Trash to treasure…a phrase we’ve all be hearing for decades. Now we can just paraphrase that sentiment into one glorious word: upcycling!

As a mom and a crafter, you are a natural upcycler. Your kid says he wants to make an airplane, so you grab for that paper towel tube. She wants to make an owl? Dig through the recycling bin for an empty juice box.

These are two of my very favorite projects from my book, Project Kid! Watch how to make them in this video from Craftfoxes!

What’s better than handing your kid a copy of Project Kid to keep them busy and device-free this summer? Handing them this Darby Smart deluxe Project Kid Craft Kit, complete with over $50 worth of creative possibility!

Just click this link to enter…easy as that. Five lucky winners will take home this boredom-buster kit!

Giveaway sponsored by Scholastic Parent & Child magazine!

Now that literally EVERYONE is allowed to marry the love of their life (or of the moment), here’s hoping crafty weddings will get more colorful and even more popular!

As a brand ambassador for Michaels, I got to do some fun wedding crafts on CBS 2 over the weekend.

How-to’s for these projects coming this week!

People have been asking me lately why I think that crafting for July 4th has become so popular. I think there are a few things working here…

1. All kids are out of school, so there’s a collective need for something to do!
2. It’s the ultimate celebration of summer since the season officially begins just about 2 weeks before.
3. There’s no decision-making about the color scheme. Its red, white, and blue or bust. There something nice about crafting with a universal color palette.

We made this last year for my FamilyFun magazine blog, Everyday Fun, and I love it so much that I had to repost it! (Plus I’m so nostalgic over my daughter Sommer’s mini-cuteness!)

What you’ll need:

• Template printed onto card stock
• Pencil
• Cardboard
• Tacky glue
• Paper straws
• Fishing line
• Glue stick

4. Cut a 1-inch piece of straw and thread a long length of fishing line through that piece and knot the ends. Glue that small straw piece into the center of the cardboard circle with tacky glue.

5. Apply a generous amount of glue on top of the straws and then cover with the second cardboard circle.

6. With a glue stick, attach the card stock center.

7. Trim the straws to different lengths (I chose to trim my red ones only).