Search Results for: blog a string and a button toy

Catalog Gifts for Cats and the People Who Love Them

Yesterday I listed some gifts for dogs and the people who love from a couple different catalogs. Today I’m going to do the same things for cat people. From Femail Creations Catffeinated Mug: If you’ve got any cat lovers who also happen to be coffee lovers on your holiday shopping list, they might get a big jolt out of this cup. $14. You Can’t Own a Cat decoration: This caught my eye because it looks like something from times gone by. (Like something from the turn of the 20th century perhaps.) But then I looked closer and saw the quote: … Continue reading →

String Figure Fun

Did you ever play with a piece of string and make a cup and saucer, or a broom, or Jacob’s Ladder? Using string to make shapes and figures is an old game. According to Cat’s Cradle by Anne Akers Johnson, people around the world have made string figures for ages including the Arctic Inuit who made reindeer and wolves out of string, and the Navajo made coyotes and owls. All you really need to play string games is a loop of string and two hands. A few string patterns need the loan a friend’s hand, but most don’t need any … Continue reading →

A String and a Button Toy

Tonight one of my nine year olds was playing with a long strand of beads that we use for Christmas decoration. The way he was twisting the strand to make the beads spin reminded me of a very old toy. You take a button and a long piece of string or yarn. The button needs to be the kind with holes through it, not the kind that is flat on front and has a single hole on the back. You put the string through a hole in the button and tie the string. Or you can put the string through … Continue reading →

The Toothbrush in my Guitar

Over the past couple of months our son has started to really enjoy the sounds of musical instruments. What started out as an interest in the big guitars leaned up against the wall (that at the time were off limits) and the piano keys that he couldn’t reach has slowly turned into a genuine enjoyment of sound itself. Even if he’s listening to one of those crazy battery-powered jingles coming from a plastic toy shaped like a home appliance he instantly stops when he hears the sound of a live instrument. One strum of the guitar and he gets up … Continue reading →

What to Do with Vending Machine Bubbles

You know that you are really frugal when you can look at anything at all and find a way to reuse it. one such items that came up recently for me is the plastic vending machine bubble. These are the little plastic cases that hold rings, tattoos, erasers, cheap jewelry, bouncy balls and other little toys that can be had from a vending machine. Now, what am I doing talking about buying little overpriced things that cost 50 cents or more these days? Well, I am not actually talking about purchasing these bubble-filled toys, but actually just reusing the bubbles. … Continue reading →

Jello Box Puzzles

Don’t throw away those jello boxes! They make great puzzles and toys. Take the empty box and stuff it with a little newspaper. This isn’t absolutely necessary, but it does help the puzzles last longer. Tape the box closed. For a puzzle, pick out your paper. You can make puzzles from scrapbook paper like I did here, or from an old calendar picture, an enlarged copy of a photograph, printed clip art, or even a child’s drawing. Cut the paper into rectangles. I find it helpful to arrange my jello boxes and lay the paper on the top of them. … Continue reading →

Week in Review – Family Fun

Visit the Fun section for ideas for keeping the kids busy, for involving them in the holidays, and for having fun as a family. Advent Calendar Fun reviews the many calendars you can buy along with a lot of ideas for making your own. What to put in handmade calendars? Read Fun Treats and Surprises for Advent Calendars. It’s Fun Being an Elf! Don’t miss this post on ways to play elf in your own neighborhood! And speaking of elves, read The Elf Shelf post for a way to include children in the holiday preparations. A Christmas Party for Dolls … Continue reading →

Hannah’s Collections – Marthe Jocelyn

I had a lot of fun reviewing “Hannah and the Seven Dresses” the other day, so today I’m reviewing another book by the same author. In “Hannah’s Collections,” we see that Hannah loves to collect things. Everything is a treasure – and I do mean, everything. Her room is really cluttered with all of her things, and when her teacher asks the children in her class to bring in a collection to display, Hannah doesn’t know what to do. She has so many collections – how will she ever choose which one to bring? For instance, she has 153 buttons, … Continue reading →

Make a Snowman even if You don’t have Snow!

Some areas don’t get much snow, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make an adorable snowman (or woman) or a whole bunch of different ones to decorate your home inside. A snowman is perfect just for winter or even for Christmas. Paper Bag Snowman You can use paper lunch sacks to make a cute snowman. If you can only find the brown ones, you’ll need to paint them white and let them dry first. If you can find white ones, even better! Stuff three bags with crumpled up newspaper. You obviously want one real fat one, one medium one, and … Continue reading →