Are your kids driving you crazy? Retreat into some quiet time for yourself with this collection of 12 DIY kids craft projects for when you’ve hit your limit! (Plus a rockin’ printable chore chart with a rewards system for crafty prizes!)

We’ve all been there. The weather’s been crap for days. The kids are going stir crazy and you, well you’re trying to contain yourself so you don’t scream at anyone and come off as a raving lunatic. As someone who has already raised a child to adulthood AND seen him off to college, becoming a new stepmother in May admittedly came with a new set of challenges.

Granted my son turned out better than I could have ever hoped and I’m incredibly proud of both him and his accomplishments. However, he was one kid. I now have three more. Two we have on a 50-50 split and a third accompanies those two every other weekend. So I basically went from being a quite content empty nester to dealing with kid overload in an instant. And when your parenting skills are a lot different than what they expect and are used to, well. It becomes a learning experience for the entire family.

However, before I share with you one of the ways I dealt with recurring issues I had with the kids, I first want to share a collection of my favorite kids craft projects to keep them entertained WITHOUT television so you can get that break from chaos that you need.

Kids Craft Projects They’ll Love

DIY Light Bulb Aquarium

This easy kids craft project for a DIY light bulb aquarium is suitable for kids of all ages (elementary school and up.) They’ll have a blast assembling small toys, stones and beads inside a glass light bulb to create a tiny aquarium home for a marimo moss ball! Find the tutorial at Soap Deli News here.

DIY Food Erasers

These fun food erasers are a great way for kids to explore creativity while also making a functional craft that they can use afterwards! Your kids will have a blast using using eraser clay to create their own custom erasers to use at school and share with friends! Find this DIY now at The Paper Mama blog here.

DIY Polar Bear Soap

This easy polar bear soap project is made using a melt and pour soap base. So if your kids can use a microwave, they can make this soap! Not only will they enjoy using these homemade soaps in the tub, but they can make extras to gift to friends and family! Find this soapmaking project at Soap Deli News here.

DIY Shrinky Dink Charms

Kids will love making their own DIY Shrinky Dink Charms! They can turn use the free printable templates or create their own drawings to turn into charms for their backpack or fun necklaces or magnets. Find the tutorial and free printables at Ooly blog here.

DIY Wooden Bead Doll Necklace

There are so many possibilities with this necklace DIY from Craftberry Bush. Kids can paint doll faces or even make fun animals like panda bears or cats! Not only are the materials for this kids craft project easy to source, but this is a fun idea for a girls only slumber party too! Find the tutorial at Craftberry Bush here.

Borax Free Play-Doh Slime DIY

This easy Play-Doh slime recipe is borax free so there’s no worry over mixing mishaps or potential chemical burns from extended playtime. Plus, if you have younger kids, it’s likely you already have all of these ingredients on hand! Find the recipe now at DIY Candy blog here.

DIY Gelli Printing

If your kids love art, then they’ll definitely love gelli printing! Not only is gelli printing super easy and rewarding, but the availability of all-in-one kits makes this project even easier to dig right into! And your kids can create artwork for their rooms and the fridge! (These are also amazing framed!) Find the tutorial at Soap Deli News here.

DIY Craft Stick Dolls

These super cute craft stick dolls are so much fun to make at just about any age! (I even want to try these myself!) Design little dolls on wooden craft sticks using washi tape, buttons, colored pens and embellishments you have stashed in your craft drawer! Get inspired via the original post at Teawagontales blog here.

DIY Winter Magnet Clips

These fun and functional DIY winter magnet clips are perfect for both the kids and parents alike! When not keeping chips and cereal bags closed they can be used to create fun winter scenes on the fridge for imaginative play. Find the tutorial to make them now at hello, Wonderful blog here.

Recycled Rainbow Town DIY

Kids can scourge through the recycle bin for this fun DIY project! With a collection of free printables on the website along with your own discarded cardboard and printer paper, kids can create and color a happy little town for stand up characters to play in. This is a great kids craft project for families with kids of mixed ages because everyone can join in on the fun! Find the tutorial now at hello, Wonderful! blog here.

DIY Galaxy Painted Rocks

Painted rocks are quickly coming back around as a hot craft trend – and for good reason! Now only is this kids craft project inexpensive to explore, but kids can also have fun hiding and hunting for their painted rocks inside on a rainy day. Find the tutorial for these painted rocks at Color Made Happy here.

DIY Painted Dinosaurs

These painted dinosaurs are loads of fun! Transform toy dinosaurs into party animals using paints and pom poms, googly eyes and little toy hats! Learn how to make these now at Craft & Creativity blog here.

Now that I’ve (hopefully) inspired you with some of my favorite kids craft projects, why not also us them as incentives for good behavior? (And give them a break from all that screen time overload.)

As I stated previously, zero to three kids within a two week time frame was, well, insightful. At some point I just hit pure exhaustion. Not only was I starting to feel like everyone’s maid, but there was the mouse incident.

The kids aren’t allowed to have food in their rooms for obvious reasons. And as it turned out, one child had forgotten about chocolate under her bed, while another had hidden plates of food in her hideaway bed. We got mice. And by the time we finally discovered all of the hidden food, the mouse incident was more like an infestation. As cute as they were, those little rodents kept growing. And then they started multiplying.

Unfortunately, it took us a while to get rid of all the resident mice. So I’m still checking their favorite spots weekly to make sure new mice aren’t moving in partially out of paranoia. And thus my chore chart system was initiated. My husband, well, he had his doubts at first. (It’s a guy thing, right?) But after several weeks we were in agreement that it really has made some positive changes within our new mixed family.

For the Love of Chore Charts

The goal of my chore charts was to gear them toward an introduction into real life once they’re out in the world and getting jobs of their own. It requires they do a minimum number of chores on a point system. If they meet the seven day point requirement then they did their job. If they fall short, they lose television and internet privileges the following weekend. However, if they go above and beyond, there are rewards. It also teaches them responsibility, respect for their space and that of others and it helps us all work together toward common goals. The prizes then encourage their creativity in the form of kids craft projects. (Not to mention they’re developing better habits so it all seems less like work to them moving forward.)

The minimum number of points each child needs over a two week period (in which we have them for seven days) is 25 points. This leaves room to skip or forget a few things. (I mean, I’m not Cruella.) They can then do bonus chores to earn bonus points if they slip or to reach the reward goal of 30 points.

30 points is where it gets crafty. Literally. Because I basically created a prize box for 30 points. It’s filled with $5 options that include craft kits and supplies, stickers, treats or winner’s choice for a family game night – even their choice of an after dinner dessert. There’s also the option of a big box pass. Choosing two passes from the small box allows them to then choose a prize out of the big box. Big box prizes include cool kids craft projects around $10-$15 (I found a lot of these on sale or purchased them with 50% off coupons) like a wood burning kit with a tv tray and a tie-dye kit with a t-shirt.

Want to give my chore chart a try for your kids? You can print fill-in-the-blank version of my chore chart here. Then be sure to let me know how it works for your family. Or, share successes you’ve had using your own chore chart system as well as some of your favorite kids craft projects!

For more kids craft projects that challenge their creativity, be sure to visit my DIY for Wee Ones Pinterest board. It’s full of great crafts projects for kids they can make themselves as well as cool projects you can craft for them!

For even more of my ideas and kids craft projects you can follow me on Pinterest, G+, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, Blog Lovin’, and Instagram. You can also subscribe to Soap Deli News via email for future updates, DIY projects and recipes.