Thanksgiving is coming! I always want to use fall leaves for my decorations, but I find that they are usually dried up by the time the holiday comes around. This is a fun way to get fresh-looking leaves that don't crinkle or crumble and it gets your kids involved in decorating!
Read MoreGingerbread houses are fun to bake and build, but these little Halloween haunted houses, a variation of the Valentine cottages from my book, "Candy Aisle Crafts," are made from graham crackers, allowing you to skip the baking and get to the best part -- decorating! They make a spooky Halloween centerpiece or mantle decoration, too. For a great playdate or fall afternoon activity, premake the house bases, one for each kid, and set out bowls of candy for decorations.
Read MoreI am so happy to have recently contributed some ideas to Etsy Studio, Etsy's new-ish craft supply market where makers can find unique (and basic) materials as well as project ideas and inspiration. My first post is all about making homemade dessert stands, like this multi-tiered castle stand! I was so inspired by Etsy's wide selection of unfinished wooden blocks and shapes!
Read MoreIn this month's Family Fun magazine, I shared a few easy crafts you can do with or for your kids to make your July 4th celebration even more fun!
Read MoreFisher-Price's Little People Farm was one of my most-loved toys when I was a kid and was a favorite of our boys when they were little too so I was thrilled when they asked me to come up with cupcakes inspired by their farm animals. Check out the video we made and you'll see that the cupcakes are super easy to make. Snip some supermarket candy, no piping or cake-decorating skills required! Your kids can help make them and they're great for a barnyard-themed or piggy party, Easter, or even just a rainy day!
Read MoreMy friend, Margaret, and I like to work on craft projects together. (She's a brilliant illustrator and surface designer, by the way. Check out her website!) We've gotten together the last couple of years to decorate Easter eggs, like these neon highlighter eggs, inspired by a series of highlighter pen drawings she made.
Read MoreIn this month's Parents magazine, I shared a few Easter treat ideas using Peeps, a candy that I have long loved for their bright sugar coating and chubby cuteness....perfect for decorating desserts! These little Peep chicks are in nests made from chow mein noodles in a marshmallow mixture. (click here for directions and a recipe).
Read MoreLast year, I crafted some eco-friendly Easter crafts for Parents magazine. They're easy to make and utilize items that you probably have in your recycle bin! These little felt-eared egg bunnies are sitting in grass cuffs made from toilet paper and paper towel tubes. You can find the instructions here (and a video here).
Read MoreTune in to NBC tomorrow (Saturday, February 18th) at 11:30 AM to watch Naturally, Danny Seo. Danny and I had so much fun making jewelry, toys, and decorations out of items that you probably have in your recycle bin right now, like these flower necklaces made out of squeeze pouch caps and felt scraps!
Read MoreThese portrait lollipops I made for my husband are inspired by the Funny Face Pops in our book, Candy Aisle Crafts. Making them was some of the most fun that I had working on the book! I was creating all different shapes of lollipops for our hard candy chapter and Amy and I talked about including a page of people portrait lollipops. When she suggested that I try making Bert and Ernie–like faces, I was inspired! Make some for your Valentine...or your favorite couple!
Read MoreMany many years ago, my friend Page and I liked to make homemade Valentines for our coworkers at Martha Stewart Living magazine. We came up with ideas for little gifts, like these felt tissue dispensers (instructions here), that we could produce assembly-line style. The beautiful wool felt we used was special ordered from Holland. This was before the internet (!) so we would call the sweet owner over the phone to place our overseas orders! We sat together and measured, cut, and sewed until the wee hours of the night...and we loved it! This went on for many years until our recipient list grew to well over 100, we had our babies, and got too busy. Now, Page co-owns Purl Soho with Joelle Hoverson where, coincidentally, you can buy this beautiful felt!
Read MoreMake this marshmallow cow, or invent your own creature, to adorn your hot chocolate! Keep a few different sizes of marshmallows on hand for making heads and bodies. It's a perfect winter craft!
Read MoreThese pops, made by melting supermarket candies, are perfect party favors or school Valentines! You can even use up any leftover peppermints swirl candies you may have from Christmas!
Read MoreI just finished up a few finger puppet necklaces for a little friend who will be visiting this weekend. (Doesn't everyone need a finger puppet on their person?) These are a twist on some tube-knit and other no-knitting-needles-needed yarn crafts I made for Parents magazine a while ago. Instructions for the finger puppets are on the Parents website. To make these necklaces just start with some extra yarn hanging down the tube at the start and leave another length when you take it off the loom. (This will make sense once you start! Alternatively, you can simply thread a necklace length of yarn through the top of the finger puppet when you finish)
Read MoreI am thrilled to have contributed a few crafty holiday food ideas to one of my favorite blogs, Jenny Rosenstratch's Dinner: A Love Story ! I'm a longtime fan of both her blog and books. Have you seen her newest, How to Celebrate Everything? If I hadn't bought it the minute it came out it would be at the top of my holiday wish list! Anyway, these marshmallow tree-topped cupcakes, above, are "something to bring to a holiday party" and you can find instructions for them on DALS here.
Read MoreThis card-making project is the perfect cold day kids craft. You don't need any special supplies, just some recycled packaging, glue, and scissors. (I'm always digging around in my recycle bin for materials!) Use colorful packaging like cereal or snack boxes or old Christmas cards.
Read MoreThese fancy lady cupcakes from our book, Candy Aisle Crafts, would be perfect for a Nutcracker party! I dip-dyed white cupcake papers into food coloring for skirts, but any solid or patterned cupcake paper would work (gold would be pretty too). There are so many fun prints available now online and in party stores—and yes, even at supermarkets!
Read MoreSeveral years ago, my boys and I made a village out of recycled cartons and we love unpacking it every year and setting it up on our mantle. I made the one pictured above, lit with battery-powered tea lights, for our book, Paper Good Projects. If you look closely you'll see some tiny conical trees and the how-to is in this post.
Read MoreA few cupcake papers and skewers are all you need for this cute and easy wintery cake topper! See below for instructions.
Read MoreWe LOVE making paper snowflakes, lots and lots of them. Thin square paper, like origami paper, works best for folding and snipping but I don't like using up my stash. Printer paper is great, but I don't like having to precut the paper into squares. Coffee filters and cupcake papers, inexpensive, thin and easy to cut, are the perfect material for this fun craft!
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©2015 Jodi Levine. All photographs by Amy Gropp Forbes unless otherwise noted.
