Make It: Bunny-Shaped Crayons for Easter

Holiday-themed crayons are such a great way to make old crayons new again. This easy up-cycle craft can be adapted for any holiday. Last spring, I used a Bunny cookie pan to make these adorable Bunny-Shaped Crayons for Easter.

Easy Christmas Kids Craft: Paint Marbled Ornaments and Garland

Over the years we have amassed quite a collection of Christmas ornaments for our tree. It's a really good thing we have a tall one! Some of my favorites were made by my children years ago. Making ornaments together is a fun family activity, and children love seeing their creations hung on the tree. Keep the project simple so you have plenty of time to sit back and enjoy the fun!

Need an idea? Try this fun Christmas Kids Craft I shared on The Shabby Creek Cottage last month. These colorful paint-marbled ornaments and garland make a great family-friendly Christmas craft project and only require a few supplies which you might already have on hand!

For these simple paper ornaments and matching garland you only need a few supplies and some drying time.

Make It: Kids' Art Embellished Keepsake Boxes

Mother's Day is just around the corner, but don't worry because these Kids' Art Embellished Keepsake boxes go together in a jiffy. If you're short on time, look for an already painted box like the one I found. If you don't mind adding a coat of paint yourself before the decoupage step, you can find wood boxes in assorted shapes and sizes at your local craft store.

How to Decoupage Children's Artwork onto a Keepsake Box

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Children's art is one of my favorite things and when I can use it to make memorable gifts, all the better! Here I found some small painted boxes in the Target dollar spot and decoupaged favorite artwork on the top to make an adorable keepsake box. Wouldn't one of these make great a great gift for mom or grandma? And they're inexpensive too!

Supplies Needed for Decoupaged Keepsake Box

• Painted Wooden Box (mine measures 4 1/8 x 6 1/2" and are 4 1/2" high, $3 at Target)
• Mod Podge or your favorite decoupage medium
• sponge brush
• copies of artwork sized to fit
• optional: craft paint (if your box is unpainted), decorative paper or fabric, stamps and ink, decorative edge scissors

Happy New Year & Top Posts of 2014

Happy New Year to you all!

While I started sharing a few posts here in 2013, the close of 2014 marks my first full year of blogging. I thought I'd kick off this New Year with a round up of my most viewed posts of 2014. Looking at the numbers, a few of last year's Christmas posts would actually be in this year's top ten! I decided to limit the list to posts published in 2014, but I'll give you a peek at those popular posts of 2013 later:)

So here it goes, my top ten most viewed posts of 2014:

Make It: Egg-cellent Crayon Cookies

Crayon cookies are a fun and easy way to make dull or broken crayons new again. You've probably seen them before. We made our first batch of crayon cookies well over a decade ago (not to date myself or anything) after getting a copy of "Don't Move the Muffin Tins" by Bev Bos. Since then we've made them several times, including in heart shapes to give out as Valentines. We might've even done some Halloween shapes one year for a non-candy classroom treat.

So, call me crazy, but when I spotted this Easter Egg shaped cookie pan, I immediately thought crayons not cookies!

What You Need:

Egg-shaped baking pan

Crayon pieces

Friday Art Fun! da Vinci-Inspired Sketchbooks

Introduce your child to a famous artist of the Renaissance, while making a fun personalized journal. For the cover, we created crayon resist paintings using a technique that made them look a little like worn parchment. On the inside, we added a bookplate with "mirror-writing".

What You Need

Composition Notebook or (other blank journal)

White paper

Black crayon

Watercolor paints & brush

Glue

Mirror-Writing Bookplates (download here)

Books or Websites about Leonardo da Vinci

Make It! Kid's Art Portfolio

Hello. Today I am sharing an easy art portfolio made from your child's art, some poster board, and tape or clear contact paper. You might even like to make one for each year. Good times are at the start of a new school year or around your child's birthday. Pick a time that works for you.

Supplies Needed for Kid's Art Portfolio

• Artwork (for front of portfolio)
• Solid-color Poster Board (cut to match front)
• Colored Tape or Clear Contact Paper
• More Tape or Cloth Bias Tape (for handles)

This project works best with larger flat art pieces. (I recommend 12x18 or larger.) If you don't have one large piece, have your child create a painting or drawing directly on poster board already cut to size or collage several smaller pieces onto some poster board.

Friday Art Fun! Painting with Primary Colors

Hello! Hello! Welcome to Friday Art Fun! I am so glad you're joining me for this new series. For this week, we'll be talking about COLOR.

The primary colors are red, blue and yellow. Those colors can be combined to make the secondary colors. I often like to start an art lesson with a children's book or two on the topic. Two of my favorites about COLOR are White Rabbit's Color Book by Alan Baker and Mousepaint by Ellen Stoll Walsh. Both have delightful illustrations that engage children while teaching them about mixing colors. A sure hit with younger children.

After reading together, provide white paper and red, blue and yellow paint. (For very young children, you don't even need brushes. Choose child-safe finger-paint and finger-painting paper.)