*If you missed the Sunshine results post you can see it here*

The weather has been so nice here the past week.  I’ve had the windows open for days and it’s been marvelous.  We just sit here in the family room, or in the craft room and enjoy the breezes while we work/play.

Sometimes Abbi takes a break in her play to harass the occasional bug on the outside of the screen.  Have you been having nice weather? What have you guys been doing to enjoy it?

If you’re weather hasn’t been all that great and you’re stuck inside, this week’s theme will give you a few ideas of fun things to do with the kids inside.  Just like always the poll is in the sidebar and will be open until Friday night.  have a great week!

Craft #1 – Betty Matching Blocks - Amanda @ Simply Homemade

Craft #2 – Four-in-One Play Center - Wendy @ Craft Goodies

Craft #3 - Children’s Stationery Kit - Kimberly @ Bugaboo, Mini, Mr. & Me

I love to craft with my kids!  One thing I’ve learned is that it’s always much easier, goes much more smoothly and involves less regret on my part if everything for the craft we’re doing is right at hand.  That’s why I love making my kids portable, easily carried, compact “craft kits” of various kinds.  Do have a hard time getting your kids to write thank you notes?  Do you have family or friends that live out of town or even across the country?  Do you’re kids like COLOR and FUN??  Then my most recent “kit” will be a hit with you, too!

Using an old book which I disassembled and covered in fabric, I’ve created a Children’s Stationery Kit.  It includes everything you need to write a little note and draw some cute pictures to be sent away to pen pals of all types!  I carved the erasers on the colored pencils into little shapes and created a mini stamp pad with sponges, fabric, paint and water enclosed in an old plastic hair band box (one of the compartments holds a blank sponge with water to clean the stamps on).  The colored pencils are sharpened on the other end so you can still draw with them – and even better, they’re erasable!  I included a spot for a small pencil sharpener and an eraser, and of course a stack of cute scalloped cards and envelopes.  Everything is held in place with simple elastic bands.  I created a pocket behind the pencils to carry all of the extras – stickers, postage and of course, a list of important addresses my kids will need.

The kids will have a great time designing their own cards to send.  The stamps are carved into simple shapes that can be used for more than one thing – a circle for a sun or for the middle of a flower, a line for the rays of the sun or the stem, a teardrop for rain or the petals of a flower… There is also a leaf, heart, diamond, star, moon, smiley face, an “X” and an “O” and my child’s first initial (not shown).  When they are done drawing, writing, and stamping to their heart’s content, just use your trusty list of important addresses to fill out the envelop, add some stickers and postage and you’re all set!

I don’t know a better way to encourage writing thank you notes, staying in touch, and the ever important skill of written communication than to make it bright, colorful, fun and EASY!

Craft #4 – Doorway Puppet Theater - Angela @ The Wray Sisters

I had a hard time deciding how to approach this weeks theme. I didn’t know if I should make something for my child, or if I should get my child involved in the creation process. So I decided to do both. I made my child a doorway puppet theatre…

…and my child created the puppets. Although, I’ll admit that it took longer to make the puppets than it did to make the puppet theatre. I don’t have a child that is too into crafting or at least at an age where crafting can keep his attention for very long. It may have taken a lot of bribing in the form of letting him use as much tape as he wanted. He was pretty excited about that. So with a lot of tape and a lot of help placing the pieces on the puppets, we now have fun puppets for our fun puppet theatre. My child loves to play with the puppets. It was worth all of the effort it took to create them.

Here is a closer look at the puppet theatre. I topped the theatre with a pleated awning. I also added a colorful bunting to the top of the window.

Here is a look at the backside of the theatre. I added a pocket to hold all of the puppets. .

It is so fun to play with whether you are behind the curtain or just watching the show.

We love our new puppet theatre!