Marie recently turned her ideas into a book called Make and Takes for Kids: 50 Crafts Throughout the Year. The book includes the following:

• 50 projects to make crafts and food with kids, from a Marshmallow Graham Cracker Snowman and Flower Garden Cupcakes to an Egg Carton Octopus and Rainbow Ring Bottle Toss
• Ten activities are included that can be crafted with recycled materials, making the crafts easy to produce as well as budget-friendly
• Projects demonstrate that you don’t have to buy expensive supplies or make elaborate activities to have fun crafting and creating

The Prizes

This week’s giveaway is all about crafting for the holidays. One lucky winner will receive a copy of Make and Takes for Kids: 50 Crafts Throughout the Year and a Spellbinders Grand Calibur Die Cutting Machine (ARV: $139.99).

Entry Requirements

For a chance to enter and win, please complete the following requirements and leave a separate comment for each on this post, including links to your original tweets.

1. Follow @Spellbinders on Twitter.
2. Follow @MakeandTakes on Twitter.
3. Answer the following question in the comment section below: What is your favorite holiday craft?
4. Tweet the following:

• RT @MomItForward Join the @MakeandTakes #gno Twitter party 11/29 (9-11 ET) on holiday crafts http://bit.ly/t2k84O #MakeandTakes PLS RT

• RT @MomItForward GIVEAWAY! Enter 2 win the new #MakeandTakes book and @Spellbinders machine http://bit.ly/vECW9h #gno PLS RT

Optional Entries

The following are extra entries that are completely optional and will earn you one extra entry for each completed item. Leave a separate comment on this post for each completed optional entry.

• Follow @momitforward on Twitter.
• Like Mom It Forward on Facebook: http://facebook.com/momitforward.

Terms and Conditions

Winners will be selected randomly through http://random.org. No purchase necessary to enter. Giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. ET Wednesday, November 30. See all terms and conditions here. This giveaway is available to U.S. residents only. 

To help you research ideas, Marie LeBaron recently launched her new book, Make and Takes for Kids: 50 Crafts Throughout the Year based on her amazing website, Make and Takes.

Highlighting the best of each month of the year, Make and Takes for Kids offers 50 projects to make with kids, each centered around an upcoming holiday or season. The ideas are unique and simple to produce, and each project is thoughtfully constructed and designed to create an ideal environment and setting for crafting. Each craft requires little preparation, few supplies, and almost everything can be readily found at home or at a local craft supply store.

Mark your calendar for Tuesday, November 29 and join us as we talk about crafting for the holidays!

Party Topic

Join Marie LeBaron from Make and Takes and our panel of experts as we discuss crafting for the holidays. The party will be held on Tuesday, November 29 from 9-11 ET (8CT, 7MT, 6PT). Click here to see details about the giveaway and enter for a chance to win.

Party Details

• What: Girls’ Night Out (#gno) Twitter party (Click here to learn about #gno!)
• When: Tuesday, November 29 from 9-11 p.m. EST (8 CT, 7 MT, & 6 PT)
• Where: Party with us on our very own Custom Tweetgrid! (Use hashtags #gno and #MakeandTakes)
• Topic: Crafting for the Holidays
• Who: Brand Panelist: @MakeandTakes @Spellbinders, Community Panelists: @CandaceApril @TonyaStaab @NoFlashCards @oohamanda @WileyCraft, Moderators: @jylmomIF @Dadventurous @troypattee @MomItForward
• Party Favors: Click here to enter the giveaway.
• RSVP: Use Mr. Linky below (enter the twitter URL and your twitter ID (e.g., http://twitter.com/jylmomIF).

RT @MomItForward Join the @MakeandTakes #gno Twitter party 11/29 (9-11 ET) on holiday crafts http://bit.ly/t2k84O #MakeandTakes PLS RT

Note: Mom It Forward accepts paid sponsorships for most #gno Twitter parties. During the parties, brand sponsors provide tips, techniques, expert advice, and information on party topics. Mom It Forward is grateful for the giveaway prizes, coupons, and discounts that sponsors also provide to the Mom It Forward community in conjunction with #gno Twitter parties.

• What: Crayola Creativitycast on #gno (Click here to learn more about #gno!)
• When: Tuesday, July 28, 9-11 p.m. EST
• Where: Tweetgrid (Use hashtags #gno & #crayola.)
• Topic: Affordable Fun 101
• Who: @ajpassey from Because Babies Grow Up, @cerisecheri from Crayola, @cindyhopper from Skip to My Lou, @emom from Woo! Jr., @makeandtakes from Make and Takes, @razzmatazzrob from Crayola, @skybluestacy from Crayola, @youcanmakethis from You Can Make This
• Party Favors: Click here to check out this week’s giveaway sponsored by Crayola.
• RSVP: The link list is not working this week, so please leave your Twitter ID in the comments.

Photos courtesy of Marie From makeandtakes.com.

Utah families participated in a service project Saturday, March 28 complete with kids crafts, yummy treats, and Christmas joy! Christmas joy? What? Aren’t we in the wrong month? Nope! Not at the Christmas Box House.

In 1997, The Christmas Box Foundation, with support from the community, agreed to fund and build a new shelter intake/assessment and residential facility. This facility has greatly enhanced services to abused and neglected children and reflects a statewide model for delivery of best practice assessment and treatment services to victims of child abuse.

When children enter the Christmas Box House, the first thing they see is a large Christmas tree surrounded by teddy bears and all kinds of stuff animals. Decorated each month by a different organization and based on a theme fitting the month, the Christmas tree is a welcome surprise for these children. The gift for them? A safe place to live and a brand new stuffed animal to keep them company during their stay!

Marie from Make and Takes partnered with Mom It Forward to decorate the April tree. First came making the crafts (donated by Provo Craft):

Leslie Mingo of www.dylbug.com helps her little one make spring decorations for the April tree.

Next came the finished product. Which was in greater abundance—the smiles on the kid’s faces or the decorations? They did a terrific job!

Then came the treats. Cupcake Chic generously donated mini cupcakes for the event. Who said we have to wait til heaven to get our reward? LOL! They were divine. And I won’t lie, they were a bigger hit with the moms than with the children .

And last but not least… the tree! Decorated for kids, by kids.

Happy spring! What will you do this month to Mom It Forward?

Niche Blogging – Find your passion and blog about it. It’s much easier and comes more naturally if you blog about something you love. It could be food, parenting, photography, knitting, design etc. If you’re genuine and real in your posts, people respond to that and want to read more.

Submitting Posts – There are some great sites that take submissions for related posts and can bring you new readers. Here’s a few to check out:

• Stumble Upon – here you must submit other sites as well as your own.
• Kirtsy, Digg, Delightful
• Craftzine, Get Crafty, The Craft Crow, Tip Junkie
  
• Tastespotting, Foodgawker, FoodPhotoBlog

How-To Type Posts – A post with a recipe or directions to make something are very popular with sites like Stumble Upon or Kirsty. They tend to bring a lot of traffic, as people love to see how to make things for themselves.

Use Twitter as a Business Card – Twitter is great for building relationships with people, but it can also be great for sharing your site with others. Try to follow people who are in your area of interest. Chances are they will see your profile and click on your blog link, seeing who you are and maybe staying a while.

Responding to Comments – When someone leaves a comment on your blog, try to comment back or even email back to readers who may be new to your blog. It helps them feel welcome and you can say thanks for sharing their comment. Chances are they’ll find you took the time to say hi and they’ll come back to read more.

Leaving Comments – Visit other people’s blogs and share a comment. Who doesn’t love to get comments? Read their posts and comment with something relevant to add, letting them know you’re genuine!

I hope these tips and tricks help. What else have you found to help increase traffic to your site?

Photo by flickr.

click to tweet this

Marie, today’s guest post author, is a mother of 3 and the founder of Make and Takes, a place for ideas and crafty tidbits for home, family, and fun. She is the channel editor of Blissful Kids at Blissfully Domestic and also can be seen on Alpha Mom – Holidays.

Even though we’re busy with our kids all day, sometimes we miss the opportunities to just ‘be’ with them, developing the relationship. With work, school, play dates, meals, and bed times, we can sometimes over look the need to strengthen our relationships with our kids. Crafting can be a great way for you to develop your relationship with your child in a fun and encouraging way.

Here’s 3 ways to develop your relationship with your kids through crafts!

1. One-on-One Attention - Kids love attention and they need it from loved ones. Doing crafts or projects together with your kids can let them know you care. Even if you’re just sitting in a chair next to them while they construct a tower or a flower, they love to know you’re there.
2. Problem Solve Together - If your toddler is ready to use scissors, your 1st grader trying to read instructions, or your teenager is beading a bracelet, you can use this time with your child to see how they work. While crafting or completing a project, we can see what skills they’re using and what skills they can better develop.
3. Just Talk – Creating a friendly and fun environment can lead to open communication with your child. If you’re sitting side by side together working on a project, ask them about their day, about school, about friends, and just talk. See what’s on their minds, what’s bothering them, what their needs are. This can be a great way to get to know them better, finding out more of their interests.

Check out these fun features from Marie’s Crafts and Activities to help you develop your relationships with kids:

• Lacing Spider Webs
• Coloring Coffee Filter Snowflakes
• Decorating Recycled Jars
• Slithering Snakes