A Wonderful Staycation

Summer vacation is here and it’s a very wonderful time for us to go out and have a wonderful trip out of town. Maybe not for all of us. Some of us would rather stay at home where we don’t have to go too far, tire ourselves, or spend too much and spend the same quality time for ourselves and our family. Looks like we can see few moms raising their hands already.

No packing and you get to stay at the comfort of your own home or anywhere that’s not out of town at least. Maybe that’s why some of us choose not to have a vacation, but rather have a wonderful staycation with our family.

Go to a mall or a park

Particularly one that you haven’t been to yet so that everything in your sight is new. You may see the same shops, but the interior is always different and there’s always something unique about every mall and park you visit. After all, it’s also a new sight for your kids.

Play board games

Grab that old Scrabble or Snakes and Ladders. You can introduce these fun board games to your kids and let them experience the same games we used to play. It’s fun and it’s also a nice way to get them off from screens and still have fun.

Eat like it’s a Holiday

Mark a specific date on your calendar and pretend it’s a Holiday. Holidays are usually great times for the family to eat and be happy together, so why not make your own Holiday?

Make it educational

Visit a museum or teach your kids new things they don’t teach in school. Make it fun, memorable, and most especially a time for your kids to learn something new.

Exercise

You can also use your free time to exercise and make a good balance between rest and all the activities you’ve planned. Exercise also makes a person happy!

Relax

You don’t really have to spend every minute of your staycation. Find the time to relax, have time for yourself, and think of other things than just activities to do on your staycation. Read a book, drink some tea or coffee, and just find the time to relax.

What are your plans this summer vacation? Are you going on a trip out of town, or are you having a staycation as well? Share your staycation tips and stories with us.

Creative Pins: Announcing Pregnancy Through Photos

A lot of people today are making pregnancy announcement photos and we are amazed by the many creative ways they are announcing it, so we gathered creative ideas (from our best friend, Pinterest) so our readers can get a little inspiration and maybe shoot a pregnancy announcement photo of your own.

1. Christmas Baby Announcement - We’re starting off with this one, of course, because Christmas is coming real soon! Aren’t parents with Christmas babies (even if they’re just born on the month of December) the luckiest? - www.etsy.com

2. A Drink For Three - Looks like someone’s going to drink with daddy and mommy from now on. He won’t be drinking coffee too though. - www.cassidyrobinson.com

 

3. Extra Seat - “I can’t wait until that last empty chair has another little person filling it” says Katie. And just imagine having that same feeling of excitement. - www.ashleyannphotography.com

 

4. More Laundry - Add a little humor to your pregnancy announcement photo. - Bonnie Hectorne Photography

 

5. If I’m Going To Get Fat... - Something to give to your husband or friends. If you’re going to get fat, things need to be fair. And this is also printable! - www.craftaholicsanonymous.net

 6. Chalk Art - Get a little creative! Something for parents who love to draw and color. - www.thelittleumbrella.com

7. Movie Poster - Present a new star for an upcoming “movie.” - The Dating Divas

We hope you were able to pick an idea from this article, or maybe while reading you were able to come up with your own crazy pregnancy announcement idea. If you’re going for a pregnancy announcement shoot, share your photos with us!

DIY: Spooky Coffins

One of our favorite parts in “Brewing Wickedness” was making DIY Spooky Coffins, and we thought it would be really nice to share it with our readers. Halloween’s already done, but you can always use this for a themed event/parties, or for next Halloween.

We also enjoyed this collaboration with FinePoint Design and Oh! Joy & Co. (page coming soon), and we’re sure there are more projects like this for us to make soon!

 

You will need:


1. Acrylic Paint - We used black, orange, metallic bronze, and silver paint with glitters.


2. Letter Stickers - From Oh! Joy & Co. We used ones with glitters.


3. 3 Little Wooden Coffins - Also from Oh! Joy & Co.

Other materials are: Paint brush, plastic color palette, and a tweezers to hold the stickers later.

And we finally get down to crafting.

First, paint the outside of the coffin black then wait for it to dry.
 

Once it’s dry, using a paint brush, paint the sides and the borders of the inside of the coffin. Remember not to touch the center first because we are painting it with a different color. (Or if that restrains creativity, go ahead and play with how and where you want to apply paint)

Continue painting, and do the same with the other coffins. In the end, it should look like the photo above. Wait for it to dry.

Once it dries up, you can open the coffin again and paint the center orange. Our coffin is starting to look very Halloween-y!

 

 For the next step, you can wait for it to dry up then apply bronze paint or use a different color to mix with orange. This gives our coffin a little texture and an old coffin effect.

For the borders, we mixed black paint with glittered silver paint to give our coffin a little sparkle.
 

Apply to the borders. Yes, it’s like magic. And it matches our stickers too!
 

Now using tweezers, put the stickers inside the coffin to spell “spooky,” or any word you want to put inside. Just put in mind that each coffin can contain two letters.
 

And it’s finally done! Now you’re ready for next Halloween! Don’t forget to bookmark this page , so you don’t miss this post in the future.

Halloween Crafts

Is everybody ready for Halloween? Aside from the costumes and the candies, what activities are you having? Here are things you can do with your kids to uplift that Halloween spirit.

(Photo: http://family.disney.com/crafts)

Everyone (even adults) loves Disney! Disney Family actually has a page for crafts from lanterns to costumes and masks you can make with ready to print materials.

 

(Photo: http://blog.evite.com/)

Make a fully-customized fun and creepy Halloween bowling set. And look! It's an eye"ball"!

(Photo: dumaday.com)

Make an easy DIY owl, or how about a set?

 
(Photo: lifeandstyle.alexandalexa.com)

And finally, let your kid make this easy project. Draw spooky faces on balloons! 

What crafts are you preparing this Halloween?

WeLuvMoms' Surprise Baby Shower

Recently, WeLuvMoms threw a surprise baby shower! Check out how we decorated our blue baby shower and few ideas you can also use for your own baby shower.

Cute striped straws and "baby" boxes we used as decorations and containers for chocolate giveaways.

Giant paper baby bottle.

Underneath the bottle is a diaper cake. You can make one by putting all the diapers in a circular container or by tying them with a ribbon.

Blueprint and origami hangings. We did the surprise for an architect so we thought using a blueprint would be a good idea.

Boon Potty Bench and SwaddleDesigns Marquisette Swaddling Blanket as gifts.

Celebrity Babies Game. The mother has to guess whose babies these are and she gets prizes: the Potty Bench and the Swaddling Blanket.

Bow tie-shaped tissues to wrap spoons and forks.

Chocolate cupcakes with fun blueprint labels on top. Check out how we made these cupcakes here.

Do you have your own ideas for a great baby shower? Share it with us!

Artist In The House

Got a child in the house you believe is an artist in the making? Motivate your child more by creating spaces in the house that will turn into his mini exhibit. Here are few ways on how to do it:

 

Set up thin wires and hang artworks of all sizes.

(Photo via Style Files)

 

Make a permanent art space by painting frames where your child can put his or her own artwork.

(Photo via Childhood 101)

 

Set artwork from bottom to top of his room.

(Photo via Martha Stewart)

 

Turn it into a placemat so she enjoys eating her food while seeing her work of art.

(Photo via Artful Kids)

 

Create your own photobook. It will look like a story book for her, and she'll be proud she has her own book.

(Photo via Paislee Press)

Put it in a canvas and hang it on the wall so it shouts "Here's my artwork!"

(Photo via Artful Parent)

DIY Altered Board Books

Here's a simple project for moms and kids to enjoy. Instead of throwing away your old board book, why not turn it into something beautiful? Here are awesome ideas you can try to make on your own.


Photo via Heather Cuoio
Turn it into a scrapbook and have your own story in it.

Photo via Hagit on Flickr
This is a work in progress by Hagit, but you can also paint your board books so it can have a plain background so you can write or draw anything in it.


Photo by bhg.com
Turn it into a small mystery storage case by cutting out everything in the center.


Photo by Little Interpretations
If you're a little more crafty and want challenge, turn your books into a mini clutch bag.

Do you have your own tips on what else can be made from a board book? Share it with us.

Do a Photo Session with Baby at Home

Have a camera at home and want to take photos of your baby? Grab your camera and look for neat space to shoot. Here are awesome ideas for baby photo sessions you can do at home.

From summerlynphotography.com
You need: A plain backround, a cloth for baby to lie down on, and a ribbon to tie on her head.


From summerlynphotography.com
You need: A plain backround, balloons, and tape to stick the balloons on the ground.


From http://www.elviediazphotography.com/
You need: A cloth for baby to lie down on, a backdrop of your choice made out of cartolina and construction paper, thin rope or string, wooden clips, baby clothes or costume to hang at the back.



From propinsanity.com
You need: Seamless paper for background, a sturdy chair and cloth, branches with beautiful decorations hanged, someone to hold the branches.


From heidihope.com
Strips of Japanese or crepe paper to use as background, star cutouts, cute tutu, candy canes or lollipops or toys to use as props on the ground.

Have your own tips for doing a baby photo session at home? Share it with us!

Get Creative With Kiwi Corner

If you're a fan of DIY projects and want to do different activities with your kids, there's an app for that! The Kiwi Corner - Kids' Activities is perfect for your curious and creative kid.



Many different fun projects are available for you and your kid. You can browse Daily DIYs or explore Kiwi Corner's most popular projects. What's nice is that they actually categorize each section (City Adventure, Rainforest, Farm Fun, etc.) so kids can do activities according to their interests. They even have fun games!

Each project also has step by step instructions and photos so kids can just follow the photos/illustrations.

    

They also have a nice "search" function where you can filter the age so you can find projects that are appropriate and easy for you kid. It also saves a lot of time looking for a project that's best for your little one.

Moms, you can also save your favorite activities once you've logged in. You can sign in by connecting the app with Facebook, or by email.

Excited to do a fun activity with your kid? Download the Kiwi Corner app for iOS or Android for free.