Inspired by Martha Stewart Living magazine, we made a super kid-friendly version of these spooky bones using just newspaper, cheap-o paper napkins, masking tape, and a 50/50 mixture of glue and water. Once they were dry, we took turns hiding them around the house for an indoor fossil hunt! Roll up a sheet of newspaper […]
Spider Web Place Cards
September 22, 2010 by
Have I mentioned how much I adore Halloween? Seriously, it is my most favorite holiday. I look forward to it more than the kids! While it’s not quite that time of year just yet, I am already eager to start decorating the house as if Halloween were right around the corner. That’s where this super-easy, […]
Autumn Window Display
September 20, 2010 by
We decided it was time to update our colorful window display, and given the popularity of this activity we just had to do it again! This time the girls and I painted inexpensive coffee filters… …waited for them to dry… … gathered three filters at a time, and folded them up to cut out super-colorful […]
Easy Village Mural
September 13, 2010 by
Emily and I felt inspired by the beautiful colors of these fun Post-It Notes to create a new mural for our sewing room. Oh, Post-It Notes…….. how I love thee! She cut some of the Post-Its in half to form triangles for the rooftops. For each square, only one triangle had adhesive, so we saved […]
Super Easy Monster Hand Puppet
September 12, 2010 by
Clara made her own monster hand puppet, just in time for Halloween — and she did it all by herself!! (With the help of a few self-adhesive googly eyes, that is….) Have I mentioned that she has a tendency to get into the craft supplies if I’m not careful…?? I don’t know about you, but […]
Bang on the Drums All Day
September 10, 2010 by
I can’t even tell you how much FUN Clara had with our make-shift drum table this morning! I laid out a bunch of old pots and pans, lids, and some wooden spoons on her play table. Then it was time to Rock N Roll!!! She experimented using the spoons as drumsticks, and later hitting the […]
3-D Apple Tree
September 7, 2010 by
This morning Clara and I enjoyed some crafting fun with this quick and frugal project — it’s great practice for fine-motor skills too! We used crab-apples from our yard, but you could substitute with balls of red tissue paper instead. I gave Clara a small basket, and she took her time picking a bunch of […]
Smiley Sandwich Picks!
September 3, 2010 by
These smiley sandwich picks are a great way to add some FUN to plain ol’ PB&J sandwiches! They are so super-easy to make, that I’m almost ashamed to post about it. Gather some color coding labels, and draw SILLY faces on them! Sandwich a toothpick between two of the labels, and insert into your favorite […]
Toddler Art — Groovy Peace Signs
September 2, 2010 by
While Emily was away with some friends enjoying a dip at the community pool, Clara and I had fun with this super-easy art project! To make your own groovy peace signs, you will need paper plates, masking tape, and some paint (we used watercolors). I marked off a peace sign on the back of a […]
Quick Craft — Leaf Necklace
August 30, 2010 by
We spent a good deal of time outside this afternoon, and a small pocket of that time was spent making these super-quick leaf necklaces! To make your own, you will need a small cutting board, clear contact paper, a hole punch, string/yarn, and some metal cookie cutters. Gather up some leaves! Emily thought these small […]
Outdoor Streamers
August 20, 2010 by
These colorful streamers are so much fun to make, and are a great way to brighten up any outdoor space — they are completely waterproof! The girls had a blast, and we were left with very little clean up afterwards! To make your own, lay down strips of inexpensive packaging tape with the sticky side […]
Easy Space Walk
August 19, 2010 by
This afternoon I made up some simple stencils for Emily to make up her own outer space scene in our driveway using sidewalk chalk — we had so much fun!! We traced some plates for planets…. … and colored everything in, and then it was time to……… ……launch into OUTER SPACE!!!! Weeeeeeeeeee!!!! Look out for […]
Pretty Peacock Pictures
August 6, 2010 by
While I was doodling with the girls this afternoon, we made these fun peacock pictures inspired by a recent trip to the zoo! Emily was proud to be able to do this without any help from me, and Clara did a great job with only a little assistance on my part. Start by gluing a […]
No Mess Marbled Painting
August 5, 2010 by
This no-mess version of marbled painting was quick, easy, and inexpensive to make! Plus, it kept the girls occupied all morning while we experimented with different paint color combinations! Both of the girls loved the way they could move the paint and swirl the colors all around without getting their hands dirty! To make your […]
Modern Wall Art
August 4, 2010 by
This modern wall art project was lots of fun — and very frugal to make! Added bonus — no mess! Start with a few colored masking tape…. …and invite your child to stick pieces of masking tape on brightly colored paper. For Clara, this was a fun way to work on identifying colors! Emily loves […]
Tripping the Lights Fantastic
August 3, 2010 by
For a fun time, crank up some dance music on your stereo. Grab some flashlights, and in a dark room….. get your groove on!! Be sure to set your camera to keep the shutter open for a few seconds, and snap some super-fun photos!! Dance, dance, dance!! Awwwwwww…. yeeeaaaaahhhhh!!!! Weeeeeeeeee!!! Added bonus — tuckered out […]
Easy Fishing Game
July 30, 2010 by
We went fishing in our foyer this afternoon — it was so much fun! I made up some fish out of pipe cleaners, attached a magnet to the end of the string on the fishing pole (a stick from our backyard), and we had an instant fishing game! Merlin wanted to play too! For the […]
Fairy Cafe
July 29, 2010 by
During Clara’s afternoon nap, Emily helped me declutter the sewing room. I was re-organizing a drawer with thread, when I looked over and saw she had fashioned a table from some empty thread spools. We got a teensy bit side-tracked …….. I found some toothpicks with umbrellas in the kitchen and added them to the […]
