Search Results for: pretend

Cardboard Cafe

Want to go some place good to eat?? Some place that’s not too crowded? With good food, and great service?? I think I know the perfect place! A special thank you to 45Wall Design for inspiring today’s post, and to my amazingly awesome husband who gifted me with several rolls of gummed reinforcement tape as […]

10 Winter Crafts & Activities for Tots

The Winter months bring the challenge of keeping the kids entertained while indoors during cold and icy weather. Need a few Winter craft and activity ideas to help? Here are ten of our favorite ways to spend a Winter day! 1. Set up an “ice cream” shop for hours of pretend play fun! 2. Craft up […]

10 Easy Last-Minute Gifts You Can Make for the Kids

Looking for some quick, easy, inexpensive gift ideas for the kiddos?? Here are some of our favorite DIY gifts to promote hours of imaginative play without breaking the bank! 1. Doorway Puppet Theater — Use tension curtain rods and a few valance curtains to make your own doorway puppet theater. 2. Lil’ Mushroom House — Recycle an […]

5 Quick and Easy Holiday Crafts for Kids

Here are some super-quick holiday craft ideas from around the web. Added bonus — these use items most households already have on-hand! Yay for no-hassle crafts!!  I love these festive, yet simple handmade ornaments! See the full tutorial at The Crafty Crow. Use some leftover wrapping paper scraps to make holiday cards like these ones […]

Teaching Kids the Art of Graciousness

With the holidays being so close, now is a great time to remind kids about the proper way to give and receive gifts. One of the most effective ways to do this, is through pretend play! 1. Without the kids seeing, wrap up a few small items from around the house. Bags and tissue paper […]

5 Amazing Toys You Can Make from Cardboard

I love crafting with cardboard because it is cheap, readily available, and SO easy to recycle into amazing things! Here are five inspiring ideas from around the web to make some frugal toys the kiddos are sure to treasure. 1. This cardboard parking garage is sure to bring hours of pretend play fun! See the […]

Play Donuts from Dollar Store Socks

There has been a LOT of holiday-making at our house lately — very exciting!! Now that Emily has one of her surprise gifts ready for Clara, I thought it would be fun to help Clara create a fun surprise gift of her own to give to her big sister. We had lots of fun sneakily crafting […]

10 Inspiring Things to Make with Newspaper

I love crafting with newspaper because it is so readily available, cheap, and completely biodegradable. Here are 10 inspiring projects made with newspaper from our site and around the web! Cottage Hill shows how to make recycled newspaper pots for seedlings.   Just in time for the holidays, Martha shows how to make trees from […]

Stonyfield Twitter Party!

  It’s no secret that we are BIG fans of Stonyfield yogurt in this household, but did you know they have an Oikos drinkable Greek yogurt smoothie available? They are the perfect healthy on-the-go snack for so many reasons — no spoon required (woo hoo!), all organic, less sugar than Stonyfield Super Smoothies, 50% more […]

10 Cheap Boredom Busters for Kids

Looking for a few easy ways to keep the kids from getting too bored? Here are some of our favorite boredom busters that are quick, easy, cheap, and fun!! 1. Beading with cut up straws — easy, frugal, and a great way to build up important fine-motor skills.   2. Make photo puppets and put […]

10 Rainy Day Activities for Kids

Rainy days in the forecast? Looking for a few fun ways to keep the kids entertained indoors without breaking the bank?? Here are a few of our favorite ways to spend a rainy day… 1. Suminagashi Painting — Emily can spend hours doing this, and I love that each print is unique!   2. Find […]

Favorite Cook Books for Kids

Does your kid love to cook and help out in the kitchen?? Emily sure does, and she’s been known to create her own recipes, carry cookbooks around the house with her, and check out several kid cookbooks from the library! Here are her top 5 favorite “must own” cookbooks designed for kids. 5. Magic Kitchen […]

Around the Web — Made from Milk Cartons

Don’t throw those empty milk cartons in the garbage — they are free craft supplies!! Here are a few inspiring ideas for how you can transform ordinary empty milk cartons into fun toys or crafts for the kids.   Love this adorable mouse house for lots of pretend play fun found at belleandrollo.ie   OrigamiMommy.org shows […]

Around the Web — Cardboard Play Spaces

Creating a special play space for your child doesn’t have to cost a lot of money — especially if you have some empty boxes on-hand! Here are some inspiring play spaces (houses, furniture, and more) all made from inexpensive cardboard!! Yay for cardboard!!! This cardboard cottage is oh-so-charming! Found via kimboscrafts.blogspot.com   This cardboard barn […]

10 Cheap Ways to Beat the Heat

Like much of the US, we are stuck in a “heat dome” which means it’s time to find creative ways to keep cool! Some tips to keep in mind — Avoid being outside during the hottest part of the day, stay in shaded areas, drink plenty of water, and be sure to offer kids lots […]

Potion Lab!

Early this morning, before it got too hot outside to play, the girls and I put on some play clothes and set up a little “potion lab” in the backyard for some messy pretend play FUN!! They seriously loved this!!! We reused the same clear plastic bottles from our driveway painting and filled them with […]

Giveaway — Melissa & Doug Sand Toys Prize Pack!!

I wish you could have seen the joy on the girls’ faces when they opened a large box from our friends at Melissa & Doug FILLED with sand toys for us to review & giveaway — pure happiness!!!! I mean, what child wouldn’t absolutely LOVE to get a box filled with these lovely sand toys […]

Garden Things That Make Me Smile

We’ve been working hard on our garden plot this Summer, and it has been well-worth it! Here are some things from the garden that make me smile!! My little helper doing her share of weeding — and offering to do it on her own! Roma tomatoes waiting for just the right moment to ripen — […]