Friends! I am so excited to announce a new partnership that has been in the works for a while with our friends at the Museum of the City of New York. If you have been to this institution, then you know how special it is. From street photography to activism to urban planning and everything in between (I’m looking at you, Basketball!), MCNY displays the most beautiful and comprehensive exhibitions about the most interesting, compelling aspects of New York City.

In an effort to attract families with younger kids to the museum, MCNY came to me looking for engaging ways to do it. As much of the country is on hold right now, so are the major initiatives of the partnership, but there was one thing we could do remotely…produce videos to entertain your kiddos at home!

The first video in the series, launching July 15th, is called Frozen Treats, City Streets, and it’s about exactly that…the history of ice cream and New York City! I’ll be showing you how to make three ice-cream crafts, and the education department from the museum will join in with some facts and info that will most definitively entertain your kids! It’s free but registration is encouraged!

The following three will launch on July 22, 29, and August 5th. Stay tuned for more details about those coming soon!

Summer 2020 is shaping up to look a lot different than any summer we have ever seen. Kids all over the country are mourning the loss of their beloved weeks at summer camp. (And let’s not kid ourselves, parents are pretty bummed too!)

• 6 individually packaged craft kits
  • Lanyard keychains
  • Gods’ eye materials
  • Cute bug magnet
  • DIY campfire nightlight
  • Miniature wheat grass wooden planter
  • Tie-dye bandana project
• 3 Stamped postcards to send to your CFFs (camp friends forever)
• Canteen Cash coin-pouch keychain
• Bug Juice collapsible cup
• 3 Button pins
• 1 Crafting tray
• 1 Miniature clipboard

Click HERE to place your order today! The kits are available for pre-order NOW over on Projectkid.com, and will be ready to ship the week of July 6th.

If left to their own devices, we know what devices our kids will use! These crafts will keep them busy, unplugged, and feeling sweet nostalgia for their summer place.

What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the word cactus? Ouch, is right. Cacti are not the type of plants you want to cuddle up with at night…unless of course they are made from soft and friendly pom-poms!

These mini cacti make for a great craft that your kids can make on their own…no tools that would hurt them (hi hot-glue guns!) and the instructions are so easy.

Head over to Oriental Trading’s Fun 365 and get all the steps to this cute craft that will have your windowsill lined with a cactus collection in no time!

Mother’s Day 2020 is for sure a totally different Mother’s Day than any that we’ve ever had…and hopefully any that we’ll ever see in the future! I typically recommend all sorts of DIY projects that require materials from Michaels, Joann, or Amazon, but with people feeling less anxious to spend money these days, it’s harder to say “hey, go buy this and this and this!”

So this year we have to be a little more frugal and resourceful, so I wanted to offer you, dear readers old and new, this FREE funny printable phrenology chart of MOM! (Choose the skin tone that suits your superwoman best!) If you want to type your answers in before printing, use download this fill-in PDF version.

What’s phrenology you ask? Well, if you had to guess what’s on someone’s mind, how would you break it into seven categories? That’s what the 19th century study of Phrenology was—the belief that different areas of the brain controlled different character traits, thoughts, and emotions. Over the years, this belief has been debunked, but you may recognize famous posters like this one that hold a certain kitschy appeal.

For a fun celebration of your mom, grandmother, best friend, or neighbor, show them that you pay attention to what they love, how they think, and what their mind is made up of! Print out the illustration that best matches your mom, and treat each color as a different category and fill in words that apply to the mom-hero. The categories that I used were food/drink, TV, virtues, family members, craft supplies (haha!), and favorite places I’ve traveled.

Illustration by Hannah Perry.

Cardboard has always been one of my favorite craft supplies…it’s like the workhorse of all materials. It’s sturdy enough to build rocket ships, and its availability and abundance makes it un-precious.

At an influencer conference earlier this year (Alt Summit), my craft-sisters Rachel Faucett of Handmade Charlotte and Jodi Levine of Super Make It and I led a crafting session that we called Upcycled Cardboard Jewelry that even SJP Would Wear! Basically we covered tables with painted cardboard and cereal/cracker boxes, Colorshot paint pens, and various string and let the collective creativity happen! We made some examples, but we were blown away with what was produced in the 90 minute craft sesh!

If you are looking to make some fun homemade Mother’s Day gifts this year, this is easy and practically free!

Here are the materials that we used and LOVED!

• Cardboard (obviously)
• Colorshot paint pens
• Colorshot acrylic paints
• Colored twine
• Nylon knotting cord

Of all the paint markers I’ve ever used (and I’ve used a lot), Colorshot is by far my fave!

Yarn, paracord, twine and nylon knotting cord are all great for stringing and decorating!

We arranged the cardboard by color. We painted it with Colorshot acrylic paint and the vibrancy was amazing!

These are all made from cardboard!

Metallic paint on simple rectangles of cardboard mixed with a paracord chain can look super elegant!

Attach small shapes of cardboard to hair clips and look what you can make! Crafted and modeled by the talented Sara Walk of Tell Love and Party!

I was blown away by the creativity of Sarah Chambers’ earrings! She really look this assignment to the next level!

Nicole Choules of Salt & Honey Market in Salt Lake City made this gorgeous statement piece to match the clothes on her back. Three simple shapes glued together and she even let a little of the cardboard show!

Kristen, co-owner of Treehouse Kid & Craft in Atlanta and Athens GA took a different approach to collaging shapes. Color, shape, and balance are all working together here!

And one of my favorite people on the planet, Jodi Levine of Super Make It, rolled her cardboard to make these chunky beads.

Heather Donohue created a cool pattern adding Colorshot paint pen designs on top of a painted piece of cardboard to start her jewelry project.