Make Monthly

Building a Leprechaun Trap

2011-03-11T16:47:00.005-07:00

We get a lot of Leprechauns sneaking around our house about this time every year so it's become tradition to begin Leprechaun trap construction the first week of March.

Hendrix knew exactly what he wanted his trap to look like. He drew out a sketch for me so I could help him put his plan into action.

As you can see from the sketch, the Leprechaun climbs the ladder and makes his way toward the pot of fake gold but falls into a hole before ever reaching it, landing on a cushion of feathers in the trap compartment.

We used two boxes for the body of our trap (one of them being a cereal box) which we cut circular holes into before adhering them together. We painted the whole thing green and then decorated it with items from our craft box and shamrock stickers we bought at the craft store.

We made a ladder from craft sticks and added a couple signs that said things opposite of what we wanted the leprechauns to do—reverse psychology works great on leprechauns you know. Lastly we layered a pile of feathers to the bottom of the box so the leprechaun could land on something soft. It took about 3 days to finish our trap working on it about 20 minutes a day, we are very devoted trap makers!

The final product came out working and looking quite similar to the blueprint sketch with one exception; we ended up not needed a third box for stability because our bottom box was large enough to carry the weight of the box on top.

In all our trap making we have never caught a leprechaun but we are hoping this is our lucky year. If not, we know we'll probably at least end up with some chocolate gold coins like years past. In fact, we have already collected a few coins near the tiny green footprints we have found.

Is Leprechaun trap making one of your traditions or on your crafting agenda this month? Please, do share.

P.S. Sewfixated wins a bag of pom-poms and googley eyes for answering the question to my question on the Warm Fuzzy post. Please email me your address and I will get it in the mail right away!

Warm Fuzzies

2011-03-07T17:55:00.006-07:00

Despite the fact that February has been declared the month of love, last month’s sibling rivalry record was at all time high in these parts. Tearing two children apart from one another as they are in a battle to determine who has been given the most granola in their yogurt cup can be a little tiring.

In an effort to recognize the good deeds that take place in the home (because surely my children express their love for each other on occasion) and perhaps as a subtle attempt to instigate sibling bonding as opposed to sibling demolishing, I decided to start documenting daily acts of kindness in a way that my children would be known participants. So, we started a warm fuzzy jar.

Each warm fuzzy in the jar represents an thoughtful act performed by a member in the family. For instance, say Hendrix offers to share his skittles with Avi without being asked; warm fuzzy. Or say Avi brings Hendrix a blanket after Drix expresses he is cold; warm fuzzy. Make sense? OK, good.

Warm fuzzies are reserved specifically for those from-the goodness-of-your-heart moments. I don’t add a warm fuzzy to the jar for any expected good behavior like taking dishes to the sink after a meal or brushing teeth. I also don’t remove warm fuzzies from the jar for any reason, once a fuzzy is granted, in the jar it stays. Although warm fuzzies are “earned” it’s less a reward system and more an attempt to acknowledge our efforts in loving more. That being said, I thought it might be a good idea to do something fun together as a family when the jar is full because I do want to show my appreciation for simple acts of kindness.

Before introducing the warm fuzzy jar to my kids, I had them help me glue googly eyes to colored pop-poms and afterwards I told them the warm fuzzy story I was so fond of in my grade school days. The version of the story I have (to paraphrase) chronicles the lives a of happy and loving townspeople who express their love to one another in the form of warm fuzzies. The fuzzies are given and received freely until a false rumor is spread about a shortage of warm fuzzies. The rumor causes the townspeople to become greedy and self-seeking as they begin to hoard and lock up their warm fuzzies. The tale ends in good moral, when a young child offers a warm fuzzy to a friend in despair which reminds the townspeople of the strength and love that was once a part of their village and the fuzzies are given freely once again. (This is my favorite adaptation of the fable but I was unable to find it online so if you email me, I’d be happy to send you a digital copy.)

What about you, what kind of things do you do to decrease sibling rivalry in your home? I’m seriously asking here—please don't tell me I am the only mother who has children that fight. Thanks in advance for your great advice!

Thumb-Body Likes You

2011-02-14T11:57:00.004-07:00

Well, last weeks posting didn't exactly go as planned considering there weren't any. Shorty following my commitment to share our valentine-y projects, we all became incredible ill—like stuck-in-the-hospital-for-a-good-part-of-last-week ill. Since we are finally on the mend I thought I would share a few simple activities for you to try out this month that aren't necessarily specific to Valentines Day.

The first thing I wanted to share with you is an activity book that Hendrix received for Christmas; a fingerprint drawing book by Ed Emberly. Did you have any Ed Emberly drawing books when you were little? They've been around for quite some time. These thumb print books are adorable and have gobs of how-to's for creating little characters using your fingerprints and markers or pens.

You can use any washable stamp pad for fingerprint making but we found a great little finger pad and sponge kit at Lakeshore that works quite well. Hendrix has been creating thumb and fingerprint creatures on a weekly basis since Christmas.

If you don't already have this book, I highly recommend it for your little ones. (We have an Ed Emberly drawing book too that is equally adored).

Because this activity has become a household favorite as of late we decided to incorporate this craft in Drix's Valentines by making thumb print hearts with the slogan: "Thumb-body likes you."

Hendrix wanted to give out home made heart crayons again this year so we wrapped up a small bundles of crayons in tissue paper and then attached two tags with bakers twine.

One tag said Happy Valentines Day and the other tag had Hendrix's thumb (or finger) stamped message. These Valentines were simple enough for Hendrix to help me through the entire process and it was cute that each tag came out a little different.

Shadow Puppet Theater

2011-02-04T17:04:00.007-07:00

Well friends, the famous Phil did NOT see his shadow this week and although I would typically say hooray to an early spring, that sort of thing is frowned upon when you live in a resort town in the mountains so this year we are chanting, "long live winter!" (This is solely due to peer pressure on my part and I actually cross my fingers while shouting this despicable phrase—because besides being a symbol for good luck, finger crossing is also the internationl action sign which allows one to lie with impunity.)

Because we say BAH to no shadows (*crosses fingers*) the boys and I assembled a few movable shadow puppets and put on a show or two...or three or four or five.

The puppets we used were designed by Meredith Wolff and downloaded from Martha's website. We thought these particular animals were perfect for the winter season but obviously the possibilities are endless when it comes to shadow puppet construction.

We have a rectangular cut-out in one of our walls that the kids use as a window to their playhouse (which is little nook under the stairs). As it turns out, the window makes for a lovely little puppet show stage as well.

To make a screen for shadow viewing, I cut a long strip of paper from a roll of tracing paper and taped the corners to the window from the backside. Next I hung a shop lamp overhead to backlight the screen. Then it was on with the show.

The kids spent a the better part of our Groundhog's Day participating in this activity which was great since it was way to cold to go outside. A must-do, indoor play activity.

Okay, I’m off to start prepping supplies for the valentine making we will be doing this weekend (which might involve homemade heart shaped-crayons again). We might even whip up a batch pf last year's conversation hearts or some heart shaped soft-pretzels. I’ll be back next week to share a few projects we have been up to in tribute to this month of love. See you then!

Writers Kit and Topic Generator

2011-02-01T09:47:00.002-07:00

One of my nieces has an interest in writing and making her own funny zines so for Christmas last year we decided to gift her a homemade writing/zine making kit. This gift idea gave me the opportunity to browse through my favorite isle in every store; office supplies! After gathering up the essentials, (pencils, erasers, scissors, glue stick etc.) I put together a couple notebooks using sketching paper, scrapbook paper for the covers and embroidery thread for the binding. My favorite part of kit however is the topic generator game I created for her that she can use for brainstorming in those moments of writers block OR just as a story starter in a little creative writing sesh.

The topic generator includes instructions for playing and three flip books labeled 1, 2 and 3. Each book has 24 pages with one idea of something to write about per page. Book 1 has 24 nouns or subjects (a turtle, a toaster, the Easter Bunny, etc). Book 2 has 24 actions to write about (doing somersaults, planning a party, playing chess, etc). Book 3 had 24 places or locations to write about (the moon, a shoe store, a candy factory). In total, the three books provide 72 different topics of things to write about in various categories. That being said, the books can also be used together to make an entire topic sentence. Using the books this way will enable the user to create hundreds of story starters.

Making a silly topic sentence requires three simple steps.

Step 1: Flip open to any page of book 1 and write down the subject

Step 2: Flip open to any page of book 2 and write down the action next to the subject

Step 3: Flip open to any page of book 3 and write down the location next to the action

That's it! The user now has a topic sentence. The instructions also suggests adding prepositions in order to make a complete or proper sentence. So in the example shown here the sentence would read: The Easter Bunny playing chess inside a candy factory (the word "inside" being the preposition). Obviously the user can throw in a few adjectives here and there to give the sentence a little more pizazz. Maybe the sentence could read: The elderly Easter Bunny played chess with his imaginary pet squirrel in an abandoned candy factory. Make sense? Okay good!

After completing the game I packaged it up into a zip lock bag and added it to the rest of the kit. I wrapped a tag around the case as a giveaway to what was inside. I sort of wanted to keep this gift for my own writing sessions (I'm pretty nerdy about this stuff) but I kept the Christmas spirit and sent it off in the post.

Z is for Zany Zebra Print

2010-10-20T22:35:00.002-06:00

We made this Zany Z using:

Chipboard cut from a cereal box for letter base

White construction paper

Black sharpie marker

Glue: stick

Speaking of animal prints, we like to read:

Elmer by David Mckee. Unlike the other Elephants Elmer lives with, his skin is multicolored in a patchwork pattern. Elmer is always making the elephants laugh and they like him but Elmer begins to question if the elephants are actually laughing at him rather than with him. After finding a way to disguise himself to look like everyone else, Elmer discovers that the only way he will be truly happy is when he stays true to himself. A lovely message for the little ones with fun imagery.

Wow, we did it! Every capital letter in the alphabet! Now I know my ABC's next time won't you sing with me?

(More on Project ABC)

Y is for Yellow and Yo-Yo

2010-10-19T10:34:00.001-06:00

We made this Yo-Yo-ing Y using:

Chipboard cut from a cereal box for letter base

Yellow origami paper

Vintage yo-yo

Glue: stick, hot glue to adhere yo-yo

A Yo-Yo book we like:

OK, this one is not a Yo-Yo book at all but it does feature another classic toy; the wind-up! It's Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse written and illustrated by Leo Lionni. I can't think of a Lionni book we haven't liked but this one might be my favorite by him. The collage-ish art work is perfect for this little story about a mouse who is envious of the life of another mouse in the house who happens to be a wind-up toy. After all, the toy is welcome in the home unlike Alexander. Alexander eventually learns the grass is not always greener as he discovers the toy mouse has been discarded in the trash. Lucky for Alexander (and for the wind-up toy mouse) a magical lizard grants Alexander's selfless wish of bringing the toy to life. The mice become best friends obviously. A very sweet and charming tale every child should hear.

(More on Project ABC)

X is for X-Shaped X-Ray

2010-10-18T11:45:00.067-06:00

We made this X-y X using:

Chipboard cut from a cereal box for letter base

Black construction paper

White construction paper for bones
White vellum paper to mute the black background

Glue: stick

A bone-y book we like:

Bone Soup by Cambria Evans is a Halloweenish take on the classic Stone Soup tale. If your kids are not yet familiar with the original version of the story, this book still makes for a fun and slightly gruesome read as the villagers cast into the pot (or cauldron) spider eggs and toenail clippings (in place of carrots and onions). If your kids have experienced the classic tale however, they will probably enjoy this book even more because they will feel like they are in on the joke. We liked the illustrations in this one as well.

By the way, speaking of ghoulish re-dos, have you read Goodnight Goon; a Petrifying Parody? Obviously it's a take on the much-loved Goodnight Moon. My kids found this spookier version to be quite the hoot and begged for it again and again.

(More about Project ABC)

W is for Wiggly Worm

2010-10-17T10:54:00.003-06:00

We made this Wormy W using:

Chipboard cut from a cereal box for letter base

Brown scrapbook paper

Gummy worms

Glue: stick and hot glue to adhere worms

A Worm book we like:

Yucky Worms by Vivian French and Jessica Ahlberg (illustrator) is a fun book about discovering scientific facts about worms as the reader is taken on a gardening journey with a little boy and his grandmother. Although the little boy is grossed out by worms in the beginning of the book, he soon learns to appreciate the slimy creatures as he becomes more knowledgeable about the role of a worm and just how dependent we are on those little creepy-crawlies.

(More on Project ABC)

V is for Valentine

2010-10-16T16:31:00.081-06:00

We made this Valentine-y V using:

Chipboard cut from a cereal box for letter base

Red scrapbook paper

Doily and scissors

Origami paper

Letter stamps and ink pad

Glue: stick and white Elmer’s

Valentine-y books we like:
Odd Velvet by Mary Whitcomb and illustrated by Tara Calahan King, tells a story of a little girl who certainly has a different way of doing things in comparison to her classmates in school. She doesn't wear the coolest, newest clothes and instead wears side braids with large round glasses. The kids in school think she is rather odd and start to wonder where she came from. Fortunately the children have the opportunity to discover Velvet's skills in art and they begin to appreciate her differences. I love this book so much as it teaches to appreciate the differences in others and in yourself—a perfect valentine message if you ask me. Super cute illustrations too.

Another book I really like to read to the kids about appreciating/respecting/loving their self is called, I Like Me by Nancy Carlson. This pig in this story doesn't let her failures get her down and instead works on learning from her mistakes. She loves her body from her curly tail to round tummy to tiny feet. She controls her feelings by doing things that bring her happiness. A great message for any child (or adult).

Also, have you read the book, I Like You by Sandol Stoddard Warburg, illustrated by Jacquline Chwast? I received it from the hubs long, long ago. I highly recommend it as an any-time valentine gift for your loved one or BFF as it talks about the simple pleasures of enjoying your relationship with one another. One of my favorite lines from the book is, "I like you because if I am mad at you then you are mad at me too, it's awful when the other person isn't—phooey. They are so nice and hoo-hoo and you could just about punch them in the nose." OR "I like you because if I think I am going to throw up then you are really sorry, you don't just pretend you are busy looking at the birdies and all that." It's a book for all ages, really and a must read slash gifting.

(More about Project ABC)

U is for Upsidedown Umbrella

2010-10-15T09:50:00.003-06:00

We made this Umbrella U using:

Chipboard cut from a cereal box for letter base

Patterned scrapbook paper

Scrap of silky fabric

Brown pipe cleaner

Glue: stick and hot

Umbrella Related books we like:

The Rain Stomper written by Addie Boswell and illustrated by Eric Velasquez is an enjoyable rainy weather read. The little girl in this story is ready to lead the neighborhood parade but faces major disappointment when bad weather has takes over the town. She is determined not to let mother nature rain on her parade (he-he) however, and decides to make the rain part of her performance so the show can go on.

Thunder Cake by Particia Pollacco is a book with an emphasis on the roaring thunder rather than umbrellas and rain but I couldn't leave it off the list. The girl in this story has a fear of thunder but her grandmother has a way of calming her nerves by distracting her as they collect ingredients for a thunder cake (a cake made specifically for thunderstorm weather). We happened to be having stormy weather the first time we read this book so my kids were very intrigued by the tale. After finding the Thunder Cake recipe at the end of the book we headed straight the the kitchen to make our own. It made for the perfect play-date activity on a rainy day.

Lastly, for the wee ones, Who Likes Rain by Wong Herbert Wong is a cute little rhyming book about girl who explores her neighborhood on a rainy day. She discovers not everyone likes the rain. Super simple read, nice for very young readers.

(More about Project ABC)

T is for Torn Tape

2010-10-14T16:26:00.002-06:00

We made this Taped up T using:

Chipboard cut from a cereal box for letter base

Torn pieces of decorative tape

A sticky tape book we like (minus the tape):

I couldn’t think of a book dedicated to sticky tape but we did read a book recently about sticky gum, it’s called Trouble Gum by Matthew Cordell. My 4 and 2 year old can’t get enough of the little piglet brothers in this story who have such a hard time following the bubble gum chewing rules—probably because they can totally relate. It's a cute read your kids will probably get a kick out of. Both of my kids requested we keep this library book an additional week so we could read it again and again (which we did).

(More about Project ABC)

S is for Smelly Sock

2010-10-13T16:25:00.026-06:00

We made this Smelly S using:

Chipboard cut from a cereal box for letter base

Orange Construction paper

A pair of old socks and scissors

Glue: stick and hot to adhere socks

Sock books we like:

A Pair of Socks by Stuart J Murphy, illustrated by Lois Ehlert is a great toddler/preschool age read to learn about patterns and matching. The end of the book even has a list of activities that will help children to learn these same concepts. The story itself is told from the perspective of a sock who is on a search for his mate.

Have you seen the Sock Monkey Books by Cece Bell? We like Sock Monkey Woogie Boogie: A Friend is Made. In this tale sock monkey needs a dance partner for a big celebrity dance. Unfortunately all his friends are unavailable which forces sock monkey to hold auditions for a partner (you might recognize some of the contestants like wind-up chattering teeth or a troll doll). When try-outs don’t go so well, however, Sock Monkey has to double his efforts and quite literally MAKE a new friend. Cute story, adorable illustrations.

New Socks by Bob Shea is a fun little read about a little chick who is feeling good in his new pair of bright orange socks. This story might inspire your little ones to throw on their favorite pair of socks and do some sliding across wood floor.

(More about Project ABC)

R is for River Rocks and Red

2010-10-12T16:25:00.008-06:00

We made this Red and Rocky R using:

Chipboard cut from a cereal box for letter base

Torn pieces of red origami paper

River rocks (from the $ store)

Glue: stick and hot to adhere rocks

A rock books we like:

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig was a book I loved having read to me as a kid and now my kids enjoy it the same. In this book Sylvester the donkey thinks it must be his lucky day as he discovers a magic, wish granting pebble. Sadly, Sylvester makes the mistake of wishing he was a rock when he is confronted with a lion. His only hope to turn back into a donkey is for someone to find the pebble and wish such. This is a Caldecott Honor book but is also on the banned book list because the characters are depicted as animals and apparently someone found the police pigs particular upsetting. Really...that’s the reason. So if you think you might take offence to animals being portrayed as people, you may want to avoid this one, along with almost every other childrens picture book.

Red books we like:

There are so many red themed books we like but for now here are just two recommendations. The first one is called, The Red Shoes by, Eleri Glass. While shoe shopping with her mother, a young girl becomes subject to size test one drab looking pair of shoes after another until she spots a shiny red set that call her name. She may just convince her mother to buy them for her. The lyrical text in combination with the illustrations (giving a 60’s era vibe) make for a perfect read.

Our second recommendation is Little Red: A Fizzingly Good Yarn by Lynn Roberts and illustrated by David Roberts. This one is a take on the classic Little Red Riding Hood story only in this adaptation, Little Red is a young boy (a nice break from the fairytale standard if you ask me). The illustrations are nice on the eyes and subtly spooky for a mysterious tone which fits the theme of the story quite well. I think this is my boys’ favorite version of the tale but watch out…things don’t end so well for the grandma in this rendition.

(More about Project ABC)

Q is for Quieting Quilt

2010-10-11T08:00:00.005-06:00

We made this Quilted Q using:

Chipboard cut from a cereal box for letter base

Scrap of fabric

Grey yarn and scissors

Fatty needle (sorry I don't know the technical term for a big blunt needle) to thread yard through fabric

Glue: hot

Quilt books we like:

Tar Beach, written and illustrated by Faith Ringgold is a book that the artist actually adapted from a large piece of art she created in 1988; a story quilt also with the title of Tar Beach. This is a beautiful, poetic and dreamy story of a child who envisions herself flying above the big city in which she lives as she lies on a blanket with her little brother on her family’s apartment rooftop—or Tar Beach. The child’s perspective of her life in its current state has an innocence that is emotional provoking, captivating and hopeful.

The Keeping Quilt, by one of my personal favorite children’s author/illustrators, Patricia Polacco, is one I can’t go without mentioning. This book is the authors real-life story of how a quilt, that was formed from scraps of clothing to remind the Russian Jewish immigrant family of where they came from, became a symbol for love and affection as it was passed down from one generation to the next. Heritage quilts amaze me; I love that a quilt like this becomes a physical way to stay connected with ancestors long since departed. This book inspired me to learn how to quilt.

(More about Project ABC)

P is for Polka-dotted Pinwheel

2010-10-10T15:54:00.010-06:00

We made this Polka-dotted P using:

Chipboard cut from a cereal box for letter base

Polka dotted scrapbook paper

Sewing Pin for center of pinwheel so it could turn

Glue: stick and hot for pinwheel just so it would dry fast

Polka-dot and Pinwheel related books we like:

First the Polka-dots…minus the “polka” with a book called The Dot written and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. The main character in the story, Vashti, becomes overwhelmed in self doubt when it comes time to making art on paper. After her teacher gives her some words of encouragement that release Vashti from the self-induced pressure, she is able to find herself through getting lost in her artwork. With a new found confidence, Vashti is able to take what her teacher taught her and pay it forward to a (less assured) admirer of her work. I so much love to read this book to my kids and hope the message of encouragement and self-belief seep into the folds of their brain. This story shows how the slightest bit of positive influence can help self-doubting individuals do great things.

And just because pinwheels should companion every party, we also like the book, If You Give a Pig a Party written by Lara Numeroff and illustrated by Felica Bond. This book is typical to all of author’s, If-you-give-an-[animal]-an-[object]-books and just as sweet as the rest of them so long as you don’t mind the reiteration—my kids don't.

(more about Project ABC)

O is for Oval Octopus

2010-10-09T08:00:00.012-06:00

We made this Oval Octopus using:

Chipboard cut from a cereal box for letter base

Blue and Green crepe paper

Googly eyes

Glue: White Elmer’s

An Octopus book we like (or something like that):

While I was racking my brain to come up with a suitable recommendation for an octopus related book I remembered an ocean book we love instead. This pick is a true picture book as I don’t remember it having any words. It’s called Wave by Suzy Lee and the simple black and blue illustrations tell the story of an inquisitive little girl’s experience and relationship with the ocean as she runs to and from the wave while it splashes towards her and then retreats. Eventually a large wave catches up to her and although she is left soaking wet, she discovers a treasure the wave left behind.

(more about Project ABC)

N is for Noiseless Night

2010-10-08T08:00:00.001-06:00

We made this Night-time N using:

Chipboard cut from a cereal box for letter base

Black with white speckled scrapbook paper

Glow in the dark star stickers

Gold craft glitter

Glue: Stick and white Elmer’s for glitter moon

Night books we like (and with this selection of books, you simply MUST read ALL of them if you have yet to do so):

Bedtime for Mommy by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Ms. Rosenthal is my kid’s current favorite author. I think we have read all of her books. She is probably known best for her “little” books (Little Pea, Little Hoot and Little Oink) or maybe you have read Spoon or Yes Day? Anyway we love all of the above and my kids are crazy about this story of a child and parent going through the standard bedtime routine only the roles are reversed; the daughter in the story helps the mommy get ready for bed. My kids crack up over this book whenever we read it and the illustrations are great.

Wow said the Owl by Tim Hopgood is about a curious little owl who decides to stay up all day rather than sleep. The owl is wowed by all the beautiful colors that the day brings—every color in the rainbow but in the end, the owl decides the nighttime sky can’t be beat in beauty. This book is one of our most favorite picture books on color.

In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak

Okay you have probably already read this classic but it is one of our all time favorites so I couldn’t leave it off this night themed list. My kids and I both love this adventure through Mickey’s dream about baking cake with three bakers in the "night kitchen." It’s just so imaginative and magical. This book is on the list of banned children’s books because the cartoon illustration of Mickey loses his clothes while falling into the night and into a bowl of dough. To that I say we own it and love it.

(more about Project ABC)

ABC Intermission Part II

2010-10-07T08:00:00.002-06:00

When I was tiny I loved to print letters on paper for hours. I especially enjoyed writing in cursive (or long connecting squiggles that I thought looked quite comparable to cursive). H doesn’t care for letter writing as much as I did, well, not with a pen anyway. He doesn’t so much mind making letter shapes in a bag of chocolate pudding however; in fact, I dare say he enjoys it.

Not exactly an original project but it’s a fast and easy one my kids have started to request. Of course you could do this right on the counter top or on a piece of wax paper—this is the ultra-clean version.

(more about Project A-B-C)

ABC Intermission Part I

2010-10-06T08:00:00.018-06:00

I wanted to take an ABC intermission to share with you some alphabet books we like. Why is the alphabet so fascinating? We have a small collection of alphabet art and I think it might be a good idea to start an alphabet book collection too. There are so many we love, in fact, the only way I could think to narrow down our picks was to select books we actually own or ones we have checked out from the library more than once—and recently. Shall we begin?

The first book is a board book the hubs and I picked out for H before he was born. It’s called Alphabet City Out on the Streets by Michael De Feo. To create this book the artist plastered his kid-friendly silk screen art throughout the city walls of Manhattan to create a distinct and brilliant way of displaying objects that correspond to a letter in the alphabet.

Even if you are not partial to graffiti style art, the oversize images make for, not only a unique way to introduce the alphabet, but also makes for a great word book for little ones.

Our second selection is called The Graphic Alphabet by graphic designer, David Pelletier. As a graphic designer myself, I might be moderately biased in favor of this book but I think many parents would appreciate the thoughtfulness and creativity in the way each letter is displayed.

My favorite page is the way Pelletier has portrayed the letter, V to look like vampire fangs. My 4 year old gets excited about detecting the letter shape on each page as some of the letters take a little imagination to identify.

The third alphabet pick is called Alphabeasties and other Amazing Types by Sharon Werner and Sarah Forss. The beginning of this book has an introduction about a the definition of typeface and how different typefaces can provoke various emotions so I was excited about this book from the start but my kids were so uninterested with this explanation of type that I had to skip over it and read it again later on my own time. The rest of the books content, however, they loved. Each letter of the alphabet is represented in the shape of an animal.

Another thing my kids love about this book is that many of the pages fold out so the animal image is expanded in size making the book very interactive and interesting. The book also contains other creative examples of letterforms turning into objects that they begin with (the letter, “O” could become an owl or an ornament hanging on a tree) and by the end the children are encouraged to make their own shapes from letters which I think would be a fun activity for slightly older children (ages 4 +).

Our last recommendation is an alphabet book I received from one of my Aunts when I was younger. It’s called Animalia by Graeme Base. This book takes you on a journey through the alphabet, alliteration-style. You will truly get lost in the detailed, fanciful illustrated scenes on each page that not only suitably embodies the alliterative text but is also loaded with objects that also begin with the featured letter.

Some objects are in plain view and some objects are somewhat hidden. This book takes you on an alphabet treasure hunt you'll just have to experience for yourself. This was a favorite of mine growing up and now it’s a favorite for my kids.

(more about Project A-B-C)

M is for Mangy Monster

2010-10-05T08:00:00.001-06:00

We made this Mangy Monster using:

Chipboard from a cereal box for letter base

Orange construction paper

Wool Yarn for "fur"

Craft pom poms

Googely eyes

Glue: white Elmer’s for “fur” and hot glue for pom poms and googly eyes

A Monster book we like:

For some reason my kids are obsessed with Halloween—year round, consequently, we end up checking out at least one Halloween book per library visit which also means we read a lot of monster books.

On a recent library trip we came across an adorable non-Halloween Monster book called, Jeremy Draws a Monster by Peter McCarty. In this story little Jeremy prefers drawing alone in his room rather than playing outside with the neighborhood children. One day Jeremy draws a monster but the monster ends up being extremely demanding and quite rude. Eventually Jeremy decides the monster has worn out his welcome and so he takes him to the public transportation and sends him off for good. While Jeremy is seeing off the monster, the neighborhood children gather around him and asked if he’d like to play, he decides he does. A little reminiscent of Harold and the Purple Crayon and the main character draws his old world. A great, simple and cute read in both the story and illustrations. I highly recommend this one.

(more on Project A-B-C)

L is for Ligneous Ladder

2010-10-04T08:00:00.002-06:00

We made this Ligneous Ladder using:

Chipboard cut from a cereal box for letter base

Scrapbook paper with leaf pattern

Wooden craft sticks for ladder

Green marker to color craft sticks

Glue: stick and hot glue for the ladder

A Ladder book we like:

Okay so this one isn’t about ladders but you’ll find quite a few in the illustrations of this book called Jungle Gym Jitters by Chuck Richards. The mostly monochromatic graphite illustrations are magnificent. The story describes a little boy, Jerry, whose father has a “brain for play” which leads him to convert the kids’ tree house into a giant jungle gym that gets higher and higher by the day. Jerry doesn’t appreciate his father’s creative genius as the elaborate gym gives him the jitters. In the end however, Jerry just might find the courage to brave the sky-high gym to save his sister who is caught in a flaming towering contraption.

I thought the role of father and the role of the son competed a bit too much for lead character in the story but my kids certainly didn’t seem to mind and the impressive illustrations made up for this minor flaw.

(more on Project A-B-C)

K is for Kindly Kisses

2010-10-03T08:00:00.002-06:00

We made our Kind Kisses using:

Chipboard cut from a cereal box for letter base

Red construction paper

Glue: Stick

Kiss stamp, embossing stamp pad, pink embossing powder and heat source

Kiss books we like:

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn and illustrated by Ruth E. Harper and Nancy M Leak is a story about little Chester Raccoon, who is nervous about his first day of school and tells his mother that he’d prefer to stay home with her. To comfort him his mother passes down her tradition of “the kissing hand” as she gives his hand a kiss right in the middle of his palm. She explains how with her kiss in his hand, he will be able to have her comfort wherever he goes. This book is definitely saturated with sweetness but my kids really love it and since reading this book we have adapted the kissing hand tradition in our own home.

Audrey Penn has two other kissing related books that make up a series with the first book although there is no requirement to read them all or to read them in order for comprehension. Both books present objectionable change for Chester the raccoon as he becomes a big brother (A Pocket Full of Kisses) and when his family has to move to another forest (A kiss Goodbye). My kids liked these books as well but it may have been partly from the fact that they were familiar with the characters. These last two books are illustrated by Barbara Leonard Gibson.

(more on Project A-B-C)

J is for Junque Jewels

2010-10-02T08:00:00.002-06:00

We made this Junque Jeweled J using:

Chipboard from a cereal box for letter base

Blue construction paper

Crafting jewels

Glue: stick and hot to adhere jewels

Jewel books we like:

We came across the book Moon Lake by Ivan Gantschev and Marianne Martens at the library one day. The illustrations in this book have sort of a 'folky' European, almost ethereal look which is perfect for this fable of a magic lake encrusted with jewels and other precious stones. My kids enjoyed this magical story about greed, kindness and integrity.

If your kids are into folklore type literature they might also like another book we have read called The Little Moon Princess by Yi Lee which is a legend about how all the stars in the sky came to be; a moon princess of course, who decided to throw her jewels into the firmament to light up the lonely night and provide comfort for the universe.

(more about Project A-B-C)

I is for (not so-Icky) Insects

2010-10-01T08:00:00.035-06:00

We made our (not so-Icky) Insect using:

Chipboard from a cereal box for letter base

Green felt

Plastic Insects
Glue: while Elmer’s, hot glue to adhere insects

Insect books we like:

There certainly is not a shortage of insect books available so today I thought I’d just focus on one insect, the fly. Has anyone read Old Black Fly by Jim Aylesworth, illustrated by Stephen Gammell? The nasty little fly in the story takes the reader on a journey through the alphabet (and we are discussing the alphabet after all) as he meddels with nearly every object in the house. The artwork in this book is unique to a children’s picture book, the wild watercolor splatter on every page is almost sinister and perfectly mimics the menacing fly’s demeanor and deeds. You won’t feel bad for the fly when he gets swatted at the end. My kids like to smash the book closed before the last page and then open it back up to reveal the swatted fly (which is actually just a burst of colorful paint that covers the page). It’s a fun, even gross read that both my kids are into.

And since we are on the discussion of flies, There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly is a classic rhyme in book form that my kids adore. I realize this is hardly a book about insects but it does begin with a fly. We have checked out many versions of this story but their favorite is the one by Simms Talbek.

If you don't have this book make your own puppet version like we did HERE.

Lastly, since we’re on the topic, we recently checked out a book called Thelonius Monster’s Sky-high Fly Pie, a rhyming book by Judy Sierra with “delicious drawings”—as the cover of the book puts it—by comic book artist, Edward Koren. Thelonius the monster has a sweet tooth for flies and therefore decides to make a fly-pie to enjoy with all his monster friends. This book actually reminded me of The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly in some regards. The conclusion to this story however, does not result in death for the monsters or the flies. Expect a silly, fun book with harmonizing imagery.

(more about Project A-B-C)

H is for 'Hooray for Happy'

2010-09-30T08:00:00.003-06:00

We made our Happy H using:

Chipboard cut from a cereal box for letter base

Orange construction paper and scissors

Happy Face Stickers

Glue: Stick

A happy book we like is:

Hip, Hip, Hooray for Annie McRae written by Brad Wilcox and illustrated by Julie Olson. Yet again, it was the cover that drew us to this book (because, really, books should be designed/illustrated with the purpose of being judged) and it has truly become one of my favorite books to read to my kids. It’s such a great story for teaching kids how to be their own cheerleader and not base their well-being on the praise they get from others (a major goal of mine with my children). I honestly think all parents should read this to their children. Beyond having a worthy moral, my kids loved the illustrations and thought Annie’s cowgirl jargon was funny.

(More about Project A-B-C)

G is for Glitter and Gold

2010-09-29T08:00:00.006-06:00

We made our Golden, Glittery G using:

Chipboard cut from a cereal box for letter base

Green construction paper

Gold craft glitter

Glue: stick, white Elmer’s for glitter

Glitter and Gold books we like:

I couldn’t think of a book all about glitter or one entirely dedicated to gold so I thought I’d offer two book recommendations; one with a little glitter and the other with a little gold. The first book is Alice the Fairy written and illustrated by David Shannon. This story is told in first person by young Alice, who is a fairy...or a wanna-be fairy anyway, she hasn't quite figured out how to make the piles of clothes on her floor dance onto hangers in her closet and things like that. The art work is typical to Shannon’s well known stories like No, David and David Gets in Trouble. Although this is a book about a fairy in training, my two boys adore it as all preschoolers, regardless of their gender, seem to have many of the same opinions on life.

Now for the gold…recently we read a pirate book called How I became a Pirate by Melinda Long but illustrated by David Shannon (which was initially why I chose this book). My kids ended up liking it and seemed to be able to relate well to the main character in this book as well. We have also read the sequel to this book which is called, Pirates Don't Change Diapers. My four year old liked how the two stories connected and said Pirates Don't Change Diapers was his favorite out of the two (I liked the first one best).

(More about Project A-B-C)

F is for Funky Feathers

2010-09-28T08:00:00.008-06:00

We made this Funky F using:

Chipboard from a cereal box for the letter base

Yellow construction paper and scissors

Colored craft feathers

Glue: white Elmer’s

A Feather book we like is:

Feathers for Lunch by Louis Elhert which is a charming book about one unlucky little cat who makes many attempts at catching a wild bird for lunch but only comes close enough to snack on a feather or two. The unique artwork in the book is beautifully simple and most of the birds are accurate in size to the bird it was modeled after. At the end of the story the reader is presented with a “scientific” description of each bird. Both my two and four year old enjoyed this book.

Speaking of birds, another book we like is actually called Birds by Kevin Henkes, illustrated by Laura Dronzek. This is another simple yet charming book that even very young children can likely stay attentive for as it talks about different colors and sizes of birds. The book becomes subtly poetic before the end.

(More about Project A-B-C)

E is for Expendable Eggshells

2010-09-27T08:00:00.007-06:00

We made this Egg-shelled E using:

Chipboard cut from cereal box for letter base

Purple construction paper and scissors

Broken Eggshells

Glue: stick and white Elmer’s for eggshells

An Eggy book we like is:

Egg Drop by Mini Grey. This is a story about an egg that is fascinated with flying but since he doesn’t yet have wings the egg’s endeavor to do so leads to his fatality. Attempts are made to repair the egg but much like Humpty Dumpty, he is unable to be put together again. The poor egg shell has become expendable, there is a bright side however, as you will find out when you read this story. My two year old was crazy about this book and wanted it read over and over.

(More about Project A-B-C)

D is for Digging Dirt

2010-09-26T08:00:00.008-06:00

We made this Dirty D using:

Cardboard from cereal box as letter base

White construction paper and scissors

Dirt from our backyard

Glue: white Elmer's

Dirt books we like:

Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion

In this book the family dog, Harry, hates taking baths so he hides the scrub brush and runs away. When he finally returns home, he is so dirty his own family doesn’t recognize him causing him to reconsider bathtime. This book was originally published in 1956 and hasn’t lost any appeal as far as we can tell.

Meet Wild Boars by Meg Rosoff, illustrated by Sophie Blackall

I’d like to recommend this book with a warning. …It was the hard backed cover’s illustration of four adorably dirty boars that caused me to snatch this book up in the library. My warning to you is that this book is irreverently comical as the reader becomes privy to the dangers of being friendly with ill-mannered, dirty, (pooping) boars. The illustrations throughout the book certainly did not displease. Personally I thought the crudeness was minor as it was embellished for silliness and as an adult, I was easily able to distinguish between intolerance for disgusting/disturbing behavior in cartoon animals from intolerance for real people who may exhibit a similar yet less exaggerated form of “bad-behavior” but while I was reading this to my children, my concern was that they would be unable to discern the same way. I suppose even more than recommend this book; I’d like to get your opinion. Have you read this book? Do you think I am being dramatic? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Also does anyone remember the book Dirty Feet by Steven Kroll, illustrated by Toni Hormann? I don’t own a copy nor does my library carry one but I remember it being one of my favorites as a kid.

(More about Project A-B-C)

C is for Cruising Car

2010-09-25T08:00:00.026-06:00

We made this Cruising Car using:

Chipboard cut from cereal box for letter base

Black and yellow construction paper and scissors

Matchbox car

Glue: stick and hot glue to adhere car

A car book we like is:

If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen. In this book a little boy describes to his dad all the things his car would do if he had the opportunity to design his own vehicle. The young boy has quite an imagination as his car comes equipped with things like a robot to act as driver, a snack bar and swimming pool just to name a few amenities. The car can also transform into other useful vehicles like an aircraft and submarine. This is a rhyming book with great illustrations. In fact, we have checked out all the Chris Van Dusen books our library offers and we have enjoyed them all.

(More about Project A-B-C)

B is for Buzzing Bee

2010-09-24T08:00:00.053-06:00

We made this Bumbling B using:

Chipboard cut from a cereal box stock as letter base

Yellow construction paper and scissors

Glue: stick and hot glue for eyes

Black embossing powder (with embossing ink and heat source) for stripes on bee

Vellum paper for the wings

Googly eyes

Yellow pip cleaner and black felt for the antennae

Bee books we like:

Bee Wigged by Cece Bell is a sweet book about a giant bee that has trouble making friends because; although he is friendly and kind he is, well, a giant bee. One day he thinks his problems may be solved when he finds a wig lying on the street which he is able to use as a disguise to make friends but what happens when the wig falls off during the town parade? You’ll have to read and find out. Cute story about kindness and acceptance.

Another Bee book we love is called The Bee Tree by the wonderful Patricia Polacco. This story is about a young girl who is growing tired of her reading lessons. Her grandfather decides to give her a break while taking her on a bee tree hunt to find the bees honey. The bee chase and the scoring of honey provide the grandfather an opportunity to teach his granddaughter the value of reading as it is also a way to seek adventure and “sweetness.” My 4 year old is able to appreciate the moral of the story (as well as the length) much more than does my 2 year old so I'd say it's best for ages 4 plus. As for me, I loved each and every illustration as usual with Polacco’s books.

(More about Project A-B-C)

A is for Antsy Ants

2010-09-23T10:28:00.005-06:00

We made this Antsy Ants Capitol A using:

Chipboard cut from a cereal box for letter base

Vinyl table cloth (from dollar store)

Black felt and scissors to create ants

Glue: stick and Elmer’s white

Felt tip marker and pens for drawing legs on ant

Ant books we like:

Our favorite book about ants is one we actually own called, Hey little Ant by Phillip M. Hoose, Hannah Hoose and illustrated by Debbie Tilley. In this story a little boy comes close to ending the life of an ant by squishing him with his shoe. The story gets good when the ant trys to persuade the boy to preserve his life, comparing how similar his life is to the boy’s life. In the end of the book the readers are left to make the decision themselves whether the boy should save or squish the insect. It’s fun to see the kids respond to this question and to hear their justification for either answer as it’s not always the same. The words in the book are actually lyrics to a song that is preformed by the Hooses and you can find the melody to the song in the back of the book.

Speaking of songs about Ants, The Ants go Marching is a classic ditty for musical ant discussion and you can find a lot of books that correspond with the song. We own this one.

(More about Project A-B-C)

Project A-B-C

2010-09-22T10:14:00.011-06:00

About this time last year I decided I wanted to create some type of alphabet art as décor for H’s playroom walls. On other blogs, I had seen parents crafting a “letter of the week” with their children, decorating the letter in a way that relates to the sound the letter makes. I thought decorating individual letters with H while talking about the shape and sound of a letter might be a good way to accomplish my goal and also provide a super simple learning opportunity for H. So that is exactly what we did.

Because I wanted the letters to become permanent fixtures to our walls—or at least at long as they lasted, we spent a good 20 minutes on many of our letters. Typically I would ask H what he could think of that started with the letter of the day and then we would create that thing within the shape of the letter using various supplies we already had at home.

We've spent most of the season outdoors this year and therefore I have unintentionally taken a summer vacation from blogging but since summer is officially over I thought it might be fun to make up for the lack of posting by sharing one of our letters here each day, describing the materials we used to create each letter as well as include a corresponding (choice) book we have checked out from the library.

Please come back each day to meet one of our capital letters.

Chalk Board Wall

2010-09-01T00:27:00.012-06:00

For the past couple summers I have been neglecting my aspiration to make the kids an outdoor, moveable chalkboard wall but this summer I was finally able to scratch the task off the to-do list. Yay!

I did a little blog research to find out how others accomplished this same pursuit. I was mostly taking note on what type of wood people were using but once I was at the home improvement store I ended up leaving with a bedroom door as a canvas for my soon-to-be chalk board. This actually worked out really well because unlike the wood planks I was considering, the door was already primed, the inside was hollow so although it was somewhat heavy it was hardly impossible to move and the price was well within my budget.

The door I picked out was 3 feet wide and we had one of the workers cut off a couple feet in the length of the door making it about 4 and a half feet long. This means, even though I am just over 5 ft tall, I can carry the board around lengthwise without too much difficulty.

When I brought home the supplies for the project, I figured the kids would be breaking out the chalk after lunch the next day but I didn’t consider the 4 hour time gap required between coats (I think I painted 3 coats just to be safe) and I really didn’t expect the 3 day time gap required before conditioning and writing on it but maybe that was just the brand of paint I bought which I purchased at Home Depot. For a finishing touch I painted the edges of the board with pink acrylic paint. I quite like the way it came out. (These photos aren’t the greatest but you get the idea. And don't worry, chalkboard writing is not as dangers as the pictures make it appear, my kids like to alternate chalk board writing with their skateboard riding—hence the helmets.)

Although I originally wanted this to be for outdoor use, we’ve enjoyed it indoors just as much and it does make a pretty sweet photo back drop as a bonus.

Noodle Ice Cream

2010-08-11T21:16:00.007-06:00

The kids' Grammy was in town recently and like most of her visits, this meant the craft bin would be restocked with some type of to-do project. I always know when a crafty activity is about to take place when my mom begins to pull random objects out of her bag like Mary Poppins. The project for this weekend was pasta coloring.

I’m pretty sure the last time I colored food was over two years ago so we were in major need of a pasta rainbow growing on our counter top.

[Few things are as nice to look at as a beaming pasta rainbow]

A couple weeks after the visit from Grammy we pulled out the multi-colored pasta and enjoyed a make with the neighborhood children. To stay true to the season, we made “noodle ice cream.” To do this we needed white round cardstock circles to mimic scoops of ice cream (I used a 2 inch circle paper punch), brown triangle shapes to mimic ice cream cones (cut with scissors from craft paper), white school glue, cardstock folded into cards to glue our creations to and of course the colored noodles to symbolize various flavors of ice cream.

The older kids had fun inventing their own new ice cream flavors and some of the little ones had fun digging their little mitts into the noodles while mixing colors.

Yum! The final creations looked good enough to eat; we didn’t however, the combination of paper, glue and rubbing alcohol was sweet on the eyes but probably not so much on the tummy.

To color your own pasta or rice you will need:

Uncooked pasta or rice

Rubbing alcohol

Food coloring

Zip lock bags and

Paper towels or old rags

Fill zip lock bags with rubbing alcohol and food coloring, one bag per color of course. (The amount of rubbing alcohol you add will depend on how much pasta/rice you are coloring. I like the liquid to just cover the solid, the solid will soak up much of the alcohol while it’s “marinating” if you use this technique.)

After giving the filled bag a good shaking you may decide to add more coloring if you want a more saturated look (especially with the purple if you are coloring yellow pasta). After shaking the noodles around for a bit, let them soak in the liquid while moving on to your next color. When your pasta is reaching the desired color, lay the pasta flat on your rags or paper towels to dry.

Drying time typically takes a few hours. Once the (now inedible) food is completely dry you can begin a colorful pasta collage or bag it up for the next rainy day.

Wooden Worry Dolls

2010-05-20T16:56:00.004-06:00

One night when Hendrix was having bedtime woes I told him we’d have to get him a set of worry dolls, (those miniature hand assembled dolls that have a knack for vanishing worries while tucked under your pillow as you doze off to dreamland). It was the first he had ever heard of such a tale. He was beyond astonished at this fact and requested he become the owner of a pack of these dolls immediately.

Later I pulled out my own pouch of childhood worry dolls and I remembered how teeny-tiny they were, each doll no larger than a plump raisin. I became worried a certain 2 year old hand might think of his 4 year old brother's worry dolls as a snack should he receive a set. So instead we decided to fashion a non-choking hazard alternative; we made our worry dolls from wooden pegs and acrylic paint.

I purchased two sizes of pegs at the craft store to suggest age variation among the dolls. Hendrix and I each painted a family of 5 (or two adults and three kids) and little Avi (the 2 year old) painted three child-sized pegs. We drew faces on the peg people with sharpie markers.

Although Hendrix occasionally buries the dolls under his pillow at night after expressing a worry or two, both my kids especially LOVE playing with them during the day. To be honest, this neighborhood of peg people is probably their new favorite toy, at least for the time being.

Any craft that can actually provides a use when it’s completed qualifies for gold stars in my opinion. I highly recommend this project. If you paint these dolls with the intent of using them as toys I would recommend adding a coat of spray varnish after the paint dries (either glossy or matte), just to keep them in better shape. Oh and just as a P.S., I am in no way claiming these dolls all 100% choke proof. In fact, probably only the larger sized pegs would pass the choke tube test. Still, the size does very much decease the opportunity to mistake the toy for, say, a tasty looking M&M.

Silly Dogs

2010-05-04T16:27:00.001-06:00

The ‘going bonkers’ scale was shooting through the roof today at our house. You’d think these kids were snorting sugar or something. When lunch time rolled around they were way too goofy for a standard PB&J so instead we made silly dogs!

We made this delicacy by inserting dry spaghetti noodles into cold hot dogs and then boiled them until the noodles became soft. To my surprise and delight, having them prepare their own lunch calmed them down enough to actually eat it which means we will be making this meal again. The kids claimed to love the taste too; I’ll stick with the PB&J myself, thank you!

Hello Spring: Ladybug Release and Brunch

2010-04-09T17:44:00.009-06:00

To welcome spring, we decided to have a ladybug release party and brunch with all our friends.

The brunch was pot luck style so everyone brought something yummy to share. The ladybug portion of the celebration involved the release of 2,000 ladybugs. The second I cut open the net bag they had been stowed away in, the bugs were crawling out all over me then one by one they started flying off into the air or unto the body of one of the many preschoolers who surrounded me.

Once all the bugs had evacuated the bag, I carefully sloughed off my body, any remaining bugs and the kids went ladybug hunting, searching the grasses with magnifying glass at hand.

We also had bug rubbing plates as an additional activity or for those who didn’t appreciate the possibility of being covered with the spotted insect but most of the kids didn’t mind at least getting within an arms length of bug examination.

I think this ladybug activity is seriously one of my most favorites to date! Since the food was pot luck the event cost a mere $10 for the bag of 2,000 ladybugs which I picked up at my local garden store. Worth every penny indeed!

A word of advice: if you do this acivity at home make sure all the kids are gathered around ready with their empty baby food jars and magnifying glass at hand before cutting open the bag. Those lady bugs won’t be waiting around for an audience before flying off into the wide world…(or a couple feet away in a sunny patch of grass). Also make sure your camera is charged and strapped around the neck of an assigned photographer. That way you won’t have to send one of the parents in your home on a camera hunt while the ladybugs have their best camera face on. (Of coarse I am coming up with this scenario completely off the top of my head, I have a good imagination ;)

Most pics here were taken by a couple friends of mine, Katie Murihead and Trent Covington, who were both gracious enough to take photos of the event.

Leprechaun Sightings: Cobbler Foot Print How-To

2010-03-15T11:49:00.008-06:00

Does everyone have their leprechaun traps set for St. Patrick’s Day? We are a little behind on trap setting this year because we have been sick, sick, sick but we know those sneaky little cobblers have been lurking about because we have seen tiny green footprints everywhere and our milk keeps going green!

If you are celebrating the green holiday with the kiddies this year and you have yet to see any evidence of leprechauns on the prowl, you could always make-believe!

To start your own leprechaun sighting game, you will need:

• a plastic or metal lid from an old bottle or jar (I used lids from a baby food jar)
• sticky back craft foam or non sticky back craft foam with glue
• scissors
• a green washable marker or ink pad

From the craft foam you will cut out tiny shoe-shaped foot prints and then attach them to the top of the lid. Need I go on?…A stamping you will go. Don’t forget to use WASHABLE ink unless you want to tattoo all your furniture and appliances with the spirit of Saint Pat.

This activity has been loads of fun for my kids. Whenever they spot these mini shoeprints they begin to search for the mischief those little sneaks have left behind. They especially like when they find a chocolate gold coin or two that the leprechauns have dropped by mistake.

(I originally posted this project here)

Sketching with Dr. Seuss : Hardback Sketchbook Tutorial

2010-03-02T15:59:00.005-07:00

As a birthday tribute to Dr. Seuss (and because we had some Dr. Seuss book covers lying around from a different project) we decided to make some Dr. Seuss Sketch books. I have created a quick tutorial for you to make these at home.

You will need:
An old hardback book (check out your local thrift store)
Paper
3 hole punch or hand held punch
utility knife and ruler or scissors
Paper cutter (or one of the cutting tools above)
Drill and a 7/32 bit
Scrap block of wood or thick stack of scrap paper
Yarn/twine or metal book rings (they come in various sizes)
Large eyed needle (optional)

STEP 1: First you will need to remove the pages from the hardback book you have selected and cut out the spine. If the original pages are sewn into the book you can snip the twine found at the center page using a sharp pair of scissors or your utility blade and remove all the pages at once. If the pages are glued into the spine, you can cut them out right along with the spine of the book using your ruler and utility knife. Set book pages aside for another project.

STEP 2: Gather the paper you have chosen for the guts of the book and cut down to about 1/4 inch shorter, (vertically and horizontally) than the book over itself. This will give you a nice border when your stack of paper is centered on the inside of the covers. (Our book covers were about 6 ½” x 9 ¼” so we cut our paper to 6 ¼” x 9”). Next you will want to punch holes in the long edge using a 3 hole paper puncher or a hand held punch.

STEP 3: Line up and center one of the papers you just punched near the edge of the book cover. With a pen mark where the book shows though the holes this will be your drill markings. Place the cover on top of a piece of scrap wood and drill through the marking you just made. Repeat this step for all holes and the back cover. If you don’t want to bother with a drill or if you want to get really fancy, you could take the covers to a copy center like Fed Ex Office and they can drill these for you. If you choose this alternative, have them drill your pre-cut paper while you’re at it.

STEP 4: Now for binding. The easy way of doing this is to use metal book rings which come in many sizes. They pull open and squeeze close which makes it easy to remove and add pages to your sketch book. (The image above is sketchbook a friend of mine made for me and it depicts this method).

If you don’t want to have to buy these rings you can always use twine or yarn to tie your book together which is what we did for ours. We did this by inserted the yarn through both ends of facing holes. Then we crossed our yarn strands and stuck it through the hole opposite of the hole it was coming through (one end at a time). We stuck the yarn back through its original hole, double knotted it and snipped off the excess. If you choose to go this route when binding your own books, just make sure the book is able to lay flat with the spine lightly touching when you are knotting the thread, otherwise you could bind too tightly causing the paper to get stuck or tear as you turn the pages.

STEP 5: Get sketching!

I hope you have fun trying this simple project at home. Also, if the original paper you have removed from your book is still in good shape you may want to frame some of your favorite illustrations for instant home decor. Otherwise you could use the scraps to make envelopes, gift tags, postcards…the list goes on and on. What ideas are you brewing up?

Very Literal Love Notes

2010-02-19T13:51:00.004-07:00

We pulled out the origami paper, alphabet stamper and ink to create some very literal love notes for Valentine’s Day.

This was the easiest valentine project ever since Hendrix (age 4) was able to create these notes all by himself by stamping the simple message, “love” on some pretty paper.

In each envelope he also added two heart shaped crayons which we made from old broken crayons, a silicone heart mold and oven.

(For our size of mold it took about 35 minutes for the crayons to melt down entirely with the oven set at 250 degrees).

Although valentines is over the message and crayons live on. Send your sweetie a love note today!

Sweet Talk: DIY Conversation Hearts

2010-02-18T14:33:00.011-07:00

After purchasing our customary bag of conversations hearts for this month of love, I began to wonder how much research it would take to come up with a homemade version of these little candy treasures.

I decided to ask internet to help me investigate the possibilities of this task. As usual, Internet came throughand provided me with the perfect recipe and photo tutorial for making these famous treats from scratch.

I helped Hendrix and a little girlfriend of his make these over the Valentines weekend but I think it would make a fun anytime kitchen activity.

To MAKE THESE at HOME you will:

Mix ½ cup of water and 2 tsp of light corn syrup to one packet or 2 tsp of unflavored gelatin until the gelatin is well-distributed. Microwave the mix for 30 seconds to dissolve the gelatin, stir well.

Add gelatin mixture to a mixing bowl along with 1 cup of powdered sugar. Mix ingredients using the paddle attachment (you can also use a handheld mixer). When the sugar is well blended you will add another cup of powdered sugar and mix until well-blended again. Continue this process until you have added 2 lb of powdered sugar. The dough should be stiff at this point.

Next you will knead the sticky dough on a generously-dusted powdered sugar surface. Roll the dough over itself adding powdered sugar as needed to decrease the stickiness.

When the dough is the right consistency, you can add color and flavoring. We separated our dough into 5 balls for 5 different colors and flavors. We added the color first (lightest color first) and then we added the flavoring extracts using what we had on hand; vanilla, coconut, bubblegum, banana, and cinnamon. The flavoring possibilities are endless.

Finally you will roll your dough and cut using small heat shaped cutters. You can make as thick as you like but you may want to roll out a thinner version of the store bought candy if your cutters are large.

You can place cut out candies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment. Leave treats uncovered on cookie sheet overnight to dry—NO baking necessary!

Once dried you can add you own special message to each heart using food writing makers which you can find in the baking aisle at most craft stores.
If you didn't notice, the ingredients and supply list for this project are the items are in color above. For further details see recipie HERE.

There you have it, your very own conversation hearts!

(top image credit: Brittany...my sister!)

Valentine Love Mitts

2010-02-05T11:09:00.008-07:00

Hey there friends! I just shared a valentine tutorial with the readers over at FaveCrafts.com. You can read all about how to make your own I-Love-You-This-Much Love Mitts right HERE.

Oh yeah, and I am also sharing my current 5 favorite blogs on the Fave Crafts blog right HERE.

Writings on the Wall

2010-01-30T11:01:00.005-07:00

Yesterday morning Hendrix woke up and said, “I have a great idea! Let’s wrap ourselves in paper and put paper all over the walls then we can draw on ourselves and everything!”

I wasn’t so sure about the “body wraps.” I envisioned myself imprisoned in a stiff sheet of butcher paper roasting over an indoor campfire, makered-up from head to toe while my kids marched around me sporting loin cloths and tribal body paint. The paper on the wall however, that I was willing to attempt.

So right after breakfast we got out a brown roll of paper and colored chalk to create an imaginary city.

My favorite part is the plethora of fruit falling from the tree in a perfect row (click on photo to enlarge) and the scribbly clouds, I wish they were real

P.S. Since taking these pics, I have made it a goal to have the kids (and myself) dressed before noon.

Snow Globing!

2010-01-28T09:30:00.003-07:00

For our last group make project we made snow globes.

Here’s how we did it (notice ingredients in bold text):

First we wanted to attach our miniatures to the lid of the baby jar. (Miniature trees and snowmen came from the craft store). Rather than gluing the objects directly to the lid, we glued them to a stack of 4 poker chips which I had pre-glued to the lid beforehand (after I had lightly sanded the lid). Our baby jars had a pattern in the glass on one end of the jar which would have distorted our winter scene so having the poker chips as leverage solved that problem.

We used hot glue to attach our objects to the poker chips but I think I would recommend using a waterproof sealant if you want to keep the globe as a real keepsake. The only downside to using glue like this is you might have to wait an hour or two before the next step whereas hot glue dries in seconds.

We set our lid aside while we added distilled water to our baby jar. We filled the jars as much as possible while still allowing the objects to fit inside with no water spilling over. Just before attaching our lid—objects affixed—we added a few pinches of chunky glitter and a drop or two of glycerin. The chunky glitter is easier to see than fine glitter and it is heavy enough to fall to the bottom. The glycerin slows down the speed of the falling glitter (I found this in the supermarket pharmacy by the way). We were careful not to add too much glycerin to avoid clumping up the glitter.

Lastly, we ran a ring of hot glue around the inside of our pre-assembled lid and then screwed it on tightly.

A great project for a last group make if you ask me. Thank you again to all my lovely make supporters! *tear* You guys are the best! I’d love it if you come back to visit the blog periodically as we share our at-home making adventures.

Happy making.

p.s. please excuss my lack of photo documentation!

Snowy Days Ahead

2010-01-16T11:27:00.008-07:00

Hi friends, I hope you all had a great holiday and that you are enjoying the New Year so far!

For the January Make I thought we'd celebrate the season by making our own mini snow globes. The fee for this Make will provide your child with all the supplies necessary but if you'd like your scene to contain something other than a snow covered tree and snowman figure OR if you'd like a globe larger than that of a baby jar sized container then feel free to bring your own plastic miniature trinkets and/or larger jar to assemble.
LET'S MEET: In the church primary room on Friday the 22nd of January at 10am
FEES SHMEES: $2 cash per child/per snow globe

RSVP: On or before the night of Wednesday, January 20th. To do this, leave a comment under this post or send me an email (see sidebar). This will ensure their will be enough supplies for everyone attending.

ALSO: This months Make will complete a years worth of Make activities and it will actually be the very last Make! I am so grateful to everyone who has participated and supported the Make group whether it has been through attending the group or simply taking an interest to the things that have been posted here. I will continue to use this blog to share some of the activities and projects my kids and I are doing in our home as well as some other goodies. And, as always, feel free to submit your own kiddie projects or parental goodies, I'd be more than happy to post all about it or provide a link to your blog regarding the details.

Well that about covers it...Happy Making!

(image credit)

Stay at Home Make

2009-12-03T06:00:00.006-07:00

We will not be having a make for the month of December so instead I thought I would share a recipe for an easy stay-at-home-make; SNOW ICE CREAM!

This might gross out some of you because it involves eating real fallen snow. If you're like me, however, as long as it's not yellow, I don't do much to stop my kids from a chomping on few flaky handfuls. I learned this recipe from my mom who made it for me a many snowy days when I was a kid.

You will need:

fresh, clean snow
milk
sugar
vanilla

I did no measuring but if you want to be precise the internet is full of recipes. I added milk to the snow until it became the consistency of soft seve ice cream then I added sugar and a bit of vanilla...time for a taste test...you might need a little more sugar, milk or vanilla...it's up to you. Enjoy!

P.S. Paula Deen's recipe contains sweetened condensed milk in place of milk and sugar! I haven't tried it yet but I am pretty much game for any recipes involving condensed milk.

Activity Advent

2009-12-02T13:56:00.007-07:00

We decided to count down the days until Christmas with an activity-advent calendar to go along with our chocolate one.

I inserted a to-do item in each miniature box (found at a paper warehouse for 40 cents each). Then I wrapped each box with tissue, ribbon and feathers.

Each day Hendrix will find the number of the day and unwrap to revel the activity.

Today we will string popcorn for a little extra Christmas tree decor. Here's what is to come:

Set up Christmas tree and arrange Christmas decorations
String popcorn for the tree
Learn a Christmas song
Nativity puppet songs and stories
Reindeer Hats Craft
Take pictures in a homemade photo booth
Write a letter to Santa Clause
Homemade Marshmallows
Create Christmas cards and mail them
Look through toys and find something to donate
Make "snowball" soap
Bake and decorate gingerbread people
Take a Christmas surprise to the neighbors
Make ice ornaments for the great outdoors
Play a holiday game
Paint snowflakes on the window with window paint
Get on an airplane to visit family
Disneyland
Disneyland
Watch Christmas claymation movie
Make holiday play dough
Make snow ice cream
Neighborhood Christmas lights tour
Open Christmas eve gift (ornament)
Hooray! It's Christmas!

Nativity Puppet

2009-11-30T13:55:00.004-07:00

I just thought I'd share this handy way of telling the Christmas story...get it...handy? (He-he). The whole thing is made from felt and a one-size-fits-all glove. Of course you can adjust the characters as you see fit on your own glove. It also makes a great (frugal) gift for the kiddies.

Well Fed Villagers

2009-11-27T09:45:00.003-07:00

I must say that the stone soup activity we had this month might be my favorite make to date—definitely in the top 3!

The kids became the town villagers as they participated in telling a version of the Stone Soup story by placing pictures of veggies in our paper pot.

After that we made the real thing starting with just a few large stones. Everyone contributed by adding their own ingredient to the pot (pics don't do justice).

I have to admit, I really wasn't sure we would have enough veggies to make a substantial pot of soup but the veggies just kept coming and coming before we knew it we had a feast of a meal that was actually pretty friendly to our taste buds!

Thank you to everyone for the fabulous and tasty make!

Stone Soup

2009-11-12T17:04:00.008-07:00

( image from etsy seller ForEvelyn)

For the make this month, I thought we could get cozy with some yummy stone soup. What is stone soup you ask? Why, it's soup make from stones of course...(and maybe a little magic sprinkled about for flavor)!

We will read a version of the story Stone Soup, which tells the fable of a small group of poor villagers who work together to build a delicious soup that ends up feeding their once starving town. After reading the story we will all participate in making our own soup starting with just a stone. Each child will have the opportunity to add their own ingredient (which they will have brought from home) to the pot.

While the soup simmers the children will either color their own "stone soup" coloring sheets or they can participate in a little free play. When the soup is ready we will all sit together for a lovely stone soup lunch date!

I will also provide bread, crackers and cheese, as a soup side—you really don't want to miss this one! See you there.

LET'S MEET: In the church kitchen, Friday the 20th of November at 11am

FEES SHMEES: In place of cash this month please bring an item or two from the grocery list below. Please prep food items if necessary (wash, cut, chop, etc).

RSVP: On or before the night of Wednesday the 18th of November please leave a comment on this post or by email (see sidebar). If possible, please share what food item you are planning to bring.

GROCERIES: If you would rather bring an item that is not on the list...that is fine too! Here are some options...

6 red potatoes (cut in slices about 1/4-1/2 thick)
3 carrots (peeled and sliced)
1 zucchini (sliced)
1 summer squash (sliced)
1 onion (diced)
3 cloves garlic (mashed through a press)
1 stalk celery (sliced)
1/2 bell pepper (sliced/diced)
1 cup green beans (thawed if frozen)
1 large tomato (chopped up)
1/2 cup peas (thawed if frozen)
1/2-1 cup corn (thawed if frozen)

Little Pearl, Little Pearl, Let Me In!

2009-11-06T10:41:00.004-07:00

Here is a great anytime make brought to you by our friend Pearl and her mom Natalie. All kids and bunnies know that boxes make the best toys.

By the way, one day when Grammy came to visit, I learned that the container store has some great options for house making. My mom purchased 2 over sized corrugated white boxes for for Hendrix that supplied him with months of fun (you can even fold them flat for storing)! I think they were something around $5 each. So, if you haven't made any big-boxed purchases lately, and you're in the market for some kiddie real estate, check out the container store.

(photos from Natalie's original post HERE).

Pretty Pumpkin Recap

2009-10-26T01:11:00.007-06:00

If you weren't busy eating glue then you were using it to decoupage tissue paper onto little pumpkins!

To make these at home for your autumn decor, here is Charissa's 'pretty pumpkin' recipe:

we-be-little pumpkins which you will cover with squares of torn...
tissue paper using...
white glue (thinned with water) and fingers or craft sponge. Top it off with some...
glitter (optional)

Thank you Charissa for putting on such a great autumn time make!

Paper Crafting; Spooky Style

2009-10-23T21:05:00.002-06:00

We have been doing some Halloween paper crafts recently and below is a sampling of our efforts.

Skull and Crossbones Vertical Garlands:

These were made using 3 craft punches; a large circle, small circle and skull with crossbones. We assembled with a glue stick and craft thread. (Thread was glued between two circles, making it double sided).

This would be a great thing to hang in a doorway or better yet, use it as the backdrop for a Halloween photo booth.

Candy Corn Bunting:

No worries if you don't like candy corn—these ones are non-edible. We glued orange and yellow strips of paper on a sheet of white paper then I cut out triangle shapes. After that I smoothed the corners with a round corner punch. Before stringing all of them up on some craft thread, I went over the sides and corners of the candy shape with a brown pastel and cotton ball. Dulling down the bright card stock helped to sophisticate this embellishment just a bit—it candy corn can be sophisticated! I intentionally made this bunting from paper rather than fabric to save time but I think (even I) could have moved faster whipping it through the sewing machine had I used fabric. Oh well, fabric I didn't have and paper I did.

Halloween Badges:

The same skull and crossbones punch was used here. The rest was freehand. I basically followed a tutorial I got from HERE. It's SOOO easy and customizable by size. Wouldn't this be a cute prize to give out at a children's Halloween party? Otherwise you could use it as a little emblem to accompany your little one's costume on Halloween night. If your kids are anything like mine, they will just want to wear them around the house for fun, which is actually what we made these for very early in the month (that explains the tattered look of the ones pictured here). To make these badges wearable I hot glued a safety pin on the back. Fabric ones might be even cuter and you could use them year after year!

Projects like these are nice because I feel like they are a usable crafts, meaning they won't just go in the trash the next day and since I am definitely the one leading in tasks like these, Hendrix gets to be the 'big helper' by punching, sorting, and gluing or hold the pieces while I glue.

Innards

2009-10-22T17:27:00.007-06:00

Okay…labeling this project with something like ‘innards’ might be a little much for the preschool variety. I suppose you can change the name of this homemade slime-like substance to ‘Halloween Goop’ or ‘Ghoulish Goo’ really anything that doesn’t cause your youngster to imagine they are rolling their fingers around in inner body sludge! I am assuming though, that they are not the ones reading this so I am going to give you a recipe for innards.

You will need two ingredients; corn starch and water (oh and food coloring if you wish). This combination creates a really neat effect, giving you a putty that is sort of in-between a liquid and a solid. I thought a video demo would do more justice than pics so I have attached one here. Don't be scared when you see how messy we are in the video, we had been playing with it for quite some time—like an hour!

I did not measure out my ingredients, I just tested until it was the right consistency but if you are particular about that sort of thing, I’m sure you can find something online. This might be fun to combine with other Halloween sensory fun like peeled grapes for eye balls or wet spaghetti for brains...you get the idea.

Creatures of the Night

2009-10-21T10:34:00.006-06:00

Here is a little indoor décor project for your Halloween celebration. Would you guess that these creatures of the night are made from toilet paper rolls?

I snatched this project up from Matsutake which has all the instructions. (You have to check out her, Where the Wild Things Are creatures—they are to die for!)

The original instructions called for paint but we are about out of the washable kind so we ended up covering our base in tissue paper and watered down glue. This actually worked to our benefit because after it dried the ‘body’ became very hard and will likely never tear. I painted the faces using acrylic paint while Hendrix was painting his pumpkin rocks.

I hope you try this at home, the possibilities are endless!
P.S. Today the crafty crow posted a felt pumpkin game like the one i posted earlier with a spinner even! Check it out.

Head Shrinking

2009-10-20T13:32:00.005-06:00

Every good witch and warlock knows how to shrink a head! So this month we thought we would test out our spell casting and potion making by shrinking our own heads…well, not OUR own heads but heads we own…apple heads.

This project usually pops up all over the place around this time of year and I have always wanted to try it. All the potions (or recipes) that I looked at called for the same basic ingredients; apples, lemon juice with salt, a carving utensil and stick or something to let your apple heads dry on.

The Martha Stewart instructions are adamant about using green granny smith apples, which we didn’t do and I am thinking that is why our heads shrunk down to the size of large prunes…or maybe we are just really good at shrinking heads! If you don’t want to risk it though, you might want to listen to Martha and go with the grannies.

We started this project almost 3 weeks ago and let them air dry. I didn’t mind because supposedly they last forever and Hendrix had fun monitoring the progress every day. I have heard, however, that you can put them in the oven on low heat to speed the process.

Today when we went to hang our now prune sized shrunken heads, they looks a little lonely so we went on a nature walk to gather up a few more supplies.

Then we made a shrunken head mobile and hung it at our front door.

Hendrix is eager for the neighborhood squirrels to make an attempt in eating our apples until they realize they can’t because the mobile is actually hanging behind the glass. I think he thought that was the funnest or at least funniest part of the whole project! A little too much AFV maybe?

Imposter Pumpkins!

2009-10-19T08:20:00.003-06:00

To kick off our week I am going to post a two-in-one for your Monday morning. The following two projects are perfect if you would rather stay inside and drink cocoa rather than brave the cold, if you have to stay inside because you have sick ones at home or perhaps both!

Imposter Pumpkin Project 1: Pumpkin Patching

After cutting out a few pumpkin-like shapes from some orange felt, along with a few stems, leaves and face shapes, your little ones can sit for hours (or at least a good 10 minutes) patching together silly and scary pumpkin characters.

For ours I actually used scraps of orange felt for little pumpkins. From the black felt I cut out all the standard shapes as well as some more defined shapes for expression. The learning bonus to this activity is shape recognition, understanding emotions, self expression and imagination.

Avi (18 months) liked to stack the shapes on the pumpkin base whereas Hendrix (3 years) and I made a game by taking turns spinning for our facial features. On a blank spinner that I got in a 4-pack from the $1 store I filled in all the required parts; eyes, nose, stem, accessories, etc. Below are the results from our first game.

Imposter Pumpkin Project 2: Just-Try-to-Smash-Our Pumpkin Pumpkins

This activity was inspired by one of Hendrix favorite books (Halloween or not), called The Pumpkin Smasher by Anita Benarde. If you can find a copy of this 1972 'weekly reader', you could combine the project with the literary reference.

In the book a small town’s pumpkins are being attacked by an unknown pumpkin smasher. The problem gets so bad that the adults consider canceling Halloween until a brother and sister duo paint a giant rock to look like a pumpkin as a trick for the smasher. The pumpkin smasher (aka witch) is fooled and can not smash the rock pumpkin. In result she vows to never return to the town again.

We used acrylic paint on our rocks because we knew they were going as part of our outdoor décor. Hendrix painted the faces on using a black paint pen, but I think a sharpie would work great too.

You don’t have to stop at pumpkins of course, maybe your more lengthy rocks could be a Frankenstein or a skull with cross bones!

Can’t-Wait-for-Halloween Week

2009-10-19T08:06:00.000-06:00

I have decided to declare a ‘Can’t-Wait-for-Halloween’ week on the make blog. I will be posting one Halloween project per day all week long! (Guess what our favorite holiday is?) Then the following week, which is the week of Halloween, I would like to declare a ‘Really-Can’t-Wait-for-Halloween’ week in which I would like to post the projects you are making at home with your kids. It can be something scientific, something yummy, something crafty, really anything—just make sure it’s spooky or related by season. Just send me a short description/instructions for what you have made along with pics if you have them and I will post. I will of course credit you and link to your own site if you wish.

We-Be-Little Pumpkin Project

2009-10-11T10:00:00.001-06:00

Some of our long time makers (and their mom) have been ever so generous to host the October make for us. Check out the details from Charissa below!

Hello friends,

What better way to celebrate the month of October (need I mention Halloween?!?!) with some genuine homemade kid-made table décor? For the make, we will decoupage We-Be-Little pumpkins with tissue paper and glitter.

These colorful little creations will be a major hit with our makers. If you are able to come to the make, you will be helping your child rip tissue paper into small pieces, and glue it to their little pumpkins with a craft sponge. Then we will finish it off with a dash of glitter for a true Halloween look.

I must warn you that your fingers and hands will probably get very sticky from pushing tissue paper onto the pumpkin, so be prepared with an apron or old shirt and baby wipes to stay neat and clean. I hope that you will all come and join us for our make!

LET'S MEET: in the church primary room Friday, October 23rd at 10 am.

RSVP: on or before the night of Wednesday, October 21st. To do this, leave a comment on this post or please send an email to charissaspendlove[at]yahoo[dot]com

FEES-SHMEES: $2 cash per child/per pumpkin.

Sunny Sunflowers

2009-10-02T14:33:00.002-06:00

We had a great time at the September Make. Mason’s mom, Lis taught us how to make sunny sunflowers using paper plates, crepe paper and real sunflower seeds. Lis even concocted and engineered a creative way to build a stem out of paper (leave it to a product designer). If you were unable to attend this make would be a great craft to try at home. It’s as easy as ONE…

TWO...

THREE...

September Sunflowers

2009-09-14T14:21:00.006-06:00

Our September Make will be hosted by the lovely Lis Wing. Check out the project she has planned for us in the details below.

Hello there makers,

Now that most of the older children are back to school, this month I thought we could usher out summer with this simple yet educational project. The kiddies will be thrilled to create their very own bright sunflower. We will be ripping crate paper for petals and creating a beautiful sunflower center by gluing down shelled sunflower seeds. We will finish it off with a stem (not pictured here). We hope to see you there with your making faces on!

LET'S MEET: in the church primary room Friday, September 25th at 10 am

RSVP: on or before the night of Wednesday, September 23rd. To do this, leave a comment on this post or lis at: liswing[at]gmail[dot]com

FEES-SHMEES: $1 cash per child/per sunflower

Those were some hungry old ladys!

2009-09-13T16:15:00.005-06:00

We had a great turn out at the August “old lady” make.

For those who couldn’t make it, this is an easy project to assemble on your own at home. All you need is a brown paper lunch sack with a square cut out from one side, a clear sandwich bag to tape inside the bag where the hole has been created and collage materials to make your old lady come to life. You can email me for step by step instructions if you’d like.

For those of you who are already in possession of a very hungry old lady, try spicing things up a bit (if you haven’t already) by having your child shout out things that they think the old lady should swallow (ie: a car, an elephant, and shopping cart), you could even tear some images out of some old magazines to feed your granny. In fact my friend Becky turned me on to a fantastic cover of the song by Peter Paul and Mary. It’s very cute, funny and somewhat unique to the original lyrics as the kids shout out what they think the woman should eat. It’s on the Peter, Paul and Mommy Too album.

Our bag is getting a little worn from overuse but I am thinking about revamping it a little as Halloween is approaching by turning our little old lady into a little old witch. Besides eating a fly and spider she might be adding newt tails, frog legs and rotten apples to her diet. Maybe she could be an elf for Christmas and eat snowflakes and pine trees?

Also, if you would like something that is a little more durable and long-lasting try laminating your animal images and using a large brown paper bag from the grocery store instead of a little sack lunch.

P.S. Sorry for the lack of images, I think I need to strap the camera to my face so I won’t forget I have it.

There was an old lady...

2009-08-07T10:18:00.011-06:00

Hi friends,

For the August make I thought we could create a project you could use in your home or under the shade of your favorite tree to give you a break from the summer heat. We will be making “old lady” puppets—but not just any old lady—we will be making old lady who swallowed a fly-old lady-puppets (I don’t know why she swallowed a fly…). I am pretty sure you are all familiar with the song from which this activity has been inspired but if not, or you need a refresher, you can check out a sampling HERE.

If you are able to attend this make, you will help your child assemble a puppet from a pre-cut paper bag, glue, and collage materials like paper, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, yarn, etc. You will also receive two sets of paper animals that the old lady will “swallow”…as the song goes. One set will be a simple line drawing of the animals that your child can color in and the other set will be a pre-colored version of the same animals which you can use instead if your child is not in the coloring mood or for if you’d like to have a back-up set, a set to laminate, whatever. You will also get a copy of the lyrics to the song in case your memory needs a little refreshing...I know mine did.

LET'S MEET: in the church primary room Friday, August 21st at 10 am

RSVP: on or before the night of Wednesday, August 19th. To do this, leave a comment on this post or email me (see sidebar)

FEES-SHMEES: $2 cash per child/per puppet

ALSO: If you recall, one of the phrases from the song says, "perhaps she'll die" and the old lady does indeed die at the end of the story after eating a horse. This is the way I sing it to my kids at home since we make a big deal about how silly, and impossible the story would be in real life. However, if you are uncomfortable with using the original lyrics, for the make, we can replace the old phrase with "perhaps she'll cry" instead. Please let me know your thoughts by email. If I don't hear from anyone regarding this matter then I will stick with the original phrase when the project is presented.

P.S. If you participated in the "beach in a bottle" make last month and would like to have a re-do, bring your old bottle or the materials from your old bottle and I can give you some clean oil, glitter and colored water for a second attempt...perhaps without sand this time! If you no longer have your original bottle I also still have some seashells so you can make a new one from scratch if you want too...keep in mind this offer only stands while supplies last.

Just Beachy

2009-08-06T10:16:00.002-06:00

Thank you to those who were able to attend last months “beach in a bottle” activity. It was an eventful one to say the least. If you were not able to attend here is the recipe to make your own personal ocean from a 16 oz clear plastic bottle:

Step 1: Fill bottle with a little less than ¼ cup full of sand *

Step 2: Pick out 8-10 of your favorite mini seashells and add to the sand mixture

Step 3: Fill the bottle half way with pre-tinted water…not to dark as it will prevent you from seeing the shells and not too light because the sand could suck the color right out.

Step 4: (Optional) add a pinch or two of glitter and perhaps some fun fishy confetti

Step 5: Fill the bottle to the top with baby oil and you’re all set. Oh wait! I almost forgot; don’t forget to glue your lid with some high hold glue—we’re not mixing drinks here silly!

* I highly recommend forking out the cash for some high grade sand if you choose this as one of your ingredients for the project. Some of the bottles we created at the make became way too cloudy and mucky by using good old-fashion play sand.

One more thing, if you still have a few plastic bottles lying around the house, here are a few other projects I enjoyed making with my mom as a kid:

QUIET BOTTLE: Throw some light karo syrup in a bottle with a little glitter and sequence to keep the kiddies entertained for hours (or at least 5 minutes) as they watch the sugary syrup drip and droop in slow motion to the other end of the bottle as it’s tipped from side to side.

I SPY BOTTLE: If you have a handful of miniatures lying around, pop them into a bottle with some white rice to create an instant game of “I spy.” We have one we made with colored rice which works fine too. Remember, your miniatures don’t have to be doll house quality, think; penny, paperclip, button, small battery…or anything else you have lying around the house.

TORNADO TUBE: This one is great for kids of all ages. You will need 2 clear plastic bottles (you could go for the 2-liter bottles for this one), water, glitter, sequence, (or something of the sort) and a tornado tube, also called a cyclone tube or vortex tube, which can be found at your nearest teacher supply store or specialty toy store. In Denver try Timbuk Toys. You will fill one of the empty bottles with tinted water and the other ingredients of your choice. You will then connect the two bottle together vertically (openings together) with the tornado tube. Give your connected bottles a little twist and a tornado will form in a matter of seconds, turn it over and start again! You have probobly seen this trick but if not you can check out a video HERE.

Photography by Charissa Spendlove

Beach in a Bottle

2009-07-17T22:05:00.007-06:00

(image)

If you have yet to hit the beach this summer, this project is for you. Actually, if you have been to the beach this summer I am going to assume you already miss it, in which case, this project is for you too! As a tribute to summer, we will be making a beach in a bottle.

Just bring your own 16 oz (or less) clear plastic bottle with lid and Hendrix and I will bring the "beach." Please also come dressed for the occasion, wearing your favorite swim attire for this fun-in-the-sun activity.

After creating our mini oceans you are welcome to stay for some outdoor water play. Don't forget your towels and sunscreen, see you there!

WHEN and WHERE: We will meet in the church courtyard, right next to the Primary room at 10 am on Friday, July 24^th (see calendar below).

MOO-LAH: The fee for this project will be $3 per bottle/per child.

RSVP: on or before the night of Wednesday the 22^nd of July so I can have all the supplies ready for you. To do that you can leave a comment in this post, or email Natalia (see sidebar).

DON'T FORGET: to bring a 16 oz (or less) clear plastic bottle with lid and your swim attire. Also, feel free to bring your own water play paraphernalia, ie: water balloons, wet sponges, etc.

TIP: The wide mouth plastic bottles are easiest to fill. We practiced this activity at home with a Nesquik® milk ready-to-drink bottle and it worked great for popping the seashells right inside—no funnel necessary.

Plaque Painting Recap

2009-06-21T21:22:00.005-06:00

We had a wonderful time and a great turnout for the Fathers Day plaque painting project. It was fun being able to get a little sun too!

Here are a few pics from the event, (apparently my photography skills don’t hold up very well in the outdoors but...here we go...nonetheless):

I am betting that there were some very happy and lucky Fathers out there this Fathers Day. Thank You Kristen for hosting such a super duper make!

Fathers Day Gifting: Plaque Painting

2009-06-11T22:43:00.005-06:00

Hi makers!

This is an update for the June make which will be hosted by the lovely Kristen Horsely!

We will be making “daddy day” art which your child(ren) will be able to gift to their father on the special day. Each child will be given a pretreated wooden plaque, paint supplies and permission to go paint crazy on a lovely little art piece for good ‘ol pops, grandpops, your child’s favorite uncle…really any special person from the male variety.

NOW FOR THE DETAILS:

Where and When: We will meet in the church courtyard, right next to the Primary room at 10 am on Friday, June 19th (see calendar below).

Moo-la: The fee for this project will be a smokin’ deal of only 2 buck-a-roos per child!

RSVP: On or before Wednesday the 17th of June so Kristen can have all the supplies ready for you. To do that you can leave a comment in this post, or email Natalia (see sidebar).

ALSO: If you think your little one would like to practice their collaging skills you are more than welcome to being collage material to add to the piece. For instance: photos, string, sequence, magazine cutouts, you get the idea. See you there!

Milk Money

2009-06-07T10:59:00.009-06:00

Recently I was realizing how much milk we go through, when a smart light bulb told me how much all these milk lids sort of looked like giant colorful coins—non choking hazard size coins not to mention the perfect fit for a certain little toy cash register.

This was the birth of “milk money.” I created boy and girl silhouettes from an old profile shot of Hendrix and me which I glued to the milk lid. I also cut out colored numbers to present a number recognition and counting opportunity. Lastly, I covered the top of the lid with clear packaging tape to prevent the image from peeling up. I sort of like the way they came out. What do you think?

Cress heads

2009-06-07T10:58:00.008-06:00

Unfortunately I forgot to take any photos at the last make activity but I am submitting proof that the event actually did take place.

I personally found this project to be one of my favorites for making with a 3 year old. It wasn’t one of those drag-on projects that sound really fun at first but end up becoming a time-consuming mess. All we did was wet a little cotton, sprinkle a little seed, paint a little face and voila—all through! Our seeds began sprouting by day 2 for an almost immediately satisfying result plus we learned a little bit about the science of gardening along the way.

(a photoshoot casuality)

After a few weeks of plant care, we decided to play a little barber shop and enjoy an egg salad sandwich with cress!

April Showers Bring May Eggheads?

2009-05-01T11:49:00.007-06:00

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For the May make we will be bringing a little of the great outdoors inside by making cress seed eggheads.

This little project is one that will really grow with your child (cheesy pun intended). Over a period of a few days our little egghead people will begin to sprout “hair” which you and your child will eventually be able to trim off and eat! Then, after enjoying a peppery tasting salad or egg sandwich, you can use your (now hollow) egg head and start over again!

PROJECT DETAILS:
Where and When: We will meet in the church Primary room at 10am on Thursday, May 14th (see calendar below).
Moo-la: The fee for this make will be $3 per child, which you can bring with you.
RSVP: On or before Tuesday the 12th of May so I can have the supplies ready for you (leave a comment on this post or email me—see sidebar).

ALSO: The $3 fee will allow each child to make at least one eggheads. However, if you bring your own pre-hollowed eggshells, you are welcome to make as many cress seed eggheads as you can fill (while supplies last) at no additional fee.

Speaking of making...

2009-04-25T23:53:00.007-06:00

video by Cassidy Curtis and Raquel Coelho

(spotted on Design Mom)

Sugar and Spice to Say the Least!

2009-04-23T18:35:00.008-06:00

(face cookie designed by Oliver and his mom)

The April project was definitely the yummiest make to date! Our birthday themed make was put on by Jordan, Cambrie and their birthday girls; Bronwyn and Lenna.

The assignment at hand was to dress up stacks of homemade cookies and cupcakes the girls had supplied. Besides a rainbow-selection of frosting to decorate the homemade pastries, the girls had also brought gumdrops, licorice, lollipops, sprinkles, gummy candies, jelly beans and the list goes on! Sugar and spice say the least!

My favorite part was when we were able to partake in the "fruits of our labor" by eating our delicious creations!

We also made some new friends this month as we had some first time “Make-Monthly-makers” join the party. Thank you to all of those who attended our latest festivity and to those who were unable to be there, we’ll see you next time!

Make Monthly Hit a Growth Spurt!

2009-04-10T10:44:00.004-06:00

Our little “Make Monthly” blog is growing up which means in addition to cataloging and informing participants of our once-a-month group make, I’d like this blog to also be a mini resource center for friends to share creative ideas with one another. In order for this to work I need everyone’s help. Please submit (via email) your art, science projects, baking experiments, homemade flannel stories and games, or other relatable subjects with a description and photos if you have them. I will post your submission to the blog for all to partake. (The top post will always feature the current group make info). You will of course be credited for your ideas of genius and you will be helping your fellow make readers/participants—afterall, sharing is caring! Thank you so much in advance, I can’t wait to see what you are creating.

P.S. Did you notice make monthly was featured on the Crafty Crow HERE and HERE?

Egg Shell Art

2009-04-08T23:37:00.009-06:00

Today I wanted to share a little egg shell art that we made from, you guessed it, egg shells. I colored the egg shells from the eggs we had for breakfast (dying shells after removing colored both sides of the shell) but if you are planning on coloring eggs for Easter you could of course crunch up those shells for a little artsy fartsy rather than discarding.

I cut out some egg shapes from white cardstock and after painting them with white Elmer’s glue, Hendrix sprinkled and smashed the shells on top. Originally I was going to hang this craft as a display but now I am thinking we should glue them to a folded note card and send them as Easter greeting to the grandparents. What do you think?

(this one has a little feather action too)

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Speaking of eggs, if you have yet to decorate yours this year and need something a little more appropriate for the toddler variety you could use a cotton swab as a paint brush by dipping it in a little paint and then applying it to the egg, a cotton ball attached to a clothespin would work too. (via The Toddler's Busy Book). Another idea for little hands might be to use a toothbrush as an embellishing apparatus by tapping a paint-dipped one to the shell of the egg (inspired from this craft).

I also found a lovely natural egg dying technique HERE that all age groups would enjoy.

P.S. I colored the shells above using vinegar and neon food coloring (which I am crazy about) by Betty Crocker.

Egg Molding

2009-04-06T22:54:00.003-06:00

Hello makers, Hendrix and I acquired some water balloons and craft thread after a Michaels trip last week. At home we already had some liquid starch and a craft bowl so we decided to mold some colorful eggs as a springtime decoration. This is how we did it:

We cut the craft thread into long strands and then soaked the strands into a craft bowl full of liquid starch. In the meantime we blew up some water balloons.

Next we wrapped the starched thread around the balloons in a crisscrossing pattern covering the balloon. (We used 10 yards per balloon or one whole skein of floss).

After the wrapping of 7 balloons in 7 different spring time colors we* set aside to dry overnight.

The next day, once thoroughly dry, we popped the balloons (Hendrix loved this part). As you can see, the thread kept it’s egg shape.

We then hung up the egg in one of our home entry ways. If the weather permits, this would also make a cute outdoor decoration for Easter Sunday or a springtime party.

*By “we” I mean “me.” I retired Hendrix from this project when he found more interest in swinging the dripping, starched thread in circles overhead…by about the third egg. Therefore, I would say this is a preschooler or older project.

Rainbow art in action

2009-04-06T16:29:00.002-06:00

Thank you to those who were able to come to the March Make! Just thought I’d share with you a little snippet of the rainbow colored coffee filters we made.

After creating some butterflies with the dried filters Hendrix and I decided to cut flower shapes to create a spring garland for one of our windows. Would you be willing to share the things you are creating from your child's rainbow art? Send me a pic and I will post it.

By the way, a couple of parents asked me where I had purchased the kids paintbrushes and paint caddy. I got them on sale at one of my favorite stores in the whole wide world; Lakeshore, which is a teacher supply store my mom introduced me to when I was young. Colorado residents are lucky to have a location right in Littleton. You might want to leave your credit cards at home though because it’s not hard to go crazy in a store like this.

One last thing, Hendrix and I have yet to catch a leprechaun but based off of the little green shoeprints we have seen in our home, we suspect they are near. Those of you who made (or are making) a leprechaun trap might be interested, check it out HERE.