Dr. Seuss Crafts by obSEUSSed

Dr. Seuss’ birthday is just a few weeks away.  March 2 falls on a Saturday this year so it will be a great day to celebrate by doing crafts and activities at home with my kids. I’m sure we will be celebrating for several weeks. I’m helping plan a big Dr. Seuss style carnival for our school read-a-thon mid March and will share more about that soon.

When I started this blog, I wanted it to be a place to share craft ideas and activities inspired by Dr. Seuss. I also wanted to share other children’s book crafts and activities to keep kids excited about reading.

I created the Dr. Seuss Link Collection as a place for bloggers to share those Seuss inspired ideas.  Make sure you take a look at nearly 300 fabulous ideas that bloggers have shared. I’ll be featuring a few of them in the next few weeks.


Dr. Seuss Ideas on Pinterest
Then Pinterest came along and it has become the place I’ve gathered more than 1,500 Dr. Seuss crafts, activities, snacks, party ideas and more.  I’m blown away by the creative ideas I’ve seen.  I’ve loved to see other people just as obSEUSSed or even more obSEUSSed than I am. This love of Dr. Seuss connects us all.
If you have access to Pinterest you must browse through some of these ideas I’ve been gathering.  They are overflowing on one board so I am in the process of splitting the pins onto more distinct boards.  This is the best place to find all your Dr. Seuss inspiration.


I hope you’ll pick up a book and read to a child and plan an activity to go along with it. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Reading is the most important part.

Here are a few of the projects I’ve created and shared on obSEUSSed. I hope you find some ideas to help you get started.

Click on a picture below for more details about the projects.

Happy Meal Chef Headed to London Olympics

My daughter Elayna is a McDonald's Happy Meal Chef for the next few months. Read more about that here. She won a trip to the London Olympics and the chance to participate in a global Champions of Food cooking challenge. She will also go to McDonald's headquarters in October to cook with McDonald's executive chef to help develop new ideas for the Happy Meal.

In preparation for the Olympics we have been watching the news and reading magazines and books from the library.  I have also been busy pinning Olympic craft ideas on Pinterest and have found some excellent ideas. I like the free printables and have printed a few to take with us on our trip.

Below are some of the other finalists for the #happymealchefs experience. Elayna and Sarah R. are the grand prize winners who are official Happy Meal Chefs and will be part of the cooking challenge. You can see their  contest videos by clicking on the image below.

My daughter and husband will take part in the McDonald's Happy Meal Chef Champion's of Food cooking contest in London just before the Olympics start.  They were asked to develop a new recipe they would like to possibly see in a McDonald's Happy Meal. Other contestants are coming from Germany, Japan and Brazil.  They are excited to be involved in the process of helping the Happy Meals become healthier.

This image is the McDonald's Olympic Menu. Notice they have fruit bags and carrot sticks with the happy meals.  I hope they offer those in the states soon.

I thought this infographic was interesting too.

I will be going with them to London and we will be taking turns blogging about their experience.
They will be attending several Olympic events and meeting some of the athletes.
We'll be cheering for Team USA!!!

Dr. Seuss Crafts Created by obSEUSSed

I thought I’d share a few of my favorite Dr. Seuss crafts I’ve created and shared on this blog.

Get Creative Celebrating Dr. Seuss!
There are thousands of ways you can celebrate Dr. Seuss and encourage literacy for children. Let your kids pick out one of Dr. Seuss’ books and I’m sure you’ll be inspired to come up with a craft or activity to go along with it. I’m so impressed with all the projects I’ve been seeing online. I’m glad I’m not alone in my obSEUSSion.  I’ll share more Dr. Seuss ideas throughout the coming week as we lead up to his birthday on Friday. Here are a few I've created.

Pin It

Just click on a picture below to take you to the project details.



Also remember to check the Dr. Seuss Link Collection here on obSEUSSed with ideas from other crafters, teachers, moms and more.


Along with my collection of 1,000+  ideas on Pinterest for Dr. Seuss crafts, parties, activities and more.


Some great Dr. Seuss Linky Parties to check out:

Dr. Seuss Celebration Linky Party at Happy Birthday Author
SEUSS-per Linky Party at Mrs. Bainbridge's Class blog.
Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss Linky Party - hosted by 15 blogs.

Get Creative Celebrating Dr. Seuss!

Book Inspired Halloween Pumpkins: Cat in the Hat

If you love children’s books characters, why not turn your pumpkin into one?
I’ve heard of classes doing this at school but you can try this at home too. Ask your child who their favorite character is and find a way to decorate a pumpkin that way. You can carve, paint, add accessories and more.
Of course, being obSEUSSed, I had to make a Cat in the Hat pumpkin.
First I free hand drew this with a pen, after looking at the Dr. Seuss book. Then I traced it with black marker once I knew which areas were okay to cut and which ones I should leave so it wouldn’t fall apart.    I created a template you can print and create your own.  Click here for the Dr. Seuss jack-o-lantern template. I used a small pumpkin carving knife, then lit it up with fake tea candles.
 
We grew nine pumpkins in our garden this year. I helped my daughter carve this Minnie Mouse pumpkin using the Disney carving template found here.  My husband turned the half green pumpkin into a dinosaur. My son turned his into a Frankenstein, skeleton eating pumpkin. I also turned another pumpkin into a haunted house where you paint the house on with acrylic craft paint then cut out the windows to show candle light through. I found this and many other great Halloween ideas on Pinterest. Originally found on Parents.com.
I found more book character pumpkins and pinned them to my Book Character board on Pinterest. If you aren’t on Pinterest, you can do a Google search for “Book Character Pumpkins” to find more great ideas.  I love the David Shannon “Stripes” and “No David" pumpkins below. As well as the Arthur and Junie B. Jones pumpkins.

To follow my Pinterest Boards, click here.
We turned the Nightmare Before Christmas character, Jack Skellington, into a life size figure. Click here to see more.
 
If you’ve made a book character pumpkin I’d love to see it. You can leave a link to your blog in the comments below or upload your picture to the ObSEUSSed Facebook page to share with others.
Thanks,



I linked this project to:
The Play Academy at the Nurture Store - visit for more great ideas
Tatertots & Jello Weekend Wrap Up Craft Party

Bookshelves Under Stairs

I’ve been addicted to pictures of bookshelves on Pinterest lately.
I think it might be due to these bookshelves that I designed and asked my husband and father-in-law to build for me four years ago. After I had them for a year we moved and I’ve been craving them ever since.



I loved how I could display my Dr. Seuss Books and golden books grouped together.

They built the whole stair railing and shelves into the supporting wall. We painted the walls terra cotta color to match the stain.

They also built the entire built-in entertainment center, with gliding drawers for DVDs and my office desk tucked into the corner behind doors so I could be downstairs near the kids when they played.
Okay, I can’t talk about it too long or look at these pictures too often because I really miss this whole area and wish we could duplicate it but it just won’t work in our new house.
I hope everyone has the opportunity to take Dr. Seuss' advice to “pile your house with stacks of books, in all the crannies and all the nooks.” My wish is for every child to have more than one book in their home. We have been blessed to have a home library.  There are bookshelves in every room of our house and I just filled our hall closet entirely with kid books too.
 
Follow me on Pinterest for more Dr. Seuss activities and ideas and creative book storage ideas.
SHOW ME HOW YOU STORE BOOKS AT YOUR HOUSE:
I’d love to see your pictures so leave a link in the comments if you have pictures posted online somewhere so I can pin it to my HOME LIBRARY pinterest board.




Today's Creative Blog: Get Your Craft On Link Party

Owl Nursery and Books Inspired by Pinterest

I’ve been planning and creating this outdoor themed owl nursery for my baby boy for over a year (since before he was born, he just turned 1).  It’s been coming together piece by piece as I find inspiration.  My husband and I made this tree bookshelf to display picture books and owl trinkets.  I love picking books off of it at bedtime and looking at it while I rock him to sleep.

A Quick How To:
We measured our wall then picked out boards at Home Depot. My husband cut them to size, cut notches in them to fit together at the trunk. Then we sanded all the surface and edges and rounded the ends. I stained them to match our dark wood furniture. My husband hung the boards on the wall with brackets screwed under each branch.

Pinspiration:
I was inspired to design this when I saw the first bookshelf below on Pinterest.  It says it was originally found on ETSY but the posting is gone so I’m not sure who to give credit to.  I wanted our shelf to be more tree-like and I wanted the bottom shelf to be too high up to climb on (I’m not sure how long that will last).

Owl Nursery:
I have a whole pin-board of owl nursery ideas on Pinterest. Come check it out for more ideas. Also inspired by Pinterest, I created a branch window valance, hanging basket mobile and bird house with a book for a roof.

*Pinterest use is by invitation only so if you still need an invite, contact me by email (right column button).



















 
Young House Love is having a Pinterest Challenge. Check out all the fun projects people have made as they are inspired by what they see on Pinterest.
Here are some other views of the nursery. Click here for close-up details and Before and After pictures.


Notes: My favorite Lazy-Boy recliner that I got for $50 from our neighbor. It is big, but so much comfier than the hard glider I used for my older children. The $10 retro wood dresser I found last month at a thrift store.  The twigs (in a frame I found at a garage sale), the tree branch window valance (I cut from my yard and strung matching fabric leaves from). The brown curtains are chocolate color with a texture that looks like a tree trunk, found at Wal-mart.


Notes: The crib I found on sale at Target in 2010. I got the vintage desk for $25 at a thrift store. I’m using it as a changing table and diaper station for now but it will be a great desk for our son as he grows. The grapevine wreath from Joanne’s is around an owl birthday card I found at the post office. The clock I found for $1 at a thrift store and added matching fabric. The macrame owl (I grew up with one of these) I found for 75 cents at a thrift store (I take it off the hook and let him play with it during changing time). The bird basket I bought at Tai Pan Trading (with a gift card I won at Bunco) and attached the fake vine and real pinecones I found at our park. I spin it with my hand once when I start changing his diaper then it twists back and forth.
BOOK CORNER:
The big stuffed owl is in a nest. He flaps his wings and sings “Summertime, Summertime Sum-Sum Summertime” and is my son’s favorite toy right now. The little stand is an old hutch from a desk. It fit my 3 book baskets perfectly.
Here are some of our favorite board books on the tree shelf.

Owl Babies: Martin Warrdell Wow! Said the Owl





Nesting doll owls (I hand painted), bird house and candle (from Esty, see below)





Good Night, Gorilla The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle The Runaway Bunny

Peek-A Who?







Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson Guess How Much I Love You Board Book





Good-Night, Owl! by Pat Hutchins




I saw this flameless candle (that smells like vanilla and has a timer) in Darcy’s nursery at Just a Night Owl. Darcy’s sister sells them in her IKR Designs ETSY shop. It is one of my favorite things in our owl nursery. The colors and design were perfect, it is safe and my baby loves to watch it glow.
My BIGGEST inspiration, my owl baby!


Enjoying his nesting owls.
Great OWL BOOKS:

Find more great DIY projects at:

And Today's Creative, Get Your Craft On Tuesday