Archive | Summer Ideas RSS feed for this section

The Crash Pile

29 Aug

The last couple of days with the Happy Buddy have been kind of rough!

He started school last week and within one day of attendance, picked up a really bad cold.

So the Happy Buddy hasn’t been very ‘happy.’

After an afternoon of sad whimpers and general discontentment, I got the idea to pull out something that always cheers the Happy Buddy up.

The Crash Pile.Nothing cries “This is Fun” like a giant mountain of pillows and couch cushions.Stand back several feet from your Crash Pile.

Count to 3 and then take a flying leap.Face Planting is necessary for Crash Pile success.Crash Piles are guaranteed to make you forget that you aren’t feeling very well.

I’ve also included a ten second video (click link below) for you to experience our Crash Pile LIVE.

Happy Crash Piling! :-)

Back to School at Happy Home Fairy

31 Jul

Target and Wal-Mart are stocking their shelves with school supplies and Happy Home Fairy is getting inspired! :-)

Who can resist a brand new box of crayons?

The month of August will be filled with all kinds of family traditions, crafts, school-themed snacks, and FREE Printables for you to celebrate the magic of a new school year with your Happy Home.

Back to School at Happy Home Fairy kicks off TOMORROW with a FREE Printable Back to School Countdown Calendar that will build anticipation and excitement as your Happy Buddy prepares for the big day!

In the meantime…Check out some of Happy Home Fairy’s Best Summer Ever Series by clicking on one of the following links.

The What Can I Do? Can (with FREE Printables)

Chocolate Play Dough

FREE Printables for Summer

4 Ways to Recycle a Juice Box (super cute craft ideas!)

Painting with Water

Minute to Win It Game Ideas

Summer Fun with Slime

Marshmallows – Not Just for Eating

How to Make a Magic Wand

Fun with Bubbles

Marble-ous Marbles

Amazing Things You Can Do with Kool Aid

Summer Scavenger Hunts

Fun Crafts and Activities to do with Balloons!

How to Make a Cute Paper Plate Turtle

Flip Flop Crafts and Activities

Easy Flip Flop Cookies and a Love Note for the Happy Hubby

Shark-Themed Crafts and Snacks

How to Have a Cereal Party (a great end-of-summer celebration idea!)

Play Dough Monsters

Icebergs in the Tub

Ice Cube Crafts and Activities

Over a Dozen Homemade Popsicle Recipes and Ideas

And there you have it, Happy Home Friends!

I hope you all did, indeed, have the Best Summer EVER!!!

Happy End of Summer-ing! :-)

Popsicle Party

29 Jul

The Best Summer Ever at Happy Home Fairy will be winding down this week as I have been itching to share some awesome inspirations for Back to School.

I know, I know… School is still a bit aways for many of you and I don’t mean to rob you of the glorious savoring of summer’s final weeks…

But you’ll love all of the ideas – I promise. :-)

However, Summer is still going strong and what better way to celebrate the sweltering heat than whipping up some homemade popsicles with your Happy Home?

Here are a few recipes the Happy Buddy and I are trying to choose from…

Click Image for Recipe

Craft kicks things off with 4 different homemade popsicle recipes that look so yummy I almost licked my computer screen.

Seriously. :-)

Click Image for Recipe

Does anyone else equate watermelon with Summer?

These Watermelon Pops from The Idea Room are like the best combination of the season you could ever imagine.

Click Image for Recipe

Does anyone else think that these Rainbow Pops from Sandy Toes and Popsicles are like the most magical-looking dessert ever?!

Click Image for Recipe

Good ole’ fashioned homemade Creamsicles from Almost Unschoolers.

I remember enjoying these in the summer between sprinkler runs when I was growing up.

Click Image for Recipe

Your Happy Home will be rooting for these Root Beer Float Pops from Erin Cooks!

Click Image for Recipe

I am berry excited about Our Best Bite’s Strawberry Creamsicles.

Click Image for Recipe

I think one of my greatest weaknesses in life (besides a giant bathtub of glitter) is chocolate pudding and Oreos.

I am not even kidding when I tell you that I had these popsicles the night before we found out we were pregnant with the Happy Buddy!  I’ve got a bit of a sweet spot for them!

Cookies and Cream Pops from Kraft Foods.

Click Image for Recipe

Pure happiness, right?!

Confetti Pops from Country Living.

Click Image for Recipe

I had to throw something unique in the mix that I know will make your Happy Home go bananas!

Chocolate-Covered Frozen Banana Pops found HERE.

Click Image for Instructions

If your Happy Buddies get really into the whole making-homemade-popsicles-thing, then why not make a popsicle-themed craft too?

Check out this color-learning Rainbow Popsicle idea HERE!

Click Image for Printable

Or your Happy Buddies can color their own popsicles with this sweet printable coloring page from Make and Takes.

Click Image for FREE Printable

And if you’re perfectly content with store bought popsicles, the next time you buy a box, grab another, because this cute tag from Eighteen25 will transform it into a fun gift for the neighbors!

I think the Happy Buddy and I are just going to make all of the recipes here and have an End of Summer Popsicle Party.

Happy Popsicle Party-ing! :-)

Ice, Ice Baby

28 Jul

Chilling out in the tub yesterday with our icebergs only got me thinking that we need some more cooling off kind of activities for our Happy Home!

It is HOT outside!

So, bring on the ice, ice, baby. :-)

Click Image for Instructions

Family Fun made a piece of jewelry that is both stylish and provides personal A/C while running around outside in the summer heat.

I think I will be wearing one of these Ice Cube Necklaces to church on Sunday. :-)

Click Image for Instructions

Your Happy Buddies can sail into the heat with these ice cube boats from Alpha Mom!

Click Image for Instructions

Share and Remember painted with ice cubes.

Your Happy Buddies will love making a mess, creating art, and cooling off all at the same time!

Click Image for Instructions

Sweeter Than Sweets made Rainbow Ice using some colorful Color Bath Dropz by Crayola.

The perfect thing for you to add to your Happy Buddy’s water table!

Click Image for Instructions

Do you remember the Melt the Ice Cube Game I featured back in January???

It is the easiest and most fabulous game ever.

I am not even kidding about that.

Serving Pink Lemonade played it with her Happy Buddies and there was a ridiculous amount of laughing and memory-making and getting wet-ing.

Click Image for Instructions

My Delicious Ambiguity fished for ice in their living room – this is a really awesome science experiment/magic trick!

Click Image for Instructions

How Does She? went fishing for ice, too, but theirs was more of a game that involved Lassoing Lincoln (the ice cube with a penny frozen inside).

Too cute!

Finally, what do you get when you have a wading pool filled with ice cubes and lots of Happy Buddy feet?  This hilarious Foot Freeze game at Family Fun is just what you need for some afternoon cool down fun – TODAY!

BONUS ICE IDEA!

**If you are under the age of 20 do not continue reading this post as it is about to get a little STEAMY!**

The bedroom is a place where things can get pretty hot between you and your Happy Hubby.

Wink! Wink! :-)

So, why not bring down the heat a bit with an idea I found HERE involving ice cubes and kissing??

That’s the Ice, Ice Baby we are talking about, Happy Home Friends!

Happy Ice Activity-ing! :-)

Icebergs in the Tub

27 Jul

It may be summer, but in our Happy Home we are pretty chilly.

(No, Happy Hubby-if-you-are-reading-this, we did not accidentally turn the air conditioning down to 65 and leave it there all day long again.)

We decided to put our freezer to work and make a few icebergs for some bath time fun.

And not just any icebergs – these icebergs had toys trapped in them!

Here’s what we did…Let me introduce you to the Happy Buddy’s best bath buds.

Guys 1, 2, 3, and 4.

I am not even kidding – those are their names.  When he loses one he shouts, “4! 4!” or, “2! 2!”I put Guys 1, 2, 3, and 4 in four separate plastic cups and filled them halfway with water.Since these guys float, I froze them halfway in the water and then poured more water on top and froze again.

This way the guys were stuck in the center of the iceberg.Then the treasure-filled icebergs were added to the Happy Buddy’s tub time!He was a little uncertain about the fact that his favorite toys were trapped in what appeared to be a solid mass of freezing-ness – This is the Happy Buddy’s nervous face.This is him trying to climb out of the tub to get away from them. :-) But then when the ice melted a bit and he realized that his Guys were coming back to life -He LOVED it!

Free at last!

When everything had melted away, the Happy Buddy asked me about 100 times if we could put them in ice again.

Stay tuned for more Ice-tastic ideas coming tomorrow!

Happy Iceberg in the Tub-ing! :-)

How to Have a Cereal Party

25 Jul

Let me introduce you to a sight that will give you goosebumps.

Click Image for Photo Credit

Does anyone else see the heavens open up on that bowl of cereal goodness and the angels singing out with the Hallelujah Chorus?!

I am not even kidding when I tell you that one of the Happy Hubby’s and my first dates was to the cereal aisle at our local grocery store – that is how much I love cereal.

So this passion of mine could only lead to inspiration for a super fun party the Happy Hubby and I planned for his niece and nephew a couple of summers ago.

A CEREAL PARTY!First, go to Wal-Mart and purchase 4-5 different kids of cereal.

I tried to pick out all of our guest’s favorite kinds (even the sugary kinds that they don’t get to eat like ever).

I even went for a box of these probably not the best for you awesome cereal accessories.

Click Image for Photo Credit

Then pour the cereal into fun glass jars and use that as your centerpiece.If you have Mickey Mouse bowls, now would be a good time to break them out.Hang some plastic colored spoons from your chandelier with ribbons.It’s okay – just dig right in with your hands.

Anything goes at this Cereal Party.That, my friends, is some serious bowl of cereal.

And I know you are all wanting to know if anyone got sick after this sugar-coma-inducing cereal party -

Nope. :-)

Finally, make some cereal necklaces and call it a day because I don’t think it can get any more magical than this!!

Or, just as a bonus, have your Cereal Party Guests take these fun cereal quizzes…

What Kind of Cereal Are You? Quiz

Breakfast Cereal Trivia

Wouldn’t this be an AWESOME thing to do as an End of/Last Day of Summer Celebration?!

What Happy Buddy doesn’t like having cereal for dinner?

Happy Cereal Party-ing! :-)

Play Dough Monsters

23 Jul

They’re only the greatest craft invention known to man.

Googly eyes.

You can always find googly eyes around our Happy Home.  In fact, I think the Happy Hubby found one in his lasagna one evening after a particularly crafty afternoon with the Happy Buddy. :-)

So when I saw this idea HERE, I thought – BRILLIANT!The Happy Buddy got a giant set of Play Dough for his birthday.

He is quite ecstatic about it and every morning after breakfast you will find us on the kitchen floor playing with the ever popular non-toxic reusable modeling compound*.

*I didn’t want to use the word Play Dough too much in this post, so I went to Play-Doh’s website and that is apparently what the pros call it.  I tell you this because it’s important to share these fun facts with your Happy Buddies. :-)

The other day we thought we’d kick the fun up a notch by adding some googly eyes to our Play Dough creations.There was quite a bit of giggling as our Play Dough Monsters came to life.We thought this would be a fun surprise for whoever opened the green can next.And I was stifling some serious laughter because the Happy Buddy had that on for a good 20 minutes before he realized that his foot was keeping an eye on things.

Plus, I knew you all would want to see a picture of those cute, chubby feet.

Happy Play Dough Monster-ing! :-)

Shark Attack!

22 Jul

Sharks are always getting a bad rap.

They are big, have ridiculously sharp teeth, and there are a lot of scary movies about them.

But after you check out this crafty round-up of ideas, I think you are going to realize that sharks are just largely misunderstood. :-)

Click Image for Instructions

This paper plate shark craft from Almost Unschoolers is my fave!

Nobody was injured playing with this razor-toothed fish!

Click Image for Instructions

This shark (made out of an envelope!) from I Heart Crafty Things likes to play educational games with your kids.

He is sure to keep your Happy Buddies’ minds sharp this summer. :-)

Click Image for Instructions

It’s o-FISH-al.

Activity Village made the most adorable shark out of a wooden spoon and some craft foam.

Click Image for Instructions

Snack Attack!

Martha Stewart brings us some simple shark cupcakes – the fins are blue construction paper!

Click Image for Instructions

You know if you whip up a batch of these shark pudding cups from Muffin Tin Mom, your Happy Buddies’ jaws will be chompin’!

Click Image for Instructions

And FIN-ally, everyone you know is going to want to sink their teeth into this awesome snack from Sun Scholars!

Seriously, people.

After all that cuteness -

Why do we fear sharks so much?

Click Image for Photo Credit

Oh yeah.

I’ll take the cupcake version, please.

Happy Shark Craft-ing! :-) This post is partying over at Design Dazzle’s Summer Linky Party!

FREE Printable Summer Love Note for the Happy Hubby

21 Jul

I have been talking about flip flops a bunch around Happy Home Fairy – it only seemed fair to include the Happy Hubby in the flip flop mix!

Here is what the Happy Hubby is going to find when he gets home from work today.So cute, right?!

The Happy Hubby looooooves him some Nutter Butters!I just added some flip flop straps with a little icing gel pen and used a mini M&M to finish it off!

I think they look so summer-y on that beach ball paper plate I found at Wal-Mart for $1 (pack of 50)!You know I am all about a good pun. :-)

Just click the image below to print your own Flip Flop Love Note.

Click Image for Printable!

I know your Happy Hubby will flip over this thoughtful little gesture!

If you are flipping out over this FREE Happy Home Fairy printable, please ‘Like’ the Fairy on Facebook and stay up to date on all the Happy Home magic!

Happy Summer Flip Flop Love Note-ing! :-)

Summer Fun to FLIP Over!

20 Jul

You know you can’t get through Summer without ‘em…

FLIP FLOPS!

I am not even kidding when I tell you that I found my favorite pair at Target about 5 years ago and I am still wearing them.

I am not even going to show you a picture of them because you will probably think they are the most hideously dirty shoes ever! :-)

But I love them!

Click Image for Instructions

A few days ago I shared a fun post about Ideas for Summer that Really POP and the first idea was this cute pair of balloon embellished flip flops from The Craft Junkie.

It got me to thinking that Summer’s #1 Shoe needs to be celebrated a little bit more around Happy Home Fairy!

So slip into your own comfy pair and enjoy some great flip flop ideas from Blog World.

They’re sure to make you flip!!

Click Image for Instructions

I am sooo making one of these for our front door as I just took down our 4th of July decorations and now it looks so bare!

Find out how to make your own Flip Flop Wreath from this site!

Click Image for Instructions

Would you believe that the stylish footwear you see above are made out of cereal boxes and pipe cleaners??

Your Happy Buddies will LOVE this simple craft from Ramblings of a Crazy Woman!

Click Image for Instructions

Family Fun embellished their flip flops with fabric scraps!

What a FUN thing to do at your next Girl’s Night Out!

Click Image for Instructions

Does anyone else agree that googly eyes make everything better?

Our Forever House added some to her Happy Buddy’s flip flops and now he can’t stop wearing them!

Click Image for Instructions

Make this sweet summer keepsake and capture the essence of your Happy Buddy’s little feet forever with an easy peasy flip flop art project from Fun Handprint Art.

Click Image for Instructions

And while you’re flip flop crafting, you really should snack on some of these adorable flip flop crackers from Snack Picks.

I’m also going to venture to say that now that we’re halfway through summer, stores are putting their flip flops on mega sale, so make sure you stock up and try out one of these ideas with your Happy Home!

Stay tuned for a cute flip flop idea for your Happy Hubby… (wink wink!)

Happy Flip Flop Crafting! :-)

← Older Entries

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 2,280 other followers