Search Results for: winter

Budget-Friendly Staycation Ideas

Has your family ever tried a staycation? They can be a great budget-friendly alternative to pricey vacations, and usually require a lot less planning. YAY for spontaneous adventures and quality family time!! Here are a few ways to make a family staycation even more special. Note: For those in the Southern Hemisphere, some ideas for […]

Nature Drawing – Seasonal Trees

When I was in second grade, I had a lovely teacher (Thank you, Mrs. Barnhart!!) who would take a few minutes every season to let us go outside and draw the same tree throughout the year. This proved to be a simple, but very effective lesson in art, weather, and science. At the end of […]

Sidewalk Butterfly Garden

Know what makes me very happy??? A brand-spankin’ new box of colorful chalk pastels!!!!! Honestly, I have been waiting ALL Winter to open them so we could…. …create a butterfly garden along our sidewalk!! Emily and I absolutely love sidewalk chalk art! Each section of sidewalk is like a huge canvas, and I would have […]

How to Make Your Own Sunshine

Are you tired of Winter? Do you long for warmer weather?? Do you wish Spring would hurry up and arrive already??? Then it’s time to make your own sunshine! It’s quick and easy to do!! Start by inviting the kids to paint several coffee filters with watercolor paint — the brighter, the better! We love […]

Homemade Sourdough English Muffins

Mark has been spoiling our family with his delicious homemade sourdough English muffins!! Yay for awesome hubbies!!! Want to make some of your own? See his guest post below! English muffins from the store can be kind of expensive, but they’re really not all that hard to make yourself (and they taste a whole lot […]

Money Saving Tips for Teachers

I was invited to give a hands-on workshop for teachers at the Educator’s Networking Conference held at Cedar Crest College last weekend, and we had LOTS of fun!! The topic was Creative Money Saving Tips for the Classroom, and we were busy, busy, busy with all sorts of super-frugal classroom activities! I felt so lucky […]

Easy Icicle Craft

Emily thought this icicle craft was so neat, and it was super-easy to do. All you need is some paper, glue, and some salt! Invite your child to apply a thick line of glue to the top edge of the paper — go back and forth a bunch of times. Emily’s a big fan of […]

DIY: Fabric Wall Decals

Update: Be sure to read the comments on this post — lots of great ideas from our awesome readers to keep in mind!! A new little elf friend just moved into our house, and is causing lots of excitement around here! He made his home just underneath the staircase, and so far has been very […]

Battery-Free Toys We Love

Recently, I asked readers on Facebook to share their favorite battery-free toys with us. Here’s a summary of the responses, and I think this would be a great go-to list for a gift guide, or if you’re looking for alternatives to TV to keep the kiddos entertained during cold Winter days! A big THANK YOU […]

I’m Over at Stonyfield’s Blog!

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 Lacy Snowflakes!

These lacy snowflakes were perfect for adding some winter cheer to our house! It was a quick and easy project, plus it gave Emily lots of practice with the scissors! They turn out perfectly every time, giving the kiddos some early success using scissors! To make your own lacy snowflakes, you’ll need some paper doilies […]

Top 10 Posts of 2010 — #2

We’re just one post away from the number 1 post of 2010! We did lots of fun window displays and murals this year to help celebrate the changing of the seasons. All of them were quick, easy projects, and they added lots of color to our home. It’s amazing what you can make with coffee […]

Top 10 Posts of 2010 — #3

We’re almost done counting down the top 10 posts of 2010! This next post was one of the girls’ favorite Winter activities, and we received so many emails (with photos) of kiddos (and some moms and dads too!!) around the world enjoying some active indoor fun. Coming in at number 3…. Indoor Ice Skating!! Be […]

Last Minute Holiday Gifts Kids Can Make

Emily helped demonstrate some frugal homemade gifts kids can make on The 10! Show this morning! We had so much fun crafting these quick and easy gifts with LuAnn! The kiddos love to help stir up homemade bath salts, and they make great gifts for teachers, neighbors, grandmas, or anyone else you know who could […]

Crafts to Cure Cabin Fever

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 […]

Toddler Art — Autumn Tree Painting

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 […]

Suggested Supply List

You’ll want to bookmark this post to have it handy By popular request, here are some suggested craft supplies (and related projects) that our family loves to have on-hand! Many of these can be found at Target, your local grocery store, or just laying around your house. I’ve included links to Amazon, for easy purchase […]

Mini Paper Doll Travel Set

This was a late night crafting project, but it started when I was thinking of ways to keep Emily occupied while waiting at a restaurant or doctor’s office. These mini paper dolls are perfect because they fit in my purse, and I cannot wait to give them to her the next time we’re stuck waiting […]