Crafty stuff with kids...

I've been asked by a dear friend to write about craft projects that can be done with kids...while I no doubt haven't enough for a book (thanks for the vote of confidence, Krystal), I do have enough for a blog post!

Many of these ideas have been taken from other blogs, books and websites...where I can, I'll reference those. But, several are from my own brain...and my own, very creative child who often initiates things I wouldn't fathom.

One project we have on the "to do" list is a cardboard robot. We're saving toilet paper rolls, tissue boxes, smaller boxes, etc...once we've got enough (whatever that looks like to your family), we'll construct a robot. We'll post pics when we have it all done. Need a few more rolls of toilet paper (luckily, we go through it FAST!).

I've also, inspired by one of my favorite blogs (www.soulemama.com), set up an art area in the common room of our home. Most of RE's toys are in her room...I can't stand the mess all over the place. But the art stuff has a special home in a bookshelf. It all even looks pretty, in recycled glass jars, tea tins, coffee tins, etc. It's very accessible, and she often reaches for her crayons, markers and scissors when she's bored, or I'm working (she'll "work" too).


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We love homemade playdough...that's another favorite, and the best part is that it'll take the whole afternoon, between picking colors, making it, letting it cool, and then PLAYING with it!

<2 cup flour
2 cup warm water
4 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 teaspoon oil
1/2 cup salt
food coloring

Mix all ingredients, adding food coloring last. Stir over medium heat until smooth. Remove from pan and knead until blended smooth. (I use the dough hook on my kitchenaid mixer for this, because it's so hot, I can't knead it) Place in plastic bag or airtight container when cooled. Will last for months.

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We've also made homemade watercolors, which is fun not only because you get fun homemade water colors, but also because you get to mix vinegar and baking soda, which is good times in and of itself!

Watercolors

3 Tbs. baking soda
3 Tbs. corn starch
3 Tbs. white vinegar
1-1/2 tsp. light corn syrup
food coloring

Steps:

1. Mix vinegar, baking soda, corn starch and corn syrup together in a small bowl.

2. Divide the mixture into several small plastic tubs or jar lids.

3. Add six to eight drops of food coloring to each tub or lid then mix.

4. Use these as they are or let them dry into hard cakes of paint. If you use them while they're dry, be sure to wet the paintbrush before painting.
(Original author unknown)

Tips:

Use paste food coloring if you want especially vivid colors and lots of color choices. Some oil based food coloring will not stir in well, but it will blend perfectly by the time it's dry.

Take the opportunity to teach little ones about color mixing. We made purple, green and orange and then went a step further to make mixtures like red-violet and blue-green by adding one part of one primary color to two parts of another. Mix all three primary colors to make brown.

You can make a larger batch and make the paints in an old ice cube tray. Other possible containers are empty watercolor kits and pill boxes (the kind with a compartment for each day of the week).

The more food coloring you add, the more vivid the paints will be.

These take a long time to dry! Ours were in small lids and took about 24 hours.

If you make them in bottlecaps, you can store the dry paints in a plastic baggie or even tie a few of them in a small cloth with a ribbon as a sweet gift.
source: http://www.magicalchildhood.com/crafts/watercolors.htm

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As the kids get older, you can let them cut bits and pieces out of magazine or catalogs and glue them onto a bigger sheet of paper. Bonus that your kids get to practice fine motor skills.

My favorite place to buy art supplies for kids is www.stubbypencilstudio.com. Nope, it's not super cheap, but they have really great quality stuff. Our favorites include the crayon rocks, the watercolor pencils and soy crayons. The notecards are darling, and though RE doesn't "color in the lines" (who'd want her too?), they look darling.

Speaking of notecards, with RE's birthday and the holidays just passing, we've had a lot of Thank Yous to write of late. I decided that, instead of making her color on card after card, I'd just recycle some of her older art that's been on the "art wall" for a while. I cut them up into smallish squares and wrote out our thoughts on the back. That way, the gift giver got a little of RE back.

For now, that's it...oh, but our "art wall". I love our art wall. For the holidays, RE and I decorated basic clothespins with glitter (pour glitter on a paper plate, dip clothespin in glue, dip in glitter, let dry) and hung our holiday cards from friends and family across a ribbon with the sparkley clips. After the holidays, we decided that the clips were too awesome to pack up, and thought we'd use them to hang RE's art...it's right near her bedroom, and features a rotating gallery. Not only does it celebrate the artwork of the toddler, but it's a fun way to encourage them to keep it up!

3 Going on Thirteen

Wow. Someone once told me that three was worse than two. I didn't believe them. I thought I'd gotten off scot free on those "terrible twos". RE was an awesome two year old: inquisitive, clever, funny, entertaining, eager to please. But at three? And only a month into it? I'm going insane. Most days, she's still RE, and is clever and fun and engaging. But others, like today, I'm not so sure who's in there. She's like a whole different person. And I know that it's developmental, and that she's exercising her independence, testing limits, and seeing how far she can push me, but man, it's hard!

Each moment, it's like a test, and I have to wonder if I'm passing or failing. As I'm the one home with her all day, it's mostly up to me (during the day at least) to deal with the doling of discipline, and the celebrations of successes. It's hard to know what's right though...am I letting her win if I've threatened to call off a play date and she's responded that she didn't want to go anyway, and I do call it off? Or would it be more of a punishment to make her go? And is it worth the fight getting her into clean clothing (that she didn't sleep in last night) to force her to get in the car and go play? When all she really wants to do is play dollies at home with mommy? And then, I get to feel horribly guilty for clearly doing too much, and not allowing for time to "just be" and play dollies with mommy.

Like anything that's worthwhile, parenting is tough stuff. Most days, you walk a tightrope, trying so hard to stay on, stay balance, not lose your cool, because if you do, you'll fall off, and no one wants to fall off. But, on those rare moments that you can see the other side, or that you actually get to the other side, the high is not something you can explain to anyone who hasn't parented a child. Seeing your kid "get it" is priceless. Much like the first time your baby uses a potty, or returns a sign to you, or says "mama" or "dada" when you walk into a room, the rewards are endless. As is the challenge. But, that's half the fun, isn't it?

Granola Bars

Yum. I love granola bars. But I hate reading the ingredients and being totally grossed out. So, I borrowed the Sneaky Chef cookbook from a friend (thanks Mari!) and adapted her granola bar recipe for my own personal gain. And, upon request from many of you, here it is.

2/3 C rolled oats, ground in a food processor
1/2 C almonds, ground in a food processor (if allergic, add another 1/2 C rolled oats)
1/4 C wheat germ (again, could sub oats if wanting gluten free)
1 C crispy brown rice (I couldn't find this, so I subbed ghetto rice krispies)
1 C nonfat dry milk (the most vintage thing one can purchase at the grocery store)
1/2 t Cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1/2 canola oil
2/3 C brown rice syrup (found in the frou frou section of the grocery store)
1 t vanilla extract
Optional add-ins: 1/4 C chocolate chips, raisins, craisins, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, really, just about anything, though I'd suggest just ONE of these, not all at once.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a 9" square baking pan (or similar) completely with parchment (or foil, but you have to butter that).

In a medium bowl, combine oats, almonds, wheat germ, dry milk, cinnamon and salt. Mix in the canola oil, brown rice syrup, vanilla extract and add-ins. Mix well, then pour into the prepared baking pan. Press down with palm of the hand, evenly distributing mixture into the corners of the dish. It should be well pressed into the dish.

Bake for 15-18 minutes. My oven stinks and I had to bake for closer to 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes or so, just until it's set up. Using the parchment or foil, lift from the pan. While it's still warm, cut into small bars.

Store in an airtight container for up to a week, or freeze in plastic baggies.

Re-Post...Birthin' Day.

And a repost, in memory of RE's day of birth...and one of the most important moments in our lives. I cannot believe our child is three years old, and that this day (and post) occurred three years ago.

Enjoy!

Mesh Panties Are Sexy

Something to keep her busy...

This has got to be one of my most awesome creations...I'm really proud of it. I got the vague idea from another website, but then forgot it, and thus, created my own. And my own little people and other "stuff" to go on it. RE calls it her planet, and on it, her people can do as they please. She's only seen it once, and it will be unveiled on the airplane this week...should be a hit!

All pouched up.

A little open.

All the way open! Grass, Pond, Road...very awesome.

Side view.

Side view.

The guys in their sleeping bags.

All the people!

The girls in the boat.

Limitless

Just when I decide I'm done with winter, the old man come a-knocking again. And whilst I do love to grumble and groan about snow, and cold, and wind, and, um, cold, I found inspiration in the snowflakes today. Maybe it was because they were so fluffy, maybe because they were almost standing still while I drove (or walked) straight into them. Or maybe, and probably, it was because I could actually SEE them. Maybe I was just looking today. It was that kind of day. But today, I really stopped, and tried to SEE the snowflakes. Each one of them. And I was reminded, that even when I am convinced everything has been done before, and that there is nothing new out there, along comes a snowflake, or a whole flurry of them, to remind me that creativity is boundless. Limitless. Unending.

RE also reminds me of the boundless, limitless, unending depths of human creativity and imagination. Her presence, most days, is the best gift we could ever have been given. I know it's been said, time and time again, by parents the world over, in languages I cannot even fathom, but my child makes me see the world in ways I can't on my own. In my own busyness, literal-ness, and self-absorption, I cannot see what she can on my own, but with her guidance, I see everything anew.

Thank you, RE, for three years filled with moments of brilliance. I look forward to millions more.

Happy (almost) Birthday, Peanut-Butt.

Skirts Galore!

Ballet for the tiny ballerina. Well, she thinks she's a tiny ballerina. This is a birthday skirt...I'll post pictures of the doll that "matches" as soon as she's finished. A tee shirt dress I meant to finish last year...it'll still fit, but not for long!
Her owl skirt...I bit longer than I wanted it to be, but awfully cute.
The dot fabric was in my scrap stash, and I had just enough for the edges.

Curtains!

I'm crossing stuff off my to do list...so I finally finished these darn curtains. I love the way they look...I just attached a strip of the cool grey fabric to the tops of the old curtains, et voila! New curtains! And it looks like it's a valance, but it's not. I rarely actually open the curtains...they're so sheer you can see right through them, but they block just enough that I feel like I can leave the blinds up. I hate mini-blinds. They're a little bit evil, not to mention ugly. With the valance, you can barely see them (yep, they're down in the pictures...my bad).

I'm working on a small narrow curtain for the back door...mini-blinds on a door? Seriously?

Quick and Dirty Ring Sling for RE

Morning will tell if this fits her...and no, the doll is not hers yet. She needs hair! And her face isn't sewn on yet. And RE has to wait until the 29th. But the ring sling she can have tomorrow. Took 20 minutes at a WAY too late hour of the morning.

My new table...and pillows...and picture board.

I love this a lot. I love the fabric, love the colors, and love the tall table that hides bins of store stuff! And love that I've chosen to stash my projects on top of the table. Of course, the idea is to have just the current projects up there, and keep the junk to a minimum, but I am a cluttered person, and I'm going to make peace with that. So, this fabric matches my pillows, my picture board, and eventually, my curtains (next project).

Picture board...waiting for ribbon that
RE nursing her baby + the new pillows!