Search Results for: blog sharpie crafts

Cheap “Cheep” Crafts for Kids

Birds don’t chirp or peep in our house, they “cheep.” Just ask my 4-year-old, who recently came home from a friend’s house with birds she made from plastic Easter eggs. Her BFF’s crafty mom helped the girls create the cutest “cheep-cheeps” for cheap. The instructions for the Plastic Baby Birds follow, as well as a recipe for Chocolate Bird’s Nests: PLASTIC BABY BIRDS Materials: Plastic Easter egg (one half for each bird) Construction paper (orange and brown) Paper plate Brown paint Paintbrush Scissors Glue Black Sharpie Directions: Paint the paper plate brown, making sure you cover the entire plate thoroughly … Continue reading →

Tween Crafts: Cool for School

Your tween can start a trend with cool stuff for school. If other kids ask where they got this cool stuff, your son or daughter can say, “I made it.” Your child can have fun showing friends how to make these items, or they may want to make extras to give away. Hot Stuff for Cool Storage Pick up a clear plastic pencil case. Let your child cut a picture from his or her favorite pop culture magazine. A band, a celebrity, anything that’s hot right now, will work. Slip the picture into the pencil case (if you can turn … Continue reading →

Sweet and Simple Valentine’s Day

Who says Valentine’s Day has to be an elaborate affair? Unless you are being wooed by Donald Trump there’s little chance that your Love Day will include jetting off to a romantic locale, being showered with diamonds and rubies, and dining on a five-course gourmet meal while Luciano Pavarotti serenades you in multiple languages. Heck, most of us will be lucky if we find a crumpled handmade Valentine’s Day card in the bottom of our kid’s backpack. Celebrating February 14th doesn’t have to put a strain on your wallet. Forget about the fancy chocolates, chilled champagne, long-stemmed roses, and massive … Continue reading →

Apple Season Activites

It’s apple season! September is a wonderful month filled with images of cool days, apple cider and playing in the leaves. For my family it is apple picking season. We normally go at least once a season but this season we lucked out! My daughter has volleyball practice near an apple orchard so my other children and I will be visiting the orchard a few more times this year. I think the donuts and cider are my son’s favorite part. My daughter’s love to munch on the apples and go home to make apple pie. Apple orchards make lovely teaching … Continue reading →

CitiBlocs: Camouflage

Citiblocs produces building toys that are simple and allow the child to be the builder and not dictated by a theme or confined to an image on the box. The company is just two years old but making a big hit with their eco-friendly, precision cut building toys. You can find Citiblocs in natural wood, hot colors, cool colors and now camouflage. The camouflage set comes in natural shades of green and brown. The set is unassuming with 100 planks all cut to the standard size from pine. Any little builder knows this is the perfect start to any skyline, … Continue reading →

A Cold Sneeze or an Allergy Sneeze?

Your child walks up to with a runny nose, coughing, and sounds congested. Does she have a cold or could it be allergies? It can be very difficult to determine the difference. When my oldest was little it always appeared she had a cold. I used to think she caught colds easily until it came to light she had seasonal allergies. I have a friend with a similar story and know of more just like it. Even doctors have a hard time distinguishing a mild cold with seasonal allergies since many of the symptoms are the same. The sooner you … Continue reading →

Seeing Red on Valentine’s Day

My 6-year-old is counting down the days to her first grade class Valentine’s Day party. She’s dying to pass out the all-red treats she chose for all of her classmates and hand her teacher the all-red Love Day card she made with a very red Sharpie. It’s all about red during the countdown to February 14th. Thank goodness her Catholic School uniform is partially red or I’d really be in for it. You’d think the class party would be enough to satisfy my daughter’s obsession with red, but nooooooo, she wants to paint her entire day red, including her meals. … Continue reading →

Thoughtful Thanksgiving Centerpiece

Prior to digging into the Thanksgiving turkey, stuffing and other delicious fixings, most families pause for a moment to reflect on all the things they are grateful for. To help facilitate this tradition this year consider making the following holiday craft project: THANKSGIVING BOUQUET This simple yet colorful project doubles as an attractive Thanksgiving centerpiece and a valuable activity for the entire family. The Thanksgiving Bouquet is crafted from paper leaves and sticks. It can be made a few days in advance or a few hours before your Thanksgiving dinner. Prior to eating have each guest choose a “thankful leaf” … Continue reading →

Limited Mess Pumpkin Decorating Ideas for Kids

Whereas I was tempted to title this blog “No Mess Pumpkin Decorating Ideas,” I know better than to do so given that glitter is involved in some of the following projects. Trust me; as a mom of a craft-loving preschooler I know what happens when a few containers of glitter are placed on an art table. Still, I’ll take a beach full of sandy glitter over a sink full of slimy pumpkin guts any day. With that said, here are a few more ways you can make your pumpkin stand out from the other gourds this Halloween: Glitter Pumpkins While … Continue reading →

Homemade Halloween Decorations Using Everyday Items

Our current rough economic times call for spirited individuals to get even more creative when it comes to decorating their homes for the Halloween season. The following seasonal art projects call for minimal shopping (and spending). Rather, they rely more on everyday items that most of us have sitting around our house. Scour your home and grab the kids to make these simple (no sewing involved) yet adorable Halloween crafts. HALLOWEEN WITCHES MADE FROM SPARE GLOVES Materials: Glove Fiberfill Black Felt Curly Doll Hair Scraps of Fabric Ribbon Googly Eyes Pipe Cleaner Scissors Fabric glue Black Sharpie Directions: Stuff palm … Continue reading →