Let’s talk about crafts! Today I’m going to share with you some craft ideas to keep the kids entertained during the summer months. I remember in my younger years being a happy camper when given the crayons, scissors, construction paper, and glue. The only thing else that was needed was my imagination. Fun times. Crafts have really come a long way since then. YOu can purchase subscription craft kids and have them delivered to your door every month. You can go to the craft store and load your cart with all sorts of pre-made craft kits. For as long as I can remember I have been a crafty type. You can imagine my excitement when my children were old enough to start crafting. Truth be told, they were crafting at a very young age. I am guilty of dipping their hands and feet into paint at various themed play dates with other mom friends. Yeah, I’m that mom! Both of my children enjoy crafting, so I consider myself one lucky mom. Now that they are both of school age, we have less time for crafts, so when a craft day arrives it is always greeted with excitement. I generally spend some time in advance searching and planning for a new craft. For ideas, I turn to magazines as well as the internet. We subscribe to a couple of magazines that include crafts for kids. We also find fun ideas at a few family friendly websites, like Spoonful, PBS, and Family Fun. Today, I am so thankful to have Pinterest to help find new and fun craft ideas for my kids. Check out these boards for some inspiration: Fun Ideas for Kids and Summer Fun. Besides looking in various places for craft inspiration, I’d like to share with you some other fun crafts that we enjoy on a pretty regular basis.
Lowes and Home Depot offer free craft projects every month in their stores. You can register online in advance to assure that a craft will be available.

Toys R Us offers monthly in store events with make and take type crafts for free (some are a minimal fee).

Many local Lego stores offer free mini model builds on the first Tuesday of every month. If you visit the site you can scroll down and check the newsletter and calendar for dates. Every store is different, but in our area the minis are available on a first come, first served basis. You might want to call ahead or try to arrive early.

Joann offers free Make It – Take Its on select Saturdays. Check the calendar of events for dates.

Michaels offers Kid Club Events every Saturday of the month. For $2 you can create a fun craft. Over the past few years Michael’s has also offered a fun craft adventure during the summer months. It’s called Passport to Imagination. This year it runs from June 16 – August 1, 2014. See the itinerary here. Most of the crafts are available for a minimal fee and there are even craft suggestions for at home. It is a lot of fun and keeps the kids excited for each upcoming craft.

Okay! Okay! By now you are tired of running around town going to all of these events, so now let’s just hang out at home and make something fun from all of the inspirational places mentioned here. This week we made monster rocks. Quick! Easy! Cheap! Fun! Now that’s my kind of craft. I cannot take the credit for the idea. I found it on Pinterest.

Supply List:

• smooth rocks in various sizes
• acrylic paint
• paint brush or sponge applicator
• glue
• google eyes
• fine tip sharpie or other permanent ink

So let’s get started. The first thing we did was search for and collect some rocks. Smooth, flat rocks are best for painting, but the smooth rocks that we found were really too small for this project. We made due with the larger bumpy rocks. Once you have collected the rocks you will likely want to wash them. Trust me, wash them. I used a mild soap and a little elbow grease. I towel dried them and they were ready for paint.

Next we painted the rocks. Two coats are needed for darker rocks. Let the paint dry in between coats. Once the paint was dry we glued on the google eyes and then drew faces on each rock. Cute right?   You could glue magnets to the back of the rocks and use them to hang your next craft project. That’s it! You are done. Entertainment for the kids on the cheap.   Thanks for visiting the blog today. We hope you are inspired to create something with your kids!