Dragon Wing Preschool Craft (And our 10+ Favorite Dragon books!)

Does your child love dragons? Want to make an easy dragon craft with your preschooler? Then today's cardboard dragon wings are the perfect craft for you! I made these with several young kids and they really enjoyed the process of decorating and designing their wings. 

How to Make Artsy Cardboard Dragon Wings with Preschoolers

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Last Minute Cardboard Elephant and Piggie Costume

Halloween is only a few days away.  Do you have your costume yet?  If not, I have a super fun (and cheap) cardboard costume that you can whip up to wear this Wednesday.  Today we're making Elephant and Piggie Costumes!

How to Make Easy Elephant and Piggie Costumes

(for practically nothing!)

This post contains affiliate links.  This means I make a small portion off of any purchases made through the links at no additional cost to you.  Thank you for the grocery money!  For my full disclosure policy, click here.

My 3 Cardboard Craft Books are finally here!

Ok.  The title says it all. So please buy my 3 awesome cardboard and duct tape craft books.  End of Post.

Just kidding! (Apparently I'm much too wordy for a 1 line post.)

So grab a coffee or tea and let's chat.

Last June I shared that a publishing company contacted me about writing a series of cardboard craft books. (If you missed that post, or you just want to see a photo of our cardboard-filled garage, click here.)

Well, it's been almost a year since that post and tada.... the books are here!

Don't they look good enough to eat? Num num num num num.

This post contains affiliate links.  This means I make a teeny tiny bit of money from any purchases made through the Amazon links below.   Thank you for your support! For my full disclosure, click here.

Cardboard Ninja Throwing Stars

Ninja Crafts, I have found, can be quite polarizing.  Some parents think they're super fun and great for birthday parties.  Other parents are uncomfortable with kids using weapons like a sword, ninja stars, and such. 

While I don't condone violence, I do realize that making toys that shoot, launch, or fly (like this pom pom shooter, car launcher, or this 1 sheet paper kite) are always crowd pleasers.   (Plus, they're a great opportunity to slip in some STEAM learning.)   So today I'm sharing this cute Ninja Throwing Star Craft.  It was super easy to make and kept us relatively sane on a stuck-at-home-going-to-pull-my-hair-out-cleaning-the-pulled-out-puzzles-for-the-eight-time rainy day.

How To Make Cardboard Ninja Throwing Stars

This post contains affiliate links.  This means I make a teeny tiny bit of money from any purchases made through the Amazon links below.   Thank you for your support! For my full disclosure, click here.

Make a Knight Sword and Shield

Do knights, dragons, and castles stir up your child’s imagination?  I love how my preschooler is a big fan of all these things.   It's so neat to see little kids wrapped up in imaginary play.  To further grow his interest, I made this super easy cardboard shield and sword set awhile back.  After 6 months of intense imagining, rescuing, and fighting, they're still intact.  So, I figured I'd share this cute tried-and-true craft with y'all today!

Make a Knight Sword and Shield

Note: This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you for your support!  For my full disclosure policy, click here.

Easy Shamrock Headband for St. Patrick's Day

Who needs leprechauns when you have a preschooler running around? Ha!  Here's a fun and easy weekend St. Patrick's Day craft:  Shamrock headbands!   You can find my full tutorial over at DIY Candy today!


Happy weekend and happy making, friends!

Preschool Ninja Crafts and Books

Does your child love ninjas?  My preschooler loves them!  They're sneaky, stealthy, and carry cool weapons.  If you have a ninja-loving kid too, here's a great list of ninja crafts and books that are perfect for preschoolers!  We've got paper plate crafts, finger print crafts, toilet roll crafts, paper bag crafts, puppets, and even an easy costume idea!

Preschool Ninja Crafts and Books

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Make a T-Shirt Ninja Mask! (And our 10 top Ninja Books)

Does your child totally dig ninjas?   Then this post is perfect for you!  We love making easy, homemade costumes and today's is my favorite idea so far.  Here's a super quick way to make a t-shirt ninja mask!  All you need is a t-shirt and a minute.  That's it!  No sewing or gluing required!

Super Quick and Easy T-Shirt Ninja Mask!

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2 DIY Duct Tape Bug Costumes

Looking for some last minute ideas for DIY Halloween Costumes?  I've recently been embracing duct tape as a crafting material.  So I tried using it to make 2 really easy eleventh hour Halloween Costumes for Chuck.

2 Easy Bug Duct Tape Costumes

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Why use duct tape instead of paint?

Before I got on this duct tape streak, I would have probably just painted these costumes.  You can get some really neat and clean designs painted using freezer paper stencils. But, I really like the idea of using duct tape because you don't have to wait for paint to dry, AND, you can use the shirts over again for something else (which is a big plus in my book!)

Ok.  Let's get making!

Glow in the dark Kids Jellyfish Costume

Recently I received several containers of Tulip Glow Paint to try out.  As you know, I LOVE making costumes for Chuck. (Remember the spider costume, Lightening McQueen Costume, and Mr. Potato head costume?  Yup.  Good times.)  So I was excited to somehow incorporate the glow in the dark paint into a costume idea.  Chuck really loves sea creatures right now, so I made him this easy, NO SEW jellyfish costume.

Oh yeah.  And it glows!

DIY Kids Jellyfish Costume (that glows!)

Adorable right? Just wait till you see it glowing.  It really looks like a jellyfish is sitting on top of his head!

Here's how I made it!

Easy DIY Kids Spider Costume

We really love reading and it's always fun to create crafts and activities to go along with our favorite books.  Today I'm joining forces with other kid bloggers to present a Halloween Read and Play Blog hop!    This means that today, over 25 kid bloggers are posting great activities and crafts to go along with Halloween themed books.  (You can see links to all the great ideas at the bottom of the post!)  We made a DIY spider costume for our post.  It was inspired by a beloved book character, Splat the Cat!

Easy DIY Spider Costume

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Have you heard of the Splat the Cat Series?  We love these books. For Halloween, we read Scaredy-Cat, Splat!

I don't want to ruin the story for you, so here's just a snippet to explain today's craft.  Splat the Cat's initial costume gets ruined and his mom has to quickly whip up a homemade spider costume from socks and string.

I love the idea of making something from nothing, so we tried our hand at quickly whipping up a spider costume just like Splat the Cat's mom!

Let's get making!   

2 DIY Cardboard Fourth of July Hats!

Fourth of July is in a couple of days.  Now if you're like me, you probably just realized that fact just this week.  (Oh wait... am I the only one is in a perpetual time warp and constantly forgets what day it is?)  This year we plan on seeing fireworks with Chuck and I thought it would be fun to whip up some cute Fourth of July Cardboard Hats for us to wear.  Can you believe that these 2 hats were made from cereal boxes, toilet paper rolls, and corrugated cardboard?

2 Easy DIY Fourth of July Hats!

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No Sew Super Hero Cape

I don't sew.  I tried, but it just never happened.  (And since we're disclosing dirty, crafty secrets, I'll also admit that I don't crochet and I'm a terrible knitter.)  Last week we saw a boy wearing a cape in the park.  Chuck loved it so much that he asked me to make him a cape too.  That's when I thought, "Uh oh.  I'm a terrible sewer... that might be a problem."  But then I thought about it and came up with this ridiculously easy, super quick, crazy cheap, no sew super hero cape. 

No Sew Super Hero Cape 

(Perfect for your little super hero and his or her best super hero friend)

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This cape took only a couple of minutes to make... which was awesome because Chuck and piggy were too excited and trying their very best to wait patiently.   I almost didn't post this tutorial because it was ridiculously easy.  But the photos of Chuck wearing the cape were too cute to not share.  Let's get making!

Cereal Box Fireman's Hat (Template included)

Currently Chuck loves pretending to be a fireman.  He tells me that random things are on fire and then sprays them with an imaginary hose to put the fire out.  To help encourage his play, we recently made this fireman's hat out of an old cereal box.

(Of course, we had to make a fireman's hat for his best friend Piggy too!)

Got a pretend firefighter in your family too? Curious to see how a cereal box turned into a fireman's hat? Keep reading to see how we did it!

Two George Washington Cotton Ball Wig Crafts

Happy Presidents Day!  In honor of the holiday, I'm posting kid-friendly president-themed crafts today and tomorrow on the blog.  Today I'm sharing two George Washington Cotton Ball Wig Crafts.  Here's the first craft-- a real cotton ball wig!

Come on, you wanna see how I made this thing.... so keep reading to find out!

Make a Valentine's Day "Arrow through the Head" Headband

Oh no!  Chuck's been shot...

(With Cupid's arrow.. teee hee hee)

Valentine's Day "Arrow through the Head" Headband

Looking for a cute Valentine's Day accessory that is affordable, easy-to-make, kid friendly, and boy friendly?  Well, you could always try making this "Arrow through the head" headband...

DIY Reindeer Antler Headbands

On Wednesday we're having a small holiday get-together with our toddler library group.  I wanted to put Chuck in a cute holiday outfit, but I didn't get a chance to pick up anything yet.  But not to worry!  I had all the items needed to make these two cute reindeer antlers.  I love how they came out.  They're super festive, Chuck will actually wear them, (yes!) and added bonus- they were both made in one night.... my kind of craft!

DIY Reindeer Antler Headbands

Wanna see how I made them?  (Or, do you wanna see cute photos of Chuck modelling them?)  If so, read on!

Halloween photos (Past and Present)

How was your Halloween?  Ours was pretty jam packed.  We entertained some out-of-town guests, carved pumpkins, attended a couple of kids' parties, and went trick-or-treating.  I was loving most of it until the very end.  I was definitely burned out by the last Halloween party.   Phew.  Too much candy and partying for this mama.

Here are some photos from our Halloween adventures:

Several pieces of felt and dozens of hot glue sticks later.... I finally finished both Mack and Lightening McQueen costumes.  Chuck and I wore them out when we trick-or-treated around our neighborhood.   (Click here to see how I made the costume and click here to see how I made his matching Lightening McQueen shoes,   Or, click here to see Chuck's previous  Thing 1 Costume and his Mr. Potato Head Costume.)

In addition to trick-or-treating, we attended two Halloween parties at the library.  It was uber-cute seeing dozens of toddlers dressed up in costumes.  I also couldn't help but ooh and ahh over the cute treats that some moms made.  Check out these marshmallow monsters.  Too. Darn. Adorable. 

Happy Halloween from a little Lightening McQueen

Happy Halloween everybody!  

Hope you have a wonderful and magical day!  

As promised, here are some photos of Chuck in his Lightening McQueen costume at a church party.
(And if you want to see my matching Mack costume, click here.)

(Did you see shoes?  Click here to see how I painted his Lightening McQueen Shoes.)

And here are a couple of photos showing how I made it. 

DIY Tulle Mask

Looking for a simple, cheap, and fun way to make masks for Halloween this year?  

Why not try making some out of tulle and fabric paint?  Inspired by these masquerade masks from Sprinkles in Springs, I created my own Day of the Dead Mask for Handmade Charlotte.  Check out the tutorial  here!