My most recent article in the Sandbox Press was for these great butterflies:

Bring spring inside with these colorful butterflies! Simple to put together, they are made with vibrant colors found on the pages of magazines. You probably already have pipe cleaners in your craft supplies stash and can easily round up some magazines for the butterfly wings. Choose bright colorful photos and your butterflies will get your family in the mood for spring. Depending on the age of your child, you can let him or her choose the photos and cut the squares out of the magazine pages or you can prepare them in advance.

Supplies:

Magazine(s) with colorful photos

Pipe cleaners

One piece of cardstock, or other stiff paper

Ruler

Scissors

Steps for each butterfly:

1. Cut one 4” square and one 5” out of your cardstock paper for a pattern.
2. Using your patterns, cut one of each square out of colorful magazine pages. 
3. Starting at one corner, fold the paper diagonally accordion style, making about ¼” folds, from one corner to the opposite side. Repeat with the second square.
4. Bend your pipe cleaner in half and pinch the folded end closed. Twist to secure it about 1-2” from the fold.
5. Place the folded squares in the pipe cleaner and twist to hold it in place.
6. Curl the ends to make the butterfly’s antennae. Enjoy!

This month’s Sandbox press issue was a project designed with my son in mind! I found the original idea here!

My preschooler is becoming more and more independent. He is learning to do so many things on his own but there is one thing I still have to help him with or I know it won’t be done – washing his hands! With winter colds and the flu spreading so quickly amongst little ones, hand washing is a habit I want to cultivate. This month’s craft will hopefully help with that!

These soaps are easy to make and involve getting your hands messy – with soap – so kids love it! The soap is formed into a snowball around a special surprise that is revealed as your child washes his or her hands. Hand washing will become more regular as your child anticipates the special treat inside. Have your child help you pick out the small treasures at the store to increase the excitement to play with them!

Supplies:

Food Processor or cheese grater

3 bars of Ivory soap (or any other white soap)

1/3 cup warm water

4 tiny plastic toys (check age appropriateness for your child)

Makes 4 snowball soaps.

Steps:

1. Use a food processor with the grater tool to grate the bars of soap. Alternatively, you can use a cheese grater to shred the soap by hand, but this will take much longer.
2. Pour the grated soap into a large bowl.
3. Have your child pour the warm water over the soap and start to mix it together with his or her hands. The mixture should be squishy and moldable. Use a little more water if necessary to get the right texture.
4. Scoop up a handful of soap (about ¼ of the mixture) and mold it into a shallow cup in your hand. Place one of the small toys on the soap and mold the soap around it into a ball.  Repeat for three more snowballs.
5. Let the snowballs dry completely before using – about 4 hours.  
   Want a snowball soap but don’t feel like making one? No problem! Enter the GIVEAWAY here! Just leave a comment on this post telling me you favorite (or least favorite) thing about snow before February 28th! Make sure your email is correct!  I’ll choose a random winner at the end of the month! Good luck!

January’s Sandbox Press article features a fun project to help your little one’s stay in touch with their friends in nature on even the coldest days!

When the cold weather hits, it seems like we rarely get outside to enjoy nature. This month’s craft lets your children enjoy the birds that stick around throughout the winter– from the comfort of inside your home! These feeders let your little ones create special treats for their feathered friends and hang them from the empty branches of trees. My son can sit still by the window for a surprisingly long time when there are birds or other wildlife in the yard enjoying his homemade treat.

These hanging bird feeders can be made with any bird food but you can buy varieties that attract the common birds of our Delaware winters. Let your children choose fun shaped cookie cutters for the feeders; this recipe made sixteen bird feeders but will vary depending on the size of your cookie cutters. They can be made in under an hour but take a few hours to dry and harden.

Supplies:

3/4 cup Flour, 1/2 cup Water, 1 Envelope unflavored gelatin, 3 tbsp. Corn syrup, 4 cups Birdseed, Cookie cutters in a variety of shapes, Nonstick spray, Cookie sheet, Waxed paper, Drinking straws, Ribbon or string

Steps:

1. Combine the flour, water, gelatin and corn syrup in a large bowl. Stir to mix well.
2. Add the birdseed and mix until well combined.
3. Spray your cookie cutters with the nonstick spray and place in one layer on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper.
4. Spoon some birdseed mixture into each mold. Pack it down and make the tops smooth with the bottom of a measuring cup.
5. Cut your straws into 1 inch pieces. Press a piece of straw into the top of each mold making sure it goes all of the way through.
6. Leave the birdseed molds to dry for at least 2 hours. Then remove the straws, flip and unmold each feeder. Allow to dry at least 2 more hours or overnight.
7. When completely dry and hardened, string some ribbon through the hole in each feeder. Hang from a tree and wait for the birds to arrive!
   Check out the birds enjoying a snack here!!

Thanksgiving is just around the corner.Help get your family in the thankful spirit with this fun Indian Corn Magnet craft! It is simple enough to complete in less than an hour and kids can easily make some to give as a great gift for Grandma, a teacher, or a friend. The beads and magnet can pose a hazard to little ones so, parental supervision of anyone under 3 is necessary

Use this project to help your child focus on the blessings in his or her life. You can make a list of things he or she is thankful for and hang it on the fridge with this magnet. You might be surprised by the things he or she will say once you get started – Mommy and Daddy, friends, or even a favorite toy. My son even added his soccer shoes and ceiling fans to his list.

Supplies:

1. Pipe Cleaners
2. 11 mm tri-beads in red, yellow, orange, clear, and tan (tri-beads are three sided stackable beads)  
3. Glue
4. Small round magnet
5. Tan colored raffia ribbon

Steps:

1. Cut your pipe cleaners in half and make an X with the two pieces, bending them together. Keep one piece up for the stem while bringing the other three down to form the Indian Corn shape.
2. String the colored beads onto each of the three pieces of pipe cleaner. You can put the beads on randomly or make a pattern. Bend the pipe cleaner at the bottom and wrap around the bottom bead to keep the beads on.
3. Knot a piece of raffia around the stem, using glue if necessary.
4. Glue your magnet onto the back of the raffia and let dry.
   Hang on the fridge to hold up your child’s most recent art project!