Easy Craft: Construction Paper Halloween Witch

If you are looking for an easy, last-minute Halloween craft to do with your kids, I love this idea for DIY witches from my friend Annie at {kidlist}. Her site is a wonderful resource for young families in Chicago's near western suburbs, including LaGrange, Western Springs and Hinsdale, so please help spread the word. And if you want directions on how to make these witches, including Annie's template, just click here or on the picture.

The template for these do-it-yourself witches can be found on {kidlist}.

A Simple Olympics Craft For All Ages

The opening ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London will be broadcast tonight. So it's a perfect time for this craft that comes courtesy of Annie at {kidlist} a wonderful website for families in the near western suburbs of Chicago, including LaGrange, Hinsdale and Western Springs. If you have family or friends in that area, please make sure they know about {kidlist}.

The topic of flags came up in our house lately, so I thought in honor of the Summer Olympics starting we would make our own flags. What a fun way to cheer on our country by making a homemade American flag!

All you need is some paper, tape and stick or wood skewer. We used double stick tape, but you can use one sided tape as well and just loop it.

1. Wrap a piece of double stick tape to the skewer

2. Fold a long rectangular piece of paper in half and place the skewer with tape inside, along the crease

3. Press the paper together and you are all set to decorate the flag

Let the games begin!

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Easy Craft: How to Make a May Day Basket Out of Paper

When my family returned from a spring weekend away last year, we had a lovely surprise waiting on our door -- a May Day basket! The basket came from a sweet neighbor and her young daughter, and it's a tradition I decided to adopt this year for some of our neighbors and friends. After a bit of surfing, I found directions and a free printable template for a paper basket and flowers. It was so easy even a non-crafter like me could handle it. And there was plenty of work that my preschooler could help out with, too.

Look how cute it turned out:

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Simple Craft: Valentine Surprise Cups

If you're like me, you have a couple of empty egg cartons in your craft box (craft pile, in my case) just waiting for inspiration to strike on a rainy day. Well, inspiration struck at my friend Annie's house this week. Annie runs {kidlist} -- a wonderful website for families in Western Springs, LaGrange, Hinsdale and other near west suburbs. Read on for her easy directions about how you and your kids can make "Valentine Surprise Cups." -- Tara

Want a fun alternative to traditional Valentine's cards to hand out at school or to family members? My son and I had a great time making these Valentine Surprise Cups!

A toddler can do most of the steps to this cute treat if you prepare some of the parts ahead of time. Here is what you will need:

• cardboard egg carton
• washable paint and paintbrush
• toothpicks
• construction paper
• small treat or surprise to put inside
• glue
• marker or pen

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Free Halloween Coloring Sheet: A Friendly GWYM Witch!

Those of you who stopped by the Go West Young Mom table at Pumpkins for a Cure might remember that I was handing out darling Halloween-themed coloring sheets to the kids. That coloring sheet was custom designed for me by the very talented Sara Sweeney, a member of our Mompreneur Directory with her Baby SO Big! frames.

Well, since we're all about Halloween this week, I thought I'd share the coloring sheet with a wider audience. The image below is just a thumbnail; but when you click the image, up will pop an 8x11 inch copy that you can print out. I hope your kids enjoy coloring it this weekend!

Click on the image above to get a standard-sized 8x11 coloring sheet that you can print.