*Tutorial made by Celeste @ Celestials Creations for her win during the Scraps Only challenge*

I waited all week for a sunny day to make
this tutorial.  Alas, it doesn’t look like we’ll be having one of those
soon enough.  Hope you can see clearly enough.  Find me at Celestials Creations if you have questions.

Fish Bowl Matching Game Tutorial 

Supplies used:

16 colors of fabric scraps (about an 8 x 10 inch piece should be enough for one color)

(If you only want to make a one sided bowl, you’ll need 8 colors and about an 18 x21″ piece of one color for the inside)

1/4 yard of 60″ wide felt

18″ of 1/2″ wide bias tape

fabric glue stick

stuffing for the fish

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Every snowflake is different. Or so they say. With this fun little snowflake matching game, the outcome will will be different each time. Made with pockets and velcro, this game can be played at home or on the go.

*Project by Veronica @ Adventures of D & V for the Scrap challenge of season 15*

When I think of scraps my mind goes straight to fabric. I have a hard time throwing away fabric scraps, no matter how small they are! I know some little ones who are big fans of the game Memory (for real, they are better than I am!), and I thought what better way to use a variety of scraps than to make The Game of Memory ~ Scrap Style!

Check out these awesome Dr. Seuss Activity Blocks – way fun!!  My kids have LOVED them – all ages can find fun things to learn and do with them.

The blocks have 6 sides so there are 6 different activities:
– Word Game – using “fox in socks” arrange these blocks to create lots of fun and crazy rhyme sentences.
– Puzzle – even older kids enjoy the puzzle – it can be tricky because the blocks rotate so you have to figure which way is up.
– Look Alike - match pictures that look alike – one is odd man out.
– Color Naming – perfect for younger kids – name colors, have them find them, let them name colors – even “rainbow” is included.
–Counting Fish – one fish two fish – find the blocks with specific numbers of fish, group them in “less than” “greater than” and many other fun things can be done with this side.
–Body Parts Mix-up - head-body-feet of three “things” – match them all up, or have fun mixing them up.

I really enjoy these Activity Blocks – they are a new go-to if I need to bring something to entertain all my children, because they offer something for everyone.  This craft is thrifty and easy, so I would love to make some sets for gifts to give to family/friends and also for teacher gifts – these are perfect to have in the classroom.

*Project by Heidi @ Made by Heidi*

“Big A, Little A… what begins with A?” Remember that awesome book? Well, it was my inspiration for these little flash cards! Needless to say, I spent countless hours glued to my computer screen! but is was sooo worth it, aren’t they soooo cute? I even made a “Cat in the Hat” felt carrying case.

There is a flash card for every letter in the alphabet. The cards measure 4 3/4 inches by 3 1/4 inches. My favorite part is the awesome word collage that  I made for the back of each card. Let’s just say my kids are already addicted!

*Tutorial by Mandy @ Sugar Bee for her win during the Dr. Seuss theme*

Check out these awesome Dr. Seuss Activity Blocks – way fun!!  My kids have LOVED them – all ages can find fun things to learn and do with them.

For this project you’ll need:
-a 2x2x8 board (they’re at the back of Lowe’s – around $1.30 or something)
-mod podge
-various colors of craft paint
-optional: words cut out of cardstock or vinyl (otherwise you could just write them on with paint)
-Dr. Seuss book to cut up
-sandpaper
-colored paper

A note about the book to cut up – I scanned thrift stores and found an awesome activity book (for $.50!)- I only needed to use it – if using actual books you might need several.
Here’s the one I got (at Amazon it’s only $5):
Oh, the Things You Can Count from 1-10: Learn About Counting
Some others that I think would be good:
Did I Ever Tell You How High You Can Count?: Learn About Counting Beyond 100 (Dr. Seuss Beginner Fun Books)
Fun and Games with Counting (Dr.Seuss Flashcards)
Dr. Seuss Beginner Counting Cards
The Grinch’s Christmas Activity Book (Dr Seuss)
I’m sure there’s more, so just be on the lookout.

First, cut your long board into squares.  Note that when it says 2×2, it’s not really 2 inches, it’s more like 1.5.  Let me show you a trick on measuring and cutting – I learned this AFTER I cut my blocks.
It’s called a “stop” – clamp a scrap piece of wood over to the right distance – see picture:

Now, when you cut your 2×2 board, you scootch it up to the “stop” and then cut.  Then scootch it and cut again.  This way the cut is always measured the same.  I didn’t do this and I measured on the board and marked 9 lines and cut on the lines – and they weren’t exact or something, because the blocks are all slightly different -oops.  You’ll need 9 blocks. Here’s a picture of how to do it the right way:

And look, here I am actually using a power tool – you can do it!!

Next sand the blocks rough edges.
After that I painted each side a different color – you don’t have to do this, but I thought it would help the kids to know to turn all the blocks to a certain side (for example, with my set, all the green-background blocks are used for the matching game).
Now the fun part – decided what games you want, find corresponding pictures, then trace and cut squares like so:

The following are the games I had for my blocks:

The blocks have 6 sides so there are 6 different activities:
– Word Game – using “fox in socks” arrange these blocks to create lots of fun and crazy rhyme sentences.
– Puzzle – even older kids enjoy the puzzle – it can be tricky because the blocks rotate so you have to figure which way is up.
– Look Alike - match pictures that look alike – one is odd man out.
– Color Naming – perfect for younger kids – name colors, have them find them, let them name colors – even “rainbow” is included.
–Counting Fish – one fish two fish – find the blocks with specific numbers of fish, group them in “less than” “greater than” and many other fun things can be done with this side.
–Body Parts Mix-up - head-body-feet of three “things” – match them all up, or have fun mixing them up.

Now, put mod podge on the back of your square of paper – it’s glue, so stick it to your block.  After all the sides are stuck on and dried, I sanded all the edges again.
Finally, put a layer of mod podge over the entire block.  That’s it – enjoy!!

I really enjoy these Activity Blocks – they are a new go-to if I need to bring something to entertain all my children, because they offer something for everyone.  This craft is thrifty and easy, so I would love to make some sets for gifts to give to family/friends and also for teacher gifts – these are perfect to have in the classroom.

My kids have even thought of different games to play with them than the original 6 I thought of – like here, where they’re playing a memory matching game with the words.

Come by and see me on my blog – - I have more plans for blocks – they’re so thrifty to make (someone do the math- how many blocks can you get out of the 8ft board – all for only under a dollar and a half!) – hopefully I’ll be able to get those posts up in the next week or two….(click the button below to head over to my part of the craft world, Sugar Bee Craft Edition)

*This project was made by Emilie @ Emilie Handmade *

My kids recently went to a Children’s Museum and spent hours behind a cut out in the wall that was transformed into a puppet theater. This sparked an idea in my head that has become my final project for this competition.
As renters, we are limited to non-permanent playthings and toys. I devised this system of fun canvases with a carrying case. I started with an inexpensive painters tarp made of canvas. The canvases are stretched on a tension rod along the top and the bottom. With a little paint and some other goodies I made two canvases which are sure to inspire hours of fun.
The first is a Fairy Tale Puppet theater. With red curtains which can be drawn back for a dramatic opening to a play, this theater is all set for little imaginations to run wild.

The second canvas is a bean bag toss. Decorated with a gender neutral under the sea theme, it’s great for boys or girls and helps children develop sense of distance and hand eye coordination…as well as being totally fun! Now, I know what you’re thinking….”But I can’t draw those sea creatures!“. Never fear. Along with my tutorial comes my sea creature images, all ready to print, cut out, trace and become a quick and easy template for your design.

And when you’;re finished this carrying case, made from leftovers from the same canvas, holds the rods, canvases and bean bags. You can remove the rods and string these canvases with rope in between two trees for outdoor fun or even clothes pin them to an outdoor clothes line in the backyard.

Easy and versatile, these inexpensive and fun Play Canvases are sure to become a favorite at your house!

*This project was made by Emilie @ Emilie Handmade *

When this week’s theme was ethnic/cultural I knew just what I wanted to do!

Having never learned a foreign language myself, I have always wanted to make sure my children had better foreign language skills than I have. And while they are still young, this craft is made to expose them to simple vocabulary from three different languages.

There are three different colors of blocks. Green is Spanish, Blue is French and Yellow is Cebuano (a Filipino dialect which my husband is fluent in). Each block has an English word on top and the same word translated on the other side.

As the children play this classic game, when they remove a block from the tower they say the English word and then flip it over to learn the same word in a different language. This is so fun for kids and educational for the entire family! If you want your child to learn one language, you could always make the entire game with Spanish translations, etc. Or choose the languages which are prevalent in your area!

My children have enjoyed this game so much and frankly, so have I! This could also be a great study tool for older children and teens in language classes! This craft cost less than $10 to make and that’s worth saying BRAVO!