It is no secret that we love to craft with recyclables — we consider them to be FREE art supplies! Making your own toys from recyclables is a great way to reinforce the concept of conservation, and introduce the kiddos to early eco-friendly habits. Here are some EASY projects to get you started! If you […]
Colorful Spring Branch Craft
March 28, 2011 by
The girls have been busy crafting up lots of Spring decorations for our home! This Spring branch craft is so bright and cheerful — I cannot wait to put it up on display in our foyer to welcome guests!! I drew some branches on a sheet of paper with a brown marker, then showed Clara […]
Super Easy Weekend Crafts
March 26, 2011 by
We’ve been taking it easy around here lately, so here are some EASY crafts for those laid back weekends. This star garland is easy to make using star-shaped sticky notes! Emily loved playing this easy fishing game — made with pipe cleaner fish! …and if Spring isn’t coming fast enough for you, try making your own tissue paper […]
Easy Thumb Printed Shamrocks
March 14, 2011 by
I love using the kids’ fingerprints in crafts! It’s a fun way to treasure their tiny fingerprints which will only be tiny for such a short time. Clara and I made some St. Patrick’s Day cards using her thumb print with a green ink pad to make a series of hearts which formed the shamrock […]
Weekend Rewind — Catching Leprechauns
March 12, 2011 by
St. Patrick’s Day will soon be here! Here’s a festive and frugal activity Emily and I did last year, and it made our neighbors and letter carrier SMILE. Have fun!! In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, we thought it would be fun to lure some leprechauns into our house for good luck. Armed with a […]
Pillow Boxes from Cardboard Tubes
March 9, 2011 by
Emily and I had lots of fun making these super-cute pillow boxes to hold little treats to give to her friends! They are made with recycled cardboard tubes — Yay for crafting with recyclables!! First, she painted cardboard tubes. We chose to use several shades of green paint for St. Patrick’s Day treat boxes! Once the […]
Crafts for Fat Tuesday
March 8, 2011 by
It’s Fat Tuesday!! Here are some fun crafts and activities to celebrate Mardi Gras with the kiddos…. 1. Make your own Mardi Gras Masks — Lots of colorful crafting fun, and a great way to use up all those leftover bits of crafting supplies! 2. Make beaded necklaces with colorful pasta! 3. Have your own […]
What We Do on Rainy Days
March 6, 2011 by
Here are a few of our favorite crafts for those rainy days that come with Spring… 1. Make Giant Sunflowers from empty oatmeal canisters!! — So bright and cheerful! 2. Create an Easy Spring Mural with Sticky Notes! — A quick way to add some cheer to your home! 3. Make Our Own Scratch n […]
No-Mess Shiny Pot of Gold
March 4, 2011 by
We are getting ready for St. Patrick’s Day, and Clara loved making this pot of gold craft from gold foil chocolate wrappers! It’s a quick and easy no-mess craft! Added bonus — I’m giving you an excuse to eat chocolate!! Um… Did somebody say….. CHOCOLATE???? Nom, nom, nom…….. I cut out a black pot from […]
These Crafts are for the Birds!
March 3, 2011 by
We are excited to be welcoming back the birds, and what better way to celebrate than with some fun crafts?? Here are a few of our favorites! Both Clara and Emily have gotten lots of use from these Field Guides for Tots. We found you can make Bird Feeders from just about any Recyclable! We […]
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss – Lorax Craft
March 1, 2011 by
The month of March brings so many FUN things to celebrate — National Craft Month, March 2nd is Read Across America Day AND it is also Dr. Seuss’s birthday, just to name a few!!! Emily is a huge fan of Dr. Seuss, and has been waiting a long time to celebrate his birthday. One of our favorite books […]
Sunday Snapshot – Imagination Takes Flight
February 27, 2011 by
This weekend we used our Makedo kits to build planes from empty diaper boxes! The girls had great fun as flying aces! Oh, the excitement!! The adventure!!! They soared so high! It was death-defying!! Check out the look on Clara’s face after coming out of a loop!! Have fun!! More Screen-Free Fun for Kids: […]
Favorite Modern Art Crafts for Kids
February 25, 2011 by
Think you need to buy expensive home accent decor?? Think again! This weekend would be a wonderful time to indulge the kiddos in some fun process-based art projects that can be displayed proudly in your home. Grown ups may find themselves doing a bit of art of their own too! I was so excited to […]
How to Take a Mini Vacation
February 24, 2011 by
Looking for an inexpensive vacation?? Want to just get away from it all?? Tired of being treated like cattle at traditional airports? Then it’s time to take a mini vacation! Here’s how… in just 10 easy steps! Step 1: Pack your bags!! — This is crucial to that feeling of leaving it all behind, and […]
Build a Flower Activity Set
February 23, 2011 by
Inspired by this post on Made by Joel, I thought Emily would enjoy a flower building toy of her own. There was just one small problem — I’m not skilled at woodworking…. yet! Though I have plans to explore that little hobby soon! But I didn’t let that stop me…. It’s basically a recycled cardboard […]
Creative Ways to Play with Ordinary Toys
February 22, 2011 by
I had a wonderful time visiting NBC’s studios in Philadelphia this morning to demo new ways to play with old toys on The 10! Show!! Special thanks to Molly, a sweet girl from today’s audience, who was a big help with this. I think you’ll love how she rocks out on our homemade rhythm set! […]
Cardboard Firetruck
February 21, 2011 by
Building toys from cardboard is SO much FUN!! With the help of our makedo kit, and a few recyclables we had on-hand, Emily and I built a fun firetruck!! I’m not sure why she wanted to wear safety goggles to put out fires..?? But she sure had lots of fun with this! It is basically […]
Let’s Build a Zoo!
February 17, 2011 by
Welcome to Zoo Park!! Clara has recently mastered building simple houses with blocks, so we thought it would be fun to build a zoo using a set of wooden blocks and some mix-matched toy animals. It was a fun exercise for her to sort all the animals, then fine-motor practice to build all their houses. […]
