kids-arts-and-crafts Archives

Wooden Toys

March 30, 2009 By Laura 6 Comments

Honestly, there are times I wonder, just a little bit, if our kids are actually pioneer children. They truly enjoy the simplest of wooden toys, games and activities. But maybe that’s just a result of the simple life we live, that they can find such enjoyment in these simple things. Or maybe, the fact that they love such simple things, makes our life simple. Much like that age old question, of which came first: the chicken or the egg? Either way, we’re grateful.

But back to the wooden toys. We were in one of our very favorite stores. Not the ‘mercantile’ in town (I would LOVE it if there was one!), but Michael’s Arts & Crafts, when we spotted these little wooden toy kits…..for a $1 each! Now, as parents, we don’t get our kids something every time we go into a store. Or even 2% of the times we go into a store. We just find it unnecessary. (Because we’re simple people, I guess. They don’t even ask or expect anything, either. But when I saw these toy kits, I knew they would truly LOVE putting them together, and painting them, for hours. I also knew they would be happy with their work, and play with them after. So, sometimes, it’s nice just to surprise them. When I told that them they could go ahead and all pick one out, they were very excited, and had almost as fun picking 0ne out, as they did building and painting it. Even our 11 year old can still enjoy such simple pass times, and she never passes up an opportunity to do a project with the little ones, anyway. They just love to do stuff, together.

So….not much else to say. But we think they came out great, and I did have fun taking photos to share! LOTS!

wood toys

And boy are we down to the wire!! Tomorrow is the last day to get your name in that bowl again, and Wednesday we announce the winner of OUR FIRST GIVEAWAY!! WHO’S name will we pull out of the bowl? WHO will have a special package of home-made gifts, made by US, delivered to their home?? We can hardly take the anticipation! Can you??

The kiddos thank you for coming to see their painted wooden toys.

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Fly Him to the Moon – Solar System Mobile

March 15, 2009 By Laura 3 Comments

…..but PLEASE bring him back. We would miss him terribly!

Our boy, {J} is frequently on creative missions. In fact, more days than we could ever count, he has jumped out of bed in the morning and gone straight to the school room, to gather all of the supplies he needs. He’s on a mission to build just “what I had an idea about when I was laying in bed last night before I went to sleep!”

On this day recently, it was a mobile of the solar system.

All of the planets are not there, because there wasn’t room, he said. But he can tell you what we do have here….

He also made Venus….but he threw it out because he didn’t like how it came out. He has standards. lol

He works so diligently, building and creating all kinds of things, all of the time. He’s a very quiet worker, with a lot of stamina. It may take hours to complete whatever it is he is making. Or days. But he doesn’t mind. He works joyfully. He’s in it for the long haul, until the project is done, and he can take a step back, and look at it with a grand sigh of approval. If he has to stop mid-project, for some reason out of his control….like having to go somewhere, do some schooling, or something else….there is little else he can think of, but getting back to that project! If we’re out somewhere, and he ‘gets an idea’, …oohhhhhh boy! The pressure is on (us!) until we get him home! He needs to get RIGHT to it. It’s important!

We just love his creative imagination. His deep desires and ability to bring ideas to some form of tangible fruition.

We don’t know what it means for him in the big picture. Where he is going in life, or to do what. But it’s got to be a good thing!

We’re curious, but we don’t need to know now, really. Like all of our children…..it’s a fascinating privilege to watch him ‘get there’.

There is really nothing else we’d rather do, in the whole-wide-universe.

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Mini-Masterpiece Magnets Made by Kids – Gift Ideas from Kids

February 12, 2009 By Laura 8 Comments

If you need gifts from your little kids, that they made, for loved ones, these Mini-Masterpiece Magnets are perfect!
It’s basically finger-painting fun, made into little framed pieces of colorful art, to use on refrigerators. Your recipients will love them, and your kids will be so proud they made them, themselves!
We’re teaching you how to make them!

First, just let your kids finger-paint with vibrant colors, on large quality, acid-free art paper.

We call them “Mini-Masterpiece Magnets.”

It was abstract fine art, done our way! And each one SIGNED by for the artists, no less!!
They all had a hand, in making each one. 😉

These are a fantastic gift idea from kids, that they can make themselves with love, for Christmas gifts and other occasions, for family and loved ones!
They are so fun for the kids to make themselves, and they will make them proud to have their masterpieces on display on anyone’s refrigerator!

Here’s how we made them:

We took those full sheet finger paintings, mounted them on magnetic material, cut them into 3″ x 3″ squares, and then ‘framed’ them with some black vinyl.
It’s that simple!

Then we made up sets of three, put them in those nifty clear bags I love, with a ribbon and a tag that said ‘Mini-Masterpiece Magnet Set’. : )

We thought they were so colorful and fun, and honestly, it was my favorite hand-made craft gift we made to give as Christmas gifts. We can only hope others could appreciate all of the colors and happy-emotion of these paintings, to adorn their refrigerators, perhaps to hold up a masterpiece of their own child’s, or a shopping list!

We made A LOT of them, and really…….they were truly hand picked into sets, for each recipient. They may look all the same to some, but it was a painstaking task for us silly ones, choosing which ones we wanted to give to who, and which we just had to keep!

Here’s a closer look at a few of these priceless paintings:

Big Mess. Crazy Colors. Loud Laughs. Huge Fun. = ART MADE WITH LOVE

Save this idea for a rainy day craft, or as a Christmas gift idea from your own little Picasso-People.
Our kids had a blast making them, and as an update (2016), they have been loved and enjoyed for many years by all who received this gift from the kids. They’ve been on our own refrigerator for all these years, holding up other pieces of their art, and bringing us smiles from the memories we made, making them.

Thanks for coming by for some more inspiration and ideas!

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Finger-Painting — A Beautiful Mess

December 13, 2008 By Laura 2 Comments

We’re really good at making messes! Such a beautiful mess this time though. And what fun making it! This time our mess was made in the way of finger-painting!

finger-painting_4

Christmas is fast approaching, and believe it or not, this whole mess is another home made gifts craft project. It’ll be a very useful gift too. But I can’t say what they’re turning out to be just yet. For now, just enjoy the colors!! If you are like me, and colors make you happy….you’ll be loving this post. If not, you’ll wonder what the point was with all these photos, all of which maybe look the same to you. Because otherwise, I don’t have much else to say tonight.

Some of the kids’ masterpieces on the floor. They came out so great!

Below; one of my favorite shots.

I’d love to tell you what we were making, but it might spoil someone’s Christmas surprise. I was thinking after Christmas, I may make a post featuring the home-made gifts reveal…with photos of the finished products. What do you think?? That is, if I’m still blogging on behalf of my family, and our days here. I’m not sure if I should go bigger and louder in the new year – or shut the blog down altogether. I’m at a crossroads. It’s all good. Just not sure if I want to re-focus my energy here.

Anyway….hope all of your Christmas preparations are going smoothly. And most importantly, that you are enjoying the season. It’s so easy to get lost, and forget what all the fuss is really about. I generally get lost easily…ask anyone. So my motto is….”keep it simple”. SO much more enjoyable and fulfilling, for all of us, when we keep Christmas simple.

Blessings to you. Thanks for dropping by.

T-Shirts with Sole – Craft

May 4, 2008 By Laura 2 Comments

( UPDATE: This T-Shirts With Sole – Craft’ was done & blogged in 2008. Now years later, with so many crafters owning Silhouette and Cricut Cutters, this craft is easier than ever!)

Finally we got to this ‘T-Shirts With Sole – Craft project we wanted to do! I got the general idea from our Family Fun Magazine, but then just came up with our own designs and cut them out as stencils.

The kids each chose their own designs and colors, helped put the paint on the soles, and did a lot of the pressing.

Below is a stencil on the shirt before painting, cut out of vinyl material.

We ended up mostly using the sole of this old sneaker for the paint pressing, because we weren’t really digging how the design from the $5 sandals was coming out. When switching to new colors for a new design, you do need to scrub wash the sole and quick blow dry it. I would recommend more dense sponges for application of the fabric paint, (like the make-up wedges maybe) because we were having troubles with these foam brushes absorbing the paint so much.

Pressing process. . . . .

After the paint was all applied, we let it set for a few minutes before we carefully removed the stencil.

Set aside to dry.

They were just washed and dried as usual.

The kids had a great time doing this t-shirt crfat project, but it does take quite a bit of adult help for the little ones (which we knew.) Especially if you don’t want paint everywhere else on the shirts (floor, furniture, walls, each other , etc.,…. : ). They really, really love their shirts. *UPDATE 7/2012: These t-shirts were bought at Michael’s Arts and Crafts, back in 2008, and we bought them as too big for our kids at the time, so they would fit for a long time. Now 4 years later, they are ‘just’ getting too small, but I have to tell you, they are still great shirts!! The t-shirts have always been so soft, and now they are extra-worn comfy. But not only have the shirts themselves held up well, so has the paint pattern! These t-shirts have been well-loved, for years. We hope your will be too.

There is really nothing else we’d rather do, in the whole-wide-universe.

We call them “Mini-Masterpiece Magnets.”

Here’s how we made them:

Big Mess. Crazy Colors. Loud Laughs. Huge Fun. = ART MADE WITH LOVE

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