Easy Father's Day Craft for Toddlers and Young Kids

Last year I had Lucas make a cute craft for Dan for Father's Day. (I'm going to assume that you all know that "had Lucas make a craft" actually translates to "I mostly made the craft with Lucas doing a few elements of it with lots of help because, come on people, he was two years old last year. I mean, he's smart, but he doesn't know how to do woodworking yet or anything. Though, to be fair, I don't know how to do woodworking either. And I'm 32.")

Moving on... I was going to post this craft last year, but I wanted to wait until I (I mean Lucas) had actually given it to Dan first, which wasn't until Father's Day evening. And then I kind of forgot to post it. Then I remembered to post it this year because my phone started blowing up with Pinterest notifications that people were pinning this Father's Day craft from two years ago, and I was like, "Oh, shoot! Is it that time already??" (What are the chances that I could just repeat one of the two crafts that Lucas already did and Dan wouldn't notice??)

Anyway, here it is:

Ta DA!! Like that clever "hands down" phrase with the hands actually pointing down?? Well, I did not even think of that at all. I told my friend Courtney what Lucas was making Dan for Father's Day, and I was like, "It will say 'Best Daddy Ever, Hands Down' and it will have his hand prints on it! Cute, right?" And she was like, "So cute! And the hand prints will be pointing down?" And I was like, "....huh. That kind of makes more sense than the way I was going to do it." (Also, this is why you cannot feel intimidated by projects that you see on Pinterest where they look all amazing and you think, "These people are more creative than I could ever be in my entire life." Because it's entirely possible that originally they were going to accompany the phrase "hands down" with a picture of hands facing up before someone else pointed out that it didn't make any sense that way.)

I had Lucas paint several pages (I like using Crayola Color Wonder paper* and paints* because they don't change colors until the paint is on the special paper. Which majorly cuts down on mess. That's what I used here.) Then we picked the best one, and used it as a background. For the hand prints, we used a washable ink pad and some card stock, and Lucas made about 50 prints (it's a pretty good time-waster.)

Then I cut two out, glued them on the paper, mounted the whole thing on a larger piece of card stock with some decorative tape, and added letter stickers. I was going to frame it, but I realized that if I have both kids make wall art for Dan every year for Father's Day, we will very rapidly run out of wall space. So we gave it to him as a card, and then put it in a book I made to store Lucas's art.

The beauty of this craft is that you can even do it with a baby, assuming you can get a fairly recognizable hand print from them. (Good luck. It's hard. But possible.)

So there you have it, an easy Father's Day craft your kids can do by themselves (maybe)! Hopefully I'll think of another cute one for this year. If I do, I'll be sure to share it with you all... a year from now. I'm sure you'll all be on the edge of your seats until then.



*Affiliate links - If you buy these after clicking the link, I'll get something awesome like 4% of the $6 you spend. I'll try not to spend my 24 cents all in one place. For more info on affiliate links, click here. 

Easy Valentine's Day Craft for Toddlers and Preschoolers

I try to do crafts with Lucas fairly regularly, and this time I decided to videotape us doing it instead of typing up a description. So we'll see if that was a good choice. Kindly ignore my weird facial expressions and the fact that my makeup looks weird - I swear it looked normal in the mirror.

DIY Greeting Cards, Baby and Toddler Style

One hidden perk of being the parent of a baby or young child is that you can easily go for a few years without having to buy greeting cards. That's good, because babies and toddlers aren't necessarily great at sitting patiently while you read through 30 Mother's Day cards to find the one that says exactly what you want to say to your mother, which means you could conceivably end up accidentally buying your own mom a card that says "You've been like a mother to me." I'm not saying it's happened to me, I'm just saying it's definitely within the realm of possibility.

But if you have a baby or toddler, you have this wealth of ridiculously cute greeting-card potential at your fingertips... or wherever your child ran/crawled off to in the time it took you to read this. To get you started, here are three easy ideas for DIY greeting cards that your little one can help make:

Handprints/Footprints

This one works for kids of all ages. If your child is old enough to color or fingerpaint, he can help to decorate his own handprints or footprints. But even if your child is too young to willingly participate in the whole "let's not shell out $5 for a card that's going to end up in the garbage in three minutes" process, you can still force them into helping you - but not like in a mean way.

Lucas "helped" make the above greeting cards for my dad and Dan's mom (whose birthdays are one day apart) when he was about seven months old. And by that I mean that Dan held him while I stuck each of his feet on an ink pad (non-toxic and washable, of course) and then pressed them on the paper. Both grandparents loved his little footprints so much that they didn't notice that I'm fairly awful at making cards.

Added bonus: while we were at it, we figured we might as well make a footprint heart for ourselves, so we had an extra for Lucas's baby book.

Cutie Holding a Sign

This is another one that can work for a child of any age. You can make a Happy Birthday (or Merry Christmas, Happy Grandparents Day, Reasonably Pleasant Arbor Day, etc) sign for younger kids, and older kids can make and pose with their own sign. Then put the picture on the front of a card or in a frame (or email it if you don't quite manage to make it to the post office in time, like may or may not have happened with my brother's birthday card when I took the picture above.) Plus, you'll probably end up with some funny outtakes.

Markers and Painters Tape

Over a year ago, when Lucas wasn't quite a year old, I got the bright idea to combine two different ideas I had seen on Pinterest. I wrote the word "Love" in painters tape on ten pieces of folded paper with the intention of putting them one at a time into a sealed Ziploc bag with paint and then letting Lucas paint through the bag onto the cards. In my mind, the end result would be beautifully painted Valentine's Day cards that Lucas had enjoyed painting and that resulted in no mess whatsoever. In reality, Lucas hated the activity, he managed to to scratch holes in the plastic bag with his fingernails so that the paint came out and got on his hands, and when I took the only card we tried it on out of the bag, it was so wet that it fell apart. So... not a success. But I had already spent over an hour putting the tape on all of the cards, so I just held onto them.

Anyway... I recently found the cards again while I was trying to get caught up on Lucas's baby book...

...and I decided to give them another shot. But this time with markers, since we've established that Lucas hates finger painting. I had Lucas color over the painters tape with markers, then peeled off the tape to reveal the word "love" in white. (You'll probably have to peel the tape off really slowly to keep the paper from tearing. Especially if you've left the tape on for over a year...)

Yes, Lucas is wearing a backwards winter hat and water shoes.

My granddaddy is in the hospital awaiting heart surgery (please pray for him if you're the praying sort!), so I decided that if we managed to get at least one good card out of the batch, we'd mail it to him. And as you can see in the photo above, we did! Tra la!! (Dear everybody in my family - please don't show this to granddaddy. We haven't mailed it yet!)

Do you have any other ideas for greeting cards your child can make? Please share in the comments! 

And if you're feeling loving, you can always click the smiling lady below. :)

Guest Post: 10 DIY Stocking Stuffers

Jeremy from PartSelect.com emailed me and asked about doing a guest post of some DIY stocking stuffers, and I didn't see the email for like a week because it went into my spam folder and he had to email me again to see if I had gotten it, which I hadn't. So then when I finally did see his email, I said yes, because I have this thing about Christmas stockings. (The thing being that they're super fun and should contain lots of great things. I always go out of my way to find ridiculous, wonderful, useful, or totally pointless things to put in Dan and Lucas's stockings. Like one year I gave Dan a "Grump on a Stick" which was just a frowning mouth on a popsicle stick that you could hold up to your face to look like you were frowning. Because everyone needs a grump on a stick.) Anyway, Jeremy sent a great list of ideas for DIY stocking stuffers, and you still have three and a half days to make them, so there's plenty of time! (And actually, I spent all morning thinking that today was December 22, which it is not, and when I noticed that the date on my computer said 12/21, I thought my computer was malfunctioning. So you have one more day to make stocking stuffers than I thought you had. Congrats! Now get to work.)

10 DIY Stocking Stuffers

Stocking stuffers are a nice additional to the gifts that you give your loved ones. The cost of them can easily add up and help break your holiday budget. This year be creative, use those hidden DIY skills, and make some homemade gifts. To help get your mind started here are ten stocking stuffers projects for the novice, intermediate and advanced crafters that you can make at home yourself.

Image Via: SweetSugarBelle

Gingerbread Play Dough

Difficulty: Beginner
Time: 1/2 hour
Materials:

• 1 c flour
• 1/2 c salt
• 1/2 tbsp ginger
• 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/2 to 3/4 c water
• food coloring

Instructions: Mix the ingredients together until dough is formed. Package in airtight containers.

Image Via Stephanie Norton

Christmas Tree Crayons

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 2 hours
Materials:

• Crayons
• Silicone molds

Instructions: Remove the paper from the crayons and place the pieces into the molds. Bake in a 275-degree oven for 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely before removing them from the mold.

Twist Ties

Image Source: OrganizeYourStuffNow

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 1 hour
Materials:

• Fabric
• Glue
• Floral wire

Instructions: Cut the fabric into 4" long by 2" wide strips. Cut the floral wire into 4" long strips. Place the wire in the center of the fabric. Place a thin strip of glue on one edge of the fabric and fold the other edge over. Allow to dry completely.

Bookmarks

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 1 hour

Materials:

• Cardstock
• Stickers
• Glitter pens
• Packaging tape

Instructions: Cut the cardstock to match the width of the packaging tape. Decorate with stickers and write the recipient's name on it. Attach the packaging tape to each side of the cardstock to seal.

Image Via BubbyandBean

Garden Markers

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 24 hours

Materials:

• Craft sticks
• Paint marker
• Polyurethane varnish

Instructions: Write the names of various plants on the craft sticks with the paint marker. Allow the paint to dry. Finish with a coat of polyurethane and allow to dry overnight.

Hot Cocoa Mix

Image Via ONeillGirls

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 1 hour

Materials:

• 1 1/2 c unflavored, powdered dairy creamer
• 1 c powdered sugar
• 3/4 c cocoa powder
• 3/4 c chocolate chips
• 1/8 tsp salt
• Cellophane bags
• Colored ribbon
• White gift tags
• Sharpie marker

Instructions: Combine the first five materials in a food processor and pulse until the chocolate chips are fine. Package in cellophane bags, sealing with ribbon. Attach a gift tag with the following directions: Mix 1 cup of milk with 1/3 cup of the hot cocoa mixture.

Candy Cane Ornaments

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 1/2 hour

Materials:

• Red pipe cleaners
• Red and white craft beads

Instructions: Bend the pipe cleaner into a candy cane shape, twisting one end into a ball. Rotate red and white beads until you reach the end of the pipe cleaner. Twist off that end of the pipe cleaner as well.

Peppermint Body Scrub

Image Source: TheEnchantingLife

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 1/2 hour
Materials:

• 1/2 c sugar
• 1/4 c olive oil or coconut oil
• peppermint oil

Instructions: Combine the first two ingredients. Add a few drops of peppermint oil. Store in an airtight container.

Image via MommySavers

Felt Snowman Puzzle

Difficulty: Intermediate
Time: 1 hour
Materials:

• White, brown, orange, black, red felt
• Scissors

Instructions: Cut three different sized circles out of the white felt. Cut two twigs out of the brown felt. Cut a carrot out of the orange felt. Cut two eyes and three buttons out of the black felt. Cut a scarf out of the red felt.

Pom Pom Keychain

Image Via A Pair And A Spare

Difficulty: Intermediate
Time: 1 hour

Materials:

• Pom poms
• Beading wire
• Key ring

Instructions: Poke the beading wire through the pom poms until you have reached the desired length. Twist one end of the beading wire into a knot. Twist the other end of the beading wire around the key ring.

This is just sample of the cool ideas you can make to stick in your family members stockings. These ideas are also great as small inexpensive gifts for friends and co-workers.

DIY gifts add a nice personal touch to holiday gift giving and the folks at PartSelect enjoy sharing these types of DIY and money saving projects. 

Happy Holidays!

Lucas's Christmas gifts for our family

I have always loved doing crafts. And so even though Lucas is less than two years old, I'm always coming up with these fantastic craft ideas for him to do that pretty much never work out the way I hoped. (Remember when I wanted him to make a Father's Day gift for Dan, and he thought that the homemade, edible, baby-safe finger paint that I lovingly made for him from scratch was some sort of sadistic form of torture?)

Anyway, in October, I went to the craft store to buy paint for the frame in our library, and because I have some sort of disorder that prevents me from leaving a craft store with fewer than ten items, I had to browse all the aisles. You know, just in case there was something that I didn't know I needed until I saw it.

They had Christmas craft items for kids, including foam trees and foam ornament stickers, and I decided that Lucas could probably (maybe, hopefully) decorate the trees for our family members. If you think that this will be another post about how Lucas hated my crafty ideas, you're wrong! (Hallelujah!)

Here were my supplies:

The foam shape stickers in the bucket weren't in the Christmas section.
I bought them because the actual "ornament" stickers were too expensive to buy a ton of.

Lucas LOVED decorating the trees. In fact, even though we've already mailed them to his grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and uncles, he is still decorating them. He will sit down at his table and say "Tree? Sticker? More?" and then we spend half a hour with me peeling the paper backings off of the foam stickers and him putting them on the trees. When he gets bored of the stickers, he likes to collect all of the paper backings, put them into a cup, and then dump them on the floor. Obviously.

When he started making the trees, it was warm enough to wear shorts. Now we have at least six inches of snow. Sigh.

At first, it was difficult for him to put the stickers on the trees because they got stuck on his fingers, and he needed some help "unsticking" them. But the more he did it, the better he got at it (yay for improving fine motor skills!)

I took the best ones, used a hole punch to make a hole and string ribbon through them, wrote Lucas's name and the year on the back, and then mailed them out to our families. I meant to take a picture of all of the trees before I mailed them, but of course I only remembered that I wanted to do that after most of them had already been sealed in the envelopes. So here's three of them:

Yes, he really did them all by himself with no sticker-placement input from me.
Some of the earlier ones have multiple stickers on top of each other, but he was pretty good about spacing them out.

We have a BUNCH of them left at home, many with only a few stickers on them (I don't know if they just weren't working with his artistic vision or if he was going for a minimalist look, but he was "all done" with some of the trees in about a minute,) and I'm sure I'll never be able to bring myself to throw them away, so maybe I'll make some sort of garland with them. I am still abnormally excited that Lucas really enjoyed this craft, so even if you're not amazed by it, pretend it's the best thing you've ever seen in your entire life, ok??

Have you shared a Christmas craft that's easy for young toddlers? Please post the link in the comments!

Wanna click this? Well, ok.