Basket of Fruit Process Art

Lemon and Limes find a second life after their prime with this easy and fun process art activity! It incorporates an introduction to weaving for small hands with a lot of painting fun. This activity is great for kids of all ages from Toddlers and Preschoolers, to older kids, like Rolf who is 11 now and still had fun with this!

Ok, first, let that sink in. Rolf is 11 now. When I started this blog, he was a baby. Literally, just a baby. And here we are 10 years later. Still sharing, growing and creating. Let's have a big group hug!

Next, isn't this such a cute process art project for kids? I love that the touchy, smelly parts make it super engaging for little hands. If you have been reading for a while now, you know how I feel about sensory play and  projects! (I love them!) Well, I also love to paint with Harper too!  We had a few lemons and limes in the fruit basket that were a little shriveled up and unappetizing so instead of tossing them out, we put them to work in an art project.

 Supplies: 

A lemon and a lime, sliced in half

A paper plate

Glue

Scissors

A brown bag of construction paper

Yellow and green paint

Directions:

Cut the brown paper into thin strips.

Offer your child one strip and encourage the child to glue it to the paper.

As you can see we used 3 vertical strips, then began the under/over process of weaving the horizontal strips.

Keep the weaving simple, you only need 3 vertical and 3 horizontal strips of paper. If your older child is creating this, feel free to encourage a more complicated weave!

Now comes the fun!

Pour a little paint (about a quarter size drop of each color) on a paper plate.

Offer the citrus fruit to the child, allow them to squeeze the juice out and pick at the seeds if they want to. They will want to because it is fun and it smells good! Just have a towel nearby to wipe their hands! When all of the seed picking and fruit squeezing is finished, encourage your child to press the fruit into the paint, and begin filling the woven basket with fruit!

Remind your artist to use all of the fruit and colors!

Allow to dry and display.

This is fun to make in the summer, when we are making loads of lemonade, so maybe save a few lemons after squeezing for an art project? Or pull this out in the winter, when the kids need a break. It is such a sunny little process art project that they are bound to love it!

Find more art and craft ideas for kids here

Flying High In the Sky

This easy to set up sensory bin is perfect for little hands. It is fun to sort thru and play in, and it has a really fun feature for night time play; this Flying High in The Sky Sensory Bin Glows in the DARK!

We have been making sensory bins for about 8 years now.Even though Rolf is a tween and is generally too cool for my projects, even he wanted to get his hands into this one. I used things we had in our craft supplies, but for your convenience I added affiliate links to help you find some of these items that you may not have.

Supplies:

A Storage Bin with a lid

Neon Blue Food Color

Glow in the Dark Paint

A zipper seal baggie

White Rice, Uncooked (2 cups)

Rainbow Ribbon

Toobs - In the sky

Tongs

Glow in the Dark Stars

Cotton Balls

To dye the rice

Place 2 cups of white rice into a zipper seal baggie.

Add 2 tablespoons of non toxic glow in the dark paint (I used art deco brand) and 10 drops of neon blue food color to the baggie.

Seal and shake well.

Pour the rice on a paper towel, paper plate, or something like an old cookie sheet and allow to dry for about 4 hours. You may need to stir halfway through the drying time.

To assemble the bin:

Cut several sections of rainbow ribbon in various lengths from 1 to 3 inches.

Gently "fluff" several cotton balls to resemble clouds.

Pour the dry, dyed rice into the storage bin.

Bury several sections of rainbow ribbon in the rice bin.

Place the remaining rainbow ribbon on the top of the bin.

Bury several plastic glow in the dark stars in the rice bin.

Sprinkle the remaining stars on top of the bin. 

Add fluffy cotton clouds to the bin.

Add the planes and helicopters from the tube of Toobs 

Add a pair of tongs to the bin and invite your child to explore.

The tongs add a challenge to the bin, which is excellent for practicing fine motor skills.

I like to make sensory bins in a container with a lid,so we can snap the lid on it when play time is over and revisit the activity later.  For bins like this that are fun to play with anytime, that comes in handy because my kids want to dig around in this one all the time!

Here is the bin after dark. We LOVE glow in the dark activities! 

Some of our favorite glow in the dark activities include:

No Electric Night Lights

Galaxy Glow in the Dark Slime

Find more sensory ideas here:

Sensory Play

No Tricks Just Treats This Halloween

 Halloween is so close that the kids can almost taste all of that sweet candy they hope to come home with! I knew there would be no better time than now to share some of my favorite Halloween finds from the season with you!

Everything has been out of sorts this year, from the great toilet paper shortage that might keep your house from being TP'ed this season, to the widespread sickness and too much political pressure surrounding the election. This year is the time to go all out with costumes, decorations and treats! Personally, we are going to keep the tricks at a minimum, life has been tricky enough for everyone!

Samples have been provided. Affiliate links may be used.

To kick things off, no matter how last minute it is you can count on Gourmet Gift Baskets to send a great gift to your house, or a special friend. We love the Eat, Drink and Be Scary Bucket of Beer. It has something for everyone in it. A 6 pack of seasonal brews for the adults and a variety of great goodies for the kids. I love the black cauldron style bucket the treats and sips are shipped in. Plus, you can get this at your door in like 2 days time! For under $70, which is nothing to say Boo too!

If you want to bake something wonderful with the kids to share, I highly recommend the pumpkin chocolate chip cookie mix from Lehi Mills. This mix is easy to whip up and creates a really flavorful cookie that the whole family will love. This is a perfect solution for busy families that want to make some memories on a $5 budget.

If your kids aren't going to be doing as much trick or treating this year, why not treat them to some one of a kind zombie fun that will keep going long after Halloween has ended with World of Zombies. Not only are they fun loving toys, but they also have webisodes that kids will love. These are perfectly creepy yet friendly enough for kids of all ages to enjoy. Check out the toys and the show on the World of Zombies site.

Are you looking to make Halloween a little sweeter for the kids, get the bulk packs of Welch's Fruit Snacks for Halloween. You can 110 pouches of tasty fruity treats to hand out to all of the kids in the neighborhood. These are also ideal for families with multiple kids who need to take a treat to school for a classroom party. Order this multi flavor pack in bulk on Amazon for easy treating all season long!

This year, the costumes need to steal the show! Kids have already sacrificed so much this year, that we can't ask them to skip an epic costume! The Ultimate Party Super Store has some incredible option like this Hungry Howler Wolf-man costume for tweens. Retailing at under $30 this is an awesome and toasty costume for kids.

The Ultimate Party Superstore has a ton of options for kids of all interests and age levels. My daughter loves this Justice League Superman costume for girls. I love that they include the girls in the superhero fun! Get this one for under $42.

Gamer girls will delight in the Princess Peach costume. It is so cute for smaller girls and is super affordable at about $25. If you order now you can get the best costumes delivered to your door in time for Halloween!

My kids are both learning from home this year, so I am always looking for ways to sneak a little education into the day when they least expect it. (Hello Xtra Math App...) to keep things interesting and engaging, The Gross Anatomy set from Thames and Kosmos makes learning about the human body a squishy and squealy fun event! Order this fun set for $20.

Aaron's Thinking Putty is the best way to spread glow in the dark fun this year on a budget. For $3 you can get a can of really engaging can of mini thinking putty. This is a great treat to share with kids of all ages.  My kids are big Ghost Busters fans, so the Ectoplasm thinking putty was right up their alley!

If you aren't taking the kids trick or treating for safety this year, why not treat them to a fun camping set from Magformers? These are so much fun to play with and this set is under $40. It will keep the kids entertained all fall long! Grab it at Target for a fun treat the kids will love.

You can find more Halloween fun here:

Reader favorites include:

Paper Plate Witches

DIY Pallet Halloween Tree

 I have developed a serious affection for pallet projects. I love how many ways you can re-purpose them! I came up with this easy DIY Pallet Halloween Tree using materials I had a home. 

This is such an easy last minute DIY project to add a little creepy decor to your or yard. You can use the things you have around the house to come up with something creep-tastic! I am already planning ahead to next year and how I will make this cuter with clearance Halloween goodies!

Supplies used:

A few pallet boards

A hand saw and or a circular saw

E6000 glue

Halloween ribbon

Halloween trinkets

Black paint

Directions:

Saw down your pallet boards so that you can form a tree shape. I used a 1", 3",  6",  8",  10" boards and a 18" board for the back.

Paint your boards black, allow to dry.

Glue your short boards to the longest board, black side out.

Place something heavy or use a vice to secure the boards to the wood and allow to cure and dry.

Now, you can start decorating!

I glued Halloween ribbon to the tree and then placed the "ornaments". I used bugs, spiders and creepy eyes as decorations.

Allow to dry again and place it in the yard or in the house.

You can find all of my Halloween crafts here.

Reader favorites include:

Paper Plate Witches

Paper Plate Spiders

Play Dough Ghost Ornaments

This easy Halloween craft is perfect for anyone who wants to add a little boo to the holiday without having to spend any cash! You already have the ingredients to make the Play Dough Ghost Ornaments in your pantry! 

With the kids being at home this year, it feels like old times, we have time to craft in the afternoons again, and I LOVE it! With Halloween coming up, we decided to add a little boo to our decor with this easy homemade play doh ghost ornament craft. This is such an easy craft to make! It is perfect for all ages, from kids to adults.  You can make about a dozen of these (or more depending on your cookie cutter size) from a batch of dough.

Ingredients:

1 cup water

1 cup salt

2 cup flour

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.

Slowly add water, a few spoons at a time, until dough is smooth.

You will know you haven't added to much water if your dough is easy to handle and isn't sticking to your hands messily.

Knead by hand for 5 minutes and let rest for 10 minutes.

Roll out the dough until it is about 1/2 an inch thck.

I used a cookie cutter to cut the shape of ghosts.

Next, poke a hole thru the top of the ghost so you can hang it up.

I used a BBQ skewer.

After cutting my shapes, I used a black crayola marker to make the face of the ghost, on the raw dough.

Place  the dough on a cookie sheet and place it in a cold oven, turning up the temp to 200 degrees. Allow your ornaments to bake for about 90 minutes. Check them frequently to make sure they are not browning (if they are pull them out.)

Allow the ornaments to cool then feed a section of bakers twine or a string into the hole and hang.

Add a variety of faces to your ornaments for a boo-tiful variety of economical and adorable DIY Halloween decorations.

You can find all of my Halloween crafts here.

Reader favorites include:

Pumpkin Window Clings

Paper Plate Spiders

10+ Tasty Sheet Pan Meals to Make

If you are looking for a delicious dinner idea that will dirty very few dishes, then you are going to want to check these ideas out! I found 10+ Tasty Sheet Pan Meals to Make that you are going to want to try! These are all totally delicious dinners and they are so easy to clean up for the win!

Guys, I love my family. Like I love these people more than life itself. But, I am tired of washing their dishes and I have cooked a million meals since quarantine started. And I am over it all. I miss restaurants so much.  While they are open with limited seating here, I am still not taking my kids out just yet.

Sheet Pan Dinners have become my saving grace. They are so easy to make and there is basically no clean up.I have found some amazing options. From pork chops to salmon, these dinner ideas are perfect for feeding a family without the fuss. If you use a paper plate to make things even easier, there will be no judgment on my part. Make sure you click through the links to visit the posts. Share your favorites to show some love to the bloggers.


Pork Chops with Broccoli by Lynchburg Mama
Sheet Pan Breakfast Bake by Delicious on a Dime
One Sheet Asian Chicken by Domestic Superhero
One Pan Chicken Shawarma  by Spend with Pennies
Sheet Pan Chicken Nachos by We Dish It Up
Cajun Shrimp Sheet Pan Meal by Taste Galaxy
Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas by Love Bakes Good Cakes
Chicken and Apple Sheet Pan Dinner by Tastes of Lizzy T
Sheet Pan Chicken Sausage and Veggies by Live Laugh Rowe
Lemon Garlic Salmon by Love Bakes Good Cakes

Looking for more tasty stuff?
Don't miss these reader favorites:
Copycat Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumplings
Blackberry Cheesecake Floats

10+ Crafts for Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is coming up on January 25th, and these fun crafts are perfect for creating with the kids to celebrate in style!

We love Chinese New Year because it happens in the winter, and it gives us something to celebrate and learn about at a pretty dull time of the year for us. My husband is down because I will naturally make something awesome for dinner like egg rolls or peanut butter chicken over fried rice.

This list has something for everyone; literally! From the cute and easy paper fortune cookie to a stunning mason jar lantern; there is something for every skill level in this collection! I can't wait to hear which is your favorite craft!

Mason Jar Lanterns by Mod Podge Rocks
Chinese New Year Tangrams by My Craftily Ever After
Paper Plate Chinese Lanterns by In the Playroom
Rooster Craft by Crafts n Coffee
Egg Carton Dragons by Happiness is Homemade
Homemade Chinese Gong by Kid World Citizen
Chinese Take Out Box Craft by Create Craft Love
Chinese New Year Shakers by In the Playroom
Chinese Dragon Puppets by Crafts n Coffee
Paper Fortune Cookies by Mad in Crafts

If you have a fun idea for Chinese New Year, I hope you will leave a comment to share it!

You might also like this paper fortune cookie craft.

Reclaimed Wood Black Cats

These reclaimed wood black cats are so cute! Best of all they are easy to make too! 

Over the summer I stopped by my local recycling center to drop of plastics and guess what they had? Stacks and stacks of pallets! For Free! I brought as many as could fit in the back of the SUV home and have been going back a few times a month to get more. I am loving the crafts I can make without having to spend any money with a pallet board!

I was inspired to make some cute black cats from my reclaimed wood because I need new decor. To make a long and sad story short, all of my holiday decor was ruined in a wet basement. I am starting from scratch this year.

So, instead of getting super stressed or pulling out a credit card to replace right away, I asked my husband to cut a few pallets down for me. I started creating some fun little things. I love that I have one of a kind unique decor now. I can't wait to make more. But, we will get into all of that in another post. For now, let's get to how I made these.

Supplies for Reclaimed Wood Black Cats

I am an amazon affiliate. Making a purchase earns me a small ad fee at no cost to you.

Pallet boards in assorted sizes

A wood saw

Black Plaid Paint
White Paint
Halloween Ribbon
Fake Flies, Spiders, Bugs
e6000 adhesive

a small paint brush and a medium paint brush

Directions for Reclaimed Wood Black Cats

Cut down the pallets to desired size. I used 12",10" and 5" boards.

I used a small hand saw to cut a v into the end of each board.

Paint the boards with black paint and allow to dry.

Using the end of a  small paint brush (not the brush end) dipped in white paint, create the eyes.

Dot black into the center of the eye and push up then down to create the pupils.
Allow to dry.
Cut a length of ribbon to wrap around the board. Glue this on as the collar.
Glue a fly, bug or spider to the collar where the ribbon meets.
Allow to dry.
If you plan to display outdoors it would be a good idea to seal these with a clear coat .

If you are ready for more Spooky Fun 15+ Halloween Books for PreschoolersPaper Plate Spiders

Shop the supplies for Reclaimed Wood Black Cats:

I am an amazon affiliate. If you make a purchase, I earn a small advertising fee.