Mother’s day is just around the corner and it is time to make something special for MOM! Inspired by the fantastic projects by Creative Jewish Mother we decided to turn a drinkable yogurt bottle into a miniature basket. I was worried about my little crafters getting bored with the weaving but the small size of the bottle meant that we whizzed through the weaving part of the project! Stay tuned to see what adorable felt flowers we will add to our MOTHER’s DAY present. FunLab crafters let’s get weaving!

You will need:
Small drinkable yogurt bottle (well washed)
yarn
ribbon
hot glue

Let’s get started:
Step 1: Cut the bottle in half. Cut an odd number of slits lengthwise in the bottle.

Step 2: Weave yarn.

Step 3: Finish top with ribbon.

Step 4: Cut out a handle from the left over plastic from the bottle. Wrap with yarn.

Step 5: Finish ends of the handle with ribbon.

Step 6: Glue handle onto basket.

All done! Come back to see what we add to our basket!
Alison

The post Mother’s day craft project – miniature woven basket appeared first on FunLab Blog.

The kids and I had so much fun creating our MONSTER BARS for birthday party favors that we decided to make something similar for our friends for EASTER. Colored paper for ears and google eyes are all that it took to transform a normal lollipop into something really special – a BUNNYPOP!

You will need:
Construction paper
Google eyes
Craft Glue
Monofilament

Let’s get started:

Step 1: Put your lollipop in a clear plastic bag and tie in place with a cute ribbon.

Step 2: Cut out ears from construction paper and make a little pink nose by balling up some tissue paper.

Step 3: Glue on everything (the ears from behind).

ALL DONE!

Happy Easter from FunLab

The post Bunny love: homemade Easter party favors appeared first on FunLab Blog.

This year my son decided that he wanted to hold his birthday party in one of those mega activity centers where there are slides and climbing games. When I called to see how to organize the party I discovered that the only party options are package deals that include a certain number of kids, the snack and the cake. I immediately felt useless. Usually I go crazy during the days before the party baking the cake and organizing the snack for all the kids. I decided to use my extra time making homemade party favors! A chocolate bar, colored paper, adhesive craft foam and here are my MONSTER BARS!

You will need:
Chocolate bars
Green construction paper
Google eyes
Black marker
Scotch tape
Black/White adhesive craft foam

Let’s get started:
Step 1: Cut out your construction paper so that you can wrap it around your candy bar.

Step 2: Cut out black “hair” from the adhesive craft foam and attach to the top of the rectangle. Add google eyes. I used the preadhesive ones – makes putting together 20 gifts a little faster!

Step 3: Use the black marker to add details like a sittly mouth! Cut out a little tooth from the white adhesive craft foam to add another fun detail.

ALL DONE!

Actually when i finished making the monsters, my little one said, “what about for the girls”. A quick remody was to add a little ribbon!

The easiest party that I have ever organized.
take care
Alison

Inspiration for post: These cute mummies and bats from Skip To My Lou inspired our Monster Bars (candy bar covers).

The post Homemade birthday party favors – Monster bars appeared first on FunLab Blog.

After the busy months leading up to Christmas, I finally had time to put together a recycling craft project.  This adorable little snowman is dedicated to my daughter who for the past week has woken up every morning convinced that she will find snow on the ground.  Since mother nature has been letting her down, I decided that I would surprise her with a Frosty the Snowman that will not melt in the sun!

All you need is an empty drinkable yogurt bottle, some scraps of foam and felt, a carrot nose and viola –  you have FROSTY THE SNOWMAN!

You will need:
White drinkable yogurt bottle (I used Actimel)
Scraps of red felt
Scraps of black craft foam
Google eyes
Orange paint
Tooth pick
Sand
Small foam ball
Black acrylic paint
Hot glue gun

Let’s get started:
Step 1: Put a little bit of sand in the yogurt bottle. This is important otherwise it will be top heavy and fall over after assembled:(.
Step 2: Cut out a length of red felt. Trim the end so that it looks like the fringe of a scarf.

Step 3: Glue foam ball and scarf on top of bottle.

Step 4: Glue on google eyes.

Step 5: Cut out a circle from the black craft foam. From the inside of the first circle cut out a smaller circle (this will be the top of the hat). Cut out a rectangle from the foam which will be the band of the hat.

Step 6: Assemble the hat by glueing the band closed on one end and insert into the hole of the larger circle. Glue the smaller circle on the top of the assembled hat. Glue onto the foam ball.

Step 7: Bend two brown chenille stems so that they look like twig arms.

Step 8: Poke a hole in both sides of the bottle.

Step 9: Slide one end of the chenille stem arm into a hole. Repeat with other arm.

Step 10: Use black acrylic paint to add decorations.

Step 11: Use the tip of a toothpick that you have painted orange as a carrot nose!

Maybe we will still get some snow before the winter is over but in the meantime we have created a fun companion for these snow free days!

Take care
Alison

The post Recycling project: Frosty the Snowman appeared first on FunLab Blog.

When I first came to live in Italy in 1999, Halloween was almost unheard of even in a big city like Milan.  Real orange pumpkins for carving were almost impossible to find except in expensive fruit stands and Halloween accessories could not be found anywhere.  This year I was amazed to see how Halloween has become popular!  I was even able to buy a pumpkin at the street market for 2 euro.  The other evening passing by a store window my children saw a plastic pumpkin that American kids use when they go trick or treating on Halloween evening they yelled out, “Just like they use in the movies!”.  At which point I decided that we needed to import the trick or treat tradition.  Here is a cute way to reuse plastic containers turning them into TRICK OR TREAT PUMPKINS!   We are going to load ours up with candies and take them to school to share with friends on Halloween day.

You will need:
Plastic containers (I used an ice cream bucket)
Orange tissue paper
Lamination glue
Black craft foam
Green tape

Let’s get started:
Step 1: Completely cover the plastic container with layers of orange tissue paper using the lamination glue.

Step 2: Cover the handle with green tape.

Step 3: Cut out a eyes, nose and mouth from craft foam and glue onto the pumpkin.

Fill candy and enjoy!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN
Alison

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The post Halloween craft: Trick or Treat Pumpkin appeared first on FunLab Blog.

When I started talking to Jennifer Matrone from Apple Pie Baby, I knew immediately that I wanted to write a post about our meeting.  An American married to an Italian living in Milan (sound familiar?).  A massive career change induced by the life altering experience of having kids (once again does this ring a bell?).  And here is the big one:  a female entrepreneur who has started an import business and commercializes her unique products online. This was definitely a kindred FunLab soul!

Apple Pie Baby is characterized by high design brands such as Skip Hop, Boon, and Puj (just to name a few) which are not readily found on the Italian market.  When asked about her brands, Jennifer summarizes the motivation behind her selection stating that she looks for items that “make parent’s lives easier”.

Here are a couple of my favorites:
Puj Tub

Skip Hop Snack Bag

Take a minute out to explore this wonderful find. And for FunLab readers there is a 10% discount using the coupon code FUNLAB.

The post Introducing Apple Pie Baby! appeared first on FunLab Blog.

Not all kids like to get dressed up for Halloween.  This SPIDER RING while being spooky is just cute enough that even little kids can wear it without getting the creeps. When we made our HALLOWEEN GHOSTS a couple of weeks ago, we also built some little clay spiders. My little boy was very disappointed in me because he said I had the legs growing out of the head of the spider. He was right, of course. The best part of this post is that I have finally found a way to recycle the piece of plastic that you take out of the milk bottle into a craft project. It usually goes straight into the plastic recycling bin but here is another great way to turn trash into kid ART! Thanks Zakka Life for this inspiration.

You will need:
Sculpt it
Black acrylic paint
Acrylic Paint Markers
Paint brushes

Let’s get started:
Step 1: Wash and dry the plastic ring from the milk bottle.

Step 2: Paint a black spider web using a black acrylic marker. Let dry overnight.

Step 3: Roll out the bodies of your spiders.

Step 4: Roll out a long log for the spider legs.

Step 5: Use a craft stick to cut the log into the correct length for the legs.

Step 6: You can build the spiders in two different ways. Either attach the legs to the top of the body.

Or pinch together four rolled out long pieces:

and then place a round body on top of the legs.

Step 7: Shape the legs and let the spiders dry overnight.

Step 8: Paint the body black and add white eyes using an acrylic marker.

Step 9: Glue onto the prepared ring base from Steps 1 and 2.

If you don’t feel like making a ring you can use these spiders to add an extract touch to your Halloween decorations:)

Take care
Alison

The post Halloween Craft for Kids: Spider Ring appeared first on FunLab Blog.

While at home this year during the summer I did a lot of research on different HOMEMADE HALLOWEEN DECORATIONS. One of my Mom’s friends told me about a neighborhood tradition in which everyone makes ghosts and hangs them out on the trees along the street before Halloween.  We don’t have any trees to hang ghosts on in downtown Milan but it sounded like a great table decoration to get the kids into the spirit of the season. Come see how easy it is to make these Friendly Halloween Ghosts!

You will need:
Fabric stiffener (I used a store bought variety but here is a recipe to make it at home)
Gauze
Plastic bottles
Plastic wrap
Google eyes

Let’s get started:

Step 1: Build your molds. We used upside down wine glasses and water bottles to make different sized ghosts.

Step 2: Cover your work surface with plastic wrap. THIS IS A MESSY PROJECT! Which is why kids love it!

Step 3: Cut out lengths of the gauze that are long enough to go from one side to the other of the mold.

Step 4: Fold the gauze and dip into the fabric stiffener-time to get to work.

Step 5: Carefully add the wet gauze in layers to the mold.

Step 6: Position the bottom of the gauze on the work surface so that it looks like the bottom of a flowing ghost:)

Step 7: Let dry at least overnight.

Step 8: Take out the molds.

Step 9: Glue on google eyes!

Your ghosts are done. Decorate the house and see what a fun response that visiting kids have to these silly GAUZEY GHOSTS! I wanted to add a black craft foam mouth but my kids thought the ghosts looked too scary. Maybe yours are a little bit more courageous.

Stay tuned for my next post on how to make HOMEMADE SPOOKY SPIDERS to add to your ghost.
Alison

Note: This post was inspired by my Mom’s best friend Chantal. She gave me a step by step instruction on how to create these ghosts. THANKS!

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The post Halloween crafts for kids: Homemade Friendly Ghosts appeared first on FunLab Blog.

During this past spring FunLab collaborated with the WWF in the creation of a “meme” as well as a series of posts dedicated to sharing the WWF message. When I first learned of the project I have to admit that my first thought was, “What in the world is a meme?”. The only meme that I had every heard of was in book The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins and did not think that was what the WWF had in mind. In summary, Donatella and 9 other bloggers wrote a short story each one adding a new piece to the growing story line that had already created by the other bloggers. The naration underlying the video in the link is the result of this interesting collaboration. The stars of the WWF meme are the three baby animals featured in the WWF Linea Baby: a giant panda bear, a tiger and a polar bear. Come discover the adentures of these adorable characters and learn how “we are all connected through nature!”
Alison

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The post WWF: The story of a little musical panda bear appeared first on FunLab Blog.

One of my favorite ways to relax is to spend some time looking around the blog community to see what is going on outside of the FunLab world. Recently, due to a lack of time, I found myself going to the same 4 or 5 sites.  The other evening I had a little bit of precious free time and decided that I needed a change and stumbled upon 5 different fantastic creative blogs with unique back to school projects that I would like to highlight today:

1. Art projects for kids by KATHY BARBRO with her colorful decorated pencils

2. Fem Manuals with these silly book marks

3. Make it and Love it by Ashely with her girl’s pencil case

4. Zaffa Life by Jessica Okui with two posts so cute that I could not decide which one to use so I will insert both:

her London Double decker bus (can you believe it is made out of a tick tack box!)

and Google eye pins:

5. Curly Birds with these school slippers

After browsing through these beautiful sites I wanted to start at least 10 different projects. Check them out – I guarantee that it is worth spending some of the all too precious down time on these creative gurus.

Take care
Alison

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The post 5 Top Craft Blogs and their back to school ideas appeared first on FunLab Blog.