Author of Children's Books
Make these oyster reef treasure boxes with recycled egg cartons.
This egg carton treasure box celebrates the oyster reef! An oyster reef is a place where sea animals find food, shelter and protection from predators. Oyster reefs also play an important role in the environment by filtering and cleaning the water. This oyster treasure box comes complete with friendly oysters, a sea worm, skillet fish, mudcrab and pearls!
Make these fun skipjacks out of paper towel tubes and recycled paper.
According to the Maryland Sea Grant, skipjacks were made by oystermen over 100 years ago specifically to dredge for oysters. They were named after the skipjack fish because they are quick and agile in the water. There were once over a thousand skipjacks on the Chesapeake Bay. Now there are only about 20 left. And, even less are still actively used to dredge for oysters. Continue reading “Maryland Skipjack Craft”
June has finally arrived and with it all of its summertime scents. There’s the delicious aroma coming from barbeques and cookouts, and the familiar smells of fresh cut grass, chlorine from pools, and most of all the familiar summertime scent of sunscreen.
My kids love the smell of sunscreen. The moment they smell it, they can’t stop talking about going to our local pool, to the beach or to the park for summer picnics and bike rides. So, I thought it would be fun this summer to find a way to put the scent of summer throughout the house by using their favorite sunscreen as an air freshener!
Continue reading “Beach Scented Air Fresheners”
Make these nature inspired photo frames from recycled materials.
My favorite season is the Spring. I love all the new life and new blooms on the trees, and every year I take lots of pictures of the kids in front of the new brightly colored trees that were so cold and bare just a few weeks ago. This year I decided to let the kids have a chance to be the photographers and take lots of pictures of their own. So, each with a camera in hand, they went out into the neighborhood to take pictures of nature.
Continue reading “Nature Photo Activity”
Make these fun lighthouses out of bottle caps and paper towel tubes.
These lighthouses are modeled after the Cape Henry Lighthouses in Virginia. According to US-Lighthouses.com there are about 680 lighthouses in the United States. The original Cape Henry lighthouse is made out of bricks. A new lighthouse was built along side it in 1882 when the older one developed cracks and became unsafe.
Continue reading “Lighthouse Craft”
These bird feeders make it easy to watch birds in the backyard. I helped my daughter make these for a science project at school. We made them out of recycled materials, including a paper towel roll, a shoebox lid, and a milk carton.
You can make one, or all three of these feeders for your yard and enjoy watching the birds as they return for spring. Beware of squirrels, though. They seem to like the bird feed as much as the birds do, sometimes knocking down the feeders trying to get at the food! But the fun of watching the birds close up is definitely worth the effort of putting the feeders back in place and refilling them.
Continue reading “Homemade Bird feeders”
In addition to its oysters, Maryland is known for its blue crabs from the Chesapeake Bay. Help celebrate Maryland Day (March 25th) by making these fun crabs out of paper plates and pipe cleaners.
The blue crab is Maryland’s state crustacean, and its largest commercial fishery. Its scientific name is Callinectes sapidus, which means savory beautiful swimmer.
The second crab in the picture shown displays Maryland’s state flag–a fun way to show state pride.
Continue reading “Maryland Day Crabs”
Make these adorable birds and their nests using craft Poms, plastic Easter eggs and brown paper bags.
Spring is the time of year when birds are returning to their northern stomping grounds, building their nests, and settling down to lay their eggs. In honor of bird migration and new beginnings offered by springtime, I’m posting this fun craft that entails making a bird’s nest out of a brown paper bag, which then becomes the home of a new baby bird that kids will make out of craft Poms and plastic Easter eggs. Continue reading “Springtime Baby Birds”
I love homemade ornaments. We gave our Christmas tree a nautical theme this year with these colorful Angelfish. Made of polymer clay, they’re easy to make and they look great on our tree. You can use any color of clay to make these. Here is how we did it!
Continue reading “Angelfish Ornament”
My family is super excited for Thanksgiving, as we are every year. It is one of my favorite holidays because it involves family, lots of delicious food, and giving thanks. So, in honor of the big day coming up, my kids and I are making these adorable little turkeys that will adorn our plates on Thanksgiving day. The orange placemats in this photo are actually crocheted, made by my grandmother. It’s so much fun to use things that are handmade by the people you love.
Continue reading “Thanksgiving Turkey Craft”