DIY gift: Creative and colorful coffee cups

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DIY gift: Creative and colorful coffee cups

On the lookout for inexpensive DIY goodies for holiday gifts? (And who isn't?) Here's an idea that went over swell for my youngest daughter's birthday this past summer.

Andrea loves coffee as much as her mother. For her birthday in July, she requested a set of special cups from which to drink and share her favorite breakfast drink. She even directed me to some ideas on Pinterest.

I accepted the challenge, tweaked a few Pinterest pictorials, and came up with these—a unique gift that cost less than $10.

diy coffee cups

What you need:

• Inexpensive, white ceramic mugs...

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Balloon pong: Cheap, easy, and hours of fun!

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Balloon pong: Cheap, easy, and hours of fun!

In many parts of the country (and world), winter time is when kiddos need plenty of things to do indoors as it's too chilly outside. Where my grandsons live, though, indoor fun is a must in the summer as triple digit heat often prevents outdoor play.

Whatever time of year children are stuck inside with little to do—whether it's because the weather is hot, cold or rainy—balloon pong is an easy and inexpensive way to provide hours of play.

balloon games for kids 

WHAT YOU NEED

  • Paper plates (one per child)
  • Craft sticks, the thick ones that look...
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Now is the time: Grandma Mail boxes

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One of the more popular posts here on Grandma's Briefs has long been one in which I write about the little mailbox I made for Bubby to receive mail from Gramma. I've since made one for Mac, too — and should probably getting moving on Jak's, as well.

 grandma mail boxes

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I'm here today to tell you that if you want to create a Grandma Mail mailbox for your grandchildren, now is the time to stock up...

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Super simple DIY gift: Coffee Hand Scrub

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Grandmothers and others who regularly deal with those germ-filled critters we call children wash their hands a lot. Even folks who don't interact with kiddos often wash their hands a lot. Or so I hope, considering all the crud out there of late. Crud that the passing along of can be cut down on by washing one's hands. Often.

coffee hand scrub

With all that handwashing going on, we're a nation with dry hands. Mine certainly are. Which is why I love this easy-to-make and...

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Thursday triple-play: Getting crafty

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I'm not the most crafty of grandmas. I used to enjoy making things from scratch, sewing up this and that, trying my hand at crochet and paper mâché and more.

easy homemade holiday gifts

Long and involved do-it-yourself projects no longer appeal to me, though. So I tend to go for crafts and homemade gifts that are relatively simple, don't require a whole heckuva lot of know-how and nimbleness. 

I've shared a few...

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My Pinterest: Hands, thumbs, feet

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I kind of go through phases with Pinterest. When I spend too much time on there, everything starts to look the same. The recipes. The crafts. The quotes.

hands, thumbs, feet Pinterest board

I recently returned to perusing the pins, though, after having taken a break of sorts. Not a conscious, intentional fast of any sort. I just have had...

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Crafts with kids, 1986 and 2014

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Throwback Thursday

October 1986 —
Craft time with my two-year-old daughter, Megan:

child doing crafts

February 2014 —
Craft time with Megan's two- and five-year-old sons, Mac and Bubby:

boys doing crafts

Today's question:

What do you do with your grandchildren that you fondly recall doing with their parent(s)?

Upcycle this: Wax tarts from candle remainders

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Upcycle this: Wax tarts from candle remainders

Wax tarts from candle remainders

I love candles. I don't love how so much of a candle goes to waste. Especially those expensive candles from fancy candle stores, the candles that cost so much yet smell so good. After burning about a third of the way down, the wick inevitably refuses to light and the wax goes to waste.

I have a cabinet where I keep all my jars of candles that no longer burn but have too much yummy smelling wax in them for me to, with clear conscience, throw in the garbage.

That cabinet recently became so full I couldn't...

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