To be fair, though, a lot of those supplies are for kids. When the weather is great, I try to keep the girls outside as much as possible, but when it's too cold - or, now that we're in NOLA, too hot, humid, or rainy - I rely on fun, crafty activities to get us through the long afternoons and witching hours before parenting backup arrives home.
I wanted to share two awesome kid-craft resources with you just in case you haven't tried them out - these are both definitely kid-tested and mother-approved. Bonus: they both get delivered right to your door, so you don't even have to drag any whiny toddlers or preschoolers to the store to gather supplies! Win!
KIWI CRATE
You've probably gotten a sponsored ad in your Facebook feed for these little green boxes at least a few times. We've been lucky enough to get a gift subscription to Kiwi Crate for the past few years - Lorelei was perhaps a little bit young for them when we first started (though they now offer Koala Crate for even younger crafters, and options for older children are available too), but she absolutely loves them and Phoebe is now old enough to start enjoying the fun, too. Here's a recent crafternoon we had together with an activity that came several months ago I saved for a rainy day:
Each box comes with two themed/related crafts (this one was about baking) as well as a booklet of extension activities to try with your kiddos. The directions are simple and most require only some parental supervision, so long as you're okay with slightly wonky end products (I definitely am!). I extended the "lesson" by rereading a favorite story with them - Bunny Cakes by Rosemary Wells (if you haven't yet read this hilarious book about Max trying desperately to buy red hot marshmallow squirters from the local grocery store, you need to find a copy!).
These are not just for girls - Jason had a blast recently constructing a catapult and playing miniature golf alongside our two kids, and I find the activities and crafts to fit a wide variety of interests from robots to camping and everything in between.
KISS NATURALS
An online friend of mine reached out a while back to ask if I'd be interested in trying out some products from a company she works for and I was totally thrilled to be a guinea pig! Kiss Naturals, a Canada-based company focused on all-natural DIY craft kits, sent us two projects to try: their Bath Fizzies and their Glycerine Soap.
Lorelei and I had so much fun with these - over and over again! The directions were very simple and Lorelei could do almost all of it herself besides the use of the microwave. We made at least three different batches of the soaps and still had enough left over that I brought the kit to New Orleans with us so we can make more. The girls have been using the soaps in their shared bathroom and love the colors (pink and teal) and the yummy scents, too. Our attempt to make the fizzies was a little less successful, though that was probably due to user error (ahem, four year-old), and that kit was a one-time use, though I saved the silicone mold that came with it so we can use it again for other projects. Lorelei has been begging me to order the lip balm kit, and I'm thinking it might be fun for her to make them as holiday gifts this year! I'd definitely recommend giving them a try if you are looking for a Girls' Night In activity - birthday party idea, perhaps - and with two sizes and Canadian prices, it's a complete "steal of a deal," as my crafty mom would say!
Let me know if you end up trying out either of these craft kits - or if you have others to recommend!
No comments:
Post a Comment