Make Your Own Sponge Blocks

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Do you have quiet time at your house? Looking for a little activity to keep the kids entertained, but also quiet?? This little activity for the kids is so simple, but my girls enjoyed playing with these sponge blocks for a good part of the day! Added bonus — very quiet! While we were making [...]

How to Build a Simple Shadow Puppet Theater

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I completely underestimated how much the girls would enjoy playing with shadow puppets. Whenever something so simple makes them so happy, I can’t help but smile!! And this was SUPER simple. Added bonus — the perfect entertainment for whenever a power outage occurs. Our little shadow puppet theater was made from an empty cardboard box [...]

Hot Air Balloon Window Display

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It’s time for a new window display! (If you’re new to our blog, you can see our previous window displays here, here, here, here, and here.) This time we painted up coffee filters with watercolor paint! I love how these painted coffee filters each have a unique look. The filters hold up very well to [...]

Sunday Snapshot — Lego Building Fun

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This Lego set was an awesome gift from Emily’s Uncle Glenn. It took Emily almost TWO FULL DAYS, but she built it!       And she built it all by herself. This is the LEGO Creator Log Cabin 5766 – which is totally awesome. There are instructions for 3 different building projects, and Emily had [...]

Recycled Artwork

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I’m guest posting for my friends at Melissa & Doug today. Come see how we recycled wooden bead trays to make beautiful and unique works of art! You can create a mini gallery for display in your home. Be sure to add this to your list of things to do with the kids. Added bonus?? [...]

10 Creative Label Crafts for Kids

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Do you have color-coding labels?? Here are some crafts for the kids to enjoy! Added bonus — no mess! Gumball Machine Birds on a Wire Modern Wall Art Ladybug Cuteness Summer Party Invites Birthday Card Pretty Peacock Pictures Sweets for Your Sweetie Christmas Tree Craft Spooky Spider Suncatchers   I love the colorful look of [...]

Father’s Day Gift Kids Can Make — BBQ Sauce

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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 [...]

Kid-Made Patriotic Note Cards

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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!!

Rainy Day Fun — Pretend Pizzeria!

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Need an idea for what to do with the kids on a rainy day? This pretend pizzeria kept Clara happily occupied and provided plenty of imaginative play time fun!   We had already recycled our cardboard cafe into a cardboard classroom, and now it’s been recycled yet again into a pretend pizzeria. We used a [...]

Guest Post by Mark – Hand Painted Cards

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Mark here (Val’s husband). The girls wanted to surprise Val with some handmade cards for Mother’s Day, and they were so pleased with how these turned out, that they couldn’t resist giving them to her a bit early. Val loved them so much, that she later sat down to paint more cards together with the [...]

50 Inspiring Ideas for Rainy Day Fun with Your Kids

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“I know it is wet And the sun is not sunny. But we can have Lots of good fun that is funny!” –The Cat in the Hat Looking for some boredom-busting ideas to get you through a rainy day with the kids?? Here are 50 of our favorite ways to spend a rainy day: Painting! [...]

Quick Craft: Silly Moustache Straws

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These are pretty self-explanatory…   ….but they made Emily and me giggle! Straws + black construction paper moustaches = Fun!! And just in time for Cinco de Mayo.

How to Make a Doll Clipboard and Pencil Set

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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 [...]

Colorful Bird Card Craft

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The girls and I had lots of fun crafting up these colorful bird cards to mail to their grandparents! Added bonus — this is a no mess craft!! Yay for crafts with very little clean up!!! Emily and Clara cut up some paper cupcake liners to form the birds. 1/2 a cupcake liner makes the [...]

Cherry Blossoms

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I think cherry blossoms are such a beautiful first sign of Spring, BUT — I’m terribly allergic to them. Boo!!! Thankfully, the girls and I crafted up some “allergy-free” cherry blossoms to enjoy in our home. They are so bright and cheerful!! The girls gathered up some sticks from our yard (Oooo….yardwork and craft project [...]

Pantry Boredom Buster

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Emily kept herself happily occupied by crafting up several rainbow necklaces using a few items from the pantry — some colored cereal, and some cotton kitchen twine. Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day! To make the beading a bit easier, I added some tape to the end of the string (almost like a shoelace). Beading is [...]

It’s A Circus In Here!

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During a recent trip to the local thrift store, I happened to spot these adorable vintage handmade wooden animals. They were begging to be used for some pretend circus play! I was about to create a little printable circus tent for you to download and print out your own, but the very nice folks over [...]

I’m Over at Melissa & Doug’s Blog!

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Are you doing anything special to celebrate Dr. Seuss Day?? I’m guest posting over at Melissa & Doug’s Blog today to show how we created a “Speck” Discovery Lab inspired by the book Horton Hears a Who.   It’s fun, educational, and very frugal! Have fun!!