Category: Make It

Posted on

Valentine Craft Roundup

Valentine's Crafts

Valentine's CraftsWe’ve scoured the internet to find you some great, fun crafts you can do with your little ones for Valentine’s Day. Check these out!

There are also tons of printable Valentine’s Day Cards for your little one to make for friends.

Posted on

Cardboard Gingerbread House

Cardboard Gingerbread HouseChristmas break is just around the corner and fun, festive crafts are a great way to make memories and keep the kids busy. A cardboard gingerbread house can easily be made with all kinds of things you have just laying around the house. The best part is that you’ll have a treasure that you can bring out and enjoy year after year.

What You’ll Need

  • Cardboard box (cereal boxes work great)
  • Scissors
  • Glue or Tape
  • Gingerbread House Template

Basic Instructions

  • There are many gingerbread house templates available for free online. Find your favorite template and cut the shapes out of the cardboard.
  • Glue the house together and allow to dry.
  • Decorate your gingerbread house. Things that work well for decorating: Markers, stickers, construction paper, glitter, beads, poms, chenille craft stems.
Posted on

SnickerDoodles

SnickerdoodlesBaking is a great way to get your kids involved in the kitchen and build on all kinds of skills: mixing, measuring, learning about ingredients, etc. The bonus is that the sweet treat at the ends means the fun keeps on going.

These cookies are quick, fun & easy to make! Substitute nonpariels or colored sugar for the cinnamon topping and create festive cookies for any holiday!

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups sugar
  • ½ cup butter or margarine, softened
  • ½ cup shortening
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Topping

  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Instructions:

  1. Heat oven to 400°F.
  2. Cream together 1 1/2 cups of the sugar, the butter, shortening and eggs in a large bowl. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
  3. Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Mix 1/4 cup sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
  4. Bake 8-10 minutes or until set. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Makes 4 dozen cookies

Posted on

Make It – Cloud Dough

Cloud DoughCloud dough is a great tactile activity for you to use with your little one. And, it’s Oh-so-easy to make!

What You Need

  • 8 cups of Flour
  • 1 cup of baby oil

Pour flour and baby oil into a large container. Mix together with your hands in a large container until the dough holds together when squeezed (about 305 minutes).

See? Super easy. And really fun.

You can add food coloring if you’d like colored dough.

Cloud dough feels really break in your hands. Because it firms when placed under pressure, you can make hand and foot prints in it (not permanent). You can squeeze it between your fingers and toes. You can use cups and sand molds, spoons, and muffin tins. Hide toys in it or just build to heart’s content.

Enjoy!

Posted on

Spring Activities

Spring in the Pacific Northwest doesn’t always mean great outdoor time. If you are looking for some good indoor activities to do with your little ones, here are a few suggestions.

Coloring Pages

Coloring is always more fun when you have new and interesting pictures to color. Check out these printable coloring pages for some fun.

Coffee Filter Flowers

Feeling crafty? Give these coffee filter flowers a try.

Hand Print Daffodils

Hand print daffodils are a great way to preserve your little one’s hand print with a festive twist.

Fingerprint Sheep

While you’ve got the paint out, why not make a cute sheep with your child’s fingerprints?

Coffee Ground Fossils

For your budding archeologist, give these coffee ground fossils a try.

Bean Bag Buddy

You just need some old socks, beans or peas, yarn and maybe some googly eyes to make these fun bean bag buddies.

Baby Food Jar Gardens

These miniature gardens are so cute and easy to make with little ones.

Posted on

Make It – Pine Cone Bird Feeder

Pine Cone Bird Feeder

Pine Cone Bird FeederThese pine cone bird feeders are a great craft to do with kids. And, they’ll be delighted watching the bird partake of their snack.

What You Need

  • A large, open pine cone
  • Vegetable shortening or smooth peanut butter
  • Bird seed
  • A few feet of string or ribbon
  • Paper plate

How to Make It

  1. Tie a few feet of string to a pine cone.
  2. Cover the pine cone with the vegetable shortening or peanut butter.
  3. Roll the pinecone in the bird seed on the paper plate.

You could also add dried fruit (chopped up), chopped nuts, seeds (especially sunflower and millet), and/or suet, which are high-energy bird foods.

Birds will love the treat and your kids will love that they helped create it.

Posted on

Make It – Crayon Stained Glass Window Hangings

Crayon stained glass

Crayon stained glassStained glass art is a little complicated for little ones, but this simplified version allows them to use crayon shavings and decorations to create a unique piece of art that looks great hanging in a window. With the help of an adult (to shave the crayons and use the iron), this can be a fun, family activity.

Supplies

  • wax paper
  • crayons
  • crayon sharper (to make crayon shavings)
  • scissors
  • glitter, dried leaves, stickers, paper scraps, and/or pictures from magazines (optional)
  • iron

    • How to Make It

    1. Cut 2 pieces of waxed paper to the same size. You can use fun shapes like leaves for fall or hearts for Valentine’s Day.
    2. Put one piece of the waxed paper on a flat surface. Arrange the glitter, etc. on the paper. To help avoid unsealed parts, try to leave a rim of waxed paper around the edges without any fillings.
    3. Add crayon shavings for color accents (these will melt later on). The easiest way to get crayon shavings is by using a crayon sharpener.
    4. Have an adult put a few layers of newspaper on your ironing board. Put the waxed paper artwork on top of this. Put the second piece of waxed paper on top of the artwork. Carefully put a few layer of newspapers on top of the whole thing.
    5. Iron on medium heat, checking it frequently to make sure it isn’t burning. Stop ironing when the waxed paper layers are stuck together and the crayon shavings are melted.
    6. When the artwork has cooled off, trim the edges carefully.
    7. If there any unsealed parts, patch them with some transparent tape.
    8. Punch a hole near the top for hanging (or just use tape).

    Your little ones will love seeing their dazzling crayon shaving stained glass art hanging in the window.

    Posted on

    Make It – Simple Boat for Rainy Days

    Simple Sailboat

    Simple SailboatWith all the rain we get around Sandy, activities that embrace the rain are in high demand. These simple sail boats are a great way to use everyday items from around the house and get you outdoors even when the weather isn’t ideal.

    Supplies

    • A wide plastic lid (like the lid from a margarine tub)
    • A drinking straw
    • Construction paper
    • Kids’ scissors
    • A hole punch
    • Crayons, markers, and/or stickers
    • A small wad of play dough

    Make It

    1. Cut a triangle from a piece of construction paper – this will be your sail.
    2. Decorate the sail with crayons, markers, and/or stickers.
    3. Punch three holes along one side of the triangle.
    4. Weave a drinking straw (the boat’s mast) through the holes.
    5. Put a small wad of molding clay on the inside of the lid. Push the end of the drinking straw into the clay.

    Now, go sail your boat in the bounding seas.

    Posted on

    Fun with Dyed Pasta

    Dyed Pasta

    Dyed PastaHas your child come home recently with a necklace made from lovely, bright pasta? That’s because we dyed some for the kids to use to help them practice their stringing, which is great for honing those fine motor skills. But, lest you think the only thing they can do with beautifully died pasta is put it on a string, here are some other ideas for fun pasta crafts.

    For all of these crafts, you’ll want some nicely died pasta. For an excellent tutorial, check out this one by Julie Finn at Crafting a Green World.

    Jewelry

    Jewelry is the old pasta stand by, but you can do some pretty great things with the number of types of pasta you can find. Wagon wheels glued together can make really pretty tiaras when glued to a plain plastic headband, and bow ties make great center pendants on bracelets and necklaces. All you need is pasta and string! You can even decorate hair clips by gluing the pasta to plain barrettes. And, you can find some fun pastas like peace signs (made by Annie’s Organics – check the natural food section at Fred Meyer).

    Transportation

    Lasagna noodles make great bases for train cars, and rigatoni makes some pretty cool lumber to tote in those train cars. You can of, course, use wagon wheels for tires on all sorts of vehicles. If you want some inspiration, this pasta train from Parents is pretty cool.

    Art

    Gluing pasta on poster board or card stock is a great way for kids to create their own designs. And, you can always let them paint the pasta after it’s on the paper, instead of dying it ahead of time. Also, if your little one is learning their ABCs, alphabet pasta can be a fun way to reinforce those letters.

    Garland

    Just like stringing cranberries for tree garland, you can string pasta for pretty garlands to hang on your Christmas tree or around the house anywhere.

    Picture Frames

    Pasta can add fun texture to a picture frame. Glue pieces of pasta on a basic frame and paint over them, or used the dyed pasta for a different look.

    If you’re the type that prefers to learn by watching, Parents has a video about pasta crafts with some other fun ideas too.

    No matter which activity you do with pasta, your child is sure to love it!

    Posted on

    Recipes for Kids: Bath Body Paints

    Bath Paint RecipeBath time can be so much when you follow this recipe for bath body paints.

    Recipe

    Ingredients

    1+ Tbsp Cornstarch
    1/3 cup mild dish soap or liquid bath soap
    Food coloring

    Directions

    Add the cornstarch to the soap until you reach your desired consistency (If you like it thicker, it might take significantly more cornstarch). Separate the mixture into containers such as ice cube trays or other small, non-breakable containers. Add food coloring to achieve the desired color.

    Let your kiddos go crazy in the tub with their fun bath finger paint. Then, you can just wash it away.

    A Few Suggestions

    If your kids make something really cool that they don’t want to lose, you can press a piece of paper against it to transfer the image.

    You could put the paint in ziplock baggies and cut off the corner, allowing them to paint with it like icing in a bag.

    Give your child paint brushes to use with the paint and watch their little artist emerge. You could also give them sponges or other tools like washcloths to see what patterns they make.

    Most of all, let them get messy. It cleans up really easily.

    And, of course, have lots and lots of fun.