Last Minute Gift Ideas for Paper Lovers and Crafters

 

Disclosure: I was sent these products in order to provide honest reviews. All opinions are my own.

The last few weeks have been a bit crazy at school. We finished our first semester on Friday. I finally have some time to craft more, but Hazel is also home for break, so a lot of my evening time at least is spent with her. I have four amazing products to share with you that are perfect for paper lovers and paper crafters. They make amazing gifts as themselves or for you to make gifts for others! We will begin with a book that literally is called Book for Paper Lovers: Color Your World by the Editors of Flow Magazine. There is no suggested age on these products today due to them being for adults however this one definitely works for kids who can write and create!

Growing Senses & Imagination with Books About Nature and the Seasons

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

This week I spent three days in the woods in Vermont with some of my students. Every year our school goes on a field trip to an outdoor center in Vermont. The high school students can choose to go for two nights and the middle school and 5th and 6th grade are required to go for four nights. The time there is tech free for the kids. The goals are team building, bonding with one another and getting them out of their comfort zones. For many it is the first time they are away from their parents for this length of time. As much as I hate being away from home, it is a great experience, and I always enjoy it a bit more than I think I will. It is important for everyone to get into nature and enjoy it. Today I am going to share two new picture books about nature and uses your senses and imagination. The first is Tree Spirits Around the World words and photographs by Louise Wannier and illustrated by April Tatiana Jackson. It is recommended for ages four to nine but could work with any age.

Hedgehogs Don't Wear Underwear -- Book Review & Hedgehog Craft Roundup

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Something that is important for kids and really everyone to learn is how to be themselves. It is important not to be afraid to show your true colors. Each of us needs to be able to live as ourselves. Today I am sharing an adorable book with this message. The book is Hedgehogs Don't Wear Underwear by Marissa Valdez. It is recommended for ages 3 to 6. At the end of the post there is a hedgehog craft roundup to go with the book!

Lisbeth and the Littering Ladybugs -- Book Review & Giveaway with Ladybug Craft Round-Up

 

Disclosure: I was sent a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. I am working with The Children's Book Review and P.E. Shadrick to bring you this post.

When Hazel was young, I loved telling her stories. Since we started at a Waldorf school, storytelling was very important. Stories could entertain, teach lessons and so much more. Today I am sharing book that has a grandmother telling a story to her granddaughter as she works the tangles out of the granddaughter's hair. The book is Lisbeth and the Littering Ladybugs by P.E. Shadrick and illustrated by Maya Penzlik.

BrindleFox -- Book Review & Fox Craft Round-Up

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

How important is friendship? How important is caring for others and oneself? Today I am sharing a new picture book that reminds me of an old fable. According to this article on Canadian Mental Health Association, "the lack of human connection can be more harmful to your health than obesity, smoking and high blood pressure. ... Social connection can lower anxiety and depression, help us regulate our emotions, lead to higher self-esteem and empathy, and actually improve our immune systems." (Source) Wow! That makes social connection extremely important and something we want to teach young children how to have. Today I am sharing a book about a fox who does not want to connect with anyone, but he learns that connecting is important by the end. The book is BrindleFox by John Sandford. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8. I am also including a fox craft round-up to go with the book.

Holiday Craft Fun with Jingle Stamps

 

Disclosure: I was sent a set of these stamps in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Now I know it is only October, but if you are going to make holiday cards, gifts, or wrapping paper, now is the time to begin! So today I am sharing a fun holiday stamp set with some different ideas for the fall, holidays, and beyond for you and/or your kids to make. The stamp set is called Jingle Stamps, and it includes 22 stamps and a duo ink pad of red and green ink.

All About Vietnam -- Book Review & More!

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

May is Asian American and Pacific Island Heritage Month. All month long I will try to share books, crafts, and activities to help celebrate this fun heritage. Today I get to share the newest book from one of my favorite series about Asian countries. It is All About Vietnam: Projects & Activities for Kids: Learn About Vietnamese Culture with Stories, Songs, Crafts & Games by Tran Thi Minh Phuoc and illustrated by Nguyen Thi Hop and Nguyen Dong. It is a middle grades reading level but can be shared with younger kids if you do the reading!

A Beginner's Guide to Chinese Brush Painting -- a Crafty Sundays Review

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review. All opinions are my own.

March is National Craft Month and I have been lacking on sharing my crafts. Last year Hazel's art teacher had her class experiment with Chinese brush painting. She brought home a beautiful scroll of painted bamboo. We have it hanging in our living room. Then when we went get her art supplies this year the art store had Chinese brushes and ink. We decided to try our own at home. I asked Tuttle Publishing to send me this book so I would have some guidance. Hazel decided not to join me. The book is A Beginner's Guide to Chinese Brush Painting by Caroline Self and Susan Self. 

The Leaf and The Tree -- We Are All Connected

 

Disclosure: I am working with The Children's Book Review and Bruce Nemovitz and will receive a small stipend for this post. I was sent a digital copy of the book in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own.

We are in the middle of winter here in Massachusetts. The trees are bare, but I am dreaming of spring and warmer weather. Today's book is perfect for this dream. It is The Leaf and the Tree by Bruce Nemovitz and illustrated by Ani Ghosh. 

Fall Crafts Capturing the Beauty of Autumn Leaves

 

Last week I shared some autumn crafts including leaf embroidery. I promised another fall craft if it worked and it mostly did. So today I am sharing how to make a leaf bowl. Now I saw photographs all over the place like this one for inspiration. I went outside and picked some beautiful fall leaves. Then I wiped them and let them dry for a few hours. I gathered a plastic cup, a balloon, a paintbrush, and my ModPodge. When I was ready I blew up the balloon and put it in the plastic cup. The cup works as a stand so you do not have to hold the balloon in place. Put the knotted side down into the cup. Then I spread some ModPodge on my first leaf and stuck it on to the balloon. I then spread more ModPodge on the other side of the leaf to get it really stuck. I continued doing this trying to overlap the leaves.

Autumn Crafts - Leaf Embroidery & Autumn Fairy

 

I haven't been crafting much lately. Every once in awhile I work on a diamond painting, but otherwise life has been busy. Awhile ago I saw beautiful embroidered leaves on a Facebook ad similar to these.  I thought that was so neat and wanted to try it. I went out and gathered leaves, wiped them and left them to dry, but didn't get around to them until they were really dry. However I decided to try them out. I did some research and found a few places that give directions including one for kids. 

Interesting Facts & Benefits of Clover with Craft & Recipe Round-Up

 

Last week we had so much fun learning about dandelions. It is amazing that what many consider a weed can do for your yard as well as food! This week I thought I would look at another wildflower or weed. We will look at clovers! I found many interesting things about clovers. Now many people associate clover with St. Patrick's Day. However for me it is a spring/summer thing because we have so much in our yard and the rabbits come out to eat it.

Origami: Fun Facts, Product Reviews & Craft Round-Up

Disclosure: I was sent these products in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

We are on our third week of exploring Japan for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. If you missed our first two weeks we did new picture books to learn about Japan and crafts from Japan. Today we are taking a look at the ancient art of Japanese origami. I thought I would start with some fun facts since I shared a bit about the history of origami a few years ago. 

Hello Fall & Sunday School Crafts

Fall began and I started thinking of some fall crafts. I had those frames I bought ages ago on clearance and had made some spring themed décor. To make a fall one I pulled out my Cuttlebug. I have an apple embossing folder and used it for the background paper. Then I used the die to cut out "Hello". I found an apple shaped Post-It Note pad and traced it to cut out an large apple and wrote fall on it. Then I used some leaf punches for the small leaves. I love how it all came out.

Magical Forest Fairy Crafts Through the Seasons -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: I was given this ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Are you getting ready for the holidays? We are and are loving it. Today I am sharing a fun book for kid crafters or for adults to make crafts for or with kids. This book reminds me of our Waldorf days perhaps because they always had their first Forest Fairy book on sale at the holiday fair at the Waldorf School. Afterall fairies are part of the magic of Waldorf. The book is Magical Forest Fairy Crafts Through the Seasons by Lenka Vodicka-Paredes and Asia Currie. 

Crafty Weekends Link Party

It is time to see what you have been creating! This week I am skipping sharing a craft or reviewing a craft book. I have had an exciting week starting a new career as a Thirty-One Consultant (you can shop here to support me) and this weekend I have been visiting my parents since Hazel has a long weekend and we spent today doing a walk to support the Alzheimer's Family & Caregiver Support Center who do amazing things and never charge anyone!! We would love to have you support us by donating here. Now onto seeing your features and crafts!! Thank you to everyone who shared with us at our last party. It was a fun party with lots of creativity shared! There were many autumn crafts shared last week!! Below are a few of the features from our last party, but be sure to go back and check out the many great crafts shared! Please remember for your child-oriented crafts, activities, lessons, etc. Sharing Saturday is going on!! We are back to weekly Sharing Saturdays now!! be sure to stop by and share your kid-oriented activities!! And if you have cultural posts be sure to share them at Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop this month!  I can't wait to see what your latest creations!!

Decorations and Gift Crafts & More from Oriental Trading -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: Oriental Trading sent me these items in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own.

Are you getting ready for Thanksgiving this week? Have you started to look towards Christmas? We have gone a bit Christmas crazy here and have been loving it. Today we are going to share some crafts and other things that are great for gifts and Christmas decor. All of it came from Oriental Trading and their amazing Christmas items. Earlier this month we shared crafts and items that focus on the nativity. Today's are more non-secular. Hazel LOVES Peanuts right now so several of them will be Peanuts themed including this fun Peanuts® Christmas Wreath Craft Kit.


These foam wreaths are adorable and easy to put together. The pieces are self-adhesive for ease of creating. Hazel is going to give them to friends and teachers. Aren't they adorable?



Our next craft kit is actually for Hazel's class. I asked her teacher to peruse the Christmas crafts and pick something that would work in her classroom. She picked these Peace, Hope and Joy Foam Ornaments. I opened one of each and laid them out without sticking the self-adhesive backs to get photographs. I wanted to make sure her class will have all the ornaments to make. Aren't they adorable? They are perfect for a class. They are individually packaged and all the pieces are self-adhesive.



Hazel fell in love with painting ceramic objects when we got the Paint Your Own Pumpkin Banks this fall. She really wanted these DIY Ceramic Ornaments to paint for gifts for teachers and family members. They are fun and easy for her to do. I helped her paint a couple so far, but she still has many to do!! The nice thing is that the back are white so you could write on them and use them as gift tags. They are sold by the dozen with two of each ornament.



Did you see our doll Christmas tree yet? I fell in love with these Christmas Light Bracelet Kits. I knew they would be the perfect size "light bulbs" for our doll tree. Instead of making the bracelets (besides one for each of us) I strung them on a long string and put them on the doll's tree. They are the perfect size for it!!


Our final craft item for tonight is Peanuts® Color Your Own Christmas Snow Globes. Hazel is loving these. She colored one so far for herself and one to give the office manager at her school who loves Snoopy!


Aren't they fun? I love how they turned out. I can't wait to see what she does with the other four. Six come in a package.

I also got a few stocking stuffers to review. Oriental Trading is a great place to get them!


Hazel and Steve love puzzles. I figured these Plastic Puzzle Balls will be perfect surprises in their stockings. They are inexpensive and thus a bit cheaply made, but I imagine they will still enjoy them!


Now Hazel loves her Extreme Dot to Dot book that I got for her earlier this year. So I got her this great Extreme Dot to Dot US History book. I know she is going to love it and it will give her something to do in the car while we travel Christmas day to my parents. I love that the pictures relate to US history including parts that she is studying this year!



 

Sharing Saturday 17-44

It is time again for Sharing Saturday! This is a link party to share all of your child-oriented crafts, crafts made for kids, activities and lessons as well as your parenting and/or teaching posts. So glad you joined us!!

On Sunday night we also host Crafty Weekends for all your crafts (done by any age), patterns, and craft product reviews! It is the perfect place to share your creative side!! And for all of your cultural posts come share them at the monthly Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop.

Dollar Tree Christmas Crafts including Cheap Doll Finds -- a Crafty Weekends Post and Link Party

Disclosure: I am receiving a small stipend for writing this post and will receive a small percentage from any purchases made from the Dollar Tree links. All opinions are my own!

I know Halloween is coming fast and once it has come the holiday season has begun. I love to focus on Christmas since it is one of my favorite holidays. So yes, I am sharing some Christmas crafts and items. The best part is the supplies are from Dollar Tree where everything is $1!!  And like most stores, they already have Christmas items out!!

Stitching with Jane Foster - a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: Quarto Knows sent me this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

I took the past week off from my job except working one shift to teach a class. I spent the week organizing my craft room. I am still working on it. Therefore I did not do much crafting this week except trying again on my pine cone wreath. I wrapped the wreath frame in brown paper I got in a package. So far the pine cones are staying in place this time!

Today I am sharing with you a fun craft book for kids that will help them work on stitching skills. It is Stitching with Jane Foster by Jane Foster.