5 Minute Cardboard Craft

I might get a little silly about wanting to hoard cardboard, but I seriously see possibilities and an invitation to play when I see cardboard.

My son has toys on top of toys to play with, but I like it when I can inspire his imagination. It is interesting to see how he plays when presented new options.

We had an empty Similac box and I decided it would be a fun to see what I could do with it as a  5 minute project.

Photo Credit: Sara Lehman.

 I started with an empty box.  I carefully opened it up along the seam.

Photo Credit: Sara Lehman.

Then I put it back together, printed side in, brown side out. I tore of the flaps on one side so we had an opening. and I used a few strips of tape to secure the box.

Photo Credit: Sara Lehman.

I grabbed a handful of crayons and asked Roo what he wanted me to make.

Photo Credit: Sara Lehman.

He said "The Library!"

Now, don't you dare laugh at my art work!

Photo Credit: Sara Lehman.

I colored the building red and made simple windows with stick people and books.
He got the hint.

Photo Credit: Sara Lehman.

He stopped playing cars for a moment and kissed his sister. Then he realized I had in fact made the library.

Photo Credit: Sara Lehman.

 He dashed over and got the Mickey Mouse gang and took them to story time. This project took me less than 5 minutes. My son had a blast with his library and he played with it for 2 and a half days. It doubled as school and a garage for cars, then a cave for dinos.

How do you create fun activities with your kids with items you would otherwise throw away or hopefully recycle?

Find more easy kids crafts here:

Lemonade craft

Leaf fox craft

Hand print fish puppets

Design Your Own Play Doh Ornaments

Kids of all ages are sure to love this Design Your Own Play Doh Ornaments project. It is perfect for holiday crafting and turns out so cute everyone will love to display these!

I am crazy for all things play doh, so naturally I had to make something for Christmas from my favorite craft material. These ornaments are so easy! They will have you saying, who knew you could not only draw on play doh but you can bake it too?!

This post contains affiliate links. Making a purchase means I will earn a small advertising fee, at no cost to you.

These easy ornaments give kids a chance to design their own addition to the Christmas tree! Made with basic supplies this is the perfect project to do with the kids for minimal mess this holiday. 

You can make your own white play doh, like in my super soft play dough recipe, just leave the food color out, or to make this activity really easy during a generally already packed holiday season, just buy cans of white play doh.

To make these design your own play doh ornaments you will need
Supplies
white play doh
washable markers
cookie cutters
bakers twine
A pen or stick to poke a hole with

Directions

Roll the play doh out to be about 1/8" thick.

With your cookie cutter of choice cut shapes of doh.

Poke a hole in each ornament so that it can be hung after completion. I used an ink pen to make my holes.

Use washable markers to draw on the designs.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Allow to cool.

Thread bakers twine through the hole and display on your tree.

Find all of my Christmas crafts here
Reader favorites include:
Button Tree Ornaments
Mickey Mouse Jingle Bell Ornaments

Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas

The holidays are a time for giving, and what better way to show your loved ones how much you care than with a homemade gift?

Homemade gifts are personal, thoughtful, and often more meaningful than store-bought gifts. They also show that you put time and effort into creating something special for the recipient.

If you're looking for some inspiration for homemade Christmas gifts, look no further! Here are 15 ideas to get you started:

Soy Lotion Bars by Bitz N Giggles

Crochet Cats by Red Ted Art

Painted Mason Jars by Mommy Made That

Bacon and Whisky Maple Syrup by A Country Girl’s Life

Lavender Loofah Soaps by Earth Friendly Tips

Wine Cork Snowman by Then It Dawned on Me

Mickey Mouse Rope Baskets by The Everyday Mouse

Easy Knitted Blanket by The Frugal Family

Chocolate Mug Cakes by In the Kitch

Honey Roasted Cashews by The Home Intent

Marble Tiled Coasters by Making it Manzanita

Infinity Scarf by Swoodson Says

Reading Pillows by The Happiest Camper

White Chocolate Liquor by Aubrey’s Kitchen

Vanilla honey Lip Scrub by The Soccer Mom

Find more DIY gift ideas here

Ribbon Charm Bookmarks

Ipad Stands

My Favorite Ugly Christmas Sweaters

Christmas is near and that means it is time to get your ugly sweaters out and wear them with pride! 

This year is the first year in the history of my marriage that my husband is excited about cold weather, because he has the coolest ugly sweater of them all to rock for the holidays!

Ugly Sweaters for the holidays come in all shapes, sizes and degrees of horrible. From the standard bells and snowman variety to awesome cat lady displays and a glimpse at galaxies far away.

Here are some of my favorite Ugly Sweaters to Make this Holiday Season.

Christmas Mantle Ugly Sweater by Lovely Etc
Purr-fect Ugly Sweater Style T Shirt by The Crafty Blog Stalker
Photo Ugly Sweater by A Girl and a Glue Gun
DIY Star Wars Ugly Christmas Sweater by Clever Pink Pirate
Santa Baby Maternity Ugly Sweater by Swoodson Says
Rudolph Ugly Sweater for Kids by One Artsy Mama
Meowy Christmas Ugly Sweater by Crafting in the Rain
Gaudy Ugly Sweater by Clever Pink Pirate
Kitty Christmas Ugly Sweater by Laura's Crafty Life
Ho Ho Ho Ugly Sweater by Joyful Scribblings

We LOVE the winter holidays! I have so many fun ideas to share with you!

Find all of the Christmas Fun here

My favorites include:

Mickey Mouse Jingle Bell Ornaments

Kid Made Button Tree Ornaments

Do you rock an ugly sweater during the holidays? Tell me about it in a comment!

Ribbon Tree Ornament Craft

I am so excited to decorate my trees this year! I have already been playing around with some cute handmade ornament ideas!

Today I have a really economical and adorable DIY ornament that I know you are going to want to make! It costs just about $2 to make a dozen of these! They come together so easily that making a dozen is no problem at all!

This post contains affiliate links or sponsored content.

These are cute for decorating a tree, or adding a little something to a wrapped gift!

To make these ribbon tree ornaments I used:

• A spool of ribbon I bought at Walmart for 97 cents
• Chunky Craft Sticks
• Glue
• Scissors
• Pencil

Directions:

• Begin by laying 4 craft sticks together, draw the outline of a tree on them.
• Cut the sticks to shape the tree.
• Cut the tiny top triangle from the scraps to avoid wasting a whole craft stick!
• Cut small bits of ribbon to cover the tree shapes. Glue them on and trim.

•  Now glue the ribbon covered craft sticks onto one more craft stick.

• After gluing all the sections on to the base craft stick, flip it over and add a small loop of ribbon so that you can hang it!

This is a fun project to do with the older kids, and these are really pretty lovely in their simplicity! I have a short video of the process to share with you. I would love it if you gave it a thumbs up!

I can't wait to hear what you have planned for holiday crafting!

You might also like these cute DIY Mickey Ornaments!

Easy Ribbon and Craft Stick Ornaments

This easy ribbon tree craft is a fun way to decorate your tree this holiday season. These are easy to make, economical and perfect for sharing with your friends and family!

This post contains affiliate links. If you click and purchase I make a small commission.

You can mix and match ribbon colors, or stick with one color, whatever you prefer. I used a thin strip of ribbon that fit perfectly with my chunky crafty sticks.

Supply List:

5 Craft Sticks

Glue

Ribbon

Scissors

A Pencil

Directions:

• Line up 4 craft sticks
• Lightly draw the outline of a tree on the craft sticks, as you can see we simply made slanted lines.
• Cut the craft sticks per the lines you made.

• I made a tiny pointy triangle from the scraps of craft sticks for the top of the tree.
• Cut and glue ribbon to fit the cut craft sticks.

• Trim the ribbon to fit.
• Now assemble your tree and glue it on to the remaining craft stick.

• Cut 6 inches of ribbon and form a loop, glue this to the back to act as an ornament hanger.
• Allow to dry, then hang from your tree, or share with someone special this holiday season!

These were so easy to make! Last year I added them to my wrapped gifts to add something extra to the presentation.

We have so many other fun Christmas ornament crafts you will want to check out. A few of our favorites include:

Mickey Mouse Jingle Bell Ornaments

Ribbon Tree Ornaments

Minnie: Bow Be Mine with Harper

Earlier today my 5 year old walked up to me and struck a thoughtful pose. With a finger to her lip, and a sparkle in her eye, she said how can we make a headband with ears and a bow?

I received a copy of this dvd to inspire this post.

I knew what she was getting at, in her Minnie Mouse print dress, with her Minnie Mouse printed high top sneakers, she was on the track of needing some ears to complete her punk princess look.

While I had no ideas for giving her ears, I did have a way to give her a Bowtique fix. I popped in the newest dvd in our collection; MINNIE: BOW BE MINE and let her indulge in some tv time with her favorite characters.

Minnie: Bow Be Mine has 2 fun music videos in addition to 11 episodes.  Each episode is action packed with fun for little ones and their moms. Yeah, I admit it, I got wrapped up in a few episodes with Harper. Grandpa vs Grandpa was our collective favorite. If you pay attention you may recognize a familiar voice; Jay Leno is the voice of Billy Beagle. How fun is that?

Find this adventurous dvd in stores now; it is perfect for a rainy spring day or anytime your little one is craving the famous ears.

While we are talking about Minnie and the gang, who is your favorite character? My son loves Pete and all of his antics. Harper is all about Minnie and Daisy. Pluto is my favorite.

Why not make a craft together while you watch Minnie: Bow Be Mine? These easy Mickey Ornaments can double as a necklace if you make the string longer.

10 Napkin Rings to Make for the Holidays

The countdown is on! We have less than 2 weeks til Christmas! I am planning my holiday menu and tablescape and have decided to try my hand at making napkin rings to add a little something special to the meal! I found 10 gorgeous ideas from some of my favorite bloggers and can't wait to share them with you!

Felt Reindeer Napkin Rings by the Crafting Chicks

Felted Acorn Napkin Rings by Nourish and Nestle

Polka Dot Pearl Napkin Rings by Crafts by Amanda

Glass Napkin Rings by Happy Hour Projects

Holiday Tree Napkin Rings by Suzy's Sitcom

Kid Made Santa Napkin Rings by Atta Girl Says

Wood Slice Chalkboard Napkin Rings by The Happy Housie

Furry Santa Napkin Rings by Cottage at the Crossroads

Beaded Napkin Rings by Uncommon Designs

Santa's Belly Napkin Rings by Crafts by Amanda

These are all fantastic ideas! I think I like the polka dot pearl idea or the Santa's Belly napkin rings best! Which will you make for your holiday table? I think these would also make a great DIY gift idea!

If you are in the mood for crafts you can find all of my craft ideas in one place.
A few of our holiday favorites include:

Ribbon Tree Ornaments
Mickey Mouse Jingle Bell Ornaments