Crafts
Creative Kids: Wrapping Paper Canoe
Brina and Karlie’s wrapping paper canoe
After a recent celebration at our house we had leftover wrapping paper, tissue paper, and a couple boxes. As I was cleaning up the girls asked if they could use the leftover items for a few days before we threw everything away. After a few moments of hesitation I decided it wouldn’t hurt anything to let them play with the items and get creative. They were thrilled to have such large pieces of wrapping paper and goodies to create something super special.
Once they decided what they wanted to do they took the largest piece of wrapping paper they could find and made a wrapping paper “canoe” out of it. The red tissue paper was used to create four rows of benches inside the canoe. They used some of the cardboard to make oars for their boat. I am not sure why they decided to make a canoe but they both worked together to come up with the idea and did well working together on it. I let them keep out their wrapping paper canoe for several days. I was pretty impressed with how they were able to put everything together all on their own and even made something that resembled a paddle out of cardboard.
Even though my preference would be to clean up the wrapping paper, cardboard, and tissue paper right away after the celebration I allowed myself to let go and let the girls have fun with the items. The items were trash but they had a blast creating, using the scissors and the glue to put together their wrapping paper canoe. Yes, I could have thrown all the wrapping items away as soon as the celebration was over but I would have never had the joy of watching my kids entertain themselves for hours with their handcrafted wrapping paper canoe! It is a great way to reuse the wrapping paper multiple times plus the kids have a blast too!
Cardboard paddle for their canoe
Gift Giving: Christmas S’mores in a Jar
My friend Bre shared this adorable jar of goodies with us. If you are looking for a fun teacher or neighbor gift this is a great idea. It is called “Smores in a Jar”. The gift is beautiful and tasty, the perfect combination! Here’s what you do:
Smores in a Jar
What you Need:
- 1 Mason Jar
- 1 cup Crushed Graham Crackers
- 1 cup Holiday M&Ms
- Marshmallows
- Fabric
- Paper & Tape
Layered Ingredients:
Wash and dry the mason jar. Add the crushed graham crackers to the bottom of the jar. Pour in the M&M’s and fill the remaining spacing (approximately 1 cup) with miniature Marshmallows.
Print Out these Directions:
- Remove Marshmallows and set aside
- Combine ingredients in the jar with 1/2 cup melted butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Press mix into a 9 inch square baking pan
- Place marshmallows on top
- Bake at 350 degree for 15 minutes
- Cool Completely
- Cut into bars and enjoy!
Cut out a circle in the fabric 1 inch larger than the lid of your jar and place on the top then screw down the ring. Tape the directions on the outside of the jar and give as a gift!
Gift Giving: 12 Days of Christmas
This year we decided to spread the Holiday Cheer out at our house this year by doing the 12 Days of Christmas again. I did this last year and it was a huge hit. Christmas morning can be so busy and this allows an opportunity to spread the fun over 12 days instead of packing everything into one day. Starting December 13th the girls will be able to open one a day until Christmas. The cost was less than $20 total, including boxes and wrapping paper. Most of the gifts were bought on clearance over the past year. We did a joint stack for both of our girls, however, you can choose to do a stack for each person.
Here is what our 12 Days of Christmas includes:
- Day 1: Christmas Ornament for each girl (purchased last year after Christmas on clearance with rewards).
- Day 2: Two Music CD’s by Suzi Shelton (received CD’s from doing a review and giveaway)
- Day 3: DVD Veggie Tales (DVD was free, but paid a small fee for shipping)
- Day 4: Two Giant Candy Canes, one Princess and 1 Cars (purchased with rewards)
- Day 5: Two Christmas Coloring Books (purchased on clearance with rewards)
- Day 6: Christmas Craft, painting ornaments (purchased with rewards on clearance)
- Day 7: Christmas Flower and Snowman (purchased with rewards on clearance)
- Day 8: Christmas Book God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawn Bergren (purchased when it was on sale with Swagbucks gift card)
- Day 9: Two Christmas Headbands (purchased with rewards on clearance)
- Day 10: Game (found on clearance at Kmart and used gift card)
- Day 11: Two Hooded Bath Towels (used a coupon and picked them up on Black Friday)
- Day 12: PJs for each to wear Christmas Eve (picked up on sale and used a coupon)
Other Ideas for 12 Days of Christmas:
- Hair Accessories
- Facial Cleansers or Make Up – if you have a teenager just starting to wear makeup or want to update your collection my Mary Kay contact is doing a 12 Day of Christmas set! If your husband is looking for something awesome to get you he may want to contact Ann too.
- Socks or Tights
- Chapstick
- Socks
- Gloves or Scarf
- Card Game
- Construction Paper
- Markers or Crayons
- Matchbox cars
- Small Toys
- Baby Doll Clothes
- Christmas Underwear
- The ideas are endless!
Karlie & Brina excited about their 12 Days of Christmas
I wrapped them in the original boxes or found ones around the house to put the items into. The Christmas paper was purchased on clearance and I used a coupon. Many of the items we purchased on clearance throughout the year and / or used CVS – ECBs and Walgreens – Register Rewards, Swagbucks Gift Cards or Coupons. I cannot remember the price for all the items but with the rewards it may have been under $10 out of pocket for the entire set of 12 gifts and some days had multiple items in them. We did a joint stack for our girls to save money, however, the items we picked match their individual interests (for example the craft with one being princess and the other being cars). When the girls walked into the room and saw the stack of gifts they were super excited.
Creative Kids: Outdoor Painting Fun
The girls love their easel and can often be seen drawing with crayons, colored pencils or chalk, but their absolute favorite activity is painting. When we have a nice day outside and a few minutes we will take the easel out onto the front porch and let the girls paint. Over the years it is amazing to see their painting masterpieces become even more beautiful and specific.
Karlie getting started with her painting project on a clean sheet of paper!
Karlie’s finished artwork
Paint table complete with a bowl to rinse the paint brushes. Paint table complete with a bowl to rinse the paint brushes.
Brina starting her artwork with a clean slate! I wonder what she’ll paint?
Brina’s artwork masterpiece. A flower blooming on a sunny day with the initials of her entire family.
Kid Crafts: Decorative Gift Bags
Decorative Gift Bags - "Tilted Heart with Wings", "Flower", and "Happy Star, Butterfly, & Race Car" The girls loved this craft because it is fun and easy. The last time they did it they were occupied for hours and they managed to make several really cute decorative gift bags. The neat part about using wallpaper is the different designs are beautiful themselves you really don’t need to add much to the gift bags (you can see the butterfly got it an antenna and the star got a face but otherwise just plain they look pretty). This kid craft helps with stimulating creative juices from picking out the color and pattern of wallpaper to cutting, gluing, and putting their pieces on their special bag. The bags above are a few of the ones the girls did recently. I am thinking about having them do a few more for the Christmas Season.
What you Need:
- Wallpaper Samples or craft paper
- Cookie Cutters
- Pencils
- Scissors
- Glue
- Paper Bags
- Wallpaper Samples from a local store
We got these papers from wallpaper sample books that we’ve had for several years (they have been loved as you can see). We were able to get them when the store was throwing them out. You can go to Home Depot, Walmart, Lowe’s, any Fabric Store and ask if you can have their old wallpaper sample books. Most of them would rather give them to you then throw them away or recycle them. The wallpaper pages make great craft paper!
- A variety of cookie cutters
I got out a variety of cookie cutters and put them in a sheet cake pan so they were spread out a little more. The girls had fun digging through the cookie cutters to find one to use for their gift bags.
- Brina laying out her design
Brina would trace her cookie cutter, cut out the design, then lay out the items on the table before gluing them to her decorative gift bag.
- Karlie proud of her colorful butterfly
Karlie is busy watching what Brina was doing while showing me her butterfly. I let the girls do whatever they wanted to do and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at how well the bags turned out especially for 6 year olds putting them together. More importantly they had a blast doing the craft together. They were excited to put goodies in their decorative gift bags and share them with others.
Yard Sale Deals: Children’s Books
I only had the opportunity to go to a few yard sales this summer with all the traveling, however, a couple of the ones I went to were awesome! Our family LOVES books! I have always encouraged the girls to read both with us and without us. They enjoy reading and we do our best to read to them every day as well.
One Saturday I went to a yard sale that was being given by a retired elementary school teacher. I didn’t get there until about mid-morning and she still had a couple big boxes of books. I picked up 49 children’s books for $3.50, making them 7 cents each. Most of the books were paperback, one was a Veggie Tales Devotional, a few hardbacks, and several beginning readers ones that are perfect for the girls as they continue to improve their reading skills.
The girls were VERY excited about the book on top, “Apple Trouble” because it was a book we read together a couple years ago from the library that they really enjoyed. Of course it was the first book I read to them when we got home from the yard sales. Other than removing the stickers with the teachers name on it and a few disinfectant wipes the books were as good as new. I purchased a couple crafts and some brown paper bags for activities from that yard sale as well which have come in handy over the summer with the girls. What great deals have you found at yard sales recently?
Craft Activities: Time to Paint
The girls enjoy summer and all the fun activities that come along with it! One of the activities they insisted on doing regularly was painting. They have a blast doing it and I like that it helps them work on their hand eye coordination as well as creativity.
Karlie concentrating on her painting project! Karlie had so much fun coloring her craft that she used up almost all the paint that came with it. She was really good about rinsing out her brush!
Brina carefully painting her craft! She wanted the picture to be perfect! Brina had fun painting her pretty picture.
I am thrilled to see how much the girls enjoy crafts. It is neat seeing them take time to be creative, neat, and make the craft extra special. They are even getting better about not making such a huge mess (which is nice for Mommy too). My babies are growing up so quickly. I am thankful for our time together this summer and will be sad to see them go back to school soon.
Craft Activities: Silly Yard Animals
During the summer I came up with a variety of fun activities for the girls to enjoy. As I was going through the craft cabinet I pulled out google eyes, fuzzy sticks, pom poms, and glue! A lot of fun crafty ideas can happen with all these great items but I had a specific purpose in mind – Rock Animals! Rock Animals are always a huge hit and can occupy the girls for hours. Here is how to much Rock and other Nature Animals!
Step 1
Items for the craft – Google Eyes, Fuzzy Sticks, Pom Poms, Scissors and Glue
We are ready to get creative with Fuzzy Sticks, Glue, Google Eyes, and Pom Poms! Step 2
Have each child gather a pile of rocks, sticks, leaves, sea shells and other items from the yard. The kids are usually so excited to get started this step only takes a few minutes!
Karlie gathered some rocks, sticks and leaves to make into fun animals! Step 3
Once they have a pile of goodies from the yard help get them started on making their “animals”. I make sure the glue is ready to go, the craft is going smoothly, and answer any last minute questions before giving them the freedom to be creative!
Brina creating her leaf animal. Step 4
Let the kids imaginations go wild creating their own animals! Here are a few of the creations our girls came up with during their craft time!
Karlie made a rock replica of Daddy (love the green glasses)! I was thrilled to see them come up with “glasses” for their animals especially since our entire family (including the kids) wear glasses!
Brina's silly stick animal. Brina found several sticks and had a blast creating animals out of them!
Karlie's "scary" shark animal. She started out making the three eyed alien from “Toy Story” but decided it looked more like a shark, one of her favorite animals (she has been fascinated by sharks since she was 3 years old).
Brina found a brick in the rock garden and made a happy brick animal out of it (with glasses as well). I was excited to see them find and create a variety of different yard objects.
Cute rock with pretty purple hair. They found the various objects and were able to create the animals on their own. Although we went through A LOT of glue, so make sure to have plenty on hand! The rock animal craft kept our girls entertained for hours! It was so much fun checking out all their neat animals and hearing their stories behind each one. They left several of their treasures on the front porch to show their friends, family and neighbors. Skipper decided the pom poms were too irresistible and managed to remove a few from their animals so the girls spent the next day patching a few of their rock animals. The girls had a blast and it only cost me a couple dollars for all the supplies!
Bass Pro Shops: Free Family Summer Camp Events (Activities / Workshops / Crafts & More!)
Starting June 4th through July 10, 2011 Bass Pro Shops will be having Free Family Summer Camp Events.
There are plenty of fun activities, games, crafts, and workshops to participate in at Bass Pro Shops. Some variations may occur at the individual stores participating in the Free Family Summer Camp Events.
Free Activities (Tuesdays & Thursdays from 2 PM to 6 PM and Saturdays & Sundays from 12 PM to 4 PM):
- Free Shooting Gallery
- Free Shooting Range
- Free Casting Targets
- Free Photo (on Saturdays & Sundays)
- Free S’Mores Cookout (Saturdays – 7 to 8 PM)
Free Workshops (Tuesdays & Thursdays from 2 PM to 6 PM and Saturdays & Sundays from 12 PM to 4 PM):
- Archery
- Bird Watching
- Shooting Basics
- Camping Basics
- Plants & Insects
- Animal Identification
- Hiking Basics
- Outdoor Pets
- Fishing Basics
Free Crafts (Tuesdays & Thursdays from 4 PM to 6 PM and Saturdays & Sundays from 2 PM to 5 PM):
- Camp Scene Doorknob Hanger – June 4 & June 5
- Camping Photo Frame – June 7, June 9, June 11, June 12
- Leather Keychain – June 14, June 16, June 17, June 18
- Paint a Wiggle Fish – June 21, June 23, June 25, June 26
- Design Your Own Birdhouse – June 28, June 30, July 2, July 3
- Stamping Fun Animal Tracks – July 5, July 7, July 9, July 10
To learn more information go to Bass Pro or to find a location near you!
Family Outings: Free Home Depot Kid’s Workshop
Home Depot hosts a free kid’s workshop on the first Saturday of the month.
Upcoming Kid’s Workshops:
- Saturday, May 7: Mother’s Day Project – Tulip Flower Vase
- Saturday, June 4: Father’s Day Project – Valet Organizer
The free kids’ workshops take place on Saturday morning (usually from from 9:00 a.m.-noon, but verify with your local store). The kids get to take home their project, an orange apron, and an achievement pin.
