Upcycled Holiday Tags Made with Gift Bags and Tissue Paper

Even holiday season I try to do at least one homemade project that adds a fun DIY touch to my gift giving. This year I came across an easy upcycled craft using items from my home.  I saw this project as I was leafing through GreenCraft Magazine . With a little color and design modification it was personalized to my taste.  You could even get your children involved in this project. Older children can help cut and write on the tags and they could glue the tissue on the brown bags instead of sewing them.

What you'll Need:

• several old gift bags
• saved tissue paper
• sewing machine
• thread
• scissor

What you need to do:

• cut rectangles out of the top part of the bag where to handles are attached leaving part of the handle in tact ( I used funky scissors but you can use regular ones as well)
• cut rectangles out of the tissue paper. You can use festive colors or keep it neutral.
• sew the tissue paper onto the brown paper bag rectangle with your sewing machine.  If you have fun stitches you can use those.
• write your message on the tags and attach them to your gifts with a ribbon.

Dorinda's shop, Raising Green Kids, offers natural and eco-friendly products for your household. Follow her on Facebook and twitter and her blog.

Tweet

Father's Day Shoe Box Lid Picture Frame Craft

While I was browsing online recently I came across a neat art project using shoe box lids from Artful-Adventures.  That gave me an idea to make a Father's Day picture frame craft out of a shoe box lid.  This is a fun and easy craft that dads will really enjoy because it is personal.  

What you'll need:

A shoe box lid

paint

another piece of thick paper (card stock for example)

glue

hook or sticky wall tape to attach to the wall

Instructions:

Have your child paint the shoe box lid.

While you are letting the paint dry take your child's hands and make a print of each hand on the stock paper with paint.

After both the shoe box lid and the card stock have dried glue the card stock in the middle of the lid. 

You can write a message for dad in the box as well. 

Put the hook or other adhesive material on the back and you can display your art where ever you like!

Dorinda's shop, Raising Green Kids, offers eco-friendly products for your family. Follow her on Facebook and twitter and at her blog.

Tweet

Penguin Potato Winter Craft

We love finding things around the house to create art with.  My younger daughter just loves penguins and I  had her in mind when I found this craft.  We are big into re-using and re-purposing at our home so I used old brown paper bags and cut them up into squares with funky scissors.

** We like to find books on the crafts we are making to turn it into a mini lesson or just some fun reading time so we got out our penguin books after we made the craft.


What you'll  need:

• potatoes- 2 different size pieces. One for the larger black body and one for the white belly.
• non toxic paint-white,orange, and black
• googly eyes, one per penguin
• brown paper bag cut up into squares

Instructions:

• Dip the larger potato piece into the black paint and stamp onto brown paper
• take the smaller piece of potato and dip in the white paint, stamp over the black paint onto the body.
• use a finger to dip into the orange paint and create a beak and the feet.
• glue on a googly eye after the paint is dry

My daughter had so much fun with this project that she decided she wanted to make a whole "penguin family" on another sheet of paper which is what she is doing above.

Dorinda's shop, Raising Green Kids, offers eco-friendly products for your family. Follow her on Facebook and twitter and at her blog.

Tweet

Re-Purposed Spool Holiday Ornaments

I do a lot of sewing these days and therefore I have a lot of empty thread spools. I've been saving them because I knew that eventually I would come up with a project for them.  After a little bit of surfing on the internet I found some great ideas.  I wanted to find a craft that my girls could participate in and with the holidays coming up I came across a great idea, holiday ornaments.  I found the tutorial on the Thirfty Fun blog and modified it slightly to adapt to what we have in our home and what my girls enjoy using to craft.

What you'll need:

• left over gift wrap paper
• empty thread spool
• glue
• pipe cleaners
• scissors
• small bell ornament

What you need to do:

• Measure a piece of wrapping paper around the spool and cut paper wide enough and long enough to cover the body of the spool.Glue the paper strip to the spool.
• If you would like to cover the top and bottom of the spool with paper as well you can do that by cutting 2 little circles and gluing them on. 
• Thread the pipe cleaner into the bell and fold it in half.  Thread the pipe cleaner through the spool hole. Bend the 2 sides of the pipe cleaner into semi circles so they meet in the middle and twist to secure them together into a circle. 

Dorinda's shop, Raising Green Kids, offers eco-friendly products for your family. Follow her on Facebook and twitter and at her blog.

Tweet

Bath Time or Water Play Cork Recycled Sailboats

      Here's a fun crafty way to to make a new water time toy. Most items can be found in the home and with a little adult help this sailboat can be hours of fun.

What you'll need:
large skewer or toothpick
left over corks
string
hot glue gun
triangle piece of foam

Directions:

• A parent will need to hot glue gun 3 corks together along with hot glue the string from the 3 corks to the last cork which will be the handle.
• After the glue is cool stick the skewer into the middle cork
• have the child cut out and decorate the foam triangle
• Stick the foam triangle into the skewer at the top and bottom
• Have fun floating your sailboat in your water table, bath tub, or large dish

Dorinda's shop, Raising Green Kids, offers eco-friendly products for your family. Follow her on Facebook and twitter and at her blog.

Tweet

Re-purposed Glass Jar Jack-O-Lantern Fall Craft

This is a fun and relatively quick Halloween craft project you can do with your children.  Save a few glass jars and you can make a whole row of jack-o-lanters to decorate you home.  The directions are simple and you can keep this craft and reuse it again and again for many years.

You will need:
masking tape
clean glass jar
paint or foam brush
orange acrylic paint ( non-toxic and washable)
battery operated tea light
Modge Podge

Directions:
Cut the masking tape into simple Jack O -Lantern face pieces( I made all triangles) and stick onto the jar.
Paint the jar with the orange paint.
after the paint dries pull off the tape pieces
cover the entire jar with Modge Podge so that the paint won't chip.
Put the battery powered tea light in after it's all dry.

Dorinda's shop, Raising Green Kids, offers eco-friendly products for your family. Follow her on Facebook and twitter and at her blog.

Tweet

Upcycled CD Craft: Dream Catchers

What to do with those old CD's that are lying around? Don't throw them away, make dream catchers!  

 This is a fun, crafty way you and your children can re-purpose them.  This craft is pretty child friendly except for getting the holes drilled into the CD's.  

What you'll need:

Old CD's

a drill with a small drill bit

fancy left over string, beads, and feathers from around the house

What you need to do:

• An adult needs to do the drilling.
• Drill 3 small holes at the bottom of the CD and one on the top.
• Have your child cut and attach fancy strings to the lower three holes and tie feathers and beads at the end of the strings. Each string should measure about 1 foot.
• Thread a string through the top hole to hang the dream catcher.

Dorinda's shop, Raising Green Kids, offers eco-friendly products for your family. Follow her on Facebook and twitter and at her blog.

Tweet

Tutorial:: Onion Skin Dyed Eggs

I hope you’ll indulge me for a bit as I share an Easter activity of my childhood. This came from my father and I’m realizing now, that I’m not sure of it’s origin to him … meaning I don’t know if his mother did this technique or if he learned about it and started the tradition with us. But each year he dyes eggs with onion skins. My mother saves skins in a plastic bag all year long for this ritual. As teens we rolled our eyes at the bag of skins collecting in the back corner of the pantry, periodically trying to sneak the eye sore into the trash. Now I understand just how long it takes to collect a bag of onion skins AND how many it takes to dye just a few eggs.

Isn’t the result beautiful! Stunning and no two are a like. If you like, you can then drop these into traditional dyes and see what you come up with. My favorites were green and blue.

You start with a collection of onion skins … the dry crackly brown skins that surround regular onions, raw eggs, and a leg from old pantyhose, a trouser sock, or even the netting onions are sold in works.

Carefully and completely surround each egg in layers of onion skins. Place in the toe of your stocking/bottom of your net. Make sure the egg is completely surrounded by a couple of layers of skins, and tightly packed in the toe. Tie a knot in the stocking, or use a small rubber band to tightly tie off the net. The skins need to be held firmly to the egg while the water to saturates the skins and dyes the eggs. Repeat these steps until you run out of stocking/net, onion skins or eggs.

Place in a pan of cool water, submerge a few times to start to saturate the stocking and skins.  Set on stove and turn on the heat.  Bring to a boil and simmer 1 minute.  Rotate the link of eggs, turning them over part way through the process.

The water will go from clear to yellow, to orange and then red … it’s working!!

Once you’re pretty sure the eggs are cooked, remove your link of eggs from the pot and place on paper toweling to cool. Once they are cool enough to touch you can cut apart the stocking (unless you have the patience of Job to undo each knot) or undo your rubber bands to remove each onion skin egg bundle.




  And this is what you’ll find inside:

So beautiful and unique!  They catch everyone’s eye and make a lovey addition to an Easter or Spring centerpiece given their rich, earthy colors.   So start saving your onion skins and pin this for next year!

By the way, an old homemaking tip from our grandmothers … my mother-in-law said they would add a couple onion skins to the water when they hard boiling eggs to dye.  Apparently, it helps the color dye adhere to the eggs.

Kathleen is a regular contributor to the EtsyKids blog and can be found on Etsy, Facebook, Twitter, at her blog TinyStitches. 

Tweet

16 St Patrick's Day Crafts

We hope you have a fun weekend!

Tweet

New Year Crafts for Kids

New Years Eve does not just have to be for grownups!
Here are some fun activities and crafts for the kids to do and celebrate the new year.

Kids New Year’s Resolution Printable from 30 Handmade Days.

Create and decorate noise makers from Alphamom

Teach the kids New Year’s traditions from around the Globe for Kids from (Cool) Progeny

New Year’s Eve countdown bags from Hoosier Homemade.

Countdown confetti boxes from Homework

Good-luck Goldfish from Spoonful.

Transform your Christmas tree into a New Year’s Eve tree from Our Best Bites.

New Year's Eve kid's party surprise balls from Little Wonders Days.

New Year’s Eve printable banner and party hat from Toad’s Treasures. Fun to colour in for the kids.

New Year Collage from Activity Village.

New Years Time Capsule from Busy Bee Kids Crafts.

New Years Eve pot banger craft from Free Kids Crafts.com

New Year Worksheets & New Year Puzzles for Kids from Activity Village.

Mini marshmallow shooters (or confetti shooters) from Come Together Kids

First-night Hats from Spoonful.

Tweet

50 Thanksgiving crafts, recipes and printables for kids

Here is a great list of Thanksgiving crafts, recipes and printables, lots of great things to keep the kids busy.

Crafts & Activities
1. Fingerprint Turkey Napkin Rings - Crafts by Amanda
2. Indian Corn Craft using Dyed Pumpkin Seeds - I {heart} crafty things
3. Thanksgiving Turkey Place Cards - I {heart} crafty things
4. Thankful Turkey Box Tutorial - I {heart} crafty things
5. Pinecone Turkey - We Made That
6. Fall Leaf Embroidery Hoop Stained Glass - a childhood list
7. Pumpkin Seed Mosaic - Green Owl Art
8. Corn Dough - Green Owl Art
9. Little Paper Wreath - Michelle Made Me
10. Fall Leaf Turkey Magnet - Crafty Journal
11. Autumn Angel - Crafty Journal
12. Finger Paint A Turkey - Art for Kids
13. Leaf Turkey - Six in the Suburbs
14. Turkey Treats - The Crafty Blog Stalker
15. Leaf Mask - Imagine Childhood
16. Turkey treats in a glove - Hoopla Palooza
17. Popcicle stick scarecrow - Projects for Preschoolers
18. Turkey Craft - The Golden Gleam
19. Coffee Filter Tie-Dye Turkeys Tutorial - Busy Kids = Happy Mom
20. 3 Simple, Fun Fall Sensory Bins - The Good Long Road
21. Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie Play Dough - 2 Big, 2 Little
22. Spin Art Turkey - 2 Big, 2 Little
23. Autumn fingerprint tree - The Fairy & The Frog
24. Autumn Mobile - Red Ted Art
25. Handprint Family Portrait - Blog Me Mom

26. Making Indian Corn - Boy Mama, Teacher Mama

27. Autumn corn necklace - Goose and Binky

28. Make and wear mini Pilgrim hat - Make it Easy Crafts

29. Pilgrim Hat Crayon Holder - The Moody Fashionista

Printables
30. Thanksgiving Activity Book for Kids - Red Fly Creations
31. Pumpkin Pie Spinner - Parents
32. Thanksgiving Place Settings - Fiskars
33. Fall Leaves Matching Game - Mama Miss
34. Thanksgiving Printable - Homeschool Creations
35. Preschool Thanksgiving Printable Pack - 2 Teaching Mommies

Recipes
36. Reese's Peanut Butter Turkey - Kitchen fun with my three sons
37. Thanksgiving S'mores Pops - Kitchen fun with my three sons
38. Nutter Butter Acorns - Sweet Simple Stuff
39. No Bake Thanksgiving Cookies - The Chirping Mom
40. Cake Mix Sprinkle Cookies - {Semi} Homemade Mom
41. Mini Apple Pies - The Mandatory Mooch
42. Pumpkin Pie Bites - Dollhouse Bake Shoppe
43. A Turkey Snack - The Chirping Mom
44. No Bake Turkey Cookies - Six in the Suburbs
45. Handprint Turkey Cookies Recipe - Taste of Home
46. Turkey Cake Pops! - Candiquik
47. Thanksgiving Snack for Kids - B-Inspired Mama
48. Thanksgiving Pilgrim & Indian Cupcake Toppers - Bird on a Cake
49. Waffle Cone Cornucopia - Blissfully Domestic

50. Turkey Muffins - Parenting

You can also view all these links via our teams Thanksgiving 2012 Pinterest board, and many more!

Tweet

Art Project:: Bubble Wrap Fall Tree

Article submitted by RaisingGreenKids, blog - RaisingGreenRichmondKids

Have your little ones create Fall trees using leftover bubble wrap. This is a fun and super easy eco-friendly craft for little ones of all ages.

What you'll need:
paper - heavier stock paper works best
cut squares of bubble wrap. mine were about 4x4
paints-yellow,red,orange,brown
brown markers or crayons

Directions:

If you child is older they can draw their own tree trunk, if they are younger draw it for them.
Put a thin layer of each color of paint on a left over lid or reusable bowl or plate.
Show your child how to take the square of bubble wrap into their hand and dip it into the paint, then dab up and down on the paper in different spots above the tree trunk.
Use different colors to create a fun Fall picture. Enjoy!

Tweet

25 Things For Kids To Do When Stuck Indoors

EtsyKids team member and mother of two, Katie of childhoodstore, who is also patiently preparing to wait out Hurricane Sandy, shares some really fun indoor activities to do with kids using stuff you already have at home (love that!).  Not in the path of Hurricane Sandy?  Count yourself lucky and bookmark this for later ... think endless freezing cold days of winter, indoor recess at the grade school, games and activities for classroom parties.

Like most everybody on the east coast we are preparing for hurricane Sandy, which means we are stocking up on batteries, waters and snacks. It also means I am preparing for the potential of a week home with both girls and no electricity. So here is a list of some activities we have done before that I am thinking we might revisit this week. Do you have any fun indoor activities for kids?

Shoe Matching Game
Play With a Box
Play With Waterbeads
Painters Tape Hopscotch
Bean Bag Games
Make a Cardboard Computer
Cave Drawing
Pipe Cleaner and Colander Sculptures
Walk the Line
Floor Puzzles
Play People Riddles
Shaving Cream Car Wash
Paint with Water
Post-it Note Art Gallery
Color Relay
Clean Penny Experiment
Form a Square Game
Play Dress-Up
Dance
Glue Painting
Make Plastic Straw Necklaces
Cloud Dough
Plastic Cup Printing
Apple Printing
Plastic Baggie Art

Tweet

National Sewing Month:: Handmade Quilts

September is National Sewing Month, and with sewing being a favorite medium of EtsyKids Team Members, we want to share a special month long series sponsored by EtsyKids Team Member, Heather of theSewingLoft.  Throughout the month, talented sewers -  quilters, garment makers, fiber artists and crafter's will be stopping by theSewingLoft blog and sharing their favorite sewing tool.  So far,  Amy of The Quilt Alliance, Becky of PatchworkPosses and Janelle of TrashN2Tees have shared their favorite tools along with amazing projects to help us practice using their favorite tool and get a good feel for why they use it all the time.

The EtsyKids Team is filled with hundreds of talented artists and crafters, many of whom are sewers.  We hope to inspire you with their creative talent this month as we periodically showcase the beauty, versatility and quality of the sewn products our members have to offer.  We also hope Heather's special series for National Sewing Month, will inspire you to sew ... for the first time, on a new or forgotten project, or branch out and try something completely new in the world of sewing.

Modern Quilt in Gray and White Flying Geese Pattern by theEarlyGirl

Chocolate, Blue, Beige Log Cabin Quilt, Full Size, Machine Quilted by Ahmelie

Doll Patchwork Quilt and Pillow by snowflakeboutique

Bunting Quilt by Sweetiebugs

Super Size Modern Baby Playmat by PeppermintPinwheels

Modern Baby Quilt by AudraRoseDesigns

Tweet

Easy Oil Paintings

By Cori of Peace, Baby! Batiks

My son and I are working through the alphabet with a “letter of the week,” and when I needed an art project for “O Week” a couple of weeks ago, I turned to this marbleized paper tutorial from Unplug Your Kids. For our purposes, I called them oil paintings.

Here’s what you need:
A shallow pan (I used a dish pan)
Food coloring
Vegetable oil
Water
Thick paper (We used watercolor paper and cardstock)
Dropper

First, mix up the colors. Stir together 1/2 tablespoon oil and several drops of food coloring for each color. Mix with a fork for several minutes to combine the two ingredients. (Next time I will try shaking it, as suggested in the original instructions. It's a little like salad dressing.)

Put just enough water in the bottom of your pan to cover the bottom. (The colors will sink if the water is too deep.)

Use the dropper to put dots of color on top of the water. Don’t be afraid to mix colors, put colors on top of each other, or swirl them around. My son is into mixing colors lately, so he loved mixing the colors together.

When you’re done adding colors, gently place a piece of cardstock or watercolor paper on top of the water. Let it sit there until you see the pattern of colors seep through the paper. Gently peel the paper off, let excess water drain off, and set aside to dry.

Change the water and try again!

We’ve used our oil paintings to make cards, and I’m thinking about getting frames for a couple of them. They’re so pretty!

Tweet