Parent Projects

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Custom Coloring Books.mp4

Guest blogger Lynsey Purl is a senior communications specialist at FedEx Office®. She is a very creative mom of two and has previously blogged for Out of Office. 

As a mother of two, I am constantly struggling for creative crafts and gift ideas. My children absolutely love to color and their poor crayons are worn down to nubs. At ages five and two, they have flown through countless coloring books, the contents of which are proudly displayed on the fridge (and let’s face it, eventually tossed in the trash).

But why continue to stare blankly at random coloring book characters on your fridge when you can have a personalized piece of art at your finger tips? Creating personalized coloring books is a fun and easy way to entertain or yes, even educate your children. The books also make for a fantastic birthday gift that you can be certain no other child will bring to the party. No duplicate gifts here! (Hint- this is also great for helping younger children associate faces of family members and friends in a fun way. See, I said educational!) ...read more

As many of our regular readers know,  my husband and I are expecting a baby later this year.   It’s a special time, and I don’t want to forget any of it later – the excitement, anticipation, and even the not-so-pleasant things like cravings for cheeseburgers. I decided to make a pregnancy journal to record all the details.   ...read more

Something you hear parents say on practically a daily basis is that their children grow up way too fast. It seems as though I blinked and my little man is turning 3 years old! Baby jungle animals are being replaced by superheroes and I am just trying to hold onto every moment I can.

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5.3.11-How_to_Apply_Vinyl_Lettering_x264_0.mp4

Guest blogger Lynsey Purl is a senior communications specialist at FedEx Office. She is a very creative mom of two, and recently transformed her four-year-old’s room using a FedEx Office product. She shares details with us below.  ...read more

Remember being a kid and the excitement you’d feel right before your family left for a vacation? It wasn’t just the anticipation of your destination, but the possibility of seeing so many new things from your backseat window along the way. For me, that excitement typically faded about an hour into our trip. By that time I was fidgety, a little car sick and definitely disappointed by the lack of exotic sites (which were, of course, right outside our city limits).

It comes as no shock to parents that children like to put things into their mouths. My son has even gone so far as to eat an entire puzzle at nap time! Since he likes doing puzzles – and some time has passed since the “incident” – I decided to make a homemade puzzle using a piece of his artwork. And because it is his own masterpiece, I think it will be easier for him to recognize how the final puzzle should look.

Here are the steps I followed to create my puzzle:

I’ve either got good news or bad news, depending on your ability to make enviable projects using only your imagination and some pinking shears: March is “National Craft Month,” a time to celebrate those among us who know what pinking shears are (and are not afraid to use them).

Since I prefer to think of March as the time when we start getting hints of spring weather and honor Irish culture with St. Patrick’s Day, I thought I’d search the Web for projects from those who don’t need to search “what are pinking shears?”

Winter is raging on with no end in sight. The temperatures have been particularly low lately making bundling up to go outside a chore. As I mentioned in my last post, my son has really been enjoying playing board games.

For Christmas he got numerous games and puzzles from his grandparents and aunties. He especially enjoys playing his SpongeBob SquarePants™ Memory Game. Since he also loves playing with flashcards I decided to combine the two concepts and make a fun and educational memory game with my own personal touches. (By the way, our blogger Katie did a great post on flashcards for her daughter last year. This game is a little different, but the concept is similar.)

This memory or concentration game can be adapted for kids of all ages. You can begin with simple concepts such as shapes, numbers, letters, and colors and advance to more complex ideas involving math, grammar, or other languages. ...read more

Finding new and different ways to fundraise for your school, organization or local charity can be difficult – especially with limited resources or time. With the endless bake sales and car washes everyone else is already doing it can be tough to stand out! Plus, when those events are over, does anyone really remember who you are? Out of sight, out of mind, right? So if you’re looking for something new to try this year, why not personalize your fundraising efforts by creating calendars to sell at your next event?

As a kid, I loved vegetables (I think I told you guys about my love of tomatoes and fresh fruits and veggies in this garden signs post already). But I know I’m not the norm - it can be tough to force those leafy greens on kids! And since we adults are still trying to keep those New Year’s resolutions for healthy eating, what better time to teach our kids and families about healthy eating? ...read more