Home - 30 Minute Crafts

Rose Necklace

March 18, 2016 by Carolina 3 Comments

Sometimes, wandering through the bead aisle at your local craft store, you’ll find the best inspiration. If you’re not sure what to make with those beads, you can use just about any combination of beads to make a necklace similar to this rose necklace. It doesn’t take long, and is sure to be a conversation starter! One that you can answer with “thanks, I made it!”

You’ll need:

Jewelry Chain of your choice
Rose Beads
Green Beads
Jewelry Wire
Jump rings
Wire Cutters
Round-nosed jewelry pliers

Cut 6″ pieces from your jewelry wire. Wrap one end around the round-nosed pliers, and wrap the excess wire around the end. If there is too much, clip off the excess.

String on your beads.

Create a loop on the other side.

Repeat three times.

Cut your chain in half. Then cut one of those halves in half. String these two quarters between the three rose pieces using jump rings. Attach the other half of the chain to the ends, and your necklace is complete!

Filed Under: 15 minute crafts, easy, fast and cheap, jewelry, simple Tagged With: necklace, rose

Bunny Straw

March 16, 2016 by Carolina Leave a Comment

Looking for a simple way to add some Easter flair to Easter Dinner? Maybe you’re in charge of the Easter Snack at Preschool and haven’t thought past carrot sticks? These simple Bunny straws are easy to make, and are sure to be a crowd pleaser!

You’ll need:

Straws
White Paper
Silhouette Machine
Bunny Straw Silhouette File

Cut out the bunny straws using your Silhouette machine.

Place them on your straws.

Done. That’s it. For real.

It is that simple to whip up these cute little bunny straws, that kids will love using – and adults will too!

Filed Under: 10 minute crafts, Easter, easy, paper, silhouette Tagged With: bunny, Easter Craft, straw

Having Eyes in the Back of Your Head

March 15, 2016 by Carolina Leave a Comment

A constant theme for moms everywhere is trying to get things done. The dishes, laundry, and household cleaning never end. Then there are kids to feed, bedtime routines to administer, and somewhere between it all, we want to find time for ourselves.

It never fails… the moment we sit down to do something, our kids need us. An older sibling takes something away from a younger child. They’re fighting over the same “special” Lego piece. Or they’re quietly doing something that they know they shouldn’t.

I was sent a Levana Shiloh™ 5” HD Touchscreen Video Baby Monitor to play with. (You have a chance to win one of these… scroll down to the bottom of this post) While I don’t have babies, it did come in handy to see what my young kids are up to when I’m out of the room! While my back is turned getting projects done at my sewing machine, I can still see (and hear) what is going on several rooms away!

Baby Monitor gives you eyes in the back of your head! These make for GREAT baby-shower gifts. Or a group gift at a Baby Sprinkle (a shower for a momma expecting a second baby). A monitor like this certainly would have come in handy when my kiddos were small – many times I wished I could see through walls to see what was happening in the nursery when my little one was supposed to be napping. But monitors like this are great for:

Giving kids some autonomy while still keeping an eye on them.
Getting projects done in another room of the house while still supervising children.
Keeping an eye on bedtime (do your kids love to sneak a book instead of sleeping?) without having to be in the same room.
Monitoring an “off limits” area of the house
Peace of mind when you can’t be in two places at once

touch screen

The Shiloh™ doesn’t record images. The wireless camera streams video to the touch-screen monitor using a secure encrypted signal. It also transmits sound and temperature information (great if certain rooms of the house get cold/warm easily!). You can use the monitor to speak to your child as well, by pressing a button on the monitor.

The screen can be plugged in, but once charged you can unplug it and move it to another room of the house! This was great for me, because once it was time to make dinner, I could carry the monitor from my sewing room to the kitchen, and still keep an eye on the kids. And, you can set up multiple cameras throughout the house if you like, to keep constant tabs on your little ones.

Shiloh Baby Monitor

I have to share how easy the set up was! I plugged in the video unit, and set it up on top of the china hutch. Then I plugged in the screen. The two synched automatically, and in just a few minutes, I had eyes in the back of my head!

The only problem that I had was that we live in an older house, with very thick walls. I did get some signal loss when the monitor was transmitting a signal that had to travel through 5 walls. But once I moved the monitor to the other side of the room, so the signal wasn’t diagonally going through so many walls, I didn’t have that issue anymore.

If you’d like to purchase this system click the button below. Or, you can check out other great Monitors by Levana.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Levana. The opinions and text are all mine.

Filed Under: simple, sponsored, video Tagged With: kids

Clover Earrings

March 14, 2016 by Carolina Leave a Comment

Looking for some simple earrings to wear for St. Patrick’s Day? Something that has a little green going on… but is more festive than just wearing the “right” color? I’ve got you covered with these fun and easy to make clover earrings! You need a few supplies – and no fancy jewelry-making tools!

To make your own clover earrings, you’ll need:

Green pearl-shaped beads
Green Seed Beads
Jewelry Wire
Earring Wires
Wire Cutters
Small jump rings

Start by cutting a piece of wire, about 18″ long. String on a jump ring, then string on a bead. Put both ends of the wire through the bead – one going in from one side, one going in from the other, so they make an “X” inside the bead.

Bring the wire to the bottom, and twist several times to secure.

String a bead on each end. Twist in place.

Add seed beads (I went with 7 beads, to add a little extra luck), then thread the wire over the last bead, and back up through the first 6.

Twist off ends of wire, and cut.

Twist the pieces round and round to secure, making sure that the bead with the jump ring ends up in the middle, and the seed beads end up on the bottom.

Add earring wire.

Make your second clover earring, and enjoy!

If you’re into four-leafed clovers, you can use the same process, just add a fourth bead, and give your seed bead stem some extra wire at the top so that it fits between the beads.

Filed Under: 15 minute crafts, easy, jewelry Tagged With: clover, earrings, spring, St. Patrick's Day

Busy Bag: Magnetic Photo Puzzle

March 11, 2016 by Carolina 1 Comment

This Magnetic Puzzle was insanely easy to make. Crazy easy. I don’t know if it should really count as a craft. But we’re going to anyway. We’ll call it a Magnetic Photo Puzzle Craft. Even though you don’t have to be crafty at all to make one! And because it is magnetic, it will be easy to transport it to a doctor’s office or other appointment without losing any pieces!

That’s what this whole week has been about. All week long we’ve been celebrating Craft Lightning week. Along with my co-host Angie from The Country Chic Cottage, and our Guest Co-host, Stacey from Glued to My Crafts, we’ve been sharing a different craft for keeping little hands busy each day. And each day, we’ve also been sharing some fun busy crafts from our creative friends on the internet. Be sure to scroll to the end to see their fun ideas!

For this project, you’ll need:
ProMag Magnetic Puzzle sheets (these are awesome – more why in a minute)
Old Cookie Sheet (or a new one if you’re feeling fancy – just make sure magnets stick to it)
Inkjet Printer (I have an HP Envy 5540)

Take out one sheet from the package of printable magnetic puzzles. Put in the inkjet printer. My printer needs them face-down.

Print your photo to 8.5×11. I printed a photo wirelessly from my phone. It took just a couple seconds!

You’ll see there are score marks on the sheet. Peel gently, and remove the frame, then gently peel the puzzle pieces apart.

Put the pieces on the cookie sheet, and your puzzle is ready for travel! Great for car trips, office visits, or any time kids need to keep busy while waiting!

And here are a bunch of other great busy bag activities:

These paperclip necklaces made using paper clips and Duct Tape are fun for kids to make.

This collage board is a simple way to keep kids occupied, and to help them with fine motor skills.

This Easter Party Game is sure to be a hit!

These Easter Egg find-it games are great for keeping little ones busy.

This travel zoo will be a top requested activity around our house!

Stacey had a genius and simple idea with this card matching game.

And I love her spool matching game.

Angie added a dog house to her felt busy book.

And also these fun road busy book pages.

I hope you enjoyed this week of fun and fast activities that will keep kids busy for hours! Be sure to check out any of the days you missed:
Day 1: Cereal Box Lacing Cards
Day 2: Paperclip Chains
Day 3: Button Sorting
Day 4: Race Car Measuring

Filed Under: 15 minute crafts, easy, fast and cheap, kids, printable, quick Tagged With: busy bag, magnet, puzzle

Busy Bag: Car Play

March 10, 2016 by Carolina 2 Comments

Playing with Toy Cars is a classic busy bag activity. Since becoming a boy mom, I’ve regularly keep toy cars in my purse, and once handed a toy car from my purse to the fussy toddler of a stranger in line. (We moms have to stick together!)Toy cars are inexpensive, small, and a great way to make a new friend. For this busy bag activity, I added some adhesive measuring tape, to freshen things up a bit.

This project is part of Craft Lightning week. All week long we’re sharing projects that take 15 minutes or less to make, and keep small hands busy. My friends Angie from The Country Chic Cottage and Stacey from Glued to my Crafts are sharing a new project each day, and some of our crafty friends are joining in all week long to share their own crafty busy items. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post to see all of their ideas.

This post contains affiliate links which help support this site at no cost to you.

For this project, you’ll need:
Cars – any and all cars welcome. These are inexpensive pull-back cars, but ones you push forward would work as well.
Adhesive measuring tape – I have 3 different brands. Thermoweb, Scotch, and a random measuring washi tape.

This craft really requires almost no crafting. Just put the tape on the floor, and start scooting your cars. You can make marks on the tape to see how far the cars went, but you don’t need to. For my preschooler, it was just an opportunity to incorporate the idea of measuring into his play.

And when we were done, we pulled up the tape – a simple lesson in cleaning up before we leave!

Here are some other great ideas for keeping the kids busy:

These DIY Tangrams will keep kids busy, and their minds working and creating different shapes.

This cardboard basket weaving is a fun way to keep little fingers busy.

Craft stick catapults are always fun for little ones to play with.

Lego lovers will love bringing Legos along with them to stay entertained.

These craft stick puzzles are as fun to make as they are to play with.

You can use your Silhouette machine to make your own puzzle.

This felt Easter Egg activity is great for seasonal creativity.

A surprise is in store every time kids try this shaving cream painting.

Stacey from Glued to My Crafts made this fun tic tac toe bag:

And Angie from the Country Chic Cottage added another page to her felt busy book with this football lacing page:

Filed Under: 15 minute crafts, craft lightning, easy, fast and cheap, kids, quick Tagged With: busy bag, car, washi tape

Busy Bag: Button Sorting

March 9, 2016 by Carolina 3 Comments

Is there anything else like digging your hands through a big bin of buttons? Both my boys still enjoy playing with buttons. Sorting them by size, color, shape… picking out a favorite, and just looking at them, feeling the different textures. There is so much variety, and so many ways to be entertained with a box, bag, or tin filled with buttons!

This is part of a whole week of busy activities for kids – all week long we’re doing “Craft Lightning: Busy Activities”. Which means that each day I’m sharing a quick and easy busy craft here, and so are my co-hosts Angie from The Country Chic Cottage, and Stacey from Glued to My Crafts. We’ve also invited a bunch of our crafty friends to join in. Scroll to the bottom of this post to see the projects they’re sharing.

This busy bag activity is easy to put together. You’ll need:
Buttons
Container (bag, tin, or box to hold the buttons)
Button Sorting Printable (optional, but can help you with sorting ideas)

Just carry your bag or box of buttons, and spill them out onto a waiting room table, table in an exam room, office chair, or blanket at a soccer game. Your kiddo can sort them over and over again.

If you want more ideas for keeping kids busy, check out all these fun projects:

These Chicks are a fun craft for keeping little hands busy.

I can’t think of an active child that wouldn’t get a kick out of these balloon cup shooters.

There are lots of options for creativity with this Minecraft busy board.

Teens and tweens need entertainment too, this road trip binder helps the miles fly by.

Kids will be kept busy and entertained by watching the birds when they make this collection of nest building supplies.

Painting rocks is always an easy way to entertain kids. Try these painted carrot rocks.

Decorate letters to keep the kids entertained, then keep them up as decor.

Stacey from Glued to my Crafts made these fun s’mores crafts.

Angie from The Country Chic Cottage made another fun addition to her felt busy book – this one is a cute lion’s head.

Filed Under: 15 minute crafts, craft lightning, easy, kids, printable, simple

Busy Bag: Paperclip Chains

March 8, 2016 by Carolina 1 Comment

When you’re stuck somewhere waiting, having activities to occupy little hands (and minds) is essential. These paperclip chains are simple for little hands to make, and you can add washi tape to entertain older children. Grab different colored paperclips, and even different sizes and shapes of paperclips, and you’ll have lots of variety to keep the kids entertained – and learning about patterns, colors, and fine motor skills.

This project is part of a whole week of Busy Bag activities I’m sharing. Not only am I sharing fun and fast projects for keeping kids entertained, but so are my friends Angie from the Country Chic Cottage and Stacey from Glued to my Crafts. And, we’ve invited lots of our crafty friends to join in as well… scroll all the way down to check out their ideas!

You’ll need:
2 plastic bags (sandwich size)
Paperclips (you can use different sizes/colors/shapes)
Washi Tape (optional)

Put the paperclips in one plastic bag.

Make a small sample so the kids get the idea. Link together several paperclips.

Rip a piece of washi tape about 2″ long. Wrap around one paperclip.

Wrap as many as you like.

Tuck everything into the second plastic bag so it will be ready to go.

It is that simple! You can switch out the washi tape or colors of paperclips for the season… this would make a great and simple Christmas garland for on a kid-decorated or family tree, and you can have the kiddos make their own fun jewelry to celebrate patriotic holidays, Halloween, Valentine’s, and more.

Check out these other fun and fast busy bag ideas:

These Duct Tape Feather Earrings are a fun craft for a tween or teen.

At the sidelines of an older (or younger) sibling’s sporting event, this craft stick catapult would be a hit.

Another great outdoor activity is some water painting – as fun as painting with chalk, without any clean-up!

Kids as young as first grade will enjoy playing with this rainbow of magnetic words.

This spring flower craft is a fun and simple project for a rainy day.

These Popsicle color sorters are fun for a young child to play with over and over again.

This fairy headband is fun for kids to make, and will keep them entertained as they play with it for hours.

These plastic Easter egg chicks are fun for kids to make, and to play with as well.

Stacey from Glued to My Crafts made this great color sorting activity – that doubles as a great bunny craft!

Angie from the Country Chic Cottage made this busy book page in just 15 minutes… but it will keep kids entertained much longer.

Filed Under: 15 minute crafts, craft lightning, easy, fast and cheap, jewelry, kids, quick, simple Tagged With: paperclip, washi tape

Busy Bag: Lacing Cards from Cereal Boxes

March 7, 2016 by Carolina 3 Comments

Keeping kids busy when you’re out and about can be as easy as handing them your cell phone. But if you’re looking for more interactive options, you can make a busy bag! Just grab a canvas tote, and start collecting activities to keep your kiddo busy. These Lacing Cards are made from empty cereal boxes, and take only a few minutes to whip up! Then toss them in a zip-top baggie, and add them to your canvas tote busy bag.

One project isn’t enough for your busy bag – so all week long, I’m sharing a different busy bag activity. And so are my friends Angie from The Country Chic Cottage and Stacy from Glued to my Crafts… and so are a bunch of our crafty friends! Scroll down to the end of this post to see the fun ideas everyone has come up with, and stop back by each day this week for even more great ideas! You’ll have an overflowing busy bag in no time!

To make these, you’ll need some simple supplies… most of which you probably have at home:

Cardboard from the recycling bin (I used cereal boxes, but cracker boxes, or whatever clean, thin cardboard you have is perfect)
Scissors
Hole Punch
Yarn (one color or assorted colors)
Tape

Cut shapes out of the cardboard. You can make your own, or you can use the images on the box.

Use the hole punch to punch holes. You can punch evenly spaced holes all the way around, or create fun designs.

Cut the yarn into segments. For young children, about 2 feet is perfect.

Cut a piece of tape about 1 – 1.5 inches. Place yarn on tape, close to end, at an angle.

Roll end over.

Keep rolling along the tape. This creates a stiffened end, which is easier to thread through the holes.

Cut the tip off the end so it won’t fray. You can tape the other end, or just tie a knot so it won’t fray. This knot won’t keep the yarn from slipping through the holes… just keep the end from getting ragged.

Make as many cardboard lacing cards and as many yarn pieces as you like.

Check out these other great busy bag activities, and other projects for keeping kids entertained on rainy days!

Jen Goode over at 100 Directions has made some adorable paper dolls.

Boys and girls alike will love this toy car belt.

Kids will enjoy making a paper doll that looks just like themselves.

Even the youngest child will be able to make custom artwork for spring.

You can use this dry erase coloring book over and over again!

Use items from your recycling bin to make this milk carton robot.

Kids will be entertained making and playing with this DIY drum.

No matter where you are, you can pull out these DIY Hopscotch tiles for kids to play with, and get their wiggles out!

Be sure to stop by again tomorrow for more great craft ideas!

Filed Under: 15 minute crafts, craft lightning, easy, fast and cheap, kids, simple Tagged With: busy bag, recycled

Tulip Earrings

March 4, 2016 by Carolina 1 Comment

I’m sharing these tulip earrings as part of the Kid’s Crafts from Around the World series over on Made with Happy. If you didn’t guess, these Tulip Earrings are my craft offering to represent The Netherlands, also known as Holland.

When you think of Holland, there are a few different iconic symbols that come to mind. Windmills. Little Dutch Girls. Wooden Shoes. And Tulips. A small country on the NorthWestern European coast, it is barely more than 16 thousand square miles of land. Which makes it a little less than half the size of Maine. But this small country has a rich history and culture. The Netherlands, also known as Holland, is the home of artists such as Vermeer, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and Mondrian. They regularly win Olympic speed-skating gold, wearing the country’s signature color: orange. And Holland is the backdrop for the story of Anne Frank.

I’ve done crafts celebrating Dutch culture before: Printable Windmill, Paper Wooden Shoe, Embroidered Tulip Shirt, and my Faux Delft Blue Mug. Today, I’m going to share with you how to make these tulip earrings out of oven-bake clay. You don’t need fancy clay skills, we’re using a mold for all the tricky parts!

Make these Tulip Earrings using Oven Bake Clay and a Mold

To make the tulip earrings, you’ll need:
Sculpey Flower Mold
clay in your choice of colors – a color for the petals and a color for the stem/leaves
Earring Wires
Head Pins

clay and supplies for tulip earrings

I didn’t have the color pink or the color green I wanted, so I created them by mixing colors that I did have.

break off clay

mix clay

I rolled a small pea-sized ball as the base for my flower, and skewered it onto the headpin. At this point, it would be a good idea to add the earring wires as well. I didn’t, and that made things tricky later. Add the earring wires now to make things easier on yourself.

skewer onto eye pin

Make the petals by pushing the clay into the flower mold.

form petals

Put the petals onto the ball. I felt the petals out of the flower mold weren’t tall enough, so I stretched them a little as I put them on. You’ll need three petals for each flower.

add petals

Roll out a “skinny snake” piece of green for the stem. Cut to length. Then push and form around the head pin.

roll clay for stem

Form the leaves. Tulips have long, tall leaves that come up from the bottom of the stem.

form leaves

Attach the leaves to the base of the stem.

finished clay tulip earring

Make the second earring, same as the first.

formed clay tulip earrings

Bake as directed on the clay package. In the past, I’ve found that I get a flat spot on the part of the clay that touches the dish. To prevent this, I used wire and the hoops on the head pins to “hang” the earrings a little.

lift up from tray to bake