Doing Art Together: Family Hand Portrait

Pin It

This was a homework assignment for Lu. She had to count everyone in the families hands then trace their fingers on a page and number them.  I thought it would be fun to take it a step further.  I had Lu use watercolor paper. She traced every ones hands, overlapping each hand as she went along. I traced them with a Sharpie and Lu numbered them. Then I gave her some watercolors and let her paint them any way she wanted. I think it came out beautiful! What a great family "portrait." I am definitely framing this one!

This would make a great gift for a Mom, Dad or Grandparent!

Tip: I highly recommend you use water color paper. Water color paper won't buckle as much and will hold up better. Also outlining the hands using a permanent marker will make sure the hands don't get lost under all the paint.  You don't need to have your little one number each finger unless you want to reinforce counting.

Dairy Free Spritz

As many of you know, my eldest daughter, Lu, is allergic to milk and tree nuts. I have never attempted baking Spritz Cookies until this Christmas. I was so pleased the Fleischman's Unsalted Margarine worked as an excellent substitute for butter. I was worried it would either jam up the spritz gun and/or taste odd. Luckily they came out beautifully! Chilling the dough a bit helped.  I used the America's Test Kitchen Recipe substituting 1 tbs. Soy Creamer for Cream and 2 sticks Fleischman's Unsalted Margarine for butter. I did one batch using vanilla extract and one with orange extract. The adults preferred the orange extract batch and the kids preferred the vanilla.

Homemade Ornaments with Shrinky Dinks

Dear Santa, I want 2 JB (Justin Bieber) Cards, More Squinkee(s) (and) slippers (heart) Lulu

Dear Santa, 51 Stuf(fed) Animal Dogs (heart) Emme

Capture your kids top 3 wish list gifts on a Shrinky Dink blank page. I cut an 8x10 blank Shrinky Dink page in half to make 2 ornaments. Have the kids write their must haves from their Santa list on the page, decorate, punch holes and bake. We used sparkly pipe cleaners to create the hanger.  It will be fun to look back on these ornaments years from now.  We may do this every year!

Thanks to my friend MB for the idea and the Shrinky Dink Blank Sheets! I couldn't find any at my Michael's Store.

Homemade Holidays: Ornament Crazy!

I have been a bit obsessed with needle felting these last few weeks. I have been making 100% wool ornaments by repeatedly sticking a special needle into the wool.  I begin by making the ball then I freehand the design onto the ball. There is something so relaxing and creative about the process. I am just a beginner so I would recommend checking out the web for instructions.

I love the scarf!

I still need to add the olive branch.

My girls really like this one.

I added beads to this one. My friends daughter taught me how to do it!

This last ornament is a project I am going to do with my Daisy Troop.  I just became a co-leader. The girls are earning their center patch. The ornament represents the patch and learning their pledge.

Homemade Holiday Gift: Felted Soap

With some assistance my 4 year old and 6 year old were able to make their own wet felted soap.

My 4 year old really loved getting sudsy! My 6 year old did not. If you have a kid that loves rolling up their sleeves and getting dirty (in this case, clean!) this is a great activity.

The wool roving for wet felting is available on line.  The roving comes in an array of colors.  You only need an ounce each of  3 or 4 colors to cover several bars. I just ordered some Ecosoft Roving from Weir Crafts for $2.25 an ounce. There are many other options available on line.

Setup: Cover your table with a towel. Have some extra hand towels nearby.

Old panty hose or knee high, bar of soap, roving, and container of  very warm water

Check out YouTube to get started. I haven't found one that uses my particular method. See the tips I have below.

Tips:

• When making felted soap with kids I suggest dipping the soap in the very warm water first. Then wrap the wool roving around the soap. This helps the roving stick better.
• Wrap in several layers of the roving until you cant see any soap peeking through.
• I like to have the roving ready to go in small "sheets" so I can lay them out for my kids. They lay the wet soap on top of one "sheet" then wrap around the sides of the soap. Then we carefully pick up the soap and flip it over so the top of the soap is now face down on the next sheet. Continue until completely covered.
• Next, hold open a nylon stocking very wide and have your child carefully place inside. You can tie off the stocking or just wrap it around.
• Have your child dip the soap in very warm water.
• Begin rubbing very gently at first. You want to create a lather. As the soap starts to felt they can get more aggressive with the rubbing. 

Good luck! It is a great handmade gift. When the soap is used up you are left with a wool pouch. I have heard it makes a nice pot scrubber.

Have fun crafting with your kids this Holiday!

Recycled Holiday Ornament Craft for Kids

Use a clean plastic lid from a jar, glue, glitter, pom poms, chenille stem or ribbon.

Back of ornament. We used one of Emme's old paintings (that happened to be covered in glitter.) We used it on the inside of the lid and on the back.  We just cut it out and glued it on.

Glue your scene on the inside.  We chose to make a snowman. A Christmas Tree would be cute, too.

We received the Pom Poms and Glitter Sticks (Chenille Stems) from http://www.craftprojectideas.com/

Homemade Holiday Gifts: Bath Bombs

I am already thinking of teachers gifts for the Holidays.  I have always wanted to try making bath bombs.  I finally wrangled up all the ingredients* and followed the instructions on Instructables.  

It couldn't have worked any better. I had no problems. It was very straight forward. The girls could do the measuring/pouring.

I tried two types of molds. Both worked beautifully. The bombs came out easily.

*Citric Acid was difficult to locate. I could not find it at my grocery store or pharmacy like recommended on line.  I ended up finding it at a health food store. It was a bit pricey. One 4 oz. bottle was almost $6.00. You use the entire 4 oz. in the recipe. If you were more patient you could order it online I am sure for less.

Overall, a fun project! I definitely recommend it. We used grapefruit essential oil for our scent (make sure you get the kind meant for use on the body.) The house smells wonderful!

Last Minute Christmas Crafting

I wanted to pop in and let you all know that Grandpa King is doing much better than expected and we are all very optimistic. Thank you all for your kind words and prayers!

Above is a snowman craft I helped Lu with for homework. We used one Styrofoam egg (I shaved a bit off the bottom so it would stand) and two Styrofoam balls held together by toothpicks and frosting. Lu did the decorating. The hat is a large marshmallow glued with frosting to a foam circle. The arms are made from the branches of some table grapes we had.

I wasn't able to finish the three gumdrop trees. I did manage one. It is pretty tall. I think Uncle C will be satisfied.

Hope you are all managing to finish up all your loose ends. 

Have a wonderful holiday!

XO Mama King

Christmas Ornament Craft: Glittered Sea Shells

Em and I  saw the prettiest glittered sea shells in a local boutique. The "I could do that" bell rang in my head (you know that bell! I know it happens to you too my crafty readers!)... well, here you go!

Supplies: Sea Shells, Glue, Paint Brush, Fine Glitter*, Hot Glue Gun, Ornament Hanger

*Tip: fine glitter is smaller than regular kids craft glitter. It can be a more expensive than regular glitter so pick it up on sale or when you have a coupon. It makes a big difference in the finished look.

We have jars of sea shells at home from all our summer excursions at the beach.

All we did was dip a paintbrush in Mod Podge and paint onto the shell until the exterior is covered.

Tip: clean off glue from little hands before starting the glitter part!

Add glitter. Let dry. Tap off excess glitter. 

Heat up hot glue gun**. 

**Tip: You don't need an expensive glue gun. I have a cheapo one. I like the dual tempature ones just make sure you buy the correct glue sticks that go with your glue gun.

Squirt a glop of hot glue on the inside. Add a ornament hanger or ribbon. Let dry and hang on tree.

These would make great accents on the outside of a package.

Homemade Gift: Treasure Soap

It is that time of year again! Treasure Soap production is in full swing. Our little elves look forward to this annual tradition. Making soap is a great way for the kids to make a gift for their teachers. We contribute to the teacher money collection but like to give something small and personal from the girls.

The instructions for making soap comes on the package of glycerin you buy at the craft store. I let the girls add the special soap coloring, soap scent, soap glitter and of course the treasure! In the past we have used plastic toys and erasers (there are a lot of cool small erasers available these days.) This time we used miniature ornaments. 

You can buy a soap making kit but we bought all the items individually from Michael's Craft Store. The coloring, scent and glitter have lasted several years. We are just starting to run low on the coloring.  I melt the soap in a large Pyrex measuring cup in the microwave.  It is easy to cleanup since it is soap!

Tip: fill your soap mold halfway then add your treasure. Wait until somewhat set (you can pop them in the fridge) then add the rest of the soap. This prevents lighter objects from popping up and floating. Using this method allows for you to create a two tone color if you like. 

Tip: melt the soap in small batches so you can create a variety of colors.

Common Sense Tip: the soap is hot! You know your kids. If they are accident prone or prone not to follow directions than this may not be the craft for you. My youngest is 3 and really enjoyed adding the color, scent, glitter, and treasure. I supervised her the entire time and assisted her with the stirring. It is a great exercise in following directions. I poured the hot liquid into the molds for both my girls.

I used the stamped paper from yesterday to package the soaps. I used small plastic gift bags but you could use a zip top bag. Fold paper in half and cut the paper to size. Staple onto top of bags. 

Have your child or you write the person's name on the front. I wrote on the back, "Emme's Handmade Treasure Soap."

Have fun crafting with your kids!

Winter Kids Craft: Glitter Stars

This craft is for those not adverse to mixing small children, glue and glitter together. I am fearless (perhaps a bit too fearless) and let my girls have at it with the glitter and glue. 

Supplies: paper bag, glue, glitter, old or cheap snowflake stamp, and a plastic lid to use as your "stamp pad"

Squirt glue onto plastic lid.  Squish around. Tap stamp into glue or paint glue on with paint brush. I just let the kids squish the stamp into the glue not worrying about even coverage.

Add glitter while glue is still wet. Work in sections if you are doing a large piece of paper. Tap excess glue off paper.

Use to make cards or gift tags.

Not a fan of glitter? Use plain old stamp pads.

Santa, if your reading this, we need new stamp pads!

Have fun crafting with your kids!

The Joy of Taking the Christmas Card Photo

The day of the Christmas card photo shoot...

Not even a bribe of a lollipop was going to wipe that look off her face.

Christmas Kids Craft: Work In Progress Gumdrop Trees

The Gumdrop Tree is a new Christmas tradition. Last year was our first year making them. It came out so cute we are making a trio this year.  Last year I learned a few lessons.

1. It takes a ton of gum drops and several hours to make just one tree. That is why we are starting early. 
2. Little helpers make the process take 5x longer! But...the girls love helping so fa la la la....allow for extra time. It actually makes for a good quiet time activity. Depending on the child they may be able to do it for 15-20 minutes at a time.
3. Stock up on your gumdrops! Get the larger ones so you won't have to use so many. I had slim pickings the few days before Christmas when I ran out. 
4. Buy round toothpicks not flat - rooky mistake there. 
5. Gumdrops have a sugary coating that little kids are attracted to. See story below.
6. Toddler Friendly Tip: cut your toothpicks in half and attach toothpick to gumdrop so all your wee one has to do is poke it in the styrofoam.

Last years tree in progress.

Last year, I was a bit mortified when my Brother-in-law asked if he could eat the Gumdrop Tree after Christmas dinner. I gave him full disclosure. Which was, it had been sitting out for two weeks and a toddler who may or may not been trying to lick the the sugar off the gumdrops was my helper. He said he didn't mind and commenced to pick the gumdrops off the tree and eat them one after the other. Eww? I don't consider myself a germ-a-phobe but...anyone else with me on this one?

Anyway, Brother-in-law will be in GUMDROP HEAVEN because we are making 3 Trees. 

Girls, make sure you lick a couple of those gumdrops for Uncle C!

Christmas Kids Craft: Simple Wreath

You can't get simpler than this. Well, maybe...but than you would just have a paper plate. 

Bonus: this is a kids craft that you won't mind hanging up. 

(You know what I am talking about!)

paper plate, green felt, red pompoms, red ribbon, scissors, glue

Fold paper plate in half.

Cut out center along embossed edge.

Cut out leaf shapes from felt.

Tip: cut out rectangles first so all your leaves will be aprox. the same size. Also don't make them too small or you'll be cutting leaves until Valentines day. Fold leaves rectangle in half and cut out half a leaf shape. Open up and you should have a symmetrical leaf.

Give your kiddo the leaves and the glue. Let them glue the leaves on. Let them know that they can overlap the leaves and that they are trying to hide the white plate. After they glue on the leaves you can have them glue on the red pompoms (you can use sequins, buttons...) 

Let dry.

Tie a wide ribbon around top to create a pretty hanger (see picture.)

Christmas Kids Craft: Simple 3D Paper Ornaments

Paper, scissors, glue, clothes pins, glue, ribbon, sequins & glitter (optional), jingle bell (optional)

 

We made a simple triangle tree (using 3 panels) and a dreidel (using 4) to illustrate this project.  You can do this project with any symmetrically shaped object (bell, circular ornament, gingerbread man...) For the dreidel we used 4 cutouts. You could do a star and do as many a six cutouts for a really cool effect.

Tip: you can trace around a large cookie cutter if you don't trust your ability to free hand draw.

You will need to prep this activity for little ones. 

Cut out 3 identical triangles to make a tree. 

While holding the tree upright - fold each triangle in half corner to corner. 

This makes it easier to glue together later. Have your child decorate each triangle. 

Make sure they don't place and sequins or stiff objects in the fold. 

Let dry.

Measure out a length of ribbon longer than the ornament. allow for space at the top for hanging and the bottom for the bell (optional.)

String bell on and tie of to create a loop.

Assemble trees by gluing back half of one tree to the back half of a second tree. 

It will look a bit like a paper airplane. 

Use a clothes pin to hold in place. 

You can let dry to make it easier or throw caution to the wind and keep on gluing. 

You just may end up a little gluey.

Add a bead of glue to the spine of the tree (where the two trees meet)
Next lay the ribbon into the spine. 

Adjust so the bell hangs out the bottom of the tree.. 

Squirt glue all over the exposed halves to the backside of the third tree.

Place third tree on top of glue. 

Use one or two clothes pins to hold in place while it dries.

Have fun crafting with your elves!

Christmas Kids Craft: Model Magic Gingerbread Wreath

Here is a fun way to craft with all ages. Everyone can make a few "gingerbread" cutouts to create one family wreath or older kids can create their own wreaths. This would make a cute bedroom door decoration.

Supplies: Model Magic (it is lighter than clay), Paper Plate, Scissors, Glue, Cookie Cutters, Hole Punch, Fine Glitter & Ribbon

Tip: Use a plastic place mat or wax paper to roll out your MM.

Cut out your "gingerbread" shapes, ice them with glue and dust them with liberal amounts of fine glitter.

Cut out center of paper plate by folding plate in half and cutting along embossed line.

Assemble your "cookies" onto the paper plate and glue down.
I glued ours down while they were still slightly pliable. Doing so allowed the pieces to mold to the slightly concave edge of the paper plate.

Add a ribbon to hang.

I don't know if you can tell, we had a broken foot on the lower right gingerbread man. Watch out that you don't roll your MM to thin. The good news is, the MM glues together beautifully.

Have a great weekend!