Chickie Craft Kit for Kids

Here's my new Chickie Craft Kit for Kids!

So, so sweet. It includes all the materials to create the nest, the chickies, and the nest sign. You and your child can make this craft together and display it as a beautiful springtime decoration year after year.

And Whoo Boy! This craft kit was a long time coming.

Sometimes I decide to try out a craft and it works perfectly and Boom! it's a craft kit. Sometimes I decide to try out a craft and it fails miserably and it never becomes a craft kit. If I find myself cursing at the crafting materials or the crafting process, forget it, no kit. Like this one. Total pain in the butt. I hated that wire.

But sometimes I have a craft that I have to set aside for a while to really figure it all out. I loved this craft from the get-go, but I felt like it was missing something.

This is what happened. A year ago I made this chickie craft with Ella. And, oh, how she loved making those chickies.

She called them "Chickie Chickie Chickie." She loved them and took care of them and kissed them. And she would take them out of their nest and sleep with them. For months and months.

And she still has them. Whenever she comes across a stray chickie (they've long since left their nest) she squeals, "CHICKIE!" and gives it a little snuggle.

Even with all that love, I felt that for this craft to become a Kid Kit, I needed to Martha-Stewart it up a bit. I couldn't figure it out, so I set it aside for a while.

Back to the present. Luckily, my sister-in-law, Ali, is a crafting genius. I go to her with all my crafting questions. We're very good at bouncing ideas off of each other to come up with a solution. She's really quite awesome. Thank you, Ali!

So, I presented her with my Chickie woes and she had the genius idea that the nest needed a cute little sign. And that was all I needed to start the Fancying Up process. It's all about the accessories.

I'm so glad I came back to this craft. Because I LOVE it!

Bling!

When Peyton and Ella saw the new design, they wanted to make some chickies, too. We made the nests and the chickies and the signs. Peyton got a little impatient waiting for his nest to be done (it takes a day or two for the liquid starch to dry). So we used a hairdryer to help it dry faster. Smart thinking, right?

Here's a very small, but very important tip: Even if your son begs to use the hairdryer, and even if the hairdryer is set on low, make sure you watch that kid EVERY SINGLE SECOND. Because, guess what? If you turn your head away for exactly one moment, the boy will forget he is supposed to be drying the nest. And he'll watch his sister make a Lego plane while the hairdryer is still on and then you will have a brand-new, perfectly round burn mark in the middle of your carpet. He's lucky that he's so cute.

Did you know that even fast race car drivers like to make chickies in a nest? And did you know that they like to accessorize their chickies? I assumed that he would want his chickies plain. Nope! But he did insist on all orange flowers for his, because orange is his most favorite color ever in the world. "Mommy, take my picture like this!"

"Peace!" See what I mean? He's adorable. What am I to do?

And apparently, even Tonka truck drivers aren't afraid to show a little affection now and then. Also, they like pink flower accessories on their chickies.

Look at all that stuff:

Let me tell you, it was quite the puzzle trying to fit all those materials into this box.

Luckily, my years of playing Tetris prepared me for such a feat.

Happy Crafting!