Color 'n Kids: cards that turn writing thank you notes into a fun activity

Portland mama Kate Rosenthal is the creator of Color 'n Kids notecards -- simple, bold designs that give kids a boost in the homemade card department. I love them because, for less than the price of a pre-fab piece of Hallmark fluff, kids can color them in and trace the lettering themselves. My daughter, a veteran colorer at 3 1/2, is also learning her letters and loved being able to follow the dotted lines to "write" a greeting.

Aside: I also happen to know that Kate sent a bunch of her cards to Edmay for kids in Iraq. Awesome.

Win them! Kate has put together a lovely assortment for one lucky Parenthacker! To throw your hat in the ring, in the comments or on your blog, tell us your favorite source (book or website) for simple kid crafts. (If you post on your blog, trackback or comment with the link.) I've got my picks, but I'd love to hear yours. I'll pick a winner at random tomorrow evening, March 7!

Comments

[Marykz]

we love: DLTK's printable crafts for kids
http://www.dltk-kids.com

hundreds of printables from crafts to puzzles to learning worksheets. some religious content (Christian) but plenty without. Some of our favorites are the things to do with toilet paper rolls, the ABC books, and the seasonal crafts. There are also customizable coloring cards you can print.
Marykz

[Mockduck]

Well. Paula Yates might have had a controversial life (lover to Michael Hutchence, died of drugs overdose), but it's sometimes forgotten that she was the mother of four adored children and wrote some fun books on parenting. I was glad to find that 'The Fun Don't Stop' is still available on Amazon. In between her own brand of self-deprecating humour about her marriage and sex life (made funnier when you realise the husband she refers to is Bob Geldof, to whom she was married at the time) it also contains tip upon tip for what to do with your toddler on rainy and sunny days. So that's my choice.

[leslie]

I love FamilyFun Magazine and website familyfun.com and their associated publication wondertime.com

These magazines have such great ideas for kids of all ages!

[andi]

Definitely Kids Craft Weekly (http://kidscraftweekly.com/). Great projects with materials you can usually find around the house.

[Lisa]

I love http://www.enchantedlearning.com
They have crafts for every subject as well as printable books. Great for all ages too! Well worth the $20 to support them and be able to print everything banner-free.

[Hunter Johnson]

I like a commercial site, http://www.unitednow.com/. I'm near one of their brick-and-mortar stores, but they have freely downlable craft ideas on their site.

[Lauren Snell]

I love http://inthetrenchesofmotherhood.com

February she dedicated to a craft a day that she does for her seven kids. Wonderful stuff

[Erica]

LOVE the cards and what a ab idea.

Hmmm a kiddie craft website hmm oh, or a book hmmm I loved kiddley...but now they're gone...

I like the http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/printables/
site it's very child friendly and always gives me plenty of inspiration!

[Julie]

I love Family Fun Magazine or Highlights for Children Magazine. Such fun ideas!!!

And of course going down the aisles of Hobby Lobby.

My 4 year old is helping me bead bracelets. She'll lay out the pattern and help me bead the wires.

[Janna]

I have to second the Kids Craft Weekly mention, and also add Martha Stewart. (www.marthastewart.com). Say what you will about Martha (I love her!), but there are some great ideas for kids crafts and recipes on the kids section of her site.

[Mommyprof]

I use FamilyFun.com which has ideas both simple and not-so-simple.
We used the Little Hands books when Offspring was a preschooler.

[Kristi]

I like The Toddler's Busy Book by Trish Kuffner. She's also co-written similar books for other ages. Here's a link to her books at Amazon: http://snipurl.com/busybooks

[Jessie]

I like nickjr.com. it always has printables with your kids favorite shows! They also have fun ideas like snacks etc.

[kelly jeanie]

I have to go with Family Fun. I also like Kiddley, they're on hiatus but the archives are still there, lots of neat little crafts.

[Jill]

The Perpetual Preschool site has good ideas too: http://www.perpetualpreschool.com/

I'm a former preschool teacher so I think I must come by "craftiness" naturally. I just look at my recycling bin and think of all the possibilities!

[Amanda]

It's definitely the kids craft weekly email--kidscraftweekly.com to sign up!

[Deborah Graff]

This is a list of ideas and links where I often go for inspiration.

http://www.redshift.com/%7Ebonajo/preschool_activities.htm

[Megan]

Hands down my favorite source is my mom. But since you said book or website I'd have to agree with the person who mentioned http://inthetrenchesofmotherhood.com. I'm pretty sure she must have a clone.

[Kara]

http://familycrafts.about.com is one of my favorites. The crafts are indexed by several criteria including age and event, and the calendars of 'special days' for every day of the month are awesome!

[Carolyn]

Not really a craft, but we love http://www.kneebouncers.com here. Great site for preschoolers who want to use the computer all by themselves.

[caley]

FamilyFun magazine and Kiddley.com (which I'll miss!)are my faves.

[Elana]

One of my picks is Dover Publishing's Sample of the Week: http://www.doverpublications.com/sampler1/. You sign up for it, and they send you an email weekly with one or two pages from some of their books. They're a great way to see what your kid would be interested in next, and I've loved Dover books since I was a kid. Some of these samples printed out worked great on our last transatlantic flight.

[Jocelyn Smith]

My mother in law gave us this as a gift! And we love this program!
http://www.achildswork.com/
They send you a monthly craft project in the mail, complete with everything you need to complete it. It is FABULOUS!!!

[Naomi]

I loved kiddley, too.

This one has lots of projects but you have to sift through a horrible-looking interface.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/

[inconsequentia]

we are homeschoolers and use lots of the sites and resources mentioned already. another great site is: http://www.abcteach.com/directory/fun_activities/crafts/

peace