Pipe cleaner crafts are like a beginner course in Wire Sculpture 101. They are lightweight and easy to shape into whatever you dream up. This craft is a super-fun way for kids to explore facial features…making round eyes, short noses, long ears—all at the bend of a pipe cleaner! And because this craft does not require glue, there are no mess-ups. Just give it a facelift and start again!

What you’ll need:

• Thin wire hanger
• Pipe cleaners (edit note: or would you rather say chenille stems?)
• Large beads
• Scissors
• Thick yarn

Make it:

1. Stretch out your wire hanger until it forms a head shape. An adult might need to help a child with this step!
2. Use pipe cleaners to make the facial features.
   1. Nose: For a long nose, you’ll need two pipe cleaners. Twist one to either side of the base of the hanger’s hook. Twist them together about halfway down and then form the pipe cleaner into a nose shape at the bottom; twist to close.
   2. Eyes: Slip a bead over the end of a pipe cleaner and wrap the pipe cleaner around the bead and into the other hole. Cut another pipe cleaner in half and form a circle. Twist each end onto the eyeball pipe cleaner to form an eye shape. (Eyebrows and eyelashes are optional!)
   3. Mouth: Form a pipe cleaner into a mouth shape. Twist a straight pipe cleaner to the bottom lip and twist around the hanger. Trim off excess.
   4. Ears: Cut a pipe cleaner in half. Bend each end over the wire hanger on the sides of the head.
3. To make the hair, cut 4-inch strands and knot them onto the top edge of the hanger head. Experiment and play with bangs, ponytails, and various fun hairdos!

These are so lightweight that you can hang with a dash of washi tape!

It is Hanukkah time! Admittedly, we are kind of limited with the crafts that we make on this holiday (where are the partridges, drummer-boys and gingerbread houses?), but the variations on the classics are endless! Menorahs, dreidels, and lots of Jewish stars.

I always like to start the holiday with a menorah craft that invites kids of all ages to light their own menorah. I know my kids love to have their own menorah set-up, and if you have little ones that are too young to strike a match, this is a great flameless menorah craft that allows them to feel a part of the holiday.

You can find all of the steps and materials below— feel free to use whatever you have on hand for the flames! I used yellow pom-poms, but you can use felt, tissue, paper, construction paper, buttons,… The options are endless!

Materials: You can find a link to all of the materials here.

• 8 medium clothespins, 1 large clothespin
• thin wash tape
• hot-glue gun
• wooden tongue depressor
• 2-inch wooden block
• yellow pom-poms

1. Adhere thin washi tape strips to the front of 9 wooden clothespins (8 medium sized and 1 larger).

2. Add stripes of matching tape to a 2-inch wooden block to make a stand for the “candles”.

3. Use hot-glue to attach the backs of the wooden clothespins to a wooden tongue depressor. You can glue the tallest clothespin as the shamash either in the center or on either end. You can glue the two parts together but it’s kind of convenient to keep them separate.

4. Each day of Hanukkah, clip a yellow pom-pom, a teardrop cut from yellow felt, or a tuft of yellow tissue paper first onto the tall candle, and then on each candle corresponding to the day of the holiday.

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that yearly, I post about our family Yom Kippur ritual with my kids.

To commemorate my 12 years celebrating Mother’s Day as a mother, here are 12 gifts that I wouldn’t be mad about. In full transparency, I made the declaration when Oliver was born that I didn’t need anything to happen FOR me on Mother’s Day…I just got to decide what I wanted to do for that day. So if I wanted to spend the day picnicking in the park with my husband and kids, they had to join me. And if I wanted to be alone with my dog, well, they had to honor that too.

And even though I don’t expect gifts, these last minute treats would make me quite happy. And for you last minute gift buyers, if you order NOW, these will all arrive on your doorstep before Sunday. You’re welcome

1. My love for colored glass rivals my obsession with the coup-champagne style drink ware. Sometimes I pour my Spindrift in one just to feel a little fancy as I WFH in my sweats. This set is just beyond and will add that touch of joy to any shelf or bar cart.

2. I have been searching for the perfect sleep mask and this silk, cushioned one by Lunya might be the one.

3. I never used to care about pajamas, but now I’m all about them. And bonus points for a set of pajamas that I can wear with my Birks when I take the trash out. This Eberje set is a splurge, but I swear she’ll never want to take them off.

4. I spend a lot of time with my mugs. They are the first object I want to interact with every morning and they stay by my side until at least noon. I fell in love with this chubby mug and saucer set that would also welcome a tasty scone into the picture.

5. I saw these Sherpani fanny packs in a store recently and fell head over fanny for them!

6. You can’t convince me that all portable mugs are the same. The hand-feel, the weight, the design, and the thickness of the lip (yes, I’m that picky) all matter. And with a terrazzo design, these Porter mugs kill it in all departments.

7. I’m a total sucker for a good neckerchief, and this selection from the Japanese company Topdrawer is perfection. Wear it around your neck or in your hair…in which case, you can go ahead and call it a hair-kerchief.

8. Even before the lock-down pandemic puzzle craze, I was crazy for puzzles. This delightful sticker design puzzle by Pipsticks for Workman is just the right combo of challenge and fun.

9. The cheekiness of these balloon letter initial charms just send me…up up and away. A perfect accessory that says mom without saying mom. Wear your initial or get one for each kid.

10. I never buy myself candlesticks, which is why I think they make the perfect gift. Serene and neutral, they go with any room, anywhere.

11. My kids gave me this flower LEGO bouquet a few years ago, and I relished in the assembly of every petal. I allowed them each to make one flower, but it was my turn to throw a tantrum when I swore up and down that I was missing a piece!

12. Sometimes as a mother, you just don’t want to be the one to make the decisions. Thank goodness for relaxing, art projects like this Paint by Number set by Pink Picasso that will give you the satisfaction of making a piece of art without the worry of getting it right! Moms deserve some arts and crafts time too!

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When I started this mini-diorama craft, I pulled out plastic animals, twine, and little pebbles. I’m thrilled with a miniature landscape any day, really, but I guess my more sentimental chords got the best of me.

These easy photo dioramas are made using upcycled box lids, cheese wheel lids, thick jar caps, and even a sardine can! They are so fun to plan out and easy to make. You can get super creative by adding extra elements, like moss underfoot or maybe a moon hanging above. And glitter, much to most people’s dismay, is always a good idea!

Here are the instructions for making these DIY mini photo dioramas…I swear, you will want to fill a wall with these cuties!

What you’ll need:

• Jar or box lid or cleaned food can or cardboard round gift boxes
• Black and white photograph, printed on cardstock
• Scissors
• Decorative paper
• Aleene’s Tacky Glue stick (my fave!)
• Scrap cardboard

1.Cut out your photo.

2. Trace your box onto the decorative paper and cut out. You’ll likely need to trim it down to make it fit inside since you are tracing the outside! (Just a little craft geometry!)

3. Glue the paper to the inside of the back with your tacky glue stick.

4. Cut small pieces of cardboard from a box making sure that they are small enough to not be seen behind the photo. Glue them into the box, and then glue the photo on top.

5. Now hang or stand your little dioramas on a wall or shelf!

DIY photo dioramas are a great activity to do with a group of people (as long as they either come with a printed photo or they send you one in advance). Think family reunion activity, birthday party, office ice breaker…you name it!