I’ve always gotten what I need when we need it when it comes to kids’ crafts. We’ll go to the store with a project in mind or figure one out when we get there. We I’m pretty unorganized that way. I think it inhibits creativity to not have supplies on hand so I went looking for a good list of what a good craft supply cabinet should have. I found this awesome list from The Crafty Crow with her favorite brands in parenthisis (list taken from blog post here)
I think every kid should know how to make a newspaper hat. It can transform you from a normal kid to a sailor, a soldier, a pirate – whatever you want to be! There’s something about props that helps you get into character. I used to love making these hats.
To go along with my secret stash we have some fun things that the boys like to do while waiting at a dinner table or airplane or wherever they need to sit still for a long period of time. One of those is making backgrounds for their Legos, plastic animals, Playmobils or whatever small toy they happen to have along at the time.
toy a day to download and create. SO fun! Go browse through the Toy-A-Day blog and download your favorites! Here are some of ours (clicking on the pictures will take you to the blog post you can download them from)
I just realized that Independence Day is one week from today! The boys love when I make a deal out of each holiday so I try to do something whether a craft, decoration, or special snack. I was searching for some ideas the other day and thought I’d share some that I found that the boys thought looked interesting.
Patri-botic centerpiece from Family Fun
I had seen a few different tutorials for these before using coffee cans or any cylindrical container really, but when my oldest saw the tutorial in the latest Family Fun magazine I thought that using a container with a lid was a great idea.
I kind of have a love/hate relationship with magazines. I love the images and the visual inspiration but I’m usually lucky to get 1 idea out of each…
I found this tutorial on AlphaMom for making your own confetti popper rockets!
Makes a mess but lots of fun! Who doesn’t love celebrating with confetti?! (Ok of course besides the person that has to clean it up, but that’s what a vacuum is for right?!)
I had big plans to do this with the boys and post it here but party plans are getting in the way so instead I’ll just share and hopefully show our posts later.
I found this Hammered Flower and Leaf Print tutorial from Build/Make/Craft/Bake.
The short version is gather flowers/leaves (on a nature walk?) spread them out on textured paper (like watercolor paper) and cover with a paper towel.
Have you discovered Pinterest yet? It’s a virtual “pin board” or inspiration board where you can keep pictures + links of anything you want. I have a pin board going of things to do so that when the boys whine “I’m boooored” this summer I have a whole board of fun things to do!
Here are some of my favorites so far!
Marshmallow Catapult from Family Fun
