Tag Archives: diy

Nature Journals

working

I decided I wanted the boys to start nature journaling.

I thought it might be fun way to work on identifying plants and encourage them to draw something that does not include superheroes and epic battles.

We did a trial run on Saint Patrick’s Day and it went really well.

kit

I bought them the little journal books at Hobby Lobby for under $3 each and made them both a pencil roll.

I used this tutorial as a guide but ended up not being as precise as she was.

Because I am lazy…

roll

I tried making the slits for the pencils with an exacto knife like she did but was having trouble getting through the felt.

I ended up just drawing a line where I wanted the cuts, folding the felt, and cutting it with scissors.

fold

I used twine I had on hand to hold them shut.

tie

I actually had everything I needed on hand to make these or it would have never happened.

I like spur of the moment projects.

youngest

We got to try them out yesterday and they worked great!

clover2

I told them to pick any plant to draw and of course both of them chose to do a clover leaf like they did for Saint Patrick’s Day.

clover

I was not sure about them putting the pencils back in to the rolls but my youngest did not seem to have a problem.

I told him it was kind of like weaving.

He said, “these are pencils not yarn.”

I am glad he cleared that up for me…

drawing

What do you do to help your kids enjoy nature?

Map Art for our Family Picture Wall

Since most of our family lives out of state I hung pictures in our hallway of extended family.

I might have also wanted to do something with the hundreds of pictures I take of them all…

I had been wanting to add some personal art to the wall for a while now and today finally did it!

DIY Heart Map Art ~Danielle Huddleston Photography

I have seen art like this floating around all over Pinterest for a while now and knew it was easy enough I could actually attempt it!

I used a cookie cutter to trace a heart shape from each state Nick and I are from and the state we live in now.

I just used scrapbooking tabs to stick them to a paper and framed it!

onthewallIt fits right in on a wall dedicated to family that lives far away.

hallway2I love walking by and seeing my cute nieces and nephews!

My boys really like looking at the pictures of their grandparents.

I got the idea from Young House Love’s Hallway.

Other than the new art the hallway has been done for a while but it is hard to get pictures of it because it is so dark.

I thought right before valentines day would be a good time to share my new heart map art!

A garden teepee.

I saw the idea on SouleMama’s blog.

Her blog is so beautiful you can’t help but find something inspiring there.

She made teepee’s in her garden for some of her climbing plants to grow up on but also so her children could play in them.

I loved the whimsy and I really wanted to do something similar for my garden.

She used branches but I did not really have any I could use so I bought these bamboo poles at Walmart for less then a dollar a piece.

I bought the twine at a farm store but I think Walmart carries it also.

I held the four poles together and just wrapped the twine all around the top.

Then I started at the bottom of a pole tying the twine to one, then wrapping it around and zig zagging my way to the top.

I left two sides open because I was worried about blocking this path for my dog.

It is right next to my vegetable and herb garden and I was worried she might choose to walk through that instead!

My Morning Glories are already climbing it!

I get to see this everytime I look out my kitchen window and it always makes me smile.

Do you have anything that makes you smile in your garden right now?

Something fun or maybe even silly?

You should!

My Pervoskia has just started blooming also!

So much to smile about in my garden right now.

Hope you find many things to delight in today!