Looking for fun, educational activities that don’t cost much? Dallas Moms blogger, lawyer and author Annabel Lugo Hoffman likes to do crafts with her daughters, Meredith, 13, and Natalie, 9. You can find these in Come Into My World! / Entra a Mi Mundo, a book of 365 games and activities for every day of the year, which Hoffman co-wrote with Lina Cuartas.

Annabel Lugo Hoffman (left) and daughter Meredith shake extra glitter off their starry galaxy project.

The book is available in both English and Spanish versions.

Most of the crafts call for recyclable materials or items that can be found at home or in nature. Here’s a sampling of crafts that Hoffman and her girls did recently:

Starry galaxy: Meredith used cut-outs of stars from colorful construction paper and added glue and glitter to make various constellations. Natalie used white typing paper to trace and cut small circles, then used a black marker to show the different phases of the moon.Peace pits: Natalie and Meredith came up with this idea, inspired by two book activities, Hoffman says: “Let’s make stamps with household objects” (dipping cut lemons, apples or potatoes in ink and using them to make prints), and “Let’s pick up some acorns outside” (turning acorns into tops by sticking a thumbtack in the chubby end or painting them to look like little people or animals). The girls painted dried peach pits and sprinkled them with glitter. They named them “peace pits” because they anonymously give them to a person they know may be going through a difficult time, along with an encouraging note.

Sock puppets: Hoffman’s girls like to take old socks and make up names and stories about them. Meredith made a “Monster Couple” for Halloween, using yarn for hair and scraps of fabric and felt to make the clothes. She used staples to secure the clothing and markers, and pennies to make facial features. She stuffed the puppets with cotton.

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