Dive into Fun with a Kid-Made Fish Tank!

 Calling all creative captains! Are you ready to set sail for an ocean of imagination? Today, we're building a cute little fish tank, and the best part is, there are no limits to what your little ones can create!

This exciting craft is perfect for a rainy day or a dose of undersea whimsy. It's easy to customize and allows kids to explore their artistic talents while learning about the fascinating world of fish.

This project is perfect for a rainy day. It uses simple supplies and is so much fun to add your own touches. Kids will love making their own little friend, and taking it everywhere!

Supplies:

Small jar with lid (I used the button jars from Dollar Tree)

Several buttons

A 6” section of string

Glue

Tape

Scissors

Googly eyes

Paint samples

Directions:

Fold a paint sample in half

Cut the paint sample in the shape of a fish so that you have 2 fish.

Place glue on the backs of the fish.

Place the string so that it is in the center of the fish when they are placed on top of each other.

Glue on the eyes.

Tape the string to the inside of the lid of the jar.

Place a few buttons inside the jar.

Place the lid on the jar and admire your adorable swimming fish.

Aren't these so cute? You can make them in a variety of colors, and if you have a container that is large enough you can add multiple fish! Just vary the length of your string so they aren't hanging at the same level.

Harper had a ton of fun with this project and I know your kids will too. We took this little guy along on quite a few adventures. He traveled quite well!

Crafting with kids isn't just about making cool stuff (though that's definitely a perk!). It's a fantastic opportunity to bond, get creative, and explore the world through a hands-on lens. But with busy schedules and overflowing craft supply bins, getting started can feel overwhelming.

Here are some tips for making the most of craft time.

• Get down to their level: Sit on the floor with your child and participate in the activity. Show them your own excitement and creativity!
• Focus on the process, not the product: The joy of crafting comes from creating together, not achieving perfection.
• Let them take the lead: Encourage their creativity and allow them to make choices. Their unique ideas are what makes their crafts special!

Setting the Stage for Success:

• Prepare your workspace: Cover the table with newspaper or a tablecloth for easy cleanup. Have all materials within reach to avoid frustration.
• Embrace the mess: Crafting can get messy, and that's perfectly okay! Lay down a tarp outdoors for messy activities or use a large plastic bin for easy containment.
• Safety first: Be mindful of your child's age and choose age-appropriate materials. Adult supervision is always recommended for younger children, especially with scissors or glue.

Find more favorite craft ideas here:

Boredom Busters

Bunches of Grapes Process Art

Leaf Fox Family

Sunflower Stamped Pumpkin Patch Art

 

This adorable pumpkin patch art is great for kids of all ages! Made with simple supplies like paint, paper and a sunflower head, this is a great way to create art using nature!

Harper and I love to paint together. We have been crafting side by side since she was just a tiny toddler, strapped into a high chair for safety. We have painted pineapples, apples, baskets of fruit and even Christmas trees. We usually use corks to create our process art, but we had a bouquet of sunflowers that had seen better days, and well, inspiration hit.

We decided our fridge just had to have a pumpkin patch scene. We are all about creating refrigerator masterpieces . 

Supplies:

Orange paint

Green paint

A sunflower head

White paper

A paper plate

Pour orange paint and a small amount of green paint onto a paper plate.

Invite your child to press the sunflower head into the orange paint.

Encourage your child to press the sunflower onto the paper.

Use a stem, petal, or other small item to form the stem of the pumpkin with the green paint.

Allow the paint to dry, then

These were so much fun to make! And I think they turned out really cute! Harper was very proud of her efforts. Preschoolers can handle this project, as well as elementary aged kids like Harper. Your kids might also like to draw little pumpkin faces on these after they have dried.

I hope you get a chance to try this project with your family, it is the perfect project for a fall afternoon!

Find more fall ideas here.

Handprint Crafts for Kids

Are you looking for some fun ways to keep the kids busy this winter? Well, why not look down, at your hands, to get a little inspo!

We love hand print art! When the kids were tiny, they liked nothing more than making some homemade monster puppets with their handprints!

Handprint art is so much fun for kids to make, but adults also love handprint art. It makes for the perfect reminder of when their hands were that small. Who doesn't love art that doubles as a keepsake? I gathered some of my favorite cutie pie ideas from some of my favorite bloggers to share with you. Please make sure you click through the links to check out the tutorials. Pin the ideas that appeal to you. You might just want to start a new board because all of these are adorable.

•  Thanksgiving Hand Print Tree by Crafts by Amanda
• Cactus Handprint Art by A Little Pinch of Perfect
• Handprint Snowflake Art by In the Playroom
• Hand and FootPrint Easter Art by Mimosas and Motherhood
• Handprint American Flag by In the Playroom
• Handprint Turkeys by The Keel Deal
• Handprint Elephants by Seaside Sundays
• Handprint Flower Vase by Mama of Minis
• Skeleton Handprint by Mom Brite
• Handprint Flower Poem by Mom Hacks 101

If you make any of these crafts with your kids make sure to hop over to facebook and share a photo with me!

You might also want to check out these cute hand print fish puppets.

Or 7 Ways to Entertain a 3 Year Old.

15+ Paper Plate Crafts for Kids

If you are looking for easy ways to keep the kids entertained on a cold winter day; this is the place for you! I have found some really fun paper plate craft ideas for kids that are perfect boredom busters! These are all fairly easy, and kids of all ages will have fun with these ideas! Be sure to click thru the links for the tutorials.

BB8 Paper Plate Craft by Attachment Mummy

This paper plate craft is perfect for Star Wars fans! It comes together with basic supplies and includes

a free printable template to make it easy for all skill levels.

Paper Plate Fruit Fans by Family Focus Blog

These fruity fans are the perfect way to beat the summer heat with a craft that kids of all ages can enjoy! 

Alien Spaceship Craft by Easy Crafts for Kids

This craft is so cute it is practically out of this world! It all starts with a little imagination and a paper plate.

Mermaid Twirlers by Red Ted Art

These cute little mermaid twirlers are nothing short of adorable and they are bound to make a splash

during craft time!

Yellow Submarine by Lil Tigers

This craft is so creative and gives kids an ocean view like they were diving in a submarine! 

Paper Plate Sunshine Craft by The Soccer Mom

This is the perfect craft for a rainy day! It is bright, colorful and spreads cheer to all who see it!

Space Themed Plates by Glitter on a Dime

Kids who love outer space will be over the moon for this easy paper plate craft that proves that the sky's

the limit to their creativity!

Rainbow Fish Craft by Two Pink Peonies

Pair storytime with a colorful and engaging craft! This rainbow fish craft is perfect for preschoolers!

Paper Plate Woven Bowls by Craftsy Hacksy

This introduction to weaving makes for a great paper plate craft! This is a great craft to make and share

with someone special!

Paper Plate Monkey by Mom Wife Busy Life

This paper plate craft is so cute you might go bananas for it! Kids of all ages will love to make their own

monkeys!

Rainbow Mickey Mouse Craft by Grace Giggles and Naptime

This Mickey Mouse craft is so colorful and cute! Kids are sure to be all cheers for this craft with Mickey

Ears!

Paper Plate Snakes by Mom Brite

This cute and easy craft will slither into your heart! Kids will love making these paper plate snakes!

Paper Plate Animal Masks by Crafts for Toddlers

These masks are so much fun for little kids! They can make a craft then engage in dramatic play for a

really great afternoon!

Snow Globes by Ottawa Mommy Club

These are perfect for kids! A snow globe they can handle with no feat of breaking it, and they are adorable

too!

Eric Carle Inspired Cats by Moms Who Save

This is a visually stunning craft that is perfectly paired with an Eric Carle story! Save this idea for a rainy

day activity for kids of all ages.

You can find more fun paper plate crafts here:

Paper Plate Lions

Paper Plate Witch

Paper Plate Crowns

Lego Stamped Pumpkin Art

 Harper and I love to paint with, well, anything but a paint brush! Last week she came home from school and asked me if I wanted to make something with paint, and how could I resist the invitation? This lego pumpkin idea was just the thing. It pairs cute and creepy together just right.

This is such an easy activity, and it is fun for kids of all ages! Even Rolf, who is 12 now, was curious about this and told us it was a "cool idea" before dashing back to his busy preteen activities. 

Supplies:

Orange Paint

Black Paint

Green Paint

Legos

Paper Plate

Paper

Directions:

Pour a small amount of orange, black and green paint onto a paper plate.

Offer your child legos in assorted sizes and paper.

Encourage your child to dip a lego into the orange paint and make the shape of a pumpkin.

Now, fill that shape in with more lego stamps.

When you have filled in the shape of the pumpkin, dip a lego into the black paint and make a face.

Next, give your pumpkin a stem with the green paint.

Allow to dry and display.

These were a really fun, kid led Halloween craft. I know your kids will love making pumpkin art this way.

You can find all of my Halloween crafts here

Painting projects here:

Reader favorites include:

Pumpkin Window Clings

Ghost Play Dough Ornaments

Paper Plate Crafts for Kids

 Paper plates have always been one of my kids favorite things to craft with. There are so many possibilities for making something fantastic, out of a plain old paper plate! This collection has some really fun ideas for your family to try out. You might not ever look at a pack of plates the same again.

You might notice there are a few of my craft projects listed below. I have been crafting things out of paper plates and Styrofoam bowls since I was a little girl. I can recall my cousin Courtney and I making these super fun flying saucers when we were kids with styrofoam bowls, and it is safe to say, I have been hooked ever since.

Be sure to click through to get the details of all of the projects below.

Paper Plate Lions by Sweet Silly Sara

Grab the paper plates, glue and some pasta to make a really fun little lion craft!

Paper Plate Ladybugs by Crafts by Amanda

These cute little ladybugs are the perfect way to make a spring craft with minimal supplies. Kids of all ages will love this!

Fun Snails by Attachment Mummy

These little snails might inch their way into your heart! They are perfect for an afternoon craft for the little ones!

Paper Plate Witch Craft by Sweet Silly Sara

This friendly witch is the perfect craft project to get kids in the Halloween spirit!

Paper Plate Apples by Mom Brite 

Take a bite out of craft time with this cute apple craft! All you need is a paper plate and a few basic supplies!

Paper Plate Crabs by Mom Wife Busy Life

This paper plate crab craft is nothing short of a pinch of perfect! This is such a cute idea for little hands!

Paper Plate Flowers by Glitter on a Dime

Create a pinkalicious storybook inspired garden of pretty flowers! This a great craft for anytime you need a craft to share!

Paper Plate Pigs by Simply Everyday Mom

Need a cute craft to entertain the kids? This piggy craft is an oinking good time for all!

Hungry Caterpillar Process Art

This easy Hungry Caterpillar Process art project is perfect for preschoolers and elementary aged kids. It gives them a chance to create an adorable picture to go along with story time. I don't know about you, but I love storybook crafts for kids!

This project is perfect for fall. We used fresh apples that were too bruised to eat, and painted these cuties with them. If you have an abundance of apples. maybe you will want to put one to work for this art project.

We have lots of apple crafts on site! 

These cork and button apple trees are a favorite fall craft for kids of all ages.

Corked Stamped Apples are an adorable craft for kids.

Apple Tree Window Clings are a fun budget friendly project.

3D Paper Apples are a good project for using up scrap paper.

Apple Tree Addition makes for a fun way to learn math.

Supplies:

An apple 

Green, red , yellow, black paint.

Paper Plate

A pencil

A knife

Paper

Slice an apple in half

Pour a large dallop of red, green and yellow paint onto a paper plate.

We kind of mixed a little green and yellow together to create a cool effect.

Offer a small drop of black paint.

Offer the child an apple and encourage the child to dip the apple into the paint, and stamp the apple, so that the circles touch one another, going across the page.

Have your child give the caterpillar 4 or 5 segments.

Then encourage the child to dip the other apple half into the red paint and stamp the apple to form the head.

Next, dip the pencil into the black paint and create the eyes and mouth of the caterpillar.

Next, dip the pencil into the yellow paint and finish the eyes.

Now, I know what you are thinking.

Why not use a paintbrush?

Well, we did try that, but it smeared the yellow and black together. We found that the pencil was much easier to work with; and it gave Harper the chance to paint with a non traditional object. We both enjoyed that! You can kind of see in the mouth of the caterpillar that it is a little messy; that was the paint brush. 

Next, grab the stem from the apple and dip it into the green paint.

Give the caterpillar some antennae.

 

 Allow to dry completely. 

Display and enjoy this cute Hungry Caterpillar craft!

Pineapple Process Art

 This pineapple painting project is perfect for little ones. It takes only a moment of set up and it creates such a cute art project! Kids are going to be so proud of their efforts and want to display this project on the fridge door gallery!

Harper and I love to get creative together. We are always crafting, painting or baking something. 

You might remember we made this adorable apple process art with a cork.  Well, we ran across the cork again and decided that it was so fun to paint with it, that we would give it another go. We came up with this cute pineapple art. We love it because it can work for a summer day project, or pull this out around the new year to bring good luck to your space.

Supplies:

Paper Plate

Yellow and Green Paint

A Cork

Copy Paper

Pour a quarter size drop of several shades of yellow and a shade of green onto a paper plate.

Offer your child the cork and encourage the child to stamp a pineapple shape with the yellow paints.

When the pineapple is shaped encourage the child to form the stem of the pineapple with green paint.

                                                             Allow the art to dry then display.

This is a fun project for summertime, but I also love to make these with the kids in anticipation of new year since the pineapple symbolizes a warm welcome, celebration and hospitality.

You can find more process art ideas here

Basket of fruit process art

Cork and button tree art

If you want to learn more about why process art is important for kids this is a great resource from Messy Little Monster