The Artful Child

The Art of Painting: Puff Paint Piping & Pressing

2012-02-22T13:15:00.002-05:00

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Today we experimented with puffy paint!

I wanted to thicken the mixture to be more like the consistency of frosting, so that it could be piped like frosting.

The common recipe for Puffy Paint is equal amounts of Self-rising Flour (Or All-purpose Flour with a pinch of Baking Powder), Salt, and Water, with a little Food Coloring.

My first thought was to reduce the amount of water, but then I'd end up with clay. So, I decided I needed to add something.

When surfing Pinterest (of course), I discovered a Bathtub Puff Paint Recipe from Chalk in My Pocket. They combined Soap, Dye & Water for some great bath time fun!

Of Course, Soap! Soap turned out to be the magic ingredient!

Here's our NEW & IMPROVED Puff Paint Recipe:

3tbsp Self-Rising Flour (Or All-Purpose Flour with a pinch of Baking Powder)
3tbsp Salt
2tbsp Water
1tbsp Tear-free Baby Shampoo
Food Coloring

Not only did we use all different types of frosting tips, we also used a Cookie Press! (As we demonstrated before, Cookie Presses are easy to use and a lot of fun!)

Instead of piping bags, we used

plastic baggies, by cutting off the

bottom corner and inserting the tip.

When we finished, we popped them in the microwave for 30 seconds to dry.

I think they came out pretty cute. We will definitely be trying this again. The girls can paint/pipe/press away, while I brush up on my non-existent piping skills! ;-)

The Art of Drawing: Soggy Chalk

2012-02-20T12:50:00.000-05:00

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The other day, I was talking with my hair stylist about this blog. During our conversation he mentioned that he & his son love to draw on the pavement with chalk after it rains. He explained that the colors are much more vibrant and the chalk can be smudged much better.

This sounded like a fun idea!

Since it is cold outside, I decided to try and bring this activity inside.

My first thought was to dip the chalks in water, kind of like a paint brush in paint.

The girls dipped and re-dipped the chalks in water.

This approach was fun, the colors were definitely more vivid, and the girls loved using the chalks in the water, but it wasn't quite what I was hoping for, so I went back to the drawing board.

The next day, we tried our little experiment again. This time I soaked the chalks in water for about 10-15 minutes before we started drawing.

Eureka! This was what I was looking for! I even added in some foam brushes and old toothbrushes for smudging the chalk.

The drawings came out super cute, and most importantly they had a lot of fun doing it.

When we finished, I let the chalks dry out for a day or two, and they were good as new.

I'm thinking this would be a lot of fun in the summer with the sprinkler going...

The Art of Space: Our Playroom

2012-02-15T11:46:00.001-05:00

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Here's a little tour of our playroom:

The dresser drawers make great toy bins:

Recently, I added photo labels to all the girls' toy boxes. These are not only so they can see what is in the boxes, but also where their toys go when it is time to put them away.

We have placed the majority of their toys on a high shelf, so they will have to ask for them. This is to encourage speech development (and to minimize the amount of a disaster they can create at one time).

Here's a peak inside the crafts closet:

Here are some neat re-purposed/ up-cycled object ideas from our playroom:

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What ideas have you come up with for child's play space?

The Art of Winter 16: Valentine's Day Cards

2012-02-07T11:18:00.000-05:00

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If you are like me, you have a large stack of your child's artwork sitting in a pile somewhere. Your not really sure what to do with it, but you can't make yourself throw it away either.

Here's a simple V-day card idea for all those beautiful masterpieces.

These lovely prints came for our Roller Stamp adventures.

Here we go...First, you fold the paper into fourths. Then, cut a small curve along the inside corner of the fold. Next, starting a the top seam, cut a long curve along the outside edge cutting down into a point. Make sure you leave a space along the top seam un-cut.

Here's our lovely heart...

Now, to write some notes in our beautiful handmade cards...

The Art of Giving: the heart project ♥

2012-02-01T09:11:00.001-05:00

It's February! Along with all the Valentine's, chocolates and flowers, February is also Heart Month.

With this in mind, I am very excited to announce that The Artful Child is part of the heart project ♥.

This project, led by Jamie at hands on: as we grow, is a benefit for the American Heart Association. An organization near and dear to Jamie's own heart. Read her story here.

In the last month, Jamie has pulled together 100+ heart projects submitted by 70+ bloggers, from around the world, and assimilated them into a beautiful heart book.

Here's a preview:

This ebook, featuring 100+ heart crafts will be on sale ONLY during the month of February, so purchase yours today! The cost is $5, all of which will be donated the American Heart Association. The eBook has links of almost all of the heart projects to a tutorial on the blog that contributed it to the book!

A beautiful 8.5"x8.5", full color printed version is also available for $20. ($5 of which, will go to AHA. The rest will cover the printing expense.) A collective index is included in the back, so that you may view each of the blogs in the book.

US $20.00

Order the Printed Version

For every book sold, Craftprojectideas.com

will donate $1 (up to $500).

You can also make an additional donations, or just donate.

Our goal is to raise $1,000 by Valentine's Day.
Will you help us reach it?

Check our progress:

A Very ♥felt Thank You for Your Support!

*Click here to view a list of giveaways associated with this project.

The Art of Painting 7: Going Dot-ty!

2012-01-22T12:17:00.000-05:00

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If you are like me, you have a lot of almost empty washable finger paint bottles.

Here's a fun way to get the most out of your bottles...

You will need:

an almost empty paint bottle
some water
a stir stick
a gauze pad
a rubber band

First, fill the paint bottle about 1/2 full of water. Use a brush, or some sort of stir stick, to mix the paint and water together.

Next, place the gauze pad over the top of the bottle and secure with a rubber band.

Dab the bottle a few times, to allow the paint to seep through.

Now, you are ready to go dot-ty!

For another version of this project, check out Teach Preschool's post using plastic bottles and make-up sponges.

The Art of Storytelling 4: Camouflage Book

2012-01-13T10:37:00.000-05:00

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Thing One & Two received several books for Christmas, and one of their new favorites is Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle. For those of you unfamiliar with this book, there are several clear pages throughout with seaweed, a rock, etc. printed on them, camouflaging the fish on the next page. These 'camouflage pages' are the girls favorite part, so I decided we should try to make our own.

To make each book, I used:

- Sheet Protectors (2)
- Computer Paper (5)
- File Folder (1)
- Hole Punch
- Paper Cutter
- Brads (3)

First, I trimmed the left hand and bottom seams off the sheet protector, making sort of a report cover.

I then, hole punched both the computer paper and the sheet protectors. The sheet protectors did not do very well in the 3 hole punch, so I placed a sheet of hole punched computer paper between the plastic and used a single punch for those holes.

For the cover, I trimmed an old colored file folder down to 8 1/2 x 11 and hole punched it as well.

I then layered the computer paper and plastic sheets, put them in the file folder and used brads to bind them all together.

Next, it was Thing One and Two's turn to get creative.

To help things along, we started by putting stickers on the white pages. They then used crayons, markers, colored pencils, etc. to decorate.

When they finished decorating, we used dry erase crayons and markers to go through and camouflage their stickers and drawings.

This project would also work well for letter, number, shape, etc. tracing with computer printouts. If you plan to re-use the booklet a lot, I would use thicker overhead projector sheets instead of the sheet protectors.

The Art of Storytelling 3: Homemade ABC Book

2012-01-11T10:26:00.000-05:00

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Ever since we went on a pony ride, Thing One and Two have been obsessed with horses. Their Pop and Uncle M. even hand carved them a beautiful rocking horse for Christmas.

Thing Two (2 1/2), in particular is horse crazy. She wants to know everything about horses. She can tell you about Stallions, Mares, foals, fillies, colts, blazes, stockings, socks, etc.

I thought a horse ABC book would be perfect for teaching letters while indulging her horse interest. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a good one...So, I made one!

I simply made a list of all the letters, and then tried to find a horse word for each one. I then came up with a short explanation, rhyming the last word for every two letters.

After that, I designed a series of simple 4x 6 cards in Photoshop, using images I found on google. I put two letters each on the last two cards, for a total of 24 cards. I then printed the cards on 4 x6 photo paper, and slipped the cards into a small 24 page photo album.

Now, we have our very own Horse ABC book!

What is your child crazy about these days?

The Art of Painting 6: Roller Painting

2012-01-05T11:44:00.000-05:00

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This activity is included in the heart project ♥ !

The heart project, led by Jamie at hands on: as we grow, is a benefit for the American Heart Association. Click here, or on the heart project button of the right hand side of this page to learn more!

Today, we are rolling out some fun!

We used toilet paper rolls, tissue paper, small paint rollers, and foam stickers to make our own paint roller stamps.

First, I wrapped the paint roller with a folded sheet of tissue paper, because the toilet paper roll is slightly larger than the roller, and the tissue paper holds it in place. Then, I slid on the toilet paper roll, and the girls helped me add foam heart stickers.

After our rollers were made, I put some paint on paper plates and used a foam brushes to spread out the paint. I did this to make sure it covered the rollers evenly.

After a while, Thing Two started dipping the end of the toilet paper roll in the paint and making circles on the page.

This experiment turned out to be a lot of fun. I can't wait to try it with a large roller and a paper towel roll. Sounds like a fun black light painting activity.

The Art of Winter 15: New Years Crafts

2011-12-28T16:51:00.000-05:00

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Here's some New Years Craft Ideas:

From Busy Bee Kids Crafts

Time Capsule

New Years Cracker

Water Bottle Noise Maker

Paper Plate Maraca

Paper Plate Hat

From Disney's Family Fun Page

First Night Hats

Glitzy Glasses

Spin Drum

From PBS Parent

PBS Parent has lots of good ideas, including: 'Ringing in the Noon Year', 'Travel the Time Zones', 'Resolution Tree', 'Drop the Ball' and several others.

The Art of Winter 14: Stocking Place Cards

2011-12-20T10:25:00.003-05:00

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The Holidays are fast approaching!

Here's a simple idea for your Christmas dinner, the kids can help with-- Stocking Utensil Holders/ Place Cards.

For this project, I cut stocking shapes out of brown paper, placed them together 2 at a time, and used a hole punch to make holes.

The girls then helped me lace them together with ribbon.

The Art of Winter 13: I'm the Gingerbread Man!

2011-12-14T14:25:00.000-05:00

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This morning, we read The Gingerbread Boy by David Cutts. It was an old copy from my childhood, that no longer seems to be in print. There are SEVERAL other versions of the story on Amazon though.

After reading the story, we decided to make Thing One & Two Gingerbread Girls!

I had the girls lay down on some white paper, and traced their bodies. I then, cut them out and glued them to brown wrapping paper.

Once dry, I hung them on either side of the playroom door and the girls decorated away...

Afterwards, the girls spent over an hour chasing each other around the house, pretending to be the Gingerbread Boy.

(I'm thinking this would also be a fun Peter Pan/ Shadow activity.)

The Art of Winter 12: Holiday Wreaths

2011-12-14T13:59:00.000-05:00

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Recently, we made some Holiday Wreaths to decorate our playroom windows.

First, I took some green construction paper and traced large and small circles, using a bucket and a can.

I then used scrapbook scissors to cut out the circles, creating different edges for our wreaths.

Next, I pulled out the glue, pipe cleaners, pompoms and colored pasta, and let Thing One and Two decorate away...

Note: It is easier for them to paint the glue, rather than squirt it. Especially, my 2 year old.

Ta-da!

The Art of Winter 11: More Fun Ornament Crafts

2011-12-14T13:43:00.000-05:00

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The ornament crafts continue...

Ornament Craft #1- Paint Swirled Baubles

We used clear plastic ornaments, and washable paints.

I took the tops off of the ornaments, place them in the center of a roll of blue tape (my fancy ornament stand) and placed a funnel in the top. Thing One and Two then add their paints of choice. I then put the lids back on and they swirled them around.

I then used pipe cleaners to hang them from a towel rack to dry.

*Buggie and Jellybean placed their ornaments upside-down in a egg carton to dry. This allows any excess paint to drain out.

Ornament Craft #2- Salt Dough Ornaments

For this activity, I used the salt dough recipe I found on Homemade Grits.

The girls then helped me cut out some fun Holiday shapes.

Once they had baked and cooled, we painted them.

Ornament Craft #3- Sequin Ornaments

This idea came from Made By Girl.

Pour a little cold water inside the ornament. Then, add sequins and swirl around the ornament. The damp sequins will stick to the inside of the ornament.

You need very little water and should pour out any excess left in the ornament.

The Art of Winter 10: Holiday Card 2011

2011-12-06T21:17:00.000-05:00

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My Holiday cards are in the mail! Man, it feels good!

I made our cards using Photoshop this year, and I am really pleased with how they turned out.

To make the card, I scanned the girls' feet, recolored them, and used a stained glass filter to give them this mosaic look. Put the feet heel to heel, and you have something toe-tally adorable!

Happy Holidays!

From The Artful Child

Art of Winter 9: Swirled Ornaments

2011-12-06T11:22:00.001-05:00

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Today, we are making marbleized ornaments using nail polish.

I have seen this technique used several times on pinterest for painting fingernails, but think it also makes some awesome ornaments.

I found a video tutorial on youtube that explains the process for fingernails really well. This is basically the same thing, but with a larger canvas.

Room temperature glass of water, my nail polish, toothpicks, Q-tips, ornaments ready to go.
Miss Thing has picked out a dark and light blue for her ornament. I added 2-3 drops at a time to the water (because we are covering a larger area), alternating between colors.
Then, Thing One took a toothpick and made her design.
Next, she prepared to dip her ornament in the polish.
Here she goes...She held it under the water, while I wiped the surface with a Q-tip.
Ta-da!

Didn't the girls make some lovely ornaments...

Afterwards, we painted our toes...

The Art of Winter 8: Pasta Garland

2011-12-05T15:39:00.001-05:00

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The girls and I spent the afternoon making pasta garland. They had a lot of fun and exercised their fine motor skills. Plus, they are going to look really nice on our Christmas tree.

For this activity, I dyed ziti, regular wagon wheel and tri-color wagon wheel pasta red and green. You can look at my rainbow pasta post for directions, but basically you add 2-3 tbsps of alcohol to a baggie, along with food coloring and pasta. Shake. Then, spread out on wax paper to dry, stirring them around every half hour or so.

NOTE: For this activity I also added about 2 tbsps of green and red glitter glue to the alcohol mixture.

When the pasta was ready, we had a little stringing party.

First, I made 'needles' for our string, out of twist ties. I started by making a re-sizable loop, like you would for crochet.

1. Make a loop, with the tail of your string passing underneath the the loop.
2. Next, take the long end of your string and pull in it up through the center of your loop, making another loop.
3. Slip a twist tie through the loop and fold in half, twist it together to make your needle.
4 Lastly, pull the string tight.

We sat on the floor, listening to Christmas music, talking about:

how there were different shades of the red and green, but they were the same color
counting the pasta
talking about where we should put our garland

We also just sang along with the music.

The Art of Winter 7: Ornament Paint Roll

2011-12-04T10:29:00.001-05:00

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Recently, I have seen a lot of marble rolled paintings, so I decided to take a slightly different, holiday oriented approach to this activity.

Instead of making a design on paper (like with marble painting), we were painting the ornaments.

For this activity, we used two large plastic tubs (one for each girl), some clear plastic ornaments and washable paint.

TIP: Glitter paint is a lot more expensive, than regular paint. You can very easily get around this by just adding silver or clear glitter paint to regular paint.

Next, the girls squirted some paint into their buckets, while I took the tops off the ornaments.

After they had finished adding their paint, they dropped their ornaments in and moved the tub all around.

They ended up having a really neat, marbleized look.

I then put the tops back on, strung a pipe cleaner through the loops and hung them from the shower rod to dry.

We then made wrapping paper prints with the leftover paint.

The Art of Winter 6: Balloon Snowman

2011-12-02T20:11:00.001-05:00

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UPDATED! Scroll down...

We have only had one minor snow so far this season, but those first few flakes were enough to make Thing One and Two start running through the house exclaiming, "Frosty's Coming! Frosty's Coming!'

With no more snow in the immediate forecast, I was thrilled when my sister came up with this fabulous idea--A Balloon Snowman/woman!

We have not made ours yet, but I couldn't wait to share.

Here's what she did:

She took 3 white balloons and blew them up to different sizes: big, medium and small. With the top of the balloons facing forward, she then taped the balloons together biggest to smallest.

Next, she folded a sheet of white computer paper in half and cutting an L shape about 2" from the edge of the paper to make the arms, so shoulder to elbow is the long side and elbow to wrist is the short side. She then taped the top of the arm onto the tops of the middle balloon.

For the hands or mittens, she used construction paper and taped them on the arms.

She used black round stickers for the buttons and the white ones for the eyes. She drew the iris of the eyes, eyelashes and mouth using a sharpie, but you could also use googly eye stickers.

The nose is an orange sticky note with orange high lighter colored over, then rolled it into a cone. She then made perpendicular cuts to the edge of paper on the large end, to make tabs, which she folded down to create a place to tape the nose on. You may have to cut off some excess so the edges don't show.

Finally, she made a bow for the girl, earmuffs for the boy and a scarf for each. All made out of construction paper and taped on.

UPDATE:

We made our snowman this afternoon, and the girls had a blast!

They tried every hat in their dress-up box on him, trying to make him come to life. Every time Thing One put on a new hat she said, "Happy Birthday!"

They sang to him, gave him high fives, kisses and hugs. It truly was a magical, memory making activity, that I don't think they will forget for a long time.

The Art of Winter 5: 25+ Homemade Gift Ideas

2011-12-02T14:23:00.001-05:00

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This year, I am trying to make some of Thing 1 & 2's Christmas gifts. I will try to post them as I get them made. Until then, here are some homemade stocking stuffer/ gift ideas:

Paper Candy Pouches by Oh Crafts!

Christmas Coal by Big Red Kitchen

Photo Ornaments by Life as a Thrifter

PVC Pipe Playhouse by Angry Julie Monday

Table Playhouse by Grosgrain

Play Kitchen by Create

Kids Workbench by Design Dazzle

Matchbox Car Track by Infarrantly Creative

Car Shirt by The Blue Basket

Cozy Car Caddy by Homemade by Jill

Travelin' Crayon Case by These Moments of Mine

Chalkboard Book by Whip Up

Story Stones by Fairy Dust Teaching

I Spy Bag Tutorial by Today's Mama

Stick Horse by That Village House

Felt Play House by CookCleanCraft

Quiet Books by Serving Pink Lemonade

Marble Game by Serving Pink Lemonade

Jacob's Ladder Tutorial by Duo Fiberworks

No Sew Superhero Cape by Jolly Mom

Apron by Flexible Dreams

Puppet Theatre by Little Lovables

DIY Dollhouse by Ana White

Stuffed Animal Sleeping Bags by Hazelnuts

Sock Monkey Tutorial by HubPages

Playmat/ Toy Storage Bag by Freshly Pieced

Recycled Dresser Dollhouse by Just In Designs

The Art of Winter 4: Jingle Bells

2011-12-02T11:13:00.001-05:00

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Thing One had a blast this morning creating her own 'Jingle Stick'.

She exercised her fine motor skills, lacing bells onto pipe cleaners.

We created our own jingle bracelets to shake long with some Christmas carols, as well as some neat ornaments.

This made for a very easy, fun Christmas activity.

Art of Winter 3: Letters to Santa

2011-12-02T11:02:00.001-05:00

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Yesterday, we made some lovely letters for Santa. The girls each painted the backs of their cards and when they were dry, I helped them write their letters. They also used markers to added their own special notes. Here's what they said:

Beautiful paintings. Thing One on left and Thing Two on right.

Letters. Thing One would like a banana, a Christmas present and Santa (because he misses me) for Christmas, and Thing Two would like a birthday present, a cupcake and a horse for Christmas.

The Art of Winter 3: Letter Ornaments

2011-11-30T12:11:00.001-05:00

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This morning, we used some of our letter sprinkles to make fun-filled ornaments.

I bought these plastic ornaments at Michael's craft store.

We used spoons, funnels and fingers to add the pasta to the ornaments.

I discovered a roll of tape makes a great ornament stand to use while decorating.

The girls had alot of fun filling the ornaments, then dumping them out and filling them again.

When we were done, I super glued the tops onto the ornaments. Now they can play with them, without any danger of the lid coming off and making a huge mess.

The Art of Winter 2: Hand Wreaths

2011-11-29T11:23:00.001-05:00

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Last year, we sent out Christmas packages (from the girls) to immediate family members.

The packages included a photo album with pictures of the girls making each gift and random photos from over the past year (it was amazing to see how much they grew and developed over the year), as well as hand painted foam snowflakes, Christmas cookies, and this hand wreath.

To make the hand wreath, I scanned both girls hands into my computer. They thought it was really neat when their hands appeared on the computer screen.

Keeping the image the same size, I then fit as many as I could on the same page and printed them on green paper.

Now, the fun part! Cutting out all the hands...I used 8 hands from each child, alternating them. As you might be able to see, I printed Thing One's hand on a slightly darker paper than Thing Two's.

Next, I glued them in a circle on at 12 x 12 sheet of scrapbook paper, outline them with green glitter glue, and glued a gold ribbon on the bottom.

This was my first attempt. I did not trim the edges of the scrapbook paper on the rest of them. Pretty hand-y, huh!

The Art of Winter 1: Holiday Activity Calendar

2011-11-28T14:00:00.000-05:00

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Here's a new twist on the Giving Thanks pocket calendar I made last month (see previous post for a tutorial on making library envelopes).

Each pocket holds a card with a Holiday activity printed on it.

Here's a List of Holiday Activities:

Write Letters to Santa
Christmas Craft- Clay Ornaments
Christmas Crafts- Wreaths
Make Felt Christmas Tree & Decorations
Decorate Felt Christmas Tree
Decorate Plastic (just like clear glass, but safer) Ornaments
Bake Christmas Cookies
Decorate House
Get Christmas Tree
Decorate Christmas Tree
Christmas Tree Needle Painting
Make Snow Globes
Go See Santa & Ride Train at Mall
Christmas Craft- Snowmen
Christmas Game Night
See Christmas Lights
Make Wrapping Paper
Make Gingerbread House (Cardboard)
See Gingerbread House Exhibit
Gingerbread House Party
Make Birdseed Ornaments
Christmas Movie Night
Make Pipe Cleaner & Bell Ornaments/ Music Makers
Make Letter Ornaments

We also included a Christmas joke in each pocket, thanks to NurtureStore.

The Art of Pasta 2: Letter Sprinkles

2011-11-11T21:00:00.001-05:00

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Today, the girls helped me dye Alphabet pasta a rainbow of different colors.

We used one package of DaVinci Alphabet pasta. There is about 3 cups in a package, so the girls helped me add about 1/2 cup of pasta into six sandwich baggies (since we were making 6 colors).

Next, I added 2 tbsps of rubbing alcohol and about 20 drops of food coloring to each baggie.

Then, I sealed the baggies and handed them to the girls to shake. They really liked this part!

When all the pasta was evenly coated, I poured them onto paper plates and let them dry for about 2 hours, occasionally stirring them with my fingers.

When the pasta was dry, I folded the plates in half and poured the pasta in baggies. You could also use jars or some other container. Or rinse out the baggies you used before, turn them inside out to dry and place the pasta back in.

This makes a lot of pasta, so you will not be using it all at once.

The girls and I, then took some of our pasta and made some Letter Art.

For this activity, I put some Elmer's glue in a dish and gave them each a paint brush. I did this for a couple reasons:

1. They love to paint.

2. My youngest has a hard time squeezing the glue bottle and gets frustrated.

3. My oldest tends to squirt the glue VERY liberally.

Pouring off the excess.

While we decorated, we:

1. Sang the ABCs.

2. Played I Spy with Letters.

3. Spelled our names.

For more Pasta Art ideas, check out The Art of Pasta 1: Rainbow Pasta.

The Art of Investigation 5: Pony Ride!

2011-11-08T14:47:00.000-05:00

At this age (2 1/2 & almost 4) attention spans are short, so I try to let Thing 1 & 2's interests guide our activities. Recently, they have become very interested in horses, so a few weeks ago I contacted Winding Creek Stables to see about bringing a group of kids for a pony ride. They were very nice, working with us to schedule a time that worked for everyone and the fee was very reasonable.

What a wonderful day!! The girls had so much fun! Here are a few pictures:

After our ride, several of our friends came back home with us for 'Horse Snacks'. They had apples and peanut butter, carrots and ranch, oatmeal cookies, and trail mix. Yum!

This is what they looked like 5 minutes after everyone left...

It was a good day!

The Art of Fall 6: Giving Thanks...

2011-11-03T12:46:00.000-04:00

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The idea for this 'Gratitude Board' came from Jellybean Junkyard.

The idea is for you and the kids to write something you are thankful for on a slip of paper each day and place it in the envelope for that day. You can then read the notes as a family at the end of each week or on Thanksgiving.

I wanted to make my own, without having to purchase any additional materials. I made this board using:

- a cork board
- thumb tacks
- 5 sheets of scrapbook paper
- scissors
- a glue stick
- a corner punch (optional)
- a stencil
- 16 blank index cards

First, I made the library envelopes. Here is the 3" x 3 1/2" Library Card Template. See picture below for directions. (Click on image to enlarge.) Pin It

After making my envelopes, I used one of the girls' stencils to trace the numbers onto the cards.

Next, I made cards for the envelopes using blank index cards. Just cut 15 cards in half and use the corner punch to round the corners. I also printed my title card on a blank index card.

Lastly, I used thumb tacks to attach them to a cork board.

Can't wait to hear what Thing One and Two come up with!

The Art of Fall 5: Walkin' the Web!

2011-10-27T12:13:00.000-04:00

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This fantastic idea came from No Time for Flash Cards.

As you can see, we used painters tape to make a large spider web on the playroom floor.

First, we practiced walking the line. Like Allison, from No Time for Flash Cards said, this is a great gross motor activity. We also, sang the song from her post while we walked ('One Little Ghost' to the tune of The Elephant Show theme song.)

Next, we read The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle. We also talked about what a hard worker a spider is and why they build their webs.

Then, Thing One and Two decided it would be fun to play 'Bug and Spider' and took turns pretending to be the bug and the spider and chased each other all around the web.

After that, they took turns pretending to be stuck on the web, and pulling each other free.

Lastly, they examined some pretend spiders and the web, using there magnifying glass.

I think this afternoon we will have a tea party on the web and read Miss Spider's Tea Party by David Kirk. It's one of Thing One & Two's favorites.

The Art of Fall: Face It!

2011-10-25T08:58:00.000-04:00

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This is a great Halloween themed, social-emotional activity using felt.

I used 2 orange pieces of felt to cut out 2 pumpkin shapes and one black piece to cut out different facial features. (At 20 cents a piece, this activity cost 60 cents total.)

Thing One and Two were able to make all kinds of different pumpkins. Some were scary, some silly, some happy...With each new creation, I would ask them how the pumpkin felt (ha,ha!).

It was amazing to them how the simplest change could make the pumpkin appear to feel completely different. For example, a pumpkin that looked happy one minute could look sad by simply turning the mouth upside-down, or a pumpkin that appeared scary/mad could be very happy just by moving the eyebrows from above the eye the side of the eye.

It is amazing how many emotions you can demonstrate with just a few pieces of felt!

The Art of Cooking 3: Apples

2011-10-18T14:55:00.000-04:00

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This past weekend, we went apple picking!

We had a wonderful time! Also, learned a valuable lesson. When apple picking, one must always remember that they are going to have to carry all those apples back to the store, along with their tried toddler. At least I got my exercise!

Unfortunately, I made up for all that exercise as soon as we got to the store. They had apple cider flavored donuts!! I am embarrassed to admit that the four of us sat down and ate a dozen donuts! They were soooo good! I would totally do it again! ;)

Anyway, we ended up with half a bushel of apples. So, the girls and I spent the next day cooking away in the kitchen.

We made apple butter and applesauce (without cloves).

Basically, they peeled all the apples for me and I cooked them. They had a great time cranking the handle on the apple peeler and watching the peel shed off in ribbons (or snakes as they called them).

They ate a ton of apple slices in the process. And then, to my surprise they both ate a dish of applesauce as well. I might regret this later ;)

We ended up with 9 small jars of apple butter and 4 big jars of applesauce (not all lasted long enough for a picture).

The Art of Pretend 3: Dino-hats!

2011-10-17T14:23:00.000-04:00

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Dino hats are finally finished, and we are now ready for Halloween!

You may remember my previous post, The Art of Pretend 2: Dino Tails!

Thing One and Two are now eager to learn how to crochet themselves. It will definitely be awhile before they figure it out, but they do love to sit with their own hooks and yarn, and pretend to crochet along with me.

Here is a link to my Dinosaur Hat & Tail Pattern.

The Art of Painting 5: Secret Messages

2011-10-11T13:20:00.001-04:00

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Discover secret messages/pictures, Explore hidden treasurer maps, Unlock scavenger hunt clues...The possibilities are endless...

And, the key to these magical adventures is a simple white crayon.

Just draw your design on a piece of paper. Press down hard and use thick lines. I suggest printing out your design on separate sheet of paper and tracing over the image. Or the kids can draw there own masterpieces.

Next, let them paint away! The hidden image will appear like magic!

Crayon & Paint. Did not photograph well, but it is easy to see.

Variation: Crayon & Marker.

The Art of Music 1: Balloon Shakers

2011-10-07T16:11:00.000-04:00

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This activity was super simple, and made for lots of noisy fun.

Just add a hand full of popcorn kernels (you could also use beans) to a balloon and then blow up the balloon.

It sounds kind of like thunder when you shake it. The harder you shake the louder it gets. Perfect teaching opposites, such as fast and loud vs. slow and quiet.

Adding kernels.
Funnel recommended.

Ta da!

The Art of Painting 4: Callling in the SWAT Team!

2011-10-04T21:04:00.000-04:00

Pin It Time to call in the SWAT Team, aka "Seriously Wacky Artful 'Things'!"

WARNING: The following activity was extremely messy, i.e. I now have paint on my ceiling! If you are not as adventurous (crazy) as I am, I suggest trying this one outside with Street Paints.

For this project I bought a couple of cheap fly swatters, poured some paint in a tray (of course they had to be Black Light Paintings, because everything is more fun when it glows in the dark!) and let the girls swat their little hearts out!

CLEAN-UP TIPS: Since we were in the bathroom, I just put them in the tub, and cleaned up the mess while they played. Washable paints wipe up very easily, especially if you do it while they are still wet. Plus, just think how clean your bathroom will be when your done!

The Art of Fall 3: The Best Way to Catch a Worm?

2011-10-04T14:05:00.000-04:00

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Another great idea I found on pinterest!

This link came from prekinder.com. They used clothes pins, representing baby bird beaks to pick up small pieces of pipe cleaners or worms. What a great fine motor activity!

I decided to take this a step further, and let the girls try several different tools to pick up the worms. The tools included kitchen tongs, two different crafting pliers and a pair of tweezers.

The curved crafting pliers turned out to be their favorite. Maybe because it is the one that most closely resembles a bird beak?

Anyway, they had a blast picking up the worms and putting them in bowls, dumping them out and doing it all over again. This experiement kept them busy for over an hour!

This would be a great activity to pull out when you are making dinner or cleaning the house.

The Art of Storytellling 2: When Autumn Leaves Start to Fall

2011-10-01T22:29:00.000-04:00

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Make a crown!

This wonderful idea came from my friend and fellow stay-at-home Mom, Kim. Thanks Kim!

Kim said this idea came to her while reading Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree. Little did she know, this is one of my favorite books! This is actually my copy from when I was a little girl, that I now read to my girls.

But, I digress...

First, we went out and collected some leaves. As you can see, Thing One was very picky about her leaf selection.

Then, we went to work...

We used scrapbooking scissors to cut out our crowns.

Next, we glued the leaves in place.

After the glue dried, the girls tried them on and we read The Giving Tree.

What a fun way to spend a cold and windy afternoon!

The Art of Painting 3: A New Spin on Black Light Paintings

2011-10-01T13:44:00.000-04:00

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A few weeks ago, I saw the idea for making art using a salad spinner on pinterest, but I apparently failed to pin it. So, I'm not sure who to credit for this great idea, but 'thank you!'

I thought it would be fun to take it one step further and try it under black light with neon paints. As you may remember, I have already posted about black light painting (The Art of Painting 1: Black Light Paintings).

What fun! Thing One and Two had a blast! Since Fall is definitely here, I cut some pumpkin shapes out of white craft paper, placed one sheet at a time in a salad spinner, and the girls added some paint. Then, they took turns pushing the button on top.

Pretty Pumpkins

And, the painting continued...we used the leftover paint from the salad bowl to paint on large pieces of paper I had taped to the bathroom wall.

CLEAN-UP TIP : We do most of our painting in the bathroom. That way when we are done, they can get right into the bath and play while I clean up.

The Art of Fall 2: Re-Paintable Pumpkins

2011-09-29T18:19:00.001-04:00

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It's pumpkin time!

We had a blast decorating our 'baby' pumpkins!

We used washable glitter paints and lots of fun brushes.

AND, the great thing about washable paints is (after taking a few pictures and admiring their work for a few days) we can wash the pumpkins off and do it all over again!

The Art of Gardening 3: Planting a Rainbow

2011-09-28T15:27:00.000-04:00

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The girls and I love this book! When we first got it, they would ask me to read it to them over and over.

It does a great job of illustrating gardening year round, and I love the way it shows the plants both above and below the ground.

After reading this book again, we talked about Fall also being the time when we plant some types of bulbs for the Spring. We compared planting them in the ground to putting them to bed for a long winter's nap. The bulbs would then 'wake-up' in the Spring and grow into beautiful flowers. Thing Two (2yrs.) said, "Like bears." Exactly! Well, sort of...

Then, we took all this information, went outside and put some bulbs to bed for the winter...

The Art of Cooking 2: Making Edible Playdough

2011-09-21T16:03:00.000-04:00

The girls really enjoy making their own playdough, and this is a great recipe because it is ok if they were to eat some (not that it's tasty, it's just not going to hurt them) and it smells really good.

For this recipe, we needed:
3 tsps Cream of Tartar
1c Flour
1c Water
1 package of Kool-Aid
1tbsp Cooking Oil
1/2 c Salt

Thing One and Two each mixed up their own playdough in a separate pan and added the kool-aid flavor/color of their choice.

They did a whole lot of mixing! They really enjoyed pretending to cook on the stove. Once everything was mixed, I moved them both off to the side and let them watch me cook it over medium heat for about 8mins. or until it looked like playdough. Remember, you must stir it constantly.

And, voila!!

The Art of Cooking 1: Cookie Press Fun!

2011-09-21T15:25:00.000-04:00

I found this cookie press at Michael's for $12 and we have had so much fun with it!

The press is so easy to use that Thing One and Two can make the cookies all by themselves!

First, we made the cookie dough. This is a great sugar cookie recipe, but you can also make graham crackers, cheese crackers, etc... Just want it to be a relatively soft dough. The softer the dough the easier it is for the kids use the press.

Next, Thing One and Two took turns making the cookies. They decided on flowers.

Thing One carried them over to the oven for me.

I asked Thing Two if it tasted good and she said, "Uh-huh! See it's in my mouth!"

The Art of Investigation 4: Homemade Metal Detector

2011-09-21T15:00:00.000-04:00

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I first saw this on an episode of Curious George and had to try it!

To make our metal detector we used an portable AM/FM radio, a calculator and tape.

Instructions:
1. Turn the the radio to AM and turn it to the highest static station.
2. Turn on calculator and place it on the back of the radio facing out.
3. Hold them in this position near a metal object and adjust calculator until you hear a clear beeping signal.
4. Tape calculator in place.

For this investigation, I went around the house and tried to find some interesting metal objects for Thing One and Two to test the detector out on. The more solid the metal object, the better it will work.

First, I showed them how it works...But, how does it work? The calculator produces a very faint radio frequency when held near metal and the AM station actually pick up the signal for the calculator, making it loud enough for you to hear it. Pretty neat!

Thing One and Two thought so too...

The Art of Pretend 2: Dino-tails!

2011-09-17T12:13:00.000-04:00

Just finished the tail end of Thing One and Two's Halloween costumes.

My girls have always LOVED dinosaurs, so I decided to make it a Dino-mite Halloween!

I crocheted the Dino-tails and stuff them with plastic grocery store bags (from all those times when I can't remember bring my re-usable bags). The top of the tail is closed off with a draw string, so more bags can be added as they settle or as my poor memory aids me in accruing more plastic bags! This will also come in handy when I need to wash them, because I can just take the bags out.

The strap/belt is crocheted with a ribbon sewn along the middle to keep it from stretching and Velcro to attach them around the girls waist.

Now it is time to get to work on their Dino-hats! Stay tuned...

The Art of Fall 1: Glow-in-the-dark toenails!

2011-09-14T17:15:00.000-04:00

This was a super quick and easy activity, but the girls loved it! They spent the next half hour in the bathroom looking at their toes. ; )

The Art of Investigation 3: Balloon Racing!

2011-09-14T17:00:00.001-04:00

This was my husband's idea and a great one too!

The other night after dinner, my husband and the girls were playing with some balloons. While playing, my husband mentioned that he really needed to go down and clean the pool while it was still light. As he said this, you could actually see the light bulb turn on in his head.

He then said, the girls and I should come down with him and bring all their balloons. I was very confused, but followed them all blindly down to the pool.

He then told the girls to put all the balloons in the pool and pulled out the leaf blower. Next thing I know, we were off to the races...

The Art of Investigation 2- Sensory Table for the Birds!

2011-09-09T14:58:00.001-04:00

Here's a sensory table the birds and squirrels are sure to love!

This was very simple, but oh so much fun! I filled Thing One and Two's water table with bird seed (the more different seeds in the mix the better), with all their fake bugs mixed in. I also gave them hand shovels and rakes, different size colanders, buckets, fake flowers, a magnifying glass, etc. The best part was it didn't matter how much of a mess they made, because we just swept off the deck onto the ground.

The Art of Time 1: Making a Schedule

2011-09-09T10:42:00.000-04:00

Lately, I have seen a lot of posts on other Mommy blogs about how important sitting with your child and making a daily schedule can be. It can give a child a clear sense of routine, aids in smoother transitions, and helps with reading development by teaching a child to associate words with pictures.

Well this I had to try!

I made my own using a magnetic dry erase board, clipart pictures, self-laminating sheets and magnets.

Each morning the Things and I have been making our schedule. We have done it for two weeks now and I have to say it does help. They now seem to have a lot better understanding of what has to happen before we do something else.

Example: Before I could never tell them we were going to have a playdate that afternoon unless our guests were arriving in 15 minutes or they would have spent the entire day glued to the front window, asking me when they were going to be here. NOW, they see they have to eat lunch, take a nap and THEN our guests will come.

Thing One likes to make her own notes on the schedule.

Here's how I did it:

1. I used publisher, but you could use word (just use a label template) to design the schedule cards.

2. Cut out the cards and laminated them using self-laminating paper.

3. Attached magnets to the back using mounting tape.

4. I also designed a label for the schedule board which I taped to the top of the magnetic dry erase board with the self-laminating tape.

5. I attached the board to the refrigerator using magnetic chip clips. This way I can take it down and put it back up easily.

I definitely recommend giving the daily schedule a try.

The Art of Investigation 1: A tray for...

2011-09-07T14:41:00.002-04:00

Recently, Thing One told me she would really like to learn to read. As I shared in yesterday's blog post (The Art of Storytelling 1), Thing One spends a lot of time pretending to read. Here's the problem...

Thing One is NOT very interested in learning her letters, which is the first step to learning to read.

So, I was/am trying to think of ways to make letters more interesting. We made pasta art letters which helped her understand the shape of the letter, but didn't really demostrate the meaning of the letter.

This was my newest experiment and proved to work really well.

I went around Thing One and Thing Two's playroom and put anything I saw that started with the letter A on a tray. It was 'A Tray For Aa".

I then printed the name of each on an index card with the A in bold and underlined.

I asked her what each object was and after she told me, I showed her the index card and said, "See it's an 'A' word."

She now has the letter A down! Only, 25 more to go...

This would also be good to try with shapes and colors.

The Art of Storytelling 1- Thing One & Two Go On An Adventure

2011-09-06T18:33:00.001-04:00

"Children are made readers on the laps of their parents." -Emilie Buchwald

There is nothing more precious than a child's imagination. 'Oh, the places you'll go', and 'the thinks you can think' when they lead the way.

Thing One and Thing Two love to be read to. One book after another, they would listen all day if they could.

So, when I found myself getting hoarse, I started to tell them it was their turn to read to me. They, of course can not read the text, but they do a wonderful job combining what they remember with their own version of the story. It is extremely entertaining! It is also great for their self confidence.

It is with this in mind, that I decided it would be fun for them to write their own stories. I made them a blank booklet and asked them to tell me about an exciting adventure they had been on recently.

I jotted down their tales and they made their own illustrations using markers and stamps. In the end, the stamps helped them come up with their story.

Here is their exciting tale:

The Art of Pretend 1- Tea for 2!

2011-09-06T13:40:00.000-04:00

Thing One and Thing Two absolutely LOVED 'Tea Time'!

This is a wonderful tea set by Green Toys, made from recycled milk jugs. It is the only tea set I found that is actually safe to drink from.

For our party, I filled Thing One & Two's tea pots with warm decaffeinated tea. I went ahead and added some sugar, but next time I am planning to let them put in their own sugar cube. I also included a creamer of milk.

We had already made some homemade sugar cookies that morning, but little finger sandwiches work great as well.

Thing One was a natural! She poured her own tea, and had a great time talking in a fake British accent along with her Mom. Everything was 'Darling'! She said, "This tea is delicious, Darling." and "We must do this again soon, Darling." It was adorable!

Thing Two, on the other hand had bit more trouble, but just as good a time!

She managed to spill 4 cups of tea during our little party. 1. She tried to pour a cup of tea and knocked the cup over in her lap. 2. She decided to try and lick the tea out of the cup like a cat and knocked it over it her lap. 3. She poured an entire cup of milk in her cup of tea. 4. She picked up her cup to drink it, missed and poured it all over the front of herself...Oh well, that's what towels are made for!

We will definitely be 'Tea Partying' again soon, and next time we'll be wearing our boas, Darling!

The Art of Gardening 2- Flower Box

2011-09-05T23:16:00.014-04:00

Thing One and Two are still enjoying this flower box and I made it a year and a half ago!

I bought a cheap plastic flower box and a piece of black foam board. I cut the foam board so it would rest on the top ledge inside the box.

Next, I used a kabob skewer to poke holes in the foam.

Lastly, I used a white out pen to make dots on the foam board, making it look more like potting soil.

Now for the flowers...

I went to Michael's craft store and bought a couple bunches of flowers that were on sale. When I got home I cut them apart with a pair of scissors.

Thing One and Thing Two were then able to 'plant' their flowers in the flower box by sticking the flower stems in the hole in the foam board.

When they were done playing with their flower box, I just lifted the foam board and put all the flowers in the box and put the foam board back on top.

The Art of Gardening 1- Tissue Flowers and Potting Beans

2011-09-05T22:25:00.001-04:00

This is a great activity for those days when you are longing for Spring, or when it's a rainy day outside.

You will need:
-A tray/tub
-Black beans/Sun flower seeds
-Cups/pots
-Pipe Cleaners
-Tissue Paper

As you might have noticed, we did this activity when Thing One was a lot younger (just turned 2).

First, I placed the black beans in a tray and gave Thing One her gardening pots, plastic shovel and watering can.

While she was busy shoveling beans, I started making tissue paper flowers. My flowers were definitely not works of art, but they got the point across.

Making Paper Flowers

Cut tissue paper into approx. 4" squares. Layer 3-4 sheets of the same or different colored tissue paper on top of each other. Fold one corner of all layers across to the opposite corner, to make a triangle. Fold the triangle in half, to make smaller triangle. Tie pipe cleaner around center point of tissue paper. Fan out tissue paper and ta-da!

The Art of Painting 2- Street Paint

2011-09-05T21:42:00.003-04:00

You will need:
Corn Starch
Water
Food Coloring
Squirt bottles (these I got for $1 at a kitchen store)

Directions:
Mix corn starch and water until blended and then add food coloring.

Foaming Street Paint

You will need:
1 container of baking soda
1/2 cup of corn starch
1 1/2 cups hot water
Food coloring

White vinegar

Directions: Mix baking soda, corn starch, water and food coloring. Paint, squirt or spray mixture on surface, then spray with vinegar.

Before adding vinegar.

After adding vinegar.

The Art of Painting 1- Black Light Paintings

2011-09-05T21:17:00.000-04:00

I first saw this idea on the Play at Home Mom blog and had to try it!

For this activity you will need a black light and washable neon paints.

If you are a gardener, like me this is a great way to get some extra use out of your plant lights. I just replaced the fluorescent plant light bulbs with black light bulbs and asked my husband to hang it in the girls bathroom.

CLEAN-UP TIP : We do most of our painting in the bathroom. That way when we are done, they can get right into the bath and play while I clean up.

Paints under black lights.

Paints under regular light.

After they painted the paper and themselves, they moved on
to their dinosaurs.

This is a great idea! LOTS of fun was had by all!!

The Art of Cardboard 2- Home Sweet Home (with lights)!

2011-09-05T09:00:00.000-04:00

We had so much fun in our tunnel, I found a source where we could get even bigger boxes! I cut out some windows and doors. Then, we pulled out the markers again and set to decorating...

Next, I added some lights using a kabob skewer (to poke the holes) and a string of white lights. Thing One and Thing Two now believe they can actually touch the stars when they're in their magic little house...

Here is what we ended up with after a lot of cutting, taping, drawing and lighting....

Additional Activity- Balloons in a Box

While the girls were sleeping one night, my husband and I filled their little house with balloons. They were thrilled when they discovered all the balloons the next morning. They waded around in them and threw them all around in the box. They also spent a very long time taking them all out and putting them all back in the box!

The Art of Pasta 1- Rainbow Pasta

2011-09-04T14:21:00.005-04:00

Here's an easy way to make pasta art a lot more fun...

You will need:
-Pasta
-Baggies
-Food Coloring
-Rubbing Alcohol
-Wax Paper

Directions: Combine 2 tbsps of rubbing alcohol and approx. 20-25 drops of food coloring in baggie. Add pasta, seal and shake until pasta is evenly coated. Spread pasta out on wax paper to dry.

Activities:

Color Sorting

On a large piece of paper, I outlined boxes for each color of pasta and labeled each one for the appropriate color.

Then, we spread out a mixture of rainbow pasta. I helped Thing One & Two get started by showing them which color squares match which color of pasta. I helped them if they got stuck, but mostly tried to let them figure it out on their own.

And, ta da! We finished our project by glueing the pasta to the paper.

Shape Sorting

Same idea as color sorting, I just made the boxes match the shape of the pasta.

Pasta Necklaces

Thing One loved making her own jewelry!

I gave her a shoe string and the tub of pasta and let her go! She figured out which types of pasta could be strung all by herself. She was very proud of her necklaces, and when we were done admiring ourselves, we added them to the dress-up box to enjoy again later.

Letter Art

With a little glue and our rainbow pasta, Thing One and Thing Two learned about the Letter A.

The Art of Cardboard 1- Tunnel Time

2011-09-04T09:19:00.004-04:00

"In this box are two things I will show to you now..." Said the cat with a bow..."Two Things. And I call them Thing One and Thing Two. These Things will not bite you. They like to have fun." Then out of the box came Thing Two and Thing One...

The Cat In The Hat, by Dr. Seuss

Cardboard Tunnel

I was throwing out some large boxes, when I stopped myself and said, "What are you doing! Thing One and Thing Two would love these!"

Sooo...I taped them together, covered them with paper and gave them markers and sitckers to design the fort/tunnel of their dreams.

They thought that was great!

And, then they discovered the inside....

First, they decorated....

Then, they got their flashlights and lit out on even more adventures...

Welcome!

2011-09-04T00:57:00.000-04:00

Hope you enjoy our crafty creations as much as we do!