Looking for some handmade gift ideas for the special tots on your list? We’ve got you covered, and the best part is an older sibling can help put these gifts together too! You can order inexpensive unfinished wooden toys from the Etsy shop Clickity Clack. I highly recommend them — quick shipping and great customer […]
Rainbow Sprinkles from Highlights High Five
December 10, 2010 by
This little gem of a handmade gift idea comes from Highlights High Five magazine — rainbow sprinkles to use as a fun topping for yogurt or ice cream! As soon as Emily saw this craft featured in the December issue, she begged to make it! If you don’t already subscribe to Highlights High Five, I […]
No Mess Christmas Tree Craft for Tots
December 6, 2010 by
Clara and I made a fun Christmas tree using a few office supplies, and the best part..? No clean up! (Yay for no-mess crafts!) They are quick and easy to make too! I cut two identical pine tree shapes out of colored card stock (I recycled a torn file folder), then invited Clara over to […]
Around the Web — Handmade Holiday Gifts for Baby
December 4, 2010 by
Now is the perfect time for some quick weekend sewing projects. Here are some frugal handmade gift ideas for the littlest ones on your holiday list! I used this free pattern from Stardust Shoes to make several pairs of cloth baby shoes as gifts, and it is one of my favorites! Aren’t they just the cutest?? […]
Pine Forest Playscape
December 3, 2010 by
Clara and I made a fun pine forest playscape using coffee filters, and it’s been a big hit for imaginative play over here! We painted a bunch of coffee filters in hues of yellow and green. I love how happy Clara gets when she realizes that we will be painting — what fun!! She painted […]
Crafts to Cure Cabin Fever
December 1, 2010 by
This morning I visited NBC’s studios in Philadelphia for a quick demo of some FUN Winter crafts using items most households already have on-hand — the perfect cure for cabin fever! Dawn and I had so much fun on The 10! Show, and we featured crafts for kids of all ages!! In case you missed […]
Dove Garland
November 30, 2010 by
Emily and I made a pretty dove garland, and it was made using our new favorite art supply — coffee filters! These were so much fun to make!! If you have some coffee filters on hand, you can download our template, and print it out on card stock, to make a dove garland of your own! […]
Winter Window Display
November 29, 2010 by
Are you busy decorating the house for the holidays?? We sure are!! The girls helped me decorate the front door for Winter over the weekend. It was a real group effort! Since painting inexpensive coffee filters is such a popular activity in this household, we decided to use that approach. Again. Speaking of coffee filters, over […]
Kids Waiting for the Turkey? Do Some Crafts!
November 25, 2010 by
Have a few brown paper bags on hand? Are you looking for ways to keep the kiddos entertained while waiting for that delicious turkey?? Here are some fun crafts from around the web to help pass the time! I love this paper bag turkey from One Charming Party (found via The Crafty Crow)! Note: Instead of […]
Turkey Place Cards
November 18, 2010 by
Around this time of year, Emily and I like to work on Thanksgiving place cards for our festive table. These turkeys are super-cute and easy to make! We started by cutting up some flower-shaped sticky notes in half to form the tail feathers of the turkey. We added a half-circle cut from a paper bag […]
Spontaneous Montessori
November 16, 2010 by
While I was doing some work in the sewing room, Clara started playing with a pile of buttons. I added two empty yogurt containers and a pair of tweezers, and she had some impromptu Montessori-inspired fun!! This was a super-simple activity of just transferring the buttons one at a time, from one container to the […]
Easy Leaf Wreath
November 15, 2010 by
Clara thought this colorful leaf wreath was so much fun to make! We used some of the tissue paper leaves from this post to make it. I cut a large circle from a brown paper bag (using a plate as a pattern), and invited Clara over to glue the leaves on top! She was really […]
10 Frugal Ways to Fight Boredom
November 14, 2010 by
Being bored doesn’t have to be an excuse to go out shopping and spend a ton of money. Here are some fun ways to fight boredom that don’t cost a cent! Jump up and down on the bed!! Visit a local park! Take time to smell the flowers. Get all dressed up — just because! […]
Time-Saving Tip for Cleaning
November 12, 2010 by
Do you hate a messy sink full of dirty dishes? Of course. We all do! Ever wish you had an extra helping hand (or two)? Are you sick and tired of spending all your time doing housework?? Don’t despair, you’ll save lots of time with this simple and easy tip for cleaning! (Before) Just call […]
Lil’ Mushroom House
November 10, 2010 by
This sweet lil’ mushroom house was so easy and so much fun to make! Plus, it’s made using recycled materials — making it a super-frugal project! It would make a great handmade holiday or birthday gift, and there is only a little hand sewing involved. I used an empty oatmeal canister for the base, and […]
Super-Easy Corn Craft
November 9, 2010 by
Clara and I did a bit of crafting this morning to make this corn arrangement, which is now hanging on the back of our front door! They are super-easy and lots of fun to make! To make your own, you will need yellow tissue paper, a brown grocery bag, and some plastic netting that comes […]
Weekend Rewind — Gratitude Activity Jar
November 6, 2010 by
This was one of my all-time favorite posts — a fun ACTIVE way in introduce kids to the concept of gratitude. It’s perfect for this time of year, and we enjoyed this activity so much last year that we are doing it again this year. Enjoy!! Around Thanksgiving we try to do crafts and activities […]
Pumpkin Gift Bags
November 5, 2010 by
Clara and I had a lot of fun with this little (frugal) project — we made up some gift bags to give to friends who come over for play dates! I think they would also be very nice to wrap hostess gifts for any sort of gathering this time of year. She was having a […]
