What in the world did grandmas do before Pinterest? I'd be half the grandma I am — at least in terms of the eats and activities I share with my grandsons — if not for the food and fun pinned and promoted by folks far more crafty then me.

Take for instance the super simple puzzle fun I shared with my dino-loving middle grandson, Mac. Without my stumbling upon a Pinterest pin leading to this post by a clever mama, Mac would have never had the opportunity to see how a few circles, triangles, and squares can be pieced together to create his favorite creature.

Now, I surely could simply say: Check out that post cuz it's perty darn cool. But then I'd have to come up with a post of some other sort to fill this space today. More importantly, though, I'd have no reason to share the photos of Mac making his dinos, photos that prove how Pinterest-worthy this quick, easy, and inexpensive activity actually is.

With that in mind, here are pics of the day Mac and I created the clever, captivating cutouts during my desert visit in April.

What you need:

• 1 sheet of craft foam (green or brown — typical dinosaur colors... or get exceptionally creative with other colors)

• Scissors

• Picture printouts from Little Family Fun (aka, the real directions) 

What you do:

Following the real directions, cut from the craft foam:

1 big half-circle

1 medium triangle

1 medium square

1 medium circle

3 small rectangles

3 small long triangles

3 small squares

4 small triangles

3 small circles

Now, you can get all perfectionist on the pieces, using a ruler to precisely mark out your shapes. Or you can wing it, like I did. I just had Mac count the pieces in the picture I'd printed, tell me what we need, I'd rough out such a shape per his command, then cut them out.

At this point, I had not yet shared with Mac the printed picture of what exactly all those pieces can create. You can keep it a secret, too, or share it from the beginning. I just like the "Cool!" comment I knew Mac would declare upon my revealing how to use the cutouts. (He didn't disappoint.)

Now, if you've not yet done so, provide the picture for the little dino builder and let him or her get to building dinosaurs from the shapes.

Mac switched and swapped shapes for quite some time, creating different dinos based on the ideas provided.

Then he set to creating critters beyond dinos, all from his imagination.

Once done, we placed the shapes in a zippered plastic bag for safekeeping — and for using to stay busy (and quiet) while waiting for one's big brother to finish his homework.

Thanks, Little Family Fun!

Like I said: What in the world did grandmas do before Pinterest?

Today's question:

What have been some of your Pinterest prize finds?