Peixinhos No Sotao shares a simple play mat idea for playing cars. She offers a basic template, so you can keep it simple or jazz it up as you wish! See it here!

You can make a fun and relaxing retreat for your littles with the help of a bed sheet! Craft Addictions explains how she created hers here!

Busy Books are very popular right now…for good reason. They’re compact and loaded with fun things for littles to do while (hopefully) sitting quietly. If you’ve been thinking about making one but are at a loss for ideas, be sure to check out Little Hands Big Work. I love the pages in her most recent book. I think my favorite page is this key and lock challenge:

This would keep my girls busy for quite some time! Go here to see the “Bitty Busy Book” and find more ideas in her original, “Big Busy Book”

Trixi, from Coloured Buttons, has been coming up with some really amazing kid toys using matchboxes as her foundation. This doll house is incredible with all of its tiny details, plus she’s added a bit of ribbon going through the roof making it highly portable (and fun to wear)!

She didn’t stop with this dollhouse. In fact, she challenged herself to complete weekly matchbox crafts for a month! This tiny rock theatre is another one of her creations:

Her other matchbox projects include a board game and matchbox bugs! I hope you’ll check out all of her matchbox crafts. You will surely come away inspired!

The first day of Summer is just a couple days away! Here are some fun ideas to help get you through these long days!

Count down the weeks of summer with this Sunshine Patterning Activity from Her Cup Overfloweth!

Make and Takes has a great list of items to keep handy for summer crafting. Bag them up for your own Tub O’ Fun!

Let’s Explore is sharing the contents of their Summer Fun Bags beginning with this tangram kit!

Get the kids outdoors for this fun Backyard Alphabet Hunt from Teach Mama!

Follow along with The Long Thread’s Summer Reading Crafts, beginning with the story of Elmer!

Create a fairy fantasy land in your backyard. Here’s a lovely example from And Everything Nice:

Frame a doorway with the items on your summer activity list written on die-cuts. Then take them off as you complete them! Check out the Doorway into Summer at The Artful Parent.

Anybody who has ever attended a sleepover or gone on a camping trip knows how cumbersome it is to carry your belongings with a pillow stuffed under your arm. Maya*made has come up with a simple solution that will have you thinking, “Why didn’t I think of that!” Go here to be inspired by her simple travel pillow!

Freezer paper stenciling is a ton of fun and so easy to do! If you haven’t tried it, go take a gander at the explanation from Painting Pink Pajamas. She recently made this sparkly sea horse using the freezer paper stenciling technique, and I’m feeling re-inspired to do some more projects with fabric paint…this time with a little bit of bling! Read more here!

A simple IKEA hack turned this rail and hook system into the perfect dress-up storage solution. You can learn more at Memories Are The Scraps of Life! (via IKEA Hacker)

I’m loving this idea that Chez Beeper Bebe came up with for her 6 year-old’s birthday. Each card has a number and with it comes a gift in that number (e.g. 4 quarters for the number “4”). What a great way to make birthday gift-giving even more fun! Click here to read about the rest of the gifts and to download the template!

How sweet are these pipe cleaner fairies from 5 Orange Potatoes? They would go perfect in a backyard fairy garden! Click here to learn how to make the fairies.

Smart-Bottom Enterprises used a pack of premium scrapbook paper to create this colorful wall covering for her kids’ basement playroom. I am impressed and inspired all at once! Go here to see the before pics and for more details!

This Little Project has been making the most darling playscapes based on some of the familiar surroundings of her family. They look great and what a perfect way to look back at recent events with your children and discuss them in more detail! Fabulous idea! Currently, she has created scenes for the park, the library, the post office, and the pool!

These finger puppets from Scribbit are too funny! They’re made from pasta and various crafting materials and they’re totally adorable! Don’t they look like a ton of fun?! Go see more here!

Teach Mama had a great idea when she made individual grocery lists for her little ones. This is such an easy and fun way to get the kids involved in the shopping while sneaking in a bit of counting and reading! You can read more here!

Jean from The Artful Parent made these super-cute cloth diaper covers from thrifted sweaters! I used cloth with both of mine, but the wool soakers were always a little too spendy for me. Repurposing sweaters is a wonderful alternative! Jean was very kind to link to the patterns and tutorials that she used, so go on over and be sure to read through the comments for a great discussion on the benefits of using wool to cover baby’s bottom!

I was thinking all day yesterday about making a marble run of sorts with my girls. I think this cardboard contraption complete with recycled bits might be just the inspiration I needed! You can see this at Handmade Beginnings!

Why not let your kids play with their food? This Little Project shares an easy way to turn sandwiches into puzzles! Go read about it here.

Red Bird Crafts recently made this oh-so-practical hook board for her daughter. The construction is simple but the results are absolutely lovely! You can read more here!

Amanda at Kiddio shares a fun and simple way to add some fun to your kid’s bath time!  Let them help make these little soap boats and then watch ‘em sail their sudsy creations in the tub! I love it!

This “Princess Pavilion Tent” from Ikat Bag is absolutely amazing! A round table gives the base its structure and wooden dowels help shape the top. There are many more details so go check it out here!

P.S. Thanks for your patience while we got our technical problems straightened out. Brighthouse came by this morning and replaced our modem, so we’re back in action now!

These safety cone car garages from One More Moore are brilliant! There are no instructions for making these, but I think with some orange felt and a little interfacing, a savvy sewer could whip one or two up quite easily. Lemme know if you try, and be sure to check out One More Moore for the original!

Did you know that you could use cardstock, plastic wrap, and paper napkins to create custom greeting cards? I sure didn’t and I was totally blown away when I saw the results that Mama King had using some leftover Tinkerbell napkins. She mentioned using the newly created cards for thank you notes and I think that is a fabulous way to get some extra use out of your party leftovers. Go visit 4 Crazy Kings to read more!

This little play theater from Katherine Marie Photography is totally adorable with all of it’s tiny details. I love how she used photos of her family members on the popsicle sticks, but you could also use images of favorite characters or animals as the puppets. She has many more lovely photos of this project, in addition to a list of supplies to make it, here!

This fabric tic-tac-toe board from During Quiet Time made a lovely teacher’s gift for the end of the school year. In fact, Amy’s kids loved it so much they requested one of their own! You can read how she made it here, and if you’re new to 9-patch quilt blocks, click here for a tutorial!

Heather from Dollar Store Crafts is an expert at low-cost crafting, which definitely comes in handy when you’re planning a party! Go on over to read about the details of her son’s Pirate Party and her tips for pulling off a birthday bash without breaking the bank!