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 […]
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 […]
Handmade Holiday Gift Guide — Manly Man Edition
November 28, 2010 by
The holidays are almost here!! Need some holiday gift ideas for the men in the family? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered — all in frugal style, of course. Get the kiddos involved for some crafting fun! Handmade Gifts for Him: Macho Manly Man Pocket Handwarmers for Men – Kids can help stuff these with […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Ode to Mega Bloks
November 3, 2010 by
There are so many things to love about Mega Bloks — they appeal to kids of all ages, they’re perfect for quiet time, they don’t require batteries, and if you step on them in bare feet they don’t hurt nearly as much as the teeny tiny Legos. But in our humble opinion, the very best […]
Low-Mess Color Collage
November 2, 2010 by
When Emily came home from school this afternoon, I surprised her with this quick and easy color collage project. It was a great way to unwind from the school day! To make your own, you will need some colorful crepe paper. We used party streamers — they worked perfectly and are very inexpensive! Emily loved […]
Silly Straws
November 1, 2010 by
Thanks to the latest research from our exclusive laboratory, we have now scientifically proven…. ….that milk drunk from a homemade silly straw…… …..is (shockingly) 25% yummier!! To make your own super-silly straw, insert flexible straws one inside the other and wrap packaging tape around the parts where two straws overlap. When you’re done sippin’, make […]
Toddler Art — Autumn Tree Painting
October 29, 2010 by
Clara and I worked on this simple Autumn painting project together this afternoon, and I think it is one of my all-time favorites! I was so pleased with how well it turned out, and I wish you could have been here to see the look of pure joy on her face when she spotted the paints […]
