Cardboard Airport Runway

Ever since I saw Paging Fun Mom's pizza box airport, I knew I had to make one for Chuck.   I mean, my goodness, what a neat way to use Christmas lights!  So here's my version of a Cardboard Airport Runway.

Cardboard Airport Runway

This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you for your support!

I love this craft because it's made from an old box and some Christmas lights.  Plus, we made it together as a family. Chuck and his dad drilled the holes together and I painted the box with him.  (And I think it looks just as nice as any of these airplane runway toys.  Don't you?)

DIY Climbing Cardboard Circus Men Toys

I love making interactive toys for Chuck. There's something immensely gratifying about creating something that's beautiful, functional, and fun.... out of recyclable items!  Recently I made these two cardboard climbing circus men toys for Chuck.  You pull on the strings and the men race to the top.

Cardboard Climbing Circus Strong Men Toys

This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you for your support!

Hee hee.  Do you dig their leotards, chest hair, and handlebar mustache?  Yup.  These manly men exude quite a bit of style, don't you think?

Ok.  Let's get making!

Easy Zentangle Pumpkins for Kids and Adults!

Recently I saw this super gorgeous and easy to draw zentangle spiderweb idea....  and I was so inspired, that we drew our own versions- zentangle pumpkins!   The process was so fun that I thought I'd sharing the idea here.

Easy Zentangle Pumpkins- Great Kids and Adult art activity!

Note:  This post contains affiliate links.  This means I make a small bit of change when you purchase items through the links.  Thank you for your support and the grocery money.  For my full disclosure policy, click here.

Cute and Easy Paper Bunny Puppets

Easter's coming up in a couple of days and I realized that I never shared any Easter Crafts this year.  So here's a quick craft that you can whip up with the kiddos this holiday.  These adorable bunny puppets are easy to make, fun to decorate, and even more fun to play with!

Let's Make Some Paper Bunny Puppets!

DIY Giant Ice Cream Cone Gift Wrapping (A fun Alternative to Christmas Stockings!)

Over the years I've done a lot of fun gift wrapping ideas on the blog.  (Remember my Fox Gift Box and my Unicorn Gift Box?)  Well, today I'm sharing a fun alternative to Christmas stockings... what about a Giant Christmas Ice Cream Cone instead?

This post contains affiliate links. For my full disclosure policy, click here.  Thank you so much for your support!

Super Bowl XLVII

 

The game was ah-ma-zing.

Go Ravens!

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!

This post contains affiliate links.  This means I make a teeny tiny bit of money from any purchases made through the Amazon links below.   Thank you for your support! For my full disclosure, click here.

Make a Folding Popsicle Stick Fan

So our move is currently underway!  Eeek.  The movers just took away our boxes and we're doing some "urban camping" in our apartment (aka sleeping on air mattresses and living without a tv and toys) for the next week. While this is happening, Chuck and I are still trying to find moments to create.  Today I'm going to share with you a super easy tutorial for a folding popsicle stick fan that we recently made.  Yes.  It really folds.  Pretty neat, right?

Make a Folding Popsicle Stick Fan

(This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you for your support.)

The idea came to me after watching a tv show explaining how women make traditional folding fans in Asia. After the episode ended I knew I had to adapt the steps for a kids' craft.  This fan doesn't open as smoothly as its real counterpart.  But it's still a neat kids' craft because it highlights a traditional art form.   Now let's get making!

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

This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you for your support!  For my full disclosure, click here.

Mini Painted Sponge Christmas Trees

Can you believe that it's already mid November?   Time sure flies by quickly!  Even though it's not yet Thanksgiving, my son's already asked me to put up the Christmas tree and make Christmas Crafts.

Well, we still haven't put up the tree, but we have been crafting more together at night.  Recently, we turned a bunch of old makeup sponges into mini Christmas trees.  I know, they're not as beautiful as the real thing... but for now, they'll do!

Mini Sponge Christmas Trees

This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you for your support!

Free 3D Minecraft Paper Doll Printables

Do your kids love Minecraft? My two boys simply adore the game and we've made tons of Minecraft crafts this past year. When my eldest made a cute 3D paper Steve from Paper Pixelcraft my younger son wanted a paper doll too, but there were just too many parts for him to cut out and fold. So I ended up simplifying the doll design and leaving it blank so that he could draw in his own details. Since both boys enjoyed making these simpler Minecraft paper dolls, I figured I'd share the designs here too.

Ready to color, cut, fold, tape, and play?

  DIY 3D Minecraft Paper Doll Printables

The Artful Year and Melted Crayon Friendship Rocks

Chuck doesn't always enjoy making things with me.  (What? Yup.)  A lot of days he would just rather that we read books or race airplanes together.   And I'm really trying harder to let go and follow his lead.  But I love crafting.  So I keep putting out those invitations in hopes that he'll join me.  And on those special occasions when he's interested and involved in a craft... boy oh boy... those days are really magic.

This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you for your support!

We recently received a copy of Jean Van't Hul's The Artful Year to review.  Jean is an artist, mom of 2, and author of the amazing kids' art blog Artful Parent.  (She's also the author of another great kids' art book The Artful Parent. ) 

In her newest book, Jean shares a whopping 175 family-friendly crafts, and recipes!  The photos are dreamy and beautiful; the crafts span through all the seasons and holidays of the year; and the recipes look really, really yummy.  I love this book.  But those things aren't what I love the most about her book.

What I love the most about the book is her voice.  In the beginning she shares this beautiful quote-

"We need to be more intentional than ever as we carve out quality time together, celebrate in meaningful ways, build traditions and memories and create stronger families.  It's not about doing more.  It's about making choices, fostering creativity, and building family connection."  

Wow.  That just hit so close to home.  I don't want to just make things with Chuck.  Things eventually break down, get lost, or tossed away.  I want to foster creativity.  I want to build our relationship.  I want to make lasting memories.

Ok.  This was a super long intro, I know. But I just had to get that all out there.  Because it really is a beautiful, beautiful book.

Here's the craft that we chose to try out first from the book:

Melted Crayon Friendship Rocks

#riskrejection- Confessions of a Kids' Craft Blogger

A couple of months ago, a friend shared some of my blog posts with her sister who has kids.  After seeing some of my posts, her sister said something along these lines... "Wow.  She makes me feel like a bad mom because I don't do those things with my kids."

Ouch.

Now, I think her sister was only half joking... but still, the comment dug in deep and hit me hard.  I started this blog as a way to document all of the fun and crapty ways that I keep myself (and now, my son) entertained.  And I've kept this blog going for because I want to keep creating things... and hopefully inspire other parents and kids to create things too.

In no way did I ever want to make someone feel bad about themselves...

So today's post is an honest post.  Friends, hopefully I haven't made others feel that way.  Let me share some honest, kid craft blogger confessions with you...

1.  Ever notice how Chuck is always cute and smiley in photos?
Confession- I bribe my child to smile.  *Gasp* Yurp.  It's true.  I give Chuck a gummy snack to smile and laugh for photos.  Yes.  Gummy snacks... the sugary, non-organic, artificial color-laden kind.  It works every time and he enjoys working for this "fee." 

2.   Ever notice how the first photo of each post shows a lovely project laying on a clean, white background?
Confession- It's staged.  *Gasp*  It's true.  I take up "office" in Chuck's room, move around his toys, place my artwork and projects on a white board, and shoot like a million photos.... and end up using only one or two.  (Oh and btw- I also recently learned that images are considered more "pinnable" if they're vertical ones instead of horizontal ones... so I've been working on that too.) 

3.  Ever notice how my photos are nice and bright?
Confession- They are edited.  *Gasp*  Yes.  It's true.  I take photos in the morning (for the best light).  Then I edit them on free software like Picassa.  (And here's another confession- I even do this for many of my photos on my Instagram Feed too)

4.  Ever notice that I post a lot of craft posts every week?  Where do I get the time to do this stuff?
Confession- I'm a super hero and have the ability to stop time.

Just kidding!  I hate cleaning.  When Chuck is finally in bed, and I see a dirty bathroom/floor/kitchen/bedroom (take your pick) and an enticing list of craft ideas... the craft ideas win every time.  So if you ever come and visit our apartment... sorry for the dirty toilet and the giant dust bunnnies... let's make something together!

5.  Wow.  So many of my projects seem to work out so nicely and neatly....

Confessions-

• 2/3 of my projects are "duds."  Ideas often don't work out (like my exploding dinosaur eggs) or activities just weren't very fun (like my DIY math game).   
• I usually go through several iterations of more complicated projects to get a version that I like. 
• Of the 1/3 "successful" projects, only about 1/2 of them ever make it to the blog.  The other ones are never posted because... (and I know this is superficial... but I'm being honest here)... the photos just aren't that great.  

 

And now that I've bared my kid crafter soul, I'll end with this post with couple of photos from our latest creative endeavor.  A couple of days ago Chuck and I had a TON of fun painting in our living room.  Here's a photo of our activity:

Yes.  this was in our living room.  Yes. We went a bit crazy.  He ended up painting his feet, hands, bubble wrap, a random tire, and some of his clothes green.  It was a good rainy, day, stuck-inside activity.   

And here are real* (and blurry) smiles from Chuck:
*No gummy treats were offered here

And here's our final artwork (made 100% by Chuck)

Heh heh.  Isn't the image gorgeous?  Isn't it super pinnable?

Friend, this is what a lot of our artwork and projects end up looking like... 




So that's the end of my confession.  I'm just a regular mom, who hates cleaning, but loves making stuff (some good, some really not so good) with my regular kid (who is sometimes happy and smiley and agreeable... and sometimes not).

Thanks for joining me on this crafty and crapty adventure.




Linking up with other ladies who are daring to be honest and risk rejection.

   

I took the risk... so now what?

Last Thursday, I shared with you my secret, well now not-so-secret dream to make a career as a craft blogger.  Today I just wanted to briefly share what's been happening since then...  

Ehh... a lot of hard work.

End of post.

Image by Marc Johns, found here

What, you're still here?  Ok, ok, maybe I was kind of vague.

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

Groovy Sticker Snowflakes Art (Printable included)

With the start of the new school year, our family is still trying to find its new normal.  Transitions from school to home can sometimes be rough.  So we've been trying to keep things easy with more downtime in the afternoon.  We play at the park, read books, or do simple open-ended crafts.   Today I wanted to share a really easy open-ended snowflake craft that my son and I really enjoyed.  We pulled out some old stickers and made ourselves some groovy sticker snowflakes! 

This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you for the grocery money.  For my full disclosure policy, click here.

Lovely Yarn Wrapped Rocks

Got yarn?  Got rocks?  Good.  Then you have all the materials needed for today's summer craft.  We'll be doing some easy rock wrapping!

Lovely Yarn Wrapped Rocks

This post contains affiliate links.  This means I make a teeny tiny bit of money from any purchases made through the Amazon links below.   Thank you for your support! For my full disclosure, click here.

Our 15 Favorite Graphic Novels!

We love reading graphic novels. My preschooler enjoys looking at the pictures and following the fast-paced story. My 3rd grader really loves the storylines. If you're looking for some great graphic novels to read with the kids, check out our list of...

15 Awesome Graphic Novels!

This post contains affiliate links. This means I make a tiny bit of grocery money from each purchase made. Thank you for your support! For my full disclosure policy, click here.

Also, all photos were taken from Amazon!

Shark Binoculars

We are in LOVE with shark crafts over here.   Love, love, love them.

So when I was sent a bunch of free craft materials from Horizon Group awhile back, I knew what we had to use them to make.... Shark toilet roll binoculars!

Toilet Roll Shark Binoculars 

Aren't they adorable?  They are my favorite shark-themed craft so far!

Mystery Grid Art Challenge

Howdy! Today I'm sharing a STEAM activity that combines art and math.   Put on your creative hats and grab your favorite color pencils.  We're trying our hand at the Mystery Grid Art Challenge!

Think you can conquer the Mystery Grid Challenge?

(Well, read on and find out!)