Poppies

Remembrance Day Crafts

In honor of Remembrance Day, my girls made these adorable poppies. I grew up in Canada where we recited the poem “In Flanders Fields” in school every November 11th. Every time I see poppies, I am reminded of all those that fought to keep us safe.

Cut and Paste Poppy Field

Annika made these adorable poppies. She started by drawing simple circles onto red paper and cutting them out. Each layer was glued onto the blue background. Quick, simple and adorable. I love projects that make a statement, yet are easy to make.

Giant Three-Dimensional Poppy Flower

The poppy Bree chose to make was slightly more involved. These three-dimensional poppies are based off this tutorial from The House That Lars Built. I love how adorable these little poppies turned out.

To make your giant Poppie:

Red, yellow, green and black construction paper.
Scissors
Glue stick

First your will cut out a circle from yellow paper and a smaller black circle (these circles will serve as the poppies stamen).

You will also need to cut out 7 red poppy petals. Bree made up her own pattern, but it was basic petal shape. The top of the petal was slightly wavy to mimic a real poppy.

You will also need 2 over sized leaves cut out of green paper. They will become the base for your poppy.

Fold each of the petals like you would make a paper fan. No need to be too careful since you are just creating texture in your petals.

Cut a short slit into the base of each of the petals. You will glue the overlapped sides together to create a slight cupping to each of the petals.

To created the stamen, cut short slits all the way around the yellow and black circles. Bree struggled with this part, so I helped with this step. Gently curl the edges of each of the circles to create depth. Glue the black circle into the center of the yellow one.

Now your all ready to start building your paper poppy. Glue the leaves together to create the base of the flower. Each of the petals will be glued onto the leaf base. Over lap the petals slightly, but no need to be too exact since all flowers are unique. Finally glue the stamen into the center of the petals and your poppy is finished!

I love how they turned out! It would be so easy to switch out the color of paper used to create just about any flower. These would look sweet as a center piece for your next garden party, girly birthday party, or just about anytime you need an extra pop of color.

Bree has a special friend that had surgery over the weekend. Bree is excited to bring the flower to school to brighten her friends day. I love that she wrote a little note on the leaf. How special that her fun poppy turned into a special 3-D card to brighten a friends day! A giant 3-D flower card would totally brighten my day!

How are you going to use your three-dimensional flowers?

Kids Co-op

I’m so excited to announce that I have joined forces with a wonderful group of creative mommy bloggers to host a weekly Kids Co-op every Thursday. You won’t want to miss it! The party is packed full of inspiring, child-friendly learning activities and creative crafts. Can you tell I’m excited;)

I look forward to snuggling in with a cup of coffee and browsing through all your inspiring ideas! Come back each Thursday to see if your creative idea was featured and link up any new ideas! (I will be using one image and a link to your blog.) Thanks for sharing your creativity with us. Now on to the kids co-op party!

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Book Page Turkeys

Thanksgiving Craft for kids

I have been smitten over anything to do with book pages recently, so I came up with these adorable Book Page Turkeys. Go on, dig up an old book (one that you will never read again), your scissors and some glue and lets make book page turkeys! A fun Thanksgiving craft you can make with your kids.

There is so much inspiration floating around on Pinterest, and it catches my eye every time. Sneak on over to Pinterest and check out all the amazing ideas inspired from discarded books.

Book Page Turkeys:

An old textbook
Orange, red and yellow construction paper
A brown paper bag from the grocery store
Scissors, glue and a sharpie

Simply cut out the shapes for your turkey using the book pages, construction paper and the brown grocery bag.

Once you have the turkey just the way you like him, glue him onto a sheet of colored construction paper. We added a boarder to each of the turkeys so the kids could write what they were thankful for.

Teaching a heart of gratitude and thanksgiving is sometimes a difficult task as a parent. These little turkeys were a fun way to talk to my kiddos about what they were thankful for and ask them why. I enjoyed listening to them brainstorm ideas.

We chose to add dimension to our book page turkeys by outlining them with a fine black sharpie.

I think that the feathers might be my favorite part of these little turkeys.

I love that we were able to use something that was about to be discarded, and transform it into something I am excited to hang on my wall! These precious little book page turkeys will be cherished and I’m sure will become a part of my yearly Thanksgiving decorations.

Do you have a fun way to encourage kids to be grateful? I would love to hear what you are doing to encourage a heart of thanksgiving in your kids.

For more easy Turkey crafts, check out our:

Twig Turkey

Paper Strip Turkey Craft

Shape Turkey

Candy Wrapper Turkey

Paper Plate Turkey

Autumn Trees

Autumn Trees ~ Simple Fall Craft for Kids

My girls made these adorable autumn trees with their friends. I love that they used real leaves. They were so cute that I just had to share them with you. These little trees are so easy to create making them the perfect fall craft for kids.

Beautiful crumbled leaves make natures perfect glitter!

If you want to make your own Autumn trees with your kiddos…

Go for a nature hike and gather some beautiful fall leaves.
When you get home, paint the trunk and branches of your tree onto a piece of paper. Keep is simple, nothing to fancy since you will be covering it with leaves.
While your paint is drying, pick out your favorite leaves from your walk.
Squish lots of white glue onto your painted branches (more is more according to my girls!) and place your leaves into the glue.
I love that the girls glued a pile of leaves at the base of the tree. I also really love the few leaves that are falling.

That it, and you now your are ready to display your beautiful autumn trees in your home!

I love the texture that these little autumn trees have. Although I have to say my favorite part of this project was watching the girls bring home their gluey creations. They were so proud of what they created and super protective of them. Making sure each and every leaf made it home. Love it!

For more for fall craft for kids check out our:

Toddler Thanksgiving Craft ~ Shape Turkey

Thanksgiving is right around the corner…where did October go? I am not ready for winter to settle in around us. In hopes of hanging on to fall a little while longer, we created these simple shape turkeys. These are a fun Thanksgiving craft that is perfect for young kids working on shape recognition.

Making turkeys from simple shapes is not a new idea. However, they are the perfect way to sneak in a little learning while creating adorable crafts with your kids. Work on simple shape recognition with your toddler. As an added bonus, this little shape turkeys will look great hanging on your fridge for Thanksgiving.

Googly eyes, construction paper, scissors and glue. This simple list of materials are perfect for making these little shape turkeys. I love art projects that are simple and only involve a few supplies when I am crafting with younger kiddos.

Rectangle Shape Turkey

Circle Shape Turkey

Triangle Shape Turkey

My favorite shape turkey is the one made up of triangles. I love his pointy little feathers. Which one is your favorite? What is your favorite way to make turkey in your house?