The Toy Box Years: Crafts, Crafts and More Crafts!

The Creators of the Toy Box Years

The creators of the Toy Box Years are my two beautiful daughters and wonderful, handsome soldier husband.

"Nani" (our oldest) is a 11 year old 6th grader who loves Taylor Swift, ballet, books, fashion designing and sewing. Ask her what she wants to be when she grows up and it changes daily to anything from "an artist" to "a teacher" to "a singer/dancer". Nani is also currently fighting a battle against brain cancer -- recently diagnosed in June 2016.

"Nudgie" (our youngest) is a very smiley, very happy, very giggly, very spirited 8 year old 3rd Grader who's favorite toys are anything that gives mommy an anxiety attack - ladders, stepstools, the climbing wall at the playground. Like her sister, she has a love of reading and coloring, loves gymnastics and still provides mommy lots of snuggle time!

"My Marine" is my high school sweetheart. We've been married over 20 years and met when we were 17. (You do the math....) His favorite toys are Blackhawk helicopters, the lawnmower, our steam cleaner, and microbrew beer bottles. My husband is also my hero in that he proudly serves his country as a Blackhawk crew chief (hence his favorite toy!). And need I say that there is nothing hotter than my man in uniform!

All About Me......

Once upon a time I had a career and worked in the corporate world. Once upon a time, I dreamed about leaving that all behind to follow my true calling -- being a wife and mommy.

The first part of my calling was fulfilled in 1995 when I married my Marine (now soldier) and my love. Little did I know that being a military wife would change me in so many ways and that because of that, I would have an extended family all over the world from Japan, to California, to North Carolina.

The second part of my calling took a little doing, but I finally achieved that dream in 2004 with the birth of our first child, followed 4 years later by her baby sister.

So now, when someone asks me what I do for a living - I simply smile and say proudly that I'm following my calling - I'm a mommy and a wife -- and I couldn't be HAPPIER -- I'm living in the Toy Box Years!!

We've been pretty busy here doing our crafty thing! I've got a list of projects that I want to do and have everything sorted out and ready to go -- I just need to find time!

But I DID find some time to work on these awesome crafts with my girls!

Valentine Heart Door Hangers:

I took two pieces of foam board and gave one to each girl along with a pile of Valentine foam stickers. And they went to town! When they were done, I poked some holes in the foam with a screwdriver, threaded some ribbon through and let them hang them on their doors!

Mailboxes:

I found these cute foam mailboxes at Michael's on clearance. They were so cute that I decided to have the girls decorate them in a way that they can use them year-round -- especially with My Marine scheduled to be gone....a lot....over the next few months.

Melted Crayon Art:

I've seen this done all over the blogging world, but never really tried it before until last week. Nudgie didn't like this particular activity, but Nani LOVED it! I loved seeing her creativity come alive!

Valentine T-Shirts:

I wanted to make something special for Nani's Valentine party at school on Monday. So I had these cute pink t-shirts from Old Navy and a fabric remnant from JoAnn's with hearts. Add a little Heat and Bond, and I've got two cute little heart shirts for my girls!

Stay tuned for more crafts coming soon!

5 comments:

Becky @ From Ministry to Motherhood February 12, 2011 at 8:06 AM: These crafts are so cute! What great ideas.
Laura February 12, 2011 at 8:31 AM: These are all so cute. I love that mailbox!
MaryAnne February 12, 2011 at 1:16 PM: So many great crafts! That melted crayon art is really cool, and not something I would have thought of doing! I bet my kids will love it!
Unknown February 12, 2011 at 7:04 PM: I love the mailboxes! Don't you just LOVE when you find awesome craft stuff on clearance. So fun! Stopping by from it's Grace.
Personalized Sketches and Sentiments February 16, 2011 at 11:21 AM: Great crafts! And what awesome memories for you and your girls!

Blessings & Aloha!