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Showing posts sorted by relevance for query cards. Sort by date Show all posts

Global Kids: 50+ Games, Crafts, Recipes & More from Around the World -- Multicultural Children's Book Day Review

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

For today's multicultural review I am sharing a neat set of cards to teach kids about different cultures of the world. It is Global Kids: 50+ Games, Crafts, Recipes & More from Around the World by Homa Sabet Tavangar and Sophie Fatus.  

Kid Made Mother's Day Card Ideas with Round-Up


Can you believe Mother's Day is only a week away? This year with remote learning going on the kids are not getting help from their teachers to make cards and gifts. That means it falls on the kids and the dads. Steve brought up the idea of shopping for Mother's Day cards with Hazel and whether it was safe. I reminded him that most of our stores here are closed and will be until after Mother's Day. I suggested they go to our local Walgreen's but when push came to shove Hazel did not want to go out. She has been home since this has started except for our walks when it is nice out, a trip to her school for her yearbook picture, a trip to a good friend's house who is also social distancing but we needed to exchange things with one another and trips to her grandmother's house with Steve. I went to Walgreen's and picked up a couple of cards for her grandmothers. She was afraid one of them would not like getting a homemade card. I found it hard to believe but figured it was worth getting cards for her to give them. She can make one for me. Then I got to thinking of the dads out there who haven't had to deal with this before. I got the idea of sharing some when I got an email from Crayola featuring a flamingo card. I figured we had to try it since Hazel LOVES flamingos

Hokusai Prints Note Cards -- Product Review

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

Tell me how you feel when you get a surprise note from a friend or family member in the mail--you know a piece of mail that is not a bill or advertisement or magazine or invitation. How often do you receive a note from family or friends in the mail? I'm guessing you probably only get them for your birthday and the holidays. Am I right? With all of our technology we seem to have lost the art of sending a letter or note. It is funny because receiving those notes make us feel so special and loved yet we don't really send them anymore. It is too bad. Personally I love having beautiful note cards on hand in case the occasion to send one arises or the spirit moves me to send a smile to a loved one. How about you? I also have been known to frame some note cards and use them as home décor. I started this in college and discovered it to be a less expensive way to have my favorite artists hanging in my own space. 

Today I am sharing with you Hokusai Prints Note Cards. These beautiful cards feature a print of one of Katsushika Hokusai. Hokusai was a Japanese artist in the late 1700s and early 1800s. He is known for his woodblock prints and especially his wave one. He is also most known for his views of Fuji prints. With this set of note cards you get to see twelve of his prints. Aren't they beautiful?

With each one you send you not only send a little love and news but you also send this beautiful piece of art and culture. On the back of each card is the name of the print as well as the series it is from and of course the artist and publisher information.

The cards themselves are a wonderful quality. They are a good thickness and the outside is that smooth gloss feel and the inside is the regular note card feel. They also come with white envelopes. My family often sends a note card now instead of a birthday card. I can see my mom and sisters loving these cards this coming year for their birthdays. I hope you will check them out and send some love this year too!! Or get a pack, a nice pen and some stamps and you have a great holiday gift! To see a bit more of what I have shared about Hokusai check out this post

Imagination Builders -- Back to School

Disclosure: I was sent these products free of charge. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As always I am providing links to the book for your convenience.

Have your children started school yet? Almost everyone I know has or will this week.  I have decided to share products that will help everyone who homeschools or just supplements their kids' schools with learning at home. Today's focus is building imagination. For reasons why building one's imagination is important you can check out this article in the Wall Street Journal and this article at Huffington Post. The first item I am sharing is a new book by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston called A Child of Books
http://candlewick.com/cat.asp?browse=Title&mode=book&isbn=0763690775&pix=y

My Home Filled with Love -- a Love Letter to Parents in a Picture Book with Gift/Card Craft Round-Up

 

Disclosure: I was sent a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I am working with The Children's Book Review and Tabletop Teaching LLC as part of the Blog Tour. I will receive a small stipend for this review.

Today we are sharing a fun new book that reads as a love letter to parents. It is meant to show kids and parents what a nurturing home looks like, however to me it is a love letter to the girls parents. The book is My Home Filled with Love by Desiree Blanchard and illustrated by Hayley Moore. This post includes a giveaway as well as a round-up of gifts and cards kids can make for their parents!

Pop-Up Cards -- Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: I was sent this book to review free of charge from Quarto Books USA. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. I am including links to each item for your convenience but do not receive anything if you purchase them.

Have you seen the pop-up cards lately in the stores? They seem to be the latest rage. Of course for eight plus dollars they are also very expensive. Today's book will help you make your own fun pop-up cards for any occasion!!  The book is Pop-Up Cards by Emily Gregory. 


Tie-Dye Paper Products Review with DIY Gift Bag Tutorial

 

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

Tie-dye can be so fun and always seems to come back on trend. We have had fun making our own tie-dye shirts and more. Today we are going to share note cards and gift wrap that both have tie-dye designs. Let's start with the Tie-Dye Note Cards

Summertime: The Coloring Book of Cards and Enevleopes

Disclosure: Candlewick Press gave me a copy of this book free of charge to review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.



Create-Your-Own Handmade Christmas Cards -- a Relaxing Saturday Review

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

Ok, I know it is way too early to talk Christmas, however if you are a crafter you probably are already thinking about it. So today's review is a coloring book to make your own Christmas cards. And if you want to make them all to send out, you need to get started soon. Now I should mention that the past couple of years we have had a bit of Christmas in July since we have visited Santa's Village each July. Here is a picture I think might go on our photo card this year. What do you think?

Blue & White Crafts with Japanese Influence and More!

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these products in exchange for honest reviews. All opinions are my own.

I have always loved blue and white crafts. The colors just contrast and make beautiful images. Today I am going to share some blue and white inspired crafts and most have a Japanese influence to them. Let's start with the one that is not a craft but has pictures of Japanese Shibori on them. They are Japanese Shibori Note Cards

Doll Sized Starbucks!


The other day Hazel and I were at Starbucks (a favorite place to go of ours) and we noticed the adorable cup ornaments they have for sale. We realized they were the perfect size for the 18-inch dolls. Hazel of course had to have one, so we bought one. My plan had been to wait until after Christmas and buy her some more on clearance, however when we were at our normal store one of the managers informed me the tend to sell out quickly, so I should buy them now. We did. Hazel was so excited to play Starbucks with her dolls. 



Holiday Cards -- Holiday Preparations

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. Please consider making a purchase and supporting Crafty Moms Share. Since I do not accept advertising, this is my only income from this blog. Click pictures for links.  I was compensated for this post.

 "On the second day of November, my stress free holiday preparations had me order my holiday cards." Now I am one of those people who send their cards out right after Thanksgiving. I have friends who always comment on how mine is the first they receive. How do I do this? I order them early!! In fact I already have mine. We decided to use a picture from our trip to Santa's Village this past summer. In fact I had Hazel pose for the picture knowing it would be our Christmas card photo. Then Steve got a reward from his company where we could choose a prize and one of the things we picked was the gift card to buy our cards from Shutterfly.

DIY Christmas Cards & Gift Tags

Disclosure: My Memories gave me a copy of this product free of charge. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation.

Are you getting ready for Christmas? Have you mailed your cards yet? Wrapped the gifts? There always seems to be so much to do this time of year. I always look for ways to stop and enjoy the season. In our house this often includes some crafts. This year we made our own Christmas cards. We always do a photo card and we still did, but we added our own personal touch with a simple craft. I had bought the tree punch at work as well as a pack of spruce flat cards. We punched them and decorated them with gel pens, liquid pearls and washi tape and then glued them on to the cards and added a sticker star. Some we used plan cardstock and covered in the washi tape and then punched.



Simple Valentines--Made by a Preschooler


Well for the past few days, Hazel has had a low-grade fever. We have spent several days now cooped up inside cancelling all of our plans. On Monday night, I got an email from her teacher with the class Valentine guidelines. I figured it was the perfect thing to do while she was sick. We pulled out some supplies that she could use. The guidelines are simple, no computer generated images, characters, glitter or candy, child-made and since they cannot read and write yet, we were to use their class symbols for names. Hazel is the lady bug. Luckily I had stamps for most of the symbols. I gave her wooden beads, doilies, felt hearts and flowers, paper flowers, yarn and ribbon plus a variety of rubber stamps and paper punches. And of course a box of crayons. Here are a few she came up with above. The pink cards are for the girls and the brown cards are for the boys. She started with the girls and teachers and then realized with the brown cards that she could fold them to have more surfaces to decorate. I think all the boys' ended up with a giant felt flower on the front now.

Then today we started making some for family members. I gave her heart cards this time and gave her the idea of gluing on tissue paper squares. Inside she rubber stamped "Happy Valentine's Day" and an "I love you" stamp.
I know I bought these double heart cards for a dollar at one of the craft stores. I love picking up cards we can use for our crafts to mail people. She also made a few birthday cards. One belated for my goddaughter and then one for her grandmother and her daddy since their birthdays are coming up. She mostly just rubber stamped them.

One last thing we did today was make a paper chain. She brought home the supplies from Sunday School, but they ran out of time to finish them. She had not made a paper chain before, so she was very interested. We worked on sequencing while doing it. And she is modeling her newest Mommy-made pajamas. She loves them since they have a princess on them (and I have to say I love them because it is a nice thick flannel)! She also wanted to be funny by wearing the paper chain on her head. We eventually hung it on her seasonal tree.

How are your Valentines coming?

The Coloring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Christmas -- a Relaxing Friday


Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book free of charge to review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Now in case you do not want to send the photo holiday cards that I shared with you the other day and want something more homemade, today's Relaxing Friday book is for you. The book is The Coloring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Christmas by Rebecca Jones. 

Books for Valentine's Day

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of these books in exchange for honest reviews. All opinions are my own.

The end of January is coming near. Lunar new year and the Read Your World Celebration are getting closer but so is Valentine's Day. Today we are going to focus on Valentine's Day and love. I am sharing two books for younger children that are perfect to get ready for Valentine's Day or in a loving mood and at the end of the post is a roundup of ideas for kids to make valentines and children's love songs to sing. One is a musical board book. It has buttons to push to hear the songs. It is Little Love Songs by Sandra Boynton. It is recommended for babies through age 5.

Making Learning Fun for Homeschool or the Summer Slide

Disclosure: I was sent these items to review free of charge from MindWare. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. Note: Many of these products are no longer available. I am providing links for the ones that are or something similar. 

Now I have mentioned that I have not been posting since so much of my time has been going to homeschooling Hazel for the last six weeks of school. Her school year officially ends this Friday (at least at her old school). However, the items I am sharing today we will continue to use all summer because they make learning fun!! Now we needed to continue with her spelling which we had from her school, her math workbook (which is really boring) to do money and fractions plus keep her addition and subtraction facts fresh, then in science plants and space and in social studies continue with the states which has been an ongoing activity and finish up Massachusetts history. Well, MindWare came to my rescue to do some of these things and make them fun!! In fact Hazel wants to continue using these resources during the summer as well!! To start with learning about money we got the game Loose Change. Loose Change is no longer available. Amazon has some money counting games.


In this game the players take turns to add a card to get it to equal $1. If you can get it exactly to $1 you will get a point but if you have to go over you will lose a point. Once $1 is reached (or passed) you start again. Throughout the game the players are announcing the total in play.

The cards have nickels, dimes, quarters and half dollar coins as well as special cards that have multiple coin amounts. This game reinforces the coins as well as practice in adding money and finding ways to equal $1. The game could easily be changed to use subtracting or even going to higher amounts. And the best part is Hazel and I like playing it!!




To keep up with her addition I got her Double Addition Decoders: Addition by Evelyn B. Christensen. (This is no longer available.) There are three types of decoder puzzles. Each has double digit addition problems to do and then there is an activity to do with your answers. Each activity allows for learning or practicing more math skills as well. The first helps learn about directions. With the answers there are instructions to move the spaces that correspond to the letters above the tens place and ones place (N, S, E, or W).


There are also ones with pictures. The user does the problems and then finds the square that corresponds with the answer and colors the square the color written above the problem. This is a good pre-Cartesian plane activity.


The third type is to follow the row or column until you find your new answer.


Hazel likes this last one a lot. She liked that you could check your answers by finding it in your row or column.




Our final math item is Grid Perplexors: Level A. (They have some Perplexors still available here.) These are beginning logic puzzles. I LOVE logic puzzles and thought Hazel might like them as well. This book is written for ages 8 to 9 which is perfect for Hazel. She loves them as well and has done quite a few on her own. I did the first one with her, but she has done seven more by herself and often just does them without being asked. She just likes them like I do. And personally, I think it is great to start kids learning about deductive reasoning at a young age. It will get them far to understand it.


Now we will look at some of the fun activities to learn more about the states. The first thing to share is actually a bit of math (counting) as well as learning about the states. It is Extreme Dot-to-Dot: Around the USA.

Hazel former second grade teacher gave the kids these puzzles all the time. Hazel asked for this one. She loves doing them and of course counting over 1000 for some of the puzzles helps her learn her higher numbers. Since we just went to the Statue of Liberty during her April vacation we started with that dot-to-dot.


I had her start on the USS Constitution since it is part of the Freedom Trail in Boston which we started visiting recently, but haven't gotten to the USS Constitution (which is drydocked until 2018). She unfortunately hasn't finished it yet, so I took a picture of some of the solutions so you could see the completed puzzles.


You can see there are puzzles from all over the country. This is perfect for studying the states and the special places in them. Plus it helps them with their visual skills and counting skills.



To learn about the states, it is also important to learn where the states are. To help with this geography lesson we got Color Chart: United States. (Note: This product is no longer available, but you can see similar ones here.) It is a large map (40" by 28") of the United States to color in. It comes with markers and a picture hunt.


Hazel colored in a few of her favorite states as well as the ones we have been focusing on. Each state has pictures to show different things about the state from animals, nature and more! Once we are done coloring them in she is going to hang it in her bedroom!




Another fun way to learn about where the states are and something special in each state is DestiNation USA. (This amazing game is no longer available.) This gameboard is a map of the United States. The players have car game pieces and start on different states. The goal is to get to the special destination which is picked by a card and to visit the most states. To travel one has to be next to the state and have the right cards. We really LOVE this game and played it with one of my co-workers who also really liked it.



I had trouble getting a picture since we got so involved in the game. There are little disks for each state and before playing they have to be put on the board in the correct place. There are different driving cards to move around the board and then the destination cards which tells where the specified destination is. The game instructions say to play for five destination cards or when the 48 state disks have been collected. We often play more than five destination cards because we do not want to stop. We have never gotten all the state disks off. This is a new favorite game here and we will continue to play it. I love how it helps Hazel learn the location of the states as well as the special points of interest in each one (the destination cards). Talk about learning that is fun!! Some other great resources we have for the studying the states are these books.



 
Our final item is Extreme Mazes: Book 5. (Note: Extreme Mazes are no longer available. Amazon has these extreme maze books.) I will admit I got this one because Hazel really wanted it. She wanted this book the last time we got things from MindWare and I had gotten a different one instead. Oops!! Of course, these mazes teach problem solving, fine motor control, and visual motor skills. These are pretty extreme mazes. She however seems to love doing them!!




She has done quite a few of them but I will just share one. The details in the pictures and mazes are quite amazing. I think my eyes would go a bit batty doing them!!


This week we will be sharing many of the resources I have gotten to help with our homeschooling month and that help bring some learning to home and summertime. One project I hope to do is put together a United States postcard exchange. Would you be interested in sending 49 postcards from your state and getting one from each of the other 49 states? If you are, drop me a note and tell me what state you can do. I have Massachusetts covered!! It will be first come first served for states!!

Coloring Books -- Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party


Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books free of charge to review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Has the adult coloring book craze hit you yet? I love it and so does Hazel. However with so many options out there it is hard to know which book to chose. We have had the pleasure of reviewing several different ones (The Time Garden, The Time Chamber, some of the Magic Series, and Colour Your Day) and today we are reviewing two new ones!! The first is from Candlewick Press  and is The Coloring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Nature by Rebecca Jones.  I have to admit we LOVE this one. Instead of just coloring pages to color and relax you are coloring cards and envelopes that you can use to send a note or for a holiday. Hazel has mostly taken over this book on me.

Back-to-School--Math Resources #STEM

Disclosure: Oriental Trading sent me these products in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Are your kids back at school yet? My Facebook feed is filled with first day pictures, and it isn't quite time for the Northeast where the majority of my Facebook friends live. Hazel does not start until after Labor Day, but I know plenty who start earlier. To help those who are starting or who homeschool I thought I would use my teaching skills and review some mathematics resources for you today. Did you know that Oriental Trading has a whole curriculum section? Yes, Oriental Trading, my go-to for party and craft supplies has school curriculum! I figured I might as well use my math teaching experience to check some of this out. I focused on three areas--geometry, fractions and multiplication. Hazel is just learning her multiplication facts so I figured something to help her with that would be good. I found Learning Resources tri-FACT-a Multiplication and Division Game. (There is an addition and subtraction version as well.)

Fabulous Paper Flowers for Valentines, Home Decor, Spring Celebrations, and More!

 

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

Last spring, I used a book by Emiko Yamamoto to create paper wildflowers which I used on spring cards. Today I get to share her next book that also gives tutorials and templates to make beautiful paper flowers. The book is Fabulous Paper Flowers by Emiko Yamamoto.