Homemade Coloring Book Material:

Tracing paper

Permanent black marker

Plain white paper

Stapler

Homemade Coloring Book Instructions:

1. Sketch simple black and white line drawings on your plain white paper. If you’re not good at drawing, you can also use tracing paper to capture shapes you like from illustrated children’s books. You can also find many templates to download from the Internet.
2. Once you have a stack of drawings, scan them so you can make multiple copies of the coloring book.
3. Print out as many copies as you want.  Add a front and back cover using heavy cardstock.
4. Staple the books together.

Bonus idea: Put a coloring book everywhere.  One in your purse. One in your kids’ bag. One in the car. One next to the fridge.  At their aunts and uncles’ place. Also keep a box of crayons nearby.  Now your kids will always have something to keep their hands busy!

Hand Warmer Craft Project Material:

Recycled sweater

Needle and thread

Uncooked rice

Hand Warmer Craft Project Instruction:

1. Cut out two pieces of sweater fabric from the recycled sweater, about the size of your hands.
2. Sew the two pieces of sweater together on three sides, leaving one side open.
3. Turn the sweater inside out to hide the stitches.
4. Fill the hand warmer with uncooked rice. Sew the last edge by hand or with sewing machine.
5. Embroider the finished hand warmer if you want.

To use the hand warmer, toss it in the microwave and heat on high for 1 minute.  Remove from the microwave and get ready to snuggle with the hand warmer.

Anyone who has ever tried to find her own luggage from the sea of similar looking luggage on the conveyor belt knows the importance of having an easily-noticeable & unique luggage tag.  Unfortunately, most of us don’t go to the airport prepared with our own personalized luggage tag.  Instead, we grab one from the airline’s counter – which pretty much defeats the purpose because all airline luggage tags look the same.

If you’re a frequent traveler, or have people in your life who travel frequently, you can save them from mistaking someone else’s luggage for theirs by giving them their own personalized travel luggage tag.  All you need is some basic supplies, your kid(s) and a few minutes of your time!

Material for Personalized Luggage Tags:

Paper

The traveler’s address

Something to decorate the tag with (This should be personal to the travel, preferably something that can  be easily recognized from afar, such as a pet’s photo, picture of the person’s favorite flower)

Glue stick

Ribbon or string

Instruction for Personalized Luggage Tags:

1. Cut your paper to roughly 3×4 inches.
2. Write the traveler’s name and address on one side with a thick marker.  I prefer to make the name really big so it’s easy to see.
3. Flip the tag around. Personalize the tag with a photo of the person’s pet, favorite flower, or anything else that will make the tag stand out)
4. Laminate the finished tag. If you don’t have a laminator, you can take it to your local copy shop. You can also try getting self-laminating sheets from an office supply store.
5. Once the tag is laminated, trim the edges and punch a hole through one of the corners.
6. Tie a piece of ribbon or string through the hole.

Bonus idea: if you’re giving this as a gift, you can make it a more substantial one by putting together a traveler’s kit: Inside a clear plastic bag, also include small bottles of shampoo, conditioner and shower gel.