Summer Bug Cards for Kids

Bugs, bugs, bugs.  We've got bugs on the mind over here!  

So we made some cute bug themed birthday cards. 

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Uber Cute Origami Mermaid

Looking for the cutest origami summer craft ever?  I recently signed my son up for swimming lessons and realized... oof! Summer is right around the corner!  That means that it's time for... summer crafts!  Woo hoo!  And what better way to inspire some summer crafting.. then this uber cute origami mermaid?    Yup.  Put this craft on your summer-to-do list!  It's a must for all mermaid-loving kiddos!

How to Fold an Origami Mermaid!

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3D DIY Butterfly Cutout Wrapping Paper

Are you a butterfly lover?  Do you know a butterfly lover?  Then you're going to love today's 3D butterfly cutout wrapping paper.  3D?  Oh yes.  The wings pop up, making this the ultimate spring craft!

DIY 3D Cutout Butterfly Wrapping Paper!

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Accordion Folded Flowers

Spring is definitely in our neck of the woods.  And that means two things:  flowers and parties. Yup!  The flowers have gone gangbusters and we've celebrated tons of friends' birthdays in the past two months.   I think that's why I felt inspired to make today's super nifty flower craft.  These accordion folded flowers are such a nice way to bring the loveliness of Spring indoors.  They'll look great adorning your home or as pretty party decorations too!

How To Fold Accordion Folded Flowers!

So head on over to DIY Candy today to see my super easy tutorial for these accordion folded flowers!

Happy making, friends!

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Gorgeous Accordion Fold Fall Paper Leaf Banner

Today we're continuing with the theme of easy fall crafts.  Couple of days ago I shared this really beautiful Sewn Leaf Art project that I made with my preschooler.  Today I just wanted to share this gorgeous folded paper leaf banner.

I came up with the idea after reading some fall-themed books with my son.   Seeing all the beautiful colored leaves in the books made me miss the fall leaves back on the East coast.  And then it hit me- why not make our own?  Bring a bit of fall to our forever-summer state.   And so, my son and I got to making and painting together.  The results came out so beautiful that he insisted we hang the banner up in his room to spruce it up.

Make Monster Sculptures with kids!

Looking for a fun Halloween activity for preschoolers?  

Why not set up a monster-making factory in your dining room?  Yup.  This fun art and craft activity is a great way for kids to be creative and gear up for the upcoming holidays.  (Hooray Halloween!  Woo-hoo!)

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Living in Southern California, I have a tough time appreciating seasons.  I mean, we’re still in the 70s-80s here.  The leaves are green…. I'm still wearing shorts and sandals.  It just doesn’t quite feel like fall.  So this monster-making activity really helped us get into the fall spirit.

Make Colorful Watercolor Peg Doll and Beaded Necklaces

I recently purchased a box of Liquid Watercolors (affiliate link) to try out.  I'd seen so many beautiful projects by other fellow Rockin' Art Moms  that we just had to try them out too.

And guess what?  These paints totally lived up to the hype.

Here's why liquid watercolor rock- The colors are beautiful and vibrant.  These watercolor paints are also SO MUCH EASIER to use than the typical pan watercolors.  My preschooler doesn't typically enjoy painting with me because he struggles with getting enough color on his paint brush.  I think he really enjoyed today's project because it was easy and the colors came out looking fabulous!

So here's our first liquid watercolor project- Tada!  We used our liquid watercolors to dye some wooden beads and peg dolls to make these lovely, family necklaces!

Let's Make Colorful Watercolor-Dyed Peg Doll Necklaces!

 

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Make Origami Faces

This past weekend I spent a bit of time figuring out how to make some adorable origami faces.   After several failed attempts, I shortened the directions... and voila!  I love how they turned out! Sculptural and modern, they are so fun to make and uber cool to display!

Paper Sculptures- Making Origami Faces with Kids!  

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Slinky Rainbow Garland

Are you looking for an easy, fun, and colorful kids craft?  Well, then today's slinky rainbow garland is just up your alley.  I've been digging rainbow crafts lately.  They're just so fun and happy! And these rainbow garlands are totally rocking my world.  I was inspired by Minieco's folded rainbow paper garlands and decided to make some of my own!  Chuck loves playing them like an accordion and watching them wiggle around. (Ok, I kinda do too. They're mesmerizing!)

Slinky Rainbow Paper Garland

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How to Make Colorful Kirigami Flowers

Spring is here! La la la! Although our current grey skies don't exactly scream "warm, sunny, bursting-with-new-life weather," today's kirigami flower craft certainly does!

How to Fold and Cut Kirigami Flowers

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Now, I had a lot of trouble naming this craft.  These flowers kinda felt like origami... and yet they weren't quite origami because I used scissors to make the designs too.  Luckily Mr. Google taught me the term kirigami.  It's a Japanese term that basically describes origami that also involves paper cutting too.  Bingo!  So cool right?

By the way, if you love these flowers, you'll also love these

• AWESOME paper stars  
• Lego Snowflakes! 

How to Fold and Cut Origami Stars

Lately I've just been digging Origami projects.  There's just something so relaxing about folding paper to create lovely things.    For today's post I wanted to share a recent origami project- these folded and cut origami stars.  They are really, really beautiful and of course, super simple to make!  (I'm an origami newbie, so if I say it's easy... it's totally doable!)

How to Fold and Cut Origami Stars

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So keep reading to see how I made them.

Oh yeah.  Guess what?  I took the plunge and actually shot videos of me folding the paper and explaining my process.  I know, I know.  Video is a completely new medium to me and I still have a lot of kinks to work out (like how to make things brighter!)  But, I think the videos explain the process better than the photos.  So I've included them in the post.