crafts for kids - Stuff Parents Need

PBS KIDS Super Simple Crafts: Excellent Resource for Summer Break Activities

April 14, 2016 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Affiliate links may be included at no cost to you. I only promote what I love.

I’m already in “hunt and gather” mode for summer break plans. I’m looking at museums and other educational attractions within striking distance of where we live and planning a few day trips, I’ve got summer camps booked, and I’m restocking our shelves with games, art supplies, and activity books for at home enrichment.

One great find recently came to my doorstep, courtesy of PBS KIDS, who sent me their new release called PBS KIDS Super Simple Crafts: Sticks & Stones.
This is a book of simple nature-based activities for kids ages 4 and up, packaged together with many of the supplies you will need to complete the crafts. In addition to the book, which has over 50 creative project ideas, you receive

• 6 sheet of felt in different colors

• nontoxic, clear-drying craft glue

• 24 googly eyes

• 7 pots of paint

• 2 paintbrushes

As someone who gets overwhelmed the second she steps into Michael’s or other craft stores, I really appreciate seeing all the materials you need ready to go with the book. I was also impressed with how simple the activities were, such that little ones could take the lead on the projects without a parent, if needed.

We gave the kit a test run during our Spring Break and I was quickly reminded of how much kids really can enjoy very simple things, like going on a stick hunt in the backyard, and then getting to decorate sticks with colorful paint. This kept Layah engaged for at least half an hour, and I was able to sit right next to her while she worked and get through some emails that were languishing in my inbox. Everyone accomplished something and even though we were working on different projects, we were still together with each other. It was great!

I’ve put the book and craft supplies away to save for summer break projects, and I’ll absolutely be reaching for this kit again, as it has ideas that will entertain both of my girls, and that encourage a little outdoor fun before craft time begins. I highly recommend that you add it to your stash of summer fun projects!

PBS KIDS Super Simple Crafts: Sticks & Stones is available at retailers nationwide, including Amazon, and is very nicely priced at under $15.

Valentine Craft for Kids: Heart Jelly Bean Bracelet

January 14, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 19 Comments

Affiliate links included for this Valentine craft. Enjoy!

I wish I had documented the day that my oldest learned of candy necklaces. Special treats joining forces with jewelry?!?! YES!!!!!!!!!!

So on a recent trip to the grocery store, I thought I’d see if I could find any Valentine’s jelly candy that we could use for a craft. Remember, I’m TOTALLY NOT CRAFTY, (no, really….) but I figured that poking holes through some jelly beans and tying knot in some string was something I could handle.

So here’s how I made a Valentine craft for kids in the form of a jelly bean bracelet.

First, I gathered my supplies. You need some jewelry elastic. I found mine at Walmart with all the jewelry making supplies, and I’m sure Michael’s has it, but that store scares the crap out of me (remember, NOT CRAFTY!). I also found these heart shaped jelly beans, but you can use anything you can find that you think will withstand the puncture of a needle really well.

Speaking of the needle, I wanted to get something really thick, and not sharp on the tip since this craft is intended for kids. I found a tapestry needle, and I have no idea if that was the “best” choice, but it worked for me!

Even with the large, “dull” needle, I still felt that the act of puncturing each jelly bean was a bit too challenging for a 4-year-old. I’m thinking this would be a good craft for maybe ages 7 and up.

I tied a few knots on one end of the string to get started, and then ran the needle and thread through the center of the jelly bean, like this:

And then I realized that I made a hole far too large for my dinky little knot. So I needed some other way to keep the string from falling through while I got all the jelly bean hearts on the string (I hope that makes sense!). So I busted out my Scotch tape and just taped it in place for the moment. Once again, no idea if that was the “right” thing to do, but it worked!

Once I had all the jelly beans on the string, I tied lots and lots of little knots. It needed several because this plastic material is very slippery, and I noticed that one simple knot will come undone. Several are needed for it to behave!

That’s it! You are done and now have a really cute bracelet. This is such a great craft for parent/child bonding time, or for a play date. You can even make necklaces or anklets using this concept.

I spent about $5 on the supplies, and I could probably make 4 bracelets with the jelly beans I have. Not too bad, and it was a huge hit with my daughter! Give it a try, even if you are like me and “don’t do crafts!” And just a head’s up: your tapestry needle will not survive the craft. It will be completely coated in candy by the time you are done. I gave the needle my most heartfelt thanks for its service, and then sent it to the garbage can!

Crayola Slick Stix and My Holiday Craft Idea for the Non-Crafters!

December 10, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 64 Comments

The Crayola product, gift card, information, and additional gift pack featured in this post have been provided by Crayola. All attempts at craftiness are my own!

Let me give a big old holiday shout out to the non-crafty mamas out there who are struggling to get through the crafting high season. I’m right there with you sisters, scissors in hands, glue in hair, and pipe cleaners wrapped around my finger, looking very VERY dazed and confused.

Crafting is seriously challenging for me. My mind just doesn’t work that way, folks! But I don’t want to assume that Darah feels exactly the same way (I know for a fact that she doesn’t) so I try to find the occasional crazy-easy crafting project for us to do together. I usually mess it up. She never minds. 🙂

So when reached out to me to see if I wanted to try out some of their products and come up with a holiday craft idea, I did two things.

1. I laughed for a really long time. It started out as a, “you must be kidding!” kind of laugh and then somehow devolved into a “run in the other direction because this lady is crazy” sort of laugh as I thought about all the great craft ideas I had swimming around in my head. And by “all” I actually mean NONE. I had NO IDEAS.

2. I said yes to the opportunity to get outside of my comfort zone, and get my craft on. With Crayola supplies on hand, it will at least be a little bit easier to come up with something cute, right?!

When the box of supplies arrived and I unpacked them, I happened to have a carton of Reynolds Pan Lining Paper on the table (it’s parchment paper on one side, foil on the other. It rocks in the kitchen, but that’s a different post…). I had a friend over at the time, and she started reading the packaging of the Crayola Slick Stix, and noted that they would color on foil.

And just like that, a craft idea was born in my head. It’s a Christmas miracle! I gathered my needed supplies to make some indoor sweet/outdoor pretty snowflakes!

So in truth, I totally forgot to use the glitter glue. But it would have been lovely, I’m sure!

Ok, now that the supplies are in hand, let’s rock this snowflake business!

Start by cutting a piece of pan lining paper, and then bringing up an edge like this to form a square.

Cut all that excess shiny stuff over on the right off. If you are ultra-awesome, use that to make another snowflake. I’m not that awesome, y’all.

Your cut product should look like this!

Now I’d say making a shiny square is great for a day’s work, but we aren’t quite finished! 🙂

Now it is time to break out your Crayola Slick Stix and color like crazy on the parchment paper side. The colors are vibrant and they will stick fairly quickly after being applied.

You can also color on the foil side of the paper, too. Below is just an example: we opted not to color that side and you’ll see why in a minute!

Once you have the parchment side decorated to your liking, it is time to turn it into a snowflake. First, this means a whole lot of folding!

Fold once:

Fold again:

And one more time:

Yeah, I know. It didn’t line up straight. I was actually having a lot of fun coloring and folding with Darah, and when I saw that the end result of the folding wasn’t perfect, I just didn’t care! It doesn’t really matter, so don’t stress out if yours looks crooked like mine.

Now, hold on to the internal corner of the snowflake. You don’t want to cut there, but feel free to cut pretty much everywhere else. Get wild and crazy. Here’s what I did!

Now slowly unfold your snowflake (careful! Sometimes the paper gets caught on itself!) and check out your colorful design!

So cool! Now for the reason why we didn’t color the aluminum foil side of the paper. I wanted to hang these in our window, and I wanted to be able to admire the art that my child did, and I also wanted to have something simple and bit less, shall we say, “colorful” on the outside. Here’s what it looks like to folks passing by!

So that’s why I’m calling these “inside sweet and outside pretty” snowflakes. And can I just say, OMG, I did a craft!

By the way, I made the stars to show you an even easier example of doing a craft like this. Just find a printable of a star and then trace it on your paper. Color, cut, then boom! Done!

Let’s celebrate my accomplishment, shall we?

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win a Crayola gift pack with the following items: