Kids Crafts

Holiday Craft Ideas Kids Can Make For Gifts

Filed Under: Creative, Kids Crafts December 8, 2020

Holiday Craft Ideas for Kids

That Can Made for Gifts

The holidays are a great time for crafts with kids. Christmas ornaments & crafts kids can make are always a big hit. You can use them to decorate around the house, or also to give to loved ones as gifts. It’s special to the person that receives the gift, as well as to the child who makes it, giving them a sense of pride and accomplishment in the gift that they are giving.

These ornament crafts are easy, inexpensive, and are sure to lead to fun during the holiday season!

8 Holiday Craft Ideas & Ornaments Kids Can Make for Christmas

Tear Art Christmas Wreaths These are adorable and easy to do whether you have bigger kids or toddlers!

2. Shrink Film OrnamentsBelow are some options for shrink film on Amazon.

3. Yarn Wrapped Christmas Tree Ornament

4. Button Star Ornament

5. Easy Candy Cane for Kids

Candy Cane Ornament Craft for kids to make as gift

6. Mini Yarn Hat Ornaments

7. Clothespin Snowman Craft

8. Minion Christmas Ornaments

There are so many options when it comes to making your own ornaments! The possibilities are endless from favorite characters, quotes, and personalization the ornaments will be reminders of memories for years to come.

Do you have a favorite craft to do with Kids during the holidays?

DIY Bookmark Ideas

Filed Under: Creative, Gifts, Kids Crafts December 7, 2020

Fun DIY Bookmark Ideas

Bookmarks make great gifts and are very useful if you want to keep for yourself. They are functional, small, and serve a great purpose. Don’t forget to check out these great books for kids to read. While they may not be long enough for a bookmark, that doesn’t mean kids won’t enjoy marking their favorite spots in them!

8 Bookmarks You Can Make for Home or for Gifts

Lightsaber Bookmarks

The perfect bookmark for the Star Wars fan! These are easy to do, are great for kids- both to keep them busy creating the bookmark and encouraging them to read books!

2. Jumbo Clip Bookmarks

These are simple but very pretty! They make great gifts for book lovers and teachers. They are also a fun way to mark recipes or planner pages!

3. Yarn Wrapped Letter Bookmarks

These letter bookmarks are creative and such a fun way to personalize it!

4. Cup Of Tea Bookmark

This cup of tea bookmark is adorable! It would be cut in a gift basket with a book, some hot tea and the bookmark to complete it all!

5. Penguin Bookmark

Another great way to get crafty with the kids and also encourage them to read. This bookmark would go along great with the book Penguin Problems!

6. Quote Bookmarks

Whether a favorite famous quote, biblical quote, or quote from a loved one- these are thoughtful and will bring a smile to the person using it.

7. Easy Duct Tape Bookmarks

Duct Tape can do anything, as proven with these bookmarks!

8. Easy DIY Bookmarks

More adorable handmade bookmark ideas to get creative and encourage reading!

Looking for more gift ideas? Check out these Mason Jar Crafts!

Acorn Craft for Fall- Pinterest Nailed it or Failed it?

Filed Under: Creative, Kids Crafts November 1, 2020

Our Painted Acorn Craft For Fall

Pinterest nailed it or failed it? …. There are a ton, literally a ton of acorns around our house, and the kids have started gathering them and throwing them (awesome, right?!). I decided that Pinterest must have something we could do with these acorns that would make use of the excess that we have, plus keep us busy one afternoon.

I found various different painted and glitter acorn options that were pretty and cool.

How to Paint Acorns — https://www.homestoriesatoz.com/fall-2/how-to-paint-acorns.html

Painted Acorn Craft — https://craftsbyamanda.com/bright-painted-acorns/

Painting Acorns for Fall Craft Project

Super cute, right?! Plus it doesn’t look that difficult to do. After all, it’s an acorn craft. Ha! The joke was on me. It started out with my husband suggested that since we had so many acorns we should put them on a cookie sheet covered with foil and roll them in the paint. The colors winded up being less distinctive (obviously) but the kids were all on board with splattering paint on the pan and rolling acorns around.

There were also some attempts at finger painting the acorns, and let’s just say there were some very messy hands and paint that winded up on the white door. It was fun though, so I can’t say I actually regret it.

We used a painting dropcloth over the table to protect it and so it wasn’t a big deal for any paint to get on that while we did the craft.

For the acorn “hats” we put them on some foil and used spray glue to spray them before sprinkling glitter all over them. Yes, it was as messy and sticky as it sounds, but again, ultimately it was fun to do.

Waiting for the acorns to dry… which takes a surprisingly (or not) long amount of time when there is globs of paint on the acorns.

We decided to add some glitter to some of the acorns as well while they were still a little wet.

Pinterest Nailed it or Failed it

Our Finished acorns went into a couple mason jars for decoration. No, they don’t look like the pretty acorns in the Pinterest pictures but they were fun to do and we spent some time laughing and joking as we did them so I would say it was worth it

Want more Fall Decorating and Craft Ideas?

Science Experiment with Kids- Does Candy + Water Make Art?

Filed Under: Kids, Kids Crafts April 22, 2020

At Home Experiment- Does Candy + Water = Art?

Virtual school can feel taxing when you can’t leave home. The backyard does offer some relief but knowing that you aren’t supposed to go anywhere can often make you feel like you really just want to go… anywhere!! I was trying to find something new to do when I remembered that I bought a book of science experiments for kids at Christmas because they love science. There’s an experiment in it that asks- Can water and candy make art? It looked easy enough so I decided to try it out. This is a great way to get rid of some Easter candy but not completely waste it!

Candy Science Experiments

First up was Skittles. This is what they used in their example in the book as well.

Science Experiment with Skittles — From the book Awesome Science Experiments for Kids

Experiment inside the book- Candy Rainbow — The experiment in the book

First, we got a white plate. Next, I got hot water (which I handled instead of the kids). The kids put the candy on the plate arranging them as they chose. Then, I poured the hot water on the plate with enough to cover the bottom of the candy.

We first tried the skittles, which looked a lot like the image in the book. The kids noted that the candy shell melted off the one side. Almost instantly you could see the colors coming through and becoming more vibrant. They said the Skittle was sweet even with the bottom part of the shell melted off.

Since that was fun, we decided to see what other kinds of candy we could use to do this with as well. Next up, was NERDS.

NERDS Candy Science Experiment

We followed the same steps with the NERDS. The colors ran out and were bright. The colors mixing did come out to a very green/brown color with all the different NERD colors. One was shaped as an exploding volcano which turned out really cool. The kids decided to taste a couple of the nerds afterward and said that because the outside had come off they were tangier than normal.

Jelly Beans Candy Science Experiment

Next up, Jelly Beans!

Initially one started off as a smiley but it changed after my daughter thought about it and didn’t think there would be enough colors to mix together. The jelly beans turned out ok, the colors were lighter than the other two experiments. The kids tasted a jelly bean and determined they were still just as sweet.

M&M’s Science Experiment

While it’s true M&M’s melt in your mouth and not in your hand, there’s an exception when you add hot water to a plate for a candy science experiment!

Because they were having so much fun doing the science experiments, the kids asked if we could do one more. I remembered that we had some M&M’s in the cabinet and took them down. We had some plain ones as well as some hazelnut (hence the different sizes). These were my favorite. The colors were so pretty! This one was their favorite too.

This was a super easy activity, helped us get rid of some candy without just throwing it in the garbage, and there was some learning involved. The kids wrote down their hypotheses and observations of what happened each time. We talked about the scientific method and steps in it (since my 3rd grader is currently covering it in school). They had a sense of pride and accomplishment with their research which was fun to see. They also learned that saw that science is an adventure. Plus, clean up was super easy!

It was a nice break in our day and takes some of the stress out of virtual school, working from home, and feeling like you are stuck.

There are a lot of cute, easy experiments in the book and it’s totally worth the price (currently $8.99 on Amazon).

Check out the book:

Don’t forget to Pin this!—>

Looking for more fun during your stay at home time?

St Patrick’s Day Fun

Filed Under: Holidays, Kids Crafts March 12, 2020

St. Patrick’s Day Crafts, Activities and Snacks to Enjoy

St. Patrick’s Day is literally right around the corner. I’ve compiled some fun facts, crafts, activities, and snacks that can be done to help in celebrating! This post is packed with some fun information so let’s jump in!St Patrick’s Day Crafts

St. Patrick’s Day Celebration

St Patrick’s Day is a celebration of St. Patrick, a patron saint of Ireland. He was actually born in Britan but kidnapped and taken to Ireland. The holiday has also become a celebration of all things Irish. Cities such as New York City who has a high Irish population has had a St. Patrick’s Day parade since 1762. The first St. Patricks’s Day celebration was in Boston in 1737.

About St. Patrick’s Day

The Color Green and St. Patrick’s Day

The Chicago River is dyed green every year for St. Patrick’s Day and other landmarks often get into the spirit as well. The Empire State Building and the Sydney Opera House light up green.

Chicago River turned Green St. Patricks Day — The Chicago River on St. Patrick’s Day (Getty Images)

Sydney Opera House St Patricks Day — Sydney Opera House (Getty Images)

*You can find more fun facts about St. Patrick’s Day from The Spruce!

10 Fun St. Patrick’s Day Crafts

These St. Patrick’s Day Crafts are easy and fun to make with kids or in some cases for kids! I think my favorite is the leprechaun trapping kit!

Pot of Gold

Lunch Box Jokes

Leprechaun Puppet Stick

Shakers

Catch A Leprechaun Kit

The Catch a Leprechaun kit is one of the cutest ideas I have seen! You can always go get real gold coins from the bank and replace the “bait” for when the kids check their “trap” the next day!

6. Corner Bookmark

Leprechaun hat

How cute are these cups? They are a fun way to make things festive also!

St Patricks Day Monster Cards

Mickey and Minnie Headbands

I couldn’t leave out some Disney in this celebration. Why not some Mickey and Minnie ears?

Patricks Day coloring pages

Crayola has FREE Printable Coloring Pages that you can print and use to not only be creative but decorate as well!

5 St. Patrick’s Day Snack Ideas

Icecream Cake Pops

Gold Coin Oreos

Pretzel Bites

Rainbow Skittle Treat bags

Shamrock Dippers with Pot O’ Gold

Rainbow Pretzel Wands

Looking for more Kid Friendly St. Patrick’s Day Food?

Fun Leprechaun Facts

♥ They are a type of fairy

♥ They are the bankers and shoemakers of the fairy world

♥ They are sneaky

♥ They hide gold at the end of the rainbow

♥ If you catch a leprechaun they grant you 3 wishes in exchange for freedom

♥ Leprechaun means “small body”

♥ In 1989 a local businessman in Carlingford, Ireland claimed he found evidence of a real leprechaun on a mountain called Slieve Foye.

♥ Leprechauns are mischievous

♥ Leprechauns are protected under European Law

♥ It is said that there are 236 leprechauns that still live in the caverns of Slieve Foye. In 2009, the EU granted heritage status to the remaining wee people and now they have their own protected sanctuary.

Bonus- Check out these St. Patrick’s Day Jokes for kids

More St. Patricks Day Fun!

St Patrick's Day Fun

Filed Under: Holidays, Kids Crafts March 12, 2020

St. Patrick’s Day Crafts, Activities and Snacks to Enjoy

St. Patrick’s Day Celebration

About St. Patrick’s Day

The Color Green and St. Patrick’s Day

Blue was traditionally the color associated with St. Patrick, but somewhere along the way, green became the commonly connected color. The shamrock, which is the Irish national plant is also a symbol of St. Patrick’s Day.
The Chicago River is dyed green every year for St. Patrick’s Day and other landmarks often get into the spirit as well. The Empire State Building and the Sydney Opera House light up green.

*You can find more fun facts about St. Patrick’s Day from The Spruce!

10 Fun St. Patrick’s Day Crafts

These St. Patrick’s Day Crafts are easy and fun to make with kids or in some cases for kids! I think my favorite is the leprechaun trapping kit!

Pot of Gold

Lunch Box Jokes

Leprechaun Puppet Stick

Shakers

Catch A Leprechaun Kit

6. Corner Bookmark

Leprechaun hat

How cute are these cups? They are a fun way to make things festive also!

St Patricks Day Monster Cards

Mickey and Minnie Headbands

I couldn’t leave out some Disney in this celebration. Why not some Mickey and Minnie ears?

Patricks Day coloring pages

Crayola has FREE Printable Coloring Pages that you can print and use to not only be creative but decorate as well!

5 St. Patrick’s Day Snack Ideas

Icecream Cake Pops

Gold Coin Oreos

Pretzel Bites

Rainbow Skittle Treat bags

Shamrock Dippers with Pot O’ Gold

Rainbow Pretzel Wands

Looking for more Kid Friendly St. Patrick’s Day Food?

Fun Leprechaun Facts

♥ They are a type of fairy
♥ They are the bankers and shoemakers of the fairy world
♥ They are sneaky
♥ They hide gold at the end of the rainbow
♥ If you catch a leprechaun they grant you 3 wishes in exchange for freedom
♥ Leprechaun means “small body”
♥ In 1989 a local businessman in Carlingford, Ireland claimed he found evidence of a real leprechaun on a mountain called Slieve Foye.
♥ Leprechauns are mischievous
♥ Leprechauns are protected under European Law
♥ It is said that there are 236 leprechauns that still live in the caverns of Slieve Foye. In 2009, the EU granted heritage status to the remaining wee people and now they have their own protected sanctuary.

Bonus- Check out these St. Patrick’s Day Jokes for kids

More St. Patricks Day Fun!

12 Fun Valentine Crafts To Do With Kids

Filed Under: Kids Crafts February 3, 2020

12 Fun Valentines Crafts To Do With Kids

Looking for fun Valentines crafts to do with your kids? Here are some of my favorite! They are easy and allow for creativity and learning fun in the process of making them. It is always fun when you can take concepts such as colors, patterns, sizes and make them useful to kids which helps them better understand the concept. I’ve talked before how important creativity and imagination are for kids and this ties into that as well.

Heart Bookmarks

These Heart Bookmarks from Easy Peasy Fun are adorable and functional! They could be left plain or decorated and personalized!

Fingerprint Tree

This Valentine Heart Fingerprint Tree is adorable for kids of all ages! It makes a great keepsake memory and is adorable! This is another one from Easy Peasy and Fun!

Valentine Heart Crafts

This valentine art is easy and you can easily incorporate counting, colors, and patterns into your Valentine craft fun!

Butterfly Valentine

These Butterfly Valentine crafts are so cute! They are easy and fun, plus I’m a sucker for anything with tiny handprints on it. Toddlers may come out a little messy (maybe that just happens with me lol!) but it’s still a fond memory that you’ll look back on.

Heart Wreath

This is another one of the crafts that can work for kids of all ages. It is also one that you can incorporate colors, sizes, patterns, and counting into.

Pattern Heart Garland

I love paper garland for various holidays! It can add a pop of color and isn’t hard to do. As the name suggest you can definitely discuss patterns and what kind of pattern the garland has as you put it together with our kids! This one is from Simple As That blog.

Heart-Shaped Dog Valentine Craft

This adorable craft is easy and fun! For smaller kids, you’ll have to cut out the shapes but still talk about where the ears, eyes, nose, tongue go on the dog. This is still a fun one for older kids too and they can get creative with the colors and designs of the dog!

“You Stole A Pizza My Heart”

Pizza + Valentines Day= YES! Simple and fun without a lot of mess!

Thumb Print Heart

There are so many options with this fun, easy craft! Colors, patterns, designs of the hearts- it’s another easy, fun way to get creative with kids of any age in making Valentine crafts.

Washi Tape Suncatcher

I love this! I remember painting suncatchers as a kid and this washi tape craft option gives a great effect and you don’t have to worry about paint!

Unicorn Valentine

Unicorns seem to be all the rage which makes this craft perfect. Plus, it is super easy which is a bonus. There are lots of ways to get creative with it using colors and maybe even some sparkles! You can check this one out over at Crafty Morning!

Paper Bag Puppet

This craft is perfect for you lovebug! Plus, it’s another one that is easy to do and something that little ones especially will have fun doing and can get creative without leaving a mess.

Do you have a favorite Valentine’s craft?

DIY Mickey Mouse Tie-Dye Shirts

Filed Under: Disney, Kids Crafts August 10, 2018

DIY Mickey Mouse Tie-Dye Shirts

Disney Resorts have lots of activities that you can participate in during your stay in addition to visiting the parks. Most activities are free, and some include a fee (which you are made aware of ahead of time). During our stay at the Grand Floridian, we decided to do the tie-dye shirts by the pool.

It was $18.11 to do the shirt. I’ll be honest- I thought they were giving me adult and kid prices; $18 for adults, $11 for kids- they weren’t that’s the price per person regardless of age. I had already said yes when they gave me the full total and while I could have changed my mind I didn’t. It was fun, so I don’t have any complaints. We would have winded up spending it one way or another so a shirt they get to wear and remember making at Disney was worth it.

Lucky you though, I’m sharing how we did it in case you want to have some Disney DIY fun at home!

Make Your Own Mickey Tie Dye Shirt!

Step 1: Take white shirt and place Mickey head template on the inside.

Step 2: Trace with chalk

Step 3: With rubber bands, pinch up the section of one ear and wrap the rubber band around it. Repeat this step with the other ear and then the face portion of Mickey.

Step 4: Wrap rubber bands down the shirt

Step 5: Get some gloves and dye in squirt bottles

Step 6: Pick one color to do Mickeys ears and head with. This is important because otherwise, they will look like three circles and not Mickey Mouse.

Step 6: Add colors to the other sections of your shirt. Avoid using the Mickey colors directly around that section. You can use them down a section or two.

Step 7: Wrap the shirt in plastic wrap tightly and let it sit a minimum of 24hrs and a maximum of 3 days. The longer it sits, the brighter the colors will be but more than 3 days and the colors will start to bleed together.

There you go… Super Cute Mickey Tie Dye Shirts!

Do you have a favorite Disney Craft? Tell me about it in the comments!

Check out this fun Disney DIY Alice in Wonderland Table

More Disney Fun

Taking Your Toddler to Disney…What you need to know

Fun Ways to Celebrate St. Patricks Day with Kids!

Filed Under: Kids Crafts March 5, 2018

Fun Ways to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with Kids!

Are you looking for fun things to do with the kids on St. Patrick’s Day? Even if you aren’t Irish, it can fun to join in and celebrate the day. I’ve rounded up some fun ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with kids along with some facts about the day!

The Origin of St. Patrick’s Day

The History of St. Patrick’s Day is about more than being Irish and drinking beer. St. Patrick is actually credited with bringing Christianity to the country of Ireland.

From History.com:

Saint Patrick, who lived during the fifth century, is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. He was born in Roman Britain and was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at the age of 16. He later escaped, but returned to Ireland and was credited with bringing Christianity to its people. In the centuries following Patrick’s death (believed to have been on March 17, 461), the mythology surrounding his life became ever more ingrained in the Irish culture: Perhaps the most well-known legend is that he explained the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) using the three leaves of a native Irish clover, the shamrock.

Fun Facts:

It was originally a ‘dry’ holiday- For most of the 20th century, Saint Patrick’s Day was considered a strictly religious holiday in Ireland, which meant that the nation’s pubs were closed for business on March 17. (The one exception went to beer vendors at the big national dog show, which was always held on Saint Patrick’s Day.) In 1970, the day was converted to a national holiday, and the stout resumed flowing. –From Mental Floss

There’s no corn in Corned Beef- Corned beef and cabbage, a traditional Saint Patrick’s Day staple, doesn’t have anything to do with the grain corn. Instead, it’s a nod to the large grains of salt that were historically used to cure meats, which were also known as “corns.” –From Mental Floss

The Shamrock- Legend has it St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity, by showing an unbeliever the three-leafed plant with one stalk.

Green? – the color originally associated with Saint Patrick was blue

He was born in Britain- Despite his Irish notoriety, Saint Patrick was British; born to Roman parents in Scotland or Wales in the late fourth century. He was kidnapped, brought up in Ireland and then eventually returned back to Ireland.