Written by contributor Melissa Allen of Green Owl Art

I am a little bit addicted to holiday crafts, food, celebrations, decorations and all else that goes along with each and every special holiday. Some traditions I have done since I was a child and I continue to enjoy these special traditions with my own children and some we have created as a family. Either way with each celebration that comes there is excitement in the air and wonderful new memories made filled with much laughter and love.

One struggle I have as a parent is continuing certain traditions, but also sticking to my healthy natural parenting ways. The first year (as a parent) I came head to head with a paper box filled with neon colors to turn my eggs ever so pretty with the kids, I cringed at the thought of the ingredients. I knew there must be a way to continue this fun tradition that I so fondly remember as a child, but do so in an organic way. I found all sorts of recipes from boiling onion skin to pureeing spinach…yes doable, but for a single 23 year-old who probably really doesn’t care to dye eggs at all! For me, tired stay-at-home mama of a two-year old wild child and a five-year old who must be involved in each and every step of a craft….I knew there had to be a more simpler way. So, I spent an afternoon experimenting.

After trying a few different staining type foods I discovered that coffee, beets and turmeric were the easiest way to color eggs without a lot of extra work.

Materials:

Vinegar

Brewed Coffee

Can of Beets

Turmeric

mugs

hard boiled eggs

hot water

Instructions:

Coffee- Add a cup of hot brewed coffee to a mug along with 1 tbs. of vinegar. Add a hard-boiled egg and let sit for 10 minutes or longer depending on the desired color.

Beets- Strain the juice from a can of beets into a mug. Heat the juice in the microwave for one minute. Add 1 tbs. of vinegar and drop your egg into the mug. Same as above, the longer you leave it the darker it gets.

Turmeric- Add 1 tbs. of turmeric and 1 cup of hot water to a mug. Mix well and drop an egg into the mug. Check on color with time. This one took the longest for us. I took the egg out after about 15 minutes.

I loved the colors we eventually got. They are so natural and organic. I think it’s what our expectations should become. It may not be neon pink, but I think I like them better and if this is what my children know, this is what they will love and be excited and happy to see. Lastly, I must say because Jen asked…..they did not taste like beet, coffee or turmeric flavored eggs! Thankfully!

For more Easter crafts from Melissa, head on over to Green Owl Art.

Written by contributor Melissa Allen of Green Owl Art

I love decorating my home for the holidays—not only with my children, but with things that they have made. A bonus for me is when it’s something other than macaroni art (not that I don’t love every single piece of painted pasta that my children have given me!) But, it is nice when I have a little change of pace with the kids holiday decor items.

Last year we made a Thanksgiving banner with the same intentions. Making beautiful holiday decor together is my kind of way to celebrate! This year, by simply toning down some of the color on a basic letter block set we made a set of decorative blocks for our mantel that can be used all year; for each holiday, birthday and even just to leave each other “love” notes on an ordinary day.

Thanksgiving Craft: Turn toy blocks into Thanksgiving decor

Having letter blocks around your home is a great way to bring literacy into your house and around your children in an easy no stress kind of way. Allowing your young children to start forming words and becoming familiar with new letters in a fun way is a gift.

Materials

letter blocks
ink pad

Instructions

1. Stamp both sides of each block into the ink. Depending on the color, some blocks made need a couple coats of the ink.

2. The tricky part with this is that the blocks need to dry for 1-2 days. The ink is pretty wet and does not absorb into the block, so it takes awhile to dry.

3. You now have a set of message blocks! Decorate for each holiday, wish luck to a nervous new 1st grader or just say I love you. These blocks can be fun and special to the entire family.

For more holiday crafts from Melissa, head on over to Green Owl Art.

Thanksgiving Craft Ideas

Felt Native American Headband: Dress up is a daily event in our house–we have the princess dresses, the pirate swords, and the cowboy hats. I always like to throw new characters into the mix and listen as the kids improvise their new roles. This felt headband is fun to make and definitely one of my personal favorites.

Pilgrim Bonnet: This easy craft is a fun way for your little ones to feel like they’re a part of the Thanksgiving story. Our four-year-old, Jackson, helped make this hat for his three-year-old sister.  They both got a kick out of it and cracked up when they looked in the mirror!

Thanksgiving Jar: Thanksgiving is a day to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude. Sounds so easy, but as I am running through the aisles of the grocery store grabbing potatoes, cranberry sauce, and a turkey, it can get a little stressful and intense. I want to make sure my kids understand this is a day of gratitude as we pack around the dining room table and devour a delicious meal. This can be a tricky concept for kids. So to help my little ones, we created a Thanksgiving Jar.

Leaf-shaped crayons: We love making new crayons out of old broken pieces. We made heart-shaped crayons last Valentine’s Day and got so many compliments. So this fall we decided to buy some fall baking molds and make these leaf- and pumpkin-shaped crayons. These would be cute as part of the kids table setting for Thanksgiving day.

Toilet Paper Roll Owls: For this craft, we used toilet paper rolls and various scraps of paper to make owls. The kids had a hoot decorating the owls however they liked. At first I was a little nervous they wouldn’t be seen as owls to anyone but our family, but once we put on some googly eyes and orange beaks, each creatures’ owl-ness was unmistakable. And I’ll even go so far as saying they are really cute…(especially when you consider they are made from trash).

These cute little soap bar mummies are right up my alley! I am not much for a spooky halloween— I like cute things and googly eyes are a sure winner in my book. These cute little mummies are the perfect craft for preschoolers—  simple to make and they look great. It’s amazing how many emotions some googly eyes can convey! To see Jen’s tutorial, head on over to Kiwi Crate. 

My fascination with anatomy started when my husband and I were dating in college and took a life drawing class together. Now with kids in the picture, we try share our passions with them— and art and anatomy are definitly in the mix. This simple craft really teaches kids a lot about what lies underneath our skin. It helps them understand what we are all made of and is actually really cool to make. So what I really am trying to say is: You should do it.

I shared this craft idea with Kiwi Crate, a website that Family Sponge regularly collaborates with. We hope that you check them out and see my step-by-step tutorial for making a Q-Tip skeleton. 

Written by contributor Melissa Allen of Green Owl Art

Making Halloween costumes is something I love to do. I can create unique and special attire for my children to wear Halloween night and it teaches them to be creative and resourceful (and that is priceless in my book). I was taught to make a tutu as a child and it has stuck with me my entire life. I hope to be passing along this treasure of a lesson to my kids this Halloween and each day that I set a positive creative example for them.  Making costumes can be much more of a challenge when you do not sew. Learning to sew is on my parenting bucket list for sure, but for now I work with what I have. This super easy tutu can be made in one evening on the couch and can be turned into so many different costumes. It is my go to costume basic and I want to show you the trick to this dress-up gem!

Make your own fairy-tale tutu

What you need:

crochet headband (you can find these in craft and fabric stores)
tulle rolls (color depends on the costume)
scissors

1. First cut your tulle double the length of where you want your tutu to fall. You need about 2-5 rolls per tutu, but this varies on how full you want the tutu to be. You can easily make a simple short length tutu with just one roll. So, I would just cut the tulle as you go.

2. Fold your headband in half and start threading the tulle strips through the bottom row of holes on the headband. Pull the tulle through and tie a knot, this should leave you with two strips of tulle each time. Continue all the way around the tutu. Once you get around you can go around again and again until you get the thickness you desire.

Once you are finished you can add embellishments like ribbon straps if you want it to be a tutu dress or a silk flower on the front with just a little hot glue.  This year I made a rainbow unicorn for my daughter and added one of those enormous furry pipe cleaners to the back for a unicorn tail. Here are some other tutu costume ideas:

Bumble Bee (yellow and black tulle)

Lady Bug (red and black tulle)

Witch (Abby the witch pictured above, lots of purple and black)

Rainbow (Emma pictured above as a rainbow)

Sunshine (shades of yellow and orange tulle)

You get the idea. Along with a few accessories this easy DIY costume as so many possibilities and I can’t tell you how amazing it looks out there stealing the trick or treating show! Now go get your tulle on! And be sure to share your pics with us!

Happy Halloween!

For more Halloween fun from Melissa, head on over to Green Owl Art.

Make an eco-friendly witch’s broomstick with this fun Halloween favor bag. All you need to make a broomstick are two lunch-sized paper bags, string, and a stick (or tree branch).

This craft will inspire some creative flying imagination play. And if you are hosting a Halloween-themed party, this makes the perfect party favor bag. Stuff the broom with your favorite treats– we think some homemade popcorn would be a huge hit!

For a step-by-step tutorial, head on over to Kiwi Crate where we have tons of fun sharing our fun recycled arts and crafts projects!

Give your child free reign to draw ghost faces on reclaimed eggshells with permanent marker. I love how my daughter gave each ghost face their own unique facial features. This is the perfect Halloween decoration for your home or to hang up in a classroom. Check out how we used dental floss as our string to create this fun eggshell ghost mobile. Lots of spooky fun!

For the step by step tutorial, head on over to Kiwi Crate where we guest posted today.

This is hands-down my favorite Halloween craft we have done this year.  (And we have done quite a few now that we are collaborating with Kiwi Crate!) We took an old stained shirt from my son and cut it into strips. Then we wrapped it around a wire frame that we made from outdoor garden wire. That’s its! Simple, fun and interactive. I love moving the bendable mummy around the house and bending him into new positions— it brings back the days of Gumby.

For a step by step tutorial, head on over to Kiwi Crate‘s Two-Ingredient Tuesday post.