10 Beautiful Gifts Kids can Make with Seashells

Going to the beach for our family always results in lots and lots of shells.  Just finding them is reward in itself (like a treasure hunt!)  but since they're so pretty, we often finding ourselves wishing that there was something we could do with them.  

So this year, before we head to the beach I've done a little research and found some great ideas for how kids can transform shells into beautiful gifts to give away. 

Also, at the end you'll find a list of bonus activities that aren't gifts, but could still be a lot of fun.  Enjoy!

Art Lesson with Kids: Unity and Variation in Painting Seashells

I've been thinking a lot about how the similarities in the things God has made help to make the world beautiful.  Diversity is an important element too, but without unifying elements, the world would be aesthetically jarring.  

The kids and I were looking at seashells the other day...noticing how pretty they look together.  We talked about the ways they are different, but also the things that they have in common that make them look like they belong together.

Succulents in Seashells: Kid's Craft

I never used to care much for succulents.  Deciduous leaves and lots of flowers just seemed more alive.  Ever since moving to drought-ridden Texas though, where dry weather plants reign, succulents have really grown on me. 

 Or maybe it's just because they have become trendy, and I'm more of malleable to popular opinion than I like to think.  

At any rate, they really are great, aren't they?  So many textures. So many fun names.  (baby toes!) So un-plant-like sometimes.  Not to mention the fact that they're adorably juicy...it makes you just want to squeeze their little leaves!  

Make Homemade Paper with Party Streamers

If your party storage bin is anything like mine, it includes a few crepe paper rolls that have gotten..ahem...a bit out of hand.

One glance at that sprawling monster with it's gnarly, multi-colored arms is enough to kill the party spirit in me every time.  I swear it must actually move around in the box between birthdays.  And of course, if any of that crumpled crepe paper actually made its way to my walls and ceilings for a party, it would likely make the poor, celebrated child weep at the bedraggled sight of it.

Best just to throw it all away, right?

Well, actually...not so fast.  Here's a terrific use for that colorful, fluffy mess.

Eliza's Cherry Trees: a Cotton Candy Craft

If you've ever been captivated by a flowering tree in the spring or wondered how the cherry trees ended up in Washinton D.C. you should run to go find this wonderful book.

Front and Back Photo Bookmarks

Doily Heart Stencil T-Shirts

I saw this Valentine's Day kids craft idea last year in Family Fun magazine, but we didn't get around to it in time.  That turned out for the best though because this year the girls had an opportunity to do it with their grandmother, and now they all have coordinating shirts they can wear together on Valentine's Day.
Here are some tips we found for making this project go smoothly with kids:

Potato Stamp Valentines

A while back, my mother-in-law suggested I try potato stamping with the girls.  It took me a while to get around to doing it, but now that we've done it, I wish we'd tried it sooner.  There's just something FUN about using food to do art.  (e.g. we liked stamping with okra and making magnets with colored pasta)

Getting the right shape in the potato can be a bit tricky.  I found that it worked best to:

Thumbprint Reindeer Ornament

Running out of time to make a homemade Christmas gift for family members?  Here's one that takes no time at all!

Michaels has some flat, paintable ceramic Christmas tree ornaments.We used them to make thumbprint reindeer and then let the kids paint the other side however they wanted with acrylic paints.

Christmas Lanterns from Baby Food Jars

Throwing away babyfood jars is something I like to avoid when I can.  They are a nice size and really so pretty without their paper.  MaryAnn F. Kohl has a brilliant craft idea for them in her book Scribble Art.  I did this project with a group of 3 and 4 year- olds and several of the lanterns turned out very pretty.

We covered the jars with tissue paper and mod podge.  I cut letters out of black construction paper for the kids to glue on to make them more Christmas-y.  (I had intentions of making a "love" lantern and a "peace" lantern as well, but haven't quite gotten around to those yet)

Mod Podge is non-flamable; so you could fill the lanterns with regular candles, but for kids' projects I really love the battery- operated tealight candles you can buy now.  They are safe and pretty convincing.

Any other fun ideas for reusing baby food jars?  (especially Christmas related would be fun!)

Leaf Printing for Fall

Before Fall slipped away entirely I wanted to share this project I did with my girls a while back.  Leaf printing on paper is an idea I found in MaryAnn Kohl's fun book Scribble Art.  She recommends using thin paper, but since all my paper was thick and stiff, I decided to try using some old muslin I had left over from another project.

I liked the earthy way the muslin looks behind the prints.  I used watercolor paint because I don't have an intention of washing it, but I think fabric paint would work as well.

Here are some tips I found for making good prints:

- Use sturdy, durable leaves with pronounced veins.  I used white oak.
- Make sure the paint covers the leaf entirely but is not too thick or globby
- Press down the fabric on top of the leaf (instead of the other way around)
- The second print is often the nicest; so try blotting on scrap fabric before printing on the fabric you hope to use

M has been wanting to learn to sew lately; so I think we may turn these into some simple, small pillows.

For more fall project ideas for places without "real" fall leaves see our Fall Stained Glass craft, and painted toast leaves.

Letter H Craft: Hotdogs

This year I'm the nursery coordinator for our chapter of our homeschool co-op, Classical Conversations. Part of that job involves coming up with simple "Letter Crafts" for each week. I haven't posted about them so far because for the most part, I have been using other people's ideas.

(like this cute little apple tree craft that I found at Learn, Create, Love)

For letter "H" though we made a hot dog craft that I came up with, and since the kids got a kick out of it, I thought I would share.  I made an easy template for the bun and hot dog and cut copies out of card stock and construction paper to be glued together.  Then the kids glued on pieces of yellow and red yarn for the condiments and bent the sides of the bun upward to look like a real hot dog.

Pretend food is the best!

Sticker Resist T-Shirts

Ever since I discovered the fun sticker and tape resist art technique that bloggers like Putti  Prapancha have featured, I've been giddy with all the possibilities.  We've done thank you cards, and tape resist collages, and just yesterday we tried our hand at sticker resist t-shirts.

Michaels has been had some pretty decent t-shirt sales, and I bought up a bunch of them the other day.  I got out our big pot of foam alphabet stickers and let the girls dig through to find the letters of their name.  We made sure that the stickers were pressed on nice and firm and that the names were centered decently well.

Then I got out the acrylic and fabric paints we happened to have around the house (acrylic paint works just fine on fabric, by the way...the only real advantage of fabric paint is the softness and flexibility) and told the girls to dab on colors close to the foam stickers.

They needed to guidance (and help in little G's case) getting the paint into all the little corners and crevices, but we got there eventually.

Since the girls like using lots of paint, I let it dry for about 4 hours before I ventured to take off the stickers.  I think next time, I would choose slightly larger alphabet stickers, but mostly, we were pretty happy with our t-shirts.  I like how they look kind of like a celebration of children's arts and crafts.

Excuse the bed heads on our top picture; we were excited to try them on as soon as the girls got up this morning. :)

Sharpie Tie Dye Method: 10 Tips

The Sharpie Tie Dye method is not at all original to me.  I've seen it around Pinterest a lot, and as far as I can tell the first person to do the sharpie tie dye method was Steve Spangler Science. But it was the first time for us, and we enjoyed the results so much I just have to share!

What worked well for us:

1.  Use small cups and a rubber band that fits tightly.
2.  Experiment with the different sharpie colors.  Some bleed more than others.  Some leave a more distinct line.  (We found that our blue pens didn't bleed much, but the purple and yellow spread quite far)
3.  Use a paintbrush to dab on the rubbing alcohol rather than a eye dropper .  The color bleeding is easier to control if you use less alcohol.  Only use rubbing alcohol that is 70% alcohol or higher.
4.  Wait for the alcohol to dry almost completely before you remove the rubber band.  If you remove it too soon the colors will bleed beyond the circle.
5.  Pay attention to what colors are next to one another.  Those colors will mix, and it is too easy to end up with ugly browns if you don't pay attention.
6.  Leave lots of white space between colors.
7.  Symmetry in the sharpie design makes for a more attractive circle.
8.  Flower designs look especially pretty.
9.  When you are done with one circle, start the next circle in a very different part of the fabric.  If your rubber band cinches a circle that is still wet, it will mess up the design.

10.  There is lots of patience and waiting required for this craft.  Watch a movie at the same time so you don't get impatient!


Have you tried the sharpie tie dye method yet?  What tips could you share?  We'll probably be doing this again, and would love to have some new ideas.  

Father's Day Mug for Kids to Make

There's an idea that's been floating around Pinterest these days that I've been curious about for a while- color a ceramic mug with sharpie and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

So simple and exciting if true- but it made me wonder why anyone would bother to buy real ceramic pens if a sharpie works just as well.

With such a fun idea though and all the materials already in our house...definitely worth a try.  First, I used a black sharpie to draw a bubble letter outline for "I Love Dad" on one side and a blank face on the other side of a plain white, ceramic cup.  I baked it at 350 for 30 minutes, waited for it to cool and let my preschooler use our colored sharpies to decorate.

  Back in the oven for another 30 minutes.

So what were the results from our little experiment?

1.  The marker does not smudge when it is handled.  It didn't even come off when we ran it through the dishwasher.

But-

2.  If you work at it with your fingernail or with a rough sponge, you can get some of the marker to rub off.    Rubbing alcohol erases it completely.

3.  I imagine ceramic pens work better and don't rub off, but for a child-made mug for Daddy I think the sharpie is just fine!

I looked it up, and it does seem that sharpies are non-toxic, but since they are not manufactured for use on food items, I think playing it safe and keeping the pen marks out of the inside of the mug and away from the rim might be a good idea.

Looking for more Father's Day ideas?  

Fill-in-the-blank Father's Day letter
10 Ideas for Building Memories on Father's Day
Daddy Banner

Children and Cancer: Small Hand Creating Hope

Ever since my father-in-law began his most recent round of treatments for prostate cancer several months ago, little G has probably been the most faithful person in our family at remembering to pray for him during our nightly prayer times.  When we talk to him over Skype, she is eager to ask him how he is doing and to learn about his medicine and sickness.

It's exciting to see a child's natural care and compassion come out and to find ways to help channel it.  That's part of the impetus behind a really neat project which I get to participate in this spring.  I am joining with an incredibly talented group of bloggers who focus on fun, creative, and educational activities for kids in this fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.  Each of us has worked with our children or students to create a craft that could be made by or for someone facing cancer.

The projects in the book are varied, creative, and inspiring, and several include tutorials so that you can recreate the crafts at home with your own children or students! For our project, the girls and I worked together to make some pretty sun catchers with glue and drinking straws.  We used the colors purple, symbolizing cancer survivorship, and yellow, symbolizing hope.

Our projects have been compiled into an ebook, which we are sending out to anyone who donates at least $15 to the American Cancer society. An email with the download link, as well as a second link that allows you to purchase a hard copy of the book at production cost will be sent once we receive your donation. This button will take you directly to the American Cancer Society’s donation page:

If you donate but do not receive this email for any reason, or if you have trouble with the download, email smallhandsproject at gmail dot com.

MaryAnne at Mama Smiles compiled this book as a way of celebrating thirty years of cancer survivorship! 

We are hoping to raise $3000 by July 4th, and we are running a blog hop from May 14th until July 4th to celebrate and raise funds so that, in the future, thirty years of cancer survivorship will be the norm, not the exception! Learn about each of the bloggers who participated in the book by visiting each blog on their assigned dates – a few bloggers will be running celebratory giveaways, too!
14 May Mama Smiles
15 May Artsy Craftsy Mom and Rainbows Within Reach
16 May B. Inspired, Mama!
17 May Rainy Day Mum and Imagination Soup
18 May Inspiration Laboratories
19 May Experimenting Mom
20 May Outlaw Mom
21 May NurtureStore
22 May Living Montessori Now
23 May Mess for Less
24 May Having Fun at Home and CraftoArt
25 May Mama Mia’s Heart2Heart
26 May Angelique Felix and Sense of Wonder
27 May Sun Hats & Wellie Boots
28 May Duck Duck Octopus
29 May Smiling like Sunshine
30 May Mommy with Selective Memory
31 May One Perfect Day
1 June The Educators’ Spin On It
2 June Kids Stuff World
3 June Rainy Day Mum
4 June Teach Preschool
5 June Dirt and Boogers
6 June Creative Connections for Kids and The Golden Gleam
7 June Montessori Tidbits
8 June Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas
9 June The Iowa Farmer’s Wife
10 June Scribble Doodle and Draw
11 June Learn with Play
12 June Kitchen Counter Chronicles
13 June CRAYON Freckles
14 June Glittering Muffins
15 June Wise Owl Factory
16 June Crafty Maa
18 June Lessons Learnt Journal 20 June Growing a Jeweled Rose 21 June Growing Play 23 June JDaniel4′s Mom
If you are a blogger, please feel free to post the button in your sidebar for the duration of the event, in order to get as much publicity for this event as possible.

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Thank you for your support!

Leaf Man Activity : A Book and a Craft for Lois Ehlert

I know we've done a successful project with the toddlers in my home school co-op group when I overhear them reminiscing about it together later on.
  "Remember when we made leaf man?"
"Yeah.  Mine was a leaf LADY!"
 I overheard this conversation among them this past week, and I knew then that it had been a good activity.

The Book
 Leaf Man was such a simple activity that I hadn't bothered to blog about it, but since it seems to have been a hit, I thought I should.

First, we read the book Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert.  The story is pretty simple; not much happens, but the illustrations are the beautiful nature collages that Ehlert is known for.  It seemed to capture the imagination of the toddlers well enough, at any rate.

The Craft
After story time, we went outside to collect nature materials to make our own little leaf men.  Leaves, sticks, seed pods, lichen, and the like.
I cut out a basic gingerbread man shape out of brown paper and attached it to the end of a popsicle stick.
We talked with the children to help them arrange their nature materials on the gingerbread men and glue them down.  Each little man was finished off with two plastic googly eyes.
After the glue dried they were all set to act out the story from the book or to make their own!

Cinco de Mayo Crafts

Before we moved to Texas I don't think I even knew what Cinco de Mayo was. Now that we're here, we see signs of it everywhere.  (If you live in Austin, you might want to check out 10 Free Family Friendly Cinco de Mayo Events for this year from Free Fun in Austin)

I figured doing a simple Mexican flag craft with the girls this year was a good opportunity to sneak in a little geography and history.  We pointed to where Mexico is on the map and looked up the Mexican flag.  (The girls love pointing out flags when we drive in the car; I'm pretty sure they'll be noticing some from Mexico in the next few days)

 Here's how we made a festive Mexican flag drinking straw with kids:

1.  Cut a green and a white straw into several pieces.  Slit each piece down the side with a pair of scissors.  (Don't look too closely at my picture.  I didn't happen to have any white straws at the time; so I used a piece of ribbon for the white)

2.  Slip several pieces of white and green onto a red straw.

3.  Print two copies of a Mexican flag from your printer.  Glue their backs together and use a piece of clear tape to attach to the straw 2/3 from the top.

4. To make your straw extra fancy, cut a small piece from another red straw.  Cut fringes into each end of the piece with a pair of scissors.  Slit the piece all along one side with a pair of scissors and slip on to the straw just above the flag.

If you are in the market for Cinco De Mayo crafts you might also take a look at the Mexican jumping bean craft I wrote about a couple of years ago.  The template is provided as well as a video showing how it works.  (It feels alive in your hand and is so fun to watch)


My friend Rebecca's over at Quirky Momma also has some fun ideas on celebrating Cinco De Mayo with kids!


Does your family celebrate Cinco de Mayo?  I'd love to hear what kinds of things you do together!

Rainbow Hats from Egg Cartons

This really was kind of a ridiculous idea.  I'm not really sure where it came from except that a lot of my blogging friends have been doing egg carton activities and rainbow activities lately.  I made the connection that there are six colors in the rainbow, and that there are six eggs on each side of a carton, and decided we should make rainbow hats.

I cut a carton in half and removed the middle egg dividers.  Each girl got to paint half of the carton with the colors of the rainbow.

After they had dried, I punched a hole in each end with a hole punch and tied a piece of ribbon to each hole.  I tied the ribbons in a bow under each girls chin to make a little rainbow hat.

Something about the hats gave M the giggles.

Little G though stayed very pensive.  She apparently takes her rainbows very seriously.

I was a little disappointed that the girls didn't play much with the hats after they tried them on the first time.  Oh well, maybe they'll pick them up again in a week or so.  Or maybe this is just one of my crazy ideas that was fun to make, but dies a quick death (I've definitely had those before)

Have you had any simple costume ideas lately?

DIY Suncatchers with Clear Glue

I was thinking the other day about the Elmer's glue suncatchers my aunt used to make with my cousin when she little.  I had been trying to think of something colorful and a little translucent we could make them with when I noticed some pretty and bright drinking straws at the grocery store.

Here's what we did:

First, we filled a yogurt container lid with clear Elmer's glue. You can use the regular opaque kind also, but it won't be perfectly clear when dry.  (Even toddlers love squeezing the glue bottle)

Then we cut up the straws into little pieces.  (Be prepared for the straw pieces to "jump" around when you cut them. )

You can arrange the straws in a design or just sprinkle them randomly.  It will look prettiest if you fill as much of the lid as possible.

Set to dry.  It will take several days, maybe even a week, to harden.  Pull the suncatcher out of the plastic lid.  It may curl a little after you take it out.  If so, you can put it under a heavy book for a couple of hours to flatten it out.

Use a needle to push a piece of thread through the top of your suncatcher and attach to a suction hook so that you can hang it on a window.  So pretty!

For another drinking straw activity, try using them with playdough!