January 11, 2019

Cupcakes For Your Animal-Loving Kid!

January 11, 2019/ jodi levine

I recently made some safari animal cupcakes for Thomas & Friends to promote their movie Big World! Big Adventures! . I used mostly easy-to-find supermarket ingredients like cookies, marshmallows and pretzels to make these along with candy melts...which you can find at craft and party stores nowadays! Start off with your favorite cupcake, homemade or store-bought. I love this recipe for One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes. If you prefer to buy them, you can call most supermarket bakeries and ask them to make you some unfrosted cupcakes (or frosted, in the color of your choice).

April 10, 2018

Recycled Cardboard Zoo Animals!

April 10, 2018/ jodi levine

Oh, the many uses of cardboard! Thanks to online shopping, we often have several flattened boxes in our recycle bin. Sturdy corrugated cardboard it is one of my favorite materials! It can be turned into a box town, a lemonade stand sign, a candy ATM, or these colorful zoo animals that I made for Family Fun magazine. They're easy to make (using the templates, below) and fun to paint and play with!

February 24, 2018

Veggies Taste Even Better When They Look Like Trains!

February 24, 2018/ jodi levine

A few months ago I made some veggie trains for a video for Thomas & Friends! They're fun for any occasion, whether it's a train-themed birthday party treat to a playdate craft activity or an afterschool snack. As I usually work with candy it was so nice to have some healthy "craft materials" to share with my boys when they poked their heads into the kitchen to see what I was doing!
*IMPORTANT* In these photos I attached the wheels with toothpicks but in the video, I "glued" them on with cream cheese. Toothpicks are fine if the trains are for decorations only but if you're giving them to a child to eat, leave off the toothpicks.

February 03, 2018

Yummy (and Gluten-Free) Petit Four Treats for your Valentine

February 03, 2018/ jodi levine

Rice Krispie Treats are not only yummy but a good option for a dessert to serve to gluten-free friends. Making them into mini "cakes" is such a fun crafty food project! You can use square and round cookie cutters or hand-cut them. They work well if you cut into with a pretty thin layer, around 1", so spread them a little thinner than you usually do. (You might need to spread it into two baking dishes.) I use the classic recipe right off the box.

January 28, 2018

Easy Cupcake Paper Valentines to Make with Your Kids

January 28, 2018/ jodi levine

Cupcake papers, which come in fun colors and patterns, make for a fun collage material. These little Valentines, party invites, and tags take advantage of their ruffled texture. After baking, I always seem to have a few stray cupcake papers left over from various packs, and this is a nice use for them!

January 12, 2018

Best Use of a Cardboard Box Ever: Candy ATM!

January 12, 2018/ jodi levine

I recently had the pleasure of working with the super talented photographer, Lucy Schaeffer. We were shooting a craft story for Family Fun magazine involving large cardboard boxes (which I am excited to share as soon as it comes out!). Lucy told me about the candy ATM (Yes, a candy ATM!) that she and her two daughters made together using a giant cardboard box.
(All photos by Lucy)

December 16, 2017

Fun Gingerbread House Kit Hack Videos!

December 16, 2017/ jodi levine

I recently worked with Bed, Bath & Beyond to make a series of gingerbread house kit hacks. We had so much fun coming up with different themes using the candy decorations from the kit and some easy-to-find extras like candy canes, pretzel rods, and marshmallows. I will update this post soon with the third video, a snowy palace!

December 09, 2017

10 Holiday Gift Combo Ideas for Your Creative and Crafty Kid!

December 09, 2017/ jodi levine

I've compiled a list of gift ideas for the creative kids on your holiday shopping list. The ideas may seem basic, but when paired with one or two other things, become a simple (but fun!) craft or activity kit!

December 06, 2017

How to Make a TinkerToy Kid's Christmas Tree

December 06, 2017/ jodi levine

I love to have a little side Christmas tree for my kids to decorate with their own ornaments...the ones that don't really match with what I had in mind for our big tree. :) Sometimes they'll keep it in their room or we'll have it on a side table in the living room. This little Tinker Toy tree is easy and fun to make, never drops needles, and turns back into a toy after the holiday!

November 29, 2017

Easy Activity Advent Calendar For The Most Fun Holiday Ever!

November 29, 2017/ jodi levine

Christmas is quickly approaching! What a better way to celebrate each day of Advent than with a fun handmade countdown. These paper bags double as cute decor and a functional Advent calendar. You could fill them with treats, small toys, or slips of paper with quotes, or fun family activity ideas!

November 17, 2017

Fun Last-Minute Thanksgiving Crafts You Can Make Together!

November 17, 2017/ jodi levine

A couple of Thanksgivings ago I teamed up with my friends at Marley Spoon to create an easy kid-friendly Thanksgiving craft and I came up with this turkey napkin ring. In my sketch, above, I used a dyed coffee filter and a toilet tube, two of my favorite materials!

November 08, 2017

Easy Kid-Made Thanksgiving Centerpiece

November 08, 2017/ jodi levine

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!

August 18, 2017

5 Easy DIY Dessert Stands for Etsy Studio

August 18, 2017/ jodi levine

I 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!

June 24, 2017

July 4th Party Crafts!

June 24, 2017/ jodi levine

In 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!

May 31, 2017

DIY Farm Animal Cupcake Video for Fisher-Price

May 31, 2017/ jodi levine

Fisher-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!

April 15, 2017

Bonbon-Inspired Floral Easter Eggs

April 15, 2017/ jodi levine

My 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.

March 24, 2017

Eco-Friendly Easter Crafts in Parents Magazine!

March 24, 2017/ jodi levine

Last 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).

February 18, 2017

Fun, Easy Upcycled Crafts on Naturally, Danny Seo

February 18, 2017/ jodi levine

Tune 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!

February 07, 2017

Valentine Portrait Pops!

February 07, 2017/ jodi levine

These 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!

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