DIY Magnets

I love the beach and everything about it soooo no shocker that I have seashell magnets on my fridge. So incredibly easy to make. You can buys shells from Walmart, craft stores, or use ones you have collected from a recent trip to the beach. Purchase circular magnets to go on the back, add a little hot glue, and you are done.

Should you have other interests besides shells you can glue almost anything to a magnet.

Try any of the following:

• Corks
• Bottle tops
• Rocks
• Puzzle Pieces
• Scrabble Tiles
• Small pictures 
• Buttons
• Clothes Pins-you can then use the magnet and the clothes pin to hang things
• Fake Flowers
• Plastic toy animals
• Maps

Starfish Star

Return of Summer....

So many missed months of no posting. Apologies. Changed jobs and had some other personal life things going on so 4 and 1/2 month delay since my last post. Back to the blogging world. I'm a bit of an ocean/beach/sunshine junkie. Have never lived near the beach, but love vacationing there. As a result I have seashells aplenty and love to use them in the summer for all kinds of things. Not sure what to call this but it turned out ok.

I used the large popsicle sticks to create a star then glued on dozens of real starfish. If you were to use regular popsicle sticks it would turn out a bit smaller. You could also use larger shells and have it turn out larger. 

Just some summer fun. I could not decide what to do with it so it ended up on my mantel. 

Pirates-Message In A Bottle

Message in a Bottle

Message In A Bottle for a Pirate or Ocean Party

For some reason it seems people of all ages enjoy pirate parties especially when the theme is done right. To use a message in a bottle for your party you can do a few things. 

Party Invitation:
The first is to purchase small plastic bottles and print the invitation on paper that is then rolled up and put in the bottle. Then deliver.

Treasure/Scavenger Hunt:
Place all of your clues in bottles and as the children find them they can take turns opening the bottle to see what the next clue will be.

Activity:
Have the children make their own message in a bottle. You'll need bottles of some kind, tan or brown paper, and sand and shells if you wish. The paper can be crumpled up before or after it has been made this gives it more of an old pirate look to it. If you'd like to add sand and shells it just adds a little extra something. 

You could also have the children make their own treasure map to go inside of the bottle.

Message in a Bottle for Pirate or Ocean Party

I Spy-Ocean in a Bottle

 I Spy also known as EYE Spy

This is so easy to make if you are looking for Pirate, Ocean, or even mermaid party or activity ideas. 
I've seen these in stores but they are filled with plastic beads and then small objects inside you which you are supposed to find by shaking the bottle about.

This is very simple. You can use only small shells if that is all you have. Or you can find mini plastic animals and sea creatures for usually 5, 10 or, at most 25 cents to add to your shells. Make a label that lists all of the items that are in your jar or bottle. Then place the items inside. Fill the remainder of the jar with sand as shown here or rice, small beads, sugar, anything that is small enough for you to see the other objects around it. Use hot glue or super glue to glue the lid on tightly or you may end up with quite the mess on your hands.

To play simply have the children shake the jar around to see if they can spot all of the objects that you have listed. You can be as creative as you want with this. Have fun!