Mess-free Canvas Keepsake Art | Toddler Canvas Keepsake Art

If you are familiar with the Mess-Free Ziploc Art that is perfect for babies and toddlers, this is a beautified version of the same. With a little creative additions, the little master piece that is created by those little hands can be turned into memorable keepsakes! This time I made two changes. I used canvas sheet instead of paper as I wanted it to last longer and instead of Ziploc, I have used cling wrap sheet.

My little one has enjoyed the Ziploc art every time we did it. The process of poking at, smacking and rubbing the little paint globules through the sheet of plastic gives him a sense of joy. And at the end of it all, when those tiny hands and the floor are spotless and paint free... or what joy for us as Mums too!! :D 

I just loved how my son's canvas art turned out! I am going to get it framed and hang it up on the wall. It is pretty easy to put together and am sure you and you little bunny will enjoy the process too.

DIY Picture Matching Activity with Flip Covers

With a young toddler a home, there was this time at home when I had collected so many wet wipes flip covers that I began looking for DIY ideas just so that I could use these up!! :D I loved how sturdy these flip lid covers were and did not have heart to discard them once the wipes packet was empty. So had hoarded almost a dozen at one point!

On one such ideas hunt on Pinterest, I chanced upon a very simple and interesting memory game board that was created using similar flip covers. I tweaked the idea to suit the materials I had at hand and to suit my little boy's interest. 

At 19 months, I did not expect him to understand the concept of finding matching images and actually match them. I just wanted him to experience the joy of flipping open the lids, finding colourful stickers under each, explore and just have fun! And fun he did have! :)

I used a few craft paper, some foam stickers and some glitter stickers to create a couple of different work sheets. It did keep him entertained and curious for a while and in the process helped develop his concentration and also gross motor skills.

Hands and Feet Print Keepsake Art | Toddler Art

I am huge HUGE fan of creating memories and preserving them creatively. After all, its only memories we are left with at the end of the day, so lets make them last as best as we can!

Ever since my little boy is in my life, keepsake arts and craft have interested me greatly. I have been looking for different ways in which I can preserve his precious baby-ness forever creatively. Such an art and craft project is a lovely way to spend quality time with your little one and in the process create some priceless keepsakes. 

There are tonnes of ideas that are available on Pinterest, and I have shortlisted quite a few ones that I plan to do with my boy. To start with, we did this simple hands and feet printing art project. 

This is a super simple and fun project to do with your little ones. It takes very little time and is perfect to do with younger toddlers whose patience level is minimal :) 

Objects Matching Activity

This is probably one of the easiest activities to set up to keep a toddler entertained and busy for a while. You need just a sheet of chart paper and a few objects from around the house, a pen and you are good to go! Its as simple as that. 

The object of this activity is to match the items with their outlines which are traced on the chart paper. Make sure to gather objects that are differently shaped and coloured to make it more attractive and fun for the minis.

My son has a fondness for puzzles and this is a very basic puzzle of sorts. So I knew this would be a hit with him. It was! He enjoyed placing the objects to their respective outlines and then after a couple of rounds, he turned the chart paper around and began matching the objects upside down! :D 

These little humans definitely know how to entertain themselves at times :) 

'Hug-in-a-Card' Birthday Card | Toddler Craft

Grandpa's birthday was coming up and I planned for Mini to create this FUN birthday card for him. The entire process was fun and easy for a toddler to actually participate in it all. At 22 months, their art and craft skills are but limited to scribbling, random stroking and well, just having fun! So this card is all that and more for dear Grandpa! :)

I am personally very fond of baby and toddler hand-print and foot-print art. There is something immensely cute about these itty-bitty prints that melts my heart. So when I saw an idea which had used palm prints in a super cute way to make a card, I jumped at the idea! I incorporated some toddler free-art and stickering into the palm printing idea and here us our beautiful card for Grandpa! :)

DIY Mini Abacus

Well, not really the perfect abacus to start teaching counting to a little one. But my intention was not to teach, it was to get my little one curious about those movable beads and get his tiny fingers working to move those beads across the sticks. I made this as a little toy to keep him entertained and help in his motor skills. 

The size of this is just perfect for tiny hands and can be lifted, turned around and explored with ease. All I have used here are some pretty smiley beads, two pairs of popsicle sticks, some toothpicks and glue! Frugal craft projects like these to keep minis busy, is the best! 

Go ahead and check out how I made this.

DIY Book Shelf | Cardboard Box Book Shelf

I am a huge fans of books, have always been since childhood and have been an avid reader and writer. I have wanted to pass on this love for reading and books to my little boy and hence introduced books to him when he was just 2 months old. He took to them immediately and has been fond of books ever since.  I try to understand his constantly changing likes and stock up on books on topics that will interest him. 

I had converted a little wooden side table as his reading corner and had stacked up his books into that one shelf. It was neatly arranged and easy for him to pick up but I have wanted a shelf where in I can arrange the books such that they are front facing and he gets to pick them up with more ease and can actually see the front cover at once glance. I understand this is the most apt arrangement of books for toddlers as it catches their attention better.

So yesterday suddenly an idea struck me and I immediately got to work! I had a cardboard box which I had saved up until I get just the right idea to use it for. This little bookshelf idea that I had seemed just the perfect project for the cardboard box! 

And as my little boy is in a 'Vehicle-Crazy' mode right now, what better way to decorate his little bookshelf other than the gift wrapping sheet I had in stock with adorable vehicles print! Super duper delighted with the way this has turned out and extremely happy to see my baby boy take to his new bookshelf instantly. 

DIY Play Washing Machine | Pretend Play for Toddlers

My son loves to help me with a few of my daily chores. I love that about him and encourage him every chance I get. Some of his favourite chores include loading clothes into the washing machine, unloading the washed clothes and passing them over one by one to me to hang out to dry. He loves these chores so much that, once or twice when I decided to wash while he naps, he woke up to find it ready to dry and got upset that he wasn't called for the washing routine! :D

So, when I had an extra cardboard box after having made the play cook-top, I knew just what I wanted to make for him... a play Washing Machine! :) I had seen a few ideas on Pinterest and combined some of my own ideas and came up with this little machine for my little guy. I wanted it to look as real and similar to as our front load machine. He enjoys opening the detergent tray to help me pour in the detergent and also turns the knob under supervision... so I had to include all these little details in his play machine!! I loved how this turned out and happier to see my little boy enjoy his time 'washing' his clothes :)

DIY Play Kitchen | Play Cook Top | Pretend Play for Toddlers

My little boy has a keen interest in vessels and the kitchen in general. He can amuse himself for a good half an hour with a pressure cooker and its lid. Trying his ways to fit the lid on and turn it around such that it locks up perfectly. Or o other days,  he would just go help himself to the idly stand and settle in a comfortable little place to sit and remove and then stack the idly trays back onto the stand! It is a delight to watch his tiny self engross himself into such activities with so much concentration! :) 

I let him do all the explorations he wishes to in the kitchen, of course making sure the drawers are not emptied out and filled vessels are not toppled over!! :D I believe that is in in everyday little activities like these that little ones learn the most.

To nurture this interest he has for the kitchen, I wanted to create a little kitchen exclusively for him, to indulge in some pretend play. I had just the perfect sized cardboard box for this purpose and so I set out to make a tiny little cooktop for my tiny little chefling! :) 

I am very happy with the final outcome and it is one of my Mini's favourite little hangouts just as I expected and hoped it would be! :)

Bottle and Cap Matching Activity

My son is obsessed with bottles. He has been so since he was around 13 months or so, probably since the time he started moving around and exploring the household items. He would firmly hold onto a bottle in his chubby little hands and using his teeny fingers, try to unscrew the cap of the bottle and then put it on. Initially of course he was unable to open and close the caps but would try and then ask us to help him. 

We had kept aside a few empty bottles for him to play with. But we were constantly worried that water filled bottles are soon going to be attacked by the mini and there is going to be water all over the home! :)

Seeing this interest he has in bottles and to keep our actual bottles safe... I decided to make an activity board for him that involved bottles! With inspiration from Pinterest, I began my project. I gathered few different types and colours of bottles with caps, with the idea of making it a matching activity too. 

This board was worth the effort as my little guy enjoyed it and spent a lot of time on it in its early days. Of course like every other toy, after a few days, he seemed bored by it. So I have actually kept it away hidden for the last few months, as part of my toy rotation plan! :) 

Popsicle Stick Drop Activity for Toddlers

Toddlers love activities that require them to intricately use their teeny tiny fingers and sharp minds. They love it when they are able to complete a required action, however simple the task maybe. It gives them an immense sense of satisfaction. It is important to nurture this feeling and to encourage them to perform more and more such tasks that develop their hand and eye coordination and motor skills.

This post is about one such super simple activity which toddler will enjoy and is easy for Mummas to put together. All we need is a plastic box or container with a lid and a few popsicle sticks, which are also called craft sticks and are easily available in craft supply stores.