tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10388410244232722072021-05-12T03:53:16.377-06:00Let Kids CreateA place for creative art projects, imaginative ways to play and more...Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08087496619431277604noreply@blogger.comBlogger122125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1038841024423272207.post-81095300348192701182019-09-06T12:51:00.001-06:002019-09-06T21:22:31.620-06:00Mickey mouse birthday!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KNkE7Vz63q8/UUk-bS3o3_I/AAAAAAAABrk/yx5O4gycFgw/s1600/winter+2012-2013+217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KNkE7Vz63q8/UUk-bS3o3_I/AAAAAAAABrk/yx5O4gycFgw/s320/winter+2012-2013+217.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aFXik-rfWpw/XXKorJTs3sI/AAAAAAAAIb0/IaJlAsp8EsUpx89l_plFaqKNQwZVQu-KwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/winter%2B2012-2013%2B283.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aFXik-rfWpw/XXKorJTs3sI/AAAAAAAAIb0/IaJlAsp8EsUpx89l_plFaqKNQwZVQu-KwCK4BGAYYCw/s320/winter%2B2012-2013%2B283.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O7udM7rEiZ0/XXKpsc46kuI/AAAAAAAAIcA/dFdm3hQIbmYb_gp8sy8o8DfOVWoz723qgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/winter%2B2012-2014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O7udM7rEiZ0/XXKpsc46kuI/AAAAAAAAIcA/dFdm3hQIbmYb_gp8sy8o8DfOVWoz723qgCK4BGAYYCw/s200/winter%2B2012-2014.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>This birthday party happened so long ago that I can hardly remember what some of these games are, but I'll do my best :) Mina has always loved Mickey Mouse so of course we decided on a Mickey Mouse themed birthday party when she turned four years old (nearly 7 years ago). I found these easy-to-make cupcakes on Pinterest and began planning around this theme.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>As an craft, the kids each made Mickey ears. They could decorate them however they wanted with markers and bingo markers.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xWcKpmoYFCQ/UUk-d81RuBI/AAAAAAAABr0/Ui1lgBBCeBQ/s1600/winter+2012-2016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xWcKpmoYFCQ/UUk-d81RuBI/AAAAAAAABr0/Ui1lgBBCeBQ/s400/winter+2012-2016.JPG" width="385" /></a></div>Mina went with one ear red and one ear black, with some polka-dots in the middle.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wwTrVMT75Ms/UUk-e_uG-7I/AAAAAAAABr8/yk9KnaraFiY/s1600/winter+2012-2013+264.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wwTrVMT75Ms/UUk-e_uG-7I/AAAAAAAABr8/yk9KnaraFiY/s320/winter+2012-2013+264.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>We used Toodles to show us what game we were going to play next. Each character corresponded with a game related to that character. For example, Mickey Mouse represented our Musical Mickey game:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TQO7PVxZ34s/UUk-gKBDluI/AAAAAAAABsE/A_Q__S1DTEk/s1600/winter+2012-2013+260.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TQO7PVxZ34s/UUk-gKBDluI/AAAAAAAABsE/A_Q__S1DTEk/s320/winter+2012-2013+260.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Musical Mickeys is similar to musical chairs. Every time the music stopped, a character name was called out and the lucky person to be standing on that character got a prize.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JEmas3j2T7s/UUk-gKVTU5I/AAAAAAAABsM/a2SXASrbE3Q/s1600/winter+2012-2013+266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JEmas3j2T7s/UUk-gKVTU5I/AAAAAAAABsM/a2SXASrbE3Q/s320/winter+2012-2013+266.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Would a birthday party be complete without a "Pin the _______ on the _______" game? We played "Pin the Bow on Minnie". Each guest had a different color bow so we could keep track.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yqDJzUEpwzk/UUk-hps2U1I/AAAAAAAABsU/pPOuodTalDk/s1600/winter+2012-2013+269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yqDJzUEpwzk/UUk-hps2U1I/AAAAAAAABsU/pPOuodTalDk/s200/winter+2012-2013+269.JPG" width="155" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;">This is Goofy's silly hat. Inside of Goofy's hat are different silly faces or tricks to do - it was great fun! </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rik4-mUkHKk/XXKoRQuAQTI/AAAAAAAAIbo/L4NI3QAYR-EMMBVVnsMD2w80qZML8au6ACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/winter%2B2012-2013%2B277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rik4-mUkHKk/XXKoRQuAQTI/AAAAAAAAIbo/L4NI3QAYR-EMMBVVnsMD2w80qZML8au6ACK4BGAYYCw/s320/winter%2B2012-2013%2B277.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EE-cYnc2WcU/XXKnu1Tx_uI/AAAAAAAAIbQ/g5HTkwuKYCEWhKnAra2abTh6o7Vf2ojcwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/winter%2B2012-2013%2B274.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EE-cYnc2WcU/XXKnu1Tx_uI/AAAAAAAAIbQ/g5HTkwuKYCEWhKnAra2abTh6o7Vf2ojcwCK4BGAYYCw/s320/winter%2B2012-2013%2B274.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08087496619431277604noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1038841024423272207.post-35201494747870239812014-11-13T22:12:00.000-07:002019-09-06T20:27:12.469-06:00A Minecraft Birthday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Do you have a child that is as crazed over Minecraft as much as my girls are? My daughter, Maisy, just turned 8 and absolutely had to have a Minecraft theme to her party. I was thrilled to be able to find </span><a href="http://www.birthdaybuzzin.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/minecraftbirthdayinvitations.pdf" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">these free printable invitations</a><span style="text-align: left;"> to send out to the guests. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">One thing we absolutely had to have was a Minecraft sword to give as party favors to our guests. I found this fabulous printable over at <a href="http://allfortheboys.com/home/2013/6/26/digital-to-real-life-diy-minecraft-sword.html" target="_blank">All for the Boys</a> to help us with that. She's got several different versions of the sword ready to print along with easy-to-follow instructions. We used <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001IKES5O/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001IKES5O&linkCode=as2&tag=letk-20&linkId=YTX6JMXFTWC4E6LS">Mod Podge</a><img alt="" border="0" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=letk-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001IKES5O" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1"> to adhere the printables to a foam board and were able to craft 14 of these fun blocky swords for the guests. They were a major hit. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MkZ9kS_jWu0/VGV8mBf1aII/AAAAAAAACHo/AGZT3ZHzWtE/s1600/diamondsword1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="339" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MkZ9kS_jWu0/VGV8mBf1aII/AAAAAAAACHo/AGZT3ZHzWtE/s640/diamondsword1.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">One minor adjustment I did make to the sword after making the first 3 for my girls and having them play with them, was to reinforce it by adding jumbo craft sticks to the back side before adding the covering. I just used strong packing tape before adhering the final image to the back of the sword. I think a paint stick would also work nicely, but I had these craft sticks on hand already. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W69OeUelFUQ/VGV8mTqpgII/AAAAAAAACHs/V-MZi5Oz9FU/s1600/diamondsword2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="364" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W69OeUelFUQ/VGV8mTqpgII/AAAAAAAACHs/V-MZi5Oz9FU/s640/diamondsword2.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The raised area was slightly detectable, but made the sword much more durable. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tcf9NiTjkVg/VGV8l9qZOrI/AAAAAAAACHk/m6VQksz5i24/s1600/diamondsword.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tcf9NiTjkVg/VGV8l9qZOrI/AAAAAAAACHk/m6VQksz5i24/s640/diamondsword.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Of course the party wouldn't be complete without a creeper cake. I found this simple idea <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/158048268148951639/" target="_blank">here</a>. I loved everything about this cake - the shape was a 9X13 rectangle and the decoration on the cupcakes was rather plain and simple. Before I added the frosting to the cake, I took a knife and lightly scored a grid into the cake so I could keep track of the squares easily by doing one shade of the green at a time. Maisy loved it, as did all the party guests. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eXFb6LfDVNU/VGV8iJnMXyI/AAAAAAAACHc/9zFableAqNs/s1600/creepercake.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eXFb6LfDVNU/VGV8iJnMXyI/AAAAAAAACHc/9zFableAqNs/s640/creepercake.png" width="459" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Usually I do my kids' birthday parties at home and we do all the traditional party games and a craft, but this time I went for an uncomplicated and less stressful party and we headed to a trampoline park. I didn't have to worry about games and things to keep the guests entertained, but I have collected a bunch of ideas for going the route over on <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/letkidscreate/minecraft/" target="_blank">my Pinterest board</a>. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><script src="https://wms-na.amazon-adsystem.com/20070822/US/js/link-enhancer-common.js?tag=letk-20&linkId=UHA7FSUAVVZJ7BTF" type="text/javascript"></script><noscript> <img src="https://wms-na.amazon-adsystem.com/20070822/US/img/noscript.gif?tag=letk-20&linkId=UHA7FSUAVVZJ7BTF" alt=""></noscript> </div>Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08087496619431277604noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1038841024423272207.post-13227724429595072942014-02-17T17:47:00.000-07:002019-09-06T20:26:36.148-06:00American Girl Dollhouse {Ikea hack}<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f_vO2IvVhB8/UwKfXwKapiI/AAAAAAAAB1U/HtKuvqgmWkQ/s1600/dollhousecover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f_vO2IvVhB8/UwKfXwKapiI/AAAAAAAAB1U/HtKuvqgmWkQ/s1600/dollhousecover.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This year for Christmas we surprised our three girls with a giant dollhouse for their 18 inch dolls. I had seen <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/91266876/doll-house-plans-for-american-girl-or-18?ref=shop_home_active_2" target="_blank">some plans</a> on etsy that you could purchase to build your own, but by the time I had come up with this gift idea I only had about a month to get this done - no time for building from scratch. Then, I came across <a href="http://mombrag.blogspot.com/2012/01/american-girl-sized-doll-housetoy-car.html" target="_blank">this idea</a> using <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90134043/" target="_blank">the Ikea Besta shelf unit</a> and decided that was simple enough to put together in the short amount of time that I had. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The bookshelf itself was super easy to assemble. After assembly, I decided to lay it on its side instead of turning it upright because it would allow for wider rooms, and I would be able to make the entire lower level a shared bedroom since we have so many dolls and beds between my three girls. Because I only used one shelf as a room divider on the upper level, I was left with 5 extra shelves. I decided I could use them to pitch a gable up on top to make a little attic space. This also gave me the idea to shingle the roof with <a href="https://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004BPSU2A/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B004BPSU2A&linkCode=as2&tag=letk-20%22%3EDollhouse%20Shingles-Fishscale/Greenleaf%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=letk-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B004BPSU2A%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20!important;%20margin:0px%20!important;%22%20/%3E" target="_blank">these dollhouse shingles</a>. Can you believe it took about 1000 of those tiny little shingles to cover that roof? That part took much longer than I expected, but I was super happy with the results.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In case your are wondering about furnishings, the white bunk bed on the left side of the bedroom is <a href="https://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001YH03U/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0001YH03U&linkCode=as2&tag=letk-20%22%3EBadger%20Basket%20Doll%20Bunk%20Beds%20With%20Ladder%20-%20Pink/White%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=letk-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0001YH03U%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20!important;%20margin:0px%20!important;%22%20/%3E" target="_blank">this Badger Basket brand bunk bed with ladder</a>. The blue bed on the right side is <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10101664/" target="_blank">this doll bed from Ikea,</a> which also is wide enough to allow for 2 dolls to lay side by side. The dining table is <a href="http://www.target.com/p/our-generation-table-and-chairs/-/A-14529391#prodSlot=medium_2_33" target="_blank">this set </a>that we purchased from Target a while back.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2BlK0UF7rwU/UwKQGRxwsaI/AAAAAAAAB1A/Qeayr513u2I/s1600/dollhouseattic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2BlK0UF7rwU/UwKQGRxwsaI/AAAAAAAAB1A/Qeayr513u2I/s1600/dollhouseattic.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> The attic space ended up not being tall enough for a standing doll, but it was tall enough to sit a doll down to play this piano my daughter made last year. She came home from playing at a friend's house with this cute little accessory. She made it out of cardboard and toilet paper rolls. The dolls have had several recitals using this clever little instrument. She even made a doll-sized music book to go with it.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4knlnhxc35w/UwKQDVgtNBI/AAAAAAAAB00/cYTJNOZ9pfA/s1600/dollhousebathroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4knlnhxc35w/UwKQDVgtNBI/AAAAAAAAB00/cYTJNOZ9pfA/s1600/dollhousebathroom.jpg" width="617" /></a></div><br />I think I had the most fun designing the bathroom area. Inspired by my daughter's cardboard piano, I spotted a cardboard box in my closet that was just the right size for a vanity. I cut a circle on one side of the box to fit a small toy bowl we had lying around. The faucet is a leftover piece of hardware from a towel bar that we no longer needed. We were able to attach it right into the back of the bookcase using that screw that came with it. The knobs are small drawer pulls that I had pulled off an old dresser and no longer needed. I covered the box with scrapbook paper using mod podge, and put another coat of the glue on top to seal it all together. I attached the vanity to the floor with some hot glue. I was also able to find a small mirror at Hobby Lobby and attached it to the wall with hot glue. I framed it in with a contrasting color of scrapbook paper to make it stand out. For the bathroom floor, I bought 3 squares of self-adhesive vinyl tile for less than $1 a piece and cut it to fit. I added a little piece of coving with leftover scraps to hide some of the imperfections I made while gluing the paper on the walls.<br /><br />Before I could attach paper to the walls, I had to rough up all the places where I was going to apply it. This took some extra gritty sandpaper and a lot of muscle to get that shiny laminate dulled down enough to get the paper and flooring to stick to it. For wallpaper, I used 12 x 12 sheets of scrapbook paper in coordinating prints. I used a layer of <a href="https://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001IKES5O/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001IKES5O&linkCode=as2&tag=letk-20%22%3EMod%20Podge%20CS11302%20Original%2016-Ounce%20Glue,%20Matte%20Finish%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=letk-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001IKES5O%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20!important;%20margin:0px%20!important;%22%20/%3E" target="_blank">mod podge</a> to adhere all the paper. Then I sealed it all with another layer of the glue.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vsd9ZGLN98A/UwKQGHjNQpI/AAAAAAAAB08/mLO8_rhwfy0/s1600/dollhouserooms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="441" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vsd9ZGLN98A/UwKQGHjNQpI/AAAAAAAAB08/mLO8_rhwfy0/s1600/dollhouserooms.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In the dining room, I used 3 pieces of hardwood-looking self-adhesive vinyl tile. I really wanted to add windows to the house, but that seemed extremely complicated. I decided for simplicity that instead of cutting out a window, I would use some paper printed with clouds and birds and make a window that way. On the walls, I used a few pictures cut out from magazines and added a paper frame for decoration. The flooring in the bedroom on the lower level is from a carpet sample that a local carpet store no longer needed. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zpF6WS_ecrw/UwKidkSvU9I/AAAAAAAAB1g/01WBa-xaGW4/s1600/IMG_7479.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zpF6WS_ecrw/UwKidkSvU9I/AAAAAAAAB1g/01WBa-xaGW4/s1600/IMG_7479.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After all those late nights and sneaking off to the basement whenever I got a second, their reactions on Christmas morning made it all worth it. I think it will be put to good use for years to come.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08087496619431277604noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1038841024423272207.post-2809314569343890502014-01-11T21:35:00.000-07:002019-09-06T20:26:12.740-06:00Heart butterflies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ceJLLTyptsg/UUk--sAouyI/AAAAAAAABsc/gWH_0VeHstw/s1600/winter+2012-2013+312.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ceJLLTyptsg/UUk--sAouyI/AAAAAAAABsc/gWH_0VeHstw/s320/winter+2012-2013+312.JPG" width="400" /></a><a data-pin-config="above" data-pin-do="buttonPin" href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=www.letkidscreate.blogspot.com%2F2014%2F01%2Fheart-butterflies.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-ceJLLTyptsg%2FUUk--sAouyI%2FAAAAAAAABsc%2FgWH_0VeHstw%2Fs1600%2Fwinter%2B2012-2013%2B312.JPG&description=Next%20stop%3A%20Pinterest"><img src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/pidgets/pinit_fg_en_rect_gray_20.png" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's been nearly a year since my 4 year old made these heart butterflies, but they have not been forgotten. Today as Mina and I were planning her upcoming birthday party, she mentioned these butterflies and wants to make them with her friends.</div><br />Originally, it was Mina's idea to make these when she saw them in our copy of<a href="http://letkidscreate.blogspot.com/2012/01/heart-project-collaborative-fundraiser.html" target="_blank"> The Heart Book</a>. The idea was contributed by<a href="http://www.theiowafarmerswife.com/" target="_blank"> The Iowa Farmers Wife.</a> She loved making them because they involved some of her favorite things: hearts, cutting, pasting, and butterflies. <br /><br />To make these you will need at least 3 colors of construction paper, scissors, a glue stick, markers or crayons, and a pencil. Mina also used a paint pen at the end to add some decoration. I began by drawing out 4 varying sizes of hearts on the construction paper, then I let Mina cut and construct her butterfly.<br /><br />It was fun to watch her follow the example in the book to make her first butterfly, but then style and design her own the second time around.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-btBBKscmEIs/UUk_As0dTUI/AAAAAAAABss/STBERhOfXX4/s1600/winter+2012-2013+314.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-btBBKscmEIs/UUk_As0dTUI/AAAAAAAABss/STBERhOfXX4/s320/winter+2012-2013+314.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08087496619431277604noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1038841024423272207.post-31722036119647205392013-07-01T18:51:00.001-06:002019-09-06T20:25:19.359-06:00Stamped Stripey Star T-shirts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c6SYwxDhy2w/UdIaKIzWMeI/AAAAAAAABxg/keFwBTSzo5s/s800/IMG_6912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c6SYwxDhy2w/UdIaKIzWMeI/AAAAAAAABxg/keFwBTSzo5s/s640/IMG_6912.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As I was browsing <a href="http://pinterest.com/letkidscreate/4th-of-july/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> the other day, I came across <a href="http://spoonful.com/crafts/striped-stars-t-shirts" target="_blank">this awesome activity</a> and knew my kids would love to do this for the 4th of July. I already had most of the supplies needed to do this project:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><ul><li>corrugated cardboard - cut into star shapes (I just traced around some cookie cutters)</li><li>red and blue acrylic paint mixed 2:1 with textile medium (or use some fabric paint and skip the mixing step)</li><li>a white t-shirt</li><li>newspaper to place inside of the shirt while painting so the paint doesn't bleed through</li></ul>Before I cut out the cardboard shaped, I peeled apart the top layer of my cardboard so the ribbed texture was revealed and ready for stamping. I also glued some old bottle caps to the back of the stars to act as a handle for easier and less messy stamping. You could also just cut another square of cardboard and glue that on the back as a handle.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7jwfQNoDBpg/UdIZ03mulXI/AAAAAAAABxI/jMZQ1C-qnic/s800/IMG_6914.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7jwfQNoDBpg/UdIZ03mulXI/AAAAAAAABxI/jMZQ1C-qnic/s640/IMG_6914.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br />I set out the t-shirts and paint, and my 3 girls got to work, stamping away. My girls are ages 9, 6, and 4 now and they were each able to do this project with ease. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-duEsK5O29TM/XXMUqTcnw_I/AAAAAAAAIcU/zfGgCPpQtHomUqePQqbq0yKDCWRYsgIBQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_4a9f.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-duEsK5O29TM/XXMUqTcnw_I/AAAAAAAAIcU/zfGgCPpQtHomUqePQqbq0yKDCWRYsgIBQCK4BGAYYCw/s320/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_4a9f.jpg" width="213" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SJm2fTdJUTE/XXMUhZIwGsI/AAAAAAAAIcM/MUszFkBpxvw0N0ZzBbueFz7bbeoH2_9fwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_4ba3.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SJm2fTdJUTE/XXMUhZIwGsI/AAAAAAAAIcM/MUszFkBpxvw0N0ZzBbueFz7bbeoH2_9fwCK4BGAYYCw/s320/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_4ba3.jpg" width="239" /></a><div style="text-align: right;"></div>We are so set for the 4th now! I just need to take these shirts to the iron and heat-set them after they have dried for at least 24 hours. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08087496619431277604noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1038841024423272207.post-65305510300812884462013-05-02T13:31:00.001-06:002013-05-02T13:36:40.390-06:00Colorful glue suncatchers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="//pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fletkidscreate.blogspot.com%2F2013%2F05%2Fcolorful-glue-suncatchers.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-Jhuq9ulvVJs%2FUYHKCzuf0iI%2FAAAAAAAABv0%2F33vCxw1UmcQ%2Fs640%2FIMG_6802.JPG&description=Make%20colorful%20suncatchers%20with%20school%20glue" data-pin-do="buttonPin" data-pin-config="above"><img src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/pidgets/pin_it_button.png" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Jhuq9ulvVJs/UYHKCzuf0iI/AAAAAAAABv0/33vCxw1UmcQ/s1600/IMG_6802.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="456" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Jhuq9ulvVJs/UYHKCzuf0iI/AAAAAAAABv0/33vCxw1UmcQ/s640/IMG_6802.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My kids have been begging me for a long time to do this project again. We did it <a href="http://letkidscreate.blogspot.com/2011/10/halloween-suncatchers.html" target="_blank">the first time</a> to make some Halloween decorations, but this time it was a little more of an open-ended project. </div><br />To make glue suncatchers, all you need is:<br /><br /><ul><li>School glue </li><li>Food coloring to tint the glue </li><li>Wax paper, plastic wrap, or cellophane (make sure all wrinkles are smoothed out)</li><li>A cookie sheet, so that the creations can easily be transported to a drying spot</li></ul><br />To begin, lay out your wax paper (or plastic wrap) on a cookie sheet. We used wax paper for this project, but it can be a little tough to peel the final product off. A couple days later, we tried using plastic wrap. The only problem we had was getting all the wrinkles out, but if you can get it smooth I would say that plastic wrap is the way to go.<br /><div><br /></div><div>To color the glue, add a few drops of food coloring to your glue and shake or squeeze it around in the bottle to mix it up. It's ok if it's not completely uniform, the color will gradually blend itself in to the white glue.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Maisy started out wanting to use some cookie cutters and fill the shape in with the glue. She was happy with simply filling in the shapes, but once the cookie cutter was removed the edges were smudged a bit. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y1rQnyk1GrU/UXitYDyoGZI/AAAAAAAABtc/buPIstihOq0/s1600/IMG_6766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="444" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y1rQnyk1GrU/UXitYDyoGZI/AAAAAAAABtc/buPIstihOq0/s640/IMG_6766.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>Since the wax paper is translucent, I thought I could place a simple drawing or block letter outline underneath and the girls would be able to trace it and fill it in. The girls preferred this method since it was easier to create exactly what they wanted to. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Rx8a9OHkSbM/UXitfhfYxsI/AAAAAAAABt0/JPpQzXiW2EQ/s1600/IMG_6774.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="427" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Rx8a9OHkSbM/UXitfhfYxsI/AAAAAAAABt0/JPpQzXiW2EQ/s640/IMG_6774.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a45k0XrJ8Y8/UXitjLSf68I/AAAAAAAABt8/vozimYzEwQ8/s1600/IMG_6776.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="427" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a45k0XrJ8Y8/UXitjLSf68I/AAAAAAAABt8/vozimYzEwQ8/s640/IMG_6776.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>Mina was happy making her "M", but was even more thrilled to make her Mickey Mouse head. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jSPvlFACt8M/UXitdT934xI/AAAAAAAABts/MW3hpgPC5Ew/s1600/IMG_0257.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="504" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jSPvlFACt8M/UXitdT934xI/AAAAAAAABts/MW3hpgPC5Ew/s640/IMG_0257.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br />Once the art is complete, allow the glue to dry overnight . The top will feel dry in an hour or two, but to be completely dry and ready to peel off, it will take several more hours or even a full day (or two if the glue applied super thick). Lucky for us, it was a sunny day and leaving them outside for a few hours worked wonderfully.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6-9jE0OoQA4/UXitk8rrEmI/AAAAAAAABuE/ZXVwVpAG-_E/s1600/IMG_6791.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="408" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6-9jE0OoQA4/UXitk8rrEmI/AAAAAAAABuE/ZXVwVpAG-_E/s640/IMG_6791.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dgQP5XSo3R8/UXitnkXi9sI/AAAAAAAABuM/QX1bIyiPxp8/s1600/IMG_6790.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="440" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dgQP5XSo3R8/UXitnkXi9sI/AAAAAAAABuM/QX1bIyiPxp8/s640/IMG_6790.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br />Once the glue is completely dry, the figures can be peeled off and strung with a thread and hung on the window, or simply stuck on with some clear tape. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E7ub0kM1FR8/UYHKCGU8WEI/AAAAAAAABvs/DQEH-pS3lD4/s1600/IMG_6806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="417" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E7ub0kM1FR8/UYHKCGU8WEI/AAAAAAAABvs/DQEH-pS3lD4/s640/IMG_6806.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /></div>Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08087496619431277604noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1038841024423272207.post-48186896069582165382013-04-24T22:48:00.000-06:002013-04-24T23:05:24.263-06:00Spring Tulip Paintings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a data-pin-config="above" data-pin-do="buttonPin" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fletkidscreate.blogspot.com%2F2013%2F04%2Fspring-tulip-paintings.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-4123zRkLLTA%2FUXivZOkEFzI%2FAAAAAAAABvM%2F3QMYGxy6B5E%2Fs1600%2FIMG_6757.JPG&description=Paint%20tulips%20with%20a%20fork"><img src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/pidgets/pin_it_button.png" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4123zRkLLTA/UXivZOkEFzI/AAAAAAAABvM/3QMYGxy6B5E/s1600/IMG_6757.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="379" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4123zRkLLTA/UXivZOkEFzI/AAAAAAAABvM/3QMYGxy6B5E/s640/IMG_6757.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />It was my turn this past week to host the weekly <a href="http://letkidscreate.blogspot.com/2011/11/little-pumpkin-playschool.html" target="_blank">playgroup</a> that my 4-year-old Mina participates in. Spring flowers are finally in bloom, so it was the perfect chance to try out this clever art project I saw on <a href="http://www.blogmemom.com/spring-art-tulip-painting/" target="_blank">Blog Me Mom</a>. I quickly showed the kids how I could get some paint on the back of my fork and stamp it onto my paper to make a tulip shape. I handed them each a fork and a paintbrush (to paint on the stems) and let them have at it.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iVypkfkiXNg/UXiuouIGEWI/AAAAAAAABug/QgXChYAaR4E/s1600/IMG_6751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="427" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iVypkfkiXNg/UXiuouIGEWI/AAAAAAAABug/QgXChYAaR4E/s640/IMG_6751.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Each child's artwork was completely unique. I loved all the extra color and detail one of the girls decided to give her painting. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lbg_ZTnA9XY/UXiurJ_eN-I/AAAAAAAABuo/7hXXpSWF0aE/s1600/IMG_6749.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="496" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lbg_ZTnA9XY/UXiurJ_eN-I/AAAAAAAABuo/7hXXpSWF0aE/s640/IMG_6749.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />And in the end, what all 5 girls had really been dying to do was slather their hands in the wet paint. I had to hurry and grab a clean sheet of paper to stamp those handprints onto, or else those beautiful spring paintings would have been destroyed! <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0E32uonY2oc/UXiu-qRuFkI/AAAAAAAABvA/OKpnhy7ILJY/s1600/IMG_6752.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="427" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0E32uonY2oc/UXiu-qRuFkI/AAAAAAAABvA/OKpnhy7ILJY/s640/IMG_6752.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08087496619431277604noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1038841024423272207.post-4110529583638226122013-03-28T22:45:00.000-06:002013-03-28T22:58:14.438-06:00Painted washer necklaces<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a data-pin-config="beside" data-pin-do="buttonPin" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fletkidscreate.blogspot.com%2F2013%2F03%2Fpainted-washer-necklaces.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-0uo1WHjUOWc%2FUUk9xrriQzI%2FAAAAAAAABq0%2F6cpTqaCKXPE%2Fs400%2Fwinter%2B2012-2013%2B307.JPG&description=Paint%20a%20washer%20necklace%20with%20nail%20polish%20-%20so%20fun%20and%20easy%20to%20make"><img src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/pidgets/pin_it_button.png" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0uo1WHjUOWc/UUk9xrriQzI/AAAAAAAABq0/6cpTqaCKXPE/s1600/winter+2012-2013+307.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0uo1WHjUOWc/UUk9xrriQzI/AAAAAAAABq0/6cpTqaCKXPE/s400/winter+2012-2013+307.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="230" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E5NAxpJOtlk/UUk93pcZPjI/AAAAAAAABrc/WTgdCT1D7xM/s1600/winter+2012-2015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E5NAxpJOtlk/UUk93pcZPjI/AAAAAAAABrc/WTgdCT1D7xM/s400/winter+2012-2015.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="272" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This post is way overdue since my girls made these necklaces back in December to give to their friends as gifts. But these spunky necklaces would make a great gift any time of the year, and also make a great rainy day activity. I came across this idea in Family Fun magazine and instantly knew my girls would not only love to make these, but I also loved how inexpensive these would be to give as gifts. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">To make these colorful necklaces you will need:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><ul><li>metal washers (between 10 and 20 cents a piece at the hardware store)</li><li>a spool of skinny ribbon</li><li>nail polish in a variety of colors (we headed to the dollar store and bought colors we didn't already have)</li></ul><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The magazine article suggested doing a coat of white or yellow for a background, letting that dry, and then painting a design on top. My 9 year old daughter understood that process a little better than my 6 and 4 year olds, but it actually didn't turn out to be a necessary step. Most of our necklaces ended up with a top coat of glitter nail polish for the finishing touch.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jAGN-gVyCYY/UUk92kuQFBI/AAAAAAAABrU/8ysdsZfsqgY/s1600/winter+2012-2014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="382" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jAGN-gVyCYY/UUk92kuQFBI/AAAAAAAABrU/8ysdsZfsqgY/s400/winter+2012-2014.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's a quick shot of what some of our necklaces ended up looking like in the end. My two younger girls just didn't know when to stop. They were having such a fun time using the nail polish that I had to tell them when enough was enough, and swap out their colorful creations with a new blank washer. We had to let a few of them dry overnight because of all the layers of paint.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W-rdzPL0rDU/UUk9yqSOQJI/AAAAAAAABq8/ItpR27gp7K0/s1600/winter+2012-2013+147.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="305" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W-rdzPL0rDU/UUk9yqSOQJI/AAAAAAAABq8/ItpR27gp7K0/s400/winter+2012-2013+147.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My 9 year old got the idea to create a double-layered look by using two different sizes of washers. I love her coordinating patterns on this one:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9NiOefLOCGo/UVUUVL1eXiI/AAAAAAAABtM/lUkOSuZQiXM/s1600/winter+2012-2013+155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9NiOefLOCGo/UVUUVL1eXiI/AAAAAAAABtM/lUkOSuZQiXM/s400/winter+2012-2013+155.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />My girls really loved using nail polish to create their own wearable masterpieces. While my 4 year old had a blast doing this, it was definitely better suited for my 6 and 9 year old girls. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><br />Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08087496619431277604noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1038841024423272207.post-29872817830529554102012-10-09T21:35:00.000-06:002019-09-06T20:20:25.740-06:00Decoupage pumpkins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XpQ5WjdF68o/UHTnZLeHZWI/AAAAAAAABpI/IurMnkw7H8I/s1600/mod+podge+pumpkin+(6).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XpQ5WjdF68o/UHTnZLeHZWI/AAAAAAAABpI/IurMnkw7H8I/s400/mod+podge+pumpkin+(6).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />It was Sunday afternoon and I really needed a little peace and quiet. This was the perfect little project to keep my three girls quietly engaged as they created these colorful pumpkin decorations. This project can easily be done with real pumpkins of any size (which I had done a few years ago). The only problem with real pumpkins is that you have to eventually throw them out. Who wants to do that? I found these fabulous foam pumpkins at the dollar store - they were a perfect pie-sized pumpkin and will keep indefinitely!<br /><br />The prep for this is so easy. All you need is:<br /><br /><br /><ul><li>a pumpkin (real or fake)</li><li>mod podge (I made my own by using 1 part Elmer's glue to nearly 1 part water because I didn't want it to be too runny)</li><li>brightly colored tissue paper cut into small squares (mine are 1 to 2 inches in size)</li><li>a sponge brush to apply the glue</li></ul><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lI2xBLbbka4/UHTna3tYBjI/AAAAAAAABpQ/9EuTSOgAPvw/s1600/mod+podge+pumpkin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lI2xBLbbka4/UHTna3tYBjI/AAAAAAAABpQ/9EuTSOgAPvw/s400/mod+podge+pumpkin.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />I briefly showed the girls how to brush a section of their pumpkin with the glue, then start applying the tissue paper squares. I let them go for it until this point:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--YUkOp5ENHY/UHTnmYWkfWI/AAAAAAAABpg/yZiMCOF7yTA/s1600/mod+podge+pumpkin+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--YUkOp5ENHY/UHTnmYWkfWI/AAAAAAAABpg/yZiMCOF7yTA/s400/mod+podge+pumpkin+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />It's OK for the pumpkins to look this shabby because once the girls were all done gluing, I was able to brush over their work with another coat of the mod podge. That top layer of glue soaks right through the thin tissue paper and also gives the pumpkin a nice durable coating on top. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />I love these brightly colored pumpkins! The great thing about them is that they're a great decoration to last clear through Thanksgiving. Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08087496619431277604noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1038841024423272207.post-27060888939081027422012-10-02T23:08:00.000-06:002019-09-06T20:19:59.514-06:00Spelling tree<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A few weeks ago I saw <a href="http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2012/08/alphabet-apple-tree-letter-activity.html" target="_blank">this fabulous idea</a> over at No Time for Flashcards and wanted to use it for the <a href="http://letkidscreate.blogspot.com/2012/09/apple-trees-using-rice-and-pasta.html" target="_blank">play group</a> I was hosting. Unfortunately, my group of 3 and 4 year olds didn't want to spend much time on this activity...but when my 3rd grader came home from school she had other plans for the tree.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4qDmHNG6gEU/UGuyCydclMI/AAAAAAAABog/nkjIy7RaoNM/s1600/apple+theme5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4qDmHNG6gEU/UGuyCydclMI/AAAAAAAABog/nkjIy7RaoNM/s400/apple+theme5.jpg" width="273" /></a></div><br />Lou had plans to use the tree to practice her spelling words. I quickly made up some paper leaves with her words on them and put them face down in a little pile. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JFvuoMCGsIg/UGuyIFp5pvI/AAAAAAAABoo/CIkmz9psQ7Q/s1600/spelling+tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JFvuoMCGsIg/UGuyIFp5pvI/AAAAAAAABoo/CIkmz9psQ7Q/s400/spelling+tree.jpg" width="273" /></a></div><br />She picked a word at random, read it out loud to me, then had to spell the word without looking at it. If she was able to spell it correctly, she could attach the leaf to the tree. If it was incorrect, the word went back into the pile with the other words for her to review again. I don't think spelling practice has ever been so much fun.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TgNGYstgHNI/UGuyKLGf3zI/AAAAAAAABow/3WYIdkvt_h0/s1600/spelling+tree+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TgNGYstgHNI/UGuyKLGf3zI/AAAAAAAABow/3WYIdkvt_h0/s400/spelling+tree+(2).jpg" width="273" /></a></div><br />We've still got the tree up on our wall just waiting for more fun learning activities. Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08087496619431277604noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1038841024423272207.post-84373467987046717142012-09-24T07:00:00.000-06:002019-09-06T21:20:39.447-06:00Apple trees: using rice and pasta<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div> Since my two older girls have started school again, Mina's <a href="http://letkidscreate.blogspot.com/2011/11/little-pumpkin-playschool.html" target="_blank">old playschool group</a> is back together. This week I hosted and the kids made these apple trees to go along with our theme. In preparation for this project, I made sure I had enough colored rice and pasta by dying it<a href="http://letkidscreate.blogspot.com/2011/06/rice-art.html" target="_blank"> this way</a>. This time I used rubbing alcohol instead of vinegar and had similar results. <br /><br />To do this project you will need:<br /><br /><ul><li>colored rice (green for leaves)</li><li>colored pasta (I used shells and wagon wheel pasta dyed red)</li><li>glue</li><li>toilet paper or paper towel tubes, cut into thirds lengthwise</li><li>sturdy paper or cardboard </li></ul><br /> We started by first attaching the cut paper tube with glue. Then, added the "apples" first since they would stick better to the board itself instead of trying to glue them on top of the rice.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oODJZKr7Csw/UF478eg7C8I/AAAAAAAABoI/-eKWd04S8G8/s1600/apple+theme7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oODJZKr7Csw/UF478eg7C8I/AAAAAAAABoI/-eKWd04S8G8/s400/apple+theme7.jpg" width="290" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> I planned on having the children lightly pencil in an outline for the tree top, but forgot to grab pencils before hand, so they just put glue where they pleased and attached their rice (shaking off the excess into a pan I had in the center of the table). One child commented that this was the best craft ever. So I think they were pleased with the whole process. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A sampling of the childrens' art (ages 3-4): </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k4Ba9YotsVk/UF47SzYtrKI/AAAAAAAABoA/rSL_PQ7RuWw/s1600/apple+collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k4Ba9YotsVk/UF47SzYtrKI/AAAAAAAABoA/rSL_PQ7RuWw/s400/apple+collage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Each tree was so unique. Some kids wanted apples falling from the tree, while another wanted leaves to be growing down the trunk. </div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div>Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08087496619431277604noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1038841024423272207.post-13450604600778804622012-08-29T00:24:00.000-06:002012-09-22T15:00:02.909-06:00Homemade puff paint - an experiment<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fletkidscreate.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F08%2Fhomemade-puff-paint-experiment.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-4ui75sR5VoQ%2FUD2nlImGK4I%2FAAAAAAAABnI%2F1ylreb-04_I%2Fs400%2Fpuff%2Bpaint2.png&description=homemade%20puff%20paint" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4ui75sR5VoQ/UD2nlImGK4I/AAAAAAAABnI/1ylreb-04_I/s1600/puff+paint2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4ui75sR5VoQ/UD2nlImGK4I/AAAAAAAABnI/1ylreb-04_I/s400/puff+paint2.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Way back in May, I posted about my girls' experience with our <a href="http://letkidscreate.blogspot.com/2012/05/egg-yolk-painting-jungle-prints.html" target="_blank">homemade egg yolk paints</a>. Another type of homemade paint we were able to test out over the summer was this recipe for homemade puff paint. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I used a muffin tin to separate the colors, putting in each cup:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><ul><li>1/4 cup flour</li><li>1 tsp. baking powder</li><li>1 tsp. salt</li></ul><div>Then I added water to the desired consistency, and also mixed in some food coloring.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6MiTLeRS5SA/UD2ng6GGb6I/AAAAAAAABm4/biY55wQyaG0/s1600/puff+paint.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6MiTLeRS5SA/UD2ng6GGb6I/AAAAAAAABm4/biY55wQyaG0/s400/puff+paint.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />My hubby came across these nice large (and extra thick) pieces of paper in a package he had received at work. How thoughtful he was to bring them home for the girls to use for their art! The girls started their paintings by using their brushes.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WMBZZyN7HDc/UD2nnd2-UuI/AAAAAAAABnQ/yqxUvRiyBq8/s1600/puff+paint3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WMBZZyN7HDc/UD2nnd2-UuI/AAAAAAAABnQ/yqxUvRiyBq8/s400/puff+paint3.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />Then the technique changed to using handprints and splatter painting. <br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UPWACmKD-hw/UD2npoHEj3I/AAAAAAAABnY/BoFfONzVHtM/s1600/puff+paint4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UPWACmKD-hw/UD2npoHEj3I/AAAAAAAABnY/BoFfONzVHtM/s400/puff+paint4.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />Since we did these on such large pieces of paper, they wouldn't fit into the microwave to puff up the paint like you would normally do. It was such a hot day that we experimented - maybe, just maybe, it would be hot enought to make the paint puff up without the microwave?<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NtA_0LozOq0/UD2njLxrl3I/AAAAAAAABnA/5XPeb5KwbOw/s1600/puff+paint1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NtA_0LozOq0/UD2njLxrl3I/AAAAAAAABnA/5XPeb5KwbOw/s400/puff+paint1.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>After the paint started to dry, I could see that it wasn't going to puff up like it would have if we had used the microwave, but it did leave a cool 3-D texture. An added bonus to this drying method was the extra shimmer from the salt as it reflected the light from the sun.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Dpa4jVI-KTU/UD2nr0BNSfI/AAAAAAAABng/I-_cYiORLfg/s1600/puff+paint+collage.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Dpa4jVI-KTU/UD2nr0BNSfI/AAAAAAAABng/I-_cYiORLfg/s640/puff+paint+collage.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />We were satisfied with the final art pieces, but next time I think we'll have to try drying our artwork in the microwave and watch it puff up. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08087496619431277604noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1038841024423272207.post-37719101128550815172012-05-15T22:46:00.000-06:002012-05-15T22:51:26.390-06:00Egg yolk painting: Jungle prints<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fletkidscreate.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F05%2Fegg-yolk-painting-jungle-prints.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-AC0YAknsfig%2FT7Ml7e8tYSI%2FAAAAAAAABmI%2FYRp4RPGbDbA%2Fs400%2Fjungle%2Bprint%2B(10).JPG&description=egg%20yolk%20painting" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AC0YAknsfig/T7Ml7e8tYSI/AAAAAAAABmI/YRp4RPGbDbA/s1600/jungle+print+(10).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AC0YAknsfig/T7Ml7e8tYSI/AAAAAAAABmI/YRp4RPGbDbA/s400/jungle+print+(10).JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I finally got my hands on a fantastic art book for kids - I found <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0935607099/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=letk-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0935607099">Discovering Great Artists</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=letk-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0935607099" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />by MaryAnn F. Kohl and Kim Solga from the library and brought it home. The pages are full of art ideas for kids inspired by famous artists. I plan on doing quite a few of these projects this summer and was able to complete one with Maisy and Mina (ages 5 and 3) this afternoon. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This art project is inspired by Henri Rousseau, a French artist famous for painting jungle scenes. Our first task to get started was to go outside and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">collect leaves</span>. We also grabbed a few flowers and branches that were growing in the yard.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O9PgrMo816U/T7MlqgDDYmI/AAAAAAAABlg/eiocVcL-BCs/s1600/jungle+print.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O9PgrMo816U/T7MlqgDDYmI/AAAAAAAABlg/eiocVcL-BCs/s400/jungle+print.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />Since I was out of green paint, I decided we would make some. Around Christmas time, we painted cookies with egg yolk paint for the first time. The colors were so vibrant - it was perfect for our bright jungle scene. I took and separated 5 <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">egg yolks</span> from the whites and put them into separate dishes. I wanted to be able to make several shades of green.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XGlHaxShJ3Q/T7Ml0HmKPyI/AAAAAAAABlo/BTYzYjj-OdY/s1600/jungle+print+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XGlHaxShJ3Q/T7Ml0HmKPyI/AAAAAAAABlo/BTYzYjj-OdY/s400/jungle+print+(2).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />I let the girls add<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"> food coloring</span> to the egg yolks and mix them together.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-joqWIscAzxw/T7Ml1_oP6KI/AAAAAAAABlw/yPVXrUc4_DU/s1600/jungle+print+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-joqWIscAzxw/T7Ml1_oP6KI/AAAAAAAABlw/yPVXrUc4_DU/s400/jungle+print+(3).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />Our five shades of green are all ready to go.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IVah-qThpVk/T7Ml3n71CBI/AAAAAAAABl4/g4iUY6Nq9PA/s1600/jungle+print+(4).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IVah-qThpVk/T7Ml3n71CBI/AAAAAAAABl4/g4iUY6Nq9PA/s400/jungle+print+(4).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />The girls used a small sponge brush to coat one side of the leaf with the paint, then they <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">stamped</span> it onto their paper (I had some left over posterboard that I cut to size). Both of them got the hang of the process quickly and went to work covering their papers. They had fun using <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">different types of foliage</span> and flower petals to do their printing.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oYP5wtzrPXI/T7Ml5fGSEkI/AAAAAAAABmA/scUNkaOYb9E/s1600/jungle+print+(5).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="435" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oYP5wtzrPXI/T7Ml5fGSEkI/AAAAAAAABmA/scUNkaOYb9E/s640/jungle+print+(5).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>We let the paint dry while we ate our lunch, then I gave the girls some markers to complete their jungle scenes. I tried to take somewhat of a close up shot to show the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">dimension and sheen</span> the egg yolk paint gives to the picture. It may have worked a little better if their animals were drawn before we added paint since the paint is translucent and would have made a cool effect.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fletkidscreate.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F05%2Fegg-yolk-painting-jungle-prints.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-n78prxi_2sk%2FT7Ml-PnU2QI%2FAAAAAAAABmQ%2FsKSWzdOe2YY%2Fs400%2Fjungle%2Bprint%2B(12).JPG&description=Rousseau%20inspired%20jungle%20print%20%2F%20egg%20yolk%20painting" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n78prxi_2sk/T7Ml-PnU2QI/AAAAAAAABmQ/sKSWzdOe2YY/s1600/jungle+print+(12).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n78prxi_2sk/T7Ml-PnU2QI/AAAAAAAABmQ/sKSWzdOe2YY/s400/jungle+print+(12).JPG" width="272" /></a></div><br />Maisy's artwork is on the top, Mina's is on the bottom. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tMJD8kypy88/T7MmAx7ijxI/AAAAAAAABmY/9vq9iGm3sFw/s1600/jungle+print+(13).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tMJD8kypy88/T7MmAx7ijxI/AAAAAAAABmY/9vq9iGm3sFw/s640/jungle+print+(13).JPG" width="296" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">This is my first time making my own paint - I know there are several ways this can be done. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">What is your favorite way to make paint?</span></div>Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08087496619431277604noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1038841024423272207.post-26883129363594696042012-05-08T23:15:00.000-06:002019-09-06T20:11:10.274-06:00Fun with a cardboard box<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EMe8tMWWv14/T3KeN05n30I/AAAAAAAABgE/TMwJBRmCpeg/s1600/boxhouse1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EMe8tMWWv14/T3KeN05n30I/AAAAAAAABgE/TMwJBRmCpeg/s400/boxhouse1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>What can a child do with an empty box? The possibilities are endless. Back in the fall my girls used <a href="http://letkidscreate.blogspot.com/2011/11/shoebox-lalaloopsy-house.html" target="_blank">shoeboxes to make homes</a> for their collection of pocket sized dolls, but their larger dolls were left homeless. <br /><br />My girls had been eyeing the growing collection of larger boxes in the basement (due to my love of online shopping). So they set out on another Sunday afternoon to make not only a home for their dolls, but a little village. Here's a complimentary tour of their neighborhood:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vV39ajEAPS0/T3KeOu-hHzI/AAAAAAAABgM/PTvBhWOgpxM/s1600/.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vV39ajEAPS0/T3KeOu-hHzI/AAAAAAAABgM/PTvBhWOgpxM/s400/.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />This home comes with a spacious yard where the kids can run and play.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KN2IBMCfVbg/T3KePuEzUVI/AAAAAAAABgU/vPkxgWrj5ks/s1600/boxhouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KN2IBMCfVbg/T3KePuEzUVI/AAAAAAAABgU/vPkxgWrj5ks/s400/boxhouse.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Don't underestimate the value of convenient parking. (Bonus that these dolls fit into the Barbie car so nicely)<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-74_L6obM-ME/T3KepjEKZ6I/AAAAAAAABgc/gds1_3yBW3I/s1600/boxhouse2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-74_L6obM-ME/T3KepjEKZ6I/AAAAAAAABgc/gds1_3yBW3I/s400/boxhouse2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />And who doesn't love a full bath to relax in after a busy day?<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-drRkymmLYCs/T5d2R1Nk7_I/AAAAAAAABkg/TDeT-cwgT1Y/s1600/cardboard+box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-drRkymmLYCs/T5d2R1Nk7_I/AAAAAAAABkg/TDeT-cwgT1Y/s400/cardboard+box.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And when the dolls' day is done, it's time to curl up with their favorite stuffed animal and hit the hay.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DJ7fK5mqOeU/T3Kevsak8iI/AAAAAAAABgk/1xVXS9HWfE4/s1600/boxhouse3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DJ7fK5mqOeU/T3Kevsak8iI/AAAAAAAABgk/1xVXS9HWfE4/s400/boxhouse3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I love to give the girls something so plain and ordinary and see what clever things they will come up with on their own - with zero influence from me. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08087496619431277604noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1038841024423272207.post-75297679650988065432012-05-01T22:34:00.000-06:002019-09-06T20:09:53.034-06:00"Handy" handmade coasters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k4eGT1bMEJk/T5d-th86RKI/AAAAAAAABks/Y3j3g9KgflE/s1600/coaster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k4eGT1bMEJk/T5d-th86RKI/AAAAAAAABks/Y3j3g9KgflE/s400/coaster.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>It's that time of year to show our teachers how much we appreciate them. Last year, my two oldest daughters and I found this handmade gift idea in<a href="http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/handy-coasters-941574/" target="_blank"> Family Fun </a>magazine and worked on these hand-shaped coasters to give to their teachers.<br /><br />To make them I traced my daughter's handprint onto a sheet of <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e69138; font-size: large;">cardstock </span>and cut it out for a template. We traced four handprints from each girl onto a piece of scrap <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e69138; font-size: large;">fabric </span>using <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e69138; font-size: large;">chalk</span>. I trimmed the fabric so that it would fit nicely onto my sheet of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003WIX2BG/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=letk-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B003WIX2BG"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> Stiff Fusible Interfacing</span></a><img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=letk-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B003WIX2BG" height="1" style="border: currentColor !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1">. Then I placed another piece of coordinating fabric on the underside of the interfacing. I ran a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e69138; font-size: large;">hot iron </span>(of course this is an adult's job) over the fabric and interfacing "sandwich" for roughly 30 seconds or so. You can tell if you're done ironing because the fusing will be adhered to the fabric. After the fabric was cool enough to pick up, I cut along the traced handprint and had 4 handprints shaped coasters to give to each teacher. <br /><br />I felt like these needed something extra so I attached this little poem to the package:<br /><br /><br />"I know my hands are little<br />And sometimes make a mess,<br />So I’ve made for you some coasters<br /> to give your drinks a rest.<br /><br />Thanks for being my teacher,<br />It’s kind of funny, can’t you see?<br />Now I’ll be helping you<br />By putting mess on me."<br /><br /><br />These were fun for my girls to give to their teachers last year, but would also make a meaningful Mother's Day gift for grandma. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08087496619431277604noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1038841024423272207.post-53520418616834944652012-04-24T21:28:00.000-06:002019-09-06T21:19:21.638-06:00Making a treasure box<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZbN2ygq3cZA/T5dlDc8kbpI/AAAAAAAABkI/xe-c0Vt8Bbs/s1600/treasure+box+(4).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZbN2ygq3cZA/T5dlDc8kbpI/AAAAAAAABkI/xe-c0Vt8Bbs/s400/treasure+box+(4).JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a><br /><br /></div>My girls love their accessories and Maisy (age 5) has been begging to make a jewelry box. To make these jewelry (or treasure) boxes we used:<br /><br /><br /><ul><li>an old kid-sized shoe box</li><li>several toilet paper tubes (we used 6)</li><li>paint</li><li>glue</li></ul><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Maisy and Mina (age 3) started by painting their boxes to their liking. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">I love the portrait Maisy painted on the top of her box of me and the 3 girls.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I5F5dXBEQN0/T5dlCXzyfYI/AAAAAAAABkA/4Drj95rXk40/s1600/treasure+box+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I5F5dXBEQN0/T5dlCXzyfYI/AAAAAAAABkA/4Drj95rXk40/s400/treasure+box+(3).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EMkWPrEHpe0/T5dlBu53VSI/AAAAAAAABj4/jOuR9-c8tCc/s1600/treasure+box+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EMkWPrEHpe0/T5dlBu53VSI/AAAAAAAABj4/jOuR9-c8tCc/s320/treasure+box+(2).JPG" width="212" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vS_OPhFOp5g/T5dlAoapqbI/AAAAAAAABjw/fjofD6Zx3ME/s1600/treasure+box.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"></span><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">While the paint dried, I took the paper tubes and cut them in half so they would fit into the box. Before glue was added to the tubes, I figured how many would fit into each box and arranged them the way we wanted them. We dipped one end of the tube into glue and attached it to the bottom of the box, then repeated for the rest of the paper tubes.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Once the glue dried, the boxes were ready to fill. The girls spent the rest of the afternoon rounding up jewelry and other small treasures to put into their boxes. The little compartments make the box extra fun to sort and organize their jewelry and other small treasures.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08087496619431277604noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1038841024423272207.post-90126232447045610782012-04-18T00:08:00.001-06:002012-04-18T00:17:05.985-06:00Making a worm farm<div style="text-align: center;"><a class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fletkidscreate.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F04%2Fmaking-worm-farm.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F--JuiAyP7A14%2FT45QRkk9BmI%2FAAAAAAAABjE%2FOAXeq8-uAcE%2Fs400%2Fworm10.jpg&description=make%20your%20own%20worm%20farm"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--JuiAyP7A14/T45QRkk9BmI/AAAAAAAABjE/OAXeq8-uAcE/s1600/worm10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--JuiAyP7A14/T45QRkk9BmI/AAAAAAAABjE/OAXeq8-uAcE/s400/worm10.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">What better to do on a rainy day than go on a worm hunt? My girls are loving<a href="http://letkidscreate.blogspot.com/2012/03/wonderful-worm-paintings.html" target="_blank"> these slimy little creatures </a>lately so we <a href="http://www.kidactivities.net/category/Theme-Gardening.aspx" target="_blank">found a way</a> that we could keep a few as "pets" for a while. To make your own worm farm you need just a few basic things:</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><ul><li>an empty 2 liter bottle (or something similar in size)</li><li>small rocks </li><li>sand</li><li>dirt</li><li>worms</li><li>black construction paper</li></ul><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Start by cutting off the top of your bottle (of course, this is a parent's job). I added some tape around the rim of the bottle so there were no sharp edges. I used a hole punch to make some air holes in the top piece, and I also left the cap off the top in the end. It would also be a good idea to make some holes for drainage in the bottom of the bottle (a step I didn't do this time, but will do next time since all the water seems to rise to the top and make a puddle that just sits).</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YQK1Szxl4VY/T45QXoMX42I/AAAAAAAABjU/jumT3vnprls/s1600/worm4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YQK1Szxl4VY/T45QXoMX42I/AAAAAAAABjU/jumT3vnprls/s400/worm4.jpg" width="270" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The girls took turns adding the rocks to the bottom for drainage, then about a 2 inch layer of sand, and finally 2 inch layer of soil (just from our garden). We repeated with another layer of sand and dirt until we were pretty close to the top of the cut bottle.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xLTomClH9nc/T45QNohvSlI/AAAAAAAABi0/e1HuoGt5boU/s1600/worm+collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="395" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xLTomClH9nc/T45QNohvSlI/AAAAAAAABi0/e1HuoGt5boU/s640/worm+collage.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Don't forget to put in some worms with those layers of dirt. We just used the ones that were wiggling around under our soil. We also added some small pieces of banana peel in the middle to decompose and give food to the worms.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZwA4-4zs0ck/T45QTgTqBuI/AAAAAAAABjM/B_lw9jEPd1s/s1600/worm6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZwA4-4zs0ck/T45QTgTqBuI/AAAAAAAABjM/B_lw9jEPd1s/s400/worm6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />This is how the final product looked after taping the top of the bottle back onto the base, although I decided to remove the bottle cap to allow for more air flow. Then I took some black construction paper and wrapped it around the bottle. Daylight is not a worm's friend, so the dark paper helps to simulate their natural habitat. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZG8VnETU1Pc/T45QOlrwPqI/AAAAAAAABi8/isvgroaZwNk/s1600/worm+collage2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="552" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZG8VnETU1Pc/T45QOlrwPqI/AAAAAAAABi8/isvgroaZwNk/s640/worm+collage2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>After a couple of days we were able to remove the black paper and see what the worms had been up to. We could see several of them making their way through their new home. The girls love their new little pets. We just make sure that the soil stays nice and moist and give them extra fruit peels every few days. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y58tfKRn73g/T45Q7SfSboI/AAAAAAAABjk/Vo667dJIcx0/s1600/worm11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y58tfKRn73g/T45Q7SfSboI/AAAAAAAABjk/Vo667dJIcx0/s400/worm11.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e69138; font-size: large;">What garden friends do your kids love?</span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span id="goog_1267540902"></span><span id="goog_1267540903"></span>Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08087496619431277604noreply@blogger.com52tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1038841024423272207.post-74022809089797567082012-04-10T22:59:00.001-06:002012-04-10T23:18:01.739-06:00Coffee filter butterflies {play group}<div style="text-align: center;"><a class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fletkidscreate.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F04%2Fcoffee-filter-butterflies-play-group.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-Sl0nejv-HTU%2FT3KjiE-lS6I%2FAAAAAAAABg8%2FXvmb0EBEScg%2Fs640%2Fbutterflygroup8.jpg&description=coffee%20filter%20butterfly"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sl0nejv-HTU/T3KjiE-lS6I/AAAAAAAABg8/Xvmb0EBEScg/s1600/butterflygroup8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="432" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sl0nejv-HTU/T3KjiE-lS6I/AAAAAAAABg8/Xvmb0EBEScg/s640/butterflygroup8.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Spring has arrived and it was<a href="http://letkidscreate.blogspot.com/2011/11/little-pumpkin-playschool.html" target="_blank"> my turn again</a> to host the play group for some of the 3 year olds in the neighborhood. What better theme than butterflies? We started off with the butterfly craft first- which everyone really could have done for the entire two hours. They loved it that much. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I know this is a pretty common craft, but it's always new to someone. I gave each child one coffee filter to begin and let them color them with regular markers or my favorite <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004W3Y4/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=letk-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00004W3Y4">bingo dot markers</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=letk-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00004W3Y4" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. I placed a paper towel beneath each child's workspace since it was going to get a little wet and messy. Then I let them spray a little water onto their artwork and watch the magic happen. It was fun for them to see the colors blend together, but even more fun to be spraying that water. </div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O62a3Yir5js/T3KjgXsXZMI/AAAAAAAABgs/dZFVwnMztco/s1600/butterflygroup11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O62a3Yir5js/T3KjgXsXZMI/AAAAAAAABgs/dZFVwnMztco/s400/butterflygroup11.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />This is how a few of them looked after letting the colors bleed and blend together. I let them dry for about 20 minutes. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nGzQwv02Svg/T3Kjm2vdDwI/AAAAAAAABhU/pRATvWQJHUs/s1600/butterfly+group+collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nGzQwv02Svg/T3Kjm2vdDwI/AAAAAAAABhU/pRATvWQJHUs/s640/butterfly+group+collage.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;">While the kids were having a snack, I was able to assemble the butterflies. I pinched the coffee filter right down the center and clamped it inside of a clothes pin. Then I took half a strand of a pipe cleaner and attached some antennas onto the head. </div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Foa6TRNVjdg/T3KjjbcyAHI/AAAAAAAABhE/eWb7Wm6xXsg/s1600/butterflygroup7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="376" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Foa6TRNVjdg/T3KjjbcyAHI/AAAAAAAABhE/eWb7Wm6xXsg/s640/butterflygroup7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />In the end we had quite a few since most of the kids wanted to make several. I just love the tie-dye effect.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gP4Au6e1ol4/T3KjlWGElFI/AAAAAAAABhM/89atN2LHoqo/s1600/butterflygroup9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="432" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gP4Au6e1ol4/T3KjlWGElFI/AAAAAAAABhM/89atN2LHoqo/s640/butterflygroup9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />We did a couple other activities as well between the art drying and free play. I attempted to read a story or two to the group. I have <a href="http://letkidscreate.blogspot.com/2012/01/3-little-pigs-play-group.html" target="_blank">mentioned before</a> what a calm group of kids this is, but...well let's just say we all have our days. Sometimes it seems that less structure is better. You definitely have to be flexible with such a young group. We were able to make it through <i>Waiting for Wings </i>by Lois Ehlert, which tells about the life cycle of a butterfly in a fun and interactive way. Then the kids were off and running again.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kYcbkV3mpkE/T3KjsU0zb4I/AAAAAAAABhc/2pLPXbLmnD0/s1600/butterflygroup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="397" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kYcbkV3mpkE/T3KjsU0zb4I/AAAAAAAABhc/2pLPXbLmnD0/s400/butterflygroup.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Eventually the kids were interested in playing this butterfly matching game. Each child was able to have a few turns taking half a butterfly out of a bowl and matching it to the other side I had attached to the wall. It was a nice calm moment, then they went back to their play. </div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5YK-PFUMMLI/T3KjhTzQiJI/AAAAAAAABg0/YnzlN2gyJYU/s1600/butterfly+group1+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="329" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5YK-PFUMMLI/T3KjhTzQiJI/AAAAAAAABg0/YnzlN2gyJYU/s640/butterfly+group1+.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08087496619431277604noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1038841024423272207.post-57020435109987173812012-04-03T22:34:00.001-06:002012-04-03T22:38:47.139-06:00Starchy yarn Easter eggs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fletkidscreate.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F04%2Fstarchy-yarn-easter-eggs.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-WRDhGnK55Jo%2FT3vKbWha_jI%2FAAAAAAAABhs%2FWOUQMapzpj4%2Fs400%2Feggs7.jpg"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WRDhGnK55Jo/T3vKbWha_jI/AAAAAAAABhs/WOUQMapzpj4/s1600/eggs7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WRDhGnK55Jo/T3vKbWha_jI/AAAAAAAABhs/WOUQMapzpj4/s400/eggs7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> It's spring break around here and on Maisy's first day off from school she badly wanted to make Easter decorations. I happened to have the right things on hand to make these starchy yarn "eggs":<br /><ul><li>yarn or string</li><li>small balloons (I blew up a few water balloons)</li><li>flour and water mixture for the starch</li></ul> I started out by cutting the yarn into manageable pieces (about 18 inches long). I mixed about 2 tablespoons of flour with roughly the same amount of water to make the paste. I let the girls get their strings soaked in the paste and had them wrap it around the balloons. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dt-PYV6_NOA/T3vLjvZQvjI/AAAAAAAABh8/RPT6PtWfMlQ/s1600/eggs3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dt-PYV6_NOA/T3vLjvZQvjI/AAAAAAAABh8/RPT6PtWfMlQ/s400/eggs3.jpg" width="270" /></a></div><br />Just when Maisy thought she was getting the hang of it...<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-824ynE734H8/T3vLkr_MdjI/AAAAAAAABiE/hzo1RX2OCq8/s1600/eggs4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-824ynE734H8/T3vLkr_MdjI/AAAAAAAABiE/hzo1RX2OCq8/s400/eggs4.jpg" width="270" /></a></div><br />Everything fell off in one big clump. Yep, time for me to put down the camera. This project does take some grown-up help. The process went much more smoothly if I was able to hold the balloon and have the girls wrap the yarn around the balloon. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aSLL0zjJRDk/T3vLlqOCs9I/AAAAAAAABiM/6K_5ksXUhnA/s1600/eggs5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aSLL0zjJRDk/T3vLlqOCs9I/AAAAAAAABiM/6K_5ksXUhnA/s400/eggs5.jpg" width="270" /></a></div><br />After each girl had done two balloons, they were done. I set them on a tray and took them outside to dry. They weren't fully dry until the next day.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cELOW2_rTU0/T3vLmwBSx2I/AAAAAAAABiU/pcAwRXynq14/s1600/eggs6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cELOW2_rTU0/T3vLmwBSx2I/AAAAAAAABiU/pcAwRXynq14/s400/eggs6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After the string had dried, I carefully popped the balloons and pulled out the remains. We were left with this:</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_Nzc-B2aKJM/T3vKcV1xmeI/AAAAAAAABh0/5CUgYRkJl4Q/s1600/eggs8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_Nzc-B2aKJM/T3vKcV1xmeI/AAAAAAAABh0/5CUgYRkJl4Q/s400/eggs8.jpg" width="270" /></a><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">Our first Easter decoration of 2012.</span><br /><br /></div>Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08087496619431277604noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1038841024423272207.post-58018962450706480412012-03-27T22:56:00.004-06:002019-09-06T20:08:34.444-06:00Toilet paper painting- Making flowers<div style="text-align: center;"><a class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fletkidscreate.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F03%2Ftoilet-paper-painting-making-flowers.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-gCjv1qbYbGU%2FT3KBYz_P0wI%2FAAAAAAAABfs%2FHF78Ksh6sRA%2Fs400%2Ftoiletpaperpainting24.jpg&description=toilet%20paper%20flowers"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gCjv1qbYbGU/T3KBYz_P0wI/AAAAAAAABfs/HF78Ksh6sRA/s1600/toiletpaperpainting24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gCjv1qbYbGU/T3KBYz_P0wI/AAAAAAAABfs/HF78Ksh6sRA/s400/toiletpaperpainting24.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Spring has arrived and boy do we have spring fever at our house. We haven't done a ton of crafts lately, but I wanted my girls to make something for their grandma for her birthday. I resorted to my <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0794501400/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=letk-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0794501400">Usborne Book of Papercraft</a><img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=letk-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0794501400" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1"> and found this fun project I had never noticed before. We tried it two different ways.<br /><br />To do this craft you will need:<br /><ul><li>toilet paper</li><li>tempera paint in several colors or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004W3Y4/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=letk-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00004W3Y4">Do-A-Dot markers</a><img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=letk-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00004W3Y4" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1"><br /></li><li>heavy paper or cardstock</li></ul><br />I tore off several sheets of toilet paper- some measuring 6 squares, the others measuring 4. The book suggested using paint to color the toilet paper, but I wanted to see how our bingo dot markers would work out with this first. I admit, I was trying to get around the mess that seemed inevitable with the paint.<br /><br />I folded the sheet of toilet paper in half, then dampened it with water (not too wet or it will tear easily). I had the girls add color to the toilet paper sheets using the dot markers. Lou had a good time coming up with unique designs on each one. The cool thing about using the dot markers was the tie-dye effect that could be achieved. <br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TgPBdxLM6y4/T3KBVhC2e-I/AAAAAAAABfU/dZmrtcLuL4Y/s1600/toiletpaperpainting22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TgPBdxLM6y4/T3KBVhC2e-I/AAAAAAAABfU/dZmrtcLuL4Y/s400/toiletpaperpainting22.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">After the sheet of paper was completely covered with color, we twisted the toilet paper...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7J4YG_FOls4/T0bDIFmM8MI/AAAAAAAABcY/a2uq5VmyOBc/s1600/toiletpaperpainting16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7J4YG_FOls4/T0bDIFmM8MI/AAAAAAAABcY/a2uq5VmyOBc/s400/toiletpaperpainting16.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Then rolled it up into a spiral flower shape and placed them on a baking sheet. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vr99Z2Z-SNE/T3KBt1-45LI/AAAAAAAABf0/EmidNkjdmMA/s1600/toiletpaperpainting21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vr99Z2Z-SNE/T3KBt1-45LI/AAAAAAAABf0/EmidNkjdmMA/s400/toiletpaperpainting21.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">While the dot marker method was working great, I wondered how the texture and color would be once the florettes had dried. Plus, I knew the paint method would most likely be a little more fun. I pulled out the tempera paint, poured several colors onto paper plates, and added a little water to thin it out a bit. Mina had a ton of fun just mixing the water into the paint. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tx-iq6mJbLE/T0bDFkcvFGI/AAAAAAAABcU/SZXALQz_OgA/s1600/toiletpaperpainting9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tx-iq6mJbLE/T0bDFkcvFGI/AAAAAAAABcU/SZXALQz_OgA/s400/toiletpaperpainting9.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Once the paint colors were all mixed, I twisted up the dry toilet paper sheets and gave them to the girls to dip into the color. They loved rolling the paper twists into the colors and squeezing out the excess. Yep, this method was definitely way more messy. But I could tell the girls were having a blast doing it this way.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hc1tsTN-qpg/T0bC_JZ-aWI/AAAAAAAABb8/E4n42jdAxjI/s1600/toilet+paper+collage4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hc1tsTN-qpg/T0bC_JZ-aWI/AAAAAAAABb8/E4n42jdAxjI/s400/toilet+paper+collage4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />After we had painted and rolled up several flowers and leafs, we put them on a baking sheet to let them dry in the oven. At a temperature of 250° F, it took the flowers about 2 hours to dry completely. Needless to say, we finished the project the following day. The brilliant blue, orange and red florettes are the ones done with the dot markers; the more dull colors were done with the paint. The florettes done with the dot markers also produced a softer texture than the ones that were dipped into the paint. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7jlea2SpoXc/T0bDAD8G2oI/AAAAAAAABcE/YX99Huy1vi0/s1600/toiletpaperpainting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7jlea2SpoXc/T0bDAD8G2oI/AAAAAAAABcE/YX99Huy1vi0/s400/toiletpaperpainting.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>To finish up our project, I gave each of the girls a piece of cardboard to draw and paint their scene where they were going to attach their flowers. I wish I would have thought ahead and given these sheets of cardboard a coat of white paint to help their pictures pop out a bit more. <br /><br />My two older girls (age 8 and 5) decided on a garden scene.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />Mina (age 3) decided she would draw a face.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />When their background scenes were finished, they decided which flowers and leaves to attach and we used hot glue to adhere them. Aren't these cheerful and bright? I just love the end results and my kids had a blast creating these.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-keHd5E_uTaU/T3OIoV9gZHI/AAAAAAAABhk/e9uX7bciSrQ/s1600/toilet+paper+collage3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-keHd5E_uTaU/T3OIoV9gZHI/AAAAAAAABhk/e9uX7bciSrQ/s640/toilet+paper+collage3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div>Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08087496619431277604noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1038841024423272207.post-91108929205292244232012-03-20T23:30:00.002-06:002012-03-20T23:39:27.790-06:00Wonderful "worm" paintings<div style="text-align: center;"><a class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fletkidscreate.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F03%2Fwonderful-worm-paintings.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-LKZsDXXv9KY%2FT2ladII7MII%2FAAAAAAAABes%2FZ4t-MtXr2PE%2Fs1600%2Fwormart7.jpg&description=painting%20with%20yarn"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LKZsDXXv9KY/T2ladII7MII/AAAAAAAABes/Z4t-MtXr2PE/s1600/wormart7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LKZsDXXv9KY/T2ladII7MII/AAAAAAAABes/Z4t-MtXr2PE/s400/wormart7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">It has been so warm this last week that we have been able to get out into the garden and do a little weeding. Maisy (age 5) loves to help any way she can, and she was thrilled that she came across an earthworm while helping me out. She was so tickled by the little fella that when we went to the library the other day we looked for a book about earthworms and came across <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1562947303/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=letk-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1562947303">this</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=letk-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1562947303" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> one. It was a fun read and she was amazed at the role these tiny little creatures play in the ecosystem. </div><br />Of course, we needed to do a worm art project also. I cut a couple pieces of yarn about 12 inches long and put a couple different paint colors onto paper plates. I got out some brown and orange construction paper to resemble dirt. The idea was to paint little worms burrowing around in the "dirt" using the yarn.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kAhmtI3ulJs/T2lagWVdLKI/AAAAAAAABfE/RwyYHv8KwSs/s1600/wormart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kAhmtI3ulJs/T2lagWVdLKI/AAAAAAAABfE/RwyYHv8KwSs/s400/wormart.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Mina (age 3) wasn't real interested in the book, but she absolutely loves to paint so she was the first to get started. Right away she understood how to drag the yarn across the paper to make her worm tracks.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rYOYExccERs/T2laX-1qcCI/AAAAAAAABeE/zcY2zMzI8Hg/s1600/wormart2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rYOYExccERs/T2laX-1qcCI/AAAAAAAABeE/zcY2zMzI8Hg/s400/wormart2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mina was a little worried about getting messy today.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Maisy on the other hand took a few minutes to understand the idea wasn't to roll up the yarn in a ball and use that as a paint brush. This is her second painting and she started to give that worm some nice swirls around the paper. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4ov7EgyR5yE/T2laY80frhI/AAAAAAAABeM/Yd2T0q0O_04/s1600/wormart3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4ov7EgyR5yE/T2laY80frhI/AAAAAAAABeM/Yd2T0q0O_04/s400/wormart3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />After the girls had made some nice worm paths, I decided we would try another technique with the yarn. I helped out my daughter's 1st grade class last year with an art project similar to this one. <br /><br />We took a piece of construction paper and folded it in half the long way. I had my daughter lay the string on one side of the paper - the curlier the design the better. Had I been planning this piece of art from the beginning, I would have cut the yarn a bit longer so we could make more curves with the yarn.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QnZPomYMT-c/T2laZzG9YtI/AAAAAAAABeU/VOr_L2bELAw/s1600/wormart4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QnZPomYMT-c/T2laZzG9YtI/AAAAAAAABeU/VOr_L2bELAw/s400/wormart4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />I had her leave a small piece of the yarn hanging out the bottom, then we folded the other side over. I held down the paper while she pulled out the yarn.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EwSplEibulE/T2laa4XvbHI/AAAAAAAABec/a4Deq9MR4n8/s1600/wormart5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EwSplEibulE/T2laa4XvbHI/AAAAAAAABec/a4Deq9MR4n8/s400/wormart5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This part works much better with 2 hands, but then who's going to take the photo?</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Then she opened up the paper and had a fun symmetrical painting on her paper. We repeated with the second color and this is what we ended up with.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"> <a class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fletkidscreate.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F03%2Fwonderful-worm-paintings.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-tacBZ5a7CrQ%2FT2laeMZ4BCI%2FAAAAAAAABe0%2F0d8fiF-APCc%2Fs400%2Fwormart8.jpg&description=symmetrical%20painting%20with%20yarn"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tacBZ5a7CrQ/T2laeMZ4BCI/AAAAAAAABe0/0d8fiF-APCc/s1600/wormart8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tacBZ5a7CrQ/T2laeMZ4BCI/AAAAAAAABe0/0d8fiF-APCc/s400/wormart8.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maisy's on the left and Mina's on the right.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Painting with yarn is something my girls hadn't done before. I have also seen wonderful worm paintings done by <a href="http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2009/07/wiggly-worms.html" target="_blank">No Time for Flashcards</a>, <a href="http://www.thechocolatemuffintree.com/2011/05/spaghetti-worm-painting.html" target="_blank">The Chocolate Muffin Tree</a>, and <a href="http://shareandremember.blogspot.com/2012/03/painting-with-worms-gardens-grow.html" target="_blank">Share and Remember</a>.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n8rRcg3C2dI/T2lafAojC_I/AAAAAAAABe8/CNn1xTatb_A/s1600/wormart9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n8rRcg3C2dI/T2lafAojC_I/AAAAAAAABe8/CNn1xTatb_A/s400/wormart9.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mina's finished worm painting</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=letk-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=1562947303&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;">What other fun things have you been painting with lately?</span></div>Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08087496619431277604noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1038841024423272207.post-59522046281717993642012-03-06T22:37:00.000-07:002012-03-06T22:37:18.890-07:00Writing a story<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qlxHXBwurZ0/T0bDpGPUFxI/AAAAAAAABc8/PMNLgTawFLo/s1600/bookwriting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qlxHXBwurZ0/T0bDpGPUFxI/AAAAAAAABc8/PMNLgTawFLo/s400/bookwriting.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Maisy is at the age that she wants to start writing books. She is learning to read and is so excited about writing and making up her own stories. I love the simple story lines she and her sister come up with. <br /><br />What I think I love even more is that Lou and Maisy wanted to work together in writing their stories. When Maisy writes, she tends to leave out all vowels so it's a little tough for me when she asks me to read it and I have to ask her what it says. She wanted me to write the words for her, but when Lou came home from school she wanted to be Maisy's scribe. <br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5VUEtEAHhKg/T0bDmzk48eI/AAAAAAAABc0/zL9OU0JoXLk/s1600/book+collage2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5VUEtEAHhKg/T0bDmzk48eI/AAAAAAAABc0/zL9OU0JoXLk/s400/book+collage2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Here's a glimpse of one of the stories Maisy came up with. If you can't tell, we are a little obsessed with cats at the moment.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6jFQBfNKRss/T0bDkxGxaqI/AAAAAAAABcs/iIl8FdGOpOg/s1600/book+collage" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6jFQBfNKRss/T0bDkxGxaqI/AAAAAAAABcs/iIl8FdGOpOg/s640/book+collage" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;">What stories do your kids like to tell?</span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08087496619431277604noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1038841024423272207.post-70632341106717910162012-02-29T08:56:00.001-07:002012-02-29T08:56:00.285-07:00Cat in the Hat Paper Bag Puppet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6A6rhsHJuWo/T0bEDjKUj_I/AAAAAAAABdE/XpAqD762Zi8/s1600/seuss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6A6rhsHJuWo/T0bEDjKUj_I/AAAAAAAABdE/XpAqD762Zi8/s400/seuss.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />Just a quick post to share what my seven-year-old daughter has been working on. Her book report assignment this month for school is to create a paper bag puppet of your favorite Dr. Seuss character. She chose The Cat in the Hat {obviously}. If I had had more than one paper bag around this place we would have definitely done more, but this is what we have now. I hope to do more soon so we can have some puppet shows.<br /><br />We started out by cutting construction paper to the measurements of the bag. I helped her measure and make the appropriate marks on the paper to serve as guiding lines. She did all the cutting, drew on the face, drew and cut out a bow tie, glued it all to her bag and trimmed the overhanging edges with her scissors.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AoANlFh0Frg/T0bEIhoWRTI/AAAAAAAABdU/j3qy4gpEWR8/s1600/seuss+collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AoANlFh0Frg/T0bEIhoWRTI/AAAAAAAABdU/j3qy4gpEWR8/s640/seuss+collage.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />She added the final touches with a marker and glued on a cute paper mouth.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KZca13EaGUE/T0bEG7CYy5I/AAAAAAAABdM/Ku9RD8mwjtE/s1600/seuss2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KZca13EaGUE/T0bEG7CYy5I/AAAAAAAABdM/Ku9RD8mwjtE/s400/seuss2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />This guy is ready to act out a scene or two.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6A6rhsHJuWo/T0bEDjKUj_I/AAAAAAAABdE/XpAqD762Zi8/s1600/seuss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6A6rhsHJuWo/T0bEDjKUj_I/AAAAAAAABdE/XpAqD762Zi8/s400/seuss.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08087496619431277604noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1038841024423272207.post-26910947051080969832012-02-28T22:10:00.002-07:002019-09-06T20:07:09.533-06:00Dr. Seuss play groupThis past Monday was my turn to <a href="http://letkidscreate.blogspot.com/2012/01/3-little-pigs-play-group.html" target="_blank">host another play group</a> for some 3 year olds in the neighborhood. Since Dr. Seuss's birthday is coming up, I decided to try and build a theme around that. I had set up a road mat and cars for them to play with as they arrived, but not one child wanted anything to do with it. And no one was about to sit down to read a story.<br /><br />While the group was running a few laps around the house screaming, I decided to start off with a game I had planned for a little later on. I got their attention by asking one of them if they thought they could balance one of these items on their head like the Cat in the Hat does in the story <i>The Cat in the Hat</i>.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><script src="https://assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js" type="text/javascript"></script><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v7y-4xH-F4E/T02mPGaE8TI/AAAAAAAABdk/kjPgcLtB2ag/s1600/seussplaygroupcollage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="331" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v7y-4xH-F4E/T02mPGaE8TI/AAAAAAAABdk/kjPgcLtB2ag/s400/seussplaygroupcollage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>They were all in a giggly sort of mood, so this activity was the perfect attention grabber. They all tried several different combinations. This also grabbed their interest enough to look at the book a little bit so I could show them how many things The Cat could balance. I should have had them try to do it while standing on a ball ;-)<br /><br />Then we tried another game - musical hats. I had the kids sit in a circle and take turns putting on this hat and passing it along until the music stopped. The child who had the hat on their head when the music stopped got to have a turn being the one to control the music for a round. I think pushing the pause button on the music may have even been more fun than passing the hat around.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZFzGo_rp_Pg/T02mSlP2jnI/AAAAAAAABd0/woQS0gSaVp0/s1600/seussplaygroup4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZFzGo_rp_Pg/T02mSlP2jnI/AAAAAAAABd0/woQS0gSaVp0/s400/seussplaygroup4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>After they had all had a turn to be in control of the music, they just wanted to try on a bunch of different hats. <br /><br />By now they had settled down enough to do a craft. I had cut out some egg cartons and gathered some glue, pipe cleaners, pom poms, googly eyes and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004W3Y4/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=letk-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00004W3Y4">bingo dot markers</a><img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=letk-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00004W3Y4" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1">. The idea was for them to make a "Seuss creation" of their own. Once again, the glue was highly popular. I let their own imaginations go to work for these- I didn't give them any expectation or guidance on what to create. I wanted to see what they would come up with on their own.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-trlDvZhRJxk/T02lZaGAodI/AAAAAAAABdc/e5n1hF_B1aw/s1600/seussplaygroupcollage1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-trlDvZhRJxk/T02lZaGAodI/AAAAAAAABdc/e5n1hF_B1aw/s400/seussplaygroupcollage1.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I kept snack time simple- we just had mandarin oranges and crackers. I also popped some popcorn they could munch on while we sat down to read through a couple of the books. <br /><br />Even though our play group started out a little on the wild side this time, I think it turned out to be a success in the end.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08087496619431277604noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1038841024423272207.post-53984359434675859712012-02-20T22:58:00.001-07:002012-02-28T22:29:56.420-07:00Tips to build your art and craft supplies {on a budget}One of my main goals as a blogger is to help others think outside of the box and be more creative. As long as I can remember, I have always tried to repurpose things or make do with what I had. So when I was asked the other day what supplies I would suggest to have on hand, my first thought was to just look around. I hate to spend a bunch of money on supplies when kids art really is mostly about the process, not the product. <br /><br />Where should you start with art and craft supplies? Building up your supplies does not have to be expensive.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">I love my local dollar store</span>. My favorite things I've found include:<br /><br /><ul><li>bingo markers (like the more expensive <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004W3Y4/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=letk-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00004W3Y4">Do-A-Dot Markers</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=letk-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00004W3Y4" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />)</li><li>tissue paper</li><li>craft sticks</li><li>pipe cleaners</li><li>paper plates</li><li>glue sticks</li></ul><br />You can even find cute aprons that can be used for paint smocks if you don't have an old t-shirt for the job already. But beware, just because you're at the dollar store does not mean you cannot overspend.<br /><div><br /></div><div>Here's a peak into one of my craft supply drawers (I should have organized it a bit before I took this shot, but you get the idea).<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fletkidscreate.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F02%2Ftips-to-build-your-art-and-craft.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-8Bw_RvVVAGI%2FT0MsC209gcI%2FAAAAAAAABbU%2FS-_BiMJJfZ4%2Fs400%2Fartsupplies.jpg&description=Tips%20to%20build%20your%20art%20and%20craft%20supplies%20on%20a%20budget" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal">Pin It</a><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js"></script><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8Bw_RvVVAGI/T0MsC209gcI/AAAAAAAABbU/S-_BiMJJfZ4/s1600/artsupplies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8Bw_RvVVAGI/T0MsC209gcI/AAAAAAAABbU/S-_BiMJJfZ4/s400/artsupplies.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">Start looking at your trash in a different light</span>. Think about other ways you could use something before you recycle it:<br /><br /><ul><li>egg cartons</li><li>cereal boxes</li><li>shiny foil wrappers</li><li>toilet paper and paper towel tubes</li><li>shoe boxes</li><li>magazines</li><li>bubble wrap</li><li>magnets from all those phone books that get delivered to my doorstep, etc.</li></ul><div><br />I am starting to look like a hoarder, but here's a little peak at my "trash supply". Honestly, the possibilities are endless if you have scissors, glue, paint and garbage.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Cu3JLGS1eGY/T0Msrix_i2I/AAAAAAAABbc/F9yktLClsZk/s1600/artsupplies2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Cu3JLGS1eGY/T0Msrix_i2I/AAAAAAAABbc/F9yktLClsZk/s400/artsupplies2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">Buy glue, crayons, markers and paint in bulk</span> when they go on sale for back to school. These basic supplies can be used in so many different ways. My favorite paint to use is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004UBH3/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=letk-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00004UBH3">Crayola Washable Kids Paint</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=letk-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00004UBH3" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> because it really is washable (unlike <a href="http://letkidscreate.blogspot.com/2011/07/rubber-spike-ball-painting.html" target="_blank">some of the other washable paints </a>I have tried).<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">Turn to your pantry</span>: you can <a href="http://letkidscreate.blogspot.com/2011/06/rice-art.html" target="_blank">dye rice</a>, pasta and salt to a rainbow of colors with a little food coloring and vinegar or rubbing alcohol. Glue can also be dyed with food coloring and used as paint. You can even <a href="http://www.theimaginationtree.com/2011/09/easy-homemade-paint-recipe.html" target="_blank">make homemade paints</a> using flour or cornstarch.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">Use objects other than a paint brush to paint</span>. I have seen toys (cars, marbles, Legos, balls), forks, food, old credit cards, toilet brushes (I'd go with new ones from the dollar store here), cookie cutters, scrub brushes, straws, etc.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">What other tips and ideas can you share to build up your craft supply without breaking the bank?</span></div></div>Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08087496619431277604noreply@blogger.com7