Sunday Snap Shot

I just thought this was darling. I think it is of Lu's new friend from North Carolina. Lu just walked into my office handed it to me and then walked out. What do you think?

Letter Exchange: North Carolina

OK, Lulu has her first official crush. She opened her latest letter and saw the little boys face from North Carolina and said, "WOW!" She handed me the rest of the letter and stared at the little boy. I said look Lulu stickers. Nothing. Look Lu a Bald eagle. Nothing. So I said let me see. I peeked at the picture and said, "ooh what a cutie." Lu looked up at me and smiled in agreement! Luckily the stickers then caught her attention! Phew! She also thought it was pretty cool that he sees bald eagles by the lake all the time! I think whenever Lu sees a bald eagle she will think of her little friend from North Carolina and sigh a little bit wistfully! :-)

End Friday With A Laugh

Hope you all have a great weekend. Saw this clip on Goody Blog and just had to share it! Click Roller Skating Babies to have a good chuckle.

Transform a Box into a Secret Treasures Carrying Case

Take a sturdy cardboard box the size of a cereal box (but much stiffer) cut a hinged opening. Attached a rope from a shopping bag by punching holes into the top, lacing through rope and knotting. Covered with tissue, Mod Podge, glitter, sequins...

We are letting this side dry before we tackle the other side. Will glue gun a ribbon latch onto hinge window. Will show you other side when we are done.

Cool Colors vs. Warm Colors
Warning former art teacher preaching!

I frequently talk to Lu about cool colors and warm colors. This is a simple introduction to color theory that can be incorporated into your craft projects. By referring to colors as cool or warm you are helping your child begin to evaluate and classify colors. They are also beginning to understand that color can convey a feeling or mood. Which in turn will help them to become thoughtful of color. You will notice over time their color choices will be more intentional and less arbitrary.

This doesn't have to be an extensive color lesson. Just casually introduce it to them as a choice. I asked Lu if she wanted to use cool colors like the ocean - greens and blues or warm colors like a fire - reds and oranges. She chose cool. She then helped to pick out the tissue from our scrap bag.

Whenever we are looking at nature or art I always incorporate color into our conversations. Just noticing color is a helpful lesson. You are helping teach your child how to look. Often times after our children learn their colors we stop talking about color to them.

An example: at the zoo - look at that peacock! Wow! What colors do you see on his tail feathers? Help your child name the real colors if they are old enough. Instead of blue say turquoise. Help them draw connections. Eventually they will begin to make them on their own. I love the turquoise in his tail it reminds me of the ocean - all cool colors.

I forgot to add that it is Round Robin Day at Keeping Up With The Schultz Family Blog. Stop by and check outs some great ideas and new blogs. You can also link up and add something you want to share. It can be a craft, recipe, story...

Elmo Birthday Invites & Elmo Vacation

We are starting to gear up for birthday time here at the Crazy Kings. Em's birthday is in August and Lu's is in September. Here is the invitation to Em's ELMO Birthday party. It will be mainly family but still wanted to send out cute invites. I used stiff felt and will back with card stock. The details will be on the back. I found a super cute Elmo party at Everyday Celebrating. I will be getting a lot of ideas from there. Love the Elmo Oreos. Simple but cute. I have a great favor box craft. Stayed tuned!



By the way, guess where we are going in a few weeks...Sesame Place! Em will be in Elmo heaven! ABC & 123 are hosting a Favorite Vacation Picnic Talk this week. I bet this will go down as a favorite vacation for Emme! My favorite and Lu's is DISNEY! Em was still a baby and won't remember it. Actually...the cruise was our favorite. Lu loved the park but it was almost a little overwhelming. The Disney cruise was much more relaxing. Less traipsing around but with a ton of activities. Plus great service. When I tell you how attentive they were to Lulu's food allergies you will be amazed. At every meal the chef would come out to talk to me about what was on the menu and what he or she could do to alter it for Lu's allergies! By the end of our stay I was hugging the head waiter who we just loved! When ever she saw us she would go and get the chef and would check back with us throughout our meal. They even bought rice milk ice cream for Lu when we stopped in the Bahamas! I have never experienced such excellent service and attention (...other than my honeymoon.) Sadly my camera landed in the ocean during that trip! So boo hoo...we'll just have to go again!

Letter Exchange: Florida, Switzerland & Italy

Look what arrived while we were away last week! 3 Letters! Lulu did her happy dance for a while then sat down to examine the envelopes. Which to open? Florida won out. Why? Well, Florida's shook. Yes, it was actually a small box that when you shook it you could hear something moving around in it! How exciting! Even more exciting is when she opened it up to discover a little pouch, a beautiful apple print and a letter.The pouch held sea shells! Lulu loves them. Instant treasures! They got their own special jar for our windowsill so Lulu can look at them anytime she wants. Which so far has been frequently. Lulu was amazed to hear about life in Florida. Dolphins and the beach! Wow!

ITALY






Next was a terrific letter from Italy! Our first international letter! When Lulu opened it little angel confetti came fluttering out! Lulu was thrilled. The letter was temporarily forgotten as she carefully picked up each angel and placed them on the table. Then she was running upstairs with me calling after her.

In a flash she was back with her extra special treasure box (she has several but this is the ultimate one! It plays music and has a picture of ballet slippers on the front.) She scooped up the angels and gently placed them in her treasure box with all of her most special items. Then it was back to the letter to look at the drawings, stickers and hear about her new friend. I showed her where Italy was on the map and we talked about how it looked like a boot!


Switzerland

Last but not least came this wonderful letter from a little boy in Switzerland! He sent a wonderful letter that Lulu has wanted to hear again and again. His birthday is the same month as Lu's (which just excites her!) and he lives in the mountains with cows that graze outside his window! This just tickles Lulu. His mommy sent some yummy recipes which we will have to try! Plus a drawing, some stickers, a picture, and a dinosaur coloring page. If you've read my past posts - Lu thought that was pretty cool!

I have to say, I never expected such creative and wonderful letters to come Lulu's way. As you can tell the simplest things just make her so excited! A story about your child's life, a drawing, some confetti... If you are participating and haven't sent your letter yet don't feel like you have to do anything more than share a little about what your child likes to do or what their daily life is like. Lulu (and Emme) get so excited just running to the mailbox...thanks to all of you who are participating!

Jelly Fish Craft

Hello! Hope you all had a happy 4th of July!

Lately we have been seeing a lot of great Jellyfish crafts out there in the blog world. Here is our version to add to the mix. We used a clear plastic Fruit Bowl as our top. We spread a layer of Mod Podge (my fave) on the inside of the cup. Sprinkled glitter then applied torn bits of tissue and then another layer of Mod Podge. As you can see from the pictures with the dark background my little assistant loves Mod Podge as much as her Mama and there is a lot of glue inside. I couldn't wait for it to dry to clear for the pictures (it did eventually!)

The stringy ends are made up of yarn and ribbon. I wish I had some Christmas tinsel to add in to the mix too. I tied the bundle together and then threaded a piece of the bundle through a hole on the top. I just used a craft knife to make the hole.

I was going to add googly eyes but my little assistant and little Marine Biologist declared in horror, "A jelly fish doesn't have eyes on top of its head!" So the eyes got nixed. You of course can and should add them because I think they would look cute!

For other great Jelly Fish projects visit:
http://kidsartandcraftlover.blogspot.com and
http://www.preschoolplaybook.com

The Supplies:

Easy Toilet Paper Tube Stamps

Pretty much self explanatory! So simple and yet extra fun when you bend and manipulate the tube into different shapes. Lulu's picture is on the right and Emme's is on the left.


You can also replace the paint with glue! Add sand and or glitter and you have a cool picture. Use a heavier paper if you are going to use glue.

Mama's A Mess Launches Mama's Empty Pockets Today!

Sharon from Mama's A Mess just launched a new blog with Stephanie at A Pocketful of Buttons. It is called Mama's Empty Pockets...get it! Go over and check out the fun & the Giveaways!! Both Sharon & Stephanie have great blogs and I know together the two of them will make blog magic! Tell them I sent you!

Thank You!

Thank you for showing your support yesterday and leaving me such great comments over at Grown In My Heart! Todays post was suppose to be the Grown In Your Heart post...but it got bumped up to yesterday. So no craft today...but it will give you an opportunity to try out one of my older craft posts! I leave you with two shots of my cutie Emme!

We are cat sitting for our friends who are moving to Hawaii. We will be sending Jack to Hawaii in a month or so. Lulu and Emme absolutely LOVE this cat. As you can see Jack tolerates the girls. Who wants to bet that there will be a whole lot of tears on the day we have to take Jack to the airport. And maybe a new cat in our future?

Have a great day! There is a new craft tomorrow!