American Girl Dolls and accessories taking a toll on your wallet? Why not try making outfits yourself using scrap fabrics. Instead of spending a lot of money on clothes and outfits, our daughter goes through all of the themed dolls in the catalogs and gets ideas for new outfits for her doll. Not only does this save money by not having to buy more dolls or outfits, but our daughter gets to create unique, one-of-a-kind looks for her doll.
Far out 60s dress made from leftover material from a curtain.
We at White Elephant Creations love to play the game of Scrabble, and we love to use the Scrabble letters to make new creations as well. (See scrabble magnets w/box and Scrabble Board Wall Art). A very simple craft to make that is a great “end of the school year” gift for teachers are Scrabble name plates. With some Scrabble letters, a letter rack, and some glue, you can make easy name plate gifts for teachers to display on their desks.
We love to create with cardboard at White Elephant Creations and our kids have definitely caught the cardboard bug as well. When packages arrive in the mail, we’re not alway sure if the kids are more excited by what’s inside the package or the box that it comes in. The latest cardboard creation was a robot, which they named Cank the Robot. Cank the Robot has become another member of the family, playing games with us, keeping us company, or even providing entertainment. (Check out the video below of Cank the Robot in action scoring a soccer goal)
One unexpected result of Cank the Robot’s presence is that he has helped serve as a sort of mediator between our two children who have been having issues getting along with each other. Not only has building the robot given our children a creative outlet, but it also has provided an opportunity for them to collaborate and have a singular purpose instead of focusing on just themselves. As with most cardboard creations, Cank the Robot may not last forever and our children will most likely find something else to fight about, but the lessons learned by working together to create a silly cardboard robot will last much longer.
Got a pair of jeans that you’ve worn so much that the zipper will no longer stay up? Here is an easy fix to avoid those awkward XYZ moments and get a little more use out of your favorite jeans. Take a small key ring and thread it through the end of the zipper head. Once you have fed it through, you simply take the ring attached, pull the zipper all the way up, and place around the button of the jeans. It does a great job keeping the zipper in place and is easy to take on and off.
Looks like Grandma is getting into the White Elephant spirit with this modern Christmas Tree center piece that she made out of two magazines folded accordion style.
Far out 60s dress made from leftover material from a curtain.
