Father's Day Gifts Kids Can Make -- Circuit Board Pencil Holder

This was a fun stamping project Clara enjoyed, and we made a Father's Day gift from it as well! We used some Mega blocks as stampers with white paint on green paper (to mimic the look of a circuit board). She had so much fun!!

Stamp, stamp, stamp!! I cut up some pieces of masking tape for her to add to the design. 

We used all sides of the block to make different designs. She added some scribbles with a white crayon too.

When she was all done painting, I let the paint dry, and then wrapped it around a tea tin to make a fun pencil holder for Mark's desk. I think it will look nice next to his brag book made from computer disks.

Clara was quite proud of herself! Have fun!!

Father's Day Gifts Kids Can Make -- Fish Magnets

For some reason, I tend to associate fish with dads. I think it's because of Mark's fish tank, and also my own father's love of fishing. Emily and I had so much fun with this simple and frugal project -- fish magnets! They are made using handles of old paintbrushes. In mind was this cute fishing game, so I sawed off the handles, and Emily got to work with the sanding!

Next, it was time to paint our beautiful fish!

Attach some magnets to the back, and give to Dad to admire proudly on the fridge!

Father's Day Gifts Kids Can Make -- Fish Card

This Father's Day card was inspired by Mark's fish tank! To make your own, fold a sheet of construction paper in half as shown.

I cut some blue construction paper and made waves for water on the top edge. Emily used some masking tape to adhere it to the paper.

Lookin' good!

Next, we used color coding labels and cut them up to look like fish!

Use a marker to add the eyes (eyelashes are optional), bubbles, fins, etc. Aren't they so cute??

Don't forget to add a special Father's Day message on your card to give to Dad!

So colorful, and so much fun!!

Father's Day Gifts Kids Can Make -- Colorful Coaster Set

Emily and I had a great time making these colorful coasters for a Father's Day gift for Mark -- and they are super-frugal to make!!

We used plain bathroom tiles from the hardware store, some Mod Podge, and tissue paper to make the set. I found the tiles at Home Depot for just $0.16 each, and we usually get packs of tissue paper at the dollar store -- very inexpensive!

Invite your child over to paint a layer of Mod Podge over the tile.

Decorate with cut up pieces of tissue paper! We chose green & blue -- two of Mark's favorite colors.

Apply another layer of Mod Podge over top to seal the coasters. 

Please note -- If you happen to be working with Mod Podge and then do something like say.... Oh, I don't know....sneeze. DO NOT grab a tissue before washing your hands, or you will make a great big sticky mess all over your hands and face. Not that it happened to ME, or anything.... I'm just sayin'. Ahem.

Notice the snickering from Emily after said Mod Podge/tissue incident.

Allow the coaster to dry completely. Flip the coaster over and stick a felt pad on each corner. We made a set of 4 of these because we were having far too much fun!

Give to Dad on Father's Day to enjoy with an ice cold beverage of his choice!

Have fun!!

I added this post to:

Happy Father's Day!

I was a little late in posting about this Father's Day craft because Mark sometimes reads this blog (or at least pretends to) and I did not want to spoil the surprise! Emily used this stamp set by Melissa and Doug, some construction paper, a little glue, and some shiny star stickers to make this cute card for Mark. We adore this stamp set and use it for many crafts, handwriting practice, and other reading/writing activities.

On our last date night to Barnes & Nobles, Emily chose the book Perfect Waffles for Mark, which I found quite fitting since she clearly sees him as the "waffle parent". At a very young age, Emily learned that I'm more of a "this-breakfast-better-take-30-seconds-or-less" parent. Making waffles has become part of their special weekend morning routine together, and they are looking forward to trying out the recipe for Banana Oatmeal Waffles. Hopefully, they will let me test a few to make sure they are really good.
Happy Father's Day!

Fabulous Keychains Your Kids Can Make

Tucked in among our craft supplies, I found some keychains I had ordered a long time ago from Oriental Trading Company. They weren't much to look at, but they had little photo frames in them, and the kids could paint the frames. These would be okay for keeping the kiddos occupied, but personally I wouldn't be caught dead carrying that ugly keychain around. With a little help from a pair of needle-nosed pliers, our ugly keychains became hip and stylish. Last weekend, the craft store had packs of bubble stickers for $0.50, and they worked perfectly for these. 

I'm thinking this would make a great Father's Day gift that Dad would actually use. Aren't dads difficult to craft for?