Transform a basic brown box into a community full of color, patterns, and fun! This simple project was inspired by the true story of a neighborhood in San Diego’s East Village!
We read Maybe Something Beautiful, written by F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell, and illustrated by Rafael López (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016). Mira lives in a gray city, but her heart and mind are full of color and joy. When she meets a muralist with a pocketful of paintbrushes, they launch a mission to bring bright, bold, and inspiring colors to walls, benches, and sidewalks. A true story, this book describes how the Urban Art Trail initiative transformed a community. It’s an amazing, heartfelt read, and the illustrations are next level gorgeous. Don’t miss the note from the authors in the back of the book, or the fact that the original community muralist, Rafael López, is also the book’s illustrator!
All you need for this project is a box and some markers and/or art supplies! We used leftover craft box houses from our Gingerbread Architecture event…
And then we brought out markers, paper, stickers, feathers, foam beads, pipe cleaners and our good ‘ol Bling Bin. When everyone was finished, we put the houses together for a little neighborhood walk!
What could be better then a big brilliant sunflower? Why, a sunflower that also shares good thoughts and positive messages with everyone! It’s a colorful craft project with a lot of heart, much like the author of this very special story time book.
In the story, Hubie the Horse uses a dented bucket for his sunflower, so we snagged these cute mini buckets on Amazon. But a box, paper cup, or flower pot works just as well. We also added green crinkle paper around the sunflower’s base to steady the stalk. Now for the message butterflies!
Color and cut the butterflies from the template, then add a tag with a positive message on it. You can attach the message butterflies directly to the sunflower, or you can do what we did and turn them into magnets! Our magnetic butterflies attached to the metal buckets, but we also slipped paperclips on the petals for the butterflies to rest on. Gift a message butterfly to friends and family, and they can proudly display them on their fridges!
As a nod to her marvelous sewing skills, we had a drawing for a GIANT stuffed horse at story time. Here’s our happy winner…she was quite enamored, and her Dad emailed me later and shared that she insisted it sleep next to her that night.
This story time was full of love, laughter, positivity, joy, and delight. This was very intentional, as it was also a celebration of Barbara herself, who passed in February 2024. Hubie has a special place in my heart, and I was extraordinarily honored to share her final book with our community.
One last magical thing. Barbara’s husband Mark came to the event and brought copies of Hubie for every family! It was incredibly generous, and I very much want to thank him for coming and celebrating with us. Kids weren’t even waiting until they left the library to enjoy the story of sweet Hubie the Horse.
It’s beautiful, botanical, and inspiring…find your little light in the darkness with this lovely garden box illuminated with shimmering votive candles!
While this was a quiet and simple project, it was incredibly cozy and the kids absolutely loved it. Our story time can sometimes get a 