This is a great last minute addition to your Easter table! We made these bunny place cards last year. I just love the jelly bean eyes. Click Bunny Place Cards for the tutorial. For more Easter crafts click here.
Jimmie's Collage
Ticia from Adventures in Mommydom told me about a Chinese New Year contest over at Jimmie's Collage. Jimmie is an American mom homeschooling her daughter in China.
We didn't win the contest (although it sure feels like we did!) Jimmie was kind enough to send us a wonderful little package filled with interesting treasures from China. Seeing the Ywon was so cool. Lu was over the moon since she loves all things Chinese -- despite the fact we are Korean. Did you all know she was taking Chinese language classes for her own enjoyment? When I asked her if she preferred to take Korean classes she simply stated that she wanted to be Chinese. OK, why not? America is the land of reinvention.
Thank you to Jimmie's Collage! Check out her blog to read about their life in China. I have enjoyed looking at their Crafts, Lap Booking and Note Booking sections.
Barbie Mermaid Tail
Lu requested a mermaid tail for her Cinderella Barbie. I think she is hinting she wants the Ariel Barbie! Here is the slightly bulky and ill fitting result. Note: Felt does not make an ideal mermaid tail.
Lu is happy with it (it helps when your audience is 4 and easily impressed!)
Plus, it only took me 20 minutes to whip up.
So, I can live with it...for now.
You know the next trip to the fabric store I'll be looking for some cool fabric.
You Got To Keep Them Separated!
New floors going in. Had to clear our main living level. Trying to keep the girls occupied with all their toys packed up. Built them a fort. Lasted about two minutes before I heard, "MOOOOMMMMM!" Followed by, "Waaaaahhhhhhh!"
Enter fort number two. Some days it isn't worth my sanity to get them to work it out.
Everybody happy?
Too bad Emme can't read.
Now maybe I can empty out that closet. Not likely, but I'll try.
Spring Flower Collages
Turn those flower catalogs that are arriving right about now into beautiful Spring collages.
Just cut out lots of flowers. Crop in close to the bloom.
I do it while watching TV or talking on the phone. It doesn't take long to compile a stack.
Glue, paper, paintbrushes, tissue squares and glitter round out your supplies.
I like to have them use colorful paper as the background.
Em chose to use more tissue than flowers.
Lu was all about the flowers.
In the end we had several sheets of flower collages.
So, we turned them into...
Easter Eggs
And Paper Chains
Egg Heads
We received these great little Egg Head kits from our local Arboretum.
The kits contained instructions, seeds and half a soil disc.
Teachers: These are so easy to put together! You could easily make up a bunch of these and pass them out on Earth Day.
My girls were fascinated by the dehydrated soil disc. When you add water it expands instantly.
Place the soil in the egg shell. Add seeds and water. The seeds started growing after one day.
You can decorate your egg shells before or after your "hair" grows. Display on a cardboard ring or in an egg cup.
Model Magic Easter Egg
Supplies: Model Magic in different colors & Styrofoam Egg
Plastic Work Mat, Rolling Pin, Plastic Wrap
We began with a little color mixing. We did not have green MM so Lu mixed Yellow and Blue together. I think Lu still had St. Patrick's Day on her mind.
Roll out your MM. We used plastic over our MM so it wouldn't stick to the rolling pin. Make sure your piece is large enough to wrap around your egg. Don't make too thin or it will rip. Once rolled out have fun decorating. Rolling little balls of colored MM and then smoosh them into the MM. It is really fun and easy to do! You don't even need to wrap it around an egg.
Once your piece is thoroughly decorated, wrap it around the egg. Mush together the seam. Cove it with more colored dots. Lu even stamped hers.
I think Lu's came out looking very Kandinsky-esque!
Let it dry. MM is very light weight. You could attach a ribbon from the top and hang your egg. Lu chose to squirrel it away in her room. Em was napping when we made Lu's. This project is so easy - I will be repeating it with Em when Lu is at school. I know she will love squishing the MM!
Happy St. Patrick's Day
I forgot to take a picture of our rainbow Jello.
A last minute photo shoot on the sidewalk before school this morning!
We brought mini marshmallows to sprinkle on top for the "clouds."
St Patrick's Day Pony Tail Holder
Too much sparkle? Nah, not according to Lu!
Cut out shamrock.
Sew on sequins.
Use fabric glue to attach to another piece of felt.
Let dry and cut out.
Sew on hair elastic.
Mama's a (Super Talented) Mess!
Look at what arrived in the mail yesterday! A beautiful handmade reversible crayon apron from Sharon over at Mama's A Mess. One side has pockets and the other has slots for crayons which Sharon kindly filled for us. The apron is beautifully constructed and the print is adorable!
You can imagine the dispute that followed between my two girls. Well, Sharon, being a Mama to two girls understands these things and...
...gave us a second apron!!! Isn't it adorable? It has a Velcro closure and is also reversible.
This one is much more grown up looking (wink, wink) don't you think?
This reminds me of something Strawberry Shortcake would wear (wink, wink.)
Aren't the cupcakes cute!
Anyway, Kailani and Momo's Mommy wants you two to share the aprons.
(Picture me pretending to read that in the letter.)
(Holding my breath...)
Lu: Em can have the crayon apron! This apron is MUCH BETTER! Mommy, let's bake something so I can wear my apron.
(Ahhhh! phew!)
Good thing because Emme was NOT taking off the crayon apron!
Also included in the package was a great cupcake matching game.
If you haven't checked out Mama's A Mess I recommend that you do. Sharon and her two gorgeous girls are a hoot! They are always doing something crafty (check out her cupcake party) or educational (check out her 50 State Postcard Exchange or most recently Flat Stanley Project.) Sharon will also be opening an Etsy Store called Happy Hapa. I can't wait!
I forgot to mention, we won this apron from the Mama's A Mess Apron Giveaway.
Thank you Sharon!
Thank you Sharon!
Fun in NYC
Took the girls to visit their Grandma in NYC yesterday.
Central Park Playground, Popsicles, Grandma, Elevators, Taxis, Toy Store...
Needless to say, that had a great time!
Spring Fever
Although it isn't officially Spring yet, we are dancing in the sunshine as if it were!
From snow to almost 60 degrees in one week...crazy!
We have been busy going on nature walks, playing at the playground, playing hopscotch, building stick houses, blowing bubbles, drawing with sidewalk chalk, excavating seashells at the sand table...
Hope it is sunny where you are!
The Battle Over the Hanbok or Sharing Our Korean Culture
I had a great time talking about Korea and the New Year to the kids in Lu's Preschool Class, last week. I brought a Hanbok and a boys Jeogori (jacket) for the kids to try on. I read to the class, New Clothes for New Year's Day by Hyun-joo Bae and The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi. I also taught the kids how to say hello and friend in Korean.
Last year Lu wore her Hanbok to school and was very proud of "looking different." This year she did not want to wear her Hanbok. I respected her wishes, only after trying to talk her into it unsuccessfully. I did recognized her desire to blend in having been there myself. I just wasn't expecting it to come so quickly.
I brought the Hanbok with me to the talk. When I pulled it out of the bag, all the kids oohed and ahhed over it. I asked who wanted to try it on. By the time every hand shot up Lu had officially changed her mind.
It is ironic that it took the classes unanimous acceptance for Lu to be free to be different.
She left school feeling very proud of her Korean roots.
Somehow, I felt that I had accomplished much more than I intended.
Super Cuts
Yup. That's my Em.
Two minutes. I was in the bathroom for two minutes!
The little dickens managed to remove a serious chunk with safety scissors.
I mean, they barely cut paper!
Kids Craft: Dream Catcher
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I would love to read my daughters a book about Dream Catchers. If you have any suggestions let me know.
My niece was having bad dreams for several days in a row. My sister mentioned it in passing to her daughter's Preschool Teacher. To her surprise, her daughter came home with a Dream Catcher that she and her teacher made together.
OK, let's just take a minute to applaud great teachers everywhere!
Oh and I just love that crafting came to the rescue!
Oh and I just love that crafting came to the rescue!
Her daughter was so proud of her Dream Catcher that, knock on wood, she has had 3 nightmare free nights since bringing it home.
When I saw how cute it was, I had to make one to show you. I of course left without taking a picture of my niece's. Lu loved her cousin's and agreed we had to make one for her room ASAP!
Supplies: Paper Plate, Scissors, Paint, Yarn, Feathers, Beads, Hole Punch
Optional: Stickers or Markers
Cut hole using plate indent as guide. Punch holes around inside edge. Paint.
While plate is drying, tie yarn to feather. Make several knots to act as a stopper for the beads. You will need 3 feather strings. Tip: roll a piece of tape around top of yarn, like an aglet on a shoelace. This helps young kids slide the beads on.
This took awhile because we had to sort through the beads for the perfect beads. Our paint was dry by the time we were done. You may need to wait longer or overnight. Also, the thicker the paint you use the longer it takes to dry.
Randomly string your yarn through the holes. Add a few beads for extra decoration as you go. My 4 year old needed help with this step. Decorate with stickers if you want.
Punch three holes at what will be the bottom of the Dream Catcher. Tie feathers to bottom of Dream Catcher. Hang on wall or from bed post. If your child does have a bad dream have child blow the bad dream into the Dream Catcher.
I would love to read my daughters a book about Dream Catchers. If you have any suggestions let me know.
Sweet Dreams!
St. Patrick's Day Craft: Leprechaun Sized Cup Cake
Leprechaun sized cup cake.
Model Magic, Plastic cap from a squeeze apple sauce, Pony bead, and hot glue.
Roll a small piece of MM into a log. This is a basic technique and easy for kids to do. Show them how to not put a lot of pressure on the piece as they roll. Once you get a decent log, drop a dab of glue (I used hot glue) into the cap. Place end of log in cap and the spiral it to create cup cake top. Press pony bead into the top to create indent, add a dab of glue and then attach pony bead. Let dry.
Model Magic Craft: Tiny Tea Cups
Having fun creating miniature tea cups and some "game pieces" out of Model Magic.
The teacups are tiny pinch pots. I demonstrated how to make one then helped Lu make her own.
We decorated them with tiny stamps.
Before we made the teacups, I showed Lu how to roll the MM in her hands to make little balls. Then I showed her how to take a stamp and squish the ball into a coin shape. Well she loved this and made about 20 coins. She made up a game that I am still confused as to the exact directions.
Saint Patrick's Day Kid's Craft: Rainbow
Starting to decorate for Saint Patrick's Day.
Here is an easy rainbow craft for the preschool set.
Remember ROY G BIV?
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Indigo
Violet
Cut a paper plate in half. Paint your rainbow. Let dry.
Paint the other half of the plate gold or yellow. Let Dry.
Punch holes for hanging coins and top hanger.
Cut out coins. Punch holes in each coin. Attach string.
Tie onto rainbow. Glue "clouds"or cotton balls onto bottom of rainbow.
Hang and enjoy!
Optional: You can stamp a clover on each coin using the end of a pencil eraser.
Or you can use gold glitter to make your coins super sparkly.
You can add beads to the top hanger.