Painting Mess Free

Is it just me or has the spring been a little, well, un-springy. Or maybe too springy and not enough summery... Either way, it has been wet and cold and still very restrictive of our outdoor fun. We have not had near enough nice days to make up for the brutally cold winter. To keep my little guy (and mommy too) from climbing the walls, we have had to find a wide array of inside fun things to do. My 3 yr. old loves to paint but hates mess. I woul be happy for him to go all out and dive into the creative fun. But he must have gotten his daddy's borderline-OCD gene and he would prefer to keep his hands clean during his painting escapades. If you, or your toddler, prefer painting to be mess free, here are some suggestions.

Butterfly Painting- Squeeze some paint (we used finger paint) onto some glossy paper. Spread the paint around, staying mostly in the middle of the paper. Usually he uses a paint brush but today he was willing to get his finger (only one!) dirty in the paint.
Fold the paper in half and spread the paint out. This part he loves because the paint feels squishy but he doesn't have to get his hands dirty. Once you open up the paper, you have a cool design and your kid can add embellishments. We usually make them into butterflies but today we decided this one looked like a cow. Make it a game like those Rorschach prints. :)

There are paints out there that keep the paint contained and mess-free. We have tried many different types and some are too hard for him to use- like you have to squeeze the tube too hard while you are painting to get any paint to come out. Two kinds of mess-free paints that we have found and really like are the squeeze brush paints and the dot paints. Both are easy to use and create vibrant colors that don't limit his creativity in any way (my biggest complaint with the Color Wonder stuff). He loves that it is "real paint" and I love that he can create to his heart's content. The dot painting is cool because he can paint free-style or I can write out words or draw shapes that he can trace with the paints teaching him how to write his name and improving his fine motor skills.

These are just a few of my ideas, some things that we have found that work for us.
I also recently came across this idea for painting with watercolors (which we love too but the water cup is always a little problematic.)

Next, I want to try sidewalk paints. Have you used them? If the mess is outside it doesn't matter, right? Or maybe I'll make my own. And once winter somes around again, I am going to try these snow paints.
What are your ideas for mess-free painting? Or do you have any other ideas for inside fun during this cold, rainy spring?

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Father's Day Homemade Crafts

Today's guest post is from Mandie from Wheaton



Ah, the ancient tradition going back to ancient Egypt of children purchasing ties for their fathers on Father's Day. Let's make this year different. Roll up your sleeves, moms, it is time for you to start helping your little ones make Father's Day gifts. No help from the Department of Education here. Dads have it so easy since the schools help your kid make Mother's Day cards and gifts, don't they?

For your viewing pleasure, here are some ideas for you as you plan your child's Father's Day gift.

Best Dad Desk Accessory: recommended for ages 6 and up with parental supervision. Requires dad to have a desk to display the gift on...or a workbench...or a dresser.

Car Nut Frame: recommended for age 5 and up, but I think a 3 year old could do this craft. Make sure you have a photo to put in the frame or it will sit under your bed like Mr. Bean's photo frame has since Christmas. This craft is really cute for any handy-dad.

Coupons: I recommend this "craft" for your older kids who will definitely understand their own sacrifice of love and understand how coupons work. You can make your own or print some here. Even cuter? Make coupons credit card size and stuff a new wallet full of them! I suggest an expiration date be put on them to encourage immediate use or they may end up like Mr. Bean's last batch of coupons--under the bed. Alternatively you could call them gift certificates or gift cards! That's language everyone understands!

Dad's Throne: No, not the toilet. This cute idea is great if you have multiple children and no plans (and good weather) on Father's Day. Helpful if you have a kid who is creative and another who likes to implement ideas, but not necessary. If the weather is bad, this could easily be transformed into an indoor throne.

Note Pad: This idea is really cute and can be done by most any child, toddler and up. A quick visit to the office supply store, some markers, and a ribbon later and viola! You have a quick and easy present just for dad! This is a Martha Stewart approved project.

Personalized Coasters: This is a great craft if you have a newborn since you can just stamp their hand print or foot print on the coasters. Three steps: go to home improvement store, decorate, seal. Love it.

Of course, a tie is easier.

Photo Credit: Luxist.com

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Beachy Kids Crafts

I just got home from a beach vacation with my family. My sister graduated from law school (hooray!!!) and we celebrated by spending a week on the beach and being bums. Fitting, eh? :) My two boys just adore the beach, taking after their mama on that one. Even the 9month old couldn't get enough of the sand! My 3yr. old has always loved playing in the surf and digging "tunnels" in the sand. But one of his favorite beach activities is shell hunting. He loves to find those "beautiful" treasures and of course cannot part with any of those half broken shells that he deems so valuable. And not wanting in any way to burst his bubble and actually finding them beautiful myself, we always seem to come home from the beach with dozens and dozens of shells and no clue what to do with all of them.
Well, if you find yourself in that same predicament, here are some ideas that I found for fun crafts you can make with all those beach treasures.

A Shell Wreath- you cover a cardboard ring with glue and sprinkle with sand. Once it is dry, you hot glue the shells on to make a beautiful beach wreath suitable for display. Sounds easy enough.

Bug Shell Magnets- Glue the shells together and add googly eyes and some magnet tape... Voila! This looks super cute but not much for the toddler to help with. Hmmm... moving on....

Or you could just let your kids paint the bigger shells and put a piece of magnet tape on the back... instant magnet and reminder of the fun.

I love these sea shell boats. And they look fairly easy. You attach a fabric scrap to a twig and then secure the twig in the shell with modeling clay. I think my 3yr. old will love this one.

Sea Shell Angels anyone?

Or if you have a lot of less-than-perfect shells (like we do), this shadow box craft may be the thing for you.

I think we'll be trying the wreath and the shell painting for starters. If I get really ambitious, we will try the bugs and the boat. They are so cute! Do you have any ideas for me? I would love to hear.
And if you try any of these ideas with your shell collection, I would love to hear about that too.

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Earth Day Fun

I had every intention of doing an Earth Day craft with my boys and posting it up here for y'all to see. But this week has been intense for my family for lots of reasons and I just haven't gotten around to it. So here instead are some links with some great ideas for crafts and activities to do with your little ones on this day set aside to celebrate our earth.

Crafts:
Have lots of old, broken crayons? Save those broken crayon pieces to make a fun new colorful and chunky crayon for little hands. Peel the paper off of the old crayon pieces. Place paper muffin liners into a muffin tin. Place the crayons into the muffin liners, but not too full. Heat the crayons in a 200 degree oven until complete melted. Cool and remove.

Feeling ambitious? Try this super-cute bug mobile made from recycles egg cartons.

Potato stamping on t-shirts or a darling little purse from old pants pockets... anyone?


Useful Earth Day Links for Kids
Earth Day coloring sheets and activities to further educate your kids! Consider printing these on recycled paper, or use the the back side of another document. It is Earth Day after all! :)
Free Earth day coloring sheets from FunSchool.com
Coloring sheets, Globe Rider game and craft ideas.
Wildlife coloring pages
Birds, reptiles, mammals, insects fish...
Kids for the Earth
A kids guide to turning the Earth around.
EarthDay.gov
Links resources and activities.
Kaboose.com Earth Day Food and Fun
Celebrate Earth Day with unique crafts, recipes and more!
ECO Kids
Earth Day Canada's environmental education...games, activities and
information for kids and teachers.
National Wildlife Federation KidZone
Earth Day information, games, craft ideas, science, homework help
and so much more for kids ages infant to teen.

If you do any of these crafts or activities with your kids, take some pictures and send them to us. Or post them on your blog and let us know. We want to see! :)

HAPPY EARTH DAY Y'ALL!!

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Rainy Day Craft

It is rainy days like today that inspire me to get creative when planning activities for my toddler. We can't go outside and I can only play cars for so long without my brain going completely numb. So today, I broke out my notebook where I keep track of ideas I have seen around that I might want to try someday. Someday like today!

And since it is spring (it IS spring, right?), we decided to make a birdfeeder. It is actually WAY easier than you would think. There are a couple different ways to do it. Here's what we did today:

Supplies:

• Slice of bread (left out on the counter for a few hours or overnight so it is a little easier to work with)
• Cookie cutter (if you want o make your birdfeeder a certain shape- we left out this step. If you choose to use a cookie cutter, cut out the shape before you let the bread sit out)
  
• Peanut Butter
• Knife to spread peanut butter (plastic is better if you are letting the kiddos do it)
• Yarn or twine or rope
  

• Bird seed on a plate

1. After the bread has sat out and become nice and firm, spread peanut butter all over one or both sides of the bread.

   

2. Press the bread into the plate of birdseed so that the peanut butter is completely covered.

   

3. Punch a hole in the bread (I used a chopstick) and thread the yarn through. Tie a knot so you can hang the birdfeeder.
   

   

eating a little snack along the way

1. Hang outside on a tree for the birds to eat. Don't be surprised if you see a few squirrels eating away at the yummy treat.

See, easy huh?

There are lots of variations on this theme. You can use a pinecone with peanut butter and birdseed or use a day-old bagel. You can mix in dry oats with the birdseed to give the birds an even more delicious snack.

Another cool idea is to make an Orange Bird Feeder. Using fruit will attract different birds. Kind you would not see with just plain fruit.

Cut off the top of the orange. Using the spoon, carefully scoop out the inside of the orange. We only scoop half of it out, leaving some of the fruit for the birds to eat.

Take the chop stick and punch four holes in the orange peel around the top of the orange. Thread your string through the holes and tie above with a double knot. Fill the rest of the orange with birdseed and hang from a tree. Then, sit back and watch all the birds that will flock to your new fruit feeder.

My little guy stands at the back window, just waiting to see the birds eating our bread/peanut butter birdfeeder. We've had a couple already and even I get excited. Hooray!! It is spring!!

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