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 […]
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 […]
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: […]
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 […]
Homemade Rhythm Set
February 15, 2011 by
Using some PVC pipe, a few recyclables, and some other household items, we made a fun rhythm set!! The sticks were made using empty heavy-duty cardboard rolls from plastic wrap. (I ask friends to save them for us!) Since most of the items were plastic, the “music” didn’t get too loud. Clara loved exploring all […]
Giveaway: Best Toy EVER!!
February 12, 2011 by
Update: Giveaway is now closed.. See below for winner announcement! I am SO excited to be hosting this giveaway, for what I consider to be the BEST toy EVER!!! When I first came across makedo, an Australian toy company, I contacted them to see if they would be interested in sponsoring a giveaway. Not only did […]
Play Dough Bakery!
February 9, 2011 by
A good part of this morning was spent playing with Play Dough! I recommend at least 15 minutes a day of mandatory play dough time for everyone — it is great stress relief, and perfect for lots of pretend play! We sometimes make our own, but Clara was gifted with some Play Doh over the […]
Ice Cream Shop!
January 31, 2011 by
What could possibly be more fun than playing with snow?? Playing with snow in your monkey pajamas!! Woo hoo!!! 1 Container of Clean Snow + plastic spoons + ice cream scoop + empty yogurt containers = 1 Happy Kiddo! Pajamas are not strictly required, though they are highly recommended — as is a towel to […]
Crafting with Leftovers — Valentine Collage Placemats
January 27, 2011 by
These Valentine collage placemats are the perfect excuse to use up leftover craft supplies, and there is very little post-clean up involved. I love that it kept Emily happily entertained for a long while, and she has plans to make more of these for grandparent gifts!! She did almost this entire project on her own, […]
I’m Over at Stonyfield’s Blog!
January 23, 2011 by
Come visit me over at Stonyfield’s blog, where I did a fun guest post on showing how to create an Invention Kit! If you don’t already have an Invention Kit at your house, this is the perfect time of year to put one together for lots of creative fun during long Winter days. It is […]
Easy Crazy Crayon Party Favors
January 7, 2011 by
We’ve been de-cluttering around here, and we found LOTS of broken/old crayons (they were everywhere!) I thought it would be fun to make “crazy crayons” a la Martha Stewart with a Valentine’s Day twist! Emily helped make them and she can’t wait to give them to friends! Gather old/broken crayons that you have on-hand. Do […]
Gum Ball Machine Craft for Tots
January 4, 2011 by
It’s no secret that we love to create projects that bring lots of COLOR into our household — they are so bright, cheerful, and they always make me smile! This particular project kept Clara happily occupied for a long time, and doubles as a prop for pretend play. I traced a large serving bowl onto […]
First Sewing Basket
January 3, 2011 by
I recycled an old basket and some other on-hand household finds to make up a sweet toddler-friendly sewing kit for Clara. It’s been a big hit around here, and it was practically free to put together! I completely under-estimated how ridiculously happy she would be to have a sewing basket of her very own, and […]
