FUN
A paper doll chain -- a simple paper cutting craft for all ages
Making a paper doll chain is a craft I remember enjoying as a child with my mother. It's a fun one because it goes fast and is great entertainment for different ages. It can be as easy or complex as you want, and unfolding the chain is always a moment of magic! All you need ...
READ MORE
VALENTINE'S DAY CRAFTS
Love Heart Chain -- you just need paper and a stapler!
This is a Valentine's Day craft at its finest -- simple, sweet, and fun. It requires only strips of paper and a stapler and can quickly be made. You can choose to make a really long paper chain, and hang it across the room. Or hang it so it falls vertically. But you can make ...
READ MORE
VALENTINE'S DAY CRAFTS
Make marvellous (non-toxic) Marble Paper -- and hearts, and cards, and bunting too!
This is a mega crafting moment. Marvellous marbleised paper, made with only two ingredients, both of which are non-toxic and kid-friendly. This is the perfect Valentine's day craft -- and we made both cards and bunting with it, using the positive and negative shapes. So it is a zero waste craft project (if that is ...
READ MORE
CRAFTS AND DIY
A Montessori approach to Toddler Creativity
If you have ever had a toddler in your home you will well know how quick they are to spot a ball point pen with the lid conveniently off, and head straight to the sofa. Or floor. Or white wall. It’s almost as though the pen and the clean, fresh surface are somehow magnetically attracted ...
READ MORE
CRAFTS AND DIY
Walnut Boat Races -- an easy craft with hours of play
We love cracking walnuts in our home, but those beautiful walnut shells seem wasted in the rubbish bin. So on a lazy Saturday morning, I did a quick google and came up with an easy and instant craft project -- Walnut Boats. These are very simple to make and use a lot of leftovers -- ...
READ MORE
CHRISTMAS CRAFTS
Little wreaths for little hands -- Christmas decor with foraged goods
We love making crafts over the Christmas season in our home, and this year, we fell in love with these beautiful, delicate, easy to make wreaths. They are very minimal, and look lovely grouped together. And all the items were foraged! Generally Christmas wreaths are very abundant, with greens, and ribbons and additional accessories. But ...
READ MORE
CRAFTS AND DIY
Resist the temptation for a new Christmas Sweater -- make your own instead!
I understand the novelty of Christmas jumpers/sweaters each year... they are cute, fun, and festive. But honestly, it makes my brain hurt just thinking about how wasteful it is to buy one each year, for each person in your home (especially the kids that keep growing), and multiply that times all the families, homes, countries, ...
READ MORE
CRAFTS AND DIY
Winter Imprints on Playdough -- Quite Possibly the Easiest Craft Ever!
Need something new to do with all the natural trinkets that seem to fill yours and your kid's pockets this time of year? Take them to your playdough! I'm always so inspired by the amount of crafting that takes place in the homes of some of the contributors here at Babyccino, especially Esther and Lara! ...
READ MORE
CRAFTS AND DIY
Autumnal Pumpkins, a simple DIY
Pumpkins are not just for Halloween! And although they could (and should) be perfectly appropriate for early and late October, they are also perfect now as their own Autumnal display or centrepiece. It is not too late to make these, and I plan on keeping ours on the table until after Thanksgiving. Along with our ...
READ MORE
CHRISTMAS CRAFTS
LOLA art boxes, the fabulous Holiday Edition!
LOLA Art Boxes are the most wonderful way to introduce creativity in your family. Every month, the talented LOLA (short for Lots of Lovely Art) team assembles everything you need to create three artist-inspired projects, including an introduction to the artist, recommendations on books or artworks to discover and galleries to visit, plus of course ...
READ MORE
CRAFTS AND DIY
Falling Leaves -- make Stained Glass
We love seasonal crafts at Babyccino, and Autumn is such a colourful time to embrace the vibrant Fall outdoor palette, and bring it indoors before things quickly change! I grew up making this 'stained glass' craft each year. Perfect for rainy days, or a relaxed afternoon activity after a walk. My children loved this craft ...
READ MORE
OUTDOORS
Ideas for a Super Simple DIY Fairy Garden
Here in North Carolina, the daylight hours have finally gifted us warm sunny days, and with that comes a renewed energy and longing to be outside as much as possible. I’ve noticed to get my kids outside, I have to give them a little nudge. I can’t just tell my nearly 3 and 4-year-old “why ...
READ MORE
CRAFTS AND DIY
Collagraph printing -- fun for all ages!
Pim and I recently visited 15 secondary schools here in Amsterdam. It's a huge job as every 12-year-old child needs to hand in a shortlist of his 12 favourite schools. Then, he or she is entered into a very complex poll which will determine the school in which your child will spend the next 4 ...
READ MORE
SPRING CRAFTS
Dandelion printing, a simple and sweet spring craft project
The first dandelions have turned into seed buds so walks in the park have become even more fun. Blowing those fluffy pompons is so fulfilling -- even I can't resist the contentment of baring a nice, fat and full blowball! Yesterday we decided to try and create our own dandelions, using simple kitchen utensils like ...
READ MORE
CRAFTS AND DIY
Blown Easter Eggs -- a lovely yearly tradition and beautiful decoration too
Every year, for as long as I can remember since my childhood, we have had a tradition of beautiful spring branches covered in blooms with blown eggs to welcome spring in our home. An Easter Egg tree essentially! A great way to welcome the new season and bring colours indoors. Growing up, we had a ...
READ MORE
CRAFTS AND DIY
Easy Homemade Easter Stamps - Hoppy Bunnies & Eggsellent Egg Cards
This is my favourite new reuse of recycled toilet rolls, loo rolls, kitchen rolls or paper towel rolls...whatever you prefer to call them! It's super simple and great for Easter bunnies and eggs! We used one paper towel roll to make two bunnies and two egg stamps ... which can make millions of cards. But ...
READ MORE
CRAFTS AND DIY
Ava's mouse house! A super fun (and super creative!) craft project.
Ava has been working for weeks on her 'mouse house' -- a collection of old shoe, cereal etc boxes with all sorts of different functions inside. It's really becoming such an extensive project! Sara, Pim and Casper have joined the fun as well -- they each have houses too now, but also business. For example ...
READ MORE
CRAFTS AND DIY
Quick as a Bunny -- a fast and easy Easter craft for all your bunnies!
Hop into the Easter mood with these very simple and sweet Spring Easter Bunny Headbands. Using only paper and glue, they are 100% handmade, and fun for kids of all ages to make and wear. They take 5 minutes to make, so you can easily make them for a whole group of kids too! Of ...
READ MORE
BIRTHDAY PARTIES
Little Robot Birthday Party -- a fun theme for a 3-year-old
Joseph is three and to celebrate we had a little party for him and his friends. He has a few simple passions, and loves the idea of robots, painting, the colour orange, eating fruit, and how things work. So that is just what we did -- a little robot party, with orange decor, handprinted invites, ...
READ MORE
CRAFTS AND DIY
Pompom flowers -- a pop of colour in your house!
Ava decided to make pompoms the other day and before long she (and Pim, who joined the fun) had made a bowl full of them. Pompoms are so easy and fun to make! We were expecting dinner guests that evening, and I had no fresh flowers for the table so I asked them to create ...
READ MORE
CRAFTS AND DIY
Embroidered Name Shirts -- a great DIY craft and gift too!
This may be my new favourite gift to make -- personalised and hand embroidered shirts! I have now created shirts with both monograms and full first names, and they are always so well received! And I often do pairs of them so siblings can each wear one. Embroidery is really very simple, and you do ...
READ MORE
CRAFTS AND DIY
The Deceptively Simple Joy of a Cardboard Box
I love how interesting the simplest of things can be. And few things have more endless possibilities than that of a cardboard box! It is deceptively simple. And it can elicit a lot of joy for a long time, just depending on how you look at it. Big, small, square, rectangular, all these boxes ...
READ MORE
CRAFTS AND DIY
Create a Winter Wonderland -- make faux snow that is surprisingly real!
My children are desperate for snow! While I realise it is January and some areas of the world are covered in it, hibernating because of it, and wishing it would start to melt away so cabin fever would disappear. Meanwhile, my children are watching the forecast and wishing for flakes! So this weekend we decided ...
READ MORE
