Showing posts with label nature. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nature. Show all posts

Monday, August 3, 2015

Let's Make Easy Wire Wrapped Nature Pendants!

How has your summer been going so far?  We've been spending a ton of time outdoors, running around, playing in the water, and digging in the sand.  For what?  Treasures!  So far we've found lovely bits of blue and green sea glass, shells, and funny shaped rocks.  We've placed some of our treasures on display at home and turned others into these easy-to-make, wire wrapped nature pendants. 

Let's Make Wire Wrapped Nature Pendants!

How to make easy wire wrapped nature pendants
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Aren't they lovely?  We love doing nature crafts, like making melted crayon friendship rocks, weaving with flowersbuilding birds nests, and constructing play dough and rock houses.  Today's wire wrapped pendants are a too difficult for the preschool crowd, but adults and older children can easily wrap pendants for younger ones!  

Friday, April 17, 2015

Tape Resist Ant Art!

Are you going buggy over spring?  Well, then today the preschool collaborators and I have 5 preschool bug activities that you'll absolutely love.  We've been digging ants lately, so I thought it would be fun to combine art and science to make some tape resist ant art!  

(And if you're looking for even more bug crafts, check out these egg carton bugs and my
fluttering butterfly craft!)


Tape Resist Ant Art!


Tape Resist Ant Art- Great way to combine science and art by learning about ants and then making artwork about their tunnels!
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Monday, April 13, 2015

Kid Science: Studying Bird Beaks

Now that it's spring, I feel a severe kick in the bum to start doing more nature and science themed activities with Chuck.   There's something really cool about seeing blossoms, birds, bees, and bugs (whoa- bs!) all around.  We recently visited our nearby natural history museum and Chuck spent quite a bit of time playing with a bird beak activity.  It was so simple and fun that I had to share it here!

Kid Science:  Studying Bird Beaks with Kids

kid science:  studying bird beaks - great nature and spring activity to do with younger kids!
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Saturday, April 11, 2015

5 Flower + Plant Activities for Preschoolers!

Spring is here! Spring is here!  In honor of this lovely season, here are 5 flower and plant activities that are just perfect for preschoolers!

5 Preschool Flower + Plant Activities


5 flower + plant activities that are perfect for kids!


Friday, April 3, 2015

Painted Tin Can Succulent Pots

Spring has sprung!  Are you enjoying all the lovely blooms popping up around your neighborhood? In honor of Spring, today's Creative Preschool theme is.... plants!  So I wanted to share how we painted and repotted these tin can succulents.

Because this is part of the Preschool Collaborators Series, there are links at the bottom of the post to 4 other bloggers' great ideas for teaching preschoolers about flowers and plants!  (So scroll down to the bottom of the post to check those out!)

How to Repot Succulents in Painted Tin Cans 


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Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Make Sand Dough Sculptures and Ornaments

Whenever we go to the beach and build with sand, I always feel slightly sad knowing that our creations will eventually wash away.  Do you ever feel that way too?  I recently found this great book at the library Kids' Crazy Concoctions (affiliate link) that shared a recipe for making homemade gluten free sand dough!  Yup.  You just need 3 ingredients to whip up a batch of this stuff.  Then, once you're done making your creations, wait over night and they'll dry nice and hard.  Isn't it cool? You can make your very own long-lasting sand dough sculptures and ornaments!

Make Sand Dough Sculptures and Ornaments!

Make sand dough! Great way to bring summer into kid's play
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Monday, February 16, 2015

St. Patrick's Day Clover Sun Catchers

Looking for an easy St. Patrick's Day craft? Well, today's your lucky day.  Here's a simple St. Patrick's Day Clove Craft to make with young children!

St. Patrick's Day Clover Sun Catcher Craft

St. Patrick's Day Clover Sun Catchers
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Monday, January 5, 2015

Valentine, You ROCK MY WORLD!

Even though our Christmas tree is still up (I know, I know, I haven't the heart to take it down), my mind is currently on Valentine's Day and all the lovely crafts that go along with that.  Last year we made adorable heart shaped glasses and DIY Coffee and Candy Gifts.  This year I'm challenging myself to think of 10 easy funny, pun-y crafts that say Happy Valentine's Day!

Here's my 1st attempt!

Funny Pun-y Valentine's Day 1:  

"Valentine, You Rock My World" Rocks 

Funny and Pun-y ways to say Happy Valentine's Day- You rock my world rocks
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Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Kid Science: Let's Study Seeds

Are you looking for ways to incorporate science into your child's daily life?   Lately Chuck's been really enjoying the television show Sid the Science Kid.  I typically work beside him while he watches tv, but dang it, that show hooks me in EVERY TIME.  They make science so accessible for little kids (and adults too, apparently.)  Plus, I love how they encourage children to be curious, observe, and explore their world. Thanks to Sid, I'm now trying to do some really easy science activities at home with Chuck too.  In fact, here's one fun activity that we recently did together- we studied seeds!

Kid STEM Activity:  Seed Study!


kids stem activity- studying seeds!



Friday, November 7, 2014

2-Ingredient Puffy Paint Fall Leaves

Sometimes I have to pinch myself to remind myself that it's fall.  (I'm just not used to warm temperatures at this time of year.)  Chuck and I enjoyed doing fall crafts back in Jersey, so I thought we should try doing some fall crafts here too... even though it doesn't quite feel fall yet...

During a nature walk, we counted quite a few red trees outside.  Boy, was I surprised!  So we drew inspiration from them and made these two-ingredient Homemade Puffy Paint Fall Leaves!

homemade puffy paint leaves for a fun fall craft
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Awhile back we had some success making gluten free homemade puffy paint.  But I was feeling kind of lazy and didn't have all the right materials on hand.  Luckily, we found a super easy recipe for puffy paint on several blogs, and tried it out.

I'll bet you could easily make this puffy paint today.  You probably have all the ingredients already at home.


Friday, October 31, 2014

DIY Recycled Terrarium

Do you craft with cork?  While I love making cardboard crafts, lately I've been trying to push myself a bit and try out new materials.  Last weekend I picked up these funny shaped cork plugs at our local Art Scrap store because they reminded me of mushrooms.  So I painted them, gave a couple to Chuck to play with, and placed one inside a lovely DIY Terrarium made from recycled materials.  


Make a Terrarium from Recycled Materials!

how to make a terrarium from recycled materials- great kids craft

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I love the idea of creating small, beautiful, magical worlds.  This would certainly be a wonderful fall craft for kids.  Oooh, wouldn't they look lovely as kid-made Thanksgiving centerpieces too?  

Ok!  Let's put on our fairy wings and let's get making!

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Halloween Art: No Carve Colorful Pumpkins

Looking for an easy way to colorfully decorate your Halloween pumpkins this year?  Then this no-carve method is right up your alley!  Here's one great way to make some fabulous, colorful Halloween art with the kids!

Halloween Art:  No Carve Colorful Pumpkins!

Halloween Art:  No Carve, Colorful Pumpkins, rocks, and pine cones!
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Thursday, August 21, 2014

Building Play Dough and Rock Houses

Happy Friday everybody!  Today I just wanted to share with you a really, really easy and fun activity that Chuck and I recently did together.  Inspired by fellow Rockin' Art Mom Babble Dabble Do's Clay and Wood Block Structures, Chuck and I built Rock and Play Dough Houses!

Building with Rock and Playdough! 


Build with Rocks and Play Dough (great for 3 Little Pigs Story)
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We've been going to the beach once a week lately, and I always come home with lovely rocks. To justify my slowly growing pile of rocks, I thought this would be a great way for us to use them in a fun and creative way.


Friday, August 8, 2014

Build a Bird's Nest

Lately Chuck and I have been going on a lot of nature walks.  Typically after lunch or dinner we'll just walk around our neighborhood and fly our toy planes, or pick up random rocks and twigs on the sidewalk.  Because Chuck loves collecting different objects, I thought it would be fun if we tried making something with the items that we found.  This time, we tried our hand at making a bird's nest.

Let's Build a Bird's Nest!

build a bird's nest using items gathered from nature walk


Tuesday, August 5, 2014

DIY Paper Slingshot

Hi everyone!  Sorry for being MIA for about a week, but we finally did our cross country move.  Now we're calling California home.... and trying to tackle mountains of unpacked boxes.  Eeek!  Right now I'm taking a quick break and figured I'd upload a fun DIY toy post.  During our last week in Jersey, I kept wanting to craft something... but found it difficult given that everything had already been packed away.  So while we were playing outside with friends, I spotted this Y-shaped stick and thought it was the perfect for making a slingshot!

DIY Paper Slingshots!


homemade paper slingshots

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When I told hubby about my idea, he showed me how he used to make slingshots as a kid.  So I took his design and adapted it to the twig.  Now, I know that some of you consider this a weapon... but we made sure to set some ground rules and  only aim at objects and NOT at people.  


Thursday, July 10, 2014

4 Easy Bell Crafts for Kids

Right now we're in the middle of packing.  Not going to lie, our apartment is looking like it's inhabited by crazy people.  So my posts for the next month will probably be fewer and the crafts will be much simpler.  This brings me to today's topic:  crafting with bells.   I love the sound of jingle bells.  They remind me of Christmas, the cold, and reindeer.  I know it's July and Christmas is miles away... but you can craft with jingle bells all year round?  Right? Right! Here's how we've crafted with jingle bells:

4 Super Easy Bell Crafts for Kids

4 easy bell crafts for kids

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Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Painted Twig Wall Hanging


Painted Twig Wall Art 


Chuck's still too young to completely understand the idea of Mother's Day.  But if he were going to give me a handmade gift this Sunday, I'd venture to say that this Painted Twig Wall Hanging would probably be it.  My little guy has an eye for twigs.  Whenever we go for a walk outside, we inevitably bring back a twig, or a rock, or a leaf (luckily, he hasn't asked to bring back any bugs yet.  I might have to put my foot down there.)  Our nature collection tends to grow pretty quickly.  That's why I really like this twig wall art.  It's a beautiful way to remember walks outside, showcase his collection, and do some fun mommy-son crafting too.

Monday, April 28, 2014

DIY Dandelion Crown

What are your thoughts on dandelions?  Love em?  Hate em?  Since we live in the city and I don't do any yard work, I love the little suckers.  Their bright yellow color always cheers me up.  So dandelions can sprout anywhere as long as I'm concerned.  Like his mama, Chuck adores these little yellow flowers too.  He picks them from our neighbor's yard (shh, don't tell them!)  And he loves blowing them once they turn all white and poofy (again, shhhh, don't tell the neighbors... but they're probably going to get a bumper crop of dandelions next year.)  Because we both love these yellow flowers, I had to make a dandelion flower crown for Chuck. 

How to Make a Dandelion Flower Crown

how to make a dandelion flower crown


Full confession here- I'm an impatient crafter... so this DIY dandelion crown was right up my alley. It only took a couple of minutes to make and then voila!  My son now has a crown fit for a little story tale prince.  Let's get crafting!


Thursday, March 6, 2014

4 Easy Kids' Crafts


Today Chuck's sick and we're stuck at home.  Boo!  I was going to skip posting today and instead just upload our everyday craft photos onto my Instagram account.  But the photos were so cute... so I gave in and I'm uploading a collage here too, just in case you're looking for some crafty inspiration.

4 Really Easy (Practically no prep) Kids' crafts



Keep reading to see how we made each craft:

Friday, February 21, 2014

Printing with Flowers

Do you have wilting flowers?  Before tossing them away, why not try making some flower prints with them?   Chuck and I dipped flower heads in paint and made some lovely prints.  Then, once the prints dried, I turned them into some personalized, springy stationary.

printing with flowers and turning it into stationary
So don't throw away your Valentine's Day flowers just yet.  Keep them and make some cards!