Best way to press flowers

We are nearing our move and I’m finding myself looking for pieces of Florida to bring with us. I have tons of seashells, pictures of palm trees, and air plants, but I still wanted something more. While flipping through my vintage art books I saw a chapter on pressed flowers and I was hooked. So I started right away.

This craft is a great spring activity for kids. They can walk around and pick colorful spring flowers, press them, and then arrange them. It’s a great way to work on those fine motor skills.

Plus, any time I can make a flower craft I’m happy. Something about flowers always brings a smile to my face.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, we may receive an affiliate commission.

No time to make this flower craft now? Pin it for later!

If you can’t make this flower craft now, pin it to your crafts ideas board on Pinterest and it’ll be here for when you’re ready.

How to dry and press flowers

• Choose several different shapes, sizes, and colors of flowers to press. 
• Some flowers press better than others, check out the best flowers to use for pressing. But a general rule is to look for flowers that lay flat, have thinner petals, and thicker centers.
• Make sure to let the flowers sit for a long time. Some people say a month, but we found a couple weeks to work.

How to press flowers for framing

Below is our step by step tutorial for how to press flowers for framing. Feel free to print it for easy reference.

Yield: Several frames of flowers

Pressed Flowers Tutorial

Print

Pressed flowers make a fantastic spring craft. Display them or give them as gifts!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Active Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 14 days

Total Time 14 days 20 minutes

Difficulty Easy

Materials

• Freshly picked flowers
• Paper Towels
• Picture Frames

Tools

• Heavy Books
• Scissors (optional)

Instructions

1. First, gather some flowers. 
2. Layout your flowers on two layers of paper towels.
3. Gently press them into place.
4. Cover with 2 layers of paper towels. Then smash them in a large book.
5. Weigh them down with whatever you have around and put them out of the way for a few weeks. (These are those vintage art books)
6. After you have waited at least 2 weeks gently open the books and pull out the paper towels.
7. Next just play around with your layouts.  I moved mine around quite a bit deciding which flowers I liked etc.  When you have a good idea of what you like, open your frames and place them directly on the glass.
8. Then place paper and layer in extra padding (magazine pages) to make it nice and tight when you close it.

Notes

Display them around your home or give them as gifts!

More Spring projects you will love!

• Fairy Garden Activity – Use an old water table to create a fairy wonderland.
• Rainbow Paper Flowers – One of our most popular flower crafts.
• Floating Flowers Activity – A simple flower sensory activity.

When to make Flower art inspiration

Sometimes you see a craft and think, oh that’s cute! But then you don’t know when you will make it. Here are some ideas for this fun art project!

• These make a fantastic Mother’s Day gift.
• Hang them in your home.
• Decorate your classroom or playroom.
• Make a bunch and send them to shut-ins or patients in a hospital.

If you loved this flower craft, share it by pinning or sharing on Facebook.

We are thankful for every share! Each time someone shares our posts, our site grows and we are so thankful that we can continue to create unique and simple projects for kids. Know a friend who’d like the best way to press flowers? Please share it on Facebook or save it to your favorite craft board on Pinterest.

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Watch this short video to see just how easy these fun DIY field goal posts are to make! Add them to some colored rice and you have a great game day centerpiece!

Grab Your Printable Paper Football Pack Here

What you need for your DIY Goal Posts:

• 9 pop cycle sticks. 2 broken in half. You will have one half leftover.
• Glue. We choose hot glue for speed.
• Yellow Paint.
• Paint Brush.

Watch The Video Above to see how to assemble your Field Goal Posts

DIY Colored Rice:

• Rice. I measured mine out by filling my containers ahead of time.
• Food Coloring. You can do this in any color you like. We choose green to match the grass.
• Vinegar. Only a splash. Between 1tsp and 1tbsp.
• A disposable baggie.
• Cookie Sheet.
• Parchment Paper.

Mix rice, coloring, and vinegar in your disposable baggie. Mix until the color is distributed evenly then pour out onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake at 300 degrees for 10-15 minutes. It should be completely dry to touch. Let cool slightly before removing from pan. This rice works great for these centerpieces, but is also great for sensory bins!

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What you need to make your Rustic Christmas Wreath:

• Sticks. You will need quite a few in 3 main sizes.
• Wet foam floral blocks.
• Hot glue and gun.
• Paint in color of choice.
• Glitter in color of choice.
• Paint cup.
• Natural colored string or hemp.

How to make your Rustic Christmas Wreath:

Start by gathering a bunch of sticks. Sort through them to get them into 3 main size groups. 8 large, 8 medium, and a handful of smaller twigs. Break off any branches hanging to the sides etc so they are straight. Save these pieces for later. I chose to paint the tips of my sticks. I love the sparkle and pop of color.If you choose not to paint them skip down to how to assemble the wreath below. To paint your sticks, dip each stick into your paint. Use a floral block to stick your sticks into paint side up. If you have any little ones at home this is great for them to help with! Next, bring your block and sticks outside and sprinkle with glitter while the paint is still wet.

*Let Them Dry Completely*

Assembling your Rustic Christmas Wreath:

Cut up your floral blocks. You want one to be a nice square to be the center of your wreath. The rest just cut into slices to use to hold pieces in place. Start by spreading out all of the largest pieces of your wreath around the center. Try to place one on each side and one on each corner. Cover the end of your stick in a good amount of hot glue and stick it into your floral block. You want it to be in the center top to bottom of your block. Using your extra pieces of foam block, prop up the painted end of the stick. Work your way around until you have them all in. Now spread out your medium sticks. Using the same processes place all of these sticks into your floral block a little closer to the surface. Last grab your little sticks. These you will press right into the top of your floral block.I ended up using a few of the broken pieces from before to fill in any open gaps. Cover the whole center with a good amount of glue and allow to dry. Flip over and check for any loose sticks. Add more glue to any that need it and let dry.

Starting on the back, take your string and wrap around the center of your wreath. Slowly rotate and go between each of the sticks until you have covered all of the blocks edges and you like the look of your wreath! Make sure to save enough string to make a loop for hanging it up!It is ok if the block is still showing in the back. Tie off your loop on the main vertical stick. If your wreath won’t lay flush on your door take your loop and wrap it around your vertical stick. (See this in the last picture)

And you’re done! I love how the ends catch the light and twinkle. Because Christmas just needs a little sparkle, even in your rustic decor. Don’t forget to Pin This to your Holiday Decor Board.

Don’t forget to Pin This to your Holiday Decor Board.

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It’s such a simple way to get your bathroom guest-ready, that it only takes about 3 minutes and you’re done!  Plus, it’s inexpensive.  All it takes is some tissue paper. You can either buy your tissue paper (we grabbed an amazing assortment from here) or you can save it from a gift. Either way, it’s a simple way to get your toilet paper rolls for your visitors in a prominent place.  It’s easy for them to use and makes your bathroom look nice at the same time.

How to create toilet paper rolls for your guests.

So here’s how you do it.  Grab a sheet of tissue paper.  Place your roll slightly off-center and at the end of your tissue paper. Roll your toilet paper in the tissue paper. Tuck the shorter end completely into the toilet paper tube. For the longer end, gently twist the tissue paper while gently pushing it into the tube. Done!

The possibilities are endless.  We’ve decided to give you some inspiration for how to use this simple hack to get the toilet paper rolls for your guests ready for whatever you’re hosting.

From changing out the theme every month.

To hosting a baby shower or gender reveal party.
Or you can have toilet paper rolls for your visitors ready every day by matching your bathroom decor.

You can stick to only using solid colors, or you can grab some fun patterned paper to throw into the mix. The possibilities are pretty much endless…and it only takes a few short minutes.  Which, if you’re like me, you’ll need the rest of those minutes to clean your bathroom…

The post Toilet Paper Rolls For Guests ~ A Simple Bathroom Hack appeared first on Twitchetts.

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When we purchased our house, I LOVED the large sweetgum trees in our front yard.  My mind went crazy with fun decorating ideas and crafts.  Well, the downside is that sweetgum trees are much messier than this crafter can keep up with.   But when I do get a chance to play, I always love the end result.  This DIY Christmas garland did not disappoint.

Supplies for DIY Christmas Garland

• Sweetgum balls (If you don’t have a tree in your yard, grab some here)
• Burlap Ribbon (or any ribbon that will work with your decor)
• Inexpensive Christmas ornaments
• Twine
• String
• Gold Acrylic Paint
• White Spray Paint

How to create DIY Christmas Garland

I started by letting the kiddos round up buckets of gumballs.  This is a win-win because they think the little pokey balls are fun, and Hubby doesn’t have to deal with them.Once you have a fair amount of sweetgum balls, give them a good coat or two with white spray paint.They really are pretty cool looking.After the spray paint drys, grab some gold acrylic paint.I originally tried brushing the paint onto the tips with paint brushes, but I found dipping them worked just as well and was much faster.Next, I used the string to tie the gumballs, burlap, and inexpensive ornaments to a line of twine.  I even brushed the tips of the burlap with some gold paint, to help give them a shimmer.I hung the DIY Christmas garland in front of our fireplace.A simple new addition to our rustic Christmas decoration.

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What Does a Teal Pumpkin Mean?

Have been noticing teal pumpkins popping up in your neighborhood?  Do you see them more and more in the stores?  Are you curious as to the teal pumpkin meaning?

As you know we love Halloween. From the costumes to the crafts, it is just so much fun. We are big fans of non-candy gifts for many reasons, but Teal Pumpkins are by far the most important one!

When we were little our parents would always take our candy to the other room and “check it”. They throw out any candy with open wrappers or things that could be resealed. I think this is when they would make a mini stash for themselves too…

Then we would get our candy back. Could you imagine if almost all of your candy was gone when this happened?

For many kids, this is a reality because they have to give up all of the candy that could trigger a food allergy. Even things that don’t actually contain food allergens are produced in factories that can cause them to be dangerous for a child with a severe allergy. Simply not worth the risk!

We are blessed to not have children with allergies.  But we want to help the kids that do.  So we place a teal pumpkin in front of our house to indicate that we have non-food treats available.

Kids with allergies know that they can safely trick-or-treat at our house!  It’s a simple way to help all kids enjoy trick or treating.

The trend is growing fast and teal pumpkins are showing on doorsteps around the country!

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, we may receive an affiliate commission.

How to Make a Teal Pumpkin

You can buy a teal pumpkin in lots of craft stores this year, or you can create a fun one of your own! Here are a few teal pumpkin ideas!

Teal Painted Plastic Pumpkin

Grab some teal tissue paper to create this fun Teal Pumpkin

Use fabric pieces to create a teal pumpkin with texture!

You can paint a cheap plastic pumpkin bucket teal and then weather it.

Add some teal using melted crayons!

If you don’t have time to make something fancy, just reach for a can of spray paint!

Other Teal Pumpkin Ideas

Still have way too much candy? Check out this fun Halloween tradition we started a few years back!

How will you help spread the word about teal pumpkins?

The post What does a teal pumpkin mean? How to make Halloween awesome for all appeared first on Twitchetts.

Melted Crayon Pumpkins

Do you have a bunch of broken crayons at home? Have you seen all of the fun melted crayon pumpkins out there? Well, this one is a little different.

A slight twist to change it up and create a really neat effect. You also end up with a second decoration so it is a win-win! I hope you like my melted crayon pumpkins with a twist!

Tip: Choose teal crayons to create a beautiful teal pumpkin!

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What you need for crayon drip painting:

In order to get your second decoration, you need to use mini pumpkins. However, you can do this melted crayon project on a larger pumpkin too!

• Mini Pumpkins.
• Empty Jars. Washed with the labels removed.
• Crayons. With the wrappers taken off.
• Hot Glue Gun and Sticks.
• Some sort of surface protector. Old tablecloth or scrap paper.
• Hair Blow Dryer.

How to melt crayons on pumpkins

Start by placing your jar in the center of your drop cloth or scrap paper. Then place your mini pumpkin upside down with the stem inside the jar.

Hot glue pieces of crayon to the bottom of your pumpkin. Once the glue is dry heat up the crayons using your hair blow dryer.

It takes a little while for them to begin to melt, but once they do it is so much fun to watch!

You can blow the drips in different directions to achieve the look you want.

As the crayons melt they will drip off the outer edge of the pumpkin and land on the outside of your jar creating a really fun candle holder!

We melted a couple crayons then decided to add a few more! Once you like the look of your pumpkin you can remove the extra crayon (if there is any) while it is still warm.

Allow your pumpkins to dry before removing them from your jar. If you want more drips on your jar just add a second pumpkin and start melting!

Watch the quick video below to see the whole process in under 2 minutes!

This is such a fun project to do with the kids and the end effect is so much fun!

***Side Note. I was able to burn a whole tea light completely without the wax dripping from the jars, however, place something on top of nice surfaces just in case***

If you get a big bag of mini pumpkins, check out these other fun fall decorating ideas from Parenting From The Heart Blog.

Tips a large crayon melting project:

For these pumpkins, I used fake pumpkins that I found at Micheals, but you could easily do this with real pumpkins. Since they are a little larger add a few pieces of tape to your jar to hold in place.

The rest is the same! I did find out while doing these larger pumpkins that certain crayons melt better than others… You will also use quite a few more crayons.

These turned out great!

And we can use them to decorate year after year!

We had a lot of fun making these melted crayon pumpkins… our little twist makes them extra spooky. 

The post How to make melted crayon pumpkins with a fun twist! appeared first on Twitchetts.

Now my youngest doesn’t really get tic tac toe quite yet… But, her toddler learning sticks are still a favorite and since this was in her space she took some time and played around with the buttons too.
Fine motor practice through play is a win too!

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Now J, he will challenge first thing in the morning. Which is always fun. Stealing a minute out of the blue for a quick game is really nice.

What you need to make your own Button Tic Tac Toe magnet game:

• 6 popcycle sticks
• Buttons. At least 2 different colors.
• Magnet strips
• Paint. Optional, but gives it a nice finished look.
• Hot glue gun and glue.

Get Your Buttons at Michaels!

How to make your Button Tic Tac Toe magnet game:

Start by making your grid. Use glue to hold your shape together. Next using the edge of your counter or a table break your last 2 popcycle sticks into pieces. These pieces will be used to fill in the back side of your grid so it will sit flush on your fridge. Use hot glue to secure in place. Next glue the magnet strips along the back. Make sure to line up your magnet as close to the outside edges as possible so that it will stay even on the fridge. There may be areas that your broken popcycle sticks leave space under your magnet. Just fill any open gaps with glue as well.

For game pieces I had these cute little button packs that had a lot of different sizes inside. I chose to make my button magnets 2-toned. Place a dab of hot glue and attach buttons together and then to a piece of magnet. Make sure to press tight when the glue is still wet so that it fills the button holes to create a great bond.

Add a quick coat of paint to your grid if you like and move to the fridge when dry! Please make sure to keep out of reach of small children that still put things into their mouths! Even when it’s not in use this button tic tac toe game looks really cute when you walk by!

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Plastic Pumpkin Totem Pole

You know those bright and cheap plastic pumpkins you always see at the store? The pumpkin pails that are only about $1 apiece?

What if I told you that you can turn those fake pumpkins into an amazing plastic pumpkin totem Pole?!

I am a huge fan of quick and easy decorations.  The idea of having to store large decorations for an entire year is not appealing. While this one isn’t quite as cheap as the Spiderweb Wreath, it won’t hurt your wallet and can be created in an afternoon.

You can leave it up all season, and then toss it when the snow starts falling.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, we may receive an affiliate commission.

No time to make this plastic pumpkin craft now? Pin it for later!

If you can’t make this pumpkin craft now, pin it to your crafts ideas board on Pinterest and it’ll be here for when you’re ready.

How to weather fake pumpkins.

• You don’t need much ink to weather your pumpkins. Usually, one dip of the brush can cover the whole thing.
• Paint in vertical strokes and make sure to add the ink all the way up the rim of the plastic pumpkin.
• Don’t forget to place something heavy in the bottom pumpkin.
• Add lights to the pumpkins so people can see them all day and all night!

Assembling your DIY stacked pumpkins

Below is our step by step tutorial for creating these stacked pumpkins. Feel free to print it for easy reference.

Yield: 1 Totem Pole

How to make a fun pumpkin totem pole perfect for Halloween

Print

This is such a great activity for Halloween!

Prep Time 5 minutes

Active Time 20 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Difficulty Medium

Materials

• Cheap plastic pumpkins handle removed.
• Black ink.
• Damp paper towels.
• Some sort of weight. (I used a refilled water bottle)

Tools

• Foam Brush
• Hot glue gun and glue.
• Craft Knife

Instructions

How to weather fake pumpkins:

If you don't want your pumpkin pails to be weathered, you can skip this and go straight to building your pumpkin totem pole. However, I love the way they look weathered...

1. Pour yourself a little bit of the black ink, have your foam brush handy, and a few dampened paper towels. You want the paper towels wet, but not dripping.
2. Start by painting with your ink down the creases of the pumpkin. Then add a light coat over the whole thing.
3. Once your pumpkin pail is covered, immediately take your damp paper towel and wipe off most of the ink. Use a downward swipe from the top to bottom. Work your way around the entire pumpkin.
4. Then start the next pumpkin!
   

Assembling your DIY stacked pumpkins


Play around with the color order of your pumpkins until you like your stack.

1. Place something heavy in the bottom pumpkin. We refilled a used water bottle and threw it in there. If you are placing yours somewhere that might get a lot of the wind you could add a few bricks.
2. As you stack your pumpkins add a few beads of hot glue around the seam where the two pumpkins meet. Again, depending on the location of the decoration is how much glue you will want to use.
3. Finally, find a good spot for your weathered plastic pumpkin totem pole! Since my kiddos are still pretty young we don't do too many scary Halloween decorations so this works out perfect for our family.

This thing is seriously cute!

How to add lights to your pumpkin totem pole

This was My Man’s idea so I have to give him credit…

1. Using an Exacto knife, I cut an X in the bottom 5 of the 6 pumpkins. Then one whole out the back of the one at the base.
2. Add in some white lights and bingo… It glows at night!

More Halloween projects you will love!

• Weathered Teal Pumpkins – Instead of jack-o-lanterns, you can create a weathered look on white plastic pumpkins!
• Halloween Wreath – Decorate your door with our spider web wreath craft

If you loved this outdoor Halloween decoration, share it by pinning or sharing it on Facebook.

We are thankful for every share! Each time someone shares our posts, our site grows and we are so thankful that we can continue to create unique and simple projects for kids. Know a friend who’d like this plastic pumpkin totem pole? Please share it on Facebook or save it to your favorite craft board on Pinterest.

The post How to make a fun pumpkin totem pole perfect for Halloween appeared first on Twitchetts.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission.  Thank you for supporting Twitchetts!

I searched all over Google, Pinterest, and Etsy for ideas for inspirational quote wall art for the kids’ room.  Nothing felt right.  Either it was too cheesy.  Done a million times.  Too long (cause I’m making this sign by hand…I didn’t want it to take forever to create)  Finally, we were having a fun song session and we started singing “Jesus Loves the Little Children”.  Perfect!

Tips for creating inspirational quote wall art

This isn’t the first time I’ve done an inspirational quote wall art.  The first time was for our living room gallery wall.  You can check out how I did that wooden sign here.

I headed over to Canva to type out my sign.  I used 3 different fonts and arranged the page so I could print the whole thing on as little paper as possible.

I printed the words out and cut each word out.  This way I could control the spacing of the quote.

I purchased a wooden sign from a craft store.  The pieces were spaced out farther than I wanted, but it was cheaper than buying the wood pieces separately.  I also liked how soft the wood was.  It made it easy to trace the words into it.

I took the sign apart, gave it a quick coat of white paint and then reassembled it the way I wanted it.

Then I got to work painting the sign.  I took into consideration the things I learned the first time and also picked up one new great tip.

Use a paint marker to create inspirational quote wall art.

This thing saved me so much time!  When I paint, I’m in crafty mode…not artist mode.  9 times out of 10, I squirt the paint directly onto what I’m painting and spread it out.  That’s not how you paint a wall sign.  And it’s the hardest part of this project.

Using the paint pen gave me a ton of control and I felt less nervous about the project looking right.

I used a thin tipped paint pen for this project.  Next time I will use both a thick and a thin tip.  That way I can better fill in some of the thicker letters.

When I finished the project I had a lovely addition to the kids’ new bedroom.

Check out the rest of the kids’ new room here!

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