Make Your Own Stamps

Finley has been really into stamps lately and I've been collecting milk caps for months now so I knew this would be the perfect craft project for us. It's quick and easy and fun for the kids.

Supplies:

• Bottle caps
• Foam stickers (the Target dollar spot is a great place to look for these)
• Stamp pads and paper

It's pretty self-explanatory. Peel and stick. Stamp and press. And have fun!

Fluffy Bunny Craft

I have been seriously slacking on the crafting side of things lately. I'm full of excuses - working on taxes (done!), refinancing the house (in progress), taking care of sick kids (all better and then they got sick again), training for a half-marathon through Team in Training (3 months to go!). This list goes on and on....

But Easter is quickly approaching and I have very few decorations for the house so I thought we should get our craft back on. We started with this cute and simple paper plate bunny.

Supplies

• Paper plate
• White and pink paper
• Cotton balls
• Black and pink pipe cleaner
• Pink pompom
• Googly eyes
• Glue
• Scissors

You can use the standard white paper plate but I went with a smaller cake/appetizer plate, flipped it over to the white side and cut the edge off. I figured smaller plate equals smaller mess. :)

Cover the plate with a whole lotta glue and let your kids cover it in cotton balls. This brought a smile to Finley's face.

And made Grady grimace. He did not like the mess of the glue.

Cut out two big white pieces and two small pink pieces for the ears. Glue those together and glue them to the back of the plate. Then add the eyes, nose, mouth and whiskers. I'm not sure if they look more like bunnies or kittens. Either way they're cute and it kept the kids happy for a bit. And hopefully this will kick start my crafting!

Painter's Tape - It's Not Just for Painting

I've mentioned before how much I loathe painter's tape when it's used for it's intended purpose. But when it's used for fun kids' activities, I LOVE it!

A few weeks ago I got the tape out and the kids and I made a whole tape city, complete with roads around the house. We were all sick with colds so it kept everyone happy and entertained for a few days. It's a great activity for rainy days like today!

The best part is the clean up. Lift and toss!

Finger Painting Bags

I knew these two little kids were not going to wait patiently while I got dinner ready tonight so I pulled another trick out of my Pinterest bag - Finger Painting Bags. This is genius. I mean completely and totally genius. Finger painting without the mess of finger painting. How cool is that?

Supplies:

• Paint
• Ziploc bags
• Tape (Painters tape works well)
• Sheet of white paper

Put a big squirt of paint into a ziploc bag. You can use one color or use a couple colors and teach your kids all about mixing colors. Push out the air bubbles and zip up the bag.

Tape the bag to the table over a sheet of paper. You don't need the paper but it will help your kids see the colors better. Then let them "paint" away.

Finley had fun showing her little brother the "right" way to paint. He doesn't look pleased, does he?

These bags can be used again and again. After the kids did their painting at the table, we moved them to the fridge. And after they get bored with that I'm going to peel them off and save them for another "I'm bored, Mommy!" kind of day.

Check out the Crafts and Activities page or my post on 10 activities to help avoid a toddler meltdown for more ideas on keeping your kids entertained.

Paper Plate Heart

Here's another no-mess (ok, maybe a little) and high fun Valentine's craft for your kids. You probably already have everything in your craft drawer and pantry for it.

Supplies:

• Paper plate
• Construction paper
• Glue
• Scissors

Cut the paper plate into a heart shape.

The next part is supposed to be fun for your kids. That is, if you have normal kids. My kids cried when I told them they could rip up the paper into tiny pieces. What's up with that?

Once the tears have dried, spread glue all over the heart plate and let your kids glue the paper on it until the heart is covered. Finley had a great time making this heart and had an even better time delivering a special Valentine to her Gramps over the weekend.

Fun with Froot Loops

I got the idea of doing some crafts with Froot Loops from a friend of mine. Finley was so excited when I pulled out a box of yummy looking cereal. She looked a little upset when she realized they were for a craft, but she quickly got on board when I told her she could eat the leftovers that we didn't use for the rainbow.

Supplies:

• Froot Loops
• One sheet of paper
• Glue
• Cotton balls or marshmallows

If you have an older child you can take the opportunity to teach them about rainbows. If you have a toddler, just ask them to sort the Froot Loops by color.

Put a half-circle of glue on the paper for each color and Froot Loop up the page until you have a beautiful rainbow.

We added cotton balls for the clouds. I thought about doing mini-marshmallows but I knew they'd be in Finley's mouth before we could get them on the page.

Sometimes I'm kinda "meh" about doing crafts. I'm happy to do them with Finley because it makes her happy and keeps her occupied. But I actually thought this one was a lot fun. I don't know why. Maybe because rainbows are cheery and happy or maybe because there was food involved. Either way it was a lot of fun for us to do together.

Check out the Crafts & Activities page for more fun ideas to keep your toddlers busy.

Valentine's Lovebird

I found this lovebird Valentine's craft on Meet the Dubiens while pinning away on Pinterest the other day. It's really easy, you probably have all the supplies already (if you don't just make do with what you have) and there's no mess! That's my kind of craft.

Supplies:

• Large sheet of paper
• Colored foam or paper
• Glue
• Scissors
• Googly eye
• Marker

Cut out a large heart for the body and smaller hearts for the wings, tail, feet, lips and head feathers. If you have a youngish kid, you'll have to do the cutting. If you're kid is approved to use scissors, let 'em at it.

Glue the hearts onto a large sheet of paper to make the bird. Add a googly eye. Then draw the legs with the marker and glue the feet onto the bottom. Easy-peasy!

We're still working on my daughter's writing skills. That's supposed to say "TWEET" but she kept running out of room so the letters just went where there was space. I still think it's pretty cute!

Looking for more Valentine's crafts? Check out the Crafts and Activities page.

10 Toddler Activities To Avoid the Dreaded Meltdown

I do my best to avoid meltdowns like this.

And this.

I'd much rather see happy and smiling faces like these. So I've put together my own list of "Keep 'Em Happy" Activities. Food and recipe websites suggest making a list of your go-to meals that you can easily assemble with ingredients you have on hand. Well, I think we need the same for our kids. There are so many times I ask myself, "What am I going to do with the kids today?" and "How can I keep them happy for another 30 minutes before dinner is ready?" Here's my top 10 activities to avoid meltdowns.

1. Photograph the House

Over the summer we let Finley try out her photography skills on one of our old cameras. Playing with that camera can keep her busy for a good chunk of time. Her favorite activity is a picture scavenger hunt. I draw pictures of items in the house and send her on a scavenger hunt to take pictures of all of them. If you really want to put your kids to work, get them to take pictures of all your valuables for insurance purposes!

2. Dance Party!

This is probably my favorite. I love to dance and so do my kids. Even if you don't have an extensive music collection, you can listen to lots of free music on services like Pandora. Get in on the dancing yourself and get a little exercise while you're at it. We do this so much I'm starting to think the The Chipmunks make quality music.

3. When In Doubt, Turn On The Spout

Water has wonderful healing powers when it comes to cranky kids. (I guess the same can be said for tired moms.) I usually reserve bath time for that space of time between dinner and bed time when I just want the day to end. But sometimes I do bath time right smack in the middle of the day because it keeps them happy. Add a little colored shaving cream paint or some fizzy tub colors and you can let them play until they're prunes while you relax on the floor with a book. Without a doubt they'll be super dirty by bedtime but it gets me through the day and some days that's about all I can hope for.

If it's summertime, a sprinkler or kiddy pool in the backyard works well, too. While you're out there, throw a little soap in pool and call it a bath.

Or you can always fill the kitchen sink with soapy water and let them at it. You'll probably end up with a lot of water on the floor but maybe you can convince them that mopping up the floor is part of the fun, too!

4. Color Buckets

I have a few colored buckets from Finley's art-themed birthday party. These work perfectly for the color bucket game. Give your kids a bucket (or anything else they can put stuff in) and have them go around the house finding things the same color. Ok, you'll probably spend a few minutes putting everything back. But if it keeps the kid busy for a bit, I'm ok with that.

5. Hide-and-Go-Seek with Toys
My husband likes to play this game with the kids. He hides one of their toys that makes noise, like LeapFrog My Pal Scout or Violet, turns on the music and has them search the house for them. I'm sure we all have way too many annoying noisy toys, so just grab one of those to use. And if you hide it so well that the kids never find it, even better!

6. Stickers, Stickers, Stickers

When there's no paper to be found, mama works well, too!

If there is a sheet of stickers in the house, Grady seems to be able to sniff them out. I'm always finding him sitting on the floor peeling stickers off a sheet and nicely decorating the house or himself. I should probably be better about putting them out of reach. Finley was the same way at that age, but she used to decorate me instead of the house. It always keeps the kids quiet makes them happy, so it makes me happy.

7. Dress-Up

This is an easy activity that I never even have to encourage the kids to play. They're usually off in their room playing quietly and then one of them comes out wearing something totally random. We have the standards like dresses for Finley, hats, and a fishing vest for Grady. But Finley also found a 6 - 9 months baby outfit in the donation pile that she quickly turned into dress up clothes. She loves wearing it and it now has a home in the dress up the basket, too. (For a while that was her favorite hat to wear when we went out.)

We also have a duck costume that Finley wore for Halloween when she was two. She still squeezes into it and Grady likes to wear it, too. Basically, anything that the kids don't wear normally, goes into the dress-up basket and makes for hours of fun!

8. Pipe Cleaners + Colander

Give your kids a colander and handful of pipe cleaners (or spaghetti noodles if you're fresh out of pipe cleaners) and walk away. Honestly. That's all I had to do. No instructions needed. They'll figure it out and have a lot of fun.

9. Lacing

I think one of the hardest things about doing crafts and activities with kids is the preparation. Once you've pulled out your supplies they've already lost it and there's no going back. That's why I love this one. You can have it ready in a minute or two. Find a shoelace, or any sturdy string. Cut up some straws. And you're done. Let the kids lace the straws onto the shoelace. When they're done, put it all in a ziploc bag and you've got a quick activity for those "I'm bored" moments.

10. Word World

This one is also super fast and super easy. Pull out some letter magnets and a baking sheet. Write some words on a piece of paper and let your kids spell the words with the magnets. If they're a little younger you can give them animal magnets to play with. If they're a little older you can let them make up their own words.

What are your go-to activities that help keep you and your kids happy?

Pipe Cleaners + Colander = Lots-o-Fun

I've seen this colander activity for toddlers on a bunch of different blogs. I let Finley try it before with spaghetti noodles but that just led to a crushed noodle mess on my floor. Lots of fun for her. Very little fun for me.

After a very looooong afternoon yesterday I decided to try it again. This time with pipe cleaners. And guess what? The kids loved it. Both of them. Together. Playing happily.

Well, until Finley appointed herself keeper of the pipe cleaners which Grady wasn't too happy about. But other than that, they had a great time.

It's good for their fine motor skills, cooperation and all that good development stuff. And it keeps them happy for a bit so you can be happy for a bit.