Will you have a bunch of wee ones underfoot longing to “help” as you prep for Thanksgiving? Check out these quick and easy kid friendly Thanksgiving and fall crafts to keep the kids’ table entertained while you prep and catch up with your Turkey day guests. I’ve selected crafts that can be made with things you most likely already have on hand. I’ve also added a few of my own free printables from Thanksgivings past and a bonus cookie recipe for the overachievers in the group. Feel free to pin the round up as a whole from this page, but as always with round up posts head over to the original blogs to pin individual projects.
1. Fall Pumpkin Craft for Toddlers and Preschoolers
2. Thanksgiving Hand Print Craft for the Whole Family from Pounds 4 Pennies (We made this one today!)
3. Thankful Toilet Paper Roll Turkey from Staci at 7 on a Shoestring
4. Pumpkin Pie Play Dough from Giggles Galore
5. Thanksgiving Do-a-Dot Free Printables from Crystal and Co.
How do you keep little hands entertained during the holidays?
I heart Instagram. For ages I used it just to add fun filters to my phone photos but finally started using it socially a few months ago. Now I’m addicted. You can follow me on Instagram here. The big drawback of taking pictures on your phone has always been the difficulty in printing and displaying them in real life. My friend Sarah who blogs here shared a tutorial for creating Instagram magnets using the Walgreens app, and I thought it sounded like a fabulous idea. When I went to Joann’s to looks for magnet strips, I found something exciting – a whole magnetic sheet! I’d never seen one before and thought it would be perfect for this little project. I used a coupon at both Joann’s and Walgreens so the total cost of this project was only $3 for 6 magnets. If you print off your pics in a 3×3 format instead of the 4×4 using the app, you could get 12 magnets out of a sheet instead of 6. Bonus! Here’s how I did it:
Materials needed:
1 8×12 magnetic sheet (use your mobile craft store coupon)
6 4×4 Instagram prints (or 12 if get them printed 3×3)
Exacto knife or box cutter
piece of cardboard
Make it:
Get your pictures printed through the Walgreens app, or format and print yourself at home. Strip the adhesive backing off of your magnetic sheet. This is the hardest part. That backing was not trying to come off for me. Lay out your photos on the magnetic sheet. Put a piece of cardboard underneath to protect your work surface from your cutting implement. Cut them out. Done.
These make a fun and very personal gift. I gave the set of 5 to Jed for Father’s Day to take to his classroom, and saved one for our fridge at home. My goal is to make these once a month so that we have our Instagrams on display in real life and have a festive fridge.
How do you display your phone pictures?
Be sure to follow me on Instagram at Bare Feet on the Dashboard.
I love linking my ideas at these blog parties. Click the links to check them out and find crafty inspiration. If you’ve never visited a blog party, you will be blown away by the creativity shared and imaginative ideas.
Monday: CraftOManiac, Mad in Crafts, It’s So Very Cheri, Sew Chatty, The Girl Creative, Keeping It Simple, C.R.A.F.T., Boogie Board Cottage, and Sumo’s Sweet Stuff
Tuesday: Raising 4 Princesses, The Kurtz Corner, Hope Studios, Today’s Creative Blog, Coastal Charm, and New Nostalgia
Wednesday: The Trendy Treehouse, Polka Dots on Parade, Lil Luna, and The Thrifty Home
Thursday: All Things with Purpose, Somewhat Simple, The Shabby Creek Cottage, and House of Hepworths
Friday: Sugar and Spice, Kojo Designs, and The Shabby Nest
Weekends: Tatertots and Jello, Serenity Now, and Candace Creations
As the Queen of Procrastinators, I found myself searching Pinterest for Father’s Day craft ideas this week in a desperate quest to find that perfect project. I found a few great ones to share with you if you are in the same boat. It’s not too late! All of the projects below can be done at the last minute for very little money, but will still make that special Daddy feel loved. I’m still wavering but I think I’m going with the chalkboard cookie jar and some Instagram magnets. If the magnets work out well {fingers crossed} I’ll post a tutorial soon. If you choose to pin this post (and I hope you do) please use the image above, and pin the projects from their original sources. Both the photos and text below are linked to the original bloggers with permission.
Here’s a crappy image of a peck basket
from Amazon so you can see what it looked like before. I totally forgot to take before pics.
I painted the basket using Rustoleum Painter’s Touch Satin in Heritage White and a sponge brush. It took two coats to really cover the wood.
I used my glue gun to line the inside and outside with satin ribbon leftover from our wedding. Yes, we’ve been married almost 5 years. Yes, I probably over bought on wedding ribbon. Oh well. The ribbon serves two purposes. It looks super cute and covers up the rough edges and staples that hold the peck basket together.
I painted the Bear’s name onto the basket using a navy blue paint pen. I am not skilled in the handwriting department so it took a few tries and a few wipe off/repaints. I finally went with dot letters because they are very forgiving and look super cute. I highly recommend this method if you struggle with paint pen writing like I do.
The Bear loves his basket even more this year. He has carried it all over the house and loves playing with the ribbon and plastic eggs.
I’ve had a love affair going with Pinterest for a while now. After using 2 of my all time favorite pins to make my lunch today, I thought I should share them with you. If you aren’t on Pinterest yet, do it now. If you are, come follow my pins here. Leave your Pinterest name in the comments section and I’ll follow you back. If there is a pin that you absolutely love AND have actually used, please leave a link in the comments section as well, so we can all get in on that action. Check out my top five pins that I’ve actually USED successfully below. I’m not using the pictures from the owners’ posts because that feels a bit shady. The first link goes directly to the original post so you can pin from there, and the second link goes to that site’s homepage.
Let’s count ’em down.
#5 Cheap and Easy Balloon Garlands from A Girl and A Boy
I used this little trick for The Bear’s 1st birthday that I still haven’t posted about. It was in May. Hopefully I’ll get around to it before he turns 2. Basically you blow up a bunch of balloons and thread a string through the ends, then hang that string up in a garland like fashion. So cool, so cheap. Bear LOVED it. I loved that it was easy and festive and cheap.
#4 Avocado Chicken Salad from Becoming Betty
I never would have though to add avocado to my chicken salad even though I love both things with my whole heart. Homegirl is a genius. I will say it still tastes fine without the green onion and cilantro, because I had neither of those things on hand when I made it today for lunch.
#3 Giant Photo Prints for Cheap from Sugar Bee Crafts
You take a jpg of a photo to an office store and ask for an engineer print in black and white. They give you a 3×4 foot print of your photo. You pay them $3-6 and feel like a genius, take that sucker home, and mount it on the surface of your choice. I made one of these for my living room and you can see the results here. I love it and it only cost about $5. You can read Sugar Bee Craft’s second effort (mounting on plywood instead of foam board) here. This is such a great, cheap way to get a big impact.
#2 Free Printable Customized Monograms from For Chic’s Sake
Like any good southern girl, I love a monogram. For Chic’s Sake offers free printables you can customize with your colors and initials. I printed one off for our room, one for Bear’s, and will do one for Mini Bear as soon as we decide on a name. Super cute and free, you can’t beat that with a stick.
#1 Use your Kitchen Aid Mixer to Shred Chicken from Simply Healthy Family
This has absolutely changed my life, seriously. I told my mama about it, and it changed her life, too. The post isn’t even about that, it’s about making BBQ chicken sandwiches. I use this all the time. I used it today for lunch while making the aforementioned Avocado Chicken Salad. I just boil my chicken breasts and then toss them in the mixer. Genius.
I would love to hear about your favorite pins. Tell me about them in the comments section or over email.