Build Your Own Unique Wooden Car

Ever since my eldest son was young, he LOVED cars.  Is your child that way too?  Then you'll understand why we've done a ton of car crafts over here on the blog.  And boy are you in for a treat with today'd post.  Tada!  My husband and son designed and built their very own wooden car... for free!

  Let's Build A Wooden Car!

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Family Watercolor Hand print Art

I'm always a bit nervous about transitions in life.  And having a new baby has certainly been a humongous transition for our whole family.  Diapers, giggles, crying, baby snuggles... we're still trying to find our new groove as a family of four.  So I came up with this hand print art project to do with my eldest son.  Despite all the crazy chaos that this stage of life brings, I still wanted to celebrate our family.

Family Watercolor Hand Print Art  

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Tape Resist Dinosaur Bone Art (And our favorite 10+ Dinosaur Books!)

I love it when an art and science combine to create a beautiful and easy kids STEM project. When I was growing up science, math, and art were always treated as fairly different topics.  And I get why they taught us that way... it's easier and we get to dig down deep into each one.  But I wish that my kid self also experienced how all three things topics were linked.  Don't artist use math and science when making art?  Isn't there beauty in math and science? Certainly!  And so my inner nerd and artist gets very excited when my son and I do a project that touches on what seem to be different areas.

Ok... but I digress.  Recently my son and I visited our local natural history museum's dinosaur exhibit and marveled at the size and design of t-rex bones.  (Gosh.  Those are some ferocious creatures!  So glad they don't live today.  Eeek.)  So, inspired by that visit and this awesome human skeleton tape resist painting idea, we made our own very beautiful and scientific tape resist dinosaur bone skeleton paintings! 

Tape Resist Dinosaur Bone Paintings 

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100 Color Challenge

Ever wonder just how big 100 really is?  Lately my son and I have been talking about numbers.  While small numbers are easy to imagine... large numbers always seem quite vague.  100?  1,000?  1,000,000?  10,000,000?  We just don't have much experience dealing with numbers larger than 20 in the real world.  So I came up with this really easy combination math activity and art activity.  We challenged ourselves to make 100 colors together!

100 Color Challenge!

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30+ Awesomely Unique and Fun Paper Plate Crafts for Kids!

It's no secret that I LOVE paper plate crafts!   Wanna make my heart sing?  Hand me a bunch of blank paper plates.  Seriously.  No joke. (Ok- Crafter confessional here- I've even snuck interesting paper plates out of parties before to craft with... shhhh... )

If you follow me on Instagram you'll see that I'm this week's #kidscrafts101 judge! Yup!  Every week there's a fun challenge to craft with a different material.  This week's theme is... drum roll please... paper plates! I know all of you and your kids have such creative ideas, so I'd love to see your ideas on IG!  (Just use the #kidscrafts101 so I can see your great ideas!)

And in honor of this week's theme, I thought I'd also share my absolute favorite paper plate crafts!

30+ Super Fun and Unique Paper Plate Crafts for Kids!

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Weaving Cute Baby Turtles Using God's Eye Weaving Pattern

Looking for some fun and unique summer crafts to do with the kiddos?   Me too! School is almost over and I've got summer crafts on my mind!  Today I'm sharing this fun twist on a God's Eye weaving craft.  (Remember collecting sticks and making those in summer camp?)  But, instead of making the traditional 2 stick version, we recently made a fun 3 stick version.... that also happens to look like a tiny baby turtle!

(Aww, aren't they cute?  My preschooler was in looove with these.)

Weaving Cute Baby Turtles Using God's Eye Weaving Pattern

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Let's design a zoo! (And our 15+ favorite zoo books!)

Are you looking for an easy, open-ended prompt to encourage children's play and creativity?  How about a building challenge?  We've designed and built playdough and rock houses , cardboard bridges, boats from recycled materials, and super hero hideouts.  Today, we're designing and building a zoo!

Designing a Zoo with Kids!

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Button Collages

Ever get in a funk with your art ideas?  Lack of sleep, a teething baby, and a sporadically sore back have made it such an effort to pull out the art and craft supplies. So instead of more structured art projects, we've been going the more open-ended  process art activity route.  (Basically I just throw a couple of art supplies on the table and then see what we end up with.)  Recently I pulled out a bunch of old thrifted buttons and gave the challenge to "create art with buttons."  Here's what we came up with!

Invitation to Create with Buttons

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Cardboard and Safety Pin Charm Necklace

Sometimes the best crafts are the easiest ones.  Today I wanted to share this really easy cardboard and safety pin necklace.  My younger son is currently teething, so I just needed something quick and fun for my eldest and I to make together.  This colorful and easy jewelry craft fit the bill!

Cardboard and Safety Pin Necklaces   

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"Family" Pop Art Coloring Page

Mother's Day is coming up this Sunday!  Kiddos can spend some quality time coloring and practicing their letters with mom with this free printable coloring sheet!

"Family" Pop Art Coloring Page  

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Artsy Paper Bag Stars!

I've seen versions of these paper bag stars all over the internet for awhile now.   And last weekend, we finally got a chance to make our very own version.  Half art project, half craft, these artsy paper bag stars are such a unique way to showcase children's art and decorate your home!

Artsy Paper Bag Stars      

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MAGIC Color Transfer Art!

Did you ever play with carbon paper as a kid?  (Hmm... have I just seriously dated myself here?)  I LOVED that stuff.  You stuck it behind a sheet of blank paper, went to town doodling, lifted up your carbon paper and then ooh la la!  Instant copy.  So, so cool.  Today I'm sharing an easy and fun art activity that hearkens back to good old carbon paper.  We're making ourselves some colorful, color transfer art!  (It's like making your very own rainbow carbon transfer paper!)

Magic Color Transfer Art!

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Super Easy Train Cupcakes!

Are you a whiz in the kitchen?  A baking maven?  A fondant savant?  If so... this post ain't for you.  This post is for people like me.  People who would rather just buy baked goods then slave away in front of a hot oven.  I stink at baking. But today I'm sharing this super easy food-themed post because I made these super super cute train-themed cupcakes for a friend's party.  (And you'll never guess how I decorated them!)

Easiest Ever Train Cupcakes!

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Artsy Origami Butterfly Stick Toys

These artsy origami butterfly stick toys are such a fun spring craft to make with the kiddos.  You get to paint and decorate... and then you get to fold... and then you get to play!

Artsy Origami Butterfly Stick Toys

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Hand Print Franz Marc Expressionist Art with Kids

Hi friends!  Today's art activity is a super easy one that involves looking at colors, emotions, animals, and making hand prints.  It's such a great activity to do with kids of all ages!  Today we're inspired by German Expressionist Franz Marc's Blue Horse Paintings.

Hand Print Expressionist Art with Kids!

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Playful and Easy Mathematics with Building Toys (And our favorite math books!)

Wanna know a secret?  In college I majored in Engineering and minored in math.  Eek.  Surprised?  Well...it's true!   I'm a bit rusty now... but I will always have a soft spot for mathematics. There was something about solving a difficult problem that was so thrilling and satisfying.

Now that my son is older, my husband (who is also a math lover) and I have been trying to help him to love math too.  With a new baby at home, I just haven't had time lately to plan math crafts and activities.  (Mucho props to all you homeschooling mamas out there... don't know how you do it!)   But, I've been giving myself a bit of slack and telling myself that it's ok.  We've still been learning math together... just in a more open-ended and playful way.  

Playful Math Learning with Kids

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Giant Canvas Family Cooperative Art

Ever have one of THOSE weeks?  Where life is chaotic, stressful, and messy?  Where things don't go your way and you find yourself late at night picking apart all the things that went wrong?   Well... we just had one of those weeks. (Ok... if I'm going to be honest... probably one of those months...)  And I wish I could say that I was patient and loving and wise and kind and strong... but I wasn't.

When life spirals out of control, I find myself doing two things- (1) taking naps and (2) doing easy art and craft activities.  It's surprising how these two activities revive my spirits.  So today I wanted to share this really easy art activity that my preschooler and I recently worked on together.  Inspired by Meri Cherry, we made our own GIANT family process art.   

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Magical COLOR CHANGING Bracelets

Ok. I am seriously IN LOOOVE with today's jewelry craft.  It's easy, great for all ages, involves a science component, AND it is the ultimate summer craft.  Don't believe me?  Well, tada!  We're making magical COLOR CHANGING beaded bracelets.

Yup. You read right.  Whoa!

Amazing and Magical Color Changing Bracelets!

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Window process art (and our favorite 25+ art books!)

There is something about process art that really appeals to me.  When my son and I are free to just explore materials, there's more room to be creative (and a whole lot less pressure on both of us to make things "look right.")  We get to explore, create, and talk with each other.  Now, I will always love cute kids' crafts.  (Googly eyes and glitter will always hold a special place in my heart!) But lately I've just had enough time (and energy) to put out open-ended projects for us to do.

Here's a recent window process art activity that we recently did together...

Family Window Process Art

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7 Preschool Egg Activities

Easter is just a couple of days away. (Gosh. Time has flown by so quickly!)  If you're looking for some easy Easter-themed activities, then this post is for you! Today I'm sharing 7 easy and fun egg activities that are perfect for preschoolers (and really, kids of all ages!) So check on the links below for some egg-cellent egg ideas!

7 Preschool Egg Activities 

• Tin Foil Easter Egg Art | I Heart Crafty Things
• Easy Easter Egg Paper Collage | A Little Pinch of Perfect
• Easter Egg Sequencing Task | School Time Snippets
• Beginning Sounds Easter Egg Alphabet Hunt | Artsy Momma
• Easter Egg Creative Drawing Ideas for Kids | Handmade Kids Art
• Easy Easter Egg Prints 
• Cracked Rainbow Dinosaur Eggs

Happy making, friends!