How to Make a Countdown Calendar for Your Kids or a Good Friend

I realized that this idea could be used for a lot of other occasions – for when a parent travels far away, for when a educational goal is met (the end of the school year is fast approaching!!), or for any number of times when kids need a little help building patience while they wait for something important to happen. I would also even do something like this for an adult friend who needs a little support through a stressful time in her life. When I have done this in the past for an Advent Calendar, I came up with 24 mini-activities for each countdown day. Most days it was something simple, such as having an extra dessert or renting a favorite Christmas movie. On the weekends, the activities would be more involved, such as baking cookies.

What You Need to Make a Countdown Calendar “Waiting Jar”

• Paper – plain or scrapbook paper, whatever you want
• A mason jar – or even simply recycle a pickle jar. Just wash it well first!
• String or ribbon to tie the messages into little ‘gifts’

I wanted to fill up my daughter’s jar with empowering and positive messages so that she wouldn’t dwell on the fact that her boyfriend was gone. I also borrowed my own activity idea and came up with a handful of “assignments” for her to do, encouraging her to keep her thoughts positive. Examples were: “Write down 5 things you like and appreciate about yourself”, and “Write down 5 FUN things you will do between now and the 4th weekend in September.” Then I searched the web for appropriate fun quotes to remind her of how much we love her. You can see some of them in the image below:

Daily Inspirational and Motivational Message Ideas

I counted the days until her boyfriend’s visit, (33), I typed the quotes onto my old advent calendar template, and spaced out the activities so that she’d get them about once a week. Then I cut and folded each one so that only the number was showing, and tied them up with some colored thread so that she couldn’t peek ahead too easily:

Folded and Tied Daily Messages for the Countdown Calendar

Before I put them into the jar, I traced the lid onto a piece of perfectly-themed scrapbook paper and simply sandwiched the paper between the lid and rim. If you’re using a regular jar with a one-piece lid, you could decoupage it to the top, or even skip this step altogether.

Trace a circle from the Mason jar lid to decorate the top

Lastly, I loaded the messages into the jar in order, putting #33 on the bottom, all the way to #1 at the top. Though now that I think about it, it would have made more sense to put the numbers in reverse, so that it would be easier for her to know immediately how many days were left.

Add the dated messages from last to first so that #1 is on top.

I can unequivocally state that the Waiting Jar was a huge success, and truly made the wait to see her boyfriend easier for her to handle. She even took her favorite quotes and stuck them up on her bulletin board in her room! Below are 36 days worth of countdown calendar day templates that you can print and hand write your own messages for whatever your countdown occasion may be.

Days 1-12 Personalizable Countdown Calendar

Days 13-24 Personalizable Countdown Calendar

Days 25-36 Personalizable Countdown Calendar

And in case you were wondering – yes, the boyfriend is still around! We’re both pretty pleased about that!

Until I come up with a cool tissue paper saving system, I figured I should do something with the scraps right away, because, you know, it’s not really the right week to throw things away like that! So I had already set aside my kids’ raisin boxes and Jello boxes, and somehow making aliens was the logical next step!

You can totally make these cardboard box aliens without tissue paper scraps and without the mess of decoupage. Just use paint instead.

What You Need to Make this Easy Alien Craft for Kids

• Jello, raisin, or other small empty carboard boxes
• Pipe cleaners for the antennae and legs
• Googly eyes
• Tissue paper scraps
• Wire cutters
• Decoupage glue
• Glitter glue (optional)

How to Make this Easy Alien Craft for Kids

First cover the boxes with the glue and tissue paper. Lay down a thin layer of glue with a paint brush, then lay down the tissue paper, then cover it with another layer of glue. The silver alien used scraps of silver tissue paper, which is very opaque compared to regular tissue paper so I only needed one layer of it. With the purple monster, I had to use about 4 layers of purple tissue paper to ensure you couldn’t see the artwork on the food boxes.

I then added some cut circle scraps for the eyes, and found some other colored triangles or rectangles to make the mouths. These I glued on just like the rest of the tissue paper.

After the decoupage is dry, use a razor blade to cut four tiny x’s into the bottom of the box, and two tiny x’s in the top as shown. This is where you will insert the antennae and legs.

Cut two pieces of pipe cleaner for the antennae, and three to four for the legs. It was a bit easier to make them stand up on their own with more legs.

To make the spiral antennae, wrap the pipe cleaners around a pencil or paint brush, then pull it off.

Make tiny feet by simply bending the pip cleaners into an oval on the ends.

Then simply stick the ends of the pipe cleaners into the tiny slits you cut with the razor blade.

All that’s left to do is glue on your googly eyes. This is optional too, because you could just as easily decoupage or paint on the eyes. I wanted to use glitter glue to make them, well, more alien-y. I also used two different sized eyes, because I thought it was cuter that way!

A gorgeous pile of home made paper beads from cut up magazines. A pretty classy craft project, if I do say so myself.

I remember making paper beads from magazine pages when I was a teenager and have always wanted to do it again.  (Yes, I’ve always been crafty.)  Back then, I’d never heard of Mod Podge, so it was clear nail polish to the rescue!  Handmade paper beads are actually really beautiful and you can make all different styles by cutting the paper into different shapes.

What You Need to DIY Paper Beads from Magazines

• Old magazines
• Scissors
• Mod Podge
• Toothpicks
• Small paintbrush

DIY Beads from Magazine Craft Supplies

Pull out some magazine pages that have a color scheme you like.

You don’t have to worry too much about what the picture is, as it won’t really show, but words and letters might look a little funky. Cut them in strips that start at about 1″ wide and get narrower at the top.

Start rolling the wide end around your toothpick.

Continue until you get to the tip. You want to center the strip as you roll your paper bead so that it comes out even on both sides.

Brush Mod Podge over the entire home made paper bead.

I had a foam wreath in the craft room, so I stuck my DIY beads on there to dry without sticking to anything.

Gently remove your hand made beads from the toothpicks.

I thought they would stick really badly, but they didn’t. We put ours on a piece of elastic so the necklace would stretch, but I’d prefer to use something stronger so it will hold up better.

What I Learned the Hard Way:  This craft was a little beyond my kiddos, so I ended up doing pretty much all of it myself.  I would definitely recommend it for pre-teens and teens more than younger ones.

How to Make a Crayon Wreath

I’ve seen this craft around Pinterest, but I never came across a good tutorial for how to make one.  So, I got all creative and dove in on my own.  To be honest, this isn’t exactly a kids’ craft, but my little one did “help” by handing me the different colored crayons as I used the hot glue gun.  I’m so excited to give it to her teacher later today!

Makes the Coolest Teacher Gift!

What You Need to Make a Crayon Wreath

• Crayons (we used two boxes of 64 plus a few extra crayons from a third box)
• Two different-sized embroidery hoops (mine were 12″ and 8″)
• Strong string or floral wire (I used embroidery floss)
• Hot glue

Crayon Wreath Craft Supplies

Place the embroidery hoops on your surface with the small one inside of the big one. Placed a dab of hot glue on each and lay the crayon across so it is stuck to both.

The hardest part for me was to get the spacing down.  They need to be angled so that there is more space between them on the bigger embroidery hoop.  Really, it just took a while to get the feel of it down, and I went back and pulled off a few once I had a good idea of the correct angle.

Glue crayons all the way around your embroidery hoops.

Because there is so much space between the sharpened ends of the crayons, you can’t lay the second layer right on top of the first without creating something for them to rest on.

Wrap your string around the crayons, getting it as close to the outer edge of the larger embroidery hoop as possible. Once you've gone all the way around, tie it off and snip the long ends of the string.

Notice that the string crosses over the TOP side of the crayons rather than the bottom.  This is so you have a level place to glue your second layer of crayons.

Add the second layer to your crayon wreath by gluing the next crayon at the bottom where the two from the first layer meet. Glue the sharpened end to the string or floral wire you added in the last step.

Since ours was a teacher Christmas gift, we added a bow and poinsettia to our crayon wreath.

Today’s project idea comes from a paper basket craft from one of these magazines, though I’ve changed and adapted it to make it easier to create. Back then most magazines (not just those for kids) offered very general templates and even more vague directions, because so many daily items were handmade in those days. So, this project originated as a tiny 1 inch diagram with a paragraph of instructions – I’ve redrawn the template, included some fun retro Easter character art, and created a printable project that you can download for free and use as much as you want! And I’ve also included…. real instructions! Fancy that!!

Free Printable Easter Parasol Baskets

What you need to make these printable paper Easter baskets:

• Two yards of ribbon (NOT satin ribbon – grosgrain works best)
• One wooden skewer (like you can find at any grocery store)
• A standard hand-held hole puncher
• Glue stick or regular school glue
• A low-temp hot glue gun
• Print out TWO COPIES of the Easter basket art for each basket you want to make
  I also recommend using regular paper and not card stock, only because the thicker paper is too difficult to fold accurately.
• Easter basket stuffings of your choosing.

Print TWO COPIES of this Easter parasol art to make EACH basket. CLICK TO PRINT FULL SIZE.

Here is a blank template in case your kids want to decorate their parasol themselves. Remember - print TWO for each basket! CLICK TO PRINT FULL SIZE.

First, cut out the two sides of the parasol basket along the outside black line:

You need both sides to make the parasol.

Next, I highly recommend scoring your folds before folding, because you want your folds to be as precise and crisp as possible. You can do this with a bone folder, by simply taking a ruler and tracing the fold lines (which are included a diagram on the printable). If you don’t have a bone folder, simply use anything with a dull-ish point that won’t leave a mark – I used the point of a knitting needle, and have used the dull side of a butter knife in the past.

Scoring and folding the basket parts

Next you’ll need to punch holes on on either side of each fold – you can see them in this next photograph, which also shows how to glue the two sides together with the flap on the back, which will eventually be on the inside of the basket:

First punch the holes, then glue the two sides together as shown. (You may need to re-punch the holes where the flaps overlap)

While the glue is drying, take your wooden skewer and wrap it with ribbon. I tacked the ends in place with a glue gun, but regular glue will also work if you can hold the ends in place until they dry. Do the next step before you insert the skewer handle into the paper parasol as shown in the last photo below. You’ll need to wrap that extra ribbon on the bottom after you insert it into the parasol.

Making the parasol handle from a skewer and ribbon

This is actually the trickiest part – the folds on the parasol naturally want to reverse themselves and zig zag, but you obviously want all the folds pointing towards the inside of the basket. Feed the ribbon through the punched holes, and gently pull it into a smaller circle, which will hold the parasol in it’s shape. This might require the help of an adult if younger children are working on it, and it is especially important to NOT use silky ribbon here, because it simply won’t hold the paper, and it will slide everywhere, and you will want to throw it away thinking it is all messed up: ask me how I know this!! *smile* The grosgrain ribbon has just enough texture to hold the paper in shape while you try to wrangle the folds into place.

How to tie the ribbon to hold the Easter parasol in shape

Once the ribbon is in place and folding is complete, insert the ribbon-wrapped skewer into the center of the parasol – you can see in the photo above that I’ve wrapped extra ribbon at the bottom of the skewer to help hold it in place. I also tacked it on the inside with some additional hot glue.

At this point, your basket can be complete! But if you want to hang it, simply hot glue a loop of ribbon to the top. You can stuff the basket with grass and goodies, but remember that it is made of paper and won’t hold anything too heavy. Peeps are perfect!

Chicken Alternate Variety: you can swap out the steak for chicken and prepare it the exact same way for chicken tacos, which are also phenomenal.

Our family original steak tacos recipe!

Taco Filling Ingredients:

• A 1 pound flat-iron steak with taco seasoning (recipe below)
• 10-12 oz grated cheddar cheese
• Diced tomatoes
• Shredded lettuce
• Optional: taco sauce and sour cream (technically NOT optional at all in our family, but maybe in yours!)

We’ve tried nearly every cut of meat on the planet for this recipe, and a flat iron steak is by far the best, tastiest option. It is slightly tougher than a regular cut of steak, but the flavor is hard to beat, and since you cut it up into tiny pieces anyway, the toughness is a non-issue. It’s also known as the butlers’ steak in the UK and oyster blade steak down under.

Taco Seasoning Ingredients:

I make this in big batches and keep in handy in a mason jar – it’s like a beautifully better version of the taco seasoning packets you can buy in the store. Bonus points: it’s economical, too! So these amounts will make far more than necessary for this particular recipe, but you can also use it in soups, chili, or other Mexican-inspired dishes:

• 4 Tbsp chili powder
• 3.5 Tbsp paprika
• 3 Tbsp cumin
• 2 Tbsp oregano
• 1.5 Tbsp garlic powder
• 1.5 Tbsp onion salt
• 1 Tbsp onion powder
• 1 tsp ground celery
• 1 Tbsp flour or corn starch
• Pinch of cayenne pepper (or more to taste)

Taco Prep Instructions:

I start prepping the meal with the tortillas because they take the longest.

Now roll out the dough into tortilla rounds. My system:

1. Preheat my nonstick frying pan (no oil necessary) on medium heat
2. Roll out my first tortilla with a rolling pin
3. Place it into the frying pan
4. Roll out my second tortilla – which is just about the perfect time to…
5. Go back and flip the first tortilla in the pan
   (so you know, flip it to the other side when the dough starts to bubble)
6.  The second side cooks faster than the first, so cook the second side for about 60 seconds
7. Place it into a tortilla warmer or a serving bowl and wrap it with a clean, dry towel
8. Put the second tortilla into the frying pan
9. Roll out the third tortilla…
10. Repeat as necessary until they are all done!

I usually try to get my husband to start cooking the steak on the grill right as I start cooking the tortillas, because the timing of having it all done at the same time works out pretty well. But if you’re doing it all yourself, go ahead and throw the meat onto the grill or broiler about now. You’ll have to pay close attention to flip the meat and flip the tortillas so that nothing burns – which is why it’s good to have someone else cook the meat.  Here’s how you do it:

Cook the steak for 3-4 minutes a side until you’ve reached the desired doneness.  Just check it frequently with a meat thermometer or by cutting slightly into the thickest part of the meat to make sure it’s cooked to your liking. What I like about the flat iron steak is that they tend to have varying thickness, so that I can get my nice medium cooked ends while my husband can get his super-rare part from the middle.

Allow the meat to rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing it across the grain, then chopping up the slices into small cubes. You might want to add a little more of the taco seasoning at this point for additional flavor.

To serve: give everyone a tortilla, and let them fill it up however they want. Fold in half, take a bite, let your eyes roll back into your head, and enjoy!

Fresh Baked Tortilla Chips

I hesitate to call these “homemade” tortilla chips, because I purchased the tortillas themselves.  I still feel good about baking them at home.  We’ve done them a few times, and they turn out super tasty and aren’t full of preservatives! Editor’s Note: You could take this idea a step further and make homemade corn tortillas, and then make them into these chips. YUM. As a side note, we make homemade flour tortillas every time we have tacos instead of buying them. The taste difference is SO worth it – they are so much fresher with such a wonderful flavor. This is the exact recipe we use, and I highly recommend it!

What You Need to Make Fresh Tortilla Chips at Home

• Corn tortillas
• Vegetable oil
• Salt

Baked Tortilla Chip Ingredients

Along with the ingredients, you’ll need a baking sheet and a pizza cutter, though a knife will work just as well.

Lightly brush oil onto both sides of the tortillas, stack them and cut into eighths. You could also use a cooking spray to coat the tortillas with oil.

Cut up the tortillas into six or eight wedges.

Lay tortilla wedges out on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with salt.

A little kitchen helper is always handy to have around.

Bake the tortilla chips at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.

Here's your "homemade" tortilla chips!

For a yummy kid-friendly treat, make these with our watermelon salsa recipe – a surprisingly not-too-sweet salsa that tastes wonderfully light, fresh and delish.

When I started Woo! Jr., my kids were all in elementary school and it was so dang easy to come up with craft ideas for them and for this site! Then my oldest went to high school, and I had to start a teen crafts category. NOW… she’s in college, and I’m wondering who’s kid she is, because I am certainly NOT old enough to have a kid in college – yikes! But the good news here is that she is now plenty old enough to do some craft projects just for Craft Jr., and this is her very first post!

Decoupage Easter Basket Craft

How to Make this Mod Podge Paper Easter Basket

Start with a small and inflated balloon.

Using any size brush, gently paint a thin layer of Mod Podge onto top half of balloon. Make sure you have your paper ready at this point, because it dries quickly. You can use almost any kind of paper as long as it’s not thick or heavy, I used construction paper.

Cut paper into strips.

Thicker strips will cover the area faster, but upon layering will bulk up faster as well.

Begin putting your strips on your balloon.

When the pieces begin to cross over each other, make sure both sides of the paper are coated with ModPodge so that the paper will stick to itself. Continue adding your strips until your whole balloon is evenly covered.

If you have small spots where you've missed, just cut up your strips into squares and use as patches.

When you are satisfied with your layers, put a final coat of Mod Podge over it all, making sure it’s even throughout and has no dry pieces. Leave your balloon out  overnight in order to make sure every layer has been able to thoroughly dry.

The next morning your balloon may or may not have shrunken, which just looks funny!

The Mod Podge should have changed from a white color to completely clear. If you see any areas of the surface that still look cloudy, wait until they are fully dried.

Then you can pop your balloon!

Remove the popped balloon from the shell and you can use whatever you want to fill your egg.

I had leftover strips of paper, so crumpling those up work just fine.

Easter grass works as well. Your shell should be able to hold up with eggs, small treats and gifts. You can be the judge on what your newly created egg can handle!

How to Make a Pretty Paper Flower Craft With Kids

What You Need to Make a Paper Strip Heart Flower

• Coordinating scrapbooking paper
• Paper cutter
• Stapler
• Glue stick

Paper Heart Flower Craft Supplies

Cut your paper into strips approximately 1" wide. Glue two strips with the white sides together so that you end up with two different patterns on each strip.

Fold each strip of scrapbooking paper in half.

Place the points of the flower hearts together and staple each to the adjacent heart to form a flower.

The number of hearts you use for your paper flower depends on their size and the look you want. My five-year-old decided they needed centers, so she wadded up an additional strip of scrapbooking paper and glued it to the center on the ones pictured above.

Add some color to your kids' crafting with this rainbow mobile.

There’s something about mobiles that seems to just captivate us, and this rainbow mobile kids’ craft is no exception.  The girls just loved it, and I have to admit that it was kind of cool looking when it was all done. This is a perfect activity for St. Patrick’s Day leprechauns looking for a pot of gold… and also because spring will be here before we know it!

What You Need to Make a Rainbow Mobile

• Construction paper in rainbow colors
• Tape
• Glue
• Scissors
• String
• White cotton balls or pom poms

Rainbow Mobile Kids Craft Supplies

Start by gluing three cotton balls together for each cloud (you want two clouds) and let them dry while you're doing the rest of your craft.

Cut equal strips from each color of construction paper. Trim the end of each color to be a bit shorter than the previous one.

Line up both ends and tape together. I had ours sort of spread out, but if I did it again, I think I would just have them all evenly stacked on one another.

Poke a hole in either end of your rainbow mobile's strips and insert a string. Tie off the end so it won't pull through, and cut it about two feet long.

Cut out as many raindrops as you would like to hang off of your construction paper mobile.

Tape the construction paper raindrops along the length of the string. If you wanted it to be nicer, you could sandwich the string between two raindrops and glue it all together.

Glue the cotton ball clouds to either end of your rainbow mobile to finish the kids' craft.