bird feeder craft

I had a crafty get together a couple of weeks ago to create this sweet bird feeder for Valentine's day. I saw the tutorial for the love of birds on Alpha Mom's website. 14 kids and their mamas came to our house which made for a very energetic afternoon. 

The bird feeders were simple enough to setup and create and after spending some time in the freezer to harden they were ready for hanging. They looked awesome hung on our tree.  However, it just didn't work and I think our sunny climate is to blame.  Once the feeders defrosted the heart slipped off the twin and fell apart.  In a colder climate these would probably stay solid enough to hang.   Oh well, you win some you lose some. We had a good time making them so, it's all good.

chalkboard party favors

For my son's birthday this year he wanted rainbow themed party favors.  He loves art and to color and I just love that he loves rainbows. They are so much fun but, there isn't much out there for 4 year old boys with a theme of rainbows. I love to make and give useful items whenever possible so, the minute I saw this how to: mini chalkboards tutorial on Craftzine I knew it was perfect!  I discussed the idea with Hudson and he was excited about it. Here is how we created the favors together.

We bought plain wood boards at Michaels for $1 each.
The boys helped me count and inspect them.

We lightly sanded the edges to smooth them out.

I taped up the edges of the boards.

Sprayed a couple of coats of chalkboard spray paint on each one.

After they were dry, I removed the tape and added colorful lines
around the edges for a rainbow boarder effect.

Hudson helped me choose bundles of 3 chalk sticks colors and rubber band
them together. Lastly, I created a rainbow thank you tag and tied a ribbon
around the boards with the chalk bundle and tag. 

kids art: decoupage fun take 2

Playroom Table Makeover

About a year ago I took a simple IKEA table and decoupaged some of the my kids school artwork to the top of it, I blogged about it here.  It turned out great but, over time the paper had water damage and was torn in places so, the time has come for a makeover. Decoupage to the rescue ... again!  

 Playroom Table - Before (after removing old artwork)

If you have never decoupaged before check out how to decoupage at about.com. I thought about using my kids school work again and begun the hunt and then it occurred to me that the paintings they create on their easel is just the right paper size to cover the table.  Score!  I had one that they both did together sitting in the garage so, I thought that one was perfect.

Playroom Table - After

 
The boys have a fun new playroom table created with their artwork! Isn't it cool? I love taking something a bit ratty and worn and breathing new life into it.  Do you have something you had on the fritz that you made new again?  If so, I'd love to hear about it!

kids art as gift wrap

My kids love to create and I am always looking for new ways to use their artwork instead of tossing it.  Our painting sessions on the easel create some pretty large masterpieces so, I started saving them to use for gift wrap!  I think its a fun way to show off their creativity while being resourceful. Family members, teachers, artists or just about anyone would enjoy this twist on traditional gift wrapping.

earth love: recycled cardboard robots

In celebration of Earth Day we made recycled cardboard robots!

Choose your box from recycled cereal and pasta boxes for the robot body. Turn the boxes inside out and tape or glue together. This way you have a better decorating surface.

Attach arms and legs from recycled toilet paper rolls with glue (we used a hot glue gun).

Cut out egg carton cups for the eyes and nose and glue.

Finally, PAINT! Oh, what fun.

I was inspired by the blog post Recycled Robot Monsters by the totally talented Alisa Burke.

kids art: monster banks

How cute are these little monster banks?! A couple of weekends ago we set up a painting studio on the kitchen table and the boys created these adorably spooky monster banks. I love them. The little monsters and the banks too!

gone batty!

Our family has been a bit under the weather for last 2 days. With the kids in the house all day we got a little batty! We don't have many Halloween decorations so, to make it feel a little more festive we strung up a garland with some paper and black string we had in the house. I found a half bat template online and a ghost rubber stamp that I outlined and printed them both out. I had the kids cut some shapes and I cut a bunch for the garland.

Ethan made some bats but he had his own plan for them; he colored it black and made a card instead. Hudson had a great time cutting but, not into any actual bat or ghost shapes. While I was stringing the garland the boys decided they wanted bat kites so, Bert helped them cut out the shapes and tied with some black string.

They happily ran back and forth in the living room as there kites flew! The best part was, this craft project kept everyone engaged and whining / arguing free for quiet a while. :)

kids art: painted letters

We played with paint this weekend!

Painting is one of our favorite past times. So much so, that they even cleaned the entire playroom before we were able to began. The boys each painted the first letter of their name. Sorry the photos are so poor. My camera is out of batteries so, I took these with my cell phone.


I have to say the "paint bucket" I put together on our last crafty day made the setup for this project run very smoothly! Everything was setup in the correct order; smocks, tablecloth, letters, paint, and last brushes. This made for a much more relaxing experience for me. Yay!

kids art: ready for take off!

Ready for take off!

Ethan tagged along with me on another trip to Michael's. Again, he found lots of things he wanted to make but, decided on a wooden model airplane kit. The boys enjoyed building their own airplanes with dad's help. Then the planes sat around for a week or 2, waiting for the right time to be decorated. It has been HOT here in the desert and we are in hibernation mode so, this weekend was the perfect time to bring out the art supplies and get painting.

We reused an egg carton as a paint palette, it is sturdy and holds lots of colors

Ethan working with his favorite colors: blue and green

Hudson working with his favorite color: red

new and improved "paint bucket"

I have to admit I need to work on getting the art supplies out in a particular order. I seem to start backwards - planes then paint then tablecloth then smocks - that is all wrong! They boys are already trying to dip into the paints before the table is set up and their shirts put on. So, I packed all the needed supplies: paints, brushes, cup, egg cartons, smock shirts and a tablecloth into the new and improved "paint bucket". Hopefully this makes our next painting adventure setup run a bit more smoothly.

Once again for only a buck, this little kit proved to be a lot of fun, it let them become the pilot and the designer!

kids art: vroom vroom

Vroom! Vroom!

No one enjoys crafts more than kids. Building projects gives them a chance to get their hands dirty and create something with meaning. Sharing a hobby with them can be loads of fun. Ethan and Hudson's eyes light up at the first sight of a crafty kit.

Ethan tagged along with me one day on a trip to Michael's - He couldn't believe all the cool stuff! Is it awful of me to be a creative mom and never bring my kids to a creative supply store?! In that moment I realized that yeah, he should come with me every so often. He found many things he wanted to make but, settled on a wooden race car kit. And, of course we had to get Hudson one too!

Today, we busted out the kits and the boys built their own race car, It was easy to assemble with just wood glue and simple instructions.

Hudson happily painting

Ethan painting with precision

Ethan with his car on the left : Hudson with his car on the right

For only a buck, this little kit brought them a lot of joy and they each made a model car that can be proudly displayed for all to see.

kids art: decoupage fun!

I have been thinking about what to do to spruce up the kids playroom table for awhile. It's a great little table we got at IKEA but the top of the table has seen better days. It needed a little pick me up. Decoupage to the rescue! I'm not sure if I ever decoupaged before. I feel like I must have but, cannot recall. So, I looked online for some guidance and found out how to decoupage at about.com. I also stumbled upon the awesome Etsy shop Bombus, who is saving the planet through decoupage! Really neat stuff. I thought a map, atlas or music sheets were all neat ideas to put in the kid's room. I was getting ready to print some pages out and then it hit me. If I print pages I will lose a perfect opportunity to do my part and help reduce waste. So, the hunt began - what did I have in the house that would look nice and utilize paper we already have.

Ah-ha! I have a stack of wonderful preschool projects Ethan has done all sitting in a draw. I can display his work proudly, recycle paper and make a beautiful piece of art - it's a trifecta!

Ethan & Hudson chose some artwork, I cut and glued down the papers. Ethan was out for his day with Nannie by this time so, Hudson happily helped me apply the glue medium.

Just a few more coats of glue!

TaDa!

The boys have a fun new playroom table created with Ethan's school work and Hudson's help!

kids art: pumpkin pals

Ethan and Hudson's completed pumpkin pals

To celebrate the season, I hosted a Pumpkin Pals Playdate with the East Valley Hip Mamas Meetup group. Just in time for Halloween, the kiddos (ages 2-5 years old) decorated their own pumpkins. EVHM provided all the art supplies for this event, including a pumpkin for each child. Since this event was around dinner time, we had a Pumpkin/orange themed potluck dinner and the goodies were cheese dip and chips, orange chicken and rice, homemade mac and cheese, pumpkin muffins and pumpkin cookies.

Hudson is in the zone.

Ethan contemplating what to paint on his pumpkin.

All 8 kids' pumpkin pals lined up to dry.

kids art: gallery

While reading the new book The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections by Amanda Blake Soule I got from the library, I decided to try another suggestion. I was reading the chapter on art storage. I have always kept a clothesline type display in the kid's playroom of the things they create and a storage box of mementos for each child for later in life. But, the art gallery idea she suggests was a great new way to celebrate Ethan & Hudson's artwork. I located (4) 8x10 frames I had in the garage, looked through some pieces the boys had created and chose 2 from each of them to hang up. I hung the artwork at a low level that was accessible for Ethan & Hudson to see (but not too low that they could knock them down) in the hallway between the boys bedrooms as you see here! I think this will be an inspiring new way to display their prized pieces and allow them as well as everyone who visits our home to admire them. I hope that by creating the kids gallery it shows the boys that there art is, and always should be, valued.

kids art: lightening boltz

I picked up a new book The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections by Amanda Blake Soule from the library last week. This book was recommended by Tiffany from her nature moms blog. I was just a few chapters in when I saw the "freezer paper stencil" project for creating your own t-shirts. This sounded fun and the supplies were simple, bonus! That same day my eldest son, Ethan saw someone wearing an AC/DC shirt on TV and immediately took to the lightening bolt. He thought that was really cool and wanted a lightening bolt shirt for himself. The aha! moment struck and I thought this was a great opportunity to try the fun "freezer paper stencil" project talked about in the book. A day later I gathered all the supplies, cut out the stencils and both Ethan & Hudson painted the fun new shirts you see here!