Craft Time: Can Cozies

This fun project was posted by Maria over at Parenting Hacks. I think it’s both a great activity and a headache saver… with a personalized cozie it’s easy to tell who left their soda can by the couch! Cozies are also great for keeping hands warm while the soda stays cool. Try using this activity at the beginning of a birthday party to label cups. Bonus: kids can take them home as party favors!

One rainy day at the craft store, my kids picked up a couple of foam drink cozies to decorate. They had a blast decorating with stickers and markers. Now they use them all the time.

10 More Uses for an Empty Jar

A few days ago I posted a tip on how you can create craft storage out of old jars. BusyMomsOnline.com has a list of even more things you can create. Looking forward to trying out their craft idea for a Beach in a Jar!

Beach in a jar - This is a fun project for kids who have been to the beach recently and gathered seashells. Simply put some sand in the bottom of the jar, and add lots of shells and some driftwood. A larger shell can be glued to the lid for a finishing touch.

It’s More than an Egg Carton

My husband always grumbles that egg cartons take up too much space in the recycling bin. So, instead of recycling them I found some great tips over at frugaldad.com for him to try. So now he’s trying to find recipes for all our eggs so he can try some out! Here’s his favorite:

Make fire starter briquettes. Looking for a good use for a pile of sawdust from your latest home improvement project? Melt some wax in a big pot, mix in a little sawdust, and pour the wax into the bottom of an egg carton. When the wax cools you are left with little fire starter cakes that are great to take along camping, or use in the backyard fire pit.

Turn Old Jars into Storage

Recycle your old jars into storage containers for craft supplies and small items. By adding handles small children will be able to carry the jars with ease. This tip from BlissfullyDomestic.com was done using old Peanut Butter jars, but can be used with any soft plastic topped jar. (I wouldn’t recommend the metal as it may be possible to create sharp edges.)

To insure that the lids stay with the jars, I attach them with ribbon or old shoelace.

To do this yourself, first drill holes through the center of the lid and through the side of the jar, near the top, with a 1/8″ drill bit. Then thread about 12″ of ribbon through, knotting it inside the lid and inside the jar.

Now you have a storage jar with an impossible-to-lose lid! Hang your jars from hooks, set on shelves, or throw in drawers.

DIY: Glow in the Dark Printer Ink

I read this DIY tip and thought to myself, “Now why in the world would I want glow in the dark printer ink?” But once I tried it I found endless possibilities. Halloween decorations were an instant thought, but they’re also great for summer evening decorations. Print out some fairy pics in glow in the dark ink and then hang them around the garden for a girls slumber party or rocket ships and comets for a meteor shower party. Thanks to D3scene.com for this handy tip!

Step 1
Find some glow-in-the-dark powder. Look in the craft section of retail stores or in specialty craft stores. Halloween costume shops might also be a good source. You can also order glow-in-the-dark powder online from manufacturers like Ready Set Glo.

Step 2
Buy an ink refill kit. You can do this with color or black-and-white ink cartridges. Purchase an ink refill kit that is compatible with your printer.

Step 3
Place 1/4 tsp. of glow-in-the-dark powder in a microwave-safe bowl or container.

Step 4
Mix 3 tsp. of the printer ink with the glow-in-the-dark powder.

Step 5
Microwave the mixture for 30 seconds to dissolve the glow-in-the-dark powder. Stir it well after you take it out of the microwave and let it cool for a few minutes.

Step 6
Use a syringe to suck up the ink mixture and apply it to the refill holes on your empty ink jet cartridge. The refill holes may be under the label of the cartridge or you may have to remove the plastic cap. Check the instructions for your ink cartridge to find the refill holes.

Step 7
Insert the ink cartridge in your printer, run the cleaning cycle a few times and print out a test document. You must let the glow-in-the-dark ink charge in the light for a little bit before it will show up. Turn out the lights and admire your handiwork.

Activities to do with Toddlers

Toddlers have a habit of either being intensely interested in something or completely uninterrested. There is no in between. To top it all off, toddlers can be into one thing one day and the next day it’s old news. That’s why it’s important to have a wide range of age appropriate activites ready such as these from BlissfullyDomestic.com:

1. Playdough
2. Coloring
3. Lacing Shapes.
4. Milk Jug Play.
5. Cutting.
6. Sensory table.

From Egg Carton to Art Pallette

Here’s another handy tip about egg cartons from LifeTips.com:

An empty egg carton is a great artist´s palette — just squirt a little paint into each egg cup. This makes for easy clean-up and less chances of spilling.

5 Things to Do With a Cardboard Box

The folks over at HelpParent have put together a list of 5 classic things to do with a cardboard box. I challenge you to see if you can make the box survive through all 5 different iterations:

1) House. Cut a door and some windows. Make them flap open and closed instead of just cutting out the holes. Make little curtains out of scrap material or even just napkins. Paint a window box under the window and cut out paper flowers to glue on. Put the dress-up clothes inside the house. Add kitchen supplies. You can get kid’s kitchen-ware, or just pass on some plastic bowls and wooden spoons.

2) Make a grocery store. Instead of buying play food, start saving up used containers from your kitchen. Empty cereal boxes, yogurt containers, plastic jars like from peanut butter, the box the butter sticks came in, plastic baby food containers, etc. all add up pretty quickly to a great grocery store. Make play money.

3) Post office. Save all that junk mail, old magazines and newspapers, envelopes and scrap paper, and put it to good use!

4) Theater. Perhaps when you’re done with the other set-ups, you can cut down more of one wall to make a nice theater. Let your child dress up. Write plays together and act them out. Make hand or finger puppets from material scraps or paper bags. If you’re out of ideas for what to act out, play off of your child’s favorite shows. Act out an episode and make up new endings.

5) If you’re done with all the walls, cut the whole box down so that there’s just the bottom and foot high walls all around. This makes a great place to contain messier art projects, so let your child let loose! Put scissors, glue, paper, crayons, chalk, beads, cotton balls, string, glitter, etc. in the box, and let your child know that anything goes as long as it stays in the box.

Handling Scissors

When it’s time to hand the scissors across the craft table to your child it’s important to remember several safety tips.

To start, give your child kid-size, blunt-tip scissors that open and close easily. Place his thumb through the round top hole, his index finger under the bottom oval hole, and his middle and ring fingers through that bottom hole. Have him pretend the blades are an alligator’s mouth biting the paper as they open and shut — and tell him to keep his other fingers out of the way.

Head over to Parenting.com for a list of fun activities your child can do to improve his/her new skills.

Save Dough by Making Play Dough

It’s a fun activity for the whole family! Let your children get in on the action of making their own playdough in a variety of colors(and scents!) Watch the five minute video from www.5min.com and you’ll learn how to create an almost endless supply of modeling dough perfect for rainy day crafting. It will also remove the guilt at having to throw away an expensive jar of the professional stuff that has hardened and mixed to form a pale gray lump.