For whatever reason, my boys love collecting rocks. It isn't unusual for me to remove several of them from their pants when I'm about to do laundry, and if I'm not careful they occasionally will make it into the wash. I don't really no why they love rocks so much, but I do think this project is a great activity and a way to transform a picked-up rock into a true 'pet-rock'. This is a great activity for camp crafting, and fun to do with themes as well like animals, aliens and people. Enjoy! 

If you are looking for some cool summer crafts and want something that even the toddlers can do, visit Mini Eco for some tips on painting with ice cubes!
This is a super fun and super easy way to let the little ones paint with minimal mess.

If you are anything like me, you'll be spending the next few weeks organizing, cleaning and making room in your home for new toys and gifts. The end of the year is a great time to get organized- everone likes to start the begining of the year with a clean slate. And I, like many, love to free up mental and physical space for new creative projects that I have on the horizon.

I like to apply this concept to my children's play area as well. I'm trashing, donating, and otherise clearing out oldies, as well as doing a little winter cleeaning at home. And on Plaid Kids Crafts,  I'll be featuring projects over the next few days that combine creativity and organization. The first is this chalkboard toy box. Whether you have an old chalkboard that needs a fresh coat or paint, or you've found one at your local thrift store, you can give your box new life with FolkArt Chalkboard paint. This toy box is simple and easy to do and provides a new surface for customizing with the children. Happy crafting.

...with this cute travel suitcase. Great for summer vacations, sleepovers or trips to grandmas.

What can you do with a paper plate? We crafted a variety of fun animals with a few paper plates and cups. Check out the goldfish here and visit Plaidonline.com to see the rest.

This easy and fun summer craft idea that uses Sparkle Mod Podge was posted by Mama Jenn. It doubles as a craft and a game.
Check the site out for instructions.

 

Here is a list of our favorite Earth Day project. Use this as inspiration to
Create your own Earth Day Craft Projects

Gift Bag

Give A Hoot Container

Animal Cracker Purse

Recycled Train

Alien Bank

Chalkboard Pots

Rock Chic Memo Board

This post features something good to make and something great to eat. Little Birdie Secrets offers a mega post-a recipe PLUS a tutorial so you can deliver your treats in style! Follow this link for directions and LOTS of photos!
 

This is a sweet idea and a great way to reuse baby's old board books once they are outgrown. This idea comes from Katie's Nesting Spot! What a great way to recycle and reuse. See her post for instructions and more photos!
  

Help your children show how thankful they are with this great little turkey with grateful feathers. This projected was posted by Parents.com. The Turkey is made with yarn, scrabook paper and a few other supplies. See this project and other great project ideas here.

Our first fall craft roundup includes fun, simple projects for younger kids. These project are great for classroom settings or at-home crafting. Enjoy!

• Fall Leaves Recipe Holder Craft by Apples4teacher.com
• Craft projects for smaller kids by DLTK
• Fall Door Hanger by Mycraftbook.com

The photo above shows easy-to-make recipe holders from Apples4teacher.com.

Who says that science can't be crafty? We've scoured the web to find examples of the kinds of cool things that happen when the world's of science and crafts collide. The following kid-friendly craft projects are part science, part crafts and a whole lot of fun!

Make a Homemade Themometer

With a few ingredients commonly found around the house, you can make a working themometer. This project is presented by education.com. Click here for instructions.

Edible Earth
Make a model of the earth that's good enough to eat. This project appears on Suite101.com and was prepared by Belinda Moody. Click here for instructions.

Eco-Friendly home-made laundy detergent
After inquiries from her children as to how laundry detergent is made, Capessa from Shine decided to brew a batch. Check out her blog entry on making detergent, along with some humorous do's and don'ts.

All these science crafts are great for kids and the entire family.

Make these cute Animal Puppets from the San Diego Zoo from odds and ends around the house.

Its almost time to start planning for school in the fall. In addition to the regular back-to-school supplies that your child will need for school, consider creating a stash of extra supplies especially for special projects, reports and extra-credit assignments. Here's a list to get you started:

• Old Magazines-Great for making collages
• Poster Board
• Mod Podge - The all-purpose glue and adhesive is great for decoupage, assembling collages and makes a great sealant.
• Texture Paint -Check out Plaid's new texture paint, great for making models, maps and more.
• Crayons
• Permanent Markers
• Chalkboard Paint -Makes any surface a chalkboard-writing surface.
• Report Covers-Keep a stash so you don't have to purchase them each time a report is due.
• Construction Paper
• empty bottles and containers of various shapes

Celebrate Independence Day at a whole new level this year!  This windsock will be a breeze to make and when you're finished be sure to let it soar free in the wind for everyone to see!

It's vacation time!  And you know what that means... lots of time in the car or on an airplane!  Things can get kind of boring after a while, so this is a great game to play while traveling.  With its magnetic game pieces you won't loose a thing when your mom or dad's car hits all the bumps in the road!  Because it's so small, this little game is easy to pack up; it can even fit in a pocket for anytime you want to play a little baseball while you're waiting for anything!

      
Every little girl at some point in her life wants a cute little purse to tote around--to be just like mommy!  This small bag is perfect for her to hold all those important things, like... crayons, toys, candy, bubbles, etc.  She'll feel pretty as a princess!  This project is fun to make and she'll really want to strut her stuff when she's finished creating it!  So get out those old faded blue jeans you know you'll never wear again and get started!

      
Next week is the end of the school year for my first grader. If this year is like past years he'll come home with a folder full of papers, projects and art that he's accumulated. Then, I have the hard job of sorting through, discarding (ugh!) and organizing the keepers. So I am planning on preserving some of the best work and using it for gifts and such. Here's a cute idea for saving kid's art that started as just a plain unfinshed tray.