Mother’s Day Crafts

Mother’s Day is coming, and I thought I would post some crafts for kids to do for their grandmas or their moms.  These are pretty easy to do, and depending on the ability of your child depends on how much a child can do.  Even babies can help shake the scrub or the bath salts.  I guess this would be a great time to promote my new blog Faemom Crafts.  And it has pictures!  (What?  I just learned, and I got to entice you guys some how.)  Enjoy!

 

Facial/Body Scrub

(This is a very easy and very simple scrub.  The boys like to shake things up.  They also helped pouring in the ingredients.  This is an excellent scrub to use or to give as a gift.)

Things you need:

Equal parts of

• Sugar
• Salt
• Dry oatmeal

And a container to put it in

Mix the sugar, salt, and oatmeal in a bowl.  Put the scrub into a nice jar. 

To use the scrub: Just wet skin, rub the scrub on, and rinse.

 

Bath Salts

(This is another easy gift to make.  The boys love shaking and smooshing until all the salt is colored.  You can use Epson salts or regular salt for this.)

Things you need:

• Salt (as much as you want to make the salts)
• Food dye
• Essence or oils (editable oils work as well as the oil for making soaps and candles)
• Zip lock bag
• A jar

Have the child pour in the salt into the bag.  Help the child drop some food coloring into the salt as well as the oil.  Securely close the bag.  Have the child shake and smoosh the bag until all the salt is colored.  Pour into a nice jar.

 

Coffee Filter Carnations

(My mom is quite fond of carnations, so I had the boys make a few.  This is easy.  Evan perferred to make white carnations, so all his hard work on staining them was for nothing.  Of course, the flowers still looked pretty and made it a no mess project.)

Things you need:

• Coffee filters
• Markers
• A bowl of water
• Paint brush
• Smock
• Green pipe cleaners

Have the child color the filters with markers.  Have the child paint the filters with water.  Let the filters dry.  When the filters are dry, take three and fold them in thirds.  Put the filters together, fluffing them and arranging them to look like a carnation.  Twist a pipe cleaner around the bottom, leaving a good length for the stem.

 

Picture Frame

(I wanted to have the boys paint a picture frame like they did for their Daddy, and I thought about making the whole frame.  The boys loved painting and decorating their frames.  I’m still trying to get them to add stickers, but no go yet.)

Things you need:

• Popsicles sticks
• Glue
• Smock
• Paint
• Paint brush
• Optional: glitter pens, glitter, stickers, buttons, anything you want to decorate with

If you have wide popsicle sticks, use two for each side of the frame.  If you have thin popsicle sticks, use three for each side.  Create a square with the popsicle sticks, overlapping two sides.  Glue the sticks together at the overlapping of the sticks.  Allow the glue to dry.  Have the child paint the frame.  When the frame is day, have the child decorate the frame more if s/he would like.

 

Bookmarks

(Both my mom and mother-in-law are huge readers, so I thought this was a wonderfully easy project to do.  The boys love decorating with stickers, but you can use anything else you would like.)

Things you need:

• Cardstock
• Scissors
• Stickers, crayons, markers, paint, stamps, anything you want
• Clear contact paper
• Optional: hole punch, ribbon

Cut the cardstock to a size you like for a bookmarker.  I cut mine about 6 by 2.  Have the child decorate the bookmark.  Cover the bookmark with contact paper.  If you would like, punch a hole at the top of the bookmark and tie a length of ribbon through it.

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More Easter and Spring Crafts for Kids, Preschoolers, and Toddlers

Here are a few more Easter crafts because I’m sure everyone wants more, or maybe I’m just running out of things to do with the boys.  I was waiting for one last craft, which we did today, but unfortunately, it didn’t turn out right.  I have been debating doing those confetti eggs that you bop on someone’s head, but I don’t know how my mom and their moms would feel when I arm all the little cousins with such eggs. . . though I haven’t caused trouble in quite some time.

 

Lambs

(We did a similar craft a year ago when I was taking the boys to a toddler class, but as I figured I’d make it easier than cutting out a sheep head, ears, eyes and nose, and just print out a template.  The boys thought this was pretty cool.  They love anything with glue.)

 

Things you need:

·         Lamb template

·         Glue

·         Cotton balls (lots of them)

Have the child color the lamb if he or she prefers.  Then have the child spread glue all over the lamb’s body.  Have the child put cotton balls on the glue.

 

 

Bunny Tails

(Evan liked this so much he wants to do another bunny, but one with a face.  I’m working on it.  This was easy and the boys enjoyed it.)

Things you need:

·         Circle template (I used two different Tupperware lids)

·         White paper

·         Colored construction paper

·         Scissors

·         Glue

·         Cotton ball

·         Pen

Using the circle templates, trace two different circles on the white paper, one of the head and one for the body.  Draw two bunny years.  Cut out the shapes.  Have the child glue the shapes on to the colored construction paper to create a bunny facing away from you.  Glue on the cotton ball for a tail.

 

 

Daffodils

(The craft calls for a white and a yellow cupcake holder.  My cupcake holders only come in blue, yellow, and pink, so our daffodils are blue, yellow, and pink.  Sean really enjoyed this craft.)

Things you need:

·         Cupcake holders

·         Construction paper

·         Glue

·         Heavy books

·         Green construction paper, scissors (optional)

·         Green marker, paint, or crayon (optional)

Using some of the cupcake holders, place them under some heavy books to flatten them.  After a couple of house, they should be flat.  Have the child glue the flat cupcake holder on the construction paper.  In the center of the flatten cupcake holder, have the child glue a regular cupcake holder.  Have the child add stems and leaves by either gluing green paper or drawing them.

Keep those colored egg shells after you ate your hard-boiled Easter eggs.  I have a great craft for them.

Easter and Spring Crafts for Toddlers, Preschoolers, and Kids

Is it already Easter time?  That was fast.  Luckily I have a few crafts up my sleeve, so we’ll be calling this the Spring/Easter bird and flower crafts because I realized that’s all we did these last few days. 

As always these crafts are suited from 18 months and up, depending on how much parental help is needed.  As for egg cartons, I prefer the cardboard type as they are easier to color, using crayons, markers and color pencils.  But this time I did the crafts with a Styrofoam egg carton, which can only be colored on with crayon and some pressure.

 

Coffee Filter Carnations

(I like “tye-dying” coffee filters because they look neat and the boys like to do it.  You can make plain white flowers or just color them with markers.  The boys enjoyed this craft quite a bit.)

Things you need:

{     Coffee filters

{     Markers

{     Smock

{     Water

{     Paint brush

{     Green pipe cleaners

Have the child color three coffee filters with the markers to make one flower.  When the child is done coloring, have him/her paint the coffee filters with water.  When the coffee filters are dry, take the filters and fold them, squish them together to look like a carnation.  Twist the pipe cleaner around the bottom of the “flower.”

 

Egg Carton Tulips

(These seem to be everywhere in the craft sites, so I decided to try them.  Evan had a lot of fun making them, but he preferred white tulips rather than coloring them.  I think they might make a nice bouquet for grandma.)

Things you need:

{     Egg carton

{     Scissors

{     Crayons, markers, colored pencils

{     Glue

{     Green pipe cleaners

Cut the egg carton into little cups.  For young children, have them color the egg carton before you cut out the details to make it easier for them to color.  Cut upside down triangles of the open end of each side of the cup to resemble a tulip shape.  Punch a whole in the bottom of the carton for the pipe cleaner.  Have the child color the flower.  Push the pipe cleaner through the hole and make a knot at the end.  Add a dab of glue to the cup to keep the pipe cleaner from slipping.

 

Paper chick

(I had a vision of a cute little chick, so we made these.  The boys had a lot of fun making them.  They especially liked showing Daddy.)

Things you need:

{     Yellow construction paper

{     Orange construction paper

{     Any other color construction paper

{     Two traceable circles, one smaller than the other (I used two different butter tub lids)

{     Pen

{     Scissors

{     Glue

{     Googley eyes (optional)

{     Brown yarn (optional)

Using the circles, trace two circles on the yellow construction paper, one for the head, one for the body.  Cut out a diamond shape out of the orange construction paper for the beak.  Fold the diamond in half to form a triangle beak.  Have the child glue the body and head onto the other sheet of paper.  Have the child glue googley eyes or draw eyes on the head.  Have the child glue the beak.  For extra fun, cut a long piece of yarn and have the child tangle it up.  Glue the tangle of yarn underneath the bird to make a nest.

 

Pom-pom Chicks

(I’ve always adored pom-pom chicks because I thought they were so cute, but I realized it would be a few years before we could handle something as delicate as an egg shell.  So I decided to use a plastic egg shell, and Evan especially loves having his chick “hatch” because he has the top part of the shell too.  I wonder if they would be great surprises in an egg hunt.)

Things you need:

{     Plastic egg

{     Two yellow pom poms (We used the 1 ½ in pom poms)

{     Two googley eyes or black beads

{     Orange construction paper or craft foam

{     Glue

{     Scissors

Cut out a small triangle out of the orange paper for the beak.  Have the child glue the first pom pom in the bottom of the plastic egg.  Then have the child glue the second pom pom on top of the first, creating the body.  Have the child glue the eyes and the beak.

 

Rock-a-bye-Birdies

(I thought this was the cutest craft ever, but it had those pesky blown egg shells.  Well, never mind, I used plastic eggs instead.  Evan loved it so much I never got around to putting on the ribbon before he took off with his, naming it Pumpkin.  So ribbon is optional.  The boys loved making them and playing with them.I found them on this site: http://jas.familyfun.go.com/crafts?page=CraftDisplay&craftid=12151)

Things you need:

{     Egg carton

{     Plastic egg

{     Tissue paper

{     Googley eyes

{     Orange construction paper or craft foam

{     Scissors

{     Glue

{     Ribbon

Cut a small triangle out of the orange paper for the beak.  Cut a strip of tissue paper to wrap around the bottom of the egg like a blanket.  Poke a hole on either side of the carton and tie the ribbon to it, making a swing.  Have the child glue the tissue around the egg.  Have the child glue the egg inside the carton.  Have the child glue the eyes and the beak.

 

 Check out more Easter crafts here.

Recipes Kids and Toddlers Can Make

I have become obsessed with the crafts part of the blog.  (I know.  I know.  You’re going to point out that I haven’t been publishing crafts very many.  Well, remember I moved.  Lay off me.  Do you ever think we assume the worse because we are the worse?)  But I get a little bored with the same old, same old crafts, and so do the boys as Evan yells he doesn’t want to do another craft.  (Like he has a choice.)  So I thought I start trying to find snack crafts, preferably healthy ones, which turns out to be hard to find.  So here are the first kid friendly recipes.  If you have any, please share!

 

Quesadilla

(Ok.  It was a little like cheating, but I thought it was a great start to teaching Evan and Sean to cook.  They enjoyed helping out and eating the cheese.  You can add any kind of cheese or go crazy and add other stuff.  I’m just a purist at heart.)

 

Things you need:

·         Tortilla

·         Cheddar cheese

·         Knife

·         Plate

·         Microwave

 

As the parent, cut the cheese in slices.  Allow the child to cover half the tortilla with cheese.  Cook for 45 seconds in the microwave.  Fold the other half of the tortilla over the cheese.  If cheese isn’t melted, cook for another 15 seconds.  Allow to cool and cut into slices.  Eat.

 

 

Cheese Crisp

(This is a regional dish from where I grew up.  My husband believes the region is a five mile radius as it is rarely seen on menus.  It’s a yummy snack or part of a meal.  The boys love making and eating it.)

 

Things you need:

·         Tortilla

·         Pizza pan

·         Foil

·         Butter

·         Butter knife

·         Cheddar Cheese

·         Cheese shredder

·         Oven

·         Knife or pizza cutter

 

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Cover the pizza pan with foil.  Place the tortilla on the pan.  Shred the enough cheese to cover the tortilla, about ¾ cup.  Have the child butter the tortilla leaving a crust edge.  Have the child sprinkle the cheese liberally over the tortilla, leaving a crust edge.  Place in the oven for seven to ten minutes, until the cheese is melty and the crust is tan.  Allow to cool and cut into slices.  Eat.

 

 

Peanut Butter and Jelly Crackers

(I was looking for a new way to do sandwiches, and the homemade lunchables completely confused the boys.  I made Sean his because I thought he wasn’t ready to wield a knife.  Evan loved doing this.  They both enjoyed eating them.)

 

Things you need:

·         Crackers (We used graham crackers)

·         Peanut butter

·         Jelly

·         Plate

·         Plastic knife

 

On a plate place an even amount of crackers, some jelly, and some peanut butter.  With the plastic knife, show the child how to spread the peanut butter and jelly on the crackers.  Have the child make his/her own sandwiches.  Eat.

 

 

Frosting Sandwiches

(What meal is complete without dessert?  Seriously, what meal?  My mom used to makes these for us, and we loved them.  In college, the softball player roommate made them, especially when we needed to lift our spirits.  The boys LOVE them.)

 

Things you need:

·         Graham crackers

·         Frosting (any kind)

·         Plate

·         Plastic knife

·         Sprinkles, chocolate chips (optional)

 

On a plate place an even number of graham crackers and some frosting.  Show the child how to spread the frosting.  Allow the child to make his/her own frosting sandwiches.  For a special treat, let the child add sprinkles or chocolate chips.  Eat.

 

 

Christmas Crafts for Kids, Toddlers, and Babies

Because Christmas is coming around the corner and we’re all trying to figure out what to do, I thought I would throw out some suggestions of things I’ve done in the past with my boys.  Some of these can be down with babies as well as older children.  In a week or so, I’ll make some new holiday gifts with the boys, and I’ll post those too.

 

Paper Ornaments

(Nothing is better than home-made ornaments.  These are simple and easy.  Perfect for toddlers.  For older children, use glue and glitter to decorate.  Grandparents are suckers for these sort of things.  Evan loved doing this last year.)

 

Things you need:

 

• Construction paper
• Christmas cookie cutters
• Pen
• Scissors
• Hole puncher
• Ribbon
• Crayons, markers, glue, glitter (whatever you want to decorate with)

 

Trace the cookie cutters with a pen on the construction paper.  Cut the shape out.  Have the child decorate the shapes.  Punch a hole in the top and string with ribbon.  Don’t forget to mark the year and the child’s name on the back.

 

 

Lid Ornaments

(I haven’t done this with Evan yet, but I remember doing them when I was four and loved it.  My mom still has mine hanging on the tree every year)

 

Things you need:

 

• Plastic lids (from butter containers or sour cream containers or any top)
• Hole puncher
• Old Christmas cards or magazines
• Scissors
• Ribbon
• Glue

 

Have the child cut out (or if it is a toddler, cut it out for the child) a picture of Christmas.  Let the child glue the picture on the lid.  Punch a hole in the lid and string it with some ribbon.  Don’t forget to mark the year and the child’s name on the ornament.

 

 

Footprints and Handprints

(When Evan was a baby, I inked up his feet and put down footprints that I decorated and framed for my parents and in-laws.  They loved it.  You can either frame the footprints or handprints or you can make them into ornaments.)

 

Things you need:

 

• White paper
• Washable ink pad
• Wet wash cloth or wipes
• Hole punch, scissor, ribbon (if you make the ornament)

 

Just ink the feet or hands (on young babies, hands are difficult).  Then place the inked hand or foot onto the paper.  Wash the hand or foot right away for nothing else gets decorated. 

 

 

Handprint Shirt

(The last time we did this, Evan loved it, and Sean was too little to remember, but we plan on doing it again.  I looked online for clever shirt sayings.  Our favorite: “You’re the best (fill in here)!  Hands Down!”  We also put the ages and names of the boys underneath their hand prints.  My dad loves his shirt.)

 

Things you need:

 

• Shirt
• Fabric paint
• Cardboard
• Wipes

 

(If you don’t like the raise look of fabric paint writing, water down the fabric paint a little bit and use a brush or pencil to write the saying.)

 

Place the cardboard inside the shirt to keep the paint from bleeding through.  Write the clever saying with the fabric paint.  Allow it to dry.  Then dip the child’s hands into the paint, making sure it’s nice and even, and place the hands on the shirt.  Wipe the child’s hands immediately.  Allow the hand prints to dry, and write the name and age of the child.

 

Picture Frame

 

(I did this for a gift.  The boys loved painting the frame and showing it off later.  I used the black paint as the background color.  I had them paint on newspaper on the floor.)

 

What you need:

 

·      Unfinished thick picture frame (the thicker the better to give room for toddler creativity)

·      black or white paint

·      finger paints

·      paint brushes

·      sealer or top coat

·      sand paper

·      smock

 

First sand and prep the picture frame.  Next paint the background color with white or black paint.  Once the background paint is dry, have the child paint the frame.  After the painting is dry, paint the sealer or clear top coat to protect the painting.

 

Check out these posts for more Christmas and winter craft ideas:

More Christmas crafts

Winter and Christmas crafts

Christmas Crafts for kids, preschoolers, and toddlers part 2

Yet Another Halloween Craft

Yes, another, but we haven’t done it yet.  We’re doing it after nap time, but I’ll let you know how it goes.  But since we’re running out of time, I figured I pre-post.  I found this awesome site that actually has ages on it’s crafts.  http://www.dltk-holidays.com/Halloween/halloween_crafts.html  I also got this craft from the sight though I add to it because I thought it needed something extra as well as being more time consuming.

CD-ROM Pumpkin

Things you need:

• CD or DVD disk (something you don’t want back)
• Orange construction paper
• Black construction paper
• Yellow construction paper
• Green construction paper
• glue
• scissors
• yarn or string

Using the CD has a guide make a circle out of the black and the orange paper.  Cut out the circles.  Cut out triangles for the eyes and nose and a mouth out of either the black or yellow paper.  Cut out a cressant or half circle the size of the CD out of the yellow paper.  (Just in case this last direction makes no sense at all, it will be the moon.)  Cut out a “stem” out of green construction paper.  Take the yarn and thread it throw the CD hole so that the CD can later hang from it.  Have the child clue the stem at the top of the CD.  Then glue the orange circle on that side and the black circle on the other side.  Have the child glue the moon on the black circle.  Have the child glue the face on the pumpkin.  Tada.

More Halloween Crafts

Tissue Ghosts

(The boys enjoyed this one.  It was easy and fun.  They especially enjoyed decorating the ghosts.)

Things you need:

• 2 sheets of white tissue paper
• ribbon or string
• markers

Wad one sheet of tissue paper into a ball.  (Evan loved that.)  Place the tissue ball into the middle of the other sheet.  Pull the ends together, and tie the ribbon just over the ball, creating sort of a bag.  Flip it over, and decorate the head with a face.  If you want, decorate the rest of the ghost like Evan did.

Paper Pumpkins

(While I was looking for a template to make a pumpkin, I came across this site.  I was planning on cutting out the pumpkin in orange and cutting out eyes, nose, and mouth out of black or yellow.  I liked this idea better.  I let the boys color them however they wanted, and because my boys are young, I cut out the shapes and allowed them to glue them on.  The boys had a lot of fun with this.)

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/Halloween/mpumpkinfaces.htm