Can you tell I’m thinking about back to school? Here’s another amazing teacher’s gift idea from A Bushel and A Peck: a pretty multicolored crayon wreath! I love the way the crayons are arranged by color, but I bet it would look neat if all the crayons were mixed up, or if all the crayons were in the same color family. Take advantage of back-t0-school sales to pick up crayons for a great price, or find everyday great prices on crayons at your dollar store. [how to make a crayon wreath] [via Cara TX]

The inspiration project uses two embroidery hoops as a form, but you could use a wreath you find at the dollar store, or cut out a cardboard circle and cover it with pretty ribbon, fabric, or paper before you glue the crayons on.

Project Estimate:

• Wreath form, on hand or $1
• Large box of crayons or 3 boxes of 24, $1 and up
• Glue, on hand
• Ribbon, on hand or $1

Total: $1 and up

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Holy heat wave!  Are you keeping cool in your corner of the world?  If you’re suffering under oppressive heat and stifling humidity, keeping the kids entertained without overheating means ruling out a long list of potential activities.  Here’s a fun idea from Tricia at Sweeter Than Sweets that your little ones will love: rainbow ice!  She and her 2-year-old daughter played with some in their water table and had a blast.  If you don’t have a water table, a storage tub or other large, shallow container works just as well!  Her secret ingredient is coloring pellets meant for bath water, which work perfectly for this project.  And unlike food coloring, which can require some scrubbing to get completely off the skin, the bath pellet colors wash off easily when you’re done playing!  [how to make rainbow ice]

Project estimate:

• Crayola Color Bath Dropz, about $5
• Water, on hand
• Bowls, on hand
• Ice cube trays or other molds, on hand or $1
• Freezer, on hand

Total: about $5 and up

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So does anyone else out there do seasonal craft projects and then practically forget to post about them until it’s too late? No? Guess I’m the only one. Here’s a quick and simple favor for St. Patrick’s Day, using stuff from the dollar store. You can make one of these for less than fifty cents. I made this with the little metal buckets from the wedding aisle at Dollar Tree, and I imagine this being a fun addition to your kids’ lunch or maybe a fun surprise for when they wake up on St. Patrick’s Day.  It’d also be a fun scout or classroom craft (maybe you can substitute the candy out for something else – pretend coins for learning to add and subtract with money?) I also added a printable rainbow (8 rainbows to a sheet) to make it even easier for you to craft with your kids.

You probably don’t need much in the way of instructions, but here’s the cost estimate:

Project Materials:

• Wedding favor buckets, 3 for $1
• Craft felt and/or craft foam, on hand or $1
• Bamboo skewer, on hand or $1
• “Gold” candy, $1
• Craft glue (I used Aleene’s Quick Dry or hot glue will work), on hand
• Markers, on hand
• Scissors

Total: $2 and up for 3

To make:

Cut out a band of green felt or foam (or use ribbon) that will go all the way around the top of the bucket.

Cut out a square of yellow felt or foam. Fold in half, and cut two slits (not all the way to the edge of the square). Thread band through the square “buckle.”

Glue band and buckle to top of bucket.

To make rainbow, draw a rainbow or download my printable. Color, cut out and glue to a craft foam backing.

Tape rainbow to a shortened bamboo skewer, and stick into bucket.

Fill bucket with candy (or other filling – popcorn, play money, buttons) and add a gift tag if desired (or write name on rainbow).

A few other fun St. Patrick’s Day crafts for kids:

• Rainbow Cupcakes by Kami at Make & Takes
• Another Pot o’ Gold craft with a super-adorable pipecleaner rainbow by Marie at Make & Takes
• Easy Shamrock Garland at Craft Jr.
• Unique Shamrock Hanging at Scene of the Grime

p.s. Have you heard of My Parent Rewards? I just learned about it… it’s kind of like those big local coupon books you can buy, but it’s all online. It’s a program that offers coupons, discounts, 2-for-1 deals for restaurants and more. A membership is only $20 and right now you can try it out for free for 30 days. www.MyParentRewards.com/freetrial

In my area, I found discounts like

• Get a free session of bowling with one paid session
• Free minibon with purchase of a Cinnabon
• 25% off total bill at a local sandwich place
• Free ticket to a Portland Winterhawks game with one paid admission
• Free month of martial arts lessons with first paid month
• 25% off tax prep
• Up to 50% off hotel bookings
• Printable grocery coupons

Anyway, if you want to try it out (and help support Dollar Store Crafts): www.MyParentRewards.com/freetrial

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