Make and Takes is a popular parenting site sharing kids crafts, home projects, easy recipes, parenting tips, and more. New content is posted Monday through Friday, sometimes Saturday. Everything posted is something to “make and take”. Whether it’s a holiday craft for kids, an easy way to spruce up your home decor, baking a delicious dessert, or a fun product giveaway, you’ll be able to make or take something. Along with content featured from the regular contributors below, we also share guest posts and quick features from YOU over at the M&T Spotlight, as you’ve all got something great to make and take too!

Marie LeBaron is the founder and managing editor of Make and Takes.

She’s a mother of 3 living in the Pacific Northwest. Always having a love of crafts, she enjoys getting messy with glue and glitter. There’s always some sort of project going on, her kitchen counter is often cluttered with crafts. When she’s not crafting and creating with her kids, she loves to run, read, and blog!

Marie’s Book… Make and Takes for Kids: 50 crafts throughout the year, Marie’s first craft book published with Wiley 2011! Enjoy 50 crafts for kids to celebrate the months and seasons of the year.

Marie graduated with an Early Childhood and Elementary teaching degree and taught kindergarten for 4 years. She now shares many of her tips and tricks she’s learned over the years on her blog. She’s listed as one of Nielsen’s Power Mom 50, Babble 50 for Best Design Blog, Babble 50 for Best Mom Craft Blogs, is a hostess of the BlogHer pre-party: SocialLuxe Lounge, and organized the women’s blogging relay team, Eat Blog Run. Marie is also a contributor for Martha Stewart, Craftzine, Baby Center, PBS Parents, Babble and Snackpicks.

Our Contributors:

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Amanda Formaro is a contributing writer for Kids Crafts.

Amanda is the crafty, entrepreneurial mother of four children. She loves to bake, cook, make kid’s crafts and create decorative items for her home. She is the craft expert for FamilyCorner.com and Kaboose.com and has appeared online and in print publications many times over the years. You can see her crafty creations on Crafts by Amanda and her delicious recipes on Amanda’s Cookin’. She is also the editor for the Home & Garden channel at Craft Gossip. Read other posts by Amanda.

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Amy Anderson is a contributing writer for Kids Crafts.

Amy is happiest surrounded by her husband, two daughters, stacks of books, and craft supplies. With a background in psychology, early childhood education, and elementary teaching, Amy is a supporter of playing dress-up, digging in the dirt, and squeezing out puddles of glue. If she could share one message with parents and educators, it would be, “More play, please!” At her blog, Let’s Explore, Amy shares her family’s experiences creating, imagining, and playing together. Read other posts by Amy.

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Little Birdie Secrets are contributing writers for Home Projects.

Little Birdie Secrets was born from the crafting obsession of three friends living in the Pacific Northwest. Little Birdie’s mission is to share the wealth of fun projects and helpful tips they find in books, on the Internet, and sometimes in their own imaginations. And if you love the end result but hate the mess, they often sell their extra projects on their Etsy sites (they gotta finance our habit somehow!) They hope their efforts will inspire you to be creative in every aspect of your life. Read other posts by Little Birdies.

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Jamielyn Nye is a contributing writer for Home Projects.

Jamielyn is the founder and managing editor of iheartnaptime.net. She is married to her best friend and they have two beautiful children. Her days are filled with lots of snuggles, crafts, e-mails, avoiding the ever-growing pile of laundry, play dough, sneaking bites of chocolate and wondering, “Is it nap time yet?!” I Heart Nap Time is a creative site sharing DIY home projects on a budget, crafts, sewing tutorials, easy recipes, tips and techniques. Join her on Facebook or Twitter. Read other posts by Jamielyn.

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Danyelle Mathews is a contributing writer for Home Projects.

Danyelle Mathews is the creative mind behind the popular lifestyle and craft blog, Dandee. Danyelle’s work has been featured in Parents Magazine, Decor8 and Apartment Therapy. When she’s not blogging or creating you will surely find her toting her five children around town or scheming up date nights with her husband. Read other posts by Danyelle.
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Lindsey Johnson is a contributing writer for Recipes.

Lindsey Johnson is a stay-at-home mom who enjoys cooking, baking, photography, gardening, and writing. You can find more recipes at her blog, Cafe Johnsonia. Her favorite thing is to find a great recipe and share it with everyone she knows. Read other posts by Lindsey

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Maria Lichy is a contributing writer for Recipes.

Maria and her husband, Josh, are Two Peas and Their Pod. They are known as the “cooking couple” and are a great team in the kitchen. They love trying new recipes, flavors, and techniques and sharing their creations with the world. They keep things healthy, but always save room for dessert. Maria loves to bake cookies-they have over 120 cookie recipes on their blog. When she’s is not in the kitchen, she enjoys traveling, exercising, reading, and cuddling with her sweet baby Caleb. Read other posts by Maria.

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Mariel Wangsgard is a contributing writer for Family Time.

Mariel authors the blog, Or so she says… where she shares her most favorite ideas on parenting, homeschool, marriage, cooking, crafting, etc. The blog is open to readers wanting to submit their best ideas.  Besides blogging, Mariel can be found changing diapers, doing laundry, washing dishes, and smooching the cheeks of her 5 little ones.  She dreams about golf, traveling, reading, a cabin in Montana, and cake. Read other posts by Mariel
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Sabrena Suite-Mangum is a contributing writer for Family Time.

Sabrena is mom, yoga instructor, triathlete and barefoot runner with a passion for food and the environment. In her past-life (aka pre-mom years) she worked in marketing and public relations for the airlines and moonlit as a travel writer. She writes her blog SuiteSpots and resides in Salt Lake City with her husband and the master of disaster, their toddler Holden. Read other posts by Sabrena.

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Previous M&T Contributors:

• Jane Maynard contributing writer for Recipes. Read other posts by Jane.
• Kami Bigler contributing writer for Home Projects. Read other posts by Kami.
• Heather Mann contributing writer for Kids Crafts. Read other posts by Heather.