My Valentine

This morning I made my boys some heart shaped pancakes. Nothing fancy. I didn't have a special cutter. I didn't cut little heart shaped strawberries to put on top (although my belly is a little sad that I didn't). The mix came from a box (although I did step it up from the "just add water" variety--because there's some of that in my pantry too). I didn't even bother to put it on a regular plate (as in not plastic). I just poured the batter with a little more care than usual.

Sorry Pinterest, but today I'm being real. Because today, the intention and thought went a lot further than the presentation...and that's what this greeting card holiday is really all about.

After saying "It's a heart!" and "I love pancakes!" my now two and half year old insisted that I use a cookie cutter to make his pancakes into snowmen. "Two Frostys." Oh well. Frankly, I'm just happy that he ate breakfast--that's a mother's valentine win.. :)

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Pony Bead Wreath

I can't remember which blog I read a few weekends ago that reminded me about making a beaded wreath. I thought I pinned it, but no (would have liked to give credit where credit is due). Although honestly, I think I really did see this a few different places since. Holiday brain strikes again.

Anyway, I thought the project would be great for a teacher gift, and since I already had the pipe cleaners and pony beads laying around, it was quite convenient.

Ethan loved beading, and talking about the wreaths and who he wanted to make them for....but he never did finish any. Just as he'd get them just about to completion, he'd pull all the beads off and start over. So really, the only complete wreaths we have are the ones I made while we were crafting together...but as they say, art projects are really about the process at this age, so in that case, we found success.

I'm certain this will be my last post before Christmas, so here's wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Time is Precious, Kits are OK

I grabbed a gingerbread cookie kit on a whim at CVS the other day. The reality is that our holiday time is running short, and I wanted to get in a cookie activity (in case that homemade dough in our fridge never makes it into cookie form). These were great. Ethan could have cared less that they came from a kit, and honestly, the only eating he did was licking up the frosting and sprinkles. Also, he thinks gingerbread men are cool (he calls it a "breadman") and frankly I don't really care for gingerbread--so win-win.

It's so easy to get caught up on your favorite fabulous blogs and Pinterest and feel like you're a holiday season failure.  BUT, you can see how into it he was, and how proud when he was done. So today I'm here to say, it's ok to take shortcuts...especially if it saves you precious time to sit back and enjoy the season.

Little Loves- Christmas Magic

There's nothing more magical to me than the holiday season. 

Although I haven't been blogging much lately, we really have done some neat things to celebrate the season. 

Here's our holiday snapshot:

This was the first year that Ethan really got to meet Santa. It seems like this year, Santa was there every time we turned around. THREE different times. Once they played ball together. Once they were wearing the same hat. And once he arrived in the neighborhood on a firetruck. Some other highlights were a light dusting of snow (the first in Ethan's memory), decorating a cookie at a holiday party, putting tinsel on the tree, and tons of Christmas stickers.

Our other favorites (not pictured) are driving through the neighborhood in search of lights (how delightful to live in a 'hood where people decorate). We especially love the "arrow house." They have this giant illuminated arrow pointing to their chimney. Most awesome. Also loving the holiday movies...especially Frosty the Snowman, and the (admittedly less exciting) Frosty Returns. Ethan loves the holiday tunes too...he's a caroling machine. 

Hope you're getting out there and enjoying the magic this year. :)

Year in Review Infographic

I had made my decision- this was going to be the year without a holiday newsletter. Besides moving, we didn't have a lot of large landmark events this year. I felt like I was writing a newsletter just because I thought that I should. I was totally uninspired. 

Our goal for this season was to get our cards out early, and we gave ourselves a deadline (since last year our cards didn't go out until well after the new year). Two days before our deadline, I saw this great resource from the lovely Alma Loveland on nicolesclasses.com about creating a holiday infographic instead of a holiday letter. Now that was something I could get on board with.

So here's my version:

Much more interesting than the letter I didn't want to write (imho).

If you want to know more about making your own holiday infographic, be sure to check out Alma's tips and free icons to get you started! I have to admit, those great icons saved me a ton of time!

Have you ever made a similar stuffer for your holiday cards? I'd love to hear about it!

Happy Thanksgiving Collage

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Leaf rubbing and glued shape collage

Make Your Own Infant Oompa Loompa Costume

A blast from the past! 

This costume I created for 2 month old Ethan three Halloweens ago, but had yet to share here. This particular year some wonderful friends of mine were throwing a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory themed Halloween party and I couldn't resist the opportunity for our little dude to be our little Oompa Loompa. (I went with an Oompa Loompa from the original movie--my personal favorite) The costume was super easy to make--no sew (also my favorite)!

So- How how do you make this Halloween favorite?

What you need:

Long sleeve brown shirt or onesie

White pants 

1" white ribbon

Button stickers

Green knit cap 

Green knit booties 

Self-Adhesive velcro dots

How-To:

Start by gathering a suitable long sleeve shirt or onesie and some white (khaki would probably be ok too) pants. Carters basic long-sleeve onesies are a delicious color of brown, but obviously any brown shirt will do! 

I used 1" white ribbon to make the straps of the overalls, but I wanted to be able to attach them at the party so that they were not a danger in the car. I also wanted to be able to deconstruct the costume after the party without damaging the original cloths items. This is where the self-adhesive velcro comes in. Attach velcro to the ends of the ribbon and inside the waistband of the pants. Ta-da! Instant overalls.

I was lucky and for the buttons, I happened upon some button stickers! They were great because as in infant Ethan didn't mess with them, and they did not pose a choking hazard. You could create your own button stickers by finding a printable button (like from MS Office here) and printing on sticker paper.

The green knit hat and booties are a bit trickier. They were a lucky score on my part. I was going to actually consider the costume complete without them, but the green "hair" really does make the costume. Before I found this set, I had considered dying a white Gerber set, or even using one of their light green caps. You could do the same for the booties, or maybe even try folding some out of a green paper napkin?

So that's it! Easy squeezy and oh-so-cute! (Sorry there aren't more detailed photos- this was pre-blogging days!)

I wore one of my husband's blue shirts and a red belt and went as Veruca. My husband's name is Charlie, so he was "Charlie." (yea, I know, not very original). This shot of the three of us isn't the greatest, but you can see the full Oompa Loompa in all his glory!

PS- The green hat also makes for a great pumpkin stem! 

Construction Truck Birthday Party

I've never claimed to be amazing at creating stunning party decorations, although I must admit that there are days that I wish it was my secret super-hero skill. 

What I am good at is some creative ways to pull things together in a pinch, and usually on a dime. I'm a firm believer that with some careful thought (you know, the kind you can do in the car when you're driving from work to daycare or from home to the "chicken nugget store") it can all come together quick, easy, and still fantastic.

This year's second birthday party was a construction theme. I had the party early in the day because frankly, that's when Ethan is at his best. 

Decorations included:

• Small road cones- Dollar store find
• "Working Hard" sign- major score from the Target dollar bin
• Orange Pennant Banner- Oriental Trading $8.50 for 100ft!  (BTW, 100 ft is A LOT of banner!)

DIY decorations:

• "Dig In" sign- Here's where I took a major short-cut. When I say I was pressed for time, I mean that even the idea of cutting construction paper into a perfect square seemed like it was going to take too long. To really speed up this process, I bought a pack of 6x6 scrapbook paper and used one of the yellow pieces to make the sign. Origami paper would have worked great too. The idea was to have paper that was already a perfect yellow square.  I also used vinyl lettering. All in all it wasn't the most cost-effective sign (although certainly not expensive), but it definitely was super quick!! 
• Food labels- I found an awesome quick solution for these signs. There are new sticky notes that have adhesive over the entire back of the paper square. I wrote on them with Sharpie marker, cut an orange straw to size for the pick, and sandwiched them between two of the yellow sticky notes. Could not have been easier!

Food:

• Bagels- Love that I can place an order for bagels and spreads and just pick them up. Versatile, easy, and cost effective.
• Fruit Salad- I opted out of the fruit tray and cut fruit on my own to save a few bucks. This was probably the most time consuming preparation of the whole party, but at least it could be done the night before.
• "Tires"- Chocolate donuts. BIG hit with the kids.
• "Bricks"- Red Licorice bites.
• "Logs"- Pretzel sticks.
• Cupcakes- The cupcakes were excellent. We have a locally owned grocery store that makes fantastic cupcakes (at an awesome price). I got marble cupcakes with chocolate frosting and asked them to use Oreo cookie crumble to make it look like "dirt." I then topped some of the cupcakes with truck erasers from Oriental Trading ($5.25 for 12). The erasers looked awesome, although like a review on the merchant site said, they fall apart easily and aren't appropriate for kiddos who still put things in their mouths. The looked great for the price though!
• Paper Goods- A good cost cutting tip is to buy plain paper goods in coordinating colors. The fun design plates, napkins, and tablecloths are just too expensive, and I find I like the solid colors better anyway. For this event I got orange plates, yellow and white striped napkins, and black table cloths. 

The invitation:

Got a great deal at Snapfish on the invitations! :)

So that's it in a nutshell! We had a great time, especially the little dude...and isn't that what matters?

Seeing Stars this July 4th

I have to admit, I'm a bit lax on the intentional crafts and projects lately. June has been insane for our family and our preparations to move have our house looking a bit like a box fort. Still, when the little guy asked to paint this weekend, I quickly pulled together a Fourth of July star theme.

I had brought some form stars in a dollar bin awhile back and Ethan painted them while he sang "Twinkle Twinkle" (his idea). You could just as easily cut out stars from construction paper. The point here is that the project doesn't have to be amazing to be fun and creative. 

Imagine they are hung from curling ribbon. That was my intent, but all the ribbon is already backed away neatly in a cardboard box. Instead, we improvised and hung them on the back door with some scotch tape. They look good :)

Here are some other projects from that past that you may enjoy while you celebrate your holiday this week:

Handprint Fireworks

Aluminum Foil Stars

Hope you enjoy a fantastic and safe holiday!

Cinco de Mayo Sombrero Craft

This toddler approved Cinco de Mayo sombrero craft turned out to be pretty quick and easy. It also uses supplies that you probably already have on hand. 

You'll need:

Plastic disposable cup

Desert-sized paper plate

Stickers (we used round dot stickers that cost about $2)

Packing tape

Scissors

To prep the project, I taped the cup to the plate using packing tape and cut a hole in the paper plate below the cup. I originally tried to glue the cup to the plate, but the first thing my toddler did was rip the cup right off the plate. Then hand it over to your toddler and add the stickers!!

I was lucky enough that this was a project that Ethan wanted to do with me. He wanted me to help him put stickers on the cup. We've been adding stickers a little at a time over the last day, and I bet we add more by the end of the week. 

Ethan always enjoys stickers, but I think in the end, he liked putting the hat on the stuffed frog better! (They played quite an exciting game of "peek-a-boo!")

So, Happy Cinco de Mayo! If you need more holiday projects, be sure to check out the Footprint Chili Pepper!

 

Exploring Painting Techniques with Toddlers

Toddlers naturally learn though exploration. This project is a great way to use the art process as a way to learn and increase fine motor skills.  
  

I went for a laid-back type project for Easter this year-- painting on cardboard cut-out eggs.

What happened next was really cool. After the he had painted his third egg, I noticed Ethan was painting each egg using a different painting method. When he asked me to help him paint the fourth and fifth eggs, I took a cue from him gave him suggestions for other ways we could apply the paint. 

Here are the painting techniques we tried:

1. Paint with a brush

2. Dab with a dry brush 

3. Fingerpaint

4. Make dots with a q-tip (Bonus: He loved saying "dots" while he was dotting the paint. "Dots" is a great vocab word)

5. Draw lines with a q-tip (Bonus: "Lines" is also a great vocab word)

Of course, we were using our Easter eggs, but you could paint anything. The idea is to look at alternate ways we can apply paint to the paint surface, encouraging that the toddler pay attention to the painting task in a new way.

There's an unlimited number of methods that you could try. The techniques we used were very basic, but the result was that every egg looked very different.

The activity turned out so well that I can't wait to try this again. Special thanks to my little guy for the inspiration. :)

What are some of your favorite toddler paint techniques?

Tissue Collage, Bead Necklace Game, and Mardi Gras

Tissue paper collage
This project is out of my archives, but it was a really enjoyable, and I never got around to posting it. I also think a pretty vibrant tissue collage like this is perfect for Mardi Gras!

What you need:

Glue stick

Construction or other paper (or use Contact Paper and no glue)

Tissue paper (think leftover from gift bags)

We made this collage when Ethan was 7 months old. I smeared glue stick all over the paper to make it sticky and sat it in front of Ethan. Then I gave him a variety of different tissue paper pieces, showed him how to tear the paper, and then just let him play. As the tissue pieces would fall to the paper, they would stick to the glue, and eventually, a collage was made! Playing with the tissue paper was a big hit, and the collage was bright and colorful when it was done. You could also do the same thing using Contact paper instead of paper and glue. For an infant, the glue worked great, although it would be much more messy if you were making a tissue collage with a toddler! We used Contact paper when we made our Heart Collage.

Playing with Beads/ Bead Game

Last year we Played with Beaded Necklaces on Fat Tuesday (again, this is an activity that definitely requires adult supervision). I think we'll do the same this evening, but make it more fun for a toddler by dropping the beaded necklaces into a wide-mouthed water bottle similar to playing the Pin Drop Game. I guarantee the noise of the beads falling into the bottle will be sure to impress a little person, and is great for refining fine motor skills. (Sorry for not playing this all out ahead of time, but I think you get the idea!)  

And of course, to make Fat Tuesday official, we'll have donut holes for desert. :)

How are you celebrating Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras with your infant or toddler?


Update 3/6/12: We had fun playing with the beads, but my suggestion is to cut the strands of beads so they are just a strand and no longer a necklace. Not only does it make the game easier, but it makes it safer too! :)

Heart Inspired Crafts

Hmmm, so I scheduled this post to go out last week, but just realized it never did. BUMMER!! Valentines day may be over, but these projects are still fun- and Mother's Day is just around the corner!!


Heart Collage
This years Valentines collage craft was quick, easy, and clean. It's great for a toddler, but it's possible to create a collage with an infant too by using larger hearts (the Contact paper makes a great sensory experience- just have the infant play with the shapes and let them fall where they may!)

What you need:

Clear Contact paper

Construction paper

Scissors

To prep the project, cut out a bunch of small paper hearts (Out of pure necessity, I actually cut mine out at work while I was on my lunch break- so whatever works!) and cut two pieces of Contact paper to the same size. Mine was approximately 8x6 inches. I created red and pink hearts, but I think it would also be real cool to cut some hearts out of newspaper as well. The white with black text would be a nice addition to the mix.

Tape the Contact paper to the table (or we use our highchair try insert as a craft/art surface), sticky side up and let your kiddo start sticking the hearts to the surface. Ethan did a lot of moving the hearts around. When he got bored, we put the remaining heart in a box, dumped them all over the paper, and smacked them down. 

Finish by placing the other sheet of Contact paper on top to seal in the hearts. 

Looks pretty and festive hanging on our white cabinet, but it would look really cool hanging in a window too!

Fingerpaint Heart
Last year we painted a heart for Valentines Day. (It was a great project for a 6 month old!)

Hope you enjoyed you special day!

Pine Needle Brushes

I saw the idea to paint with pine branches on The Artful Parent, and I thought it was a great toddler sensory paint project, and especially appropriate for the holiday.

Certainly, the idea of painting with evergreens is not necessarily seasonal, but painting with Christmas tree branches is! Can't tell you how happy it makes me to create art with our Christmas tree!

I put the paint on a paper plate pallet and suggested that Ethan dip the branches and then paint them on the paper. For children under a year old, I would suggest placing small blobs of paint on the paper first, and instead showing them to smear the paint around with the branch.

As he was painting, we talked about how the branches were painting lots of little colored lines and dots on his paper. He really enjoyed himself, and I liked watching him explore. When we were all done, he had a really cool looking painting too! I love the feeling of motion and chaos that those fine smeary lines give it!

(Have I mentioned that painting with your young child is a great way to work on learning colors?!!)

Enjoy your holiday, and let me know if you're doing any crafting or art projects using your Christmas tree!!

Christmas on the Farm

If the farm is going to be the centerpiece in our living room, it might as well be festive!!!

He really wanted to tree to be IN the farm...

Favorite is the wreath on the barn door and around the cow's neck!

Happy Holidays from our family to yours!!

Oh (handprint) Christmas Tree

I found this idea on The Other White House via Pinterest and had to adapt it for Ethan this year! 

We used a paint on a pallet, putting a glob of green paint on a paper plate and smearing it around with Ethan's little hand before we "smack smack smacked" it down on the paper. (Saying "smack smack smack" makes it quite fun for your little person!) Since making the snowman handprint ornament, I've found the paper plate is really effective if you need to make a number of handprints!

After we got the tree shape done, we used different colored paint on his fingertips to create the lights and then I helped him smear paint into a tree trunk.

When we were all done, Ethan asked for more paper and to my surprise, he made a second tree by himself (it's one of those modern upside down types)! When he was done, he pulled the page off of his tray and pointed for me to hang it up to dry next to the tree we had done together. "Is that a Christmas Tree?" "Christmas Tree- uh huh!" Great look through the eyes of a toddler! Well done little dude. :)

Snowman Handprint Ornament

These really cute snowman ornaments aren't an original idea. I got the idea from Full of Great Ideas last year, and I've been waiting to try it ever since.

I'll admit, I was a bit unsure how well this would go with a young toddler (Ethan is 16 months old), but I thought I could give it a go. I got the ornaments at the dollar store. 7 for $1!!

Tips:

• I really liked the idea to dip Ethan's hand on the pallet of paint instead of painting it with a brush. It was much quicker to reapply paint when making multiple ornaments. 
• He's too young to want to grip his fingers around the ball, so I pressed down one finger at a time. We counted as I pressed, which he found very amusing!
• With little hands, you can do a double print with fingers on each side.
• Resign yourself to the fact that they aren't going to be perfect! One of my favorite "mistakes" turned into a snowman peeking out from behind another snowman. It's delightful :)

Ethan could have painted another whole box he was having so much fun! 

Fun fact: I had a hard time finding the "free time" to paint on the finishing details of the ornaments for Ethan. I ended up bringing my black Sharpie, my fine tipped paint brush, and my paints to work and painting them in my cube on my lunch break! The photos were taken during another lunch break using my work's Christmas tree. Ah, to be a working mom during the holidays!!

Can You Help Tom Turkey Find His Feathers?!

I was inspired by Parenting Magazine to do a feather hunt (a la Easter egg hunt) for my little person on Thanksgiving morning. They suggested using the collected feathers to create a headdress. Good idea, but not something that my little guy would really understand.

What he does understand is "turkey."

I made a little turkey out of two styrofoam balls, some paint, googly eyes, construction paper, and cardboard. It didn't take very long to make an assemble, or making him would have never fit into my schedule! A few tips: Make sure the feet are large enough to keep the turkey from falling forward. Also, use a toothpick (or piece of a toothpick) between the two balls to ensure that they stay together! An alternate craft would be to draw a turkey and glue the feathers on!

So tomorrow Ethan will be hunting for hidden feathers. As he finds them, we'll put them back on Tom Turkey. I'm not quite sure how it will go, but sure sounds fun enough to me :)

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

Fall Leaf Relief Print Painting (and Turkeys!)

Ethan and I had a lot of fun with our most recent Fall Leaf Relief Print painting project!

First step is to collect a few fall leaves. They don't need to be pretty leaves, they just need to be in good shape, and not too dry.

We then used our brushes to paint the underside of the leaves. It's very important to paint the undersides because they have so much more texture than the tops. Ethan definitely needed help filling in the leaves. He did ok to start, and he was enthusiastic, but to fill them in completely he needed Mommy's help. We used a pallet of red, orange, and yellow paint, but go crazy and use any colors you'd like!

After we painted the undersides of all the leaves, we placed the painted side down on a clean sheet of paper. Ethan helped me "SMACK SMACK" the leaves against the paper. We left the leaves stuck to the paper while he painted around them. When he was all done, I peeled up the edges and he helped remove the leaves. I think he was a bit surprised by the bright colored leaf prints that were left behind.

My favorite part is the pretty yellow, orange and red hand smear on the left edge of the page!

When we're done painting, we always tape the painting to the side of one of my cabinets to dry. While I was hanging the leaf prints, I looked at them and said "Oh WOW Ethan, this painting is really good!" He replied "Oh WOW!" Now every time we look at that painting (now framed in his room) and I ask him, "What does Mommy say about that painting?" he replies "Oh WOW!" Love.

And of course, what's a Thanksgiving holiday without making some hand turkeys!

Halloween Pumpkin and Spider Paintings

"Playing Pumpkins"

Halloween is just around the corner (I still can't believe it!) and my one year old is busy spending his Halloween season learning about spiders and pumpkins. We hung some fantastic striped paper spiders from his bedroom ceiling (purchased at a discount store for a few bucks). Of course we purchased pumpkins from a quaint pumpkin stand. And we "play pumpkins" --aka rearrange them all over the house--but the other day when he stumbled across the finger paints (and had a near breakdown because he wanted to fingerpaint so badly) I decided it was time to make some Halloween paintings!


Palm-Print Pumpkins with Fingerprint Stems
When we painted these, I would paint Ethan's palm and help him press it against the paper. We'd hit the paper semi-hard and say "SMACK! SMACK!" He loved it! We did the same thing with the fingerprints for the stems.

Handprint Spiders
I've seen variations on the handprint spider all over the internet, but we thought we'd try our own! In retrospect, we would have only painted 8 fingers and not all 10, but Ethan surely didn't mind :) In this case, we also used fingerprints for eyes!

How did you first introduce your little person to Halloween symbols??