Do you often hear “mommy I am bored”, but you don’t have anything around the house but all the same things to do everyday. Maybe when you hear “mommy I am bored” you read your little one their favorite book, put their favorite movie on the TV, or maybe you sit on the floor and play dolls with your little one.

Have you ever thought about breaking out the craft supplies, and doing some arts and crafts with your child? Arts and crafts are a great way to get the little ones mind into creative mode, and what a fun way to help bring mommy and child closer. What no crafting products suitable for a preschool aged child? Not a problem, recently I was introduced to Shirley’s Prepackaged Crafts.

Shirley’s prepackages crafts are $18, unless you wish to purchase in advance, then you have a few other options. The main purpose of these craft boxes were to give moms an easy way to spend more time with their little ones. This helps take the stress of planning and preparing away from mom.

We recently received the Septembers craft box, and I have to say, it wasn’t what I was expecting.

I personally thought this was an awesome idea, it gives parents everything they need to do 12 projects with their little one. Not only does it give you the instructions, it also gives you everything you will need to do those 12 crafts. How awesome is that!

Want to check out these packages for yourself? One lucky reader of The Neat Things in Life, will get November’s craft package. In this package you will receive…

Please note you need your order in by the 15th of the month, and they ship the boxes out on the 20th. This helps them keep cost down, by preparing only the boxes they need to ship. If you use code Neat Things (case sensitive) you will get $2 off your first order. Plus there is free shipping!

So now on to the giveaway!

One reader will win Novembers craft box with the above items in their box. To enter you MUST complete the mandatory entry before moving on to the extras.

Mandatory: Head on over to Shirley’s Prepackaged Crafts and telling me something you learned.

Want Extra?

• Like Shirley’s Prepackaged Crafts on Facebook. (2x Comments)
• Follow Shirley’s Prepackaged Crafts on Twitter. (2x Comments)
• Become a Google Follower of Dizzy Mommy Chronicles. (2x Comments)
• Become a Google follower of The Neat Things in Life. (2x Comments)
• Follow MommysDizzy on twitter. (2x Comments)
• Like The Neat Things in Life on Facebook. (2x Comments)

Don’t forget to Connect with Shirley’s Prepackaged Crafts:
Website | Twitter | Facebook

Code for $2 off your first order: Neat Things

Giveaway ends on October 10th, @ 11:59pm EST. Winner will be picked via and the winner is plugin, and contacted via email. Winner will have 48 hours to contact me back so I can get your information over to the sponsor.

I received a craft box, all opinions are mine. No other form of payment was received.

The items we received were…

6 Pack of Washable Paints

80 Pack of Foam Cube Stamps

1500 Pony Beads

150 Pack Assorted Sizes of Wiggly Eyes

Button Magnets

Magnetic Sheets

Hemp Cords

30 Pack Paint Brushes

75 Count Jumbo Craft Sticks

Do you know all the fun we can have with these items? When my nieces stay the night we love breaking out all our craft items, and having fun being creative. What better way to cure boredom then a big tote of arts and craft products! I think one of the most important things in a child’s development at a young age is creativity.

One thing I love about craftprojectideas.com is all the how to’s! They give you step by step directions, so whether you are looking for fun things to do during a sleep over, rainy days,  or even something different to do in the classroom, you will find several ideas on this site.

I like the seasonal section, with Halloween coming up we will be making some Haunted Houses!

We will be using this site through-out the 2011/2012 school year. Not sure if you have all the items needed to do a project, not a problem, they also list everything you need, and you can purchase the items at your local Wal-Mart!

Check out the kitty key-chain we made!

I made my eyes on my kitty purple, because we didn’t have the green beads. This took me about 15 minutes to make, the directions were extremely easy to follow.

What sort of crafts do you do with your children? Do you join in, or do you stand on the sideline and offer your help?

I love joining in, I sit a long side my nieces and daughter and do things with them, I often hear, “hey you are suppose to be helping us” LOL

You can purchase these same items, at Wal-Mart in the craft section!

Connect With CraftProjectIdeas.com:

Website | Twitter | Facebook

I received product free from craftprojectideas.com to conduct my review, however, I made the kitty, and all opinions are my own.

Sure, all those store bought items are nice, but when our incomes are cut short, due to the rising cost of food and gas our money has to be put elsewhere. Therefore, when Mother’s Day comes around this year, think about letting the kids make mom something special, and unique.

A nice homemade card, showing mom how much she’s loved and appreciated, is better than any store bought card! These cards are ones that she will treasure for years to come.

After the personalized cards are made you can let the kids make mom a special gift. The kids can make with items found already in the home several gifts. When making mom her special presents make sure all are involved, even your toddler can join in on making these unique gifts for mom.

Great Gift Ideas To Make Mom This Mother’s Day:

Candle Holders

What you will need:

Glass Jars

Elmer’s glue

Water

Tissue paper

Lots of love

Candleholders are a great gift idea, and they’re simple to make. Take your tissue paper and cut into different sizes and shapes. Mix your glue and water 50/50. You want the same amount of water as glue; this will make your sealant. Arrange the pieces on to your jar; just below the rim of the jar, this will give your jar a stain glass look. Use the glue mixture as a seal and let it dry. Remember to place the tissue paper BELOW the rim of the jar, failing to do so can become a fired hazard.

Framed Photos

Framed Photos are neat gifts to give mom; if she works in an office, she can display these in her work area, or on the fridge at home.

What you will need:

Thick Paper (card stock, construction, or scrapbooking paper)

Picture you want to frame. (One of the kids and mom are great)

Crayons, markers, glitter, stickers, paint or anything else you might want to use to decorate these frames.

Glue

Magnet (optional)

Scissors

Cut out your frame how you would like it, whether you want it to be a heart frame, star frame, or just a regular square frame. Once you have the base of your frame cut out you will want to carefully cut out the middle section some, so your picture will fit. You need it to be small enough to glue part of your picture to the back of it.

Now that you have that all done, you can glue your picture to the frame, and decorate. Be creative and have fun! One you have your frame done, place a magnet on the back then mom can place it on the fridge!

Decorative Flowerpot with flowers

Small flowerpot (one with a surface you can paint on, or you can use a Styrofoam cup)

Acrylic paints

Potting soil

Flower seeds

You want to start this project a few weeks before Mother’s Day so your flowers have time to sprout. Decorate your pot, once you have it all pretty and it is completely dry, you can then place your potting soil and your flower seeds in it. Follow the directions on the package so you know how deep to plant the seeds. Then make sure you put this in a window area that gets sun. Water your flower, and watch it grow, than on Mother’s Day surprise mom with her present!

Mom would love to get a homemade gift, made with love and thought put into it. These are all gifts she will treasure for years to come, and they will show her how much you love and appreciate her!

Making a bird feeder with a child is not only educational but it is super fun. One great thing about this craft is you can make a bird feeder out of pretty much anything laying around the house. If for some reason you are not into making one of these nifty bird feeders you can always buy one. However, it is a lot funnier to make with your little ones. :)

Some Items You Will Need:

•    An empty container. This can be a milk jug or juice container. Just something simple to work with.
•    String, you need to make sure this is strong. You will be using it to hold up the feeder.
•    Scissors, you need to have away to cut.
•    Stapler
•    Hole punch, this is optional you can always use the scissors to make your holes.
•    2 small sticks or wooden rods, again this is optional, but it would be super cool to watch the birds have a place to stand while eating.
•    Bird seed, need to feed these hungry little things.
•    Markers, paint or anything which can be used to decorate the carton. Make sure the paint is water based, you do not want to hurt the birds.

Directions:

1.    Make sure to wash and dry the container you are using thoroughly. You do not want spoiled food in it.

2.    Here is where the fun part comes in, let your children decorate the container however they want. There is no wrong way when making a feeder. So let the children explore their imagination.

3.    Now this is where the Adult comes in, using the scissors take and cut a square in each side of the container, make sure the square is big enough to fit at least the head of a bird in it.

4.    If you have a hole punch make a small hole below the squares you just cut out. If you do not have a hole punch just use the Scissors, but becareful not to hurt yourself.

5.    Take the sticks you have and push them through the holes from one side to the other.
6.    Now fill the bottom of your container with bird seed and get ready to watch the beautiful bird.

7.    After you have your bird feeder painted and filled with bird seeds, make 2 holes towards the top, one on each side. You will use these holes to put your string in to hang. You want to make sure you have the string tied tightly so it does not fall.

These bird feeders are not made to last forever. However it is a very fun and inexpensive way for your children to learn about wild life and their eating habits.

Well, needless to say she has been bugging me several times daily. So I looked up online on how to make it an easy way and have it turn out good.

Found one that looked easy enough, however it called for cream of tarter. Now, I know I do not have that in the house. So instead of listen to Gillian fuss about play dough I went and picked some up at the store.

Easy Play Dough Recipe:

3 cups of All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 cups Sea Salt
2 tbsp. Cream of Tarter
3 tbsp Veggie Oil
3 cups water
a few drops Essential Oils. I used peppermint

Mix all of the ingredients together on the stove. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes stirring constantly. Once the dough starts to form a ball and gets harder to stir, remove from heat and divide the dough. The amount you divide depends on how many colors you want and of how much.

Once you have the dough divided up color it up how you want. Make sure to mix the color in well. We used food coloring. However, you can used drink mixes if you want.

Hand Print T-Shirt

One great craft idea the kids can do that will not cost a ton is making dad a t-shirt. All you need is some fabric paints which can be purchased at Wal-Mart and a plain t-shirt. You can make this a few different ways, one way is let the kids all put their hand in the the fabric paint, then touch the back of dads shirt. Then you can come up with something to put on the front. Such as, “My kids all pat me on the back.” or some sort of saying that will remind dad that he is special. The kids will have a blast making dad a special shirt as well.

Rock Paper Weight

Take the kids out on a rock hunt. Sing a silly song while hunting for the most perfect rock. Once you find this perfect rock take it in and wash all the dirt off. Once he rocks dry let the kids paint them to look pretty. Then dad can take it to work and use it as a paper weight. When dad gets to missing the kids all he will have to do is look at his paper weight and he is for sure to smile.

Handmade Fathers Day Card

Get out the scissors, construction paper, glue and extra pictures you have. Let the kids get crafty with the construction papers, and make daddy the best card ever.

One thing I have learned as being a parent, is some of the best gifts a parent can ever get are the ones their kids made themselves. I remember the first every Mothers Day card I got. My daughter was 9 months old and my husband got out the paper and the scrap-booking scissors and made me my first every mothers day card. Yes my baby girl was only 9 months old, but she loved the one on one with daddy and making something special for momma.