These are a few of MY favorite things: cute pictures for Pinterest

My Favorite things include adorable baby bunny picture and Christmas tree in snow

Not necessarily in any order, (I've been suffering from writer's and crafter's block lately, so if I have to organize them it will turn into the post that wasn't). My favorite things include baby bunnies, a spider, and Christmas Trees. Enjoy!

Christmas tree in snow with colored lights.

1. Snow covered Christmas Lights on Evergreen Trees. I LOVE how the light glows under the snow.

Can you smell the puppy breath?

2. Puppy Breath. 'Nuf said.

Book by Robert Kraus, How Spider Saved Halloween.

3.  Halloween! Inspired by my favorite book ever. I LOVE the illustrations. I love the story about bullying. Kraus writes several books in the Spider series. Check my pages above for more info.

Jake's journey in art started here.

4.  Inspired Art. My son comes from a line of artists, but art isn't his thing. He is a straight A+ student- except for an A- in art. When my daughter and I paint and craft, he plays computer games. The other day, he sat down and painted this portrait of Santa!  

He used the entire page. It is truly amazing - "A Kid's Perspective of Santa". His Uncle designed the characters and worked on 'Call of Duty' Black Ops for Activision (among other things).  

If the Presidency thing falls thru, I think he might just have a back-up plan. I  LOVE that it isn't just a picture of Santa in the middle of the paper.

Kitty paws.

5. Kitty Paws. Especially, touching my chin.

Hot Air Balloons.

6. Hot Air Balloons. Here is a local Balloon Voyage anyone can experience.

Bunny ears, I adore this picture! :)

7. Toddlers. I think we are 3 and 5 here. Wow, 4 and 6 is so different. See that Balloon in the background? It's the Energizer Bunny which brings me to...

Cute Baby Bunny.

8. Bunnies. I just LOVE them. I miss my sweet fuzzy, cuddle bunny. Kids, cats, turtle, bird = no time for baby bunnies.  Maybe when the kids leave the nest. Wait, I'll be how old? 

Reminiscing is good too.


*This is one of my very first POSTS. If any of these images are yours, please let me know so I can give proper credit. 


Recommended Reading:


Birthday Party Game for Kids

Leo the Late Bloomer*

A Wish to Be A Christmas Tree*







ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Stained Glass Christmas Cookies and Recipe

Stained Glass Christmas Cookie Ornaments Recipe

BEWARE OF KILLER COOKIES! Years ago, I shared an apartment with two other singles: one male, one female. I decided to make stained glass cookie ornaments for the house. Enjoy!

Stained Glass Cookies From Epicurious.com

Christmas came and we decided to deck the halls. The roommates hung lights and put up a tree, while I got crafty. I wanted to try my hand at stained glass cookie ornaments, but took it one step too far and invented stained glass cookie votives. I am nothing if not the Martha Stewart of crafty flops, but these didn't flop! They were a huge success- at least that's what I thought.

I made homemade gingerbread cookie panels (the walls of the traditional house). Then, I took cookie cutters and a cut a window in each panel. I filled the centers with leftover, Grandma candies from Halloween. You know, butterscotch rounds, red cinnamon circles, and lime things. I baked them in the oven until the cookies were done and the candies were squishy, pulled them out, let them cool, then built them into house squares minus the roof.

Creative genius. I put a small votive in the center of each one and placed my work of art as a centerpiece on the table. With the lights off and a fire in the hearth, Christmas had arrived. The flicker pattern from the stained glass was glorious. Finally, I had a crafting home run.

It was Christmas Eve. I was tired. With visions of sugarplums and gingerbread men in my head, I blew out the candle and trumped off to bed. The roommates were equally wooed by the masterpiece. So much, that one felt inclined to move it to the living room end-table to enjoy its splendor.

A few hours later, it smelled as if Santa had come down the chimney and started baking cookies for us. I drifted back to sleep and awoke to the aroma of burnt cookies. A cloud of smoke filled the stairwell. My roommate rushed downstairs to find the couch smoldering, the end-table burnt to a crisp, and a trail of burning carpet. The male roommate had neglected to blow out the candle before going to bed.

We lugged the table and couch outside, pointed fingers, and thanked God that we were alive.

Thank goodness for apartment insurance, the smoke ruined the drapes, carpet, and furniture.You never know when it is your time to go. Who would think that you could die from a cookie incident.

That was a Christmas I will never forget. I wish I had photos of the masterpiece, but these are similar. Here's a recipe for Cookie Ornaments, they won't burn down your house!

Have a Happy and Safe Holiday Baking Season.

Recommended:

The Gingerbread Man*

Best-Ever Cookies: Cookies 'Round the Calendar*

Make Salt Dough Christmas Ornaments







ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Diy Christmas Gift Bag Ideas

Make Christmas Gift Bags at Home

These gift bags are the perfect things to make at home. Purchase plain bags at deep discount and then do these DIY Christmas Gift Bag Ideas to personalize them for friends and family. Whether you decorate with a Christmas Tree, Santa Claus, Reindeer, Elf, Gingerbread Man or even a Star of David for Hanukkah, these bags are sure to get a smile. Enjoy!

Diy Christmas Gift Bag Ideas to make at home.

DIY Santa Gift Bag Decoration.

For this Santa Claus gift bag, we used an oversize gift tag, sticky stars, and cotton balls. Total Cost is under 25 cents! We bought the tags and bags in bulk.

Gingerbread Man Craft Decoration for a DIY Gift Bag.

This Gingerbread Man is a foam form that came in a pack of 100 different holiday characters. We added glitter glue, mini pom poms, and sticky stars.

DIY Reindeer Gift Bag Idea Craft.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is a cardboard cut out. We bought them in packs of 50 at Michael's. They make great traceable patterns for kids. The tree below is traced from the Christmas Tree pack. We added glitter glue, sticky stars, and mini pom poms.

Christmas Tree Gift Bag Craft Idea.

Trace a Christmas Tree on felt and cut it out, add some glitter glue and sticky starts and then pop on some cottonball snow to make this gift bag decoration.

Recommended:

Christmas Ribbon for Crafts*

Fun Crafts to Make at Home

Make a Cardboard Gingerbread House

Christmas Tree Cards





ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products. *We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

For Blog's Anniversary: 5 Holiday Decorating Crafts and Activities with Disney Phineas and Ferb's Perry (Agent P)

Like Agent P? So, do we! 5 Perry the Platypus Holiday Crafts

It's my blogiversary! Today, the blog is officially 5 years old per the first post, although, I am certain I deleted some less than perfect posts from those first few months. Mayhem and Jake have grown so much over these last 5 years! We wanted to share our favorite things and that includes Perry the Platypus. Enjoy!

And, this little image, sealed the deal ;) Thanks again, friends!

When I started, I never believed I would make it this far. I never thought it would be possible to not only make a real living with my blog, but also to employ others who needed income and wanted to stay at home. 

Now, 5 years into it, blood, sweat, and tears behind me; I leap forward into a new career as an internet entrepreneur. I have never felt so empowered, and I am excited to see what gifts and lessons the future has for me. 

Thank you for reading our posts. Thank you for sticking with me all these years! If you've just stumbled upon us, welcome! Help us celebrate by leaving a comment or giving us a G+ 1 high-five. 

We leave our failed attempts, messy chaos, and more for you to review. The future is a gift to you. The blog will share more and more ideas for homeschool projects, preschool activities, and crafts for adults and kids alike as well as my chaotic musings on life.

The post that started it all- I've come a long way baby!  Spiffy title though, "Watch me Pull a Chicken Sandwich out of a hat", a la the Amazing Mumford from Sesame Street ;)

In 2014, we'll be introducing a whole team of bloggers here. Each with a special creative talent or skill. Want to get in on the action? You can submit a post for publication and get paid! Paid Submissions? Yes, I can do that ;)

To celebrate, here are 5 Holiday Crafts and Printables honoring one of our blog's favorite characters to craft, Perry the Platypus!

1.  Disney Family has free printable Phineas and Ferb (and Perry) Christmas tree decorations.  

Perry the Platypus and Phineas and 
Ferb Printable Christmas Tree Decorations.

2.   Free Phineas and Ferb Christmas Coloring Page Printable


3.   Squidoo has a Free Printable for Perry the Platypus Day. 

Perry the Platypus Day Clipart.

Say What?  Did you know there is a Platypus day? Apparently, it is March 2. That is very close to my birthday; Perry and I must be soul mates!

4.   Okay, so these aren't all Holiday Crafts for Perry the Platypus, unless you consider Platypus Day a holiday, but you could add a fun Santa hat to this paper bag puppet to make it so! The kids will love learning how to craft Perry into a puppet like this one from Chatting Over Chocolate.

Make a Perry the Platypus paper bag puppet.

5.  This Perry Merry Christmas card is also from Disney Family. What a cute card to make with preschoolers! 

Perry the Platypus Christmas Card paper craft to make.

Here is a bonus Perry the Platypus crocheted Christmas ornament decoration for you Christmas tree. You could make your own or buy it. It is the cutest thing! I found it on Etsy.

Perry the Platypus Christmas tree ornament decoration by kiki and jojos.

Recommended:

Perry the Platypus Costume Idea

Perry the Platypus Water Bottle*






ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Halloween Ideas: Diy Decorations

DIY Halloween Decoration Ideas

Halloween is so much fun! The holiday seasons begins with hayrides, bonfires, and pumpkin patches. To get you into the holiday spirit, we're sharing some Halloween decor ideas that you can make at home or purchase online at Oriental Trading and display around your party area. Make homemade Halloween lights to show off your festive Halloween decor. Enjoy!

Oriental Trading supplied these items in exchange for a post. 
This posts contains affiliate links for your convenience*

Easy Christmas Tree Decoration : Kids Popsicle Stick Christmas Crafts

Easy Popsicle Christmas Tree Decoration: Kids Christmas Crafts

Get Crafting! Use popsicle sticks to make these easy puppets or fridge magnets. Make several holiday shapes, and glue them to popsicle sticks. Have the kids design their own stage with an old shoe box and use these as mini-puppets. Go ahead and glue the magnet to the back. The fridge make's the perfect storage keeper to organize all your kids craft projects. Enjoy!

Christmas Tree Puppet or  Magnet or Pin.

Cool craft for preschool kids.

  Materials:

  Popsicle Stick

  Old Advertiser Fridge Magnets, Cut up or pin back 

  (Michael's or JoAnn's)

  Felt

  Pipe Cleaners

  Hot Glue

  Earring Stickers or Sequins for decorations

 Kids can play on the fridge too. Color a scene on a piece of construction paper. Attach it to the fridge, and move the "puppets" around the scene. Now, that is a fun holiday project for kids!

Recommended Reading:

Snowmen

Bridges: Amazing Structures to Design, Build & Test (Kaleidoscope Kids)*

Indians and Turkeys

Loew Cornell 1021254 Woodsies Craft Sticks, 1000-Piece*

Santa and Reindeer

ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Cinnamon Christmas Cobbler Recipe for Christmas Morning: Kitchen Kids

Get Cooking with your Kids with this Christmas Cobbler

This Cinnamon Christmas Cobbler is a fun, easy recipe you can make at home or in the classroom with preschoolers. Made with refrigerator biscuits and pie filling, you won't believe how delicious it is. Enjoy!

Great for building a CAN-DO attitude.

Cinnamon Christmas Cobbler Recipe.

This recipe is so simple. The biscuits are good with only the Cinnamon mixture, but add the pie filling and it tastes like real cobbler- maybe better!

Cinnamon Christmas Cobbler Recipe.

You will need:

1 roll of refrigerator biscuits
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon red sprinkles
1 can cherry or strawberry pie filling

To Make Biscuit Cinnamon Cobbler:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Separate biscuits and place on ungreased baking sheet or place them in a muffin pan.

Arrange biscuits in a baking pan.

Brush melted butter over biscuits.

Melt butter and brush over biscuits.

Cinnamon, sugar, and red sprinkles.

Mix Sprinkles, Cinnamon, and Sugar, then sprinkle on biscuits.
Bake in oven for 12-15 minutes.

Place biscuits in the oven.

Heat pie filling in sauce pan over low heat until warm.

Biscuit out of the oven tastes like a Cinnamon Roll.

Place biscuit in dessert dish, spoon filling over biscuit, top with whip cream.

Biscuit with strawberry pie filling- just add whip cream.

Makes 8 servings, perfect for Christmas morning.


Recommended Reading:

 Cinnamon Crescent Rolls

Holiday Recipes*

Kids Creative Chaos Cooks Holiday Recipes for Kids to Make*



ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Free Printable Christmas Tree and Santa Coloring Pages

Christmas Tree Printable Coloring Sheets

Looking for Christmas Trees to color or Santa activities to do with kids? We have tons of Holiday and Christmas decoration ideas to make and free printables too. We use media fire to host our free printables, just click the image or the link to go there. You can also right click and save, but they may print out wonky. If you head over to our MediaFire page you will see all of our free printables and activity sheets for kids. Enjoy!

Christmas Tree to color.

North Pole and Snowman winter scene to color.

Santa with bag of toys.

Happy Holidays, Y'all :) xoxo - Lora


Recommended Reading:

The Night Before Christmas: Coloring and Sticker Fun! (Dover Holiday Coloring Book)*

Zolocolor! Christmas Doodling*

Christmas Tree Cards







ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Fun Holiday Edible Craft: Cream Cheese Snowman and PBJ Gingerbread Man Toast

Christmas Cream Cheese Sandwich Snacks

This fun, holiday, edible craft is healthier than Christmas Cookies. It is made with cream cheese and food coloring. Add fruit for an after school snack or breakfast your kids will eat. Use your Christmas Cookie Cutters to make holiday shapes with plain, white bread and add food coloring to the cream cheese. Enjoy!

Christmas Cream Cheese Sandwich Snacks: Fun Holiday Edible Craft.

Want your kids to eat? Let them play with their food! We played and made a Toast and Cream Cheese Snowman, Toast with Peanut Butter and Jelly Gingerbread Man, Toast and PBJ 'hamburger' and Cream Cheese Christmas Tree.

Fake Hamburger with PBJ and Bread edible craft.

Cream Cheese Edible Christmas Tree healthier than Cookies Snack.

Just add a drop of food coloring to cream cheese and 'paint' your toast with a plastic knife. You can even paint a tree or snow scene on your toast with our  Edible paint your toast.

This is one of our original, oldest posts from back when flip phones were rad because they had cameras :) For more updated ideas, see below.


Recommended:

Cool Things to do with Chicken Nuggets

More Edible Art Ideas

Healthy Homemade Snacks You and Your Kids Will Love*








ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Christmas Gift Ideas for Tweens: Gift Guide Review

Find the Best Christmas Gifts for Preteens (Tweens)

Searching for the best Christmas gift ideasChristmas gift ideas for tweens? Check out our gift guide for tween boys and girls aged 9-12 yrs. These Christmas gift ideas for tweens were tested by our staff's own children and have received a two thumbs up! 

This post contains Affiliate links.

Finding the right gift for preteens is tough, because they’re not little kids anymore, but they’re not quite teenagers yet. Most tweens are outgrowing their favorite toys and developing their own tastes. What they loved yesterday is old news! Tweens often like gifts that are related to their interest and seem cool and fun: Think Nifty! 

Because shopping for teens and tweens is difficult, it's tempting to take the easy way out and give them money or a gift card, but a great gift is much more memorable and lets them know that you really care. Below are some of our top picks for teen and tween Christmas gifts.

5 Top Picks for Tweens Gift Guide Review

• Fujifilm Instax Mini 9 Camera

Our tween girls love this camera! Nifty is its middle name. The Instant Camera is the perfect gift for tween girls. It’s stylish and it's an excellent value for the price. The Fuji camera comes in a range of funky colors and uses automatic exposure to help make it easy to use for beginners. All you have to do is turn the power on, adjust the dial, take the photo and wait for the film to develop. The tiny photos instantly pop out like old fashioned Polaroid pictures.

The camera is compact and lightweight so tweens can easily carry it around with them and even take photos one-handed. A highlight is the simplicity of the design because it doesn’t overwhelm kids with features and accessories they won’t use. Be sure to stock up on lots of film, kids love taking pictures of everyone during the holidays!

• My Cinema Light Box

Last year, this was a hit with our preteens and tweens! A cinema light box is another nifty gift that helps tweens express their personality by showcasing a message they can personalize. Kids can share their own fun or inspiring messages to friends and family. Plus, there are lots of fun emojis included and plenty of room to add a range of messages that tweens will love. The light box has a cool color changing background with different settings that include fade, flash, and strobe to give a variety of effects. This is a truly unique gift for theater and other creative kids. Put their name in lights under the tree and brighten your preteen’s holidays.

• Kanken Classic Backpack

The iconic Kanken backpack design is Retro which automatically translates to cool these days. Available in a wide range of colors, the large capacity storage space allows for plenty of room for school supplies and tablets. In addition to the main compartment, it has two side pockets and a front zippered pocket. The laptop pouch in the main compartment is perfect for a 13" Macbook Pro but won’t fit any larger laptops. Material is durable and water resistant, so if you're tweens are outdoorsy, it’s a great bag to take on hikes.

https://amzn.to/2qVogel

• Electronic Drum Pad Set

Music lovers will have hours of fun with the electronic roll up drum pad set. Tweens can learn about the different sounds a drum kit makes and develop a sense of rhythm by playing a beat along to their favorite music. Use it with headphones to play at night and it won’t disturb your neighbors.

An electronic drum set pad is a great alternative to a full size drum set. Who has the room for a full-size drum set? It’s also easy to roll up and carry, so your kids can take it anywhere. We bought one of these for our tween boy last year. Pardon the pun, but it was a hit! We also bought this electric roll up piano for our musical tween daughter. She takes it with her everywhere she goes!

• Crystal Growing Kit 

Crystal growing kits are a hit with 9 and 10 year-olds. If your preteen is into science or shows an interest in precious gems, the crystal growing kit is a perfect gift idea. Kids can grow red, blue, and white crystals and monitor their progress day by day as they transform into fully grown crystals. Once they’ve grown, add them to an LED display to show them off in their full glory. How cool is that?

These Christmas gift ideas for tweens are some of the best rated gifts for preteens on Amazon and have been proven hits with our own kids. If you didn’t find the perfect gift for your preteen, check out some more cool suggestions on Good Old Gifts. Hopefully, you'll find a gift suggestion that matches your preteen’s interests so you can give them something they’ll truly love this Christmas.


Be sure to follow us on Instagram and Pinterest to stay up to date on our reviews and travel tips!


Recommended:

Unique Gift Ideas for Teen Boys

Gift Ideas for Pet Lovers

Gifts for Babies


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