Things to Make and Do, Crafts and Activities for Kids - The Crafty Crow

Simple Christmas Stitching Practice

This plastic canvas Christmas tree is such a fun
way for little ones to practice their sewing skills
and enjoy a Christmas craft at the same time.
Find out more at Childhood 101.

Beautiful Paper Christmas Tree To Make

This Christmas tree craft is a good one for older kids
as there is a lot of paper cutting and assembly but
isn't it a beauty! The photo tutorial at LooLeDo is
really nice and easy to understand so
be sure to check it out.

Christmas Trees With A Secret Mini Book

Visit Bookhou Crafts for directions to make these sweet
Christmas trees that hide a secret little book of memories
or photos. Tutorial designed by Curly Birds.

Cute Paper Bird Ornaments

Two of my favorite things - birds and ornaments!
Inspiration only from Giddy Giddy.

Sparkly Christmas Tree Craft for Preschoolers

At Home With Ali shares this big, beautiful,
sparkly Christmas tree craft using recycled
cardboard and beads!

A Christmas Carol Dioramas!

I love dioramas so as soon as I saw these miniature
scenes from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol I was
smitten! There aren't any instructions, just lots of
pictures to enjoy and inspire! Thank you
Artistes a Les Corts for this treat!
English translation here.

Imagine Childhood Giveaway!

Today's giveaway is sponsored by Imagine Childhood
and one lucky winner will receive a $75 gift
certificate to this beautiful shop!


Imagine Childhood has an amazing selection of
items for children that encourage imagination and
play. Enjoy what's new in their Holiday Gift Guide!


Imagine Childhood is celebrating Cyber Monday
with a Shopping Cart Raffle where someone could win
the order they place (up to a $100 value)!

Lots going on at Imagine Childhood, plus their new
book, so be sure to hop on over and take a look!

If you would like to enter this giveaway for a $75
gift certificate to Imagine Childhood leave a comment
on this post by midnight PST Saturday, December 1st.
The winner will be announced on Monday, December 3rd.
If you are reading this on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or
in your email you will need to visit this post on The Crafty
Crow blog to enter your comment for eligibility. Winners
will be chosen using the Random Number Generator.
Only one entry per person. This giveaway
is available in the USA only.

*Comments are moderated to prevent spam so don't
worry if your comment doesn't show up immediately.

Good luck everyone!

35 Great Homemade Advent Calendar Ideas!

colorful little boxes advent calendar
You Are My Fave


pull piñata advent calendar
Monkeychoo
English translation here


pretty packages on a twig advent calendar garland
Babyramen


little house advent calendar
Lait Fraise


artwork advent calendar
Inspiration Surrounds... Creativity Abounds
*this blog has gone private since the time I found
this advent but hopefully you can get
the idea just from the picture


wrapped Halloween candy for advent treats
Giverslog


toilet paper tube elves advent calendar
Canadian Living


cardboard mountains advent calendar
You Are My Fave


punchbox advent calendar
Studio DIY


Santa's beard free printable Christmas
countdown calendar
Inviting Printables


paper cup buckets garland advent calendar
Craftberry Bush


Santa's cap advent calendar
BHG


paper Santa's beard Christmas countdown calendar
La Classe Della Maestra Valentina
English translation here


plastic baggy tree advent calendar
Living At Home
English translation here


grab box advent calendar
Studio DIY


toilet paper tube doily printed advent calendar
El Hada De Papel


sweet Christmas elf advent calendar
Raumdinge
English translation here


clustered cardboard box advent calendar
Elle Decoration


red envelopes advent calendar
Martha Stewart


pillow pocket advent calendar
Home.Made.


stacked matchbox advent calendar
The Matchbook


printable mini robot character box advent calendar
Next To Nicx


yogurt cup punch advent calendar
Les Couleurs de L'air
English translation here


printable town and houses advent calendar
Mr. Printables


paper sack house advent garland
Monkeychoo
English translation here


free printable cone ornament advent calendar
Zü
English translation here


felt glitter pocket advent calendar
Oh My! Handmade Goodness


paper star advent calendar
Bookhou Crafts


newspaper wrapped parcels advent calendar
The Smiths & The Pumpkin Patch


easy art advent calendar
Se7en


free printable pyramid advent calendar
Mini-eco


free printable penguin advent calendar
Mibo


black and white contemporary
chalkboard advent calendar
Mima


punch board advent calendar
You Are My Fave


colorful advent calendar
La Valé du Carton
English translation here

18 advent calendar ideas 2008
11 advent calendar ideas 2009
14 advent calendar ideas 2009
12 advent calendar ideas 2010
24 advent calendar ideas 2010


Wall Pocket Advent Calendar


Book and Activity Advent Calendar

With all of these ideas, plus those in the
archives, you'll find more than 100
great ideas for advent calendars!
Happy Making!

Kiwi Crate Black Friday Special!

Kiwi Crate is a subscription service that sends a box,
or crate, of themed craft materials and inspiration
to your front door each month!


This season Kiwi Crate is featuring three limited-
edition crates that can be bought individually:
Crafty Christmas, Handmade Hanukkah,
and Gifts Made By Me.


The crates are beautifully packaged with quality
materials to make 2 - 3 projects. Crafts
are designed for kids 3+.


Crafting together is a nice way for kids to get to
know friends and relatives they don't see very often
so I think having a few of these crates on hand
would be perfect for those occasions too.


Kiwi Crate is having a great Black Friday
special for new subscriptions!

Thanks so much to Kiwi Crate for being a sponsor
here at The Crafty Crow and I hope you will visit
them to see all the fun ideas they've
got boxed up for you!

Wall Pocket Advent Calendar Tutorial

Advent calendars are one of my most favorite things
about the holiday season. When the kids were younger
the treats tended to be small toys and candy, but, now
that I have teenagers, we enjoy a special activity
together that everyone looks forward to. This year we'll
use this Wall Pocket Advent Calendar that I designed.
It's easy to make (no sewing) and I used an amazing
new product, Tulip Shimmer Sheets, that
I want to share with you.

Just slip in a piece of paper with an activity
idea and maybe a few chocolates too!


Tulip sent me a wonderful box full of glittery goodness
that is not just your regular glitter - everything is
specially formulated to work on fabric and it's washable
too! Dimensional glitter paint, spray-on glitter paint...


Iron-on rhinestones and a special tool that acts
like a miniature iron just big enough to
heat set the rhinestones...


An assortment of glitter in shaker bottles, glitter fabric
glue, and iron-on Shimmer Transfer Sheets! If you have
ever shyed away from glitter because it is too messy then
you will especially like the spray-on glitter and iron-on
glitter sheets so be sure to check them out.



Wall Pocket Advent Calendar Tutorial

I really liked working with the iron-on Shimmer Transfer
Sheets. They couldn't be easier and the results are
amazing. I hope they add some more colors (maybe
brown, turquoise, and orange!) because I can see
doing other projects with these in the future.


Materials & Tools:

fabric
wood embroidery hoops
Tulip Shimmer Sheets
iron
scissors
glue gun
number templates
small piece of thin scrap fabric
 
There is a lot of flexibility in this project for you
to customize the calendar: fabrics, hoop
sizes, and glitter colors.

I used three different sized hoops: 4", 6" and 8".
They are very inexpensive and you can usually find them
at your local thrift shop, dime store, or craft store.

I used 10 different fabrics but you can use as many or
as few as you like. Thinner fabric works best since it
will be folded three times in the hoop.

And, lastly, I used four different glitter colors: gold,
red, green, and silver (from the holographic set).


Step 1 
Cut your fabric in rectangles so that the width is
approximately 1 - 1½" wider than your hoop and
the length is about 2½ times the width.
Here are the measurements I used:
4" hoop: fabric 5½" x 10"
6" hoop: fabric 7½" x 15"
8" hoop: fabric 9½" x 20"


Step 2
Fold the fabric into a square so that here is a pocket
in the fabric. Make sure there is at least 1" - 1½" inches
of fabric all around the sides of the hoop. The fold should
be about a third or half way down from the top
of the hoop for easy access.

Step 3
Cut the numbers from the Tulip Shimmer Sheets.
You can use the templates I made,
if you like, or create your own.

There are three number pattern sizes:
(click to download the pdf pattern)
small for the 4" hoop
medium for the 6" hoop
large for the 8" hoop

The only tricky part here is to make sure you trace the
number pattern on the back of the shimmer sheet (the
smooth side) and that your number is traced in reverse.
You don't need to cut out the numbers to trace them; just
lay the iron-on transfer on top of the pattern and trace it
with a black permanent marker. Hold it up to a window
or use a light box for easier tracing.


Step 4
Position your hoop on the fabric, then lay your glitter
number on top of the pocket in the center of the hoop.
Remove the hoop. Place a thin piece of fabric on top of
the glitter number and press with a hot iron for 40
seconds. Move the iron around to prevent scorching and
be sure to press the folds too. Pull away the thin
fabric slowly from the glittered number. 


Step 5
Put the fabric into the hoop. (Separate the two pieces of
the hoop. Lay the fabric, centered, on top of the hoop
without the hardware. Loosen the outer hoop and then
press it down on top of the fabric covered inner hoop.)
Tighten the screw as best you can to keep from slipping.


Step 6
Turn the hoop over and trim the excess fabric all around
so there is enough to fold over the edge of the
hoop; about a ½" should do.


Step 7
Use your glue gun and glue the fabric to the inner hoop.
Along the sides there will be three layers of fabric - start
glueing the inner layer and work outwards so
they are all glued down.


Now, repeat 23 times! It's easy, but does take some time.
The longest part for me was arranging the fabrics and
hoop sizes and deciding what glitter colors to use. I think
they look like big colorful ornaments! An added benefit
of these are that they stack neatly and will be easy
to pack away for next year! 



You can connect with Tulip via these links:
Web: http://www.ilovetocreate.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovetocreate
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ilovetocreate
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/ilovetocreate/

I wrote this post as part of a paid campaign with
Blueprint Social and Tulip. The idea for this project
and all opinions are my own.

Take a look at what some other creative crafters are
doing with the Tulip Shimmer products:

Cute Thanksgiving Crafts

Check out all of these cute Thanksgiving
crafts at Katherine Marie's!

Spaghetti Box Feathers

Find out how to make these beautiful, and
easy to make, feathers at MADE.