Kids' Card Game Holder

While playing card games like UNO my son lays out his cards face-up and tries to shield them from his opponent.  Now he can hold his cards like a big kid because Adapting Creatively shared how to make a simple holder with two CDs (offset) and super glue.  It works great, costs nothing and I like to use it too.  A Gamewright card holder is over 5 bucks.



 *post contains affiliate links

Cheap Halloween Craft: Lighted Skulls

I really like this Lighted Skulls project from Obsessively Stitching because it's creative and cheap-- you reuse a little milk bottle!  Dollar Store Crafts has the full tutorial.

Make Fun-Shaped Crayons

Right now 24 packs of Crayola Crayons are cheap at back to school sales.  Stock up if you want to make homemade crayons in lots of different shapes all times of the year!  Last February I followed Family Fun's Crayon Hearts instructions to make crayons for my daughter's Valentine/birthday goodie bags. *A couple tips: I slit the wrappers off carefully with a craft knife (some were still difficult to get off).  Do not use other (cheaper) crayon brands if you want them to melt good and color great!

There are a few different ways to make recycled crayons.  I have yet to try the tin can method (Momtastic, Chica and Jo & Squidoo) but I plan to soon.  The microwave method with a silicone tray went poorly for me (julie-k).  I think the oven method is the best (Make and Takes & Family Fun) and it was easier to get the crayons out from the mini muffin tin than silicone ice tray. 

The silicone heart ice cube tray pictured was found in January at Target in the front cheap section ($2.50/2 pack).  IKEA sells fun-shaped ice trays ('Only intended to be filled with water') and I found a flower-shaped one at Dollar Tree recently (haven't used it for crayon melting yet).  Michaels also has seasonal shaped baking pans.  Use caution when heating any of these trays in the oven or microwave.

Make Classic Can Stilts

Classic tin can stilts have been around for a long time.  Make some with the kids on a summer afternoon! They're fun to decorate and even more fun to stomp around with outside!

A few tips:

• I wouldn't recommend using a small can like I did for my son's.  A 29.5 oz. can is perfect for smaller kids but a #10 can is even better, especially for bigger kids (like mom ☺) and for safety reasons.

• I opened the cans with a no sharp edges can opener.

• I had my husband drill holes and then I glued foam circles around them.(answering the comment)

• We decorated with paper, Mod Podge, and paint.  The paper had a slippery/messy time and patterned paper was easier to work with than card stock.

• For the handles I used vinyl rope from Dollar Tree and hot glued ends after knotting.

-Picture of my can stilt supplies on Flickr.

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 * Family Fun's Can-do Stilts are decorated patriotic! (pictured above)

* Education.com's safety advice on their Coffee Can Stilts activity: "...have your child don protective gear and practice walking before hitting the open road." 

* You can buy some fun Monster Clompers from ALEX Toys.

Fun with a Bottle Lid

I started saving bottle lids when Silly Eagle Books posted about her Bottle Cap Bunny and then her Bottle Cap Animals!  It's a good thing because bottle cap/plastic lid fun started popping up everywhere!  We were inspired and had to make some of our own pictures.  I had a fish idea for my son but I instead made it.  He had his own easy but creative idea for a lid that opened to be a clam and he had me draw some fish to keep it company.  My daughter came up with the caterpillar.

♦ Keep It Under Your Cap- Family Fun April 2010 issue

♦ Buggy Mod Podge Bottle Caps from Crafts Unleashed

♦ Plastic Lid Ladybugs from Crafts by Amanda

♦ What Can You Make From A Plastic Lid? round-up on The Crafty Crow

♦ Beneficial Bugs- Family Fun May 2010 issue

Make a Spring Bubbles Kit

Playing outside in the spring with bubbles is the best and taking them with you to the park is fun!  What kid doesn't love bubbles?  I made a spring bubbles kit that will travel well and has all the necessities for a great time blowing bubbles!  I REUSED a 21.8 oz. Nesquik container to make the kit (6½" tall) and our bubbles and blower fit perfect.

* supplies: container, Mod Podge, patterned paper, wide ribbon (½" to 1"), 2 brads

* cut your patterned paper- mine were 1½" and 1" strips

* apply Mod Podge in small sections and smooth paper strips down

* when the container is covered apply a thin layer of Mod Podge on top of strips and allow to dry

* cut a 2½" piece of wide cloth ribbon, fold ends under a ½", make a slit with a craft knife, push brad through

* cut a small slit in both sides of container with knife and attach your ribbon strap

in the bubbles kit: the best bubbles (or make good homemade bubbles), bubble blowers, a few small bubbles (less spilling-- find them at party stores or Walmart) for kids and any friends that come around at the park, a baggie of wipes (for the clean-freak momma like me!)

A spring adventure or exploring kit would also be fun (binoculars, magnifying glass, top, mini frisbee, bouncy ball, etc.)!!  An 'outside fun kit' would make a unique kid birthday gift!! ☺

* featured on:
                    Weekend Roundup @ One Pretty Thing
* linked to: 
                    Mod Podge Mania @ This is the Year...
                    Whatever Goes Wednesday @ Someday Crafts
                    Creative Cats @ Poppies at Play
                    Spring has Sprung @ It's FUN to Craft 
                    Craft Concoction Friday @ That's So Cuegly! 
                    Weekend Wrap Up Party @ Tatertots & Jello
                    Show and Tell @ Blue Cricket Design 
                    Making the World Cuter Monday
                    Made by You Monday @ SkipTo My Lou 
                    Earth Day Craft Challenge @ Make and Takes

Indoor Olympics- Beanbag Toss and Bowling

Watching parts of the Olympics has been fun for my kids.  Their favorite events are figure skating and bobsled.  We created our own easy indoor Olympic fun yesterday and kept track of scores so we could 'medal' too!

Beanbag Toss 

REUSE an ice cream bucket for your beanbag target.

beanbags- Make and Takes shows an easy way to make little felt bean bags and I have beanbag links on my Let the Games Begin! post.

Mini Bottle Bowling

 REUSE water bottles or fruit juice bottles to have mini bowling fun!

Stick Card Puzzles

This post is similar to my Stick Puzzle post.  I found the original idea on makingfriends.com.  You REUSE a greeting card front to make a card puzzle for a holiday or just for fun.  I used my own paper creation and made a Valentine card puzzle to give to my kids at breakfast.  This would be a fun idea for a kid birthday card too.  I used Mod Podge instead of tacky glue and I covered the top of the card as well.  If you make your own card be sure to use stamp pads or markers that won't smear when you put the Mod Podge on.

Instructions: Tape the back of the big woodsie sticks, cut card to size, paint a thin layer of mod podge on the sticks where the card will be, place card on top and smooth down really good (important- let this step dry first with a book on top of it to keep it flat), mod podge top of card and smooth down well, let dry a little and then place heavy objects on sides of sticks while drying so it doesn't curl (I used my metal crafting tool tin so it wouldn't stick to any mod podge), dry for a long time (overnight is best), untape sticks, use another stick as your guide to cut card with exacto knife very slowly and carefully

Stick Card Puzzle Gallery:

▬ linked to Fireflies and Jellybeans Strut Your Stuff Party ▬

Reuse a Box for Organizing

I have an organizing fetish and like to think 'outside the box' for cheap ways to do it!  I hold on to a good cardboard box for a while before I recycle it just in case I come up with an idea. 

Three ways I've reused a box to organize:

I was tired of straightening my son's coloring books on his big bookshelf so I found a solution with a diaper wipe box. I covered it with foam from the dollar store and let my little dude paint on two sides.  I'm happy with the results.






My crafty area can get pretty messy.  Baby/toddler shoe boxes hold little things like glue and embellishments perfectly.  I keep the decorated boxes on top of my scrapbook compartments.  Find some cheap patterned papers and go to town!




My head goes nuts when toys don't have a place!  When we lived in a 2 bedroom apartment I had to organize my kids small bedroom/playroom so I felt calm while in the room.  Cheap card stock along with packing tape was how I covered some good boxes for toys.


I also like to get rid of things while organizing.  This week's resolution for the Happiness Challenge was to toss and organize.  It was way too easy for me and I already had it on my big list so I tackled my storage room piles!  Gretchin says, "For most people, outer order contributes to inner calm."  Yep, it really does!

▬ Linked to Works For Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family