Homemade Light Sabers: Quick, Easy, And A Must-Have at Star Wars Parties!

O.K.  Was that a long title or what??  Lol!  My boys said I really needed to post about this because we had so much fun making and using them.

So here goes.  I’m happy to say, there ARE such things as cheap, durable light sabers you can make yourself! 

All you have to do is get creative!   Walk the clearance isles at your favorite stores, raid your husband’s electrical and plumbing supplies, and…let The Force guide you!  Lol!

Here are some things I found:

• Bubble wands:  Wal-mart, clearance isle for $.50.
• Electrical tape (in various colors).
• Pool noodles.  The thin ones are great!
• Foam Pipe insulation
• Pieces of dowel rod or thin wood to insert part way up the foam.
• Duct Tape
• Scissors, and low temp hot glue (which I ended up not using).
• Glow Sticks

I made a variety of light sabers as I experimented.  But, I’ll show you the boys’ favorite version.

• Take a pool noodle, cut it in half. 
• Then take a bubble wand and insert the top part of it into the noodle, up to the “hilt.”  It fits tightly. 
• Cut a small piece of pipe foam insulation (the black foam in the picture above) and wrap it around the bubble wand handle.  Pull the strips off the self adhesive edges of the pipe insulation and press them together like the zipper of a jacket to cover the handle.  
• Use duct tape and electrical tape to decorate the handle.
• And if the kids want to dual at night, drop a glow stick down the end and tape it shut.  I used just a little glow bracelet and its light gave the noodle a soft glow.  So I’m sure if you picked up one or two of those really bright glow sticks, the effect would be awesome!!!

Here are a few of the finished sabers.  

And this is one of my favorite Jedi. 

The handles still unscrew, which enables the Jedi to unleash an immobilizing wave of his top secret arsenal.

“Death Bubbles.”

Don’t you love it??  Lol! 

Note:  You don’t have to insert anything rigid in the handle end of the foam.  You can just wrap tape around one end of a pool noodle to make the handle.  But adding a short stick makes it a little less floppy. 

I made a few light sabers out of just pipe insulation and sticks, and they turned out fine.  But we liked the colorful pool noodles a little better.  :)

And there you have it!  A cheap durable light saber that, incidentally, you can let the kids beat the tar out of each other with. 

Safely.  :)

Kid tested.  Mother approved.  Budget friendly.  Works for me!

Martha Stewart’s Glow Stick Spiders

While camping at the dunes, we helped the boys make Martha Stewart’s Glow Stick Spiders to decorate our camp site. WHAT A HIT!! They were pretty easy to make, and the boys just loved them dancing in the wind under our canopy. I know I talked about our plans to make them last week, but I needed to show you how they came out!And, yes, the Styrofoam really does light up with the glow from the sticks! We liked the red and blue sticks the best. They seemed to show up very well.

For economy’s sake, we used smaller Styrofoam balls and bracelet size glow sticks for the legs. But other than that, we pretty much followed Martha’s directions.

We picked up a low temp hot glue gun to secure the eye hooks in the top and we’re glad we did. They wouldn’t have stayed in the Styrofoam very well without the hot glue.

I have to say, this is probably the only type of spider I don’t mind hanging around!

Don’t forget to check out DIY Day at Kimba’s A Soft Place To Land!

AND, did you know that Mayhem and Moxie is hosting a FLIP give away? I just read that if you share your Halloween craft in her meme, you can get extra entries! I love it when something I’m posting anyway fits a new purpose!! And I would LOVE to win a FLIP. :)

Glow Stick Spider: A Fun Halloween Decoration

Martha Stewart has a really totally cool and awesome Halloween craft that even your BOYS will love…a giant dangling glowing spider!

It involves glow sticks, Styrofoam balls, an eye hook, and some elastic string to hang it from.  She has pictures, a supply list, and directions on her site here.  (The dollar store is a great place to find the glow sticks, btw.)

When you poke the glow sticks into the Styrofoam-ball-bodies and heads, they make them glow, too!

We bought enough supplies for each of the 5 boys going camping with us to make a smaller spider this weekend.  In the past when we tried to do crafts, the boys never showed much interest. 

However, this, they are excited about!   They are dying to make their own and hang them around our campsite. 

…Making Creepy Bouncy hanging Spiders with Glow Sticks?  What’s not for a boy (of any age) to like?!   

Now, GO!  Check them out!  They really are cool!!!

Bob, B-O-B Bob

Kraft Foods has some simple free pumpkin carving patterns and tips you can print out.  Among them is one called “Batty Bob.”

The significance of this is best understood in light of our newest family member. 

It started last week when we were instant messaging with his dad (who was in Germany).

With all three boys interjecting, sometimes it gets crazy.  Especially since all the boys sound alike.  (We don’t have a video set-up, just audio.) 

At one point my husband said, “Who am I talking to now?”

To which, my five-year-old said, clear out of the blue, “Bob, B-O-B Bob.”  Just like that.  (Definitely NOT his real name Lol!)  We all burst out laughing, of course. 

We’re still not sure where he came up with Bob, or how to spell it for that matter. 

But he’s still Bob.

Even at soccer and church.  It’s very confusing, I might add, to the poor Sunday school workers filling in for his teacher.

So naturally, when I saw this pattern and title, I thought of my son.

It’s now printed out and awaiting the perfect pumpkin.  “Batty Bob” will make his debut on our campsite in two weeks! 

I wonder if Bob will still be with us? 

Mother’s And Father’s Day Gifts They’ll Cherish

Bookmarks, personalized with pictures of the kids or family make wonderful gifts in themselves, tucked in a card. But they also add a personal touch to any books you give as gifts.

I posted this in December as a Christmas Idea.  But if time allows, I’ll also be making a few for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day to tuck in cards and books.  They’re inexpensive to make and can be as simple or elaborate as you choose to make them.

We use scrapbooking paper so they won't fade, and then I pick out some fun pictures from the year to print out. I try to pick out pictures that will have significance for the person receiving the bookmark.

For the grandparents, photos of the boys and us are perfect.

For friends, I pick pictures of our families playing together, or photos of places we like to go together.

Scrapbooking tools come in handy, but you don't need them. Plain scissors and glue will do just fine. Stickers, if you have them, are a fun touch.

When I have the bookmarks together, I take them to the library (or UPS Store) to get them laminated. Then, I punch a hole in the top, and make some tassels to loop through, and they're done!

For the tassels, embroidery thread makes them look classy (and I like classy), but you can use yarn, ribbon, or even choose to leave them as is.

Each year, the boys make some for themselves, too. They love having a personalized bookmark to take to school, and if it encourages them to put their nose in a book, I'm all for it.

Last year, my oldest made one with pictures of the family and his favorite place to visit, the Dayton Air Museum. It turned out really cool. He drew pictures of his favorite planes on the back side.

One year, I made one for my husband that had pictures of the boys on the front, and a favorite verse on the back. He still keeps it in his Bible.

I've made a few (O.K…. A LOT of them) for myself, too, of course! But when you are talking about something that combines the joy of reading with pictures of my kids, I simply can't stop!

This year, my four year old got in on the fun and made a Thomas and Friends one using family pictures and Thomas stickers. Once I get them laminated, I'll slip his into the Thomas the Tank activity book I got him for Christmas. He'll love it! He is always looking at the ones I keep in my Bible during church.

If you need a good book idea to tuck them into, Grace For The Moment Morning and Evening Edition, by Max Lucado, or The Purpose of Christmas, by Rick Warren, would make beautiful choices! Seriously, Grace for The Moment is a twice daily devotional that I absolutely love. If my certain engineer hasn't yet gotten the hint, I would really, REALLY, love to have a copy of this for my very own...

Check out other frugal ideas this week at Works For Me Wednesday, hosted by We Are That Family!

Goose Neck Gourd Pumpkin Craft

About seven years ago, my father-in-law gave me a bunch of goose neck gourds. I researched tons of ideas on the Internet at the time and settled on making this pumpkin/ghost. I'm sorry, but it's been so long, I have no idea where I saw the idea. Whoever it was, though, was incredibly creative!

My version turned out surprisingly well, and I ended up making a bunch for Christmas gifts. Odd, I know to give Halloween decorations at Christmas, but they were a big hit! A few years ago, my dad made this cute little guy out of a gourd he picked up at a roadside stand.
They really aren't hard to make. Just take the gourd, sand it lightly, and seal it with a base coat. Paint the bottom orange and the top white and then add the details. I sealed mine with a topcoat of clear enamel so I can hang it outside.