Marble Coaster

Hubby had Monday off due to the threat of Tropical Storm Isaac (it hadn't yet turned into a hurricane). Luckily, Isaac passed us by; but with on-again-off-again rain showers, we were stuck inside most of the  day.

Hubby and Bubba spent the afternoon constructing a marble coaster. 

Really, Hubs did most of the constructing, and Bubba took a lot of breaks to play with his trains. 

Either way, Bubba LOVED the finished product. Three days later, he is still obsessed with the coaster. 

I found the idea in the September issue of Family Fun magazine. I tried to find a link to it on their website, but haven't had any luck with my searches. 

So, (straight from the magazine) this is what you'll need to make own of your own:

Heavy-duty paper plates

Cardboard tubes

Glue dots or Hot glue

For the track, trim the curved outer edge from several heavy-duty paper plates. Cut sections of various lengths, then overlap and tape the ends together to form one long twisting route. 

For the supports, trim cardboard tubes into graduated lengths, beginning with a half-inch tall and adding a half-inch to each subsequent support. Starting at the low end, secure the track to the supports {we used hot glue; the magazine suggested using glue dots to allow your child to reposition the supports if needed}.

Also, I don't know if it was because of the type of plates we used, but the boys had to add those flaps on the edge to keep the marbles from falling off. 

Enjoy!

Chalkboard Storage Boxes

You may have figured out by now that I am mildly obsessed with turning anything and everything into a chalkboard [here, here, and here].

So what is going to stop me from taking my empty food boxes and turning them into chalkboards?

Absolutely nothing.

I saw this in Family Fun magazine a few months ago, and thought it was a fabulous idea.

All you need:

Small Cardboard Boxes {such as a cereal box, milk carton, cracker box}

Exacto Knife

Chalkboard Spray Paint

Chalk

Cut off the flaps of the boxes with the exacto knife. Or if you use a milk or heavy cream carton, like me, carefully cut off the top.

Make sure to clean your dairy cartons very well. 

Spoiled milk residue is not a lovely smell.Spray the boxes with the chalkboard paint. I stuck a piece of packing paper in the box {with a bit sticking out of the top} to prevent the paint from getting on the inside of the box. I figured this out after I began painting the first one when the paint was spewing little bits on the inside.

Draw pretty designs, or let your little ones draw on them. 

Enjoy your new stylish {and inexpensive} storage solution.