Sugar skulls are a traditional part of the Day of the Dead (aka Dia de los Muertos) decorations and ritual. Usually they’re not made to be eaten, but I found these cool skull ice cube trays at the dollar store, and I thought it would be fun to make edible skull decorations. Making edible skulls is cheap, and so easy even a preschooler can do …

Time to start thinking about Halloween costume-making! I have had costumes on the brain for a month, as I’ve been working on various costume projects. Here’s a question from our facebook page that I wrote a huge long answer to. What do you think? Any advice for Amy, who said: “My son wants to be the sock monkey from the car commercial. Any ideas? No, …

I love how sweet and whimsical this crocheted doily spiderweb is. And I love the wee crocheted spider! It’s true, get ready to start seeing Halloween posts all over the wide wide world of web! (Oops, pun not intended!) Jen at Lipstick and Laundry made a couple of these sweeties. These might be my favorite Halloween crafts ever. [see the original doily spiderweb here]
If you …

Looking for some frugal tips for celebrating Independence Day (aka, the 4th of July)? There are so many great ideas out there right now, and I’m happy to be the host for this week’s All Things Family blog carnival, where our theme is 4th of July fun. Some of you have submitted your great ideas, and I have also included some of my …

Father’s Day is here! Hopefully you have already figured out your gift for dad, but in case you haven’t, here are some ideas for celebrating Dad. What do you think of when you think of Father’s Day? For me, it’s ties (the classic Father’s Day gift), handprints, drawings, and other priceless artifacts made by kiddos.

Dad is Rad T-shirt
This shirt, by Tessa at Baby. Got. Craft, …

Summer is unofficially here, and so is picnic season! Keep your kids occupied painting rocks while you take care of the picnic details, then turn the painted rocks into tablecloth weights you can use all summer. Your children are sure to paint enough rocks for several sets of table weights, so don’t forget to wrap a set or two up for gifts when you go …

I don’t know about you, but I have such a hard time coming up with good handmade gifts (or any gifts, really) for the men in my life. Father’s Day is always a stumper for me, but the other day, I found a bag of old thrift store ties I used for another project last year, so I just sat down and played with them. …

Let’s face it: being a mom is one of the hardest jobs around! So many motherly duties are taken for granted and are under-appreciated. This year, let your mom know why she’s appreciated with this gift that will keep her feeling loved all year ’round (especially if her love language is “words of affirmation”)*. This dry-erase memo board is a cinch to make, and can …

I made these Victorian-inspired flower cones using a dollar store party hat and ribbon! This was such a fun way to play with my leftover ribbon, trim, buttons and broken jewelry, and it’s an activity you can customize to whoever is working on it. Kids can decorate the party hats with stickers, while adults can do a more elaborate version like my Victorian version. Use …

A frame adorned with Peeps shapes make a sweet gift for Easter and beyond. These are a lightweight treat to slip inside an Easter greeting card destined for Grandma’s house.

I used a cookie cutter from a Peeps play dough kit I found at the dollar store to make the template for the Peeps bunny. The kit came with two different sizes of bunnies (a cookie …