Recycled May Flowers

April showers are supposed to bring May flowers. Here in the Midwest we have some tulips in our yard, but the terrible winter has delayed a lot of our Spring flowers. You can make these flowers in a few moments and transform your paper scraps into an adorable bouquet to tide you over until your garden blooms. This project originally appeared in the April issue of Kids Craft 1-2-3! 
Materials:
paper (I used a map, sheet music, and pages from a gardening catalog.)
stapler
glue
pipe cleaner
something for the center like circles of felt, buttons, circles of contrasting paper, pom poms

Steps

1. Cut a piece of paper into a long rectangle. Try 4 1/2 x 12 inches or pick your own size.
2. Fold the paper like an accordion with small folds.
3. After the paper is folded up completely, staple at the halfway point and fan out the sides.
4. Glue the sides open to make the flower.
5. For the center you can do what I did and glue on a small circle of felt and a button on top of that. You also could attach circles of contrasting paper, tiny pom poms, or other center items. 
6. I used tape to attach the back of my flowers to the pipe cleaners. You could also use a glue gun for a neater appearance.

Easy Nancy Drew Lampshade

I am still having fun with my cutting machine. Last week I made a Sherlock Holmes pillow using freezer paper. I had to follow up with my other favorite detective! To make this I used my Silhouette cutting machine but you absolutely can do it with scissors if you are a careful cutter. I printed out multiple copies of Nancy Drew's silhouette on black craft paper and cut them out. Then I took a Dollar Store lampshade and glued them on using matte Mod Podge. I added trim and pom poms and the shade was ready.  The base was clear glass and I covered with with black tissue paper and Mod Podge. I think the texture looks pretty good but it would be easy to find a base that doesn't need to be altered or to alter it in a different way like by painting it.
I actually was in such a hurry I didn't do a very good job placing the figures. It would be worth your time to use a ruler and mark off where you will put the cut outs. I also should have marked where the pom pom and trim would be placed as I will confess these are a little haphazard as well. However I am still pretty pleased with this cute little lamp and am already thinking about other shades I can make people like a Virginia Woolf shade for my mom or a Beethoven shade for Annabelle's music teacher. You can pick any image and see how easy it is!

Tiny Felt Flip Photo Books

Here is a useful little book you can make as a gift for a Grandma or someone else who likes to carry photos around in their purse to share with absolutely everyone they run into.
I used some nice photos of my kids at the beach last summer and had them printed out as "wallet size." I used typing paper for the inside paper because it is thin and flexible and felt for the exterior. You could use origami paper for the inside pages too because it is really thin but do not use construction paper as it will crack. You can sew up the book in several different ways using either regular sewing thread or embroidery floss.

Materials:

• 3 felt pieces measuring 3 x 4 inches
• Embroidery floss
• Needles of various sizes
• Buttons and other felt scraps, trim, etc 
• 3 pieces of thin paper cut 3 x 8 inches and folded very neatly the long way
• Pins
• Scissors
• Optional- clamp for holding book while you bind it

Steps

1. Decorate the cover of your book. I used felt hearts, buttons, and rickrack. I added my sister-in-law's name to one of the covers. You can sew the pieces onto the cover or glue them.
2. Make a little book by stacking the folded book pages inside each other.
3. Lay the bottom piece of felt on a table, put the paper booklet on top of it. Lay your cover on top of everything. Do not worry about the third piece of felt yet. You will use it later on.
4. After everything is really nicely lined up and square use a bulldog clip or clothepin to hold the pages together.
5. It is time to bind your book. I employed two diferent methods for my two different books. For one book I used regular sewing thread and a sharp needle and just sewed over the edge and through the paper as neatly as possible. This looks nice, but the paper may rip eventually.
6. For my second book I used a simple book binding stitch known as the four hole pamphlet stitch. Here are good directions for how to do it from the My Handbound Books site. It is actually not as hard as it sounds, as you only have to poke 4 holes in the edge of your book so is quicker than the first method. If you enjoy embroidery you could use different stitches to hold your pages together, The blanket stitch would look really nice.
7. After your book is bound you can trim the paper edges so they don't show and trim the threads. 
8. To hide the sewing on the back of the cover I glued on a backing to it. This is where your third felt rectangle comes into play. You will need to trim it as it will be smaller than the cover since it is not stitched in. We are not stitching it in with the pages because that would add a lot of thickness for the needles to have to through. You ay want to try including in the binding and see what happens.
9. Glue in your wallet sized photos. I used a glue stick. A scrapbooker would probably use something more elaborate and effective but the glue worked fine for me.
10. Now, wrap up your little book and mail it someone who will be very happy to have more photos of your adorable kids, or leave the book empty and give it to someone who takes a lot of pictures and likes to share them.

Holly Wreath Center Piece

It seems the events of the holidays often require a good centerpiece.

 I was inspired to make this one in, of 

all places, the dollar store!

I purchased all the supplies, with the exception of the wool felt (which I have a stockpile of, but you could 

purchase the amount you need to make this for very little cost) in the store, making 

this one inexpensive little craft ($3!!). 

Magnetic Monster Mash

We are so excited for October. The leaves are falling, the air is cooler, and best of all, we can decorate for Halloween!

We are also thrilled to have 2 Halloween crafts featured in the latest copy of  Kids Crafts 123.

Happy 4th of July!

This is one of our very first posts, we thought it was worth another view, since likely many have not seen it.
We have here, a little patriotic party Sarah and I prepared for the kids
dollhouse family.

Hope everyone celebrating July 4th, has a safe and happy holiday!

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The kids are out of school, the weather is heating up, Fourth of July is coming!

The dollhouse folks are totally prepared and ready to celebrate!

A picnic feast has been prepared.

We have our American flag (made from fimo clay) and tiny paper pinwheels,.

Birdhouse pocket game

Sarah had this great idea to make these little pocket games. I remember these as a kid,  rolling the ball

around to get it in that tiny indented spot it belongs in. 

I have no idea what these games are called, if anyone knows, please tell me! But I do 

remember getting these sort of things at carnivals, and especially our dentist office.

We always had a giant treasure box of plastic toys to pick through after getting our teeth cleaned, as 

a reward for no cavities!

Shrinky Dink Barrettes

My daughter has a crazy head of thick curls, that is in constant need of some kind of hairband, barrette or something or other to tame it. We have an endless supply here, and she is pretty bored with them all, so I 

decided to personalize some for her.

Little Clover Clips- for St. Patricks Day

You can make your own luck...or lucky charm this St. Patrick's Day, with these cute 

Four leaf clover clips.

You can clip a note to them, as a holiday surprise..clip to a treat from 

a leprechaun. Or even stand the clip upright, and use as a place card holder.

These are really simple to make. In fact my kids came up with the idea, when I let them play
around with a bag of random wooden shapes and some Popsicle sticks.

 I used a regular, wooden clothespin, and then I had

a bag of irregular wooden shapes, you can find at most craft stores.

Pick out 1 star, and 4 little hearts, the same size.

The star will be your base, add glue to this, and attach the petals

to the glue on the base. 

 All points toward the center.

 Then allow your clover petals to dry.

You can attach these clovers to anything...when my kids made these, they

attached them to popsicle sticks, and we displayed them in our plants.

 Then attatch to your clothes pin....the end that pinches things...not the 

end you press on.

Then wait for it to dry. They look pretty cute natural wood color, but 

I liked the green for the holiday, adding a little gold glitter paint over the final coat.

Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Tiny Toadstool Pegs

More fun with tiny pegs! I made a Portable Peg Family  with these
same size pegs in an earlier post.
They seem to have inspired me!
So one of my favorite things to make tiny, in almost any medium
is little toadstools.

Look how cute they are!

So these are pretty self explanatory.

1.Go buy some tiny wooden pegs.

2.Using acrylic paint, paint the top rounded part, red, or brown.

3.Add polka dots by dipping the end of the paintbrush in white paint, and dabbing 

onto the top.

So cute. Now I just have to figure out what to do with them.

Suggestions are welcome!

-Corinne

Mini Chalkboard Heart Messages

My kids do enjoy picking out those boxes of store bought valentines every year,and they are 

a quick easy, way to give cards to a huge number of people.

 But it is always really special when you get a handmade card. 

It can be simple or complex, but it lets the person know you were thinking of them when you made it!

These chalkboard hearts are a cute, handmade way to leave your valentine a message.

Tiny Portable Peg Family

We travel a lot, visiting our family in Ohio. It is quite a long drive from Chicago,

but I have to say my kids have really learned to entertain themselves on this 5 + hour long drive. 

(either that, or we pull the video games and dvd player out! I have to admit it, we do that too!)
They have been doing it since they were babies.

What I have learned is, new things keep them happily entertained. 

This can get costly, right? So here is a very inexpensive and easy little toy, that will entertain them on those long car trips. Also good for Dr. office waits, restaurant waits...you name it. Pull this toy out, and 

you just may have some happy little people. (for a little while at least!)

Plus, it's so tiny, it takes up almost no space in your bag.

I modeled this one after my own family.

(l to r.) My son Simon, daughter Ava, our wiener dog Alice, me and my husband Paul.

This particular peg is my son. He is going to turn 5, just a few days before Valentines Day. 

This is very important to him, since his sister's birthday has fallen on Thanksgiving, and his Dad's on Easter.

Valentines Day is his day!

So this is both a Valentine gift, and birthday gift, that will be presented to him in the car on our way to Ohio!

His sister has already seen this, is already jealous, and has already stated she NEEDS one too.
Of course.

So I used the tiny altoid tin. Then purchased these tiny, tiny wood pegs from the craft store.

I had a different idea for them, that didn't work out, then realized I could re-use these....and boy have I! 

(Another post coming soon, with yet another tiny peg idea!)

I just painted very simple color blocked  shapes, and added detail with a good, fine point, black ink, rolling ball pen.

Add a scenic interior. I used felt and trees...since it seems that is all we pass on our 

way there. Not complaining, these trees have inspired many of my drawings!

I can't wait to give this to him, I think he'll love it.
-Corinne