When my 12-year old found a wooden plate in one of my craft drawers, she immediately wanted to use it for something. I’d like to think she was excited about a new project, but it’s more likely she was thrilled to have found a single something. One of anything is special…it means her brother and…
DIY
Washi Tape Clothespins
Over here at out house, we are always hanging art on a line. I keep a jar of clothespins at arm’s reach. This week we were preparing for a neighborhood art show, so I decided to make the clothespins a little fancier. This is very simple! Buy clothespins like these that art flat at the…
Making Travel Journals + Our Trip to Disney
Ok, I will admit that this doesn’t look quick and easy. But it is! As you may remember, I’ve confessed to being inept at time management. It was the day (eve) before our Disney trip, and I forgot to buy the kids journals. This wouldn’t be a big deal if we were at home, but…
Bubble Wrap Printing
This is a very fun and quite simple art idea for the whole family. All my kids got involved — my 6-yr old stayed with it for hours! We printed on a long roll of paper (our intention was to make wrapping paper), but you can also just use sheets and hang them up as…
Magazine Flowers
These flowers are actually made from J. Crew catalogs, but you can make them from magazines and newspapers as well. I love this craft for three reasons: 1) I can use all of those pretty catalogs that pile up in my recycle bin, 2) I learn about new color names like tidepool and Hampton purple,…
Easy Forts
Kids love forts! It’s true. I have never met a child who doesn’t love small, enclosed spaces where they can hide their stuff, and hide themselves. I remember as a kid begging my parents to let me sleep in the basement, in the small storage room that was full of secret stuff. They let me!…
Teacher Gift Tags
I made these over the weekend and thought I’d try offering them as free printables! I’ve never done this before, so I hope I’m doing it right. I bought some card stock that went through my printer (65 lb. weight). Then I cut them out by hand, punched a hole and put in a string. I…
Gift Tags from Paint Chips
It’s about that time of year: I need to start thinking about teacher gifts. Usually, I like to do a little homemade something-something. I have an inkling of what I’m going to do this year (maybe not homemade, but I’m OK with that), and I’ll top it off with these hand drawn gift tags! This…
Pujaki: Paper Chandelier
I’ve become a little obsessed with making a Pujaki. The word Pujaki is polish and translated it means “spiders of straw”. There is a strong folk arts & crafts tradition in Poland. In the winter, when much of the outdoor activities were suspended, Polish peasant families would spend their time preparing for on of their…
Recycled Postcard Banner
My sweet neighbor, Georgy, turned 103 last week. Yep! She was born in 1909. We visited her in her house that she built with her husband in 1939. She lives alone, but is loved and taken care of by many. She still cleans her own house and takes walks up the street on nice days….
