Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Cool Things to Do, Make, See, & Buy for Kiddos

Cool Websites
  • The Hero Factory: Design your own super hero (read more about it here)
  • Moomah: A little computer-based canvas with some lovely elements to decorate it with
  • National Geographic Little Kids: animal coloring pages, projects & more educational resources. Great for the little animal lover.
  • OdoSketch: Uber-cool computer-based sketchpad
  • PBS Kids : Kid friendly games, videos & downloads based on all your PBS Kids favorite shows
Cool Downloads & Project Ideas
  • Activity Village: The motherload of every kind of coloring & activity printables
  • Betsy McCall Paper Dolls: vintage Betsy paperdolls to download
  • Boys Life: whatever you may feel about the Boy Scouts, this site offers some fantastic outdoorsy projects with a little more complexity for boys who want to DIY
  • Color the Robot: all robots here to download and color
  • Crayola: Coloring pages, projects & activities
  • DIY Kids: lots of projects for kids to design their own, several straight from the pages of the uber-cool DIY Kids book
  • Goodnight Stories: Animal Coloring Pages from A-Z (perfect to create a little coloring book using my tutorial here)
  • June Moon: Mandala Coloring Pages
  • Nani Birds: About a billion different little designs of the same basic papercraft bird for you to download and adore
  • Old Finish Paperdolls: vintage, Finnish & perfect paperdolls
  • Ringo: modern craft ideas for kids, instructions in french but you should check this out anyway, positively wonderful ideas here
  • Sanrio Papercraft: little paper trains & towns you can download (all in japanese, but assembly is self-explanatory)
  • Sherri Allen: Adorable and simple animal coloring pages to print and color
  • Toy-a-Day: All manner of figures, from celebrity to cartoons to storybook favorites, to download and assemble. Start your collection today.
  • The Toymaker: Loads o' projects & downloads with a classic flavor
Downloads & Projects from Authors & Characters You May Already Know
  • Charlie and Lola: computer-based activities based on our favorite brother and sister
  • Coraline's World: Enter a captivating world of activities based on the book and movie about Coraline
  • Jan Brett: Coloring pages & activities based on the Jan Brett books
  • Mo Willem's Pigeon: games, downloads and other fun with the Pigeon
  • Olivia: my favorite pig with some good activities and downloads
  • Seussville: activities, downloads & other fun from the Dr.
  • Shel Silverstein: coloring, activities & other fun from the master of the kid-friendly poem
Kid-Centric Blogs
  • Bloesem Kids: A must mention. Lovely projects for the kiddos from guest contributors, reviews of kid-oriented products & decor inspiration
  • Gastrokid: all about cooking with and for kids, manned by the author of the book of the same name
  • Junior Society: from the wonderful Robert Mahar, filled with ideas, projects and stuff to share
  • Kiddley: now defunct website with lots of great kids projects and ideas
  • Scrumdilly-Do!: Off-beat and original ideas from from the ever inspiring Jek
Kiddo PDF Magazines & Newsletters
  • Kids Craft Weekly: weekly newsletter emailed to you with the latest in inexpensive, easy-to-do & kid-focused crafts
  • LMNOP: subscribe to receive your own copy of this PDF magazine filled with all the best in kid's design
  • Papier Mache: PDF magazine, self-described as cute, but it is so much more than that
  • Small: On-line kid's design magazine, modern and beautiful

Favorite Sources for Toys & Other Distractions
  • Goodbyn: Okay, not a toy at all, but the best EVER lunch box and about as much fun as a toy--you have to see it! (we own one and get compliments ALL THE TIME--plus so practically & sustainably designed)
  • Kid O: Cool and modern educational toys
  • Klutz: I am a sucker for little arts and crafts kits for kids--Klutz has a vast array
  • Little Dover Activity Books: Little sticker, tatoo, stories, paperdolls & activity books, most priced under $2.00
  • Miller Goodman: Toys so beautifully designed, so creatively coaxing, they could break your heart
  • MOMA Store: The best in toys with great design
  • Moolka: all the best in European and other well-designed toys
  • Oompa: Another great source for European and beautifully made toys
  • Stubby Pencil Studio: Best shop for eco-friendly kids art supplies
  • Tate Online: Items from the Tate and Tate Modern Galleries in London. The Alice Mevin and Herve Tullet items are some of our favorites
  • Zolo: some of my favorite playful and modern building toys

Beeper Bebe Kiddo Projects and Inspiration