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Who doesn’t love The Lorax by Dr. Seuss? These adorable pencil toppers, inspired by Truffula Trees, are great for taking notes in style or brightening up your desk with fun pops of color.

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To make your tree trunk, wrap your pencil in colored washi tape. We wanted to make our trunks yellow and black, so we started with yellow as our base. 

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Then wrap your next color around the pencil as well. We wrapped black tape around the tree trunk, this time spacing the tape out to create yellow and black stripes.

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Now take your styrofoam ball and apply tacky glue to one half of the ball. Hold the ball by the side without glue and wrap the boa around the ball, over the glue. Cut the any excess boa, and do the same for the other side of the ball. This will make your tree top!

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Take your pencil and push the pointed end into the styrofoam ball. Remove the pencil, flip it around, and then insert the eraser end into the styrofoam ball to attach the topper. If you want to keep the topper secure, add some glue to the eraser before inserting it into the ball. If you like, create more pencil topper trees! We created a bunch and loved how all the colors looked together.

pencils

tacky glue

feather boa

washi tape (multiple colors)

small styrofoam balls

Fluffy Tree Pencil Toppers

space

winter crafts

winter

printable

Bring the stars to you and learn about the amazing night sky by creating your own mini-constellation jar that can light up. Download our constellation printable <a href="https://icdn.kiwico.com/diy_ad/Kiwi-Crate-Mini-Constellation-Jar-Printable.pdf">here</a>.&nbsp;Or for some winter-themed fun, you can create your own light-up jar of snowflakes!Help your little one build their creative confidence with <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store">KiwiCo's</a> <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/rainbow-air-dry-clay-project-kit/5612">Rainbow Air-Dry Clay</a>. This kid-friendly clay is soft, not sticky, so it’s easy to handle and shape into anything you can imagine.

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Use a ruler to measure the height of your jar to figure out how tall it is. Then, use a piece of string to find the circumference by measuring around the mouth. Add half an inch to your circumference measurement.&nbsp;Cut a piece of aluminum foil based on the measurements of your jar. We used a jar that measured 5 inches x 7 ½ inches.

Have a grownup&nbsp;help or carefully supervise any cutting necessary for this project.

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Place the foil flat on the cardboard and put the constellation printable on top.  

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Snowflake Jar Option: Cut out a few paper snowflakes and trace them onto a piece of black construction paper. 

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Choose a constellation from the printable and use the pushpin to create it by carefully poke holes through the paper and foil. 

Choose another constellation and create it on a different spot of the foil. Try to learn the names and shapes of each constellation that you make!

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Snowflake Jar Option: Cut out the shapes you traced onto the construction paper using an X-acto knife. 

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After, take your foil and wrap it around the toilet paper roll to give it a curved surface. Remove the toilet paper roll.

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Snowflake Jar Option: Use a stapler to form the construction paper into a cylindrical shape and add some tissue paper inside the construction paper cylinder to give your shining snowflakes some color! 

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Carefully place the curved foil into the jar. (Try not to crinkle your designs!) 

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Snowflake Jar Option: Carefully place the paper cylinder into the jar.

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Turn on the tea light and place it inside the jar. Screw on the lid, turn off the lights, and check out your new constellations (or snowflakes) shining in the dark!

Use your mini-constellation jar outside as a small nightlight, or use it to help you learn about the night sky.

If you enjoyed making this project, check out our Kiwi Crate line for more hands-on science projects!

glass jar

aluminum foil

Ruler

string

pushpins

cardboard

toilet paper tube

electric tea light

constellation printable

black construction paper (optional)

pencil (optional)

craft knife (optional)

stapler (optional)

Light-Up Mason Jar

recycled

recycled craft materials

decorations

gift

Christmas

Handmade Christmas Gifts & Cards

Christmas crafts

birthday

craft

quick craft

everyday materials

3 material crafts

I love coming up with the perfect gift for everyone on my list. I put a lot of care into making sure the gifts are personal and thoughtful no matter the size. But for some reason, I have no patience for wrapping the gifts! Lucky for me, I came across a simple idea to make little gifts extra special, and best of all, I already had all the materials (and I bet you do too)! Yes - old toilet paper rolls can make for a perfect little gift. Give your wrapping paper and boxes a break, grab some recycled tubes and some ribbon and get wrapping.Looking for more ways to help your little one create handmade gifts? <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/animal-bath-bombs-project-kit/2784" target="_self">Animal Bath Bombs</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a> are the perfect way for your little crafter to dip their toes into bubbly bathtime chemistry!

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Carefully bend in the ends to create half-moon-shaped flaps.

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Open one end of the tube, slip in your gift, and fold it back up again. Decorate it with some festive ribbon or crepe paper to finish your mini gift box. It's the perfect size for small presents or stocking stuffers!

toilet paper tubes

Scissors

ribbon

Gift Boxes from Cardboard Rolls

Mother's Day

Mother’s Day gifts

art project

Sometimes the best projects are the easiest projects. The ones that can last forever are even better. Using permanent markers to draw on ceramic plates and then putting the plates in the oven will make the designs stay put.Put your ceramic plates to the test with pretend play pasta! Roll and stamp your way to early math exploration with a <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/pasta-making-and-shapes-project-kit/4576" target="_self">Fun Dough Pasta Maker</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>!

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Start by gathering up the supplies. Sharpie markers (permanent markers) come in a million different colors these days so we used an array of colors. We also picked up some (nice and cheap) plates from the dollar store. Any white or light-colored ceramic plate will do. 

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After making sure the kids understood that the plates were the only canvas for using the permanent markers, I let the kids go wild with design. They loved the idea of designing their own plates. My five-year-old made a plate for his teacher's Christmas gift this year. It was fun to see how thoughtful he was with the design. My three-year-old added more abstract scribbles, but both designs captured the stage of life they are in. 

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Then I put the plates in a preheated (350 degree) oven and baked them for 30 minutes. After letting them cool, they were good to go. The plates were dishwasher safe, food safe, and one -of-a-kind. 

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This may be the kids' most favorite project to date. They love their new plates and want to make one for everyone else for Christmas now too. Good thing they are cheap and easy to make. 

ceramic plate

permanent markers (e.g. sharpies)

Decorated Ceramic Plates

birthday party crafts

household craft

Father’s Day crafts

Mother’s Day crafts

Valentine’s Day crafts

painting

Father's Day gifts

ornaments

These pretty rainbow rocks are perfect for brightening up your desk! With just some nail polish and water, you can transform an ordinary rock into your own marbled paperweight.Want to explore more fun crafts without the hassle of gathering materials? Get hands-on and make visually stunning candles with a <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/geometric-candles-project-kit/5647" target="_self">Geometric Candles project</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>!

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Find an interesting rock outside and clean off the dirt with some water. Once dry, paint the rock white. Allow the first coat of paint to dry, and then apply a second coat. Optional: For fall fun, buy some mini pumpkins to marble! If you can’t find white ones, just buy orange ones and paint them white or leave them orange and see what cool designs you can make!

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Fill a bowl with cold water. Make sure your bowl is deep enough and you have enough water to completely submerge your rock.

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Add one drop of your first color into the bowl. The color will spread out. Then, add another drop of a different color to the center of the first color. Continue to add one drop of color at a time in the center of the previous color. Be quick when adding more colors, nail polish will harden if it sits still for too long. 

Do steps 5 and 6 quickly before your design solidifies.

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Time to create marble designs with your toothpick! 

First create a horizontal line through the colors. Start by poking the center and pulling slowly to the right. Then return to the center and pull slowly to the left.

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Next, make lines from the top to the bottom of the nail polish. For a cool effect, alternate from top to bottom and then from bottom to top.

To prevent the nail polish film from clumping, it helps to start the lines from the second and third rings of your outer colors.

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When you are done marbling the nail polish, dip your rock slowly in the center of your nail polish design. Submerge the rock underwater and then slowly remove it. 


Optional: If you’re dipping a pumpkin, hold the pumpkin by its stem and dip it into the water left side first, then bottom, then right side. Your hand should make the shape of a U in the air as you do this. You can also try dipping it in stem first!

For a clean result, remove excess nail polish with your finger or toothpick before you remove the rock from the water. This will prevent it from sticking to your rock as you pull it out.

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Set your rock or pumpkin to the side to dry. See the immediate and colorful result of your marble design! Now you can enjoy it on your desk or gift it to a friend.

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What else can you marble? Have fun experimenting!

rocks

white paint

paintbrush

nail polish - various colors

bowl

toothpicks

pumpkins - mini

Marbled Paperweight

Christmas tree

indoor project

science project

art-science projects

We have favorite crystal ornaments, and these are it! No waiting for weeks for these crystals to form...using borax instead of salt or sugar will give us completed ornaments in one day! Borax (sodium tetraborate) is a naturally-occurring mineral salt commonly used as a laundry booster or cleaner. As with any other cleaning product, it should be kept away from children not under direct supervision of an adult. Do not allow children to ingest Borax. If consumed, contact a poison control center immediately. Wash hands after play, as prolonged skin exposure may cause irritation.Looking for more crafts to decorate for the holidays? Create awesome decorations and have hands-on fun with a <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/rainbow-air-dry-clay-project-kit/5612" target="_self">Rainbow Air Dry Clay</a> set from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store!</a>

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There are lots of different recipes for growing borax crystals, but we've done this lots over the years, and you don't need nearly as much as some recipes say!
Three tablespoons of borax per cup of water does it just fine. (For simple measuring, remember that 16 Tbs is equal to 1 cup.)

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For a precise water amount, you could put water in your jars, then pour it into a measuring cup to measure exactly how much you'll need, but I just guessed 12 cups for three jars.  (Actually, I underestimated, and we had to go back and make two more cups, but easily done!)  We heated up the water.  We boiled it, but that isn't strictly necessary, as long as it's very hot--hot enough to dissolve the borax.  

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We stir, stir, stirred.... and then got the snowflakes ready.  (Over the years, we've done icicles, pink hearts...lots of different shapes!)  This time Madeleine had a brilliant idea for a candy cane!

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When they were shaped the way the children wanted -leaving one end very tall to reach well over the top of the glass- they wrapped the top (longer piece) around a pencil.  There are two more steps here: Make sure that your creation is narrow enough to fit through the mouth of your jar (it can be tilted, and "worked" out), and put your shape inside the jar and make sure it is hanging freely, and not resting at the bottom.  Some of the borax will settle to the bottom of the jar, and you don't want your snowflake stuck to the crystals forming there.

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After checking that everything was just right, the kids were ready to stir again and then pour in the solution!

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We made sure the designs were hanging freely (not stuck to the bottom or sides), and filled them up the jars. 

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Next, we moved the jars to a shelf where they could sit for several hours. (Where we kept a close eye on them!)
After a couple of hours, as the water cooled, we could see the crystals forming.  While salt and sugar form cube-shaped crystals, borax forms six-sided structures.  We like to leave them in for a whole day.  You could try for longer!

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The science behind it all:  The hot water holds more borax than cold, because heated molecules move further apart from each other, leaving room for the borax crystals.  As the solution cools, the water molecules move closer together again.  Now there's less room, and the crystals begin to form and build on one another.
Snowflakes in the wintertime are formed in the same way!

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100 easy handmade gifts projects for kids

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