crafts
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Making Leprechaun Traps
Designing and building leprechaun traps has become one of our favorite traditions. I think the planning and creating is just as much fun as the anticipation of seeing if they’ll actually catch anything! This is one of those projects that really evokes my favorite memories of the kinds of activities that I loved as a child – the opportunity to use any and all materials to create something that I can see in my mind. That’s definitely a major reason that this stays on my plans year after year. Here are some of the supplies that I make sure to have available when it’s time to build our leprechaun traps:…
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EASY Preschool Valentine Boxes
Over the years I’ve tried ALL of the different ways to make valentine boxes in the classroom – from the brown paper bag to over the top crafty cut-outs. There are pros and cons to all of these, so let’s talk through those as we work towards the absolute easiest option if you’re making preschool valentine boxes in the classroom. First, I like to use this as a class activity because families are busy! They don’t always have the time or supplies that they might need, and if I put out supplies for all of the children then they start with a level playing field. Making Valentine boxes also meets…
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DIY School Spirit Scrunchies
I was looking for a quick and easy little gift for all of the girls in my life who are enjoying “mini cheerleader season.” You know, where schools raise money by getting all of the elementary school parents to come to high school football games by giving their daughters the opportunity to look cute on the field for five minutes. Every cheerleader needs a scrunchie, so I scooped up some Dollar Tree ribbon in school colors and busted out an old-school craft. Enter the ribbon scrunchie. I made these so many times as a kid – we had scrunchies for every possible holiday and event. It’s only fair that my…
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Goodbye Summer!
I’m definitely looking forward to the structure of the school year (and I might be ready for pumpkin spice season…), but it’s always hard to say goodbye to summer! I put together a really easy craftivity that you can use in the classroom to help children focus on the very best parts of their summer as you all move into fall together. It would be the perfect activity for a last day of summer party, just like the one I shared on Wednesday. Click HERE to download the Goodbye Summer Sunshine Freebie!
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Easy DIY Birthday Party
We celebrated my girl’s birthday while camping last weekend and it was low-key, while still being everything she wanted! Kid’s birthday parties can get expensive really fast – especially if your child requests a character theme – but they absolutely don’t HAVE to be expensive. I was able to give her a Gabby’s Dollhouse Birthday Party using supplies from the Dollar Tree and craft stores, without breaking the bank. All of the decorations were DIY – banners that I designed, printed, and cut, and lots of yarn tassels and balloons. We did paper products in the color scheme, but not printed with any characters, which also saved a lot of…
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Easter Art Projects
Here’s a collection of the art projects that we’ve been working on for Easter. The classics are classics for a reason, and the woven placemats were especially a hit! We used a mixture of shaving cream and white glue to paint these soft bunnies. For the bows we added a little food coloring. We also mixed some shaving cream and food coloring, then dipped paper egg cutouts to create swirled patterns on the eggs. Finally, we used the leftover strips from our placemats to make a paper chain. The colors are all super happy and the finished products remind me of my favorite projects from my own childhood. That’s what…
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Valentine Crafting for Kids
We had a snow day this week! As a teacher, that’s always welcome – as a parent it’s a bit of a scramble to find things to keep my girl busy all day. I had a good feeling that this particular snow day was coming, so I tried to plan ahead. Art projects are always a good option! After working on some of my own projects on Tuesday, I put my leftover supplies (along with some others from our craft stash) together so that they’d be all ready for some Valentine’s Day crafting. I started with this tray. It’s been one of my all-time-favorite purchases – it’s a heavy melamine,…
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Easy DIY Valentine Wreaths
There are so many beautiful wreaths out there, but I have such a hard time paying for them. Here are a couple of easy, inexpensive DIY Valentine’s wreaths that would be perfect for gifts or decorations for your home or classroom! These two are the same, but I switched up the yarn around the wire wreath form, so one is pink and the other is red. Wrapping yarn around this frame is the perfect activity for while you’re watching TV – it’s mindless and you can totally zone out. You can also decide how thick you want the yarn to be. I kept these pretty thin, but I did another…
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The Year of the Homemade Gift
I shared my word for the year at the beginning of the month, but I haven’t let you in on another intention that I set for 2023. I’ve decided that this will be “the year of the homemade gift.” I’m challenging myself to make things for every gifting occasion this year and I’ve had just as much fun planning what I want to make and give as I know I will putting it all together. January is a big birthday month for our friends and family, so here are a couple of the gifts that I’ve already created and given: A bright, sunshiny quilt for a happy little girl A…
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Easy Preschool Valentine Gift
I love to make a nice gift for families on Valentine’s Day – but after the chaos of trying to finish Christmas gifts quick and inexpensive are my main requirements! Here’s an idea that meets those characteristics and is super fun too. Try this easy preschool Valentine gift with your class this year. I started with a thin wooden heart from the Dollar Tree – they come natural and you could definitely leave them that way, but I used a couple of coats of old house paint to paint mine white. I also removed the twine hanger. When these were dry I took some washable Crayola paint (affiliate link) and…
