Wednesday night after dinner we broke out the Fimo clay. I have a love-hate relationship with the stuff because you have to knead it for a good long while before it becomes really workable, but the colors are great and it holds up well after cooking. We’ve used Sculpey in the past to make Pokemon characters, and I think that’s better for younger kids because they can just get to work creating. (more…)

Ho-ho-ho! It’s that time of year again! I thought it would be fun to browse through our past activities and find gifts for you and your kids to make this holiday season, as well as share some of our favorite crafty store-bought gifts that have withstood the test of time — I hate it when I buy something that gets used with enthusiasm at first and then tossed aside.

As we come up with new gift ideas I’ll post them here, so do check back every now and again (more…)

We took the ferry from Long Island to Connecticut on Thanksgiving morning and sat next to a family that I noticed were super busy doing something crafty (it’s like a radar I have). Their table was covered on feathers, paper, glue — it was like a slice of crafty heaven! — I couldn’t resist asking what they were up to, and it took all my self-restraint not to ask to join in. (more…)

This post could alternately be titled “How to keep kids busy for a good hour.”

We’re visiting family this weekend and have six kids ranging in age from four to twelve under foot, so coming up with crafts and activities to bring was a bit of a challenge. Making pomanders turned out to be an unexpectedly big hit and the kids were begging for more fruit to decorate as we got through the pile I’d brought. (more…)

Maggie came up with this fun  project that involved the whole family to complete. Each of us poured through a stack of magazines from the recycling bin (plus one that Dad wasn’t quite done with… oops), and cut out the letters to their name. It was especially exciting to see how Tor now knows how to spell his name and has become so coordinated with a pair of scissors (he’s four). (more…)