A Fun Toddler Gift For MOM.

No, that's not a typo.  This is a fun toddler gift.  It's also a gift for mom!  She's going to love it as much as said toddler.  Why?  Because it's guaranteed to keep toddler happy and busy, it's portable, and it's cute.

It's a:

You've probably seen quiet books before.  You've probably also seen busy bags before.  This is a combination of the two!  It's super easy and inexpensive to do, too.  (and wouldn't you know it, anytime you think you've come up with something so very GENIUS, you do a quick search and find a million other moms who've come up with the same thing...)  BUT.  I've got free printables!

Ok.  So.  Here's what we're making:

Except yours will very likely not be for Zo-Zo.  I've got some printable covers at the end of the post you can use, or you can create your own with the gift recipient's name.

And here's what you'll need:

1. A HUGETASTIC binder... I don't know how big that one is, because I had it in my stash - something my mom gave me forever ago.
2. Binder pouches.  I got mine at Walmart for around 85 cents each.  You'll need one pouch per activity you create.
3. Busy Bag Activities!  

Now.  A few notes about GIFTING busy bag activities:
You want them to be age appropriate, so keep your recipient in mind as you decide.
You want them to be engaging, but NOT expensive.  I mean, the most expensive part of this present should be that giant binder.
You want to personalize the gift, so think about what the kid likes to do - interests, favorite colors, favorite characters, whatever.

I'm going to show you the activities I decided to put in my book for my daughter (though, truth be told, I think my son will play with it just as much).  I will own up to something right now:  Ready?  I did not make all of these activities.  I (like many of you, probably) went to a busy bag swap.  It was organized by a mom I go to church with and I didn't know most of the people there, except for the friends from church that came, so I can't really credit a lot of these activities by name or anything, but where I could, I've listed links to tutorials and such for you.

This was created by my friend who organized the swap.  It's all the animals from "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" printed on cardstock, cut in half and laminated -  as seen on Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails.  For any child that loves to read and is familiar with the book, this will be a fun treat - they may even start quoting the book, like my kids did.

I didn't know the person who made this fun kit, but it's just felt cupcake shapes - cupcake, paper wrapper, frosting and extras - in different colors.  You can find this on Alphamom.  The kids put the cupcakes together however they want to.  Bug likes to pretend that big red piece is licorice.  Think of the variations!  Mini loves cupcakes, so it's perfect for her, but if your child likes snowmen, or a specific animal or ice cream cones you can easily personalize this one!

This one was also made by the mom who organized the swap.  I cannot send you to the link where she got this, because I can't find it.  Sorry.  It would be easy to make, though.  You have three picture "mats" - one with a caterpillar (the longest), one with a fish (medium) and one with a dog (short) - that you print on card stock, cut out and laminate.  Then you also print out three "rulers" with the same pictures and a bold mark across the top for measuring against (laminate that too).  Finally, you cut different things - yarn, ribbon, pipe cleaners, fabric, felt - to the three different lengths.  The kids hold the items up to the ruler and then place them on the appropriate mat.  While bug got a little bored with this game, mini loved it.

A church friend brought this one, and I thought the numbers were adorable.  You know how to play memory, right?  This game is just numbers printed on cardstock and laminated.  Unfortunately, I have no idea where she got these printables.  BUT, there are a million DIY memory game ideas out there.  I like this one.  And this one.  And this one, too.  mini was so excited every time she found a pair.

Also made by the organizer.  You sew felt popsicle shapes in different colors, then use markers to color the tips of popsicle sticks.  The kids match the sticks to the popsicle.  Found on Planet of the Apels.

I love this idea.  Each puzzle is a 4x6 photo, spread with glue, with popsicle sticks stuck on the back, then cut apart.  The girl who made this used generic photos of toys, but if you know the kid you're making these for, you can use photos of family members or favorite animals or the like.  Both bug and mini love these.  Also, she put them in tiny snack-sized ziploc bags, which were the PERFECT size.  You can see a full tutorial for this at Empowering Mommy.

This was one of my contributions.  You can find the full tutorial at Craftiness is Not Optional.  This was a really inexpensive idea since I already had clothespins (you can get them at the dollar store, though!) and the paint chips are free.  You need two matching paint chips for each color strip you want to make.  Again, you can customize this according to favorite color!

This isn't something I made for the swap, but something my kids and I did together.  We made family stick puppets.  Given mini's love of small dolls and creatures, I thought she'd like these a lot.  Unfortunately, the "Zoe" puppet has gone missing already.  These are so easy to make - just draw the recipient's family with crayons and cut around, OR take pictures of the individual family members (full body, not close-ups).  Make sure to make them out of sturdy card stock.  You can laminate them, too.  Then we just used strong tape to secure them to the popsicle sticks - sticks.  The kids love playing with their own little mini puppets.

Again, I didn't make this for the swap, but for a little "home school" I was doing with my own kids.  I created the two charts (one is a picnic blanket with the numbers across the top and the other are fishing boats with poles out the back).  The kids place the correct number of ants or sea creatures along the chart next to the numbers.  I got the little plastic ants online here.  I got the plastic sea creatures at the dollar store.  We use them for other games I've made up, too.
Here are the printables for the picnic/ant counting and for the fish counting:

AND LASTLY:

A while ago, online, I saw a felt busy book with a car page that had a figure 8 racetrack on it with an accompanying car.  I don't know where.  Sorry.  BUT.  I thought to myself, what a fun way to have kids start "tracing" their numbers.  mini needs some practice with that, anyway.  I couldn't find any large numbers that looked like roads or tracks, so I made my own.  I printed them out on cardstock and placed them front and back in page protectors.  There are numbers 0-9.  I included small cars in bright colors to drive around the numbers and dry erase crayons (not markers!) in matching colors to the cars so they can write on the numbers and erase them.
Here are the printable number roads for you, so you don't have to make your own (I won't lie, it was a pain):

Phew!  That's a lot of ideas!  The best part about the activities I included, is that you really don't need anything expensive or super special to create them.  Mostly you need felt, card stock/computer/printer, contact paper OR access to a laminator, popsicle sticks and a few odds and ends like clothespins and scrap ribbon.  No biggie!  

So, let's put our busy bee book together so you can give it away!  
All you have to do is put each activity in its own binder pouch, then slip them in the binder.  Here's the order I put it all in the book, though it's up to you.

Basically, I put all the activities first, then the ants and fish, the cars and dry erase crayons, a few normal crayons, the ant chart, the fishing chart, the number roads, and then blank paper in the back so they could color with the normal crayons.

As you can tell from the photos, I needed the kids to try it out for me so I could write this, otherwise, this would totally have been a birthday present.  I'm definitely planning versions for my nieces and nephews for Christmas though.

Now, all you need are the cover pages I promised!  So here you go!

And here are about a billion more ideas for busy bag/book/box activities:
My Small Potatoes - Busy Bag Round Up
Second Story Window - Preschool Busy Bag Activities
Second Story Window - Toddler Busy Bag Activities
The Princess and the Tot - Busy Bag Ideas
Josh, Laura, Brynlee and Mya - Busy Book Felt Page Ideas

And if you want a million more search "busy bags" on pinterest.  Whoa.

And now, the longest post in the history of the world is done.  I swear.  Over.  Finished.  Oh, wait.

Now it is.  But there will be another one tomorrow.

Hurry up and wait.

Long, long, loooooooong ago, I made one of the biggest announcements of my life.  And then, I told you I'd keep you updated?  Remember that?  Aside from the smallest snippets of allusion here and there, I've said next to nothing else about it, BUT I am here to assure you that everything is still on track!

The thing is, having a book published is a lot of work.  

What's that?  Duh?  Oh, so you already realized that.  Huh.

I suppose I did too... and I also knew that my portion of truly active work on said book would actually be just the smallest drop in the bucket, so to speak.  Sure, I've got to brainstorm, design, outline, storyboard all of the projects going into the book and have them approved.  Then I have to actually make them all.  Then send them in.  Then write all of the tutorials and instructions.  Send those in.  And that's hectic (fun, but hectic).  But then.  THEN.  I wait.  I answer some questions and wait some more.  Answer a few more.  Approve some revisions.  But mostly, and I can't stress this enough, I wait.

Meanwhile, during all this waiting, there is a whole huge team of people now in hectic mode.  They are those who are setting up the projects in various stages of "done-ness" to photograph them - this includes dressing the area, props, lighting, editing, etc.  They are reading through every tiny word in the instructions, scrutinizing for grammar, readability, ease of language, clarity, conciseness.  They are approving photos, re-photographing, getting models in for shoots for certain projects.  They are designing the graphics and coming up with cover art.  Basically, the job isn't done just because I am waiting.

I compare writing a book to being an extra in a play (and I've had plenty of experience with that...) You jump in the spotlight for a flurry of activity that lasts about 10 seconds, then sit around backstage doing a whole lot of nothing for a good long time until your next entrance at which point you'll engage in frantic activity for the span of time it takes you to cross the stage.  Basically?  It's a lot of waiting.  (Did I mention that waiting?)

BUT, I've gotten the go ahead to fill you in on some details!  Yea!  Ready?

1.  This book is about Mod Podge.  The merits of Mod Podge.  The ins and outs of Mod Podge.  The how and how not to's of Mod Podge.  There are handy tips and tricks, some tried and true technique descriptions, and, of course, a run down of necessary Mod Podge tools as well as uses for the different types of Mod Podge.  Oh, yeah, there are a bunch of tutorials for Mod Podge projects as well.

2.  You can expect projects covering a wide variety of ability levels, techniques and mediums (including stuff to do with kids!).  I cover fabric mosaic, photo transfer, tissue paper and Mod Podge, a few types of jewelry, and yarn art.  In total, there are 13 different projects, with tons of other ideas thrown in as well.

3.  I got to work with a bunch of Mod Podge products - which was really fun.  I used a few things that were brand new on the market this past Spring.  Did you know there's a kid-friendly version of Mod Podge called Mod Podge Wash-Out?  There is!  And, as the name implies, it WASHES OUT!  That saved some clothes... I also got to use Outdoor Mod Podge (weather proof!  Yea!), Hard Coat Mod Podge, Dimensional Magic and the Photo Transfer Medium - along with the old standby's of Matte and Glossy and the spray sealers.  Can I tell you how cool this was?  Every crafters dream, I tell you.  Tons of products, tons of projects, tons of creativity, and a big huge mess (which as you well know is the sign of a successful craft, in my book)  Haha!  BOOK!  (so I'm a nerd...)

4.  So where are we at now?  Photography is finished!  That's exciting.  Also, Proofing the writing is finished!  AH!  The next steps are actually printing the book and previewing color and layout, then making any necessary corrections.  Things seem to be really moving now!

5.  I was asked to make a video tutorial in correspondence with one in the book, more on that later.  Suffice it to say for now that I have never felt so self-conscious in my life.  Unless it was when I was editing the video.  Or when I got in a cat fight during my dance recital when I was 3.  But I was only self-conscious after the fact in that instance.

Alright.  There's your update.  I think I'll be able to give updates a little more now that we are getting to the final stages.  I certainly don't mean to be boastful in any way, and hope this isn't perceived as me tooting my horn.  I'm simply really excited about this new endeavor.  Writing is something I've always been passionate about (ever since second grade, when my teacher took me aside and told me my writing was very special and I should keep it up - thanks Ms. Messner!)  and to see something like this come to fruition really is beyond what I dreamt would happen in my life.  To use every cliche out there, it's honestly a dream come true.  I'm grateful for this opportunity I've had - very grateful - and just wanted to give a glimpse of what I've been up to.  You know, besides waiting.

By now you've realized that these photos don't have a lot to do with this post.  But what's a post without photos?  Boring, I tell you, that's what.  Also, the next few are very appropriate, I think.  Because having my book published feels a lot like this:

Or this:

And definitely like this:

Oh, the publisher behind my book is Annie's Publishing.  You can see their catalogue here.  You can also see some more books they've already got out here.  Nope, I didn't get paid to write this post, I just can't stop talking about how excited I am.  I did, however, get paid to write the book.

But I think that's understandable.

*Be sure to check the right sidebar for all the fun parties I link to!