Painting Pumpkins

Many of our projects are "mess-free" or create a minimal mess. This one...well how can I say this? It's a huge mess but so worth it. Each Fall we bring home pumpkins and Finley (and Owen now too) get to go crazy painting one. It's a tradition now and I love it. By the way I LOVE HALLOWEEN!

Here's what we used....

Pumpkins

Paint (Owen used finger paint and Finley uses Tempera)

Paint brush (or just hands!)

We decided to do this outside because it was a gorgeous day! I had a plastic tablecloth leftover from a party so I just put that down on the grass for easy clean up and who wants grass to stick to their masterpiece?

Finley likes options so she squeezed a bunch of colors on to a paper plate.

 I usually give babies a pacifier while crafting to prevent (or cut down on) paint consumption. 

Owen took a more "hands-on" approach

Owen had quite a bit of paint on his hands but a piece of construction paper took care of that.

See...why I use the binky?

Finley had a bunch of paint left on her paper plate so I let her paint all over the tablecloth.

Yeah it was messy but we went right to the bathtub and I had 2 squeaky clean kiddos again.

All cleaned up

I will probably spray them tomorrow with some acrylic finish to prevent the paint from flaking off.

Here is Finley pumpkin painting when she was 10 months old.

Happy Crafting,
Ames

Spider In A Web Marble Painting

What you need:
Box
A few marbles
Black paint
White circle (We used a paper plate)
Black Paint
Spider Sticker (or clip art, etc)

Place the circle and marbles in the box. Put a couple drops of black paint in the box (works better if you put the paint on the box not the paper). You can leave it open or close it(or put the lid on if using a shoe box)...your choice.

Even Little Brother made one (closed the box for obvious reasons)

Take the "web" out and add a spider sticker (we had some foam spiders leftover from another project)

Ta-da! Display proudly or make a bunch and turn them into Halloween cards or invites!

 Happy Crafting!
Ames

I'm back....

Lots of changes around here.  Let's see.....

Finley turned 2

We had baby number 2

...Meet Owen Bennett

 Then Owen got big

We bought a new house

 And then I became a Pinterest addict! 

Crafts coming soon....

Ames :)

Bumble Bee's

Yesterday, after singing the Baby Bumble Bee song a million times, we made this project.

Cut ovals out of yellow construction paper.  Place them in the bottom of a box (usually I use a shoebox but I have a million bakery boxes so we used those).  Add a small amount of black paint and 2-3 marbles.

Close the box and shake!

I glued them to a piece of white paper and drew antennae and wings.

Happy Crafting!

Ames

Father's Day

It's been a long time...a very long time since I have posted.  We have been busy and enjoying all the sunshine we can soak up. Plus it's been taking a really looooong time to upload my pics to Blogger.` Don't worry...we have been doing crafts (just have not taken the time to post). I will be better...I promise.  We completed a Father's Day project this week.  Unfortunately the camera was not handy when we were making them but it's really easy. 

First, find a rock (big enough to be a paperweight but small enough to carry).  This was quite possibly Finley's favorite part of the whole project...she is a outdoor girl!

Cover the rock with a thin layer of white glue (use a paintbrush).

Place squares of tissue paper (any colors) on the glue.  Cover the rock completely...it's ok if they overlap (remember this is a toddler project).

This part the adult should do since  you need to be delicate.  Paint a layer of white glue all over the rock.

Let it dry.

Using a Sharpie write "My Dad Rocks" on one side and "Love, Your Child's Name 2011" on the other side.

Here it is....

I also took Finley to a local paint your own pottery place.  I chose a bowl ($6 plus $4 for paint time) for the hubby to put his keys, wallet, and chapstick in when he comes home each night.  Finley painted the outside with the colors of his favorite baseball team.  I painted baseball stitching on the inside.  It turned out pretty cute!

A couple ideas from MarthaStewart.com.

These Sun Print Cards would be super cute if you used your child's hand print.

Love Love Love these Notepads.

I will be back soon getting you all caught up with our crafts.

Happy (Father's Day) Crafting!

Ames

Flag for Memorial Day

It's almost Memorial Day which means many red, white, and blue projects!

For this flag you will need:

Glue

White Paint

Small piece of blue paper cut into a rectangle

Red paper cut into strips

White paper cut into a larger rectangle

Dip tiny fingertips into white paint

Paint the blue paper

Put some glue on the white rectangle.  Have your toddler place the strips on the glue (they will not be perfect!).  Then glue the "stars" in the corner!

If you are really ambitious you can make a much larger flag with poster board.

Happy Crafting!
Ames

Dolphin!

This little guy turned out so cute (if I do say so myself!).

I cut out a cardstock dolphin (which I traced from a book about ocean animals).

I covered a large cookie sheet with wax paper. Affixed the dolphins to the wax paper with a bit of tape on the back.  Blob some blue and white paint on the little guys.  Then, cover with another sheet of wax paper.

Have fun walking on it or ???? 

Here he is...

Have a craftastic weekend!

Ames