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Friday, August 31, 2012

Fight the Back To School Blues!

Candy Jar
Do you have perky kids raving about all things school at your house? Or have you discovered someone suffering from back to school blues? For the few who are less than enthused - We have a cure! Create one of our enjoyable and easy crafts with your kids to lift a bit of the blues. And watch the smiles emerge. (They may be slow at first...but keep at it until you see those eyes twinkle.)

Candy Jar
Create this treat saver from supplies you have around the house, plus some goodies - it makes the perfect teacher gift, or just a fun cheery way to display after school treats!

Colorful Sun Catchers
The sun catcher craft involves shaving crayons and cheese graters - definitely a hands on experience, but probably best for elementary age kids to create.

Craft Stick Heart Frame
This sweet little number is a win win! Create a simple craft stick frame to display an adorable school picture. Simple, inexpensive and creative.

Flower Pot Kids
A cheery garden-inspired craft, the flower pot lets your kids paint and decorate to their hearts' desire and then add a sweet photo as the finishing touch.

Keepsake Handprint
This is one of my personal favorites - get some model clay and paint and create the perfect keepsake gift for grandparents, parents or to preserve for posterity. You'll also need a hand!

These crafts are sure to help bust the boredom and back to school blues, or just to add a little creative fun to the week or weekend. Connect with us on Facebook and share your favorite back to school craft or visit The Idea Box to find many more kid-friendly ideas and activities.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Back To School Teacher Gifts

Daisy Finger Prints
Back to school means backpacks, pencils, glue and teacher love! Appreciate the special teachers in your kiddo's life (or yours) by creating a homemade gift they can enjoy in the classroom or outside the class!

I've got a few ideas you may enjoy...like the Daisy Finger Prints project or these fun, easy DIY gifts!

Flower Pot Decorations
Terracotta flower pots are easy to work with and inexpensive, especially this time of year. Pick up a few pots for your little artists to make-over and fill them with a sweet treat to get your teacher through that first week!

Pom Pom Flower Magnet
Create easy pom pom flower magnets for your special teacher to use at home or in class. Pom poms are a great embellishment, inexpensive and can be used for all sorts of crafts and making shapes!

Salt Dough
Our salt dough recipe is easy to mix up and there's a good chance you already have the ingredients in your kitchen cupboards. The salt dough can be shaped into all sorts of trinkets, from jewelry to magnets to key chains, baked and painted as a crafty little gift for all occasions.

Stress Ball Craft
Who needs an outlet for all the pent up energy the first week of school? Your teachers do! Create a homemade stress ball to facilitate a little creative therapy for all those teachers and school workers who take such great care of our kids!

Enjoy these teacher gift ideas. Connect with us on Facebook to share your go-to teacher appreciation gift or visit The Idea Box for more crafty kid-friendly gift ideas!








Thursday, August 16, 2012

Back To School Crafts & Fun

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos
No matter how you spell it, back to school time is here! And that means school supply shopping, clothes preparations, new sneakers and catching that big yellow beast to ride to school! Here are a few fun free crafts, projects and recipes to really get you in the back to school mood. 

Back To School Magnet
This fun craft is a little more complex to bring it all together, but totally worth the effort. It would also double as a creative and unique back to school teacher gift!

Backwards Dinner

The first day back to school is always a doozie! It signals the official end of Summer and is usually a tiring day as kids adjust. Celebrate with a backwards dinner to lighten the evening!

Back To School Contract

Do your kiddos need a little motivation to keep them positive and focused through out the school year? How about writing up a back to school contract to keep everyone inspired?

Bus Cookies

Talk about a fun after school snack and super simple to put together! Your kids will love eating up these little peanut butter buses and you get to enjoy bragging rights!

Circle Seats

In many classes, circle time is a big part of the teaching and fun. But what if you can't stick anything permanent to the floor for circle time? No problem! We have an idea!

Don't forget to connect with us on Facebook to share your favorite back to school tip and visit The Idea Box for more free back to school ideas. Enjoy!

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Funny Buddies to Make & Play With!

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Little kids love buddies! Especially during the toddler years, when having friends or buddies to play with means being just like big brother or big sister.

Little kids also have big imaginations so creating "play buddies" is not just fun but also very entertaining and stimulating! Here's a list of crafty ideas to make with your little buddies to get you started.

Clothespin Pal
This craft is super simple and can be created with materials you already have on hand. Take a few clothespins, some markers and maybe some embellishments like buttons or bows and make a clothespin pal! (These are great "quiet" toys too.)

Springtime Grass Buddy
This buddy craft involves a bit more planning, prep time and grass seed. It would be a creative way to learn about the earth in Spring time or for an Earth Day craft. The little kids will love watching their grass buddies grow!

Bugs in a Cup
This game is a super fun learning tool for little ones and requires minimal effort to put together. Grab some plastic bugs at the dollar store, cups and markers and you've got a great counting tool and entertaining game.

Ziplock Butterfly
Another fun craft to create a colorful butterfly, this requires materials you have on hand, a little planning and whole lot of fun. Little ones may need a bit of help to assemble their butterflies, but I promise they will love tearing up the paper!

Buddy Tag
A buddy version of the game of tag - this is a fun game to play with 8 - 14 kids and keeps them moving until you decide when to blow the whistle. It's perfect for a classroom full of wiggly kids to work out their bugs!

Share your favorite buddy craft with us on Facebook or visit The Idea Box for more buddy inspiration!










Thursday, August 2, 2012

Stars, Bugs and Butterflies

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
August already? I can't believe it - the summer is going by so quickly. Time flies when you are having fun, and so do bugs, butterflies and stars! I've collected a few butterfly crafts to help your little stars shine and keep you from going absolutely buggy!

Connect with us on Facebook to share your favorite summer craft, activity or snack recipe. Or visit The Idea Box for many more summer time projects and ideas for your little helpers.

Bugs!
This simple craft uses materials you have on hand including an egg carton, paint, pipe cleaners and glue. (If you don't have pipe cleaners on hand and you have kids under 5 in the house - go get some. You'll thank me later.)

Little Stars
I love this craft since it features your little star as the main ingredient! With a small photo of your little one and some construction paper - a star is born, one that you can hang, display, or even use at Christmas time as a gift ornament.

Butterfly Flyer
Another favorite at my house, the butterfly flyer is made with straws, yarn and construction paper. The best part is flying your finished butterfly around outside. Get creative and make them in all shapes, colors and sizes!

Sweet Stars
This sweet treat doesn't disappoint! Use strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream to create star shaped snacks and serve to your little shooting stars. My kids love this seasonal tasty, kid-friendly treat!

Butterfly Puppet
This craft project takes a few more materials and supplies, and again, items you probably already have on hand at home. With a little ingenuity and mad stapling skills your kids can have a butterfly puppet put together in no time!








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