Babies & Kids Blog

Here is a great arts & crafts idea for your & your children from FamilyFun.com.  Take an ordinary picnic table and turn it into hours of fun! 

What you need:

- A small, unfinished picnic table
- Pencil and ruler
- Acrylic latex enamel paint
- Paintbrushes
- Square-shaped sponge (optional)
- Polyurethane

Directions:

1. Using a pencil and ruler, draw a design on the tabletop. We’ve included a checkerboard, a backgammon board, a sun, letters of the alphabet and numbers from zero to 20.

2. Once you are happy with the design, paint it on.

3. Paint the benches as you wish. We sponge-painted squares around geometric shapes.

4. Protect the table and benches with five coats of polyurethane (a parent’s job).

Kids are the easiest to fool.  They believe anything you say so why not run with it on April Fool’s Day?!

1) This is an oldie, but a goody. Grab some change and super glue it to the floor.  Watch as your kids spend their precious time trying to pick it up off the floor.  Kids’ love change even though they don’t fully understand the value of money.

2) My dad used to pull this one on us as kids.  Take a gift box with the cotton lining or cover it with grass & dirt, and poke a hole in the bottom center on one of the shorter sides.  Take one finger from either hand and either use fake blood or make your finger look pale & discolored.  Stick your finger in the box and close the lid.  Go to one of your children & tell then you “found something outside.”  While you both are ”observing” the finger move it quickly towards them and laugh as they scream in horror!

3) Place a rubber band on the kitchen sink spray nozzle so it stays on & when your children turn the sink on to rinse out their dinner dishes they will get sprayed!  And the great part of this prank is that it doesn’t require much clean up because it’s just water.

4) Tell your kid(s) the principal called about their rude & disruptive behavior at school & that they can’t play video games for a month.  The funny part about this one is that your child may apologize or confess to something they did, but thought they didn’t get caught!

5)  Make these yummy, but disgusting looking dirt cup cakes from JustJennRecipes.com for dessert tonight.  It will be a gross surprise at first glance, but they will surely enjoy it after they realize they’ve been fooled!

Ingredients:

Chocolate cake
Chocolate frosting
Crushed chocolate cookie crumbs
Chocola


“Start by baking a chocolate cake. I don’t think I need to give you a recipe here, just make a nice regular old one. Also make a batch of chocolate frosting. Frost the cake and ready your decor. I like to use crushed up cookies for the ‘dirt.’ Just crush up a bunch of Oreos, then throw them in the blender. Yes, cream filling and all.
I also like to add chocolate sprinkles to make it look like little pebbles. Gummi worms are the final creepy touch.”

Image Source: FamilyFun.com & JustJennRecipies.com

The best Valentine’s Day gifts are the ones that are homemade!  It shows that you took time out of your day to make something special for them vs. just running inside a store to grab a generic gift.

FamilyFun.com has some great arts & crafts ideas for Valentine’s Day.  Here are some of my favorites:

Valentine Butterflies

What You Need:

Sticks of gum
Licorice Strings
Construction paper
Scissors
Heart Stickers
Tape

Instructions: 

1. Place two pieces of string licorice between two sticks of gum, taping the top and bottom closed to secure the antennae in place.

2. Next, cut two heart-shaped wings from construction paper, write your valentine message on them, and secure them to the top stick of gum with a heart sticker. Add other stickers to give personality to your butterfly.

Clip Hearts

What You Need:

Craft foam hearts
Hot Glue
Hair clips like the one pictured
Scissors
Colored card stock
Marker

Instructions: 

1. Arrange two or three craft foam hearts as you like and hot-glue them together. (Draw and cut your own hearts, using our templates, or check your craft store for precut foam hearts.)

2. Glue the hearts to the wide end of the hair clip and let the glue set.

3. Cut a heart from the card stock. Write your message on the heart, then clip the barrette to it.

Crayon Hearts

What You Need:

Crayon pieces
Heart-shaped metal cookie or muffin tins
Double-sided foam mounting tape
Scissors
Colored card stock
Marker

Instructions: 

1. Heat the oven to 250°.
2. Fill each mold with crayon pieces and bake until the crayons melt, about 10 to 15 minutes. Tip: Place a sheet pan under the crayons to catch any drips.

3. Once they’re cool, remove the hearts from the molds and smooth any rough edges by rubbing them on a piece of scrap paper.

4. Use small pieces of foam tape to stick each heart to a 3-inch circle cut from card stock then add your message.

FamilyFun.com has a ton of more arts & crafts ideas for Valentine’s Day & all of your favorite holidays.

Click here for kids’ arts & crafts supplies.