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Got any empty glass jars? Get creative and find ways to reuse them!

1. Beach in a jar - This is a fun project for kids who have visited the beach recently and gathered seashells. We just went to Florida and YES we brought home seashells and authentic Florida sand. Simply put some sand in the bottom of the jar (colored play sand works great for this) and add the seashells. A larger shell can be glued to the lid for a finishing touch. Letting the kids paint the shells first is another fun way to add some color.

2. Lantern or candleholder - This is a good project for a glass jar of any size. The kids can use glass paint to create a stained glass look. Use the candle for dining outdoors in the evening…add a citronella candle and you have a bug deterrent too.

3. Use glass jars as paint containers. Just fill with a little paint and away you go. They last longer than plastic, they don’t stain, and since you are reusing something you already have, they are practical too.

4. Flower vase - Glass jars make charming vases. You can give them a layer of paint or a ribbon if desired. Then have your kids pick some wildflowers and you have a lovely arrangement.

5. Snack jars! I like to keep nuts, raisins, shredded coconut etc. glass jars when I can. They stay fresh and they aren’t in close to proximity to plastic.

6. Bank - Jars make great banks. Simply cut a slot in the lid to put change in, and let your child decorate the outside as he or she chooses.

7. An ispy jar - Fill the jar with rice and a few secret objects like a coin, a paperclip, a button, a bead, a small toy, dice, etc and have kids see if they can find all the treasures. Of course make sure to keep and eye on young ones when doing this.

8. Jack-o-lantern jar - This is a great Halloween project. Cut shapes for the eyes, nose and mouth out of masking tape, and place them on the jar. Paint with orange paint, and remove tape when dry. Add a candle or small light to make it glow.

9. Candy jar - This can be decorated any way your child likes. Fill it with candy or other favorite snacks and give it as a gift, or keep it on the coffee table for guests to enjoy.

10. Planter - Put pebbles in the bottom of a small jar, then fill with potting soil. Plant herb or flower seeds, and put in the windowsill.

Got any more ideas? Comment and let me know!

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One of the MOST important things I want to do for my kids is to create opportunities for them to to use their imagination and ingenuity to “create”. Albert Einstein once said that “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”

I fully agree with his statement. I have accomplished so much in life because I actively nurtured creativity in life and in business. When I worked in marketing there was nothing that served me better….my job was to imagine a company brand, marketing materials, a PR campaign, collaterals, and then create what I saw in my mind. I still have my portfolio with all of my concepts and designs. I knew I wanted my children to feel the same empowerment that I did from being able to visualize something and then make it a reality.

Our home by design is a haven for creativity and artistry. We have paints, soy and beeswax crayons, sketching pencils and instruction books, stencils, beads, clay, play dough, beeswax, sewing supplies, costumes and face paints, henna, decoupage materials, cross stitch and knitting supplies…we are always adding to our “creation station”.

Yesterday I read a book that really resonated with me. I couldn’t put it down! It is The Creative Family - How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections by Amanda Blake Soule. It is full of advice on how to easily encourage a creative atmosphere and it has many simple projects for the whole family to do. It also gives many ideas for inspiration. I loved her ideas to use kids artwork to make thank you cards and Christmas cards, I loved her idea to use beat up vintage children’s books for art projects, and I loved her ideas for organizing everything. I will be making our own inspiration wire like she shows in the book, which is filled with beautiful color photos of her home and her family’s projects. My favorite tip was hands down the one where she suggested taking shirts with paint/marker/food stains and dying them. I hadn’t thought of that! There is also a chapter devoted to being resourceful and not wasteful. It has many planet friendly ideas.

One tip that I fully endorse it to buy quality art supplies for your kids…not the cheap stuff you get at big box stores. Yes, it does cost more but their creations are worth it. After all, we don’t like using low quality tools when we have a job to do. That is one reason I like soy crayons so much…they color smoothly and evenly unlike chunky, splotchy petroleum crayons. Quality watercolors are steadfast and won’t fade like the little Crayola sets you can buy. A good wooden handle, animal hair paint brush will last for a long time as opposed to a cheap plastic one. A good place to look for cheap but high quality materials is at yard sales and estate sales. I know I am looking for children’s desks this summer. Even if they are in bad condition I can paint them and give them a makeover.

Among the projects outlined in the book…a pencil roll, felt blocks, a pair of pants from an old T-shirt, freezer paper stenciling, embroidering your children’s art on clothes and pillows, making memory books, and making bedtime bags….plus much more.

I think it would be hard for anyone to read this book and NOT be inspired by it. I know I will be referring to my copy for a long time to come.

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I found a new eco company that I love a few weeks back. In fact I think it only took me 5.0 seconds to click the buy now button after I landed my on Stubby Pencil Studio. Not only do their products rock..the prices rock even harder.

One of my favorite product offerings are the 100% recycled greeting cards and invitations called Color ‘n Kids™. Not only are they eco friendly they allow for kids to call upon their inner artist as they can color the cards and personalize them. I HATE sending cards but sometimes you just have to. Now when my relatives send the kids some gifts we have some cards on hand to color and send. And what does Stubby Pencil Studio have for your kids to color with? How about their eco friendly colored pencils or their soy crayons? We have both and they are much better for artwork than icky petroleum based products that use unsustainable materials.

I am so energized by companies that do their part to make kid friendly products that are earth friendly too. The owner Kate Rosenthal, who is super nice BTW, started the company after she realized there was a need for eco-friendly, do-it-yourself stationery products for young children. I am glad she did see the need, her store is awesome.

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Tomorrow I officially withdraw my son from public school and our homeschool journey begins…sort of. I have many activities and fun things planned for the summer that will be highly educational but we aren’t calling it “school”. One important facet of this will be crafting and creating but I admit we can get carried away consuming supplies so I want to emphasize recycled crafts and projects.

Many times parents marvel at the items children will choose to play with for amusement. From pots and pans to empty boxes children have been known to select these creative toy choices over the slicker mass produced and marketed toys costing many times more. I almost never have to recycle boxes because my son scoops them up and uses them in his art projects before I can blink.

In this age of eco-friendly living, it’s perhaps time for more parents to engage children in the joy and spontaneity of crafting and playing with eco-friendly toys. Eco-friendly toys are ideally made of recyclable or reusable material and should not contain any toxic substances.

Here are some ideas for eco-friendly toys/projects you can create.

The Big-Empty-Box-Racing-Car-Track

Small children love their little match box cars and other similar sized mini vehicles that they can push around the house. So why not recycle the available boxes at home and turn it into a racing track!

First start collecting those boxes. The next time you purchase a big item that comes encased in a big box – hold onto it! When the creative mood strikes you, unfold the carton box and pull out your markers. You and your child can then decorate the sides of the box with roadway lines and even other cars for more interest and fun. Then flatten your artwork out on the floor and rev up your engines!

Smaller boxes can be used to make small houses and decorated with paint, scrap paper, and popcycle sticks. Toilet paper rolls can be used to make turrets on a castle. When you have enough houses you can have a small town.

Organizing Can be Fun

It doesn’t take long to have an empty cereal box in a house with kids. Take that empty cereal box and ask your kids to turn them into magazine organizers. Tell your kids this is their opportunity to design some neat pieces for their room. They can then store their favorite books or magazines in a box that reflects their personality. Use wrapping paper or recycled homework to cover your cereal boxes.

Old Objects Can Make New Treasures

Do you have any old hardback books you plan to donate? Why not cut a section out of the middle to house secret treasures? It is something kids will cherish for a long time.

Old clothespins can be made into dolls with a bit of scrap fabric for clothes, some yarn for hair, a marker for the face, and some glue.

Make a kite with sticks, string, paper, and streamer.

A book I highly recommend is D.I.Y Kids. It encourages the design it yourself spirit of homemade arts and crafts. This important for instilling creativity and discouraging consumerism. The book is FULL of design concepts and artwork created by real children. It teaches them about binding their own books, sewing their own clothes, making dolls and toys, and many other cool projects. Each project has step by step instructions. Each project is also rated by difficulty, time, mess, and cost. Most of the projects are aimed at children ages 7-12. This book was a big inspiration to my two oldest kids.

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My oldest was on Spring break this last week and we did a variety of “crafty” projects. One of my favorites was our painting piggy banks project.

We ended up buying two ceramic piggy banks at Kroger. My kids wanted some sort of “treat” which is code for toy. I told them my stipulation was that they pick something that will last, that isn’t plastic, and that does not have excessive packaging. Mommy is MEAN huh? They picked out two ceramic piggy banks (unpainted) much to my delight and when we got home they proceeded to spend the next two hours busily painting and naming their pigs.

Of course after their piggy banks were painted they needed mom to contribute to their bank funds. I think they have developed and eagle eye for stray change in the couch cushions and in the laundry room.

The piggy banks only cost $5.50 each too, which is a real bargain. The same ones are $8.87 on Amazon. I also saw there is a Melissa and Doug paintable piggy bank too…and it is only $3.99…just in case your looking for a fun unplugged project for the kids.

Do you have an unplugged project you want to share on this blog? Send me your story and pictures!

Technorati Tags: unplugged, crafts, piggy bank, painting, project

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Today is a holiday and my oldest is home from school. It also happens to be a not-so-nice weather day. It rained all weekend so the yard is muddy and yuck and today the temperature dropped 30 degrees and snow is falling. After a whole weekend of building with blocks and tinker toys my oldest especially starting using that phrase that I think all moms detest, “I’m bored”.

First he used this phrase on his Dad…who then suggested they bring up a Playstation from the basement (sitting unused in a box) and put it in his room. His response was priceless, “Daaaad…I don’t play video games…what am I going to do with a Playstation?”

He realizes Dad is no help at all so he turns to me and says, “I sure do wish I had some clay so I can make some animals and then paint them.” My son is an artist for sure. Some nearly 8 year old boys would be obsessed with video games by now but not him. His room is a mini art studio with a painting easel, a whiteboard, a chalkboard, a crafts table, etc. And much of his artwork incorparates recycled garbage. He doesn’t get it from me…I can’t draw or paint to save my life. His Dad is a pretty good artist though and his grandmother  (my mom) is a great painter…we have her oil paintings and watercolors all over the house.

Silly moms first response was to say okay…just let me shower and we’ll go buy some clay. “Moooom…why don’t you just use one of your play dough recipes.” Doh!  So we made a simple salt/flour dough so that it would dry fast and create a grainy surface for paint to adhere to after it dries. He made a Shamu and my daughter made something unrecognizable, LOL.

Next up we played bean bag toss with homemade bean bags made from scrap fabric and buckwheat. The goal was to get them in a laundry basket. That quickly adapted into basement soccer with the laundry basket serving as a soccer goal.

If we need any other ideas I might have to consult my Unplugged Play book. I just love rainy days don’t you?

Technorati Tags: kids, rainy day, unplugged play, activities, crafts

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TGIF! Have an awesome weekend everyone! I just got my taxes done so I know I for one have a huge weight off my shoulders and I am ready for some fun.

All last week I kept thinking I need some sort of mail/bills organizer to hang on the wall. I assumed that plastic is what I would find along these lines but yet I couldn’t find anything that was like what I envisioned. Then I came across this blog post with instructions for making one out of a linen dishcloth…which I have dozens of. Wow! This is perfect…I will be making this very soon hopefully.

I heard through the grapevine among homeschoolers here in Ohio that many local zoos and museums are offering free admission to all on President’s Day. I have heard that several states do this so you may want to check in your area to see if you can attend a local zoo or museum for free that day. I tell ya…the homeschoolers know how to scope out the deals…they are a wealth of knowledge…even if you don’t homeschool.

Plan on doing any toy shopping? I found a great article at Generation Orange with 10 Things to Look for When Toy Shopping. I like number 7:

Get your kids moving! Toys that promote jumping, running, skipping or any other physical activities are great to burn calories and encourage healthy living.

Another cool crafty project I found was this one about hacking your swiffer. I don’t have a swiffer but if I did this would be pretty nifty. They show how to use rags, old T-shirts, even a custom knitted or crocheted swiffer cover. Cool!

And this is pretty cool too. Upcycling your plastic water bottles. It shows how to take plastic bottles and upcycle them into something more useful than just a single-use water bottle. They have a slick adapter to turn just about any PET plastic bottle into a plant watering can.

And last…I know I have quite a few non-vaccinating parents that read this blog and if you are anything like me people try to guilt you by telling you that vaccines saved millions of lives and we would be lost with out them…yada, yada, yada. In debating this very issue I came across a great set of graphs that show concretely what several anti-vaccine scientists and experts have been saying….diseases were on the decline on their own due to increased hygiene and an adequate diet. Don’t fall for the scare tactics…they don’t hold any weight.

Well, that’s all folks…have a great weekend!

Technorati Tags: crafts, recycling, toys, homeschoolers, free zoo admission

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