20 Gift Ideas for Future Innovators

Do your kids enjoy solving problems? Do they love to learn about how things work? Need a few gift ideas for them for the holidays?? Here are 20 of our favorite gift ideas for future innovators: 1. Wooden Blocks — A classic building toy that never gets old. We especially love the Melissa & Doug […]

Colorful Kid Made Holiday Cards

Handmade cards play an important roll in our holiday preparations. Clara and I had a lot of fun making these bright and cheerful holiday cards! I thought you might want to make some of your own too. All you need to make these is an alphabet stamp set (we adore our Melissa & Doug Set), […]

DIY Cardboard Toy Gingerbread House

Do your kids enjoy decorating gingerbread houses? Do they wish they could build and decorate gingerbread houses all day long over and over? Do you have an empty cereal box on-hand?? Here’s a little DIY toy project to try! First, you will need to download and print out our free gingerbread house template. Each cereal […]

Top 5 Subscription Gifts for Families We LOVE

Are you looking for a few unique holiday gift ideas that are useful and low-clutter? Here are five of our family’s most favorite subscription services that are sure to have the recipient thinking of you every month! We love to give (and receive) each of the gift ideas listed here! (image courtesy of KiwiCrate.com) 1. […]

Adventures in Soap Making!

With the Thanksgiving holiday right around the corner, the kids and I wanted to make some special handmade hostess gifts for my mom, who will be hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year. ((Thanks, Mom!)) These pumpkin spice hand soaps fit the bill perfectly! They would be lovely gifts for teachers, neighbors, or friends too! First, you […]

10 Amazing Toys You Can Make For Your Kids

It’s no secret that we love making our own toys around here! Many times, these are the toys the kids play with the most, and in some cases the kids have played an active role in helping to make them. Here are ten of our all-time favorite homemade toys for kids to inspire imagination and […]

Kid-Made Fall Leaf Coasters

Please give a warm welcome to our new sponsors, Mod Podge, who generously supplied us with plenty of craft supply goodness!! When the package from Mod Podge arrived, I had a difficult time trying to decide which products to use first. So many interesting and pretty things — I already have several projects in mind […]

DIY Doll Lunch Box from a Mint Tin

Is your doll ready for back-to-school? Does she get hungry at lunch time? Do the other dolls make fun of her lunch box because it’s old or out-dated??? Then this project is for YOU!! To make your own doll lunch box, you will need an empty mint tin and some colored duct tape. Am I […]

DIY School Supplies: Modern Notebooks

It’s almost time for back-to-school, and the kids have been hard at work making many of their own school supplies for the upcoming year! This was one of Emily’s favorite projects because (just like her mother) she seems to have inherited a love of decorative tape. Oh, how I LOVE beautiful tape!!  Did you know […]

DIY School Supplies: Apple Printed Lunch Bags

Doing art on lunch bags is a festive way to dress up an ordinary bagged lunch, and it’s also a great way to keep the kids busy! I love how something so simple can let the kids have an active role in preparing their own school supplies while proudly showing their teachers & friends some […]

Giveaway — 3 Months of eMeals Menu Planning Service

Know what I love?? Tools that make my life easier. That’s why I was so excited do a trial membership of eMeals, an online menu planning service. Not only does eMeals save me a BUNCH of time, but it also saves our family money by providing accompanying shopping lists (taking advantage of weekly grocery specials) […]

Father’s Day Gift Kids Can Make — BBQ Sauce

Looking for an easy Father’s Day gift idea that the kids can make?? The girls and I have been hard at work making and canning batches of homemade BBQ sauce for a gift to Mark this Father’s Day! ((Shhhhhhh… it’s a surprise!)) Mark loves to cook on the grill. I’m pretty sure this is because […]

Easy Botanical Prints

The girls and I made some pretty botanical prints with the help of the Sun, some water, and a Sunprint Kit similar to this one. They were so proud of how nicely their prints turned out! We used natural items we collected from our yard — sticks, flower petals, and leaves. A few things I […]

Kid-Made Patriotic Note Cards

I’m guest posting for my friends at Melissa & Doug today — come see how Clara and I made Patriotic Note Cards (while sneaking in some learning fun too)! Wishing you and your lovely family a wonderful holiday weekend!!

How to Make a Doll Clipboard and Pencil Set

It’s official — Emily has inherited my love for office supplies! Know what’s cuter than office supplies?? MINI office supplies!! What I love about this project is that Emily (now 8 yrs old) could make the little clipboard and pencil set for her dolls with very little help from me, and she was inspired to […]

Kid-Made St. Patty’s Day T-Shirts

Need some festive attire for St. Patrick’s Day?? This painted t-shirt project was so much FUN to do, and the girls were so proud of their shirts when they were done! They each painted a shirt for the other — so thoughtful! Also?? Did you know you can find green t-shirts at the dollar store? […]

Valentine Pencil Toppers

Looking for a fun, useful, non-food Valentine treat to give to friends?? Something that’s super quick and cheap to make?? Then get yourself over to Target’s dollar section where you can buy pencils in packs of 10 for $1. Make some fun tags to go along with them! Want to make some of your own?? […]

“Tiled” Photo Frame

I saved some of these paint tiles the girls made the other day for some late night crafting of my own — with a cheap clear acrylic photo frame from the dollar store. After a bit of experimenting, it turns out the “tiles” can be glued to plastic with a bit of Plaid Mod Podge (I […]