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Babiekins Magazine

A Trendsetting Magazine & Online Community For The Trendsetting Child + Parent

Craftykins // DIY Springtime Binoculars

By Rachel Fox Kipphut, Contributor 3 Comments

Springtime is here! Flowers are blooming and animals are out and about. There is a beautiful Dogwood tree in front of the house and nestled on a branch is a very large bird’s nest with a Momma bird. My girls and I have been watching it carefully, awaiting the baby birds. These curious toddlers have also taken interest in the flowers high and low. A great way to focus on the beauty happening all around is by making fun Binoculars for your little ones. All you need to make fun and funky Binoculars are used toilet paper rolls, construction/scrapbook paper, yarn , and your favorite items to adorn them with. We used feathers and Pom-Pom garland inspired by the gorgeous birds we have been seeing. A hot glue to piece it all together will work best, but with patience you could use regular craft glue. I have made a lot of crafts for the kids before, but this one seems to be by far the most popular! Happy Spring and Happy Sightseeing!

Babiekins Magazine | DIY Springtime BinocularsBabiekins Magazine | DIY Springtime BinocularsBabiekins Magazine | DIY Springtime BinocularsBabiekins Magazine | DIY Springtime BinocularsBabiekins Magazine | DIY Springtime Binoculars

Filed Under: Fun Tagged With: Art and Crafts, Binocular Craft, Binoculars, crafts, DIY, DIY Binoculars, Kid Friendly Crafts, kids crafts, spring, Springtime Posted By: Rachel Fox Kipphut, Contributor

Schoolkins // Making Nature Fossils in the City

By Gina Munsey, Senior Editor Leave a Comment

Schoolkins // Making Nature Fossils in the City | An Urban Nature Project by Gina Munsey as published on Babiekins Magazine blog

If you’ve been anywhere — anywhere! — in the last several years, you know nature exploration is a thing. Nature walks and nature journaling have exploded in popularity, and at every corner you can find watercolor studies of leaves, plants, and insects. But this fascination is nothing new. People once crowed by the hundreds into drafty lecture halls, to listen in awe while explorers of old captivated them with tales of just-discovered wonders. Curiosity cabinets, those aptly named display cases of time gone by, were filled with insect specimens, unusual rocks, pressed botany, and yes, even preserved taxidermy. We as humans have always been enraptured by the unknown, the adventure that’s just beyond the horizon.

Today, especially in #schoolkins circles, there’s such an emphasis put on letting your children out into the wild open, and letting them splash through creeks, dig for worms, and forge their own trail through the underbrush. But if you live in an urban setting or an apartment building, like we do, this kind of exploration likely isn’t a natural extension of your day. There are occasional bursts of nature in the city, yes, but the open prairies come alive by reading Sarah, Plain and Tall rather than stepping outside our front door, and the only tree-houses we’re likely to encounter are those in Swiss Family Robinson.

And I know we’re definitely not the only family making our home in a multi-family building, rather than a mountainside cabin. That’s why I am happy to share this little fossil clay project with you today. It’s a nature project, but everything you need can be gleaned from your windowsill plants or collected from the sidewalks that wind their way through your not-so-wild landscape. We just miiight have foraged a little bit of faux-nature — stay with me here! — from the toy box, too.

Schoolkins // Making Nature Fossils in the City | An Urban Nature Project by Gina Munsey as published on Babiekins Magazine blog

Schoolkins // Making Nature Fossils in the City | An Urban Nature Project by Gina Munsey as published on Babiekins Magazine blog

Schoolkins // Making Nature Fossils in the City | An Urban Nature Project by Gina Munsey as published on Babiekins Magazine blog

Fossil Clay

To create your own fossils, you’ll first need to mix up some sedimentary rock. You can find fossil clay recipes in a number of places around the internet as well as in several books, but here’s how we did it. Make either a single or double batch, depending on how many fossils you wish to create. (Be sure to measure carefully, or your clay won’t be usable.)

1 c. baking soda // or 2. c. baking soda
1/2 c. corn starch // or 1 c. corn starch
1/2 c. cold water // or 1 c. cold water

Whisk together dry ingredients and water, and pour in to a saucepan. With a sturdy spoon, stir mixture over medium heat for just under 4 minutes, until it thickens into a consistency that’s a little less stiff than playdough. Pour the lump of clay onto a glass plate, and let cool for a couple of minutes, then knead until smooth.

Schoolkins // Making Nature Fossils in the City | An Urban Nature Project by Gina Munsey as published on Babiekins Magazine blog

Schoolkins // Making Nature Fossils in the City | An Urban Nature Project by Gina Munsey as published on Babiekins Magazine blog

Roll the dough into little spheres, then flatten into discs. Place the discs onto a non-stick surface, like a cutting board covered in wax paper or a Teflon-coated baking sheet. Your sedimentary rock is now ready to take the shape of the items you press into it!  Before we made our fossil clay, we snipped rosemary clippings from our urban container “garden”, gathered leaves from houseplants, collected twigs and gravel from the sidewalks and the area around the downspouts, and even dove into the toy storage for some little creatures.

Schoolkins // Making Nature Fossils in the City | An Urban Nature Project by Gina Munsey as published on Babiekins Magazine blog

Schoolkins // Making Nature Fossils in the City | An Urban Nature Project by Gina Munsey as published on Babiekins Magazine blog

Schoolkins // Making Nature Fossils in the City | An Urban Nature Project by Gina Munsey as published on Babiekins Magazine blog

After you’ve imprinted all sorts of creative patterns — there are so many different options! — allow your sedimentary rock to dry. In a dry climate, leaving the fossils out uncovered overnight might be sufficient;  you live in a humid climate, like we do, it make take a little longer for the discs to fully dry out. (You might also need to gently place the discs on a wire rack once the tops have dried, so the underneath can dry as well.)

Schoolkins // Making Nature Fossils in the City | An Urban Nature Project by Gina Munsey as published on Babiekins Magazine blog

Your littles now have a whole treasure trove of fossils, each one as unique and individual as their imaginations — and each one is as wild and wonderful as the place you call home, whether that’s in a secluded village or many stories into the city sky.

If you live in an urban area, what have you done lately to encourage exploration?

Filed Under: Fun Tagged With: art projects, children and nature, clay recipe, crafts, fossil DIY, fossil dough, fossils, gluten-free clay recipe, homemade clay, homeschool, homeschooling, nature walk, salt dough recipe, schoolkins, urban exploration Posted By: Gina Munsey, Senior Editor

Craftykins // Schultüte (School Cone)

By Debbie Jovel, Contributor Leave a Comment

My son started Pre-School in Germany this week, and it is a German tradition to give your babiekins a Schultüte (a prettily decorated big cone filled with toys, sweets, school supplies, and other goodies) on their first day of school to make their big day a little sweeter. A Schultüte is really meant to celebrate entering the first grade, but since my family is new to living in Germany and I love starting traditions with my son, I decided to make him a Schultüte (entering pre-school is a pretty big deal too). I searched Pinterest for ideas and showed him several Schultütes: decorated traditionally; with ninjas; with soccer balls; with a giant crocodile; and one like an ice cream cone. My son, with wide eyes, picked the ice cream cone (an ice cream cone is his favorite treat after all). With my design inspiration in hand, I accomplished making my son his very first Schultüte, and this is a tradition I am thrilled to share with him and continue. Do you have back to school traditions you share with your babiekins?

babiekinsmag.com//craftykins//schultüte

Supplies | large cone or poster board | kraft paper | scissors | stapler | glue | packing tape | washi tape | measuring tape | ribbon | fabric | needle & thread | letters & or beads for decorating your Schultüte

babiekinsmag.com//craftykins//schultüte

Measure a large triangle for your Schultüte & or the paper to wrap your Schultüte with, then cut it out with scissors.

babiekinsmag.com//craftykins//schultüte

Decorate your Schultüte – I used washi tape, a drawing of an ice cream cone, and painted wooden letters to spell my son’s name.

babiekinsmag.com//craftykins//schultüte

Staple fabric to the top of your Schultüte, I also stapled a fabric scallop that I cut out to represent ice-cream, then fill the Schultüte with toys, sweets, school supplies, and other goodies.

babiekinsmag.com//craftykins//schultüteFill & shape the top of the Schultüte, I used bubble wrap or you could use tissue paper, then tie it closed with a ribbon at the top.

babiekinsmag.com//craftykins//schultüte

Lastly, decorate the top of the Schultüte to look like candies on the ice cream cone by sewing on beads. My son helped by picking out the beads to use, but I didn’t let him look inside the Schultüte – that was a surprise for his first day of school!

babiekinsmag.com//craftykins//schultüte

My son’s first Schultüte!

babiekinsmag.com//craftykins//schultüte

My son loved his Schultüte and he loved his first day of school. I hope your babiekins have a wonderful first day of school too!

Filed Under: Fun Tagged With: Back to School, crafts, Germany, School, schultüte, tradition Posted By: Debbie Jovel, Contributor

Craftykins // No-Sew Mommy and Me Tote Bags for Mother’s Day

By Sara Eslami, Contributor Leave a Comment

Tote bags are one of my favorite sewing projects. They require very few materials, take less than thirty minutes to make, and have so many great uses. And, if you don’t know how to sew, they are actually even easier! I made these totes as a gift to myself and my daughter to “tote” around on Mother’s Day and I think I’ll just go make ten more…

Babiekins Magazine|Craftykins// No Sew Mommy and Me Tote Bags for Mother's Day

 

Materials needed:

  • One yard of any type of fabric (cotton, canvas, jersey etc.)
  • Strips of vinyl or leather for the handles
  • Fusible bonding web (stitch witchery)
  • Scissors
  • Hot glue gun
  • Iron

Babiekins Magazine|Craftykins// No Sew Mommy and Me Tote Bags for Mother's Day

  1. First, cut out your pieces. I cut the large tote 12in. wide x 28in. long and the small tote 9 in. wide by 20 in. long, but you can really make them any size or shape you want. Cut two vinyl straps for the larger handles 24″ long by 1/2″ wide and two straps for the small tote 14″ long by 1/2″ wide.
  2. Fold the fabric in half width-wise so that the right sides are facing each other. Open it and place a strip of bonding along both edges. Fold the fabric right sides together again and iron on top of the fabric so that the bonding seals the fabric pieces together.
  3. Fold the top edge of the tote bag down about 1 inch and place more bonding underneath the fold all around. Iron again on top of the fabric.
  4. Turn the tote bag right side out and hot glue your straps down. I placed mine on the outside because I liked the look of it but you can also glue them to the inside of the bag.

Babiekins Magazine|Craftykins// No Sew Mommy and Me Tote Bags for Mother's Day
Let the straps dry for a few minutes and your bag is done! Repeat the same steps for each bag.Babiekins Magazine|Craftykins// No Sew Mommy and Me Tote Bags for Mother's Day

Babiekins Magazine|Craftykins// No Sew Mommy and Me Tote Bags for Mother's Day

Fill them with flowers, snacks, or even a picnic blanket and your enjoy your Mother’s Day with your little ones!

Filed Under: Fun Tagged With: Babiekins, Babiekins Magazine, crafts, DIY, kids fashion magazine, kids magazine, mini tote bag, mommy and me, Mothers Day, No sew, top magazine, tote bag Posted By: Sara Eslami, Contributor

Valentine’s Day Fridge Magnets

By Sara Eslami, Contributor Leave a Comment

Whenever another holiday comes around, I  like to think of creative ways to display the cards that I get in the mail from friends and family. I found these birch tags at my local craft store and thought they would make cute magnets for displaying Valentine cards on the fridge.

Babiekins Magazine |Craftykins // Valentine's Day Fridge Magnets

There are so many things that you could make with these little birch tags but I just picked up a few things that I saw in the craft store. You could also use markers or paint that you already have around your house and decorate them with your kids.

Babiekins Magazine |Craftykins // Valentine's Day Fridge Magnets

I found these tiny paper roses and itty bitty pom poms at the same craft store and then I also picked up the sticky magnet roll. The gold paint was leftover from a previous project so I used that as well.

Babiekins Magazine |Craftykins // Valentine's Day Fridge Magnets

Babiekins Magazine |Craftykins // Valentine's Day Fridge MagnetsBabiekins Magazine |Craftykins // Valentine's Day Fridge Magnets

I cut the magnet to fit each piece and then stuck it on the back. I used a glue gun to stick on the paper flowers and the pom poms letters, and then some painter’s tape to make a geometric heart which I painted with the gold spray paint. And that’s it! These would be really fun to use for displaying your kid’s Valentine cards from school.

 

Babiekins Magazine |Craftykins // Valentine's Day Fridge Magnets

 

Filed Under: Fun Tagged With: #babiekinsmag, Babiekins, Babiekins Magazine, birch wood, crafts, DIY, Fashion, fashion kids, flowers, heart, kid crafts, kids fashion magazine, kids trends, Love, magnets, valentine's day, wood tags Posted By: Sara Eslami, Contributor

Mini Ikea Play Kitchen Makeover

By Sara Eslami, Contributor 52 Comments

I have always been a fan of Ikea’s kid’s toys. When I was searching for a play kitchen for my daughter, I came across Ikea’s Duktig play kitchen. It was modern enough for my taste and easy on the budget. Since I have always wanted to remodel a kitchen of my own some day, I thought that this might be good practice, ha!

Here is what the play kitchen from Ikea looks like:

Babiekins Magazine|Craftykins // Mini Ikea Play Kitchen Makeover

Here is my version:

Babiekins Magazine|Craftykins // Mini Ikea Kitchen Makeover

I had so much fun painting it, and was surprised at how simple it was to put together.

Here was my to-do list for the mini kitchen:

1. Add “butcher block” contact paper to the counter top
2. Change the handles on the cabinets
3. Paint the wood parts white
4. Paint the sink, faucet, stove, rail/hooks, and legs metallic gold
5. Add a faux subway tile back splash
6. Add mood lighting underneath the microwave area
Materials used:

  • Ikea TAG handles
  • Butcher block contact paper
  • LED stick-on lights
  • White spray paint + primer
  • Krylon gold metallic spray paint
  • White foam poster board
  • Black Sharpie

The first thing that I did was assemble the bottom part without the cabinet fronts, shelves, or countertop. I spray painted the whole thing with primer as well as the sink, faucet, stove, rail/hooks, legs, and cabinet handles. I also primed the blonde wood pieces for the top parts of the kitchen.

After everything was primed, I spray painted the fixtures with two coats of the gold metallic spray. Then, I spray painted all of the white parts with a white gloss spray paint. It took only a couple of hours to dry but I would recommend letting everything dry at least a day or two before you start to put anything together.

The next thing I did was cover the counter top with the faux butcher block contact paper. This was a little tricky but it easily peeled right off if I made a mistake so that I could fix it. I used a credit card to smooth out any air bubbles as I went. Once it was covered, I cut out the spaces for the sink and stove.

After everything was painted and covered with contact paper, I assembled everything together. The last step was to create the faux subway tile back splash which I made using foam poster board and a black sharpie! Easy peasy! I made the “tiles” 2in. x 4in. and then just nailed the poster board into the back of the kitchen.

Babiekins Magazine|Craftykins // Mini Ikea Kitchen Makeover Babiekins Magazine|Craftykins // Mini Ikea Kitchen Makeover Babiekins Magazine|Craftykins // Mini Ikea Kitchen Makeover Babiekins Magazine|Craftykins // Mini Ikea Kitchen Makeover

Lastly, I stuck on the LED lighting and adding in her play accessories. I just love how it turned out and it has held up perfectly so far to my destructive two-year-old!

Filed Under: Fun Tagged With: #babiekinsmag, Babiekins, Babiekins Magazine, crafts, DIY, duktig, Fashion, fashion kids, ikea, kids fashion magazine, kids trends, makeover, play kitchen, remodel Posted By: Sara Eslami, Contributor

DIY Decorations

By Jenny Smith, Contributor Leave a Comment

Babiekins Magazine | Craftykins // DIY Decorations

Credits // 01. | 02. | 03. | o4. | 05. | 06. 

With less than two weeks until Christmas, if you haven’t started putting up your decorations, it’s not too late.  Here are some simple DIY holiday decorations you can do today to give your home that festive feel.

Filed Under: Fun Tagged With: #babiekinsmag, #christmas, #craftykins, Babiekins, Babiekins Magazine, christmas decorations, crafts, DIY, Fashion, fashion kids, kids fashion magazine, kids trends, paper crafts Posted By: Jenny Smith, Contributor

Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments

By Cheryl Sorce, Former Contributor Leave a Comment

Babiekins Magazine | Craftykins // DIY Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments

I can remember making these simple Christmas ornaments as a little girl.   They’re easy, kid-friendly, and will make your kitchen smell divine!

To make about two dozen ornaments {depending on the size of your cookie cutters}, you’ll need:

1 cup applesauce

1 cup cinnamon {plus a bit extra for rolling out dough}

2 tablespoons ground cloves

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until everything is well incorporated and a dough forms.  This is easiest using your hands.

Note: even though only food ingredients are used, don’t eat these!

Babiekins Magazine | Craftykins // DIY Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments

Roll out dough, sprinkling extra cinnamon as you would flour to prevent sticking to the rolling pin and counter.

When dough is about 1/2 inch thick, use cookie cutters to cut out ornaments.

Babiekins Magazine | Craftykins // DIY Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments

Use a wooden skewer to poke a hole through each ornament.

Babiekins Magazine | Craftykins // DIY Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments

Place ornaments on a cookie sheet and bake in a 225 degree oven for about an hour.  Ornaments should be rock hard and completely dried out when they’re done.

Babiekins Magazine | Craftykins // DIY Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments

After the ornaments have cooled, thread a piece of twine through each hole and hang!

Filed Under: Fun Tagged With: #babiekinsmag, Babiekins, Babiekins Magazine, crafts, DIY, diy ornaments, Fashion, fashion kids, holiday crafts, Homemade, kids fashion magazine, kids trends Posted By: Cheryl Sorce, Former Contributor

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Copyright © 2021 · Babiekins Magazine | A Trendsetting Kids' Fashion Magazine and Online Community for Parents and Children Alike · Since the Southern California birth of Babiekins in 2010, the magazine has grown from into an internationally-recognized print publication with a global circulation and now a thriving online community. We are more than a kids’ fashion magazine. We search everywhere for inspiration, and go beyond trends to bring you fashion, style, decor, design, books, DIY, parties, and playthings. Our readers look to us to keep up with the best and most up-to-date concepts in the children’s market worldwide. We have an eye for quirk. We’re high-fashion, but we value whimsy over tradition. Playful childhood is more important to us than making kids into copycat adults. We believe life is beautiful, life is valuable, and life changes when you see it through the eyes of a child. We seek to transcend skin color, language and zip codes and bring out the real, wild, magical creativity inherent in every child. And behind Babiekins is an optimistic team of mothers-turned-editors, working from home, often with our own little babiekins climbing on, under and around the desks. We want to encourage you, and challenge you to see something different — something special — in yourself and in this world we all share. Welcome to Babiekins!

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