When designing Halloween crafts, sometimes you get sick of the old orange and black. This Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos craft is the exception to that rule. This playhouse is made with just two pieces of cardboard slotted together, so the construction couldn’t be easier. Plus, if you want to put it away and save it for next year, it’s easy to flatten and store.

All of the little details are what make it super special from the spool tissue paper flowers to the sugar skull art on the wall! See below for how we made this for Parents Magazine.

1.Cut out two 12×16-in. pieces of cardboard. Then cut a long side of each rectangle into a house shape so that the sides are 10 in. tall and the center peak is 12 in. tall, as shown.

2. Paint the cardboard pieces on both sides in bright colors. Let dry.

3. Starting at the bottom of one piece, cut a 10-in. slit up the center. Then starting at the top of the other piece, cut a 2-in. slit down the center. (These pieces will slot together to form an X.)

4. Draw door shapes onto the walls and cut them out. (Optional: Leave one side of door attached, and bend it for a functioning door.)

5. Slide the two pieces of cardboard together to form the house.

6. Create a duct-tape border (optional). Along the top edges, adhere pieces of duct tape, sticky sides together, with about a 3/4-in. overhang. Trim the overhang into scallop shapes (it doesn’t need to be perfect!) and punch a hole in the center of each scallop. Then wrap a piece of duct tape around each vertical outside edge, as shown.

7. Add accessories to the rooms like sugar-skull art on the wall (made from paper and stickers), a cardstock-and-string garland, mini tissue-paper flowers, paper-straw candles, and a colorful felt rug.

Photo by Dane Tashima, Styled by Pam Morris.

The idea of turning your child’s dollhouse into a haunted house is a little grim, but if you build one out of the hundreds of cardboard boxes that pass through your life on a daily basis, it’s, well, passable and you don’t have to worry about it creeping you out past October 31st.

This DIY cardboard mansion that I made for Parents magazine was a feat of architectural proportions. We saved so many boxes and stacked until we found the perfect shape. The best part of making these is that you don’t have to have the exact cardboard boxes that I have…you can use shoeboxes, cereal boxes, toothpaste boxes, etc!

It’s so easy…no witch-craft required!

1.Stack various boxes together until you create the shape you want, then glue to each other with craft or hot glue. If using craft glue, let dry several hours. (The house pictured is 35×25 in. and was made with about ten boxes.)

2. Paint boxes dark gray with acrylic craft paint. At the same time, paint toilet-paper and paper-towel tubes. Let dry.

3. Attach painted tubes as columns and spires. Top the spires with half circles of black paper curled and taped into cones. Roof pieces: Bend a piece of cardboard into a V shape; hold that shape and trace a triangle onto another piece of flat cardboard two times. Then cut out the triangles and glue or tape them to the front and back of the folded cardboard V. Repeat to make more. Paint roof pieces black and let dry. Use orange puffy paint to create a shingled roof pattern. Windows: Glue sets of four yellow squares or rectangles to the boxes to make windowpanes. Cut shutters from cardboard or cardstock and glue on. Doors: Cut doors out of cardboard or yellow paper; glue on beads for doorknobs.

Nothing says summer like cotton candy, caramel apples, and big pretzels…even if they are made of paper! As an ode to summer, I’m doing a week of popsicle stick crafts….as in, eat a popsicle, then make something with that beautiful wooden stick!

While there is just one popsicle stick in this grouping, all of these foods have summer written all over them.

What you’ll need:

• Brown paper grocery bags

• Tacky glue

• White, red, and yellow paint

• Paintbrushes

• 1 brown paper lunch bag

• Newspaper

• 1 popsicle stick

• 1 square cracker box

• Scallop scissors

• Red crayon

• Resealable gallon-size plastic bag

• Packing peanuts

• 10 to 12 cotton balls

• Cookie sheet lined with wax paper

• Spray bottle

• Blue food coloring

• Washi tape

• Cardboard

• Magazines

Make It:

Pretzel:

1 Cut a grocery bag into 3-inch-wide strips and glue them together to make a 24-inch-long piece.

2 Roll and crumple the strip into a rope shape, being sure to keep any labels or writing on the inside.

3 Fold the tube into a U shape, then bend the ends toward the bottom of the U, twist them, and glue them down, crisscrossed. (You may want to put the pretzel under a medium-heavy book until it dries.)

4 Paint white dots on as the salt.

Candy Apple:

1. Cut about 3 inches off the top of the lunch bag and discard the top piece.

2 Fill the bag with newspaper and glue it shut around the Popsicle stick. Shape the bag into a round apple shape.

3 Paint the outside of the bag red and let it dry.

Popcorn:

1 Unfold the cracker box. Measure 7 to 8 inches from the bottom folds to where the top of the popcorn box will be, and cut a line straight across with scallop scissors.

2 Paint the inside surface (nonprinted side) of the box white. Let it dry.

3 Color red stripes vertically on the painted side of the box with the crayon.

4 Reassemble and glue the box so that the decorated side is on the outside.

5 To make the popcorn, squeeze a quarter-size dollop of yellow paint into the resealable bag, add enough packing peanuts to fill the cracker box, and shake. Start with a little paint; you can always add more.

6 Set the popcorn out to dry on a sheet of newspaper. Once the popcorn is dry, fill your box.

Cotton Candy:

1 Unroll about ten cotton balls onto the wax-paper-lined cookie sheet.

2 Fill the spray bottle with water and about ten drops of blue food coloring. Spray the cotton and let it dry.

3 Pull the cotton apart slightly and make a wad to form the shape of the cotton candy.

4 Cut a circle with a 12-inch diameter from a grocery bag. Cut this circle into four quarters. Take one of these quartercircles, roll it into a cone, and glue. Cut across the top, open end to make a straight edge.

5 Stripe the paper cone with washi tape.

6 Fill with cotton candy.

Pizza:

1 Cut a triangle from cardboard, with two long sides of about 7 inches and a short side of about 5 inches. The short side of the triangle (the crust side of the pizza) should be slightly rounded.

2 Give your pizza some tomato sauce by painting the cardboard red and let it dry.

3 To make the crust, roll and crumple a 4-inch-wide-by-7-inchlong strip of brown grocery bag into a tubelike shape and glue it across the rounded edge of the pizza. Trim or glue any excess underneath.

4 Paint a 10-by-10-inch piece of newspaper yellow on both sides. Once it’s dry, fringe 1⁄4-inch strips of the paper (see the Fringing lesson on page 120) and then cut across to make tiny strips, about 1 inch long.

5 Cut pepperoni and peppers (or whatever toppings you like) from magazine pages in the appropriate colors.

6 Brush watered-down glue (in about a 1-to-1 ratio) onto the cardboard, then sprinkle the “cheese” on top. Glue the toppings on top of the cheese.

This group of projects is from my first book, Project Kid…and there are tons more fun ones where that came from! Buy the book, and never lose a link!

This post is sponsored by The Container Store.

We started traveling internationally with our kids once they reached the ages of 4 and 6, approximately. Before that, extensive travel seemed daunting…dealing with diapers, strollers, feeding struggles, etc. There is nothing worse than a tired kid, tantruming in an airport while you drag 2 suitcases, 3 backpacks, and 6 stuffed animals…all with a kid on your shoulders.

So as we now travel abroad each summer, from town to train, air-bnb to airport, I have vowed to figure out how to give my kids all the tools they need to be independent travelers. Here are my top tips…

1 The Luggage

Instead of checking a massive suitcase for both, I have decided to give them each their own carry-on roller bag to manage—the Eagle Creek Blue 22″ Explore 4-Wheeled Luggage. There are a few things to look for in this choice: you want it to be easy to roll and lightweight. Obviously the kids aren’t heaving it into the overhead compartment, but if they need to lift it up a few steps or onto a train platform, you want them to be able to control it. This luggage has a built-in luggage tag (amazing), and tons of outside compartments so your kids don’t have to sport a heavy backpack full of books and electronics—they can distribute their wares between the backpack and luggage. And a strap on top to hold their favorite lovie? Priceless.

So, if you are planning to travel with kids, consider looking at compact suitcases by Eminent as an alternative. These suitcases have a smart design that maximizes storage, helping the kids learn how to pack efficiently. They are also lightweight and easy to manage, which helps when navigating through busy airports or lifting the luggage into car trunks.

2 Packing List

Letting the kids be in charge of what they bring is key. By letting them in on what’s in their bag allows them to get dressed in the morning without wondering what their options are. I like to make them a checklist so they know exactly what they need and have them pull it all out. There’s nothing more satisfying than checking things off a list! While it may seem excessive, I’m smitten with these Russell+Hazel SmartDate Washi Tape Rolls that make listing way more fun! Sommer loves to fill in the little circle dots like she’s taking a standardized test!

3 Labeled Packing Cubes

These packing cubes are game changing (and you’ll want them for yourself too!). Here’s what I love about the Eagle Creek Translucent Specter Pack-It Compression Set…first, they keep your items neatly organized categorically. They are super lightweight and thin so they don’t add poundage to your bag or take up extra room. I chose the translucent set so it would be easier to see what was inside, but just to make it even more fool proof, I added labels.

I got these bobino cable tags and labeled them with my Brother label maker—Sommer got pink labels and Oliver got yellow. This way, at a quick glance they are able to see whose is whose.  And the most amazing feature of the packing cubes is the compression! You can stuff them full and then zipper-cinch them to make them flatter!

4 Toiletry Organization

Kids don’t have a lot of products, so they don’t really need a designated toiletry bag each to themselves. The Eagle Creek Translucent Specter Pack-It Quicktrip was ideal because it has a pocket on either side so their toothbrushes don’t get cooties (yes, it’s a real thing). And in the center, we can put shampoo, toothpaste, sunscreen…all the things that they share.

We all use the Fish Toothbrush Holders—they have a cool double function. They cover your toothbrush in transit, and then we you are settled into your temporary bathrooms, you can use the suction cup on the bottom to stand your toothbrush up to dry. Genius and adorable.

As for bottles, you literally can’t beat the Clear 3.4 oz. Silicone GoToob Travel Bottles. They have this cool locking mechanism so they won’t leak all over (that’s happened to me more times than I’d like to count). I labeled these with Flight 001 Fill & Fly Label Set—for just $3.99, it was a no-brainer.

I’ve done my duty to get them organized, now it’s up to them to keep it that way! Here’s hoping all of these tricks work—for my sanity and theirs!

This post is sponsored by The Container Store.

This post is sponsored by Boon Supply.

These days, we have the power to “buy the change we want to see in the world.” (My friend Jane Mosbacher Morris wrote a book by that name. Check it out!) When we shop, we can choose to purchase socially conscious items, eco-friendly products, and even give money away while we do it. We’ve all been guilted into buying mediocre wrapping paper or chocolate bon-bons to support our kids’ school fundraisers, but what if you could actually purchase things you NEED that are beautifully, thoughtfully designed, PLUS they give substantial money (not a measly 2% of the retail price) to the non-profit you choose?

Enter, Boon Supply. Every time you purchase, Boon Supply gives 40% to the charity of your choice. Every time, people! 40%! And you are not buying cheesy gift bows or ugly tote bags…you are buying stylish items that make amazing gifts.

It’s so easy to set up your own fundraiser (I created one for my kid’s school!) or you can choose one that has already been set up. And, you can get 20% off your first purchase by using this exclusive code just for Project Kid fans: BS19PROJECTKID (expires 12/31/19).

Here are some of my favorite items from the Spring catalog, but check out the Fall items too!

Boon Supply sent me this Emoji Pancake Pan and the second I pulled it out of the box I was making pancakes for my kids (even though it was 6pm at night!! So cute and easy to clean.

I bought this cute Vegan leather belt bag (let’s face it, fanny pack!) for myself. I love it!

Missing a lid to your tupperware? Or do you have a half eaten apple? Food Huggies are your answer!

I love the idea that my kids can look down at these Character Building pencils and have a thoughtful discussion in their heads while doing their homework. Double-tasking at it’s best!

If you carry a portable charger and a compact mirror, then maybe you need to get this Compact Mirror Power Bank that does both!

I know where my holiday gifts are coming from this year!

This post is sponsored by Boon Supply.