’m just wasting my time,’ she said to her mother. ‘I can’t read, I can’t write, and they won’t let me talk!’

11) BIBLE A little boy opened the big family Bible. He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it. What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages.

‘Mama, look what I found,’ the boy called out.

‘What have you got there, dear?’

With astonishment in the young boy’s voice, he answered, ‘I think it’s Adam’s underwear!’

Hope this brought a smile to your face! Hugs to everyone! We’ll get through this together! Have a great weekend! 🙂

Happy Earth Day 2020!

Today is a day to think about the beautiful earth that we live on and what we can do to enjoy it more and protect it. It’s a great day to go outside for a walk and see what interesting things you can find since the last time you were outside. Have any plants started growing? Are there any new flowers blooming? I’ve been enjoying walking around our yard and seeing what new Spring life I can find. We’ve had a few kinds of flowers blooming. Like these miniature daffodils…

And tulips…

Some violas and succulents in a pot look so pretty!

Those are all flowers that we planted ourselves but if you look closely, I bet you can find some wild flowers. Like these wild violets…

Our yard is also popping with dandelions! I’m guessing you can find some of those nearby.

Look around for any interesting bugs you might see. What kind of bug is this?

If you said a ladybug you are exactly right! They are so tiny but they are friendly little bugs that help us by eating some other bugs that will harm our plants. This is a really closeup picture of a ladybug walking on my thumb. Pretty cool, isn’t it?

So what can YOU do to make the earth better? How about helping an adult rake up any old leaves leftover from the winter? Has any trash blown into your yard? You could pick it up and throw it away and your yard will look so much nicer! Planting new trees and planting a garden are great things to do too. How about feeding the wild birds? Put out some bird seed and see what hungry birds show up.

Or take a pine cone and cover it with peanut butter and roll it in birdseed and hang it outside for a yummy snack for your bird friends.

With mom or dad’s help, maybe you could put a bird feeder out for the wild birds to eat from. But you never know who else might show up for a few nibbles. Can you tell who is eating at this bird feeder?

Yep! It’s a squirrel! Oh, well, they get hungry too, right? 😉 So whatever you do today to celebrate Earth Day 2020, I hope you have a good day! Let’s take care of our earth! It’s the only one we have! 🙂