Playful: Fun Projects to Make With + For Kids Hardcover – September 16, 2014

I wanted to share that I am a working mom of three young children (6, 4 & 2), two boys and one girl. I adore crafts, particularly those using reclaimed materials such as cardboard. I have no connection with the author/publisher.I'm afraid that I am a bit disappointed with this book. I was so excited to buy it, based on the strong reviews below, but in the end it didn't meet with my expectations. The main issue is that I really try to do a big chunk of the activities I see in books like this, but find the included activities impractical - yes there are templates, but you need to photocopy all of them, often at 200% - who's home printer can accommodate giant sheets of paper? The author repeatedly suggests a trip to the copy store, which is inconvenient. Also, the template in the back is really all of them overlapping each other and not useable on its own. This all could have bee easily remedied if the publisher had included multiple templates in the back, rather than crowding/overlapping them onto one sheet. Also convenient would have been a link to access the templates online - then you could print them at 200% on multiple sheets of paper. Finally, many of these activities are just drawing on canvas - in which you have to hand trace the templates onto material using a light box? Who has a light box? Or as the author says - pressed up onto a bright window, really? While tracing free hand? And what canvas is transparent anyway? This could have been so much better/practical bc it is really lovely otherwise :(Sites I adore: Mr. Printables and Made by Joel (who also has a book on Amazon and shares links to templates online.)

This book is extremely beautiful l, well written & filled with very inspiring ideas and pictures. Project instructions are clear and easy to follow. However, many of the projects are highly impractical, requiring power tools and other specialty items that many don't own or have the knowledge to use. I'd say this is a book more about making things for your kids to use rather than projects that can easily dig into with you. The templates in the back are difficult to photocopy & use. The page number and some unnecessary wording is on these templates which are an eyesore when you are copying at 200% for a painting page that will be on your child's wall. It would be nice if the author allowed buyers access to digital downloads of these templates.If you are confident with saws, drills and othertools & enjoy making your child's toys, this book is for you! If you are looking for something to create alongside your child, I'd look elsewhere.

I am a total sucker for these kinds of books & honestly a lot them, while beautiful, don't seem very original anymore. This book is beautiful, too, & while it might recycle some ideas, there is enough re-work to make them feel more original. Full disclosure: I haven't made any of the projects yet, so I can't speak to ease, but looking at the templates & patterns, they appear to be full size. (A huge plus for me because if it says "Copy 200%" or something, that's probably just not going to happen.)

great activities for kids to do alone and great activities that you can do together.Some take one afternoon and some you work on for a weekend or so. I want to make the table tent/castle for a birthday party!While I make that I will have my kiddos collect and make paper crafts from the book.I also think its lots of fun how the kids can hunt for boxes in recycling and twigs from our yard to make these crafts with.Loads of fun and different types of skill and time for each one so we can go through the book and plan our summer days or do impromptu crafting together or as an individual! Love the pictures and the book is magical!

First, the book is just gorgeous, with beautiful photographs that are impeccably styled. Second, the projects have a nice variety that includes lets you use crafts, paint, sewing, even hand tools. But all seem very doable and inspirational, where you can take a method and adapt it to something else (like the adorable animal puppets, I could change it to my child's favorite animal). What was a wonderful surprise was all of the rad TEMPLATES and PATTERNS included in the book! That are real size, ready-to-use. I don't have to run to my nearest photocopy place and resize anything, these are actual patterns that you can use immediately. Very impressed, hope this isn't the last book from this team, I'd love a holiday one too!

I love this book. So beautiful to look at and so much fun. I do wish it was easier to scan the images for projects. Perhaps I would have liked to see the circus doll images and others available on a CD instead of pages to be scanned and printed from the book (or both options as I have been told not all new computers come with a CD player). I can't wait to make many more of the fun projects featured in this book.

Very visually pleasing. Made one project so far, my kids loved helping me make it (duct tape file folder thingy). But they havent used them since we played with them. It's a very cute book just some of the projects are things I would probably not make. But others are super clever and creative. All the projects and unique and very cute. Worth a buy if you like to do crafts with and for your kids.

I bought this book as a gift after checking one out at the library. Super cute ideas that are semi unique. It provides patterns and templates which is handy but besides that, one could find similar ideas through blogs and Pinterest.

Though I enjoy Merrilee Liddiard's blog I actually returned this as there was not one thing I would have made. Very disappointed.

Lovely book with lots of creative projects. I'm just about to make the cardboard dolls house!

Il libro contiene le istruzioni e i cartamodelli per realizzare splendidi giochi creativi con e per i bambini. Nonostante con un po' di ingegno si possano già realizzare i progetti proposti, semplicemente guardando le immagini nel fantastico blog mermag dell'autrice, e nonostante il libro sia in inglese, vale la pena acquistarlo perché il libro è davvero stupendo e curato. Anche solo sfogliarlo e guardare le foto è fonte d'ispirazione per creare qualcosa di unico insieme e per i nostri bambini. Geniale.

La edición y las fotos son de muy buena calidad, pero los proyectos no son para niños, sino para adultos. Hay para hacer juguetes de madera y para hacer marionetas de tela... En fin, me he arrepentido de la compra, los proyectos con cartulina y materiales reciclados son muy pocos y no merece la pena. En mi opinión es un producto demasiado caro.

Ein MUSS für Bastelmamis! Ich liebe dieses Buch! Es ist schön anzuschauen, toll zu lesen und die Ideen sind sehr besonders und trotzdem leicht nachzumachen. Sogar meine 3-Jährige Tochter schaut es gern als Bilderbuch an :-)