Super Fun Craft for Kids: Cardboard Box Fortress

Mary Anne at Mama Smiles indeed makes me smile. She knows what it means to transform a cardboard box into… a washing machine or a fridge or a cupboard or even a playhouse. And what she does splendidly, is show you that “simple is best”. It doesn’t take much to convert a box and hey presto you have days of fun. We have a box standing around, with a door cut into it and a piece of string for a handle and both Red Ted and Pip Squeak ADORE playing and around it. As do the cats… Also, visit Fun on a Dime for yet another post on “The Power of the Box”!! Ever Free coloring

I have been busy all day cleaning up all our Christmas leftovers (wrappings, stuffing, and boxes) and pulling some of it aside for a few quick projects. I know this seems like a given, but every year we forget the power of the box and especially a Box Fort! Not only are they inexpensive, they are perfect for an indoor activity this time of year when it is rainy, snowy or just plain cold and not fun to be outside.

This year we had one good box and were able to snag a couple of other large boxes. We spent 10 minutes Christmas evening putting the Box Fort together and it has already provided hours of fun in the past day and a half! One tip for that worked really well for us, was to show my 4 year old son some pictures of Box Forts through a google image search. He was really upset when we first started breaking the boxes down and no amount of explaining helped as much as 30 seconds of looking at other Box Forts. He then was with the program. He  got his little brain going and started directing us on what to do! Rapunzel Coloring Pages

First, we wiped down the boxes with slightly damp rag to get off any thick dust…

Then we taped boxes together and got creative! Pretty simple, I know. But, the kids are having so much fun!  We did discover that taping vertical with smaller strips of tape over the edges when attaching 2 boxes together was much more effective than taping long stretches of tape vertically over both edges to secure them.

Don’t forget to cut out windows and doors! The kids requested a window on the roof. And a flashlight or two is always loads of fun, as well! I’m going to save ours for when they are starting to get bored with the fort!

There are lots of different styles and sizes that you can come up with. You do not have to have these super large boxes, we just got lucky finding them! Get creative and I would love to see your creations!

Making Spinning Tops from Plastic Bottle Caps

I love these little spinning tops. Kids love spinning tops. We have 10s of bottle tops lying around… I know what we will be making. I also love that these are traditional Hanukkah toys. And you know why things are traditional, no? Because they have withstood generations of children testing and playing with them.. Creative Jewish Mom shows us how. These are simple toys that embrace recycling! Disney Princess coloring pages

Here's a Hanukkah craft that's also a Hanukkah game! Spinning tops are a traditional Hanukkah toy, so what better activity to engage the kids this Hanukkah than with a simple technique for making their own brigade of spinning tops? Honestly, I think this is one of my best ideas ever, because these tops spin so amazingly well, it's almost hard to believe!

You'll Need:

• plastic bottle caps: either from regular soda bottles, wide mouthed juice bottles, or bottles like vinegar bottles
• toothpicks or wooden skewers
• a thick needle or sharp item, such as a hat pin or those metal things you use to hold poultry together for roasting (employed by an adult only)
• colorful electrical tape (optional)
• quick drying glue (optional) Ever Free Coloring

How To:

1. Make a hole exactly in the middle of the bottle cap. Some caps have a small bump there, if not eyeball it. A hole not in the center will result in a imbalanced top.
2. Enlarge hole if necessary by moving needle around while still in the hole.
3. Insert tooth pick or skewer through hole, trim second side of toothpick (dangerous) or shorten skewer.
4. Secure toothpick with a few dabs of glue, though usually not necessary, and decorate with small pieces of electric tape.

Have fun!

Recycled Craft Idea for Kids: Trash Robots

My husband thinks I keep garbage. But this time…I actually did. I hoarded ACTUAL GARBAGE! and He about had a heart attack….but I had a vision! threw in a roll of duct tape and electric tape and a few pairs of scissors… dump them onto the floor and have at it. monster high coloring pages

It kept them entertained for about a good hour (some longer!). He taped cars to the bottom of his to make it roll. This reminds me of a mix between gingy (from shrek) and wall-E. Now….you could do this with hot glue..but that requires more adult supervision than just ripping off the tape.

Fun and Cheap Kid's Craft Idea for Summer: Straw Building

Next up for Funner in the Summer–  Kimbo from A Girl and a Glue Gun.  One thing you should know about Kimbo is that she will make you laugh, hard. And she comes up with ideas like decorating her room at SNAP with 80’s pictures of bloggers (yep – I joined in on that!).  I’m excited to have her her to share another idea. We love fun kids crafts around here.  Especially if they are inexpensive.  And will keep them busy, active and creating– win/win/win!  Make sure to visit Kimbo for some fun crafts, sewing, DIY and more.  You can expect to see lots of glue gunning too. My little pony coloring pages

Hello everyone! I’m kimbo from a girl and a glue gun. I’m so excited to be here. I love LOVE Summer (even though this summer I feel like we have been gypped cause the weather has been crappy.) But it’s okay. We stay busy doing fun crafts. Like this Straw building…

the best part is that straws are CHEAP!!! and you only need these and a pair of scissors!

before we start I would like to say: i need a manicure. the end. okay on with the how-to.

You just take an end of a straw and pinch it and bend it and then slide it into another straw….(insert joke about legally blonde “bend….and SNAP”)

this technique just makes long straws..to get the shapes you take a straw and bend it in half. Take some scissors and snip the bent part. This leaves you with a little hole in the middle to slide your straw through to help build up your design! Ever free coloring

We had loads of fun. My 6 year old just made a giant straw to suck up water with…

but my 10 and 8 year old just built and built until we ran out of straws!

Easy yet Beautiful Artwork for Toddlers

I still love doing art with Josslyn.  Artwork with toddlers can be super fun!  We have moved on from finger painting and onto holding brushes and manipulation of objects, scissors, crayons, markers … the good stuff.  With the new addition of Paxton I like to keep our projects fun but quick.  Time is of the essence.  Today’s project is going to be under 15 minutes and we will be able to use it every year!  Here is what you are going to need! Baby Animals coloring pages

MATERIALS:
- Stretched Canvas (8×10) – found HERE
- Craft Paints – found HERE or HERE
- Paint Brushes (2-3) – found HERE
- Vinyl Image or Sticker – found HERE
- Water
- Paper Towels
- Paper Plates
- Q-Tips
- Storage Tub Lid (optional)
- Painters Smock (optional) – found HERE

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place the sticker or vinyl image onto the canvas making sure it’s adhered well to the canvas.  Choose a few coordinating colors or allow the kids to pick the colors. Place like colors on plates. Pinks, reds, and purples one one plate. Blues and greens on another. Yellows and Oranges on another.  One brush for each plate.  I love these large bulb brushes for toddlers that are practicing fine motor skills like painting.  You can find those brushes here.spring bunny 2Start with the lightest colored paints and the ones that will cover the majority of the canvas. In our case it is the pinks and magenta.  Depending on how sticky the vinyl or stickers are you might need to help your child paint around them, but don’t worry if some paint gets under, I have a trick for getting excess paint up later. ever free coloring

Continue painting the canvas with the first colors making sure to get good coverage.

Then move onto some of the other brighter colors.  At this point you will need the water, just like a professional artist you will help your child clean their paint brushes.  You can teach them about keeping colors bright and show them what happens when they blend too many together and they “muddy” up.  I wasn’t able to take any pictures of this process, but I can promise washing brushes is always a crowd pleaser! They even enjoy helping dry them off before tackling more painting!  I try not to tell her where to put the paint but I do encourage her to look for areas on the canvas that are white, and where there isn’t any color.  Works every time!

This is what her canvas ended up looking like before we removed the vinyl bunny!  I have to admit, this kid is good!  Part of me wishes there wasn’t a bunny under there, I would totally hang this on our wall.  WOW!  While I was waiting for the paint to dry enough to remove the vinyl bunny I painted the sides of the canvas with the left over paint.

You want the paint to be tacky when you remove the stencil.  Too dry and you won’t be able to correct mistakes easily, too wet and you can make a mess.

So what do you do if your paint bleeds under the sticker? That’s where the Q-tips comes into play. Just take a Q-tip dip it into some water and clean up your edges.  Jossie’s bunny could use a little more work, but her little brother was hungry and we all know babies rule over art any day!

I hope you enjoyed our 15 min craft and aren’t afraid to really get in there with your kiddos!

If you noticed I use the lid off of a storage tub to keep my kitchen table clean and thanks to IKEA a super inexpensive painters smock that keeps her clothes clean!  Art can be fun and it’s great for kids.

Fun Craft for Kids: Making Dandelion with Thumbprints

Blow and make a wish! Today’s Thumbprint Dandelion kid craft idea w/free printable template is super easy to make within minutes and it’s relatively inexpensive too. If you have a printer in your home – you are well on your way to pulling this craft idea together! Ever Free Coloring

In this post, I’ve included a FREE gender-neutral printable template, so all you need to do is print the file, grab some paint and have your children add their thumbprints to complete the craft. It’s so simple, you have NO excuse NOT to do it!

Although dandelions can be seen as a pesky weed at times, I can promise YOU that this craft idea is not the case! So download the file below and get to work on creating this awesome piece today. Then place in a beautiful frame or in a scrapbook to enjoy for years to come. Whatever you do with it – I hope you enjoy making it with your child! Happy crafting my friends!

Thumbprint Dandelion - Kid Craft

Supplies:
* Free Template Printable {Download HERE}
* White Cardstock
* Color Printer
* Paint {pick a theme, a favorite color – whatever your heart desires!}
* Paper Plate
* Baby Wipes

Directions:
* First download and print the free template printable on white cardstock. Complex coloring pages
* Squirt some paint on a paper plate.
* Have children dip their thumb in the paint and then press it down on the tips of the dandelion in the printable.
* Repeat until you have the look you like of your dandelion.
* Add other embellishments you see fit. Then display/gift proudly!

Kids Craft: Adorable Owl Ornaments Made of Felt and Pinecone

It is time for another kid’s craft (you may remember our felt and pine cone turkeys) and this one though we are making it for holiday tree ornaments can be used all year round. These cute little owls come with three different personalities and with this pattern you can mix and match to make your own little characters. Fall Coloring Pages for Adults

Felt is such a great material for kid’s crafts and if you have yet to try a luscious wool mix felt, you need to treat yourself and buy some. The wool blend is to nice to the touch, easy to cut and looks great when you are done. We have a good handful of felt crafts coming for Christmas and winter holidays, so I highly recommend you order a selection of your favorite colors from Benzie Design on Etsy today!

For these little owls, we used a combination of soft blue greens, greys, white and a heather brown. You can follow the tutorial below on how to make these fun ornaments. Though I perched them in my tree you can easily add a ribbon or string on the tops of their heads to hang them from your branches. Ever Free Coloring

For the pattern, just use the button to download the PDF printabe at the end of this post. I think this craft is perfect for kids and adults alike! I know I had great fun making this set. Enjoy!