Bake Your Own Cards! 06/18/2011
 We have a little friend named Mia in Austin. For her first Halloween her parents dressed her up as the most adorable sunflower, complete with flower pot, and they carried her around their neighborhood. I am so flattered that they looked to us for a creative flower idea! My recent My Right Brain article highlights simple crafts and cooking projects to do with kids at home. Mia and her mom chose the Cupcake Flowers, and made three of them to give as Father's Day cards to Mia's daddy, uncle and grandpa. They made the project their own by adding stickers and glitter paint to the actual cupcake liners. Her mom said they turned out beautifully, and I couldn't agree more. ~ What new craft projects have you tried recently? ~ Add Comment Connect the Dots 05/11/2011
 Tiny received these Do-A-Dot Art Markers from some friends during her second Chanukah. She immediately loved them, and still does. I still remember when she created this first dot drawing, carefully making lines of dots down the page. Then she realized she could draw with the markers too, and that's when she really started to hone her artistic style. A babysitter left here one time with a poster she made for school using the markers. So I guess they're good for getting a message across. ~ What are your favorite children's art supplies? ~ Bake It Easy 05/11/2011
 When it comes to crafting with kids, a real go-to is taking any container with a top or lid and decorating it. I covered a Twinings tea box with white paper, and Tiny decorated it with her favorite Hello Kitty stickers. We filled it with a variety of paper baking cups for my mom for Mother's Day. She had wanted new cute cupcake cups, but I know she was more excited about the container itself. This could also work well as a jewelry box or a place to keep said sticker collection. ~ What innovative gift wrapping ideas have you tried? ~ Butterflies are Free to Try 05/11/2011
 I didn't make up this idea, but I did make these for my friend (and reading specialist) Melissa's daughter's third birthday party! The party theme was The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and although we live out of town I wanted to help. The original I saw used little pretzel sticks and grapes. Since I would be mailing these I needed sturdier and less perishable snacks. I chose the Jumbo Raisin Medley and Multi-Grain Pretzel Nuggets, both from Trader Joe's. I filled one half of a zip top snack size bag with each treat and twisted a pipe cleaner around the middle to create the antennae. Tiny made some too which we brought to a local backyard playdate. The crafty treats were enjoyed by all. These would also be fun to make using pieces of colored tissue paper in each side. They would last longer too. ~ What creative treats do you serve at playdates or parties? ~ Total Eclipse of the Art 03/10/2011
 What do you get when you combine a dad who eats too many Eclipse mints, and a mom whose creativity eclipses many others? Eclipse Mint Tin Mezuzot! I went to Tiny's preschool class yesterday to make these with her and her classmates. The teachers, parents and I may have been more excited about the whole project, but they each had fun creating a Mezuzah of their very own. We used adhesive sheets cut to fit around the mint tins, which the kids all colored with washable markers. I brought in mini Torah scrolls printed from the internet, which they each got to put inside. They topped the Mezuzah off with a letter "shin" sticker made by their Hebrew-speaking teacher. A square of sticky foam was placed on the back, so that it can be stuck in any doorway to bless the home. Doorposts should be so lucky. ~ What crafts have you created from discarded objects? ~ Stamp of Approval 03/04/2011
 If a picture is worth a thousand words, than any thank you note or card written by a toddler says it all! Let them decorate your next batch of thank you notes or birthday cards any way they want to. You can always add a short note, or let their drawings literally do the talking. They can use pens, crayons, markers, stickers and more. I like to photograph Tiny's artworks that get sent out so that we always have a copy. ~ How do your toddlers help with your correspondence? ~ Nice Ice, Baby 01/06/2010
 Credit: Habitot Children's Museum As an artist in a former life, I am always looking for new craft projects that are easy to do at home. I asked Lauren Levin, Development Associate at Habitot Children's Museum, for a new crafting idea. She gave me the directions for Ice Cube Painting, a project that was recently featured in Habitot's Tot-Mail as well. Ice Cube Painting Materials: ice cube trays; food coloring; water; popsicle sticks; paper and coffee filters (optional) Directions: 1. Mix Concentrated solutions of water and food color in a measuring cup. 2. Fill each cube of an ice cube tray with one of the colored waters. 3. Insert a popsicle stick into each cube to make the cubes easier to handle after freezing. 4. Freeze ice cube trays 24 hours. 5. When ready to paint, spread paper on table. 6. Pop out frozen colored cubes and let children paint on paper with the ice cubes. 7. For something different, paint on coffee filters or other textured paper and see what happens. Very nice. Can't wait to try this at home. ~ Parents: What craft projects do your tots enjoy? ~ Little Beau Peek 12/22/2009
 Credit: Beaubaby We all take photos of our tots all year long; some of us all day long! I asked Jenn Lindberg, photographer and owner of Beaubaby, for any at-home photography tips. She had some insightful tips especially for moms. She said, "At Beaubaby, we love for parents to be included in our photo sessions, but moms all too often are the most reluctant subjects of all. This photo almost wasn't made! As women, we tend to be intensely critical of ourselves - our weight, our hair, the particular choice of an outfit on a given day. But kids don't care! When they look back, they'll treasure seeing and having these photos. You're leaving a legacy - their story, your story. Joy, love, tenderness, exuberance - that's what they'll see - and not a bad hair day! So be sure to come out from behind the camera now and then, and join in the photos." Well said. ~ Parents: Do you tend to hide behind the camera, or are you in a lot of the photos as well? ~ Project Yourself 12/14/2009
 Credit: Baroque Babies My friend Laura and her blogger-in-crime Kim, write the blog Baroque Babies, all about living abroad with their mutli-cultural and multi-lingual families. Some of the issues they deal with as Americans in another land, such as how to celebrate Thanksgiving or how to keep their kids entertained on multiple overseas trips a year, are different than some of our everyday concerns. But like all parents, they care about what their kids are eating, and making sure that their toys get put away. And their art supplies. Enter the most adorable and creative art supply holding system! The Lazy Susan Art Caddy can go with you from room to room, and looks so fun to make too. It's the art project that comes before all other art projects! Click here for directions. ~ Parents: What innovative systems have you come up with for organizing art supplies, toys or anything else? ~ Skimming the Surface 11/10/2009
 I recently bought an actual live thesaurus, because as much as I love Dictionary.com, sometimes it's nice to still have a book to hold on to and look through. Tiny thinks so too and enjoyed looking at the cover and at the pages filled with tiny words. She always likes finding the publishers' logos (especially if it's a penguin!) on my books and on hers too. Her current favorite book to play with is Street Gangs by Michael Davis. She got to learn all about Guy Smiley from the cover, while I learned about Captain Kangaroo and other Sesame Street predecessors. ~ Parents: What "grown-up" books have captured your kids' attention? ~ | CreateCreate memories while reading, crafting, singing and dancing! ArchivesJune 2011 CategoriesAll |
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