Project Nursery on Ohdeedoh!

Friday, May 20th, 2011

Everyday, I’m a proud mom to my son Oliver, but today, I’m a proud, crafty mama. Ohdeedoh, the ultimate blog for all things fabulous in kids’ design and craft, wrote up a flattering (I’m blushing) piece on the June 2011 story Project Nursery about my son’s bedroom.

Visit Ohdeedoh to read their post and take a peak at Parents for all of the craft how-tos!

Cute (and Cheap) Easter Garland!

Tuesday, April 12th, 2011

I love paint chips, and I especially love crafting with them. Check out this happy Easter Egg garland made by Modern Parents Messy Kids. Visit the site (or just look at these photos) for the very easy how-to. You can hang this garland on your mantle, front door, or in the trees near the egg hunt!

Found via Design Mom

Enter our Craftiest Mom Photo Contest

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

Can you build a small village from Popsicle sticks, take a whirl around the backyard and find 12 different craft supplies, or look through the recycling bin and envision musical instruments? If so, then we want YOU to enter our Craftiest Mom Contest!

This summer, we’re on a nationwide search for the craftiest mom (or dad) out there! If you think you’re it, upload as many as 6 photos of your coolest craft that you enjoy doing with your kids, along with complete craft instructions by August 9, 2010. Our grand-prize winner will be featured in a future issue of Parents magazine and will receive a $300 gift card from Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores. Your crafty panel of judges includes: Amanda Kingloff, Parents’ Lifestyle Director; Genevieve Gorder from HGTV’s Dear Genevieve (catch her show Saturdays at 8:30/7:30c); Cassi Griffin from The Crafty Crow; and Nizzi Renaud from Etsy.

But there isn’t just one chance to win—three other crafters will be chosen by the Parents.com community and will take home a $150 gift card from Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores! Enter to win at Parents.com.

Get ready, get set, CRAFT! We can’t wait to see what you’ll come up with!

Click here to read the official rules. Happy Crafting!

Modern Gingerbread

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

Crafting ornaments is so much fun…and stringing popcorn garlands, yeah, that’s great too. But seriously, there is nothing more fun than making a gingerbread house this time of year. When I spotted this super-mod construction on Ohdeedoh, I swooned.

If you are so inclined to strap on your pastry toolbelt, then you can download the “plans” here.

Happy baking…I mean crafting…I mean building!

Share Your Best Mama Tip!

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

Got a great tip or trick that makes your life easier? Tell us about it and you could be featured in Parents magazine!

Whether it's a surefire way to get your picky eater to eat her veggies, a simple organizing solution, a clever way to keep kids busy on long car-rides, or the perfect go-to present that's a hit with every child, we want to know our readers' best nuggets of homegrown advice! It can be about anything—so go on and share! To add yours, go to our new community site. We can't wait to read your amazing tips!

Image via

Share Your Best Mama Tip!

Thursday, June 11th, 2009

It certainly doesn't feel like summer in NYC yet, but if you're lucky enough to be in warmer temperatures, you may be getting a whiff of the fact that your regular deodorant isn't getting the job done. The latest odor-attacker out there is BAN Clinical Defense Roll-On, $7. It claims to work better than the other clinical-strength deodorants you've seen in drugstores because it uses a technology that eliminates two stress-related odors—spicy odor and s-odor—instead of just masking them. Give it a roll and let us know what you think.

Ephemeral Frames

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

All kids love to see their artwork prominently displayed on the walls, but most moms will admit that not every preschool project is worth preserving forever under glass. Enter Do Frame Tape—clear adhesive tape printed with golden frame pattern—which allows you to instantly showcase your kid’s latest creation (or A+ spelling test, awesome report card, etc.) with flourish—and then take it down just as easily. Best of all, at $16.50 for a 98” roll, you can create an entire gallery of your little Monet’s masterpieces for less than the cost of a single custom frame.

Via Like Cool

This Kid-Friendly Craft is a Keeper

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

As a kid, my life wasn’t governed by too many rules. Still, there was one hard-and-fast mandate I knew not to break: No craft projects involving glitter. Actually, the rule was more like: No crazy craft projects, period. (My mom simply hated buying all the expensive supplies, which inevitably got lost in the back of the closet.) Aside from coloring, the one thing she really encouraged us to do was papier-mâché. I’m pretty sure that's because it only involved three household staples: water, Elmer’s glue, and old newspapers.

Anyway, last night, while flipping through the newest issue of our crafty sister-pub, ReadyMade, I came across a project that I’m dying to try: Turning empty plastic bottles into striking colored vases. The materials are cheap/recycled and it involves papier-mâché? Even Mom would approve.

Most impressive to me is that while the so-simple instructions are easy enough for little ones to take on, they result in some truly chic vessels (ReadyMade’s vases, which started out as empty Method hand soap and POM juice bottles, among others, remind me of pricey Jonathan Adler ceramics I’ve long coveted for my living room.) I’d like to make a few  of my own this week—I’m thinking one could be the perfect container for a sweet Mother’s Day bouquet ….