Simple Mother's Day crafts for toddlers and young children

In the past I've shared lots of ideas for simple Mother's Day crafts that you can make with young children, and so I thought I'd re-share some of my favourites. These crafts are all really easy to do, and with a bit of help your toddler can make some lovely gifts for Mother's Day that are either useful or can be proudly displayed. Just click on the links to find the full tutorials.

I really enjoyed making these Pom Pom frames with a quote about Mothers. They are so easy to make, just a cardboard frame covered with plenty of glue and a pile of brightly coloured craft pom poms that toddlers can push into place. Finish off the frames with a printed quote or a photograph of the child.

These Hama bead covered jam jars make a lovely, practical gift, and are really easy to make. Just help the child make a strip of patterned Hama beads, perhaps in simple stripes or just random colours, then when you iron them, before they cool completely you can wrap them around the jar so that they cool to a curved shape which can be glued on to the jar.

Papier mache gift bowls are a great way to give a gift of sweets or chocolate, and can be re-used around the home once the treats have been eaten. They are fun to make with glue and paper, and can then be painted by the child to make a really personalised gift.

A Hama bead flower wreath looks complicated, but all you need is a small Hama bead flower pegboard and you can let the child loose creating different designs which can be assembled into a lovely decoration for the home. The individual flower designs can also be used to make magnets or key rings.

The classic cardboard tube pen and pencil pot desk organiser is something that I remember making for my own parents when I was little! Just paint some cardboard tubes, stick them together, and decorate with stickers and sequins.

Finally why not use some Hama bead photo frames to gift a photo or drawing. The frames are really simple to make and could be made in colours that match the photo or the recipient's decor.

Happy Mother's Day!

Simple crafts to celebrate Spring

I always cheer up when I begin to see the signs of Spring, and a great way to celebrate the return of warmth and colour to the world is by working on some simple crafts which you can use to cheer up your home, and to celebrate with some Spring flowers before they appear in the garden! I've rounded up some of my favourite Spring crafts which are perfect for working on with young children, or even for yourself.

You can see the pictures below, and just click the links to be taken to the full instructions.

I love this Hama bead flower wreath, made using the small Hama bead flower board. I used a selection of pink and purple pastel beads, then finished the wreath with some green craft foam and a ribbon for hanging.

These Decorative bird planter sticks are great for brightening up your plant pots and can be as simple or as intricate as you like! You just need some cardboard, feathers and sticks, it's a great craft for toddlers.

Another use for the Hama bead small flower peg board, these little Hama bead flower bouquets are very sweet and would look great as a Spring decoration or perhaps on the front of a greetings card.

If you are planning a Spring picnic, why not use the Hama beads to make some Spring themed napkin rings in a selection of cheerful colours! It's really easy to shape the Hama beads into the form of a ring, and you can come up with all sorts of different patterns and designs.

I love my Fabric covered decorative plant pots, made using old flower pots and scraps of flower patterned fabric. Finished with a ribbon and some embellishments they are a great way to brighten up a windowsill or sheltered corner of the garden.

This Spring themed pen and pencil pot is a classic toilet roll upcycle craft and makes a really useful desktop accessory. It can be blinged up using cheerful stickers and sequins to bring some colour to your desk.

Finally, this Mini pot of Spring flowers craft might keep you going until you can find some real Spring flowers to put in a vase! It's really easy to make and can be as simple or as garish as you like!

I hope that I've inspired you to add some Spring crafting cheer to your life!

Hama bead heart bunting decoration

A few years ago I made a selection of Hama bead hearts and put them together to create a Hama bead heart hanging decoration. This year I decided that my Valentine's Day decor was in need of an update, and so I reused some of these Hama bead hearts, along with a few new ones, to create some simple Hama bead bunting that I can use to decorate our mantelpiece.

These Hama bead hearts are made using the small Hama bead heart board (affiliate link). The board doesn't use too many beads and can be used for both simple and more complex designs. It's a great activity for young children to help improve fine motor skills and let them come up with their own imaginative designs. I made my heart designs using pink and white beads, red beads would also work well.

I find that the best value way to buy Hama beads is to buy a large tub of mixed Hama beads (affiliate link) and along with other colours this tub contains the pink and white beads that I have used. But if you only want beads in certain colours you can also buy bags of colours individually. 

I ironed the designs on both sides so that they were firmly fused together but still had open holes in the beads.

Related post - Ironing tips for Hama beads

Then I looked through the designs and came up with a layout that I thought would work well with a balance of colours and shapes.

I used some narrow red ribbon (affiliate link) to join the hearts together. I used a sharp needle to thread the ribbon through the top of the heart in two places. I had tried to leave the holes as large as possible while ironing, but I've found that even if the hole is closed on one side the beads are usually soft enough that you can push a needle through them.

On my mantelpiece I have some small Command hooks (affiliate link) fixed up permanently which I use to hang fairy lights and bunting throughout the year. All I needed to do was to make a small knot in the end of the ribbon and hook it through to display the bunting.

I love the way that I've been able to re-purpose my Valentine's Day themed Hama bead hearts and make something pretty to gaze at while I'm sitting in the living room!

If you liked this Hama bead craft, you might also be interested in my other Hama bead crafts for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day gift boxes and bags you can make

If you are planning to give a small gift to your Valentine this Valentine's Day, I have some ideas for sweet little things that you can make to help your gift really stand out! These boxes and bags are perfect for holding sweets, chocolates or other trinkets. Click the links to find the full details and tutorials for the crafts.

Valentine's Day cardboard tube gift boxes

These simple gift boxes are made from a cardboard tube painted red and decorated with googly eyes along with scraps of coloured paper and card. With a foot shaped base glued to the bottom and stuffed with shredded paper, they can be used to hold sweets and chocolates.

Valentine's Day simple felt gift bags

These simple felt gift bags make a great first sewing project for little ones as they are so easy to make. You just need a strip of felt, folded over and sewn up the sides, with some matching ribbon to tie. This gift bag is great for larger items, and can be made in different sizes to match the gift that you want to include.

Simple foam sheet Valentine's Day gift tubes

These gift tubes are made using craft foam and are very easy to make as they are just held together using staples. Then can be decorated with cut out paper, card and heart embellishments.

I hope that you've found some inspiration for your Valentine's Day gifts this year!

If you enjoy crafting with Hama beads, you might also like this round up of ideas for different Valentine's Day Hama bead projects.

Valentine's Day crafts for toddlers

Over the years I've shared many Valentine's Day craft posts on the blog, and although my children are now getting a bit too old to indulge me with some seasonal crafting, I'm still proud of the crafts that we've worked on over the years. So with Valentine's Day approaching once again I thought I'd share some of the toddler and pre-schooler Valentine's Day crafts that we enjoyed doing together.

Stock up on red paint and cardboard, then click on the links below to find the details of each craft!

Valentine's Day toilet roll tube gift boxes

These simple gift boxes are so easy to make. All you need is a selection of cardboard tubes which you need to paint bright red or pink, then cut heart shaped pieces of red card to form the base. Glue on googly eyes and scraps of pink and red tissue paper and card. I also used a heart punch to make simple heart shapes. Stuff with shredded paper and fill with small sweets and chocolates.

Tissue paper Valentine's Day photo frames

These photo frames are fun for even the youngest children to make. Cut out the shape from thick cardboard, then coat in glue and stick down bits of torn coloured tissue paper. You can then embellish with buttons, beads or paper cut outs.

Valentine's Day keepsake bookmarks

To make these sturdy bookmarks all you need is a strip of coloured cardboard and some heart cutouts from paper, I used a heart punch. They are laminated and then a matching ribbon is threaded through the hole at the bottom. We wrote personalised messages on the back and gave them as gifts, and although we made them a couple of years ago they are still going strong!

Heart sun catchers

These sun catchers can even be made by very young children. They are made using clear sticky backed plastic, which is really easy for young toddlers to use in crafts as there is no mess with glue. They just need to fill the outline with pieces of torn coloured tissue paper, then you can apply another piece of the clear plastic to make a neat finish.

Valentine's themed jewellery box

Young children love having little boxes that they can use to store their precious bits and pieces! My daughter and I decorated this box with a Valentine's Day theme by painting it red and then adding heart themed stickers and embellishments. It's still in use in her room today!

Hama bead heart bunting

These Hama bead hearts are really simple to make using the small Hama bead heart pegboard, and they make a lovely set of bunting when strung together on some narrow ribbon.

I hope that you found something to keep you and your toddler busy!

If you have slightly older children that enjoy using Hama beads, you might also like my round up of Valentine's Day themed Hama bead crafts. 

Chinese New Year crafts for toddlers

In 2020, Chinese New Year will be celebrated on Saturday 25th January. I've rounded up some of the Chinese New Year crafts that we've enjoyed over the last few years, in case you are looking for some crafting inspiration for your toddler or pre-schooler. These crafts are great for very young children because they are easy and fun to do, and they use craft materials that can easily be found around the home. Click the links to be taken to the original post will full instructions and photos for the different Chinese New year crafts.

Simple cardboard lanterns

These simple lanterns can be made with thin cardboard or thick paper, then decorated using stickers or sequins. With coloured pipecleaner handles they look great strung up to decorate the room!

Paper cup lanterns

These paper cup lanterns are really simple to make and are a great way of recycling old paper or plastic cups that you may otherwise be throwing out. You just need stickers or sequins to decorate, and you can add some tissue paper streams to the bottom for some extra decoration. They are really fun for children to play with too, and make great decorations.

Paper plate dragon mask

Children love dressing up, and a paper plate makes a really good base for a dragon themed mask, complete with streamers and glitter.

Cardboard tube dragon puppets

These dragon puppets are made from old cardboard tubes and are great fun for children to make and decorate before putting on a Chinese themed show.

I hope that I've inspired you for some fun Chinese New Year crafting!

Cardboard tube firework craft

I decided that with Bonfire Night not too far away I'd use some glittery cardboard, foam stars and sequins to make a simple firework craft.

You need:

Cardboard tubes
Black paper, even better if it has sparkly bits in it!
Coloured pipe cleaners
Star foam stickers, or you can make your own cutouts from coloured cardboard
Sequins
Black tissue paper
Bostik White Glu
Bostik Glu Dots

Instructions:

First cover your cardboard tubes in black paper. Cut a piece of the paper to size then glue firmly in place with the Bostik White Glu. As the paper that I used to cover the tubes was quite thick, I also secured the ends in place with a couple of staples to make sure that it was held in place. You might want to use paper clips around the top and bottom while the glue dries to keep it all in place.

Then prepare your fireworks. I found that a length of pipe cleaner about 15cm long worked well for each firework. I used pipe cleaners in red, orange and yellow but any colours would do, and sparkly ones would look fantastic! Use a Bostik Glu Dot to firmly stick the foam stars to the ends of the pipe cleaners. I find that the Glu Dots work really well on the pipe cleaners as they stick firmly to the textured surface.

Then use some tape to secure your pipe cleaner fireworks inside the cardboard tube. Try and position them at different intervals and heights to add a bit of interest. Then scrumple up some black tissue paper and stuff it into the top of the tube to hide the ends of the pipe cleaners. Finally finish off your firework craft with some sequins glued to the outside of the tube with some White Glu.

These cardboard tube fireworks make a great Bonfire Night decoration, and you could use them as a fantastic table centerpiece for your Bonfire Night party!

If you are looking for firework crafts, you might enjoy some of my other crafts:

Fireworks display in a box
Paper plate firework craft
Firework themed sensory tub

The box of craft materials was provided to me free of charge by Bostik as part of the Tots100/Bostik Craft Bloggers Club.

How to make an alien planet play scene

You need:

A small cardboard box with floor and sides (or you can cut down a larger one)
Newspaper or other thin paper
Tissue paper
Bostik White Glu
Black and grey paint
Alien cut out stickers
Stars and sequins

Instructions:

First prepare your box by cutting it down if necessary. Then tear lots of tissue paper into small pieces. Pour out some Bostik White Glu into a deep plastic cup. First make a rocky base for your box with some scrumpled up pieces of newspaper, especially in the corners and edges. Then take pieces of thinner tissue paper, cover them with the glue using a brush, and spread them out over the newspaper to make a smooth surface. Cover the inside of the box with tissue paper too in thin layers.

Wait until the tissue paper and glue are completely dry, then paint them with grey paint. Paint the rest of the box black to form the sky. When the black paint has dried you can add a coat of sparkly glue paint.

While everything is drying you can make your aliens. I used the foam alien stickers, and I stuck them to cardboard to make them thicker. I used a small square of cardboard to make a base for them, secured in place with a line of Bostik White Glu.

When the background to your play scene is dry you can decorate with star stickers and sequins. Then you are ready to play!

The box of craft materials was provided to me free of charge by Bostik as part of the Tots100/Bostik Craft Bloggers Club.