As the nieces and nephews and various children in my life get a little older, I'm increasingly more into finding crafty gifts that not only entertain them for a little while, but let them show off their handiwork when they're done. Here …
Give us a few cold rainy days and my kids will be climbing the walls and snarling at all my attempts to cheer them up. So I'm stashing away the downloadable Monster Mania ebook from Make and Takes to help me out with a few easy craft ide…
My days of drawing rock band logos on my knees are long gone, but life would have been a lot easier if the non-toxic Tee Juice fabric markers were around back then. My son and his friends tried them out during the world's best playdate ,…
I want to be a good hostess, really I do. But my idea of throwing a party involves opening a few bottles of wine and putting steaks on the grill. I'm a little shaky where it comes to the details that elevate a party from fun to fabulous.…
I just do not have that kind of creativity it would entail to look at a traditional sock monkey and think, Hmm, I bet I could improve on that. But that's what CMP fave Clarity Miller did when she turned one into a Socktopus . It's virtua…
When the thunderclouds roll in, digging up rainy day kids' activities to keep the brood entertained indoors isn't so easy. Especially when all they can think about are beaches, bikes and bothering each other. So we thought it was high ti…
Craft kits are perfect for moms lacking that creativity gene, but then there are moms like me who combine both lack of creativity with an aversion to clutter. Our kids happily create, but then we wonder what to do with the (precious and …
With two craft-loving girls, I have enough kids' art supplies in my home to start a small store. That said, I have never seen anything like the adorable set of paint-your-own nesting dolls from Kookle and know my kids would go ga-ga over…
I like doing crafts with my daughter , but usually one of two things happens: either the craft I come up with is lame (like taping purple things to a piece of paper and writing purple at the top) or the sites I visit for inspiration assu…
St Patrick's day treats don't exactly inspire me the way say, Halloween or Valentine's Day treats do. And frankly, some of them just plain freak me out. (I'm looking at you, Shamrock Shake.) So leave it to our friends at The Nibble to po…
I cannot tell you how guilty I feel tossing a baby announcement. Not only does it stink to have to add to the landfill, but it just seems odd to put a baby's picture in the trashcan. So I had to check out Botanical Paperworks , a Canadia…
Hearts, schmearts. Not every printed proclamation of love needs to involve pink or red or lacy frilly things. Me, I'm digging the screenprinted love poster from Jennifer Ramos of Made by Girl that simply says love. What more do you need?…
You didn't forget that the class party is on Friday and you're baking cupcakes and, by the way, your kid needs 24 cards to share with her friends. Of course you didn't; you were just waiting for us to tell you where to find the best prin…
My daughter is an art fanatic , and would paint until she was blue in the face. Funny, she's actually done that, with blue hands, arms, clothes...you get the picture. She's a four-year-old with paints. So when she tried Mahar Dry Goods' …
So you tried and tried to resist the Valentines Day merchandising but suddenly you're jonesing for a wee bit of heart-embellished something-or-other for the baby come the 14th. Nothing huge; no $94 satin bolero jacket. Just maybe...somet…
Move over Suri and Pax. It would seem that the world's most important celebrity children in the design world are now Sasha and Malia Obama, at least if the press releases flooding our inboxes are any indication. If the First Children are…
Because, let's face it, actual conversation heart candies are adorable but taste about 3% better than chalk, I love the idea of conversation heart cookies for Valentines Day . A half dozen yummy, almost cakey, pink frosted cookies from C…
If the big wall o' children's Valentine's cards at your local big box store fills you with dread, don't despair. You've heard of DIY, but have you heard of DIYBWALHFTWD? This acronym came to us from Three Wheels Design owner Vicki Shield…
I keep looking for cute Valentines Day cards for my daughter to give out to her beloved friends and family, but the truth is, I haven't found anything that makes you go "awwwww...." as much as the handmade Valentines Day cards she could …
Kids and dogs go together like red and Valentines Day, which is why I think the story book Mo Smells Red is such a cute gift for your little sweetheart . Not only will preschoolers love hearing about the adventures of Mo, a real life res…
Growing up, no Valentine's Day was complete without a bagful of Be Mine and Hug Me heart candies. Sure they were cute, but let's be honest: they tasted like chewable antacids. Conversation Heart Rattles from Yellow Label Kids are a much …
Besides unconditional love, the only thing that I want for Valentine's Day is something chocolate and decadent . Like, say, these heart-shaped brownies from Kitchen Witch . I've already gushed about Casey's ready-to-bake line of cookies,…
I'm not crazy about barrettes with so much going on that it's like the hair clip enters the room before your kid does. You can keep your big crazy "corker" bows and humongo fake gardenias with rhinestone centers. Just leave me the simple…
Every woman needs to one one perfect, crisp button-up shirt . And by perfect I mean it fits at the shoulders, the collar isn't better suited to the Ringling Bros. wardrobe department, and your chest isn't busting the buttons every time y…
