Every person is creative in some way. I fully believe that. I’m creative with my words, and I’m creative with my ability to help others be their absolute best.
But I’m NOT creative when it comes to more traditional outlets of creative expression, like drawing, painting, sewing, etc. This is especially tough to deal with when you have young kids at home and a Pinterest board that mocks you on the daily. I have pinned so many things and promised myself that I can easily get the supplies I need at Michael’s and do something fun and crafty with Darah.
You guys, the few times I have set foot into Michael’s have all been scary experiences. I’m like a frightened, lost puppy in that store. I’m always completely turned around and when someone offers to help me, I can’t even really explain what I’m looking for!
HOT. MESS. That’s me every time I try to get my craft on.
And that is why I am SOOO bonkers about the ItsySparks kit (mom…you remember asking for birthday gift ideas for Darah? Here ya go!!!). This is a monthly craft subscription service that I WILL be purchasing. Each kit comes with 4 fantastic activities that are age appropriate for your child. The crafts are easy enough that those without the crafty gene can actually complete them. They are cute. They are quality. And best of all, they come with A LOT of great ideas for ways that you can enrich the experience of that craft (related book ideas, outdoor activities, recipes, etc.). It is so comprehensive and SO, SO SO worth the $24.95/month (it’s only $20/month if you sign up for 6 months or more!).
Because I don’t have a craft room, or heck, even a craft bin in my house, I would spend more than $20 each month trying to buy all the items I would need. And don’t even get me started on the time it would take to prep each craft. Simply put, I would spend a lot of money and then never do anything. ItsySparks makes it all very doable.
And just in case you aren’t artsy just like me, but you are still trying to convince yourself that you could do this all yourself, let me just show you how much help folks like us need. Even with VERY DETAILED step-by-step instructions, I STILL messed up one of the crafts.
I was supposed to have Darah pour this dirt into a nylon stocking piece that was included so that our grass buddy we were making would have more of a shape. This is my face after I realized what I did:
We are hopeless, folks. But I’m happy to say that our grass friend still turned out really cute. Darah had a blast. It was actually really great bonding time together.
She wanted to do another craft that afternoon, so we worked on making a lei necklace.
Not only did we have an adorable final product, but I was impressed to see how much concentration Darah gave to the project, and how much hand-eye coordination she used during the process. Basically, it was an awesome experience. I can’t wait for next month’s kit!
Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win an ItsySparks kit!
Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.
I received a complimentary kit for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links.
Deborah says
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
🙂 🙂
Lisa L says
We made Valentine boxes!
susan smoaks says
we made valentine’s this year and they were completely a success!!!
liz l says
Tried making friendship bracelets with my niece- big fail!
Aubrey says
I just made a bunch of cards
trixx says
I decorated cookies with my daughter.
James Beck says
built a wooden plane
Lori Walker says
I’ve been wanting to make paper airplane space ships
Jennifer R says
We recently made shell animals out of seashells.
Darcie K says
My daughter and I just hand-painted birdhouses.
Marysa says
We have been making projects with Perler Beads. I also stapled fabric on a canvas, which made a really nice decoration. The kids did some handprints on canvas.
Marysa {at} marysa {dot} com
Gina S says
We made homemade play dough and some fuzzball people (sticking googly eye stickers and fuzzy noses to fuzz balls) for a Valentine’s party. Just curious – would we win a single kit or a subscription we would have to cancel?
Erika says
We made dough hearts to add to our pop up cards for Valentines Day.
Melanie Montgomery says
i tried to make a card
Mayla Moore says
We made a batch of salt dough and had fun using cookie cutters to make shapes.
Jen S says
We made our own valentine’s cards this year – decorated butterfly wings and put a tootsie pop in the middle for the body and head. Kids and teachers loved them!
domestic diva says
I made my kids costumes!
cynthia says
we made brownies for valentines day
tam childers says
We made homemade Valentine cards
story says
We made a Valentine for my husband. It’s a good thing it’s the thought that counts.
Christine says
We made homemade Valentine cards.
Thanks for the chance!
lisa says
We just made homemade valentines today:)
Dorothy Teel says
We made glitter balls for CHRISTMAS. WHAT A MESS
hannah says
I made a book wreath
Mindi says
The last craft we did was making the kids valentine boxes for school!
Deborah says
We attempted to assemble a Cookie House that I won in a giveaway. It was so shattered in shipping that it was impossible to put it together.
I have better luck with my quilts! Currently working on a Maisy quilt for a 2nd Birthday present.
Alison says
Snowmen crafts with thekids
ColleenMarie82 says
We are making heart shaped crayons for V-day for my daughter;s preschool class.
Lacey says
we made homemade star wars valentines
tiffany book says
We make artificial flower arrangements for the cemetary…
Vicki Wurgler says
the kids did a Valentine mobile with hearts and alot of glitter
Brandy Fisk says
We made love potion and colored hearts.
jennifer says
we made glitter play dough if that counts
Da Schon says
We made a chain of hearts using construction paper strips and a stapler. 🙂
Les Johnson says
Made a palm tree out of duct tape for a school project.
miranda says
We made puppets out of paper bags
Kayla says
That would be something fun to try! I am not crafty at all either so help would be appreciated! 🙂 Maybe I can make homemade valentines, though. That wouldn’t be too hard.
Katie L says
we did homemade valentines recently
Kristen says
We made a birthday banner for a friend.
Kim Burnett says
we made valentines
Mary Dailey says
I had a kit for some mermaid clothespin dolls that I made with the granddaughters. They just loved them!
Maria Kiguthi says
My kids have been making duct tape wallets.
renee says
We made turkey coasters for Thanksgiving–they were cute and functional at dinner time!
Barbara Osburn says
My Granddaughter madison is one craftie girl, she comes up with some really cute stuff, she loves sand art at the State Fair.
Rylie origon says
I am working on making a banner for my daughter’s first birthday!!
Shannon Baas says
we made valentines for grandparents.
Happysrapper42 says
We love to craft (well my daughter loves it) I try to love it- but the mess… ah the mess. lol Love the Itsysparks kits. We are a big fan of theirs.
Erika says
We made homemade valentine’s Day cards and added our own heart crayons to them! Thanks!
Heather Wone says
I recently just did a handful of Valentines crafts (blogged about it as well.) My favorite was the wall art we made for the kids grandparents. We took a beautful quote and put it on paper along with their hand print. Added some glitter and it came out just great!
Connie Gruning says
20 month old Alice and I painted a canvas. I put Alice (stripped down to diaper) in an empty bathtub and gave her paints and a blank canvas. She had so much fun! The canvas came out so adorable. MAN was I glad she was in the tub when we were done!!
Vickie Couturier says
my grandsons an I decorated a picture frame for their parents for Christmas,they do this every year an love doing it,its a lot of fun
Tamar says
We painted some pictures.
Kristin says
We made Valentine’s stamps from juice bottle caps—glued foam shapes onto them. My crafting ambitions are always far beyond my skill, though!
Sunnie says
We just made little owl decorations.
Sarah Hayes says
we made coasters
Sue Hull says
The last craft I did was a few months ago with my 4 yr old neice.I bought popsicle sticks and we(I) glued them together to make a house but it ended up being a box.LOL!! She glued some sticks onto a piece of cardboard.I’m not sure what it was supposed to be.I told her she did a great job gluing the sticks together.She loves to do crafts and so does my 9 yr old neice(her sister).My sister’s are both crafty and me,not so much.This kit would be perfect for the girls. Thank you for the cool giveaway! 🙂
Samorjj says
We made a dream catcher after my older one had a bad dream. It turned out pretty good and works like a charm.
brandy says
i promised my kiddo a lion mane. i should pinterest that now….
Stephanie w says
We made cupcakes 😉
erin, maker of chimes says
We made cotton ball sheep to go along with a bible story.
susan says
We made homemade Valentine cards.