Pinterest Projects: Family Friendly

I absolutely love the idea of this project. It's so simple, and instills such a good prayer habit at a young age. Praying for others is so important, and this is a wonderful way to start teaching that to little ones.

It's called a Prayer Pail, or Prayer Bucket. The idea is that you label it with stick-on letters, and then you write the names of all your family, friends, or anyone you want to pray for on a popsicle stick. All the sticks go in the pail, and then at mealtime, you draw one out and say a prayer for that person.

Asher loves being able to pick out a stick, and he rarely forgets to do it. We say the table prayer before supper (since this is the meal we can eat as a family), and then he picks out one stick. I just think it's a really neat idea, and so easy for someone like me who's not very crafty. :)

Supplies
Pail
Stick-on letters (can be found in many varieties at lots of stores - Michaels, Target, Walmart, etc.)
Large popsicle sticks
Permanent Marker
Center the words "Prayer Pail" or "Prayer Bucket" if yours has a design like ours did; otherwise you can put them anywhere. Stick on the letters. Use the permanent marker to write one name on each stick, and you're done!

I'm not sure if ours can technically be called a pail since it doesn't have a handle, but I love it and it holds meaning for our family. When Dusty's grandma passed away, we were given a plant after her funeral, but after transplanting the plant I wasn't sure what to do with the pot. Turning it into our Prayer Pail seemed like a great idea to me - I'm so very glad this project came along because it makes such good use out of something special.

Since ours already had decoration on it, I didn't add anything else to it. But, you can certainly use scrapbook paper, stickers, or anything else to decorate your pail and make it personalized.

Pinterest Projects: Kid Decor

I know I've mentioned Pinterest a few times already, but I want to start a new little segment devoted to some projects I've done that I found there.

Admittedly, I have very little creativity, but I do okay if I just have to imitate something. This first project, Kid Decor, was so fun and easy, and I could definitely see myself doing it again! It takes minimal effort, and the result is so colorful and unique.

Supplies
1 piece of canvas (I used an 8x10)
super glue
crayons (enough to cover the length of the top)
hair dryer

The finished product

Here's what ya do:
Super glue the crayons across the top of your canvas in whatever order you choose (I just did good ol' ROY G BIV). Once you've done that, allow it to dry and un-stick your fingers from each other if you're anything like me and got super glue all over them. After it's dry, either go someplace where crayon wax would be easy to clean up, or lay down some old newspapers. Turn your hair dryer on high, and point it at a slightly downward angle at the crayons. Soon, the wax will start dripping down the canvas. Move the blow dryer across the crayons until they've all melted/dripped down your canvas. Let dry, and marvel at your work of art!
I did this project months ago and didn't think I'd post about it, so I didn't take pictures of the process. Luckily, it's not too difficult to explain!

All the crayons I used - it looks blurry because they've already been melted.

Things I love about this project:
1) It would be great to do with your kids, minus the super glue - I think even Asher (2 1/2) would have fun doing the hair-dryer part.
2) It's so very customizable! If you want to make one for your kids' rooms, you can pick out crayons that match their decor (ours is in our play area, so I wanted to use all the colors).
3) I didn't even get my crayons glued on completely straight and it still looks good.

If you've done one of these, or end up trying it, I'd love to know!