Craft Blog

Now that it is officially June, we are giving away one of our Father's Day craft kits!

Let your kids show Dad or Grandpa how much you love and appreciate him by assembling these gifts for him. This kit includes all of the supplies you need to assemble the crafts. You only need scissors. All craft kits are individually packaged and include instructions.

This Father's Day craft kit includes the following crafts:

• Football Pillow Craft Kit
• Father’s Day Koozie Craft Kit
• Father’s Day Tape Measure Craft Kit
• Foam Ship Craft Kit
• Father’s Day Photo Frame Craft Kit

Your kids will love putting these crafts together and will delight in their "handmade" creations. You can also help your kids learn about measurement with the tape measure craft and buoyancy with the foam ship craft, and also improve their creativity and fine motor skills with all of the crafts!

If you are not familiar with Carefree Crafts, curates craft kits that are appropriate for kids ages 3-7 and delivers them to your door. We currently offer a kids craft subscription starting at $14.95 for one child and $23.92 for two children. You can get your first month for only $5.95 using the SAVE60 coupon. Limit 1 per household; new subscribers only.

If you want to stay posted on our giveaways, craft ideas, and special offers, subscribe to our email newsletter here.

WIN IT
One lucky reader will win this Kids Father's Day Craft Package curated by Carefree Crafts.
Giveaway ends Monday, June 10, 2013 at 11:59 pm EST.
Open to US residents only, ages 18+.
Enter using the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

One of my new favorite holidays is coming up in about ~2 weeks - Mother's Day! In honor of Mother's Day, we are giving away our Mother's Day Craft Kit. This craft kit is great for kids ages 3-7.

I became a mom 5+ years ago when my daughter was born, and have added 2 more to our crew since. Mother's Day has become more special to me now that I've had some years of motherhood under my belt, because I can now fully appreciate what my mother did for me and my siblings. My mom had 6 children - no, that is not a typo. I can't even fathom what her days looked like when we were toddlers and babies. I know I would have been pulling my hair out!  But my mom always took care of us with a big, generous heart and truly sacrificed her time, life, and body for us. I cannot thank you enough, Mom!

We hand-selected the crafts in our Mother's Day craft kit so kids could have fun showing how much they love and appreciate mom and grandma. It also has the added benefit of letting kids work on coloring, writing, beading, gluing, and fine motor placement skills. Whew! That is a lot! :)

The Mother's Day Craft Kit includes the following crafts and supplies:

• All About My Mom Card - color and record how you view mom today
• Mom's Memo Board Craft Kit - hang this on the fridge once completed, includes magnetic marker
• Color a Flower Pot for Mom - choose from 3 designs to personalize a flower pot for mom with included markers
• Mother's Day Flowers Card Craft Kit - make a card for mom with a pull-out poem
• Charm Bracelet for Mom - a cute charm bracelet with enamel "mom" charm
• Make a Butterfly Mosaic for Mom - design this mosaic to give to mom or grandma
• Mini Markers
• Tacky Glue Pen

This is what the before and after photos look like. You will receive the craft parts and supplies for your kids to assemble.

If you are not familiar with Carefree Crafts, curates craft kits that are appropriate for kids ages 3-7 and delivers them to your door. We currently offer a kids craft subscription starting at $14.95 for one child and $22.42 for two children. You can get your first month for only $5.95 using the SAVE60 coupon.

If you want to stay posted on our giveaways, craft ideas, and special offers, subscribe to our email newsletter here.

WIN IT
One lucky reader will win this Kids Mother's Day Craft Package curated by Carefree Crafts.
Giveaway ends Sunday, May 5, 2013 at 11:59 pm EST.
Open to US residents only, ages 18+.
Enter using the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I love planting potted flowers in the spring - while I can't say they usually survive the entire summer, I do like to look at them!  Since we don't have spring weather here yet (it is 37 degrees F right now), I used this Make Your Own Egg Carton Spring Tulips craft kit from Target to bring some fun spring colors inside!

Since this egg carton tulip craft kit seemed to be a seasonal item (and probably no longer available), you could also make these yourself using a colored paper egg carton, green chenille stems, buttons, ribbon, glue, and a container or cardboard paper roll to hold your tulips. Here are the craft parts that came with the kit.

Here are the steps I would take to make your own egg carton tulips:

Starting with a colored paper egg carton or two, cut out 12 tulip bases. Add two holes to each tulip base using a knife (as shown below). Many paper egg cartons are already colored yellow, pink, or blue.

Take a green chenille stem and insert it into one of the holes.

Bring the top of the chenille stem down into the second hole.

Twist the chenille stem under the base of the tulip.

Take a foam sticky dot or pop dot and add it to the back of a button.

Stick the button in the center of the tulip base.

Take a paper leaf (with a hole punched out in the leaf) and thread it through the chenille stem.

Repeat steps above 11 more times to create 12 tulips as shown below.

Use some ribbon to tie your bouquet of tulips together.

Trim your chenille stems down and add your tulip bouquet to a cardboard paper roll covered with scrapbook paper. You can see how I covered a cardboard paper roll while making our Easter bowling craft project.

My daughter immediately grabbed the tulip bouquet and started to pretend it was her bridal bouquet as she walked down the aisle. Of course, we told her she could pretend for now and then wait until she turned 30 to get married. :) She loved this craft and it was super simple and easy for us to do together!

What do you think of this craft project?

Do you think this is something you could do at home with your kiddos?

We are giving away this adorable Hello Kitty Purse craft. I would say this is a great craft for kids ages 8+. It's also a great craft for adults who want to hand-make a Hello Kitty craft for your child, grandchild, or niece. My 5-year old daughter loves the soft feel of the purse - it's made of really soft felt. It also has an adjustable strap and velcro closure so your child can take it anywhere.

Sew a Hello Kitty Groovy Bag

The instructions in this craft kit do take a little time to decipher, but once I sewed the purse together, I fell in LOVE! The craft took me less than 2 hours to complete, and because it's a "sewing" craft, I did it while watching one of my favorite reality TV shows "The Real Housewives". :)

I say it's a "sewing" craft because it's really a lacing craft with a yarn needle and different colors of yarn.  All of the pieces are included - you just need scissors.  When you lace the sides of the felt purse together, you'll need to make sure you line up the holes just right so the sides aren't lopsided. Also, in a few cases, the holes were too far apart and I would just have to double up on one hole to keep the purse aligned - but no biggie!

This is is a lacing craft that any girl would be proud of once completed!  Here are the craft parts you'll receive. Instructions are included.

If you love the convenience of craft kits where all supplies are included, check out our offer to get a FREE craft package, filled with 5 craft kits, for your child.  You pay only $2.95 for handling.

WIN IT
One lucky reader will win this Sew a Hello Kitty Groovy Bag from Carefree Crafts.
Giveaway ends Monday, April 8, 2013 at 11:59 pm EST.
Open to US residents only, ages 18+.
Enter using the Rafflecopter form below.

You can also buy this Sew a Hello Kitty Groovy Bag for $9.95 + S&H.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here's a round-up of some of my favorite Easter craft ideas for kids! Some of these crafts will be easy for preschool kids, and some crafts will better for older kids who are learning to sew.  These all are great craft ideas that are absolutely CUTE, adorable, and a fun way to celebrate Easter.

Popcorn Lamb

This is a cute preschool or kindergarten craft idea from Oriental Trading's Free-N-Fun Easter site. Cut out a white lamb shape, ears, purple legs, and glue them together. Spread a thin layer of glue on the body of the lamb, and let your little one place the popcorn pieces on top of the layer of glue. Let it dry.

Sticker Easter Eggs

Why not dress up your already dyed eggs with some fun stickers. Use a hole puncher to cut out small circles out of colored paper, and glue them on the eggs to make a creative design! This one is from BHG.

Easter Wreath

Welcome your guests with this colorful Easter wreath. Glue foam eggs shapes (or even paper) together and decorate with stickers. I made this in 30 minutes - see the Easter wreath tutorial here.

Easter Egg Centerpiece

This cute and easy Easter egg centerpiece comes is from Simply Crafty. All you need are pre-made egg picks from the dollar store, easter grass, foam block, and container. Love that this craft is quick and inexpensive!

Jelly Bean Topiary

This topiary from the Crafty Sisters is another easy craft. Insert a craft stick into a foam ball, add the jelly beans with hot glue, and insert into a foam base that is inset into a flower pot. Add moss on top. Make sure you have adult supervision for this one, especiall with the hot glue gun!

Easter Egg Snowflakes Paper Craft

All you need for this adorable craft are colored paper and scissors! Cut out an egg shape out of paper, fold it in quarters, and start cutting your patterns. This is a good craft for kids who are working on cutting skills and shape recognition. Instructions for this Easter paper craft are here.

Easter Peeps Banner

This Easter Peeps banner is for the more advanced crafter.You'll need the bunny bunting pattern from Dana Made It , cut out your felt bunnies, sew the bunnies, and add them to the ribbon. You'll see detailed instructions at Dana Made It.

Chocolate Birds' Nests

These look scrumptious! The Curvy Carrot used chow mein noodles, peanut butter, butterscotch chips, chocolate chips, and mini Cadbury eggs to make this festive treat!

Carrot Patch Cookies

What kid wouldn't love these adorable carrot patch cookies? Make the outline of the garden bed with sugar wafer cookes and attach with chocolate frosting. Fill the beds with frosting and chocolate wafer cookie crumbs. Use orange Mike and Ike candies to make the carrots and green gummy candy to make the carrot tops. This is from Spoonful.

Easter S'Mores

This would make a great Easter treat for your child's classmates or Easter basket filler! Add 2 peeps, some graham crackers, and a chocolate easter bunny to a bag. This is a cute, easy, and sweet treat from Scrappin' with My Bug.

I hope these ideas helped inspire you to work on some Easter crafts with your kids! Have a great week and happy Easter!

Carolyn

If you want to stay posted on our weekly kids craft giveaways, craft ideas, and special offers, you can subscribe to our email newsletter below.

Here is an Easter wreath craft that is quick, easy, and fun to work on with your kids. All you need are some foam egg shapes, decorative stickers, tacky glue, and ribbon!  I bought pre-cut foam eggs and foam stickers from JoAnn, but you could also cut out your own eggs with foam sheets or even cardstock. This craft took about 30 minutes.

1. I started with these foam eggs from Joann's Holiday Inspirations line. You'll see that nearly half of the eggs have glitter and the other ones are plain.  I love pre-cut foam, especially when you have small kids at home and don't have time to cut a bunch of shapes. :)

2. Lay them out in a circular pattern first, before you glue them down. This is important because you want to make sure they are adequately spaced. I used an alternating pattern of colors, and also put the glittery eggs next to the plain eggs for more contrast.

3. Once you've laid the eggs (no pun intended!) down, you can start to glue them together with tacky glue. I used Aleene's tacky glue, which you can purchase from a craft store or Amazon.com. You kind of have to eyeball where the top egg with land on the lower egg when you squeeze the glue out onto the lower egg.

4. After you glue all the pieces together, you'll have a bare wreath that needs some decoration! :)

5. This step will be the most fun for your kids. I used self-adhesive foam stickers, also from Joann's Holiday Inspirations line. I decided to leave the green foam stickers out, since the wreath is blue, pink, yellow, and white.

6. Now, you can place the foam stickers on the wreath!

7. I cut some pink ribbon, added some glue dots to the ribbon and adhered it to the back of the wreath to hang.

That's it! It's a quick and easy Easter wreath craft you can put together with your kids. My kids loved the bright Easter colors and adorable Easter bunnies and chicks on this wreath.

Craft Supply List

• Foam egg shapes
• Self-adhesive foam stickers
• Tacky glue
• Ribbon
• 2 glue dots

Happy Easter and happy crafting!
Carolyn

If you want to stay posted on our weekly kids craft giveaways, craft ideas, and special offers, you can subscribe to our email newsletter below.

Since I’m hosting Easter at my house this year, I thought Easter bowling would be a great indoor activity for the kids.  We made these cute Easter bowling pins with plastic eggs that were already decorated, toilet paper rolls, and cardstock. This was a fun craft for my kids and they'll have festive bowling pins ready to go for our party!

Easter Bowling Game Instructions

1. We used eggs that we had already decorated with our foam kits, but you could use plastic eggs decorated with stickers, or plain plastic eggs at all! You'll need to start with 6 toilet paper rolls, and 3 pieces of 8.5x11 cardstock or colored paper.

2. Cut your colored paper to 4.5 x 5.5 inches using a paper trimmer or scissors. This will cover your paper roll.

3. Apply adhesive to the edges of your cardstock. I used a Scotch ATG (Advanced Tape Glider), but you could probably also use a glue gun or tacky glue. If you're using tacky glue, you'll need to hold the paper down until it bonds.

4. Align the toilet paper roll to the edge of the paper, with adhesive side up.

5. Roll the toilet paper tube to secure the paper to the tube. You'll see here that it isn't perfectly aligned, but that's okay! The bowling pin will still stand on it's own.

6. For extra security, you'll need to add three staples to the back so the cardstock doesn't come off the paper tube.

7. Now add 4 glue dots to the lower half of the plastic egg, so the egg won't fall off while your kids are bowling.

8. Place your egg on top of the paper roll - the glue dots will secure the egg to the paper roll.

And here are the finished bowling pins!

Now we have a fun, low-cost Easter party game for the kids.  My daughter had a blast with this DIY bowling game! 

Here is the full craft supply list:

1. Plastic Easter Eggs
2. Easter Egg Decorating Kits - or use your own eggs decorated with stickers
3. 6 Toilet Paper Rolls
4. Colored Cardstock or Paper
5. Paper Trimmer or Scissors
6. Scrapbooking adhesive, glue gun, or tacky glue
7. Stapler
8. Small ball to use as the bowling ball

Have fun and hope your kids enjoy!

Carolyn

If you want to stay posted on our weekly kids craft giveaways, kids craft ideas, and special offers, you can subscribe to our email newsletter here.

Today is officially the first day of Spring, and we are celebrating by giving away a Spring Craft Kit curated by Carefree Crafts! This craft kit is a great way for your kids ages 3-10 to talk, learn about, and get excited about Spring. Spring is definitely my favorite season of the year, especially living in Michigan. :) While it is 27 degrees and snowing today, I know many of you across the US are experiencing much nicer weather now!

With my kids, we talk about how Spring brings warmer weather, blooming flowers, rainbows, and chirping birds. Our Spring craft kit reflects these themes and includes the following 5 crafts and supplies:

• April Showers Bring May Flowers Sign Craft Kit - while your kids are putting this sign together, talk to them about why "April Showers bring May Flowers"
• Spring Bird’s Nest Paper Plate Craft Kit - your kids can create a hangable scene of a mama bird feeding her baby birds
• Bug Jar Craft Kit - your kids can decorate their own bug jar and collect bugs in the backyard (you will receive a bee or ladybug design)
• Spring Sand Art - let your kids reveal sticky parts of the board, pour colored sand on top, and the sand will stick (you will receive a rainbow, butterfliy, flower, duck in the rain, frog, or boy in the rain design)
• Flower Bouquet Craft Kit - your kids can assemble this felt bouquet and give it to a family member or friend
• Tacky Glue Pen - the best glue for foam!

This is what the before and after photos look like. You will receive the craft parts and supplies for your kids to assemble.

Carefree Crafts curates craft kits that are appropriate for kids ages 3-10 and delivers them to your door. We currently offer a kids craft subscription starting at $14.95 for one child and $22.42 for two children. Subscribers will receive craft packages that are age appropriate, gender appropriate, and addressed to your child.  For a limited time, use coupon code FREETRIAL to get your first monthly craft kit for only $2.95.  You can also buy individual Spring craft kits on our site.

If you want to stay posted on our weekly giveaways, craft ideas, and special offers, subscribe to our email newsletter here.

WIN IT
One lucky reader will win this Kids Spring  Craft Package curated by Carefree Crafts.
Giveaway ends Sunday, April 7, 2013 at 11:59 pm EST.
Open to US residents only, ages 18+.
Enter using the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This Easter egg "snowflake" paper craft is great for younger kids who are working on their paper cutting and shape recognition skills. My 5-year old daughter loved making these - and I loved hearing her "ooh" and "ahh" over the shapes we were creating in the paper!  She's learning about rhombuses, hexagons, pentagons, and other geometrical shapes now in kindergarten. I love crafts that have an educational component!  

We hung these Easter "snowflake" eggs as decorations on our windows. They look great when the sun is coming through. All you need is some colored paper - we used thin scrapbooking paper (the thinner the better) to make these Easter "snowflake" eggs.

Here are the instructions for this fun and easy craft:

Step 1 - The first thing you need to do is trace an egg shape on paper. We used a 12x12 piece of scrapbooking paper. My daughter cut out the egg shape. She folded the egg in half, and then half again to quarter. We cut a design in the corner to make the center design in the egg. 

Step 2 - At this point, you could fold the paper in half again, and cut more shapes out, but if you want a more intricate design, it's easier to leave the paper as is and cut through the folded parts of the paper. Be careful not to cut on the outer edges of the egg if you want to keep a seamless edge. 

Step 3 - When you've cut enough shapes on the fold, fold the paper again (only once) and cut more shapes.  You will need to repeat this until you have "filled" your egg with cut-out shapes. You can see the fold lines in the paper below. 

Step 4 - Unfolding the egg was the to reveal the shapes, was the best part for my daughter! This is where she discovered and named the many shapes we created! 

Here is the completed green egg! This is a fun craft that only requires paper, scissors, and an imagination! Please make sure you are using kid-safe scissors and are supervising your child at all times! 

Happy Crafting! 

Carolyn 

If you want to stay posted on our weekly giveaways, craft ideas, and special offers, subscribe to our email newsletter here.

Hi everyone! Carefree Crafts is now offering 5 FREE craft kits for your kids, a $14.95 value! Your kids can craft, create, and celebrate the holidays and seasons with these crafts! Our craft packages are delivered to your door and will be addressed to your child.  These craft kits are great for preschool and elementary age school children. Use coupon code FREETRIAL to get your 5 FREE crafts for your child. You pay only a $2.95 handling fee.  You’ll see a photo of the 5 craft kits we are currently shipping below (note, that it changes from month to month).  

Why should you sign up for this deal?  

I know how difficult it can be to keep your kids entertained and engaged.  If I could count how many times my daughter asked “what are we going to do now?”, I would be a millionaire!  I also try as much as possible to curb TV and iPad time (it’s hard, I know!).  I created this craft delivery service so you could have fun craft activities on-hand AND celebrate the holidays & seasons at the same time.  It’s an activity I can enjoy as a crafter – I can only play trains and cars or Barbies for so long!  :)  It’s also a great activity that helps my kids develop their fine motor skills, imaginations, and confidence.

But don’t just take my word for it - here is some recent customer feedback on our craft kits:

 I wanted to let you know that we received the Valentine Craft Kit on Valentine's Day! It was a nice surprise and my daughter just loved it. We started crafting after dinner that evening and it truly was a neat kit. 

- Amy

 I showed my daughter all the projects and she instantly wanted to do them all. 

- Brittany

 This kept both of my children occupied far longer than I expected! I also appreciated that set up and clean up were super fast and easy for me. 

- Jessie

What is in your monthly craft packages? 

We curate craft kits from craft retailers like Oriental Trading, Darice, Michael’s, Joann, etc. and assemble each craft to ensure it will be kid-friendly , age appropriate, and FUN! My five-year old daughter and three-year old son help with this! You might be able to go buy some of these crafts yourself, but you would pay a lot more for these crafts in shopping, gas, and time. 

How will I benefit from this craft subscription service?

1. We consistently give you a variety of fun holiday and seasonal themed crafts that will get your kids excited about the holidays and seasons. They will love displaying and/or playing with their crafts.
2. Our activities are pre-packaged. You can take them out one-by-one and don’t have to spend time figuring out what craft supplies go with which instructions. This is extremely valuable if you have your 1-year old tugging on you at you while your 4-year old is working on a craft activity.
3. We select craft kits that typically create little mess. We do include a glue pen, but the pen allows for controlled release of the glue. We do include sand art at times, but we advise doing these projects outside or laying newspaper down on the table. 

We are so confident your kids will LOVE our craft subscription service, we are giving you 5 FREE craft kits (pay only $2.95 for handling) with the FREETRIAL coupon code. Get this limited time offer here while you can!  If you don't love our service after your first month, cancel at anytime. 

Note: This is a limited time offer for new customers only. Limit 1 child per household.