I know, I know, it may be a bit cliche to post about flower crafts for Mother’s Day, but I’ll admit it, I’m a sucker for flowers and a big-time sucker for kids’ crafts (duh, I wrote a book about ’em). While I won’t deny that I’d love a massage, a clean playroom, and breakfast in bed on May 11th (Michael, are you reading this?), I still crumble at the sight of a homemade gift.
Keep your eye out for fun gift ideas over the next few weeks! And feel free to send me your partner’s email address and I’ll be sure to keep him informed!
ps…The best present of all for Mother’s Day is a gift that keeps on giving—a mega craft book that keeps the kids happy and busy for months!
My Project Kid book tour would not have been complete without a stop in Atlanta. And not only do I get to share my book at one store, but 3 awesome venues…a bookstore, a clothing/toy and all-around amazing shop, and a kids’ museum!
I’m really excited to see friends and family…faces that I miss on a daily basis and people that I haven’t seen in years. And of course any new folks that come just for their natural love of craft.
Friday, April 25 at 4:30 pm: Little Shop of Stories
I’ve never been to Little Shop of Stories, but judging by the look of the place, I don’t think I (or my kids) will want to leave! A perfect activity to do to end the week.
Saturday, April 26 at 1:00pm: Seed Factory
Seed Factory is one of my favorite stores for kids in Atlanta…I even bought the dresses for my flower girls there! Here’s my advice…leave your kids to me so we can craft while you shop.
Sunday, April 27 at 3:00pm: Children’s Museum of Atlanta
What better place to craft than at the Children’s Museum of Atlanta? Explore the exhibits and then come make fun a lovely paper flower. Or vice versa.
Plus, on Friday morning, tune into Atlanta & Co on NBC at 11:00 am and Better Mornings Atlanta on CBS at 9 am for a craft demo from Project Kid!
Get it? Earth Day – Birthday? In celebration of the year’s most important commemorative holiday (yes, my friends, our planet needs some massive TLC), here are 3 projects that help put an end to one of the most wasteful craft exploits of our day—gift wrap.
Instead of wasting money and trees on something that is going to be ripped and tossed in 32 seconds flat, use something colorful that you have laying around in spades: magazine and catalog pages. Here are 3 stylish and totally beautiful ways to give your FamilyFun Magazine a second, albeit short, life.
I had the pleasure of filming this craft segment for People.com with the 4 young, extraordinary stars of Matilda the Musical on Broadway. They sent me to see the show (don’t miss it if you are in New York…I’m serious!) and asked me to think about Easter egg projects that relate to the production or story.
I must admit, I was a little nervous. What if I didn’t like the show? What if I was totally uninspired? What if I fell asleep? (Totally possible these days.) Well, the complete opposite happened. I scribbled notes, words, and sketches on a piece of paper and all over the Playbill in the dark and snuck a phone pic when I could. The music, the set, the voices, the children…everything was so creatively executed and beautifully designed.
Matilda’s first love in the world is books, and there’s a scene when her father rips one of her treasures. So I thought, what if we could teach Matilda to turn a bruised book into something else that’s beautiful? So we took a damaged book (and a Playbill) and decoupaged eggs with its torn pages. Then we added glue dots and glitter to make it even happier and festive.
I could really go on and on about what an amazing experience it was to work with Ava, Ripley, Gabby, and Paige, but really, you should just watch the video for yourself; I think you’ll see how much fun we had. And for the instructions on how to make the egg, visit People.com.
Just 9 days after the launch of Project Kid, I have attended 4 craft events/book signings at 2 stores in my home borough of Brooklyn, NY, 1 store in New Jersey, and 1 in Connecticut. While I thought I’d be exhausted after this junket, I’m conversely so energized and excited to see my book out in the world, making kids happy!
We’ve been making cupcake-liner carnations (obviously because this late spring has forced us to craft our own flowers) and more often than not, I hear “Can I make another one?”
Easter eggs have become a favorite blank canvas for me recently. For years, they completely intimidated me. They were so small, so fragile, and I thought everything had been done. But after doing many an Easter egg craft story this year, I fell in love with the egg.
FamilyFun Magazine asked me to do this lovely story, teaching readers how to use beets, onion skins, and cabbage to create various egg dyes.
Visit FamlyFunMag.com to learn the recipes for these natural Easter egg dyes. And once the eggs are beautifully colored, paste leaves, petals, and feathers to the eggs with Mod Podge to the shell’s surface.
Decorating eggs with bits of nature is a great way to celebrate Spring!
Mother Nature really got it right when she designed the peacock color scheme. For this fancy fan, take inspiration from the designer herself, or go out on a limb and create your own color palette.
Here’s a tip: When painting your feathers, lay them out on a paper towel and create your stripes one color at a time across all of the feathers. Then move on to the next color. This way, you aren’t using 6 paint brushes!
To me, there is nothing more satisfying than combining a bit of nature, a touch of felt, and a few items from the recycling bin. With a jar lid, a cork, moss and a few easy-to-find craft supplies, you can bring a little piece of an enchanted, woodland forest inside your home.
*Bonus lesson* Show your kids that the stuffing and sewing technique that makes the mushroom cap is actually how pillows are made. Next on the craft agenda? Make a tooth fairy pillow, or pillow for a doll, or better yet, a lavender-filled relaxation pillow for mom!
Most people celebrate with champagne, but me, I’d much prefer to celebrate with candy-coated milkshakes like these featured on A Beautiful Mess. What are we celebrating? Well, for one, we are celebrating the launch of my first ever craft book, Project Kid. And secondly, and hardly unrelated, we are also celebrating the birth of ProjectKid.com, the website that will feature everything from book signings to press mentions to new and exciting craft ideas for you and your kids to enjoy.
So please join me in raising your milkshake to kids and their creativity! I’ll take a Twizzler straw over bubbles any day!
Visit 
Decorating eggs with bits of nature is a great way to celebrate Spring!
Most people celebrate with champagne, but me, I’d much prefer to celebrate with candy-coated milkshakes like these featured on