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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Spring Paint Chip Flower Bookmarks

Are the flowers blooming where you are?  Spring is fully in the air and I am LOOOOOVING it.  Today's craft doubles as a flower craft and spring craft.  We're making super easy paint chip flower bookmarks!

Paint Chip Spring Flower Bookmarks

So pop on over to DIY Candy today to make your very own flower paint chip bookmarks! 

Happy making, friends!

How to Fold Origami Ice Cream Cones

Ice cream and origami.  Two of my current favorite things in life.  Today I'm sharing a super cute and easy origami and paper craft- origami ice cream cones!  These little guys are super sweet and easy to make.

So let's get making!

How to fold Origami Ice Cream Cones

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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!

Shiny Art Necklaces

These shiny aluminum art necklaces contain everything that I love about kids craft all rolled into a single craft.  They allow kids to freely create art without worrying about making things "right" or "perfect."  They're super easy to make. (My preschooler didn't need help at all!) And they use everyday materials.  (Fancy-shmancy materials aren't needed!)  Annnd... the resulting craft looks pretty smashing, wouldn't you say?

Shiny Aluminum Art Necklaces

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Are you ready to make yourself some shiny aluminum necklaces? (Hmm.. now that I'm thinking of it, they kind of look like cloisonne beads, don't you think?)  Let's create!

Modern Art with Kids- Lichtenstein Dot Art

Lately I've wanted to expose my preschooler to different types of art.   But with a new baby at home, our creative and crafty times have been hard to come by.  So I was really excited when my older son and I had the chance to make some art the other morning.  We looked at Lichtenstein's Stepping Out, talked about what we saw in the artwork, and then made some of our own inspired modern pop art!

Modern Art With Kids- Lichtenstein Dot Art

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Easter Egg Printing

I've been wanting to to try printmaking with my preschooler for awhile now.  After seeing this great  Easter Egg Printing post from The Artful Parent, I thought I'd give styrofoam printing a try.  Styrofoam printing is cheap and doesn't (really) need any special materials.   Sounds great, right?   Today's Easter craft is making these neat Easter Egg Prints with your kiddos.

Egg-cellent Easter Egg Printing!

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Super Bunny Activity Pack

Hi everyone! Just dropping in with this 5 page super bunny printable activity pack.  It includes a coloring sheet, secret code activity, word search, mad libs sheet, and a maze too!

Super Bunny Activity Pack

Cracked Rainbow Dinosaur Eggs for Easter

Looking for a creative Easter activity?  Have you ever tried making rainbow cracked eggs?  They're so neat and they remind me of cool dinosaur eggs!

Cracked Rainbow Dinosaur Eggs

Swing on over to DIY Candy to get my super easy cracked rainbow egg tutorial today!

Happy making, friends!

Make a Knight Sword and Shield

Do knights, dragons, and castles stir up your child’s imagination?  I love how my preschooler is a big fan of all these things.   It's so neat to see little kids wrapped up in imaginary play.  To further grow his interest, I made this super easy cardboard shield and sword set awhile back.  After 6 months of intense imagining, rescuing, and fighting, they're still intact.  So, I figured I'd share this cute tried-and-true craft with y'all today!

Make a Knight Sword and Shield

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Colorful Flip Flop Artwork

We love, love, LOVE easy kid art ideas.  While dreaming of warm, sunny, summer weather, my preschooler and I channeled some good-time summer vibes with this super cute and fun colorful flip flop artwork!

Colorful Flip Flop Artwork  

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Design a Paper Glider (Free printable included!)

Does your child love the idea of flying?  Is he or she infatuated with planes, space shuttles, helicopters, or gliders?   Well, today's post is for you!  We're designing and making gliders!  (And bonus- I've even included a printable for you to do the activity too!)   This is a great STEAM Activity that allows kids to be creative, get artsy, and explore the idea of flight too!

Let's Design a Paper Glider!

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Free Printable Ninja Color-by-Number Sheet

If you're looking for an easy superhero activity, boy do I have one for you!  Our love for all things ninja continues with this free printable ninja color-by-number sheet!

Free Ninja Color-by-Number Sheet

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Pi Day Inspired String Art Activity

Ah, good old Pi Day.  That special holiday only celebrated by geeky math and pizza lovers.  It's definitely my kind of holiday!  Today I'm adding to our list of easy, low-prep Pi Day Activities with this neat one that combines art and math.  Tada!  We're making some Pi Day inspired String Art!

Pi Day String Art Actvitiy

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Cute Bouquet of Toilet Roll Flowers

Today we have another cute and easy toilet roll craft to make with the kiddos.  Yup! We're turning boring old toilet rolls into cute and fun flowers!

Cute Bouquet of Cardboard Roll Flowers

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Easy Shamrock Headband for St. Patrick's Day

Who needs leprechauns when you have a preschooler running around? Ha!  Here's a fun and easy weekend St. Patrick's Day craft:  Shamrock headbands!   You can find my full tutorial over at DIY Candy today!


Happy weekend and happy making, friends!

Our 30+ Favorite Flower and Plant Art + Craft Projects (and books!)

Love flowers?  Well, today I'm in kind of a flowery mood.  I've got a couple of flower crafts that I'd like to try once we all start feeling better.  So until then, I've scoured the blog for our favorite flower and plant project ideas  in case you're in a flowery, springy mood too!

Our 30+ Favorite Flower and Plant Projects

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Foldable, Collapsible Cardboard Superhero Hideout! (And our favorite Superhero books!)

Whizz!  Bang!  Bam! Pow! Got a kid who loves super heroes?  Then today's superhero craft is for you.  Ka-blamo! We're making a collapsible cardboard superhero hideout!

Make a Foldable, Collapsible, Cardboard Superhero House!

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Egg Carton Owls (and Owl Picture Books!)

We've been eating a TON of eggs lately... which means that we now have material for another egg carton craft!  (Yay, woot, woot.  Or should I say... hoot hoot?)  Today I'm sharing this super easy egg carton owl craft that I recently made with my preschooler.  It's a great spring craft that doesn't require any special materials and is super easy to set up!

Hoot hoot!  Let's Make some Egg Carton Owls!

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Easy Kids' Art: Lego Stamping (and some great STEAM books!)

Have you ever tried making art with lego?  

Easy Kids' Art:  Lego Stamping

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20+ Colorful, Rainbow Inspired Activities and Crafts (and books!)

Feeling colorful lately?  Looking for fun and easy rainbow themed crafts and activities?  Or maybe you're just starting to peek around for St. Patrick's Day Crafts?

I've currently got rainbows on my mind.  But, with a new baby at home, we've kinda been in survival mode (aka, crafting... and sleep happen pretty infrequently...)  So, while we adjust to this new norm, I thought I'd comb through the blog's archives to create a roundup of 20+  colorful activities and crafts.
Hope you have fun and get inspired by the posts below!

20+ Colorful Rainbow Inspired Activities and Crafts

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Colorful 3D Paper Plate Fish Craft (and our 10 Favorite Fish Books!)

Today I've got another unique paper plate craft to add to our ever growing list of paper plate crafts.  Recently I transformed several paper plates into beautiful 3D fish.  Then, my son and I got to work painting them with all the vibrant colors of the rainbow!

Awesomely colorful, 3D Paper Plate Fish

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Candy Maze (Design your game... from candy!)

Ooh la la! Today I'm going to share a fun, tasty, and creative CANDY CRAFT!   Do you have a stash of candy lying around?  I'm not a big candy addict... but I've been known to chow down on a few chocolates and gummy candies this time of year.  Yurp.   But can you blame me?  Chocolates are delicious and gummy candies are uber fun.  (Who doesn't dig their bright, happy colors?)  Well, if you have a stash of gummy candies lying around, here's a fun (and tasty) kids STEAM activity!    

Let's Design a Candy Maze!

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When I grow up... Fortune Teller Fun with Preschoolers! (And a book list)

Did you ever fold fortune tellers as a kid?  With no set nap times and a new baby, I've been trying to find easy ways to have fun with my older son.  Recently I introduced him to fortune tellers and he totally dug them!  We made them to predict what he would be when he grew up.   He doodled the different jobs that he'd like to do and then we colored and folded the fortune tellers together!

When I Grow Up... Fortune Teller Fun with Preschoolers!   

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Paper Blossoms for Chinese New Year

The quest for easy Chinese New Year Crafts continues!  I've been reading up a bit on the holiday to help me explain it to my older son.  Recently I learned that we often see plum blossom flowers decorating homes around this time of year.  Apparently they represent perseverance, courage, and reliability.  (Beautiful, right?)  Well, we don't have any plum blossom flowers around here.... but we do have pink tissue paper and twigs.  So we grabbed our crafting materials and then set to making ourselves some really easy and beautiful flower decorations for the New Year!

Tissue Paper Flower Kids Craft

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Chinese New Year Paper Bag Lion Masks (And a book list!)

One of the nicest things about having kids is seeing things through their eyes.  I remember loving Chinese New Year as a child.  The lion dance, the dragons, the red envelopes, the yummy food, the time spent with family... those are all the traditions and memories that I'd like to pass onto my sons as well.  Recently we've been knee deep in Chinese New Year Crafts and today's is my son's favorite so far.  We turned paper bags into our very own lion masks to wear and dance around in!

Paper Bag Lion Masks for Chinese New Year!       

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Watercolor Painted Paper Fans

I've recently been looking into making more Chinese New Year crafts together as a way to celebrate the upcoming holiday.   With my current infatuation with  watercolor crafts, we recently made these watercolor painted paper fans together.

Watercolor Painted Paper Fans

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Origami Conversation Heart Corner Bookmarks

Origami Crafts + Valentine's Day Crafts are some of my favorite to make!  I love transforming a sheet of paper into something else... and today's super easy craft combines both of these loves.  Tada!  We're making...

Origami Conversation Heart Bookmarks!

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Tissue Paper Luminary Drawings (and book list!)

How did you celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day?  This is the first year that I’ve talked to my preschooler about this holiday.  We read a bunch of picture books celebrating diversity and service (links below) and talked about what it means to dream and treat all people kindly, no matter what they look like.  Being a craft lover, we also sat down and made these Tissue Paper Luuminary Drawings.  I love the discussion that we had while making them and I love how they beautiful they turned out too!

Martin Luther King Tissue Paper Luminary Drawings 

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Colorful "Stamp and Paint" Heart Art

Ever try out a project, expecting one thing and then getting something completely different?  That’s what happened with a recent art adventure.  I loved this stained glass art with toilet paper rolls and never had a chance to try it out.  It seemed so easy.  Stamp, wait, then paint!  Boom.  Easy and colorful kid art!  Well, my preschooler and I've started making Valentine's Day Crafts and made a Valentine’s day version….with unexpected results! 

Colorful “Stamp and Paint” Heart Art

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FREE Color By Number Pirate Printables (And book list!)

We recently visited a friend's house and my son was enamored with these color-by-number sheets that his friends were working on. I'm not sure why, but he got a real kick out of finding numbers and coloring the design accordingly.  After we went home, we ended up designing two pirate color-by-number sheet together.  He really enjoyed coloring them in, so I'm sharing them in case you have a pirate and number loving child too!

FREE Pirate Color By Number Sheets!

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Printable Weather Board Game

What's the weather looking like where you are?  It's been raining pretty hard over here, so we've been stuck at indoors quite a bit.  (But we don't mind at all because we desperately need the rain!  Boo, drought.)  Inspired by our rainy weather, today I'm sharing this fun and easy printable weather-themed board game with y'all.  Just print it out, color it in, and play it with your kiddos!

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Preschool Ninja Crafts and Books

Does your child love ninjas?  My preschooler loves them!  They're sneaky, stealthy, and carry cool weapons.  If you have a ninja-loving kid too, here's a great list of ninja crafts and books that are perfect for preschoolers!  We've got paper plate crafts, finger print crafts, toilet roll crafts, paper bag crafts, puppets, and even an easy costume idea!

Preschool Ninja Crafts and Books

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Free Printable New Year's Crown

If you're looking for the EASIEST New Years Craft ever, then today's post is for you.  Why not make your very own New Years Crowns with the kiddos?  I've got two great ideas for you- one that's a little more artsy and one that's a print out and color in (for free!)

Make (or Print out)  New Year's Crowns

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Easy Snowflake Craft For New Years

2016 is coming up!  If you're looking for a fun New Years Craft to do with the kids, check out this New Years Snowflake!

2016 New Years Snowflake Craft

Yup.  We've made cut star snowflakes, giant painted snowflakes, snowman snowflakes, and lego snowflakes.  Now let's throw a 2016 inspired one in the mix as well!

You can get my patterns to cut out these two New Years snowflakes on DIY Candy!

And if you're looking for other cute New Years Crafts to do with the kids, check out the links below!

• Photo Prop Party Blowers
• New Years Pipe Cleaner Crowns

Happy making, friends!

How to Cut Star Snowflakes

Merry Christmas, friends!

 If you're looking for an easy Christmas Craft, here are two designs for cutting your very own star inspired snowflakes with the kiddos!

How to Cut Star Snowflakes!

Free Christmas Stained Glass Coloring Sheet Printable

As Christmas approaches, I find myself doing more and more Christmas Crafts.   Are you feeling the same way?  Lately I've been trying to come up with easy, affordable, and creative ways to craft and make art with the kiddos.  This beautiful stained glass craft fits the bill and is sure to be a crowd-pleaser for kids of all ages.  You can design your own stained glass, or use my free printable coloring sheet!

Christmas Stained Glass Craft 

(With Free Printable Coloring Sheet)!

GIANT, Gorgeous Painted Snowflakes

I have 3 words for you:  GIANT COLORFUL SNOWFLAKES.  A dream?  Nope!  These gorgeous snowflakes are simple to make and a great way to showcase your child's artwork too!

Giant and Gorgeous Painted Snowflakes

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Make a T-Shirt Ninja Mask! (And our 10 top Ninja Books)

Does your child totally dig ninjas?   Then this post is perfect for you!  We love making easy, homemade costumes and today's is my favorite idea so far.  Here's a super quick way to make a t-shirt ninja mask!  All you need is a t-shirt and a minute.  That's it!  No sewing or gluing required!

Super Quick and Easy T-Shirt Ninja Mask!

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How to Cut Snowman Snowflakes (2 ways!)

Ah, winter time.  Hot chocolate.  Cold weather.  Early nights.  Stir crazy kids?  Hrmm.  Just me? Well, whether you find yourself in that situation (or not) here's a fun winter craft that will help lift everyone's spirits!

Today we're making snowman snowflakes!

2 Ways to Make Snowman Snowflakes!

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3D Paper Plate Christmas Trees!

If your kid (1) loves Christmas crafts and (2) painting.... then these Paper plate Christmas Trees are the craft for you! They're so easy to make and provide the perfect "canvas" for little kids to express their creativity and holiday spirit!

3D Paper Plate Christmas Trees

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3D Paper Tube Christmas Wreath

Do you have a wreath hanging up in your home?  No?  Well hold off on buying one, because you can easily craft one with the kiddos!  Today's Christmas Craft is seriously adorable and SUPER EASY to make.  Really!   And here's an added bonus- you probably have most of the materials at home already!

Paper Tube Christmas Wreath!  

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Easy Twig String Art Ornaments

Our tree is finally up!  And since I love me some  Christmas crafts, my son and I recently whipped up these lovely (and easy) string art twig ornaments!  

Easy Twig String Art Ornaments

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Milk Jug Santa Claus Craft

Got a milk jug lying around?  Well don't throw that baby out!  Instead, use it to make a recycled Christmas Craft!  My preschooler and I recently turned ours into this cute

Milk Jug Santa Claus!

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Vibrant Chalk and Crayon Splash Art

I'm always on the hunt for easy and unique art projects to try out with kids.  And today's project pretty much fits the bill!  Children usesidewalk chalk, crayons, and a splash of ink to create vibrantly colored, glowing artwork!

Vibrant Chalk and Crayon Splash Art!

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Glittery and Gorgeous Fall Leaf Process Art

Today's fall art idea is simple, beautiful, and fun to make!  Tada! We're adding to our growing list of fall crafts with these glittery and gorgeous fall leaves!  

Glittery and Gorgeous Fall Leaf Process Art

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