Download the new InklessTales.com Birthday Party Invitations E-Book.

Fifteen pages of way-cool, ready-to-print party pages, from Alice in Wonderland to Movie Diva to Karate Kid. The party starts when the invitation is sent – so check out this neat e-book of party starters.

Money-saving, too: two invites per page make it cheaper to print from home.

Only $5.95, ready to download right away.

Fun, Easy, (Mostly) Free Activities for Your Kids

Over 20 pages of FREE activities for a variety of ages to keep them interested in all weather – educational, brain-stimulating activities that give parents a bit of a breather and give kids’ imaginations a burst of creativity.

Only $2.95.

#1: Bobble Head Dad

This is a fairly easy one to make.

You’ll need:

• One popsicle stick
• One clothespin
• Glue stick or double-sticky tape
• Paper & crayons or marker
• Safety scissors

1. Draw the head separately from the body.
2. Cut it out. Set it aside.
3. Draw the body. Set it aside, as well.
4. Take two strips of paper, approximately 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick, about 4-6 inches long, depending on how much “bobble” you want – the longer the strip, the bigger the bobble. Match the corners, and fold, end over end, in an accordion fold, like you see in the picture above, and as in the diagram below.
5. You can seal the ends with either glue stick or with double-sticky tape.
6. Tape or glue-stick one end of your accordion-folded strip to the head, in the back, and the other to the clothespin.
7. Tape or glue-stick the body to the clothespin.
8. To make the bobble-head stand on its own, open the clothespin slightly, and place the popsicle stick in carefully. Fiddle with it until your bobble head stands securely.

#1: Dad ROCKS!

This is a VERY cool one, and definitely different.

You’ll need:

• Rocks – absolutely any kind will do – backyard, beach, etc. – but if you want to get fancy, they have some very cool colored and translucent stones in bags at the Dollar Store.
• Googly eyes – different sizes are neat-looking, if you can find a low-priced variety bag.
• Metallic markers – but a word of caution here: spend the money on the good ones, because there are a lot of junky ones out there.
• Colored card stock or index cards for the “flag”
• A small container for the “rock garden.” Think yard and garage sales, thrift stores, dollar stores – these are all places you can find inexpensive but very unique and interesting containers. Another possibility is to paint or decorate a small box, and fill it with shredded paper.
• Glue stick or double-sticky tape. You might want to consider double-sticky tape here, since it might stick better to rocks. Either that, or go for the white glue, which sticks better, but takes far longer to dry.

This is one of the easiest, but biggest payoff in “coolness factor,” Dad’s day surprises a kid can put together.

1. Select three or four interestingly shaped rocks.
2. Glue on eyeballs.
3. Paint nose and smiling mouths – simple is best.
4. Place in container.
5. Create card – “Dad, you rock” – or some variation on that theme.
6. Arrange artfully.
7. You’re done!

#3 Thumbs-up bookmark

This is a fun and easy one, especially for younger kids.

You’ll need:

• acrylic craft paint, any color. These run, typically, about a dollar at any craft store, and come in hundreds of colors.
• a stamp pad (washable ink) for the thumbprints of your child
• metallic pen or Sharpie (or any other brand) permanent marker.
• (FREE) paint stirrers from any home improvement store. (Since they’re free, you might want to get a few to practice on.
• Suggestion: invest in two to four of  those 25¢ foam paint brushes, also available at craft stores everywhere. They make painting go faster than traditional brushes, and little hands find them easier to work with, too.
• NOTE ALSO: It may take two or three coats to completely cover the home store logo on the stirrer if you don’t pick a dark color. You may, to keep your child from getting bored, want to “prime” it first with a layer of white.

1. First: paint the stirrer, any color. Be sure to lay down plenty of newspaper, to make cleanup easier.
2. Once the paint is COMPLETELY dry – and acrylic paint DOES dry fairly quickly, although you CAN hasten the process a bit with a blow dryer – you can break out the stamp pad.
3. Have your child take his or her thumb, and decorate the “bookmark” with their thumbprint in a contrasting color. (Black works nicely.) Remind your child to leave room to write “Thumbs up, Dad.”
4. As you can see from the picture above, done by my own daughter, it’s cute, even if they aren’t perfect spellers.

OTHER IDEAS:

Recycle and paint old soup cans as pencil/pen holders. You can paint these, then write on them, or you can create a colored tissue paper collage by diluting white glue and pasting it on with a brush, for a neat effect.

Give a hug. If you have paper large enough, great. If not, you can tape several pieces together, or you can even use newspapers for this. Lay your child on the floor, and trace his or her head and arms. Cut out, and decorate, then fold. It’s a paper hug for dad.

Desktop clutter catcher: By layering popsicle sticks into a box, log-cabin style, your child can build and decorate a shallow box for dad’s desk to hold paper clips, etc., and think of your child every day.

REMEMBER: Dad can always go out and buy his own golf balls, sweaters, and ties. He won’t, however, be able to go back in time and get tangible reminders of how little their thumbprints were, or how big a hug really was.

You need:

• card stock (at least one sheet per child)
• popsicle sticks or elastic and a hole punch
• small, glittery items; pom-poms, foam sticky shapes, feathers, sequins – anything small, etc. 
• SAFETY SCISSORS
• glue sticks (enough to go around – check the dollar stores)

Note: Kids MAY need help cutting out eyeholes. Tip: Have them bend the mask slightly where the eyeholes are, and use the scissors to begin a slit to get going. It helps, during prep time, to have a few masks already cut out, so kids can trace them onto their papers. 

The instructions for this are printed right on the page. Basically, you just cut it out and assemble, but first, your little one can have a lot of fun coloring it in. 

sample mask

Cut on the solid lines.

This is a fun creative exercise because you can use absolutely anything to decorate with. Try macaroni, rice, cereal, torn or cut up pieces of colored paper — anything that’s not the usual sequins and feathers, although sequins and feathers are a lot of fun, too. 

You’ll be amazed at what your child thinks of to use. 

You can either use a hole punch on the sides, and measure elastic to fit, or you can do what’s shown here in the picture, left, and create a masquerade-style mask.

Using popsicle sticks, which color nicely with markers, make a holder for the mask. Tip: if you DO go this direction, you may want to make sure you use heavier paper, like card stock – and even double up on the paper to make it sturdier. 

To do this, use a glue stick all over a sheet of card stock, then fold it in half. This makes the card stock extra heavy and sturdy. 

Remember, though, then, that the popsicle sticks have to hold the weight of the mask – so you’ll notice in the picture that there are actually THREE popsicle sticks, layered on top of each other. 

There are a couple of ways you can affix the popsicle sticks to the mask: 

• Tape – I suggest colorful duct tape, if you go this route: fun, and reliable
• Glue gun – sturdy, and clear
• Avoid staples: they fall out, and have sharp edges
• Regular white glue – works well, but takes time for impatient young crafters – and works best when clamped.
• Glue stick isn’t recommended for wood.

We actually made these as a project for my daughter Anne’s 5th-grade school play for “The Royal Ladies” at Cinderella’s Ball. I gave the kids mask templates, colored card stock, and bowls of materials. They came up with some terrifically creative ideas, all on their own. This also makes a cool birthday party craft idea – kids need little supervision with this, especially if you prep the table first with a disposable “pick up and throw away” tablecloth. 

MASK TEMPLATES for download:

get adobe reader

These templates are in Adobe PDF format. You may need to download the FREE Adobe reader, available at www.adobe.com.

Template 1

Template 2

Template 3

The instructions for this are printed right on the pages. (Links below.)  Basically, you just cut it out and assemble, but first, your little one can have a lot of fun coloring it in. 

Cut on the solid lines, fold on the dashed lines. Tape or glue the simple, single tab shut. You can just place the roof on, or tape that on too — as you prefer. 

You can add to the village with creations of your own.

The nice thing about paper? You can recycle it and build again. 

Once your little one builds this one, encourage him or her to build their own. Have them take a look at how it’s constructed — very simply. 

For measuring “lessons” — see how the roof fits many ways on the house — across the house, and also up and down two sides of the triangle on the top. 

Other great materials for house-building: shoe boxes, card stock, looseleaf paper. Any box, no matter how many sides are left, works well. 

Your youngster might also want to draw and cut out some people to go inside. 

Or some furniture. Very tiny furniture. 

Paper house #1

Paper house #2

Get Adobe Reader

These files are Adobe PDF files. You may need the FREE Adobe PDF reader, available at www.adobe.com.

Make a Mix-and-Match Creature.

What’s fun about these three paper creatures is that after you color and cut out their pieces, you can mix and match their parts — every piece fits into the same size slot. 

I’d recommend printing them on card stock, though, if you’ve got it. 

The exercise for the imagination here is children can make up stories about the creatures while they have fun mixing and matching up the pieces. Play with your children, and suggest they come up with whole worlds for the creatures. Where did they come from? Where are they going? 

Children can draw vehicles for these creatures, or houses that they might live in. What do they eat? What else can your children tell you about them? What are their names? The only limits are your children’s imaginations. 

Even better — have your children trace the creatures and come up with their own completely original versions! Send them to me if you like and I’ll post them on InklessTales.

Creature #1

Print this in PDF form. 

Creature #2

Print this in PDF form

Creature #3

Print in PDF form

Sit-upons

I learned these way back when I was a Brownie Scout, and the basic lesson was a good one: the weaving skills, however rudimentary, came in handy when I purchased three seatless but otherwise fine porch rockers. I used clothesline and this same technique to fashion new, comfy “sit-upon” seats for them. Other grownups marvel at my creativity, but I shrug and think of these old newspapers. 

You’ll need: 

• A newspaper. 
• Scissors.

1. Take a page from the newspaper and fold it over and over again so that it makes several long strips, about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide.
2. Lay seven or eight strips across horizontally in front of you on the table. You want to have a series of strips about 18 inches wide all together, with very little room in between. 
3. Take one strip and hold it vertically over the left (or the right, whichever you prefer) of the series of strips you’ve just laid on the table. 
4. Place the top horizontal strip OVER the vertical strip.
5. Place the next horizontal strip UNDER the vertical strip.
6. Place the next horizontal strip OVER the vertical strip.
7. Keep alternating until you run out of strips.
8. Take the next vertical strip, and slide it next to the first vertical strip, nice and tight, but this time, alternate the over and unders — the first horizontal strip, for instance, will go UNDER the vertical strip, and the second will go OVER the vertical strip. 
9. Repeat until you have woven your way through about two feet of strips. You should have a mat about 18 inches high by about two feet wide. 
10. By now, you’ll have strips hanging off on all sides. Trim them and tuck them snugly into the folds.
11. You’re all done! 

Rainstick

It’s easy to make a rainstick, which has a soothing and fun sound. Here’s what you need:

• A longish tube of cardboard (here’s a good use of those empty gift wrap tubes from the holidays.)
• Tape (you’ll need GOOD tape — like solid masking tape, rather than just regular cellophane tape — although that will do.) 
• Foil strips
• Uncooked dry beans, or unpopped popcorn (about a small handful.) 
• Paper, or plain gift wrap
• Paints, markers, glitter, or anything that you and your child are inspired to decorate your rainstick with.

1. Wrap the tube in paper and pinch one end closed.
2. Tape that one end shut.
3. Pull two or three sheets of foil and crinkle them into long strips. Insert them into the tube. 
4. Take the handful of beans and insert that into the tube as well.
5. Tape the other end of the tube shut. 
6. Decorate the tube. 

As you slowly revolve the tube from one end to the other, you’ll hear the beans fall against the foil, making a sound like rain. 

Isn’t it cool?

BY ELIZABETH WILLIAMS BUSHEY

Photo by Scott Liddell, courtesy of MorgueFile.com. 

www.scotliddell.com :: www.morguefile.com 

Bubble soap fun

What you need:

• 1/4 cup dish soap
• 1 tablespoon glycerine (any drugstore has this)
• 2 cups water

Mix it all together in a covered bowl (you’ll want the cover later.)

It’s even better the next day. 

You can make your own bubble wands out of rubber-covered wire, heavy gauge. The rubber-covered wire has less of a tendency to have a sharp edge when cut. 

Great Links to Visit to Learn More:

How Does a Bubble Wand Work? (E-How)

Why does a bubble solution with a lower concentration of soap work better than with a high concentration?

Soap Bubbles: Wikipedia

Welcome to the new, improved, Inkless Tales for Grownups. Since some have often said – and I don’t just mean Hillary Clinton – that it takes a village to raise a child, I’ve decided – for the first time – to enlist the help of the many, smart moms out there populating the blogoverse, and (with absolute and total credit, of course, since you should be visiting THEIR blogs, too!) collect some of THEIR wisdom and good thoughts here for you to find.

Check it out. Sisterhood is POWERFUL. And MOTHERHOOD? More powerful, still. After all, WE SAY SO.