I don't know how it happened, but my oldest just lost her first tooth, and it caught us both by surprise! When she started asking questions about the tooth fairy, I started scrambling. ;) I didn't want to deal with the extraction logistics of something that went under her pillow, so I thought that a little tooth fairy doll next to her bed could be a good variation. Here's what I made with materials I had on hand!

I started with a basic peg doll, and painted the body blue. This was when I was thinking that I could make a gender-neutral one that could eventually work for my son as well...and before the girls got involved with color requests. :)

I let them pick out a handful of colors of embroidery thread, which I then cut into three sections. I kept them fairly long, since I planned to cut them to a uniform length after attaching them to the doll.

Here's how she looks with her hair! I used a hot glue gun and glued the lengths of thread on diagonally, and overlapped them to try to give it some shape.

Next I raided my ribbon stash, and found some sheer, sparkly ribbon that I cut into these vaguely-petal shapes. I glued these onto the body as a skirt, overlapping them and letting them flare out at the bottom. And I found a glittery white ribbon that worked perfectly as wings - the ribbon that has wire in it to hold its shape works best for this!

The girls are requesting a whole family of fairies now, so I might add some tooth paraphernalia to tell this one apart! It would also be cute to attach it to a tiny box with a lid, so the tooth and surprise could be switched out. It was such a fun and easy project that we might set up a whole dental practice. :)

Easter is almost here! I have to say, I like how late it is this year. Spring is in full swing, and the warmer temps definitely make it feel like it's time to celebrate! Here are a few ideas I found to make your Easter celebrations more festive:

Cute signs to add to the yard for your Easter egg hunt

Speaking of the hunt, I love the idea of including a special golden egg!

Bubbles are always a hit, and this simple carrot DIY is perfect for Easter!

Easter twist on a classic hit

This paint chip garland could be done ahead of time for decor, or saved as a project for the kids!

I've got to say, when winter feels like it just keeps stretching on and on, I love that we have (at least) a holiday a month to keep us feeling festive! We definitely use holidays to add some fun to our normal play and craft times too - we can only do so much coloring! Here are some DIYs for St. Patrick's Day to make us all feel a little luckier. 

Super cute wreath with the best little gold details

An easy, free printable for a festive statement wall

Would this be about 200x the normal amount of luck you get from a penny?

Cute felt shamrock - in case you forget to wear some green!

Do you ever get in a rut with meal ideas? Lately breakfast has been seeming so repetitive and boring...maybe that has to do with if I get my coffee beforehand or not ;). Then I remembered that my kiddos don't care about their meals being fancy - sometimes they just want something different. Enter: yogurt and granola!

Now of course you can buy granola from the store and it'll be delicious, but I bet you have the ingredients to make it in your kitchen already, too! And then you can make as big a batch as you want...which is good, because any time I make this I find myself snacking on it all day long. 

I use Smitten Kitchen's  granola recipe for my base (that website is a goldmine, but this recipe is only in her cookbook):

Over time, I've tweaked it a bit for my family. So my ingredients look like this:

- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

- 1 cup flaked coconut

- 1 cup chopped pecans

- 1/4 cup chia seeds

- 3 tablespoons coconut oil (melted)

- 2/3 cup maple syrup

- dash of salt

- dash of cinnamon

- 1 large egg white 

Combine all the ingredients but egg in a large bowl and mix completely. Now for her secret ingredient to make the granola into those big clumps - the egg! Whip the egg white well, and stir throughout the mixture. Spread the granola in a single layer on a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Bake at 300 degrees for about an hour (or until golden brown). Turn over half way through using a large, flat spatula, so that you break the granola up as little as possible - again, you want the nice big chunks at the end!

I like to eat this with yogurt and fresh berries...but I also have it in milk with chocolate chips after my kids go to bed - don't tell them! :)

I found these rope circles at the craft store months ago, and bought them without knowing exactly what I would do with them. Maybe back them with mirrors? Make them into a mobile? 

You can probably see where this is going...instead of doing either of those things, I just ignored them under my bed for months :). By the time I found them again, I wanted a project that I could finish that same day. The fact that I had three made me think of monograms - but a fun, nautical version!

First I traced the ropes on large watercolor paper. I painted the circles with lots of layers of blues, green, and black...just having fun and not trying to be too precise. 

When they were dry, I cut them out and used a hot glue gun to attach them to the ropes. Then I used a chalk pen to add the initials. I loved how the white was subtle, but still popped against the dark background!

For such a quick, easy, and almost free project, it makes quite a statement! Now I'm excited to decorate the rest of the room. :)