Snowflake Art Unpinned: The Kids' Version

I found this idea here at Ten kids and a Dog. Head on over there for her tutorial and stay awhile at her cute blog.  It's got some great ideas!

We love to paint here in this house.  This is basically a tape resist on canvas.  

I couldn't find my masking tape, so I used some clear tape that I found floating around.  I don't know what it is designed for, but tape is tape, right?  

We'll see...

So, I got some cheap little canvasses.  I have a ton of them, because I love them.  You never know when the mood to paint something will strike. 

I taped off the shape of some snowflakes.

Can you see it?  Instead of one big one, I gave the girls a bunch of little ones.

Then I told them to paint away.

And they did!

L didn't want me to take pictures of hers, but she got a really nice blend of yellow and white (she chose the colors...yeah, it was basically just light yellow).

O chose blue and red.

It took her a while to understand that we were going to be taking the tape off.  She initially just painted where the tape was and I had to explain a few times that she needed to paint the whole thing because the tape we were putting on the tape was going to be taken off.  She got it in the end, though.

After our paint had dried overnight, we took the tape off.

Then we decided to add glitter.

Everything is better with glitter.

And chocolate.

Anyway...

I gave them a little plastic cup filled with Elmer's glue and they each got their own bowl of glitter.  They were instructed to paint the glue on the snowflakes and then sprinkle the glitter over the glue.

O was very careful about the whole process.

She sprinkled the glitter very carefully and very precisely...but she still managed to get it over the entire painting.  I'm not sure if she did that on purpose or not.

L, on the other hand, was not so dainty.  She globbed the glue on and then dropped the glitter on top in fistfuls.  And look how seriously she took her work.

Here is O's finished project.  

(L didn't want me to take a picture of hers, but it was lovely too, trust me.)

I like it.  I think it turned out very pretty.

Oh, and fair warning...glitter is messy.

Have a vacuum standing by.

-Sarah

Pinspired Mother's Day/Grandma gifts

Are you looking for the My Memories Suite digital scrapbooking software giveaway?  Click here.

What's that you say?  Mother's day was almost how long ago?  

I couldn't very well post this project before Mother's day and spoil the surprise now, could I?  

This is what we made the grandma's for Mother's day this year.  

It started out with this pin:

The pin leads to this post over at this happy blog. 

Hers is a card.  

We did ours on a small 8 x 11 canvas.

And we used sparkly paint.

And I painted their names and the year on their handprints after I took this picture.

And I think they're so cute!  

Thanks for the pinspiration, Nifty Mom!

Happy Mother's Day (late!)

Artsy-Fartsy Mama Quiet Flip Book: Tutorial Featured

One of my very favorite blogs (and bloggers) is Lindsay over at Artsy-Fartsy Mama.  She is very talented and I enjoy spending time at her blog.  There is so much there to be inspired by!

Last summer, she introduced this fantastic little project she had just finished.  I fell in love completely and instantly!  I knew (with every ounce of my soul) that I wanted to make one too.  I e-mailed her and asked her if she would be willing to send me a copy of the pictures she used.  She is such a talented designer, I knew I wouldn't be able to find something else I loved as much.

She was kind enough to write me back and tell me she was working on a pattern.  YIPPEE!  So, I waited patiently for the pattern (which is now on sale for $10 on her blog) and bought it as soon as I could.

It is a great pattern.  I had absolutely no problem following it.

Here's my cover:

I love embroidery, so this project was perfect for me!  

Here is a sampling of some of my pages:

Fun, right?  

I followed her pattern pretty exactly without changing much.  I may have changed a color here and there, but then I got nervous and went back to the pattern.  =)

I have never tried the coloring technique before, but I think it turned out great!  Seriously, I loved this project.  

(Can you tell?)

So, head on over to Artsy-Fartsy Mama and enjoy the inspiration available!

Thanks, Lindsay!

Magnetic Activity Book

Ok.  I know, I know, I just posted a project.

But, seriously, I've been so excited to get these finished and show you that I'm just not going to wait.  =)

Here are my sheets of steel from Mindy Mae's Market all laid out and shiny.

Don't they just give you tingles?

Here is another project I used them for:

This is an idea that has been in my head for a long, long, long time. Really long.

I just couldn't quite figure out how I wanted to do it.  I'm still not sure if this is what I wanted, so there may be some tweaking later on, but for now, this is what we've got.

It's a book.

It looks pretty ordinary, right? 

Except you can't really tell that the green closure flap there, is magnetic.  woo!

Now, if you open it, this is your first glance...

Keep opening, though.  There's more.  (And this is where it gets really exciting!)

It is an activity book!

There is a big pocket to hold big things and, of course, the fancy magnetic page.

That's where the action would happen.

Then, of course, 4 smaller pockets to hold even more magnetic fun!

Here now, is where I need some advice.  I am trying to figure out what activities to fill those beautiful pockets with. 

I've already started working on some magnetic paper dolls (which are awesome, by the way...keep watching for that post!), but what else might a 3 (almost 4)-year-old and 2-year old enjoy? 

What would you do?

Thanks, friends!

P.S. This is also being linked up at Embracing Messy.

I'll be linking up with my normals as well!

Handprint Turkeys!

Have you visited Meet the Dubiens?  It is one of my all time favorite blogs!  I love all of her projects.  They are fun and simple and kid friendly.  AND it's packed full of fun lunch ideas.  So inspirational!

So, when she posted this tutorial for hand print turkeys, I decided it was time for me to stop admiring from afar and actually give one of these beloved projects a try.

My girls were thrilled when I pulled out the paints, construction paper, and glue!  They ran for their paintbrushes and started painting away.

They were totally mystified when I grabbed L's hand and started painting directly on it!  But that changed to fascination when I pressed her hand down on the paper.

COOL!

By the time it was O's turn, she was pretty eager to have her hand painted and she didn't need any help stamping it on the paper.

Here are the final results:

O, very careful and clean and precise.

L, a little more "creative liberties" taken here, but beautiful just the same!

Be sure to check out the original tutorial and enjoy spending some time browsing her fantastic blog!

By the way!  It is 1:11 on 11/11/11...Make a wish!

What Day is It?

Do you ever just get so caught up in something that everything else kind of disappears?

Yeah, me too.  I didn't even mean to this time!  The second round for American Crafter is "House of Order" and it has got me spinning with ideas on all the order my house could be in.  I am almost done with my project now, and I'm actually feeling very satisfied by it, but it is kind of a miracle that I've gotten anything else done!

I didn't realize how distracted I have been by this project until last night when I was putting O to bed.  In an effort to stall her bedtime, she was making up things to tell me.  Then, as I was leaving the room, she said, "Mama?  Do you mind...um, can we have a date tomorrow?"

So, today, we planned a date.

While putting my things in order (not for the project, just in general...the organizing thing is kind of addicting!), I came across this little kit I bought on clearance (50 cents!) at the end of the Halloween season last year.  

So, our first order of business was to decorate. 

Sorry about the blurriness of the pictures.  She was so excited, I couldn't get her to hold still!

Here is our mantle: 

Then, we put up a "tent," 

Popped popcorn, 

And watched a movie.

It was a good time.  

I apologize if I have neglected any of you with my distraction.  If it helps, feel free to put up a tent, pop popcorn, and watch a movie while imagining I'm there with you.  I don't mind.

Quiet Book: Dot-to-Dot or Let's Get Back to Crafting!

Don't forget to sign up for my birthday giveaway!  It ends tomorrow night!

I am on vacation.

I love vacation.

I am spending time with my family, hanging out in my parent's super perfect yard, letting my girls run barefoot in the grass, reading, crafting (or at least planning to), talking for hours with my mom (which explains why I've only planned my crafts), playing with my nieces and nephew, napping whenever I want to, not working.

It's wonderful.

But, I digress.


To get here, I flew.  Me and my two girls.  Alone.

I was a little nervous about the whole thing.  So, I decided that the best defense would be to be well prepared.  I knew right away that I wanted to make a quiet/activity book.

I have had so much fun making this!  Seriously, I'm addicted.  (And, between you and me, I've been playing with the idea of selling these pages...let me know what you think!)

I managed to finish 5 pages before we left, but I have many more ideas running around in my head (and on my Pinterest page).

So, enough talk.  Let me show you the first page.

I made each page so that it could stand alone.

It has the eyelets on the side so that I can tie them together with ribbon or using ring clips.
This way, I don't have fighting over the book.  *essential*

Here is what it looks like inside:

It is a dot-to-dot!

Each dot is a different color and the string has matching dots.  (I was going to sew numbers on the string of dots, but my girls are young and still learning to match colors.  Numbers are just not necessary at this point.)

The best part is, the dots are magnetic!  

There are teeny tiny (but super strong) magnets sewn into the dots on the page and the dots on the string.

I had so much fun making this page!  And, honestly, I have spent a lot of time playing with it.  It's kind of thrilling to put the string close and have the dots snap together...almost like magic!

Page 2, Fabric Chain

Page 3, Matching

Page 4, Marble Maze

Page 5, Make a Face  



(I'm linking this up with my usual linky parties!)

The Fruits of My Ambition

Remember the before?

(here)

I fixed it.


I managed to pull that old cover apart, carefully label it, trace it, cut the pieces out of new (much improved) fabric, and put it all back together again!

The putting it back together again was fairly simple, although I hit a bit of a snag when trying to put the bottom back on.

But, after much worrying and fretting, I decided to just deal with it. I sewed it together, ignoring the parts that aren't as pretty as the rest, and continued to be proud of myself.

The most important thing is, the girls love it.

And they love each other.

Um, just on a side note, do you see that white thing in O's hair? It's a strip of Velcro. She calls it her headbandie.

I think it is the start of a new, totally hip fashion craze. Be prepared!


I used a piece of fleece for them to lay on when the couch folds out to a bed.

It's soft and cuddly.


See, she's sleeping.

(Not really)


She doesn't like to sleep, so why would she even pretend to? But she'll lay on the soft fleece!

I know some of you are hoping for a tutorial. I thought about making one as I went along, but then decided against it. I thought maybe I should figure out what I was doing before I showed other people the way. Besides, I couldn't remember to take pictures along the way.

I would like to do another one, to perfect it a bit (ahem...a lot) more. If I do, I'll make a tutorial with that one.

In the meantime, I would just like to throw out the challenge to you. If you have the opportunity to do a project that you're not sure you can handle, then jump in and do it. It's kind of fun! And super rewarding. And, toddlers are very accepting of new toys, even if they aren't sewn perfectly.

I'm linking up with my regulars.