Edible Jell-O Pudding Paints - An Easy 3 Ingredient Recipe

Edible Jell-O Pudding Paints! This easy 3 Ingredient Recipe, only requires 1 (5.1 oz) box of vanilla Jell-O Pudding, 2 additional simple ingredients found in the kitchen. It takes mere minutes to whip up this homemade paint recipe, and my favorite part? It's totally taste-safe for curious toddlers.

Hi, friends! How have you been? Finding fun new ways to creatively occupy my toddlers, has become my absolute favorite! They're always so genuinely thrilled when we try a new activity; just pure JOY! Last week it rained here, almost daily. Then, lightening struck right between two (enormous!) trees in our backyard -taking down both trees in one shot (which kept our backyard off-limits for the better part of this week too.) So, in trying to keep the kids happy indoors, I simply opened my pantry. I always keep a ton of Jell-O products on hand, both for eating (yum!) and for playing. We made more than a few batches of Edible Jell-O Slime last week, and we also made these super fun {and incredibly easy to make} Edible Jell-O Pudding Paints. They were a total hit, and kept them occupied and creating for a good hour. This Jell-O pudding paint dries glossy and doesn't flake off of the paper once dry, like some of the other DIY / homemade toddler and kids paints recipes out there.  One box yielded us about 1/3 cup of paint in each of the 6 colors that we made (so about 2 cups of paint total.) Not bad, in my opinion - considering one large box of Jell-O pudding only costs about $1.

Read on for the simple supply list and instructions on how to make your own Jell-O Pudding Paints!

DIY Non-Toxic Essential Oil Wax Tarts For Your Wax Warmer

There are so many ways to diffuse and use essential oils, everyday. These DIY Non-Toxic Essential Oil Wax Tarts are perfect for diffusing essential oils around your home. They are also a fairly frugal way of making your own wax tarts for your wax warmer. I made 50 wax tarts using a variety of my favorite essential oils and blends, for under $5. That's a steal! My favorite part? I know exactly what's in them.  I can't say the same for many of the overpriced wax tarts available today. 

These DIY Essential Oil Wax tarts come together quickly with just a few simple ingredients, and they store well in air tight containers or mason jars. They also make great homemade gifts. Simply tie a bow around a pretty mason jar filled with your DIY Essential Oil Wax Tarts, add a note card or a gift tag, and they are gift-ready!

Read on for the simple supply list and tutorial, on how to make your very own DIY Non-Toxic Essential Oil Wax Tarts.

Jell-O Slime! An Edible Taste-Safe Recipe

Jello Slime! Looking for a fun edible taste-safe slime recipe? This easy Jell-O Slime recipe, is it! No borax, no glue, or any other crazy ingredients required. You'll just need a few simple ingredients (that you may already have on-hand in your kitchen.) This Jell-O Slime is perfect for younger kids, and toddlers. It also makes a great little kitchen experiment / STEM activity, for children.

Hi friends, how is your summer going? We've been filling most of our days at the pool and the water park.  In our "downtime," we've been enjoying fun and simple activities, like this one, at home. The slime craze is still going strong around here, so this DIY Jell-O Slime was a BIG hit with all of our kids. Because this Jell-O Slime recipe only requires simple ingredients that you can find in your kitchen, it was safe for all of the kids to play with {and taste-test!} even the toddlers.

Grab the simple list of ingredients and instructions to make your own Jell-O slime, below.

Silk Flower Fairies - A Super Cute & Simple Fairy Garden Kids Craft!

These silk flower fairies are so simple to make for your fairy garden and they're super cute! If you're looking for fairy garden kids crafts for summer, this easy fairy gardening craft is perfect! It's incredibly frugal too! My daughter made 8 Silk Flower Fairies for our planters from a singular bunch of silk roses (the entire bunch was just .97 cents) and a handful of painted wooden beads (we found a big bag of them at Dollar Tree), along with a few additional very basic supplies.

Friends, the one thing that my daughter never seems to tire of as the years pass, is fairy gardens. They're whimsical and timeless. While there are a TON of fairy garden ideas on Pinterest, and so many items that you can purchase to add to your fairy garden, I still enjoy the handmade items the most. Handmade / DIY fairy dolls, DIY fairy garden furniture,  DIY fairy houses. It's such a fun way to see a child's imagination on full display. Making / crafting little bobbles with your child / children from their fairy garden is also a fun boredom buster on long hot summer days. The memories that I have collected over the past several years, assembling these adorable fairy garden treasures, are completely magical and priceless. It's one of my most treasured summertime traditions.

Ready to make your own silk flower fairies for your fairy garden this summer? Read on for the full supply list, our easy step-by-step tutorial and more imagery, below.

Let Five Star Urgent Care Help Save the Day This Summer!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Five Star Urgent Care. All opinions are 100% mine.

Friends, let Five Star Urgent Care help save the day this summer! Did you know that Five Star Urgent Care centers in Upstate New York, are open seven days a week? They can help treat all of those pesky (non-life-threatening) injuries and illnesses this season and get you back on your way to fun in the sun, quickly.  No appointment necessary and most insurance accepted. As a mom of 4, urgent care is my go-to choice when the unexpected happens. 

Summer break has officially started! I'm thrilled for a few weeks of uninterrupted fun with my family! Can I share something with you though? I'm a little on edge about the summer season. You see, last summer, we spent a ton of time running the kids back and forth for medical care, for a laundry list of issues: a stray case of the flu that swept through our home during the first few weeks of summer (it turned ugly, quick!), stitches, sports injuries - it literally seemed like it was never-ending.  I felt like I was being punk'd! Alas, I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that it didn't have much to do with the season. It's simply something that happens from time to time, when you have a big family. Never a dull moment, folks. Seriously. Never.

DIY Shape Projecting Lantern

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #PowerYourSummer #CollectiveBias 

This past weekend, my oldest daughter and I kicked off the summer season, by crafting this super fun DIY Shape Projecting Lantern. When placed in the dark, the glow of the battery operated lights casts the moon and star shapes all over the surrounding surfaces, ceiling and walls. This DIY lantern craft was so simple to make, and all of the kids are absolutely LOVING the finished product. My toddlers are completely mesmerized. This was a total craft WIN!

Hi friends, how have you been? SUMMER. It's finally here. I can't even tell you how excited I am! I feel like a kid again. For real.  So, as I told you all a few months back, we've ditched the electronics (almost entirely!) with the older kids. They have very limited access to the Internet for school, and not much else. Can I just tell you, the difference, is nothing short of amazing. Amazing, folks.  They're reading again; for fun! They're going to the library to learn (real solid facts and all of the supporting information. Bye-bye Wikipedia!) They're creating and crafting. They're actually talking; they're not absorbed in screen time or social media. It's glorious. I'm never turning back. This is  the way that childhood was intended to be. There's plenty of time for screens when they're all grown up. For now, they just need some uninterrupted time to be kids.

The agenda this summer is pretty simple. Sunshine, aquarium and zoo visits, museum visits, a camping trip close to home, hiking, pool time, water park visits, backyard fun, crafting and creating, reading and picnics. Lot's of picnics. Simple, good old fashioned, fun. Friends, despite our lack of grandiose plans, I have a feeling that this summer is gonna' be one for the books. Bring on the fun!

Ready to kick off the summer fun with your family? Read on for the full supply list and our simple tutorial, to make your own DIY Shape Projecting Lantern craft with the kids this summer.