Slick Pincushion

You love to sew, but you don't have a pincushion handy.

You can use a bar of soap for a great little pincushion. The oil in soap will also help your pins slide right into fabric.

You can even fancy it up a bit by sewing a little fabric around it.

Handy Headbands

Your daughter loves her headbands, but you are tired of finding them all over the bathroom.

The next time that you use up a container of oatmeal, clean it out and cover it with some gift wrap, colorful contact paper, stickers or even some colored duct tape.

Now you can place the headbands on the outside to keep them in one spot and drop any extra hair baubles inside to keep them contained also!

Foil Fun

It is a rainy day and the kids are just driving you crazy. All you have to do is go to the kitchen and grab a box of aluminum foil.

Sit the kids down at the table and give them all a sizeable piece of foil.

Now they are free to crincle up the foil and create any animals that they can imagine like with playdough.

Once they are done creating they can even paint them with a thin layer of tempura paint.

Busy Bird Feeders

Fall is here and the weather is getting cooler and birds need a little extra to sustain them through winter. Why not have the kids make a little treat for them.

Collect some empty toilet paper rolls, peanut butter, string and bird seed.

Have your kids poke 2 holes in one end of a toilet paper roll and insert some string and tie it off.

Cover the roll with Peanut Butter, then roll in some bird seed.

Now you can hang your bird feeder from a tree or from your deck and watch the birds flock in for a snack.

Plenty of Play Dough

If your kids are bored, try this fun recipe to let their imagination run wild.

½ Cup Salt
1 Cup Flour
1 Tablespoon Cream of Tartar
1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
3-5 drops of Food Coloring

Combine all of the ingredients well in a large sauce pan. Place on a medium burner and gently heat stirring constantly. Once you see the mixture reach a dough like consistency, remove from the heat. Once the dough has cooled, place it on a lightly floured board and knead until smooth.

Now the kids are ready to play! Let them have at it. Once they are done, place the dough into tightly sealed containers. The best way that I have found to store it is to place the dough into zip lock style bags and press out all the air before sealing.

Cardboard Box Sandals

Let your kids have some fun on the next rainy day. Grab an empty cereal box or other box made of light weight cardboard and make some sandals!

Trace your child's feet onto the cardboard and cut out slightly larger.

Now cut out a couple of straps from the cardboard that will be long enough to go from the floor, across their foot, and to the floor again.

Let your kids paint and decorate their shoes with anything that you can find around the house like pompoms, flowers or feathers.

Tape the straps to your shoes and have a fashion parade!

Crafty Kids

Craft projects can be so fun to do with kids. Unfortunately sometimes a fun craft can turn quite tragic if you run out of supplies or don’t know how to do a step.

Before you start your craft project, completely read through all of the instructions, even the fine print. Make sure that you have all the items that you will need, and make sure that you understand the instructions.

Now you should be ready for a fun craft with a great ending!

Easy Finger Painting

Your kids love to finger paint, but you hate to clean up the mess. Here is an easy way to make your kids and you happy.

Grab a gallon size zip lock bag and some tempura paint. Add about a half a cup of the paint to the bag. Gently squeeze out all of the air that you can and close the bag.

Place the bag on a flat surface, and now kids and use their fingertips or a q-tip to make designs by pressing firmly on the bag.

Toilet Paper Holder

If you need a toilet paper holder for your bathroom, you can reuse a used oatmeal container for this purpose.

Use some wallpaper or paint to decorate it up to match your bathroom. Place in a couple of rolls of toilet paper, pop on the lid and place in the bathroom.

Sandcastles Forever

Your kids love to make sand castles, but they are gone the next day, or even sometimes sooner. Here is a quick recipe to make up some "sand" clay to create lasting memories.

1 cup Sand
1/2 cup Cornstarch
1 tsp Alum
3/4 cup Water

Grab an old saucepan and combine the sand, cornstarch and alum. Using an old wooden spoon, combine all the ingredients together well.

Pour in the water and stir well until all the ingredients are very well blended and thoroughly moist.

Place the pan over medium low heat. Stir it occasionally until the mixture starts to thicken. Once it starts to thicken stir constantly paying close attention to the sides and the bottom.

After it has cooked for about 3-4 minutes it will resemble play dough. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand for a few minutes until it is cool to the touch. (watch the inside as it might still be hot at the center) At this point you can seal in an airtight bag and store for a couple of days, but no more.

When you are ready, let the kids have fun creating their own permanent castles or creations. They can add accents with rocks and shells if wanted.

When they are done, just set it aside and let it dry for at least a week. If you have problems with any of the shells, rocks, or pieces falling off, you can just glue them back on when it is thoroughly dry.