Homemade Craft Kit with Free Printable Book

     Every year, the same thing happens at our house (now tell me if this sounds familiar!) - I buy a gift I think Kay will just *love*...and it's quickly forgotten. Or she asks for one of those toys that you can only play with a few times before it gets boring. (This year it's a dog on a remote control - "and it yaps and has a dog bowl!" We have a chihuahua; you'd think the girl would have her fill of yapping!)

  So I was totally intrigued when Kim at Life Over C's discussed putting together a kids' craft kit for a gift. Together with some fantastic bloggers, she gathered 8 activities that are great for any time of the year. The special thing about this is that she's also offering a printable QR code book with access to the instructions - oh, and it's all free!

  Here's all you have to do: Print out and put the book together, gather the materials (they're easy to find - and most are available at the dollar store!) and voilà! - an awesome gift that will actually get used! The recipient (or rather the adult in their life) can scan the QR code and get the instructions for each activity if you need it.

How to assemble the book:

• Print the 2 pages with the activity cards on them. 
  
• Laminate is desired for durability.
  
• Cut out the cards (for a total of 8).
  
• Punch a hole in the upper left corner of each card.
  
• Put the cards on a book ring. 
  

Here's the materials to create the craft kit: 

• Rocks
  
• Acrylic Paint
  
• Paintbrushes
  
• Googly Eyes
  
• Black colored rice ( or black beans)
  
• Glittery stars
  
• Gold beads
  
• Gold Pipe Cleaners
  
• Baking Soda
  
• Vinegar
  
• Small Bottle
  
• Glue Gun
  
• Sequins
  
• Scrapbook Paper
  
• Clear Tape
  
• Buttons
  
• Business Card Magnets
  
• Plastic Bag
  
• Small Toy
  
• String
  
• Zip top bag
  
• Hair Gel
  
• Butterfly Beads
  

Hint: You do not need a large amount of any of these items, so you can buy a package and separate the items to create multiple gifts. Money saver!!

Don't know what a QR code is? It's "a machine-readable code consisting of an array of black and white squares, typically used for storing URLs or other information for reading by the camera on a smartphone" (thank you, Google!). If you don't already have one on your smartphone, simply search in the app store for "QR Code Reader" for one of the free options.  After downloading the app, open it and position your phone so that the QR code (the square with the funky dots) is in the center of the viewing area. Your phone will automatically scan the code and take you to the original craft directions.

Hope this makes your holiday gift-giving just a little easier!