If you’re looking for a cute, fun, and easy Halloween craft to make with the kids you may want to try making some friendly cheesecloth ghosts. My daughter loved making these when she was little.
This is a great craft because it’s easy, doesn’t require many supplies, and it’s inexpensive. The only thing I purchased was the cheesecloth. I bought one package for $2.99 and it was enough for the 3 ghost you see in the picture.
Let’s get started…
Supplies Needed:
Glue
Water (to thin the glue)
Scissors
Tape
Cheesecloth (you find this in the kitchen section of the grocery store)
Water bottle or cups (I’ve also used balloons to mold cheesecloth)
Foil
Container to mix the glue
Something to stir the glue (I used tongue depressors)
Instructions:
• First you probably want to cover your work surface with some plastic. I used an old thin plastic tablecloth. This will protect your table from glue spills, and your ghost can easily be removed without sticking.
• Next mix up your glue solution. I use glue, others use a flour water mixture, or fabric stiffener. For 3 ghost I used about 2 ounces of glue and a cup of water.
After adding the water, and mixing, your glue solution should look something like this
• Prepare the water bottle or glasses to use as a”Ghost” mold. Take some foil and loosely roll into a ball to your desired size. Then tape the foil ball to the top of bottle or bottom of glass as shown below. Note: I filled the used water bottle with tap water to weigh it down, so it would not fall over.
• Now it’s time to measure and cut your cheesecloth. Drape cheesecloth over your mold (aka water bottle or glass) and cut to desired size. You can use a single layer or double layer. It’s up to you. See below.
• Take your trimmed cheesecloth and dip it into the glue mixture. Squish it around to saturate and then squeeze out the excess.
• Unfold the cheesecloth and drape as desired onto your ghost molds.
• Your ghost should look something like this little guy below. When you are happy with the way the cheesecloth is draped it’s time to sit back for a bit and let them dry and harden. I leave mine overnight to dry.
• Once your ghost is dry it’s time to carefully remove your mold and add some eyes, and maybe a mouth. Or, you can go crazy and add jewels or whatever you think looks good. When I made these I did not have any googly eyes, nor did I have any felt to cut out for eyes so I made the eyes out of paper and my printer. I used MS word to make some black ovals and a mouth, printed them, and cut them out. Use glue to attach the eyes as shown below.
That’s it, you’re finished with your friendly ghosts. Now you can decorate your fireplace mantle, table, or hang them around the house. Have fun with it…
I hope you will try this fun project with the kiddos.
Have you made these before? Share your experience, what worked, and what didn’t by leaving a comment.
Happy Crafting,
Tamara
Hugs are great and so are little notes
Who doesn’t like a sweet little note from someone they love and care about, I know I do. I love when I find a note on the steering wheel of my car from my hubby. Or, in my suitcase when I have to travel for work.
Kids are no different. They love it when they find a note tucked into their lunch box or notebook. These notes can be as fancy or as simple as you want or have the time to create.
Don’t worry if your child does not run home after school and jump in your arms praising you for the little note. They might not say anything at all. They will remember, and they will talk about them. Especially when they are older and reminiscing. Saying something like, “remember those little notes mom used to put in our lunch box? I loved those notes, they always made me feel loved and special”.
To help you get started I would like to share with you a free printable from Billy Gorilly.
Download the free printable Lunch box Notes now ? BillyGorilly_LunchBoxNotes
Have a great day everyone,
Tamara
Road Trip Survival Tips
Going on a road trip with young kids can be a wonderful adventure, or a disaster that makes you want to pull your hair out. “Are we there yet”, “I’m hungry”, “Ricky’s poking me”, “I’m bored”.
With a few tricks up your sleeve you can make the family road trip a fun, entertaining, educational, and memorable experience. I personally have many fond memories of going on road trips with my family as a kid. My mom and dad used all these tricks to keep us happy as we traveled in the car.
Get Prepared
With a little preparation, and a good attitude, you will love your time on the road with the kids. Pick out a container to put your “happy supplies” in (AKA stuff to keep the kiddos occupied). A backpack is a great choice. It’s easy to get into, has lots of pockets, and can be shoved into that little open space in the car, and you can easily carry it into the hotel, or campsite when you arrive to your destination. A backpack for each child is a bonus. Also, keeping the contents of your “happy supplies” container a secret until you pull each boredom buster out is a big bonus. Keep the kids guessing, making it more fun.
Board Games
Small travel games using magnets to keep the pieces in place; like bingo, tic-tac-toe, and checkers.
Cards
A plain deck of cards can be used for all kinds of different games. Some classic favorites are Go Fish, Crazy Eights, and the Memory Game. Make up your own card games. Think of a goofy name for your new game making it even more fun.
Pick up some inexpensive trivia, old maid, or flash cards to keep the kids busy and thinking.
Timeless Car Games
Play the “License Plate Game”. See how many different license plates you can find on your trip. Download and print a state check-off list here.
“I Spy Game” is another fun car game. One person gives clues about something they see as you’re driving; the others guess what it is.
Color and Draw
Add an inexpensive clipboard for each child to your “happy supplies” container. This gives the kids a hard surface to use as they color and draw. The clip will hold loose papers together so they don’t fall on the floor. Add crayons, pencils, paper, notebook, stickers, and any other art supplies suitable for your child’s age. Download free road trip coloring page.
Sing a Song
Buy or make a CD of fun songs made just for kids. They can be silly, educational, or a combination of the two. See what Billy Gorilly has to offer at CDbaby.
Try a Kids podcast that can be put on your iPods. Billy Gorilly’s Podcast for Kids is a great option for young children. Check out Billy Gorilly’s free Podcast on iTunes or listen and get free printables to go along with the podcast on Billy Gorilly’s website billygorilly.com.
Try making up your own silly songs. One-person starts the song and the others keep adding to it. Don’t worry if it sounds terrible and out of tune. The point is to have some fun laughing and bonding with the kids.
Books
Pack a few age appropriate books for each child. Perfect to pull out of the bag when you need a bit of quiet time.
Tell A Story
Are you good at making up stories? Make up some fun stories of your own. Try adding one word at a time. Each person adds a word to the last word said. See how far you can go before you forget the first words. The kids will get a kick out of this.
Listen to some audio stories. Try Aesop’s Fables For Today’s Kids. A collection of short stories underscored with lively music. Winner of 2011 CD of the Year Award. Each story has a valuable message and is short and sweet. Parents, you will enjoy this one too.
If the kids are old enough have them write their own story. You can find inexpensive notebooks at the dollar store or staple some blank paper together to make your own personal notebook
Get your free “My Family Road Trip” stationery here.
Snacks
Having a small ice chest stocked with healthy snacks and drinks is definitely a bonus.
Cut up veggies, low-fat cheese, and fruit. Put small portions in individual Baggies so you can hand each child their very own treat. This will usually ward off the fighting. Add small bottles of water or 100% juice to satisfy thirst. Water is the best choice for the car. If they spill the whole thing you don’t have to worry about all that sticky stuff on your car interior. And, it’s healthy too!
Of course you will probably want some sweet treats. Package individual servings in small bags and tie with a ribbon for a very special treat. This also helps with portion control. If you bring out that jumbo bag of cookies or chips you tend to eat LOTS more.
First Aid and More
When you are traveling little mishaps can happen. Be prepared with a first aid kit. You never know when someone is going to cut a finger, skin a knee, or get a bug bite. Tissues for a runny nose and wet wipes are a must too. You might want to consider throwing in some paper or cloth dish towels as well. Spills and sticky fingers are bound to happen.
So there you have it, with a little planning, and prep, you can make your family road trip a wonderful, educational bonding experience you and the kids will remember for a lifetime.
Happy Travels,
Tamara
and the Billy Gorilly Crew
Hello Friends,
If you follow @BillyGorilly or @TamaraMaellaro on Twitter you may have seen a few tweets about us moving our blog. We decided it would be better to have it hosted with our website.
It took me a few days, but I think this blog is ready for visitors. I know there will be more changes and tweaks in the days to come. I just can’t help myself. I will be working on the navigation and how it will connect with our website and such. I will probably add more widgets and fun things like that. Who knows what twists and turns this little blog will take.
What is most important to me right now is that the blog is easy to read, and when you click on something it works. Through the process of moving the post over from our old site some of the links may have been broken.
If you have any trouble viewing, or if something looks weird, I would love it if you would let us know by leaving a comment. Also feel free to let us know what you like. Who doesn’t like nice comments!
Until Next Time
Keep Smiling, Singing, and Learning
and You Can Make Everyday
Simply Splendiferous!
Tamara
Hi there,
If you found this site and you think it looks kind of unfinished, bland, or something weird is going on you are correct. We decided to move Billy Gorilly’s blog from wordpress.com. We loved wordpress.com, we just decided it would be better for us to host the blog on Billy Gorilly’s site. You can still access his old blog for awhile.
We hope to have the new blog tweaked and looking “Sweet” in less than a week. That means I better get working on it, so we can start having some fun with this little thing called a Blog.
Off to work some coding magic, I hope LOL
Cheers,
Tamara
With all the technology out there today you might think there is no room for low-tech audio stories. I’m happy to tell you that audio stories are still very popular.
I would like to share with you, 15 benefits of listening to audio stories with the kids.
1. Improves listening skills
2. Helps improve story comprehension
3. Easy to listen while on errands or long car rides
4. More than one child can listen at the same time
5. Can spark a love of reading in low-interest readers
6. Aids in word pronunciation
7. Helps with word memorization
8. Stories underscored with music help kids stay focused and learn new sounds
9. Children enjoy hearing different characters or narrators
10. Develops a child’s imagination as they visualize the story
11. A pre-reading child can listen to the story over and over by themselves
12. Audio stories are just plain fun to listen to
13. Great for ESL students
14. Audio stories are affordable and portable
15. Can be listened to as the child falls asleep
What do you think about audio books for kids? Do you ever use them?
Fan of audio books, or new to the idea, you just might want to check out Billy Gorilly’s latest CD.
It’s a collection of audio stories underscored with music. You can Look, Listen, and buy here
Want to Win your copy of Billy Gorilly’s audio story CD
Fellow blogger A MotherHood Experience is having a giveaway.
Head over to her site to Win. It’s easy! (contest ends May 25, 2011)
Questions or comment? We would love to hear from you.
Say hi, send a tweet about this post, or connect with us on Facebook
“If You want to be a leader,
first you’ve got to be a reader”
–Billy Gorilly
Other sites I found talking about the benefits of audio books for kids
Hi There,
As some of you might know, Billy Gorilly, has helped promote the summer reading program at the library for a number of years. He produces Library Theme Songs that he offers as a free resource for libraries and schools to use on their websites, blogs, videos, shows, or whatever they might find it useful for. It’s one way we can share and give back to the community.
We also offer coloring pages, and activities to go along with the library reading program theme.We do this because we think the library offers families many opportunities to learn and grow. Especially families that can’t afford to buy lots of books, music, movies, or computers. Basically we want to do what we can and help spread the word, because we think it’s important to keep kids active and reading over the summer break.
Today I’m going to share a bookmark template. It would make a great super simple craft for the kids to make, and it helps promote reading at the library. It was designed to go with the Kids Summer Library Reading Program One World, Many Stories.
If you are someone that is working on the library program and you only need a few bookmarks, this might be something helpful to you. Or maybe you run a home daycare or preschool and want to encourage children and their parents to visit their local library. In any case, if you need a One World, Many Stories bookmark this might be for you.
Supplies Needed: Makes 4 bookmarks
- Print bookmark template on regular printer paper or card stock
- 1 piece of 12×12″ card stock – use green or another color you like
- scissors or paper trimmer
- Glue, double-stick tape, or tape squares – use what you have
- Ribbon or yarn. I used an old curly ribbon bow for these
- Single hole punch
Instructions:
You will want to cut the strips of 12″ x 12″green card stock into 3 in. by 7- 3/4in. strips. You will need 4 strips of green.
To assemble the bookmark. Use glue or tape to attach the bookmark to
the green card stock as shown in the picture below #4.
#5 punch a hole near the top of bookmark
#6 Thread ribbon through the hole
That’s all there is to it. Of course you can always print the bookmarks
on white card stock, cut them apart and be done with it.
We thought it would be fun to add a little pizazz.
Download and Print bookmark template
Quick Links:
• Library Song: One World Many Stories — Free Promo version
• Library Song: One World, Many Stories — Album Version
• Download Bookmark Template
• Other Library songs by Billy Gorilly
• Billy Gorilly website
If you happen to know of someone that might find this bookmark useful feel free to share, tweet, like, or delicious this post — ?
As Billy Gorilly likes to say
“Keep Smiling, Singing, and Learning
and You Can Make Everyday
Simply Splendiferous!”
Tamara and the Billy Gorilly Crew
Just Released — Billy Gorilly’s audio stories for kids
AESOP’S FABLES FOR TODAY’S KIDS
Schooltime • Playtime • Bedtime
This collection of audio stories feature Billy Gorilly’s friendly storytelling, underscored by his magical piano. It will capture everyone’s imagination as he weaves Aesop’s classic tales of
honesty, cooperation, responsibility, and tolerance.
This album also includes Bonus Library Theme Song: One World, Many Stories
Want to take a listen go here
Click Image to see larger picture
Spring is in the air
The boss ( my husband) and I were working at the Billy Gorilly Headquarters yesterday when we both decided we needed a break. We thought for a minute and decided it was a perfect time to take a walk.
Along the walking path the flowers were just starting to bloom. The dark rain clouds in the distance reminded us we needed to move quickly or we would be going back to work soaked.
Of course I had to pull out my iPhone and take pictures. Thank goodness we did make it back to the office before the rain started.
This walk got me thinking about all the “nature” walks we went on with our daughter when she was little. Our walks weren’t out in the country, or any special spot. We would go on nature walks right in our neighborhood. My husband and I would point out things as we saw them. We would stop to smell the pretty flowers. We took the time to look at the bugs crawling on a leaf or squirming on the ground. We would cheer as we saw a squirrel climbing a tree.
In this day and age kids sit a lot. This is why it is so important to get the kids off the couch, computer, or play-station and get them moving.
Going for a walk is a great way to get out of the house, relieve stress, it does not cost anything, it can be educational, and you will have quality time talking to your child/children. Fresh air and exercise, you can’t go wrong with that.
Spring Activities For Early Learning
Over on our Billy Gorilly website I’ve put together some activities for the little ones.
Everything SPRING.
Please stop by and take a look
Spring Activities For Kids
Wishing you all the best,
Tamara
BillyGorilly.com
Music and Fun for Kids