Author: Melanie Baron

When it comes to snow, sometimes we have to make our own here in the South.

Now that Halloween is over and it's finally chilly enough to think about winter, we're looking ahead to a season of celebrations. Next up is the once-in-a-lifetime collision of Thanksgiving and Hannukah-Thanksgivukkah! This might justify a deep fried turkey, but…

Have you ever stumbled upon an idea that made you wonder why you'd never thought of it yourself? That's what happened to me the other day. I found this. Yes, at first glance it is a fairly complicated tutorial on…

With the start of kindergarten and the strict school schedule that comes with it, I wasn't sure Amelia or I would have the energy for a craft project this week. Well, just the opposite was true – we NEEDED a…

There's sand in my suitcase, and I put it there.We just returned from a week on Cape Cod with three generations of family. This is the second year we've participated in what is already an annual event—the cost, hassle, and…

I wish I could take credit for this week's project, but I cannot. I have a crafty new friend, and I met her just in time. Her twin girls attended the same preschool as my daughter, and now that the…

We're enjoying a few weeks of Camp Mommy over here. What's Camp Mommy, you wonder? So glad you asked. It's the four weeks between summer camp ending and kindergarten starting. That's right, four weeks. We'll be visiting family for the…

A few months ago, I wrote about a project that involved melting channels through blocks of ice with salt and then watching color flow through the pathways. This project is its room-temperature cousin. You'll need: Stiff paper Glue Water colors…

Remember my last post about getting the deck done faster by inviting Amelia to help? Well...one project led to another. Now that the deck is done, our sun-faded patio umbrella looks SOOOO much worse in comparison.  But of course, it…

If you've ever tried to get a project done with kids in the house, you know just how impossible this is. For the past month, my husband has been getting antsy to clean and stain our deck, and we've been…

Do you remember the Zans for Cans, from One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish? It was a monster that opens cans...so if you have a lot of cans, you should have a Zans for Cans.  According to the…

As a kid, I remember making bird marionette puppets with my mother. Upon more specific recollection, I actually remember watching while my mother made them. And I remember a lot of tangled strings.  And now I know why. Because these…

For this week's blog post, I had a plan. We were going to make bird puppets, really we were. Amelia and I went to the craft store for some feathers and other bird supplies, and then we saw it...there in…

When I was a kid, my mother refused to buy anything we could make ourselves. Last week I caught myself eyeing some garden pinwheels in a store, thinking about how to make them. It's official; I've become my mother. Of…

Typically, Passover food is nothing kids get excited about. Brisket and matzo just don't compare with the seasonally concurrent colorful eggs, chocolate bunnies and Easter baskets. But this year, our Seder was a contender. We had a Matzo Candy Castle!…

A few months ago, I spotted this little cutie on Pinterest. The link is not in English, but the photos are pretty self-explanatory. A little toy in an Altoids box seems charming and appealing in an aesthetic sense, but I…

At the first hint of spring a few weeks ago, I ran out to buy potting soil, and the next day Amelia picked out some bulbs. Since bulbs are much more exciting than a bag of dirt, we got a…

My house is a firetrap. Seriously, paper comes into our house like moths to the light. And most of it arrives, innocently enough, in Amelia's school backpack. Treasured art projects she made at school. Plural. Every day. Of course, I'm…

It's been a good month for crafts in our house, in part because it's been raining, but mostly because we just adopted a dog and Amelia won't leave the house unless it's absolutely necessary.Turns out that even the dog gets tired…

Winter must be making me think about ice, because here's another ice project...albeit one that we did over the summer, and it wasn't one of Amelia's favorites.  But I thought it was very cool (pun intended), and it might be…

If the cold of winter makes you dream of summer, this project is for you. We usually do this one in the summer, but indoor ice is fun year-round, so we pulled it out again tonight. This may be the…

It all started with a baby shower gift. Someone gave me a very thoughtful gift of mommy-baby handprints in clay. Amelia was born earlier than expected, so we celebrated her due date, and the healthy 5-week-old she'd become, by having…

We’re hosting Thanksgiving this year. Somehow I’ve reached what my mother informs me is "middle-aged" without ever hosting a real, all-ages Turkey Day. Sure, I made a turkey once, but that was long before Amelia was born and everyone ate…

Something about Mod Podge has always turned me off. I don’t know why – yes, the name is silly and for unknown reasons makes me think of The Partridge Family, but surely that’s not a good enough reason.Lately I’ve been seeing…

A few weeks ago, I posted about a paver activity that has become a family craft tradition. Halloween ghosts are another one.These not-so-spooky little spirits are easy to make, and you’ve probably got everything you need already. This year we…

Last week I posted a photo on Facebook, and immediately received a flurry of comments from friends I never hear from – comments like "Wow, what is that and how did you do it?" In response, I promised a blog…

Some habits are hard to break. Amelia was born on the 5th of December, and on her first day of life we sent newborn pictures to family and friends. On the fifth of every month since, I've collected, uploaded, edited,…

Now that fall is practically here and Charlotte backyards are a delight again, it's easy to forget that just a few weeks ago it was so hot your shoes could melt on the sidewalk and the last thing anybody wanted to…

Some projects are so awesome that you never outgrow them. Just the mention of shaving cream brings an eager twinkle to Amelia's eye. We were first introduced to the wonders of shaving cream and liquid watercolor almost three years ago,…