How to Make a Butterfly Valentine's Day Mailbox

A big thank you to Elmer's for sponsoring today's Valentine's Day post! Valentine's Day is one of the days kids look forward to most during the school year. There's a whole lot to be excited about with all of the Valentine's from classmates, yummy candy and the super fun Valentine's Day class party! Creating a fun Valentine mailbox at home to take to school is a must and today I'm sharing how to turn an empty oatmeal container into this adorable butterfly Valentine's Day mailbox.  

Popsicle Stick Love Bugs Valentine's Day Craft

We are currently obsessed with making love bugs. There's just something so cute about little bugs filled with hearts! Today we are sharing this popsicle stick love bug craft that is sure to bring a smile to your child's face. It's glittery and filled with hearts making it a perfect Valentine's Day kid craft. You can even attach a magnet to the back of it and proudly display it on your fridge for Valentine's Day. 

Paper Bag Love Bug Puppet

I'm super excited to be participating in the 31 Days of Love series over at Red Ted Art again this year. We made this adorable paper bag love bug puppet craft that makes a darling Valentine's Day craft for kids. I hope you'll head over to Red Ted Art to see all the details about our craft!

Preschool Cotton Ball Clouds Activity

My preschooler and I made a trip to the grocery store this morning in a thick fog. My daughter was having so much fun observing the fog that she insisted we drive with her window down so she could get a closer look. As we walked through the parking lot into the store she said, "Mommy, we are walking in the clouds!" Not only was I impressed with her observation but it couldn't have come at a more perfect time since our creative preschool theme this week is all about weather. When we returned home we made this preschool cotton ball clouds activity and spent the rest of the morning learning all about clouds. Make sure to check out the other preschool weather activities near the end of this post! 

Royal Penguin Kids Craft

When we make penguin crafts every year I often forget about how many different types of beautiful penguins there are. Among my favorites is the Royal Penguin. They are so awesome with the bright yellow on the top of their head. If your children are big penguin fans, they will adore making this cute Royal Penguin kids craft. It makes a perfect winter kids craft and is great combined with a children's book about penguins. Find a list of some of our favorites near the bottom of this post.        

Foam Cup Snowy Owl Kids Craft

We love learning about all types of owls, but in the winter time Snowy Owls are our favorite. They are so beautiful and since they live in the arctic they are a perfect animal to learn about in the winter. A few months ago we shared colorful owls made from foam cups and today we are sharing the same concept, but this time we made a snowy owl kids craft. Since no painting is needed, this snowy owl craft is super simple and quick to make so it's perfect for preschool or for an activity at home. Look for some fun snowy owl book recommendations near the end of this post.

Top 15 Kid Crafts in 2015

It's been a wonderful year here at I Heart Crafty Things and I owe that to you! Thank you for stopping by, for commenting and liking, for pinning and following along with all of my crafty adventures! We've made so many crafts this year, I think more than any other year so far. Here are our top 15 kid crafts in 2015. There are lots of book-related crafts, paper plate crafts and crafts made from cupcake liners. Cheers to a new year with new fun crafts my friends! If you want to keep up with all of our latest, make sure to sign up for our newsletter.

New Year's Eve DIY Cupcake Toppers

Are you ready and excited to ring in the new year? We always like to keep New Year's Eve pretty simple around my house...playing games, staying up till midnight, reminiscing over the fun things we've done through the year and making goals for the year ahead. We also love making festive decorations and fun food for our celebration. Today I'm sharing these New Year's Eve DIY Cupcake Toppers that make a perfect festive treat for your New Year's party and celebration. Your can even have your kids help you decorate them for a fun new year's activity.           

Simple and Fun Santa Envelope Puppet

Christmas is less than four days away so it's almost too late to share anymore fun Christmas crafts, but we finally got around to making a darling Santa craft so we just had to share! I mean, what is Christmas without at least one fun Santa craft, right?!! This Santa envelope puppet is so simple to make and the kids will have endless amounts of fun using it as a cute puppet. Kids can also use it to help reenact a favorite Christmas story or to help sing along to a favorite Christmas carol.   

Paper Bag Ninja Craft for Kids ...Hi-Yah!

Do your kids love ninjas? Mine sure do! They especially love to dress up and pretend to be ninjas. I taught them a simple trick of how to turn a long-sleeved black shirt into a ninja mask and ever since then it's been a favorite afternoon dress up activity that includes lots of pretend kicks and "hi-yah's". If your kids love ninjas as much as mine do, they will love this simple paper bag ninja craft. It's a craft and a puppet all in one and the repositionable arms and legs make it a fun and interactive activity for preschoolers. Make sure to check out more awesome ninja activities at the bottom of this post!    

Paper Bag Snowman Puppet

No matter what type of climate you live in there is always a great way to enjoy snowman in the winter by bringing the fun indoors. Yesterday we shared adorable bottle cap printed snowmen and today we are sharing this paper bag snowman puppet. It's a perfect indoor winter craft for kids and it couples great with a favorite children's snowman book. Look for a recommendation near the end of this post.

Adorable Bottle Cap Printed Snowman Craft

We are currently in the middle of our first winter snow storm.  My kids keep looking out the window at the snow falling and are so anxious for daylight to hit in the morning so they can get out their winter hats and boots and go outside to build a snowman. No matter where you live though and no matter what the weather is like, you can always bring the snowman fun indoors. Start saving those recyclable plastic lids and have an afternoon full of fun making this adorable bottle cap printed snowman craft. Make sure to check out more fun snowman craft ideas near the bottom of this post from the kid craft stars!

Adorable DIY Reindeer Finger Puppets

I have such fond memories of watching the classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer movie as a kid. Do you? When I see it on TV around the holidays my heart delights and we probably watch it more times than we should every Christmas. If you and your kids are fans of the ever so cute Rudolph, I'm sharing the perfect craft for you over at Artsy Momma today. These adorable DIY Reindeer finger puppets will amount to loads of fun for the kids this holiday season!   

Polar Bear Kids Craft Finger Puppets

When the weather gets cold and snowy my daughter always gets out some of her favorite books about Polar Bear's at bedtime. She has a favorite called Polar Babies (affiliate) and reading it always gets us in the mood for a fun Polar Bear craft. These cute Polar Bear Finger Puppets are not only a great winter kids craft but they are perfect combined with a favorite children's book about Polar Bears. Find some recommendations near the end of this post.      

Foam Cup Christmas Angel Craft

Are you ready for another simple angel craft? I've had this fun craft on my list for a few months now after making our colorful owls and I'm super excited with how it turned out. It's a simple and classic angel craft that is perfect for Christmas time, and kids of all ages will love making it.

Paper Plate Christmas Elf Craft

Elves are popular characters during the holiday season so it's always fun to get out the crafting materials and make an adorable elf craft with the kids before Christmas. We actually put together this cute paper plate elf craft last year after making our similar Santa Claus craft, but since I didn't get a chance to share it last year before Christmas, I saved it all year and am excited to share it now. Couple this adorable elf craft with a Christmas book for an evening full of family fun!

Yarn Wrapped Christmas Tree Twig Ornament

My kids and I recently went on a nature walk and gathered up some materials we found that could be used for crafting. Whenever one of us picked up something it was fun to talk openly about different ways we could use the item in a craft. This in itself is a fun creative preschool activity! We came back with quite a pile of neat materials but my preschooler and I were especially excited about some twigs we gathered. Since our creative preschool theme this week is nature inspired Christmas ornaments, we combined our twigs with some fun fine motor work and made these yarn wrapped Christmas Tree Twig Ornaments. Make sure to check out more ideas for nature inspired ornaments at the bottom of this post!

Newspaper Birch Tree Winter Art

A big thank you to Elmer's for sponsoring today's winter art project! One of my favorite things about making arts and crafts with my children is how much they treasure the finished project. My daughter recently asked me if she could make some art pieces to display in her bedroom for winter and her request inspired this beautiful newspaper Birch tree winter art project. It's super simple for children to create and making it on an art canvas makes it a perfect piece to display in your home or children's bedroom during the winter months.  

Recycled Newspaper Christmas Tree Craft

Do you have some old newspapers laying around your house? A fun way to recycle them is by using them for crafting. We combined newspaper with a doily for snow and made this pretty recycled newspaper Christmas tree craft. The variety of different materials makes this an especially fun Christmas craft for kids.

Sponge Painting Christmas Crafts for Kids

My kids always love trying out different painting techniques and one of their favorites is painting with sponges. There are so many fun and clever crafts you can create with sponge painting, especially during the holidays. Here are nine different sponge painting Christmas crafts that will get you and your kids in the holiday spirit.