crafts to cure cabin-fever

photo credit :: ana dziengel / babble dabble do

Tomorrow is officially the first day of winter break from school for my children.  We had planned a little road-trip up towards the mountains for the beginning part of this week, but with heavy rain in the forecast, we've decided to stay home.  Luckily, I've been keeping a list on a piece of paper taped to the refrigerator... a list of crafts, projects and games to keep us entertained during the two week break;  and I'm excited to share my list with you, because this is too much fun to keep to myself!

First on the list is this cup & ball toy created by Ana Dziengel of the blog Babble Dabble Do which (I have to admit) we've already tested.  I couldn't resist, so last week we made three of them, and I can firmly attest to the fact that they are as much fun as they look. No joke -- you have to try this craft.  Instructions can be found HERE. (note: another favorite craft from Babble Dabble Do HERE )

photo credit :: agnes hsu / hello, wonderful

Next is this spool-racer craft.  Do you sense a theme here?  Art which you can stick to the wall with bits of tape (or to the fridge with magnets) is very nice, but as far as I'm concerned, art which you can play with is way better.

Okay, so... we've already tested out this one, too, and I swear these are as much fun as the cup & ball toy.  The cat liked them, too, which added another whole dimension of cuteness and fun. Instructions can be found HERE at hello, Wonderful.

photo credit :: susan gaylord

A few years ago a friend & her children made these charming gingerbread houses out of recycled brown paper bags.  You can find the blog post describing the craft HERE, a video showing step-by-step instructions HERE and templates HERE.

photo credit :: gemma garner

Last winter we made pomanders from oranges and cloves; they dried beautifully and are still hanging on ribbons from the fireplace screen. A few weeks ago my little one asked if we could make these again, and so I have a little jar of cloves waiting in the kitchen cupboard.  Orange pomanders are so easy to make with young children and they smell really lovely.  You can find information about the history of pomanders HERE, some good instructions HERE, plus more instructions on this all-around lovely blog HERE.

photo credit :: helen hiebert / playing with paper

Window stars!  We've never made these. Why not?  I have no idea. With all this rain pouring down, we are going to need a little sunshine and a few rainbows coming in through the window, even if we have to fabricate the sunshine and rainbows ourselves.  If you want to make window stars, too, you can buy waxed kite paper HERE or HERE, and you can find instructions HERE.

Other things on my list: block-crayon drawing, magic color-changing markers, exploring Jan Brett's website (you can find her gingerbread baby recipe HERE), and origami.

Plus games: Crazy Cats, Blokus, Dixit, Sequence for Kids, Shut the Box, Animal upon Animal (Tier auf Tier), Tangrams, and Rush Hour.

Do you have any favorite projects & games for rainy-day cabin fever.  If so, I'd love to know.