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Wow! Is summer flying by FAST 
My oldest has been back to school for two weeks now yet it’s still been a struggle for us to get back into the groove of things. Anyone else having that problem? Are your kids due to go back to school soon?
As always it’s time for Weekend Links. This is my chance to share some of my top picks and favorite links that I discovered in my weekly Internet travels. I am sure you will love some of these as well. Enjoy!
Feeling artsy? Check out these 10 crafts from around the world: In the Playroom
How gorgeous are these!!?? 30 Cool Art Techniques for Kids from Buggy & Buddy!
Playful Learners: 10 Play Ideas For a Rainy Day
Gotta love a good ‘ol cardboard box! 50 THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH A CARDBOARD BOX at The Kids Activities Blog
Make a Schultute (German School Cone) for the first day of school! Kid World Citizen
I don’t have a tutorial or a link for this, but I thought it was such a beautiful first day of school activity!
Here’s the motherload of craft ideas from The Artful Parent.
What great finds did you discover this week?
The post Weekend Links: Feeling Artsy and Craftsy appeared first on Jump Into A Book.
By:
Donna J. Shepherd,
on 7/10/2013
Blog:
Topsy Turvy Land - Donna J. Shepherd
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A new review has been posted on Amazon for "Ava's Secret Tea Party."Â
"Donna J. Shepherd's new book, "Ava's Secret Tea Party," illustrated by
Bella Sinclair, is every little girl's secret dream! Who wouldn't want
to invite the Sandman, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus to
come for tea? This is another one of those books that children's book
writers see and say, "Now why
The clever projects in this crafts book take art to the next level. What you make is important, of course, but what you do with your creation counts too. Aimed at elementary-age kids,
Sneaky Art tempts budding artists to call forth their inner sneak, which for most will not be a problem. Each of the 24 projects uses everyday materials that are easily found around the house. Simple-to-follow directions allow kids to customize the project. Jocelyn then offers suggestions about where to place the projects for maximum effect.
Ideas for what to make and where to display the finished projects abound. Make a fractured face out of sticky notes and facial features snipped from old magazines and arrange them on a parking meter. Float a cheerful styrofoam boat in a public fountain. Click a flock of bright red bird silhouettes on a tree branch or a grocery store cart.
Many of these good-natured projects are designed to bring a smile to a viewer's face, like "Lucky Penny," in which kids glue a penny to a cardboard shape and then compose a cheerful message. The penny can be slipped into a friend's backpack or left on the sidewalk for a stranger to find.
Throughout the book, Jocelyn stresses the playful, surprising nature of sneaky art and cautions against creating anything that will damage property or cause hurt feelings. Sneaky art isn't permanent, something kids may have trouble wrapping their heads around. But as Jocelyn points out, "although it's hard to leave behind a treasure that you're proud of, you can always make another work of art."
If you'd like to check out some sample crafts from the book, including "Lucky Penny,"
click here.
Sneaky Art: Crafty Surprises to Hide in Plain Sight
by Marthe Jocelyn
Candlewick Press, 64 pages
Published: March 2013
Do you still have plastic Easter Eggs hanging around?
Look at this cute craft my Bubs came up with.
It's as easy as it looks. Just string up your egg-halves, keeping them all the same direction until the last one. (You may have to make some of the holes bigger with a pen.) We used a nylon cord that doesn't stretch. It allows some movement but it doesn't allow for separation of the segments.
Make a little knot on each end and trim the excess.
Don't forget the happy face. :)
Grandpa Swede Needs Your Help!
Down at the Seed City allotment Grandpa Swede has been so busy planting lots of lovely new vegetables that he can’t even tell his carrots from his potatoes!
Your Mission Seed Agents is to design your very own vegetable row markers so that you don’t repeat Grandpa Swede’s mistake.
There are many different things you can use to make your row markers – wooden lollipop sticks, milk cartons, tofu containers, yoghurt pots…the list is endless!
Secret Seed Society have given you a head start in your ‘What Will I Be’ Carla Carrot pack, and also your ‘Bong Bong Bongity Bong’ Rudi Radish pack as they have 2 lollipop sticks ready and waiting for you to decorate!
If you need more row markers or feel like being creative then follow the instructions below and you’ll have your very own personalised row markers in no time!
What Materials You Will Need :
– wooden lollipop sticks or the flat side of your chosen recycled plastic
– Marker pens, Crayons, Colouring Pencils or Paints
– Scissors
How to Make a Row Marker :
Step 1 : Find a Grown Up and search through your Recycle Bin for anything plastic.
You could use the flat side of milk cartons, tofu containers, yoghurt pots, or anything else that is strong.
Step 2 : Get a marker pen and draw out a template of your row marker on one side of the plastic – make sure one end of your marker is pointed so that it can dig into the ground. It should measure approximately 12cm.
Step 3 : Once you have your template you can decorate your row markers with lots of bright colours! Try drawing pictures of the vegetables, or writing the name of the Seed City Character you are growing!
Step 4 : Next you need a Grown Up to help you cut out your row marker with a pair of scissors.
Step 5 : Now you’re ready to stick your personal
The kids found some leftover muslin in the cupboard and decided to make some stuffed animals.
Bubs made an alligator pillow pet by doing the following...
1. He drew an alligator with fabric markers and cut it out.
2. Placing right sides together, (with my help) he sewed the outside edges of the alligator together, leaving a few inches open for stuffing.
3. He turned it right-side-out and stuffed it with batting.
4. We sewed the opening closed.
5. We cut four pieces of ribbon to equal lengths and sewed one near each alligator leg.
Voila!
Welly wanted to make a little Pocket Friend.
1. She drew and cut out her little cat.
2. We sewed the edges leaving an opening.
3. She stuffed it with batting.
4. I helped her close up the gap.
My Bebe and I are still CA-ians at heart. This means we think snow is exciting and beautiful (until January when we are WAY done with it.)
The kiddos love the snow and usually insist that they don't even need coats. They apparently are NOT CA-ians. One of their favorite activities is to paint the snow with spray bottles of water and food coloring.
The other night, (you're about to see how CA-ian we are...) it was snowing and my Bebe had just put up the Christmas lights. We thought about how beautiful it must be out there, but we didn't think it was worth going out in the cold to see. So, this is what we did. We heated up the car in the garage and drove onto the street to admire our house. After a few minutes of Oooohs and Aaaahs, we drove back into the garage and went to bed.
Hope you are staying warm!
Bubs learned how to finger knit on YouTube. Ahh. Technology. He made this flower after we watched
this tutorial.
And, now that the snow (Oh no! Not snow!) has arrived, my fingers have been busily making hats.
This bottom one was way cuter in real life.
These hats are loom knitted. (I purled the bottom few rows and knitted the rest.) The flowers are crocheted. I learned how to make them on YouTube, too.
Here's the link, if you're interested.
Bubs came up with this spider and spiderweb, adapting it from something he saw the nursery kids do. I think it would look really cool on a black plate.
1. Cut one inch slits around the edge of the plate and poke a pencil hole through the middle.
2. Tie a knot at the end of a long piece of white embroidery floss or yarn. Wrap it through a slit, then through the hole in the center. Move all around the circle until every slit is used. (In the nursery version of this project, the kids could make any pattern they wanted, and there wasn't a center hole.)
3. Tie a second piece of string in the back, and then wrap it around each of the previous strands in a spiral shape like shown.
4. Make a spider with construction paper and googly eyes.
Enjoy!
Last time we went to the canyon, we pressed leaves into our copy of
The Book of Virtues
. Weeks later, the leaves are still vibrant and perfect.
You might remember that last year, we took fall leaves and put them up in the window with contact paper. We'll probably be doing that again. I loved the look and feel of it. For details, see
last year's post.
Happy Fall!
PS. If you are interested in a very LDS post about teaching your children about the Spirit, you can find my post at
Latter-day Homeschooling.
When Bubs and his friend, Ben, wanted to cook up some weed paint in my kitchen, my knee-jerk reaction was to say no. And I almost did. But then I remembered that I want to say yes when possible.
I'm so glad I did. It turned out to be a wonderful little homeschool project.
Here's their process...
1. Collect weeds that leave marks on the sidewalk when you rub them there. Mash up the pieces.
2. Boil in a small amount of water, stirring frequently.
3. Use a collander to separate the chunks from the paint.
4. Paint!
Here's a sample. It turned out like watercolor paint. They made yellow out of dandelions, too which made me sneeze like a maniac...but still...
I'm glad I decided to swallow the 'no' and go for 'yes' instead.
After seeing a friend's puppet theatre in her unfinished basement, I knew I had to have one. It was so simple to put together! Here's what I did...
1. I had the kids stand in the door frame to see how high to make the bottom curtain. I wanted it tall enough to cover them when they were sitting, but low enough that they could be seen standing. I cut the fabric to the length, using the full width of the fabric.
2. I sewed a 1/2 inch seam all the way around the piece. Then I found the top edge and made a larger seam at about 1 1/2 inches (Make this according to the size of your rods.
3. I put a tension rod (Found at Walmart for about $2.50) through the top seam.
4. For the top curtain, I did the same exact thing, only cutting the piece in half from top to bottom before sewing the seams.
5. Next, I tied the top curtain to the sides with ribbon.
6. Finally, I gathered all the dressups in the house and hung them behind the curtain. I also filled a tub with show items, such as puppets, bits of fabric and ribbon, finger puppets, and a play microphone.
I am loving our basement. We've never really used the space before, except as a dumping ground...But it is turning out to be the perfect place for our theatre.
We decorated easter eggs...on Post-its, that is.
...and placed them in a basket on the wall.
What do you think?
I can't take credit for this idea. A fellow book-loving-maniac showed me hers and I copied it with only minor changes.
We covered the characters in the book with pictures of ourselves and wrote all kinds of lovey-dovey messages in it. Then, we gave it to Daddy, followed by a candlelit dinner.
I know there are lots of mushy books out there you could use. This book,
You and Me by Martine Kindermans, works well because the simple color scheme is used throughout the book.
It was a fun project. Bubs and Welly didn't even realize they were practicing their writing and spelling. ;)
I can't share many of the things I've been making because I might accidentally spoil Christmas surprises. However, this one is for Y-Y, and he won't know the difference.
I combined a couple tutorials along with fabric I had around the house and this is the little guy I came up with. I used
these two tutorials. My favorite part is that he has empty diaper wipe packages inside so he makes a crinkly sound when you play with him.
I love making Christmas presents!
Bubs made his first Christmas Craft of the year. It turned out cute, didn't it? It was all his doing. I love how kids will just find whatever items they are allowed to use and turn them into something beautiful. Don't you?
Happy December! Oh, how I love December!
Who needs an expensive doll house when you can make mansions out of books?
Sweet or salty? How do you like your turkey sandwich?
For the PB&J Turkey...
1. Spread peanut butter and jelly on a full piece of bread.
2. Cut circle head out with a lid. We used a spice lid. Place it on your turkey.
3. Roll out fruit snacks for feathers.
4. Make a face with peanut butter and jelly.
For the Cheesy Turkey...
1. Cut out a circle head from bread with one lid.
2. Cut a larger circle of cheese to frame the head.
3. Use grated cheese for feathers and face. You can use ketchup or cream cheese as glue.
The idea came from
Family Fun, and we adapted it to what we had and what the kids felt like eating for lunch.
Have you ever made sucker ghosts? They're so easy. You just wrap a tootsie pop with a tissue and tie it with white ribbon or yarn. You can give them faces if you want. And that's it. Quick and easy. They're great if you need to bring a halloween treat somewhere.
Enjoy the big weekend.
Loves.
I'm really proud of this project we did. Really. Ask My Bebe. It was so simple.
Step 1: Take a nature walk. Collect fall leaves of various shapes and colors. (Hint: To make this more educational, identify the trees as you go.)
Step 2: ASAP place the leaves face down onto clear contact paper. The leaves should all be about an inch apart.
Step 3: Cut out your leaves, leaving about a half inch of contact paper around each leaf.
Step 4: Place on window or other surface to beautify.
I have been thinking it would be fun to press some leaves for Thanksgiving. When the holiday gets closer, we could attach them to contact paper and stick them to the table. Wouldn't that be cute?
I think if I was going to attach them to a wall, I'd put contact paper on both sides of the leaf, leaving a longer edge on the side that needed to be sticky. Otherwise some of the color may seep onto the wall.
With a bit of
inspiration from Family Fun (and a whole lot of newspapers), we built this fort...and I've been thinking. Sometimes making a fort is about having a small place to hide away, but most of the time, it is all about the
process.
This project involved math, cooperation, shapes, dexterity, creativity, and a whole lot of jumping around and loving life...
Having kids around is such a joy, isn't it? Of course there are hard times...but, man, there are great times too, aren't there?
How to Make a Feather Quill Pen and Ink...
To make the quill pen, all you have to do is find a large hollow feather (we found one in the fly-tying aisle of the local sport store), and cut the end at an angle with strong scissors to form a point.
At first, we made our "ink" by watering down some Crayola paints. That worked very well, until Bubs (always thinking) said something to the effect of...surely the pioneers didn't have crayola paints with them when they crossed the plains...
So, after some thought about what they did have (and remembering the great and abominable stain Welly-Bells got on her dress earlier in the day), we concluded that our dark red cherries would make excellent ink.
Bubs placed them on this strainer and mashed the juice through, and into a bowl. We used six cherries and added a little water. However, more cherries and less water would have worked better.
Welly wanted to do her project a little differently. She attached her feather to a pen
a la Fancy Nancy, instead. And, you know what? I was okay with that. I hate when people tell kids exactly how to do art projects. I mean, isn't art all about creativity and doing things the way that speaks to you?
Rarely has any picture book been so loved in my house as this one.
Fanny by Holly Hobbie is about a crafty little girl who desperately wants a Connie doll. After all, everyone has them. Fanny's mom, however, is not such a big fan of the dolls. I can relate.
Basically, if you're the kind of mom who would prefer your daughter play with a homemade doll as opposed to a Bratz doll, you'll probably find a kindred spirit in this little pink picture book.
But back to the story...Fanny is upset that she can't have a Connie, but then she takes matters into her own hands and sews her own Connie. When the doll is done, she decides it doesn't look like a Connie after all. Thus, Annabell is created.
Fanny's friends aren't so keen on her little creation, and for a bit, Fanny isn't sure she loves her funny-looking doll, either. At night, Fanny starts to wonder if Annabell is lonely or afraid. She pulls her out of the drawer and snuggles her, feeling how soft and cuddly she is. From then on, they are inseparable.
We read and reread this book over and over until there was only one option left. We had to make our own little Annabell...
and she is getting lots and lots of love.
But even if you can't sew a stitch, the book comes with a paper doll Annabell, which has also been enjoyed around here.
Who: From Bubs to his favorite sister and friend.
What: A fuzzy pink doll made of fabric scraps.
Where: Made while hiding away in his room.
Why: Because Bubs loves to make Welly-Bells smile.
When: Daily.
How: Hand-stitched with a yarn needle.
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We enjoyed kneading in the colors. It was neat watching them spread.
Here are their creations. They took several days to harden up, but they didn't get all crumbly like play dough would.
Very clever idea.
Craft books are great addition to kids libraries. Esp during summer when school is out and one needs to engage kids, I always keep a craft book handy. I will look for this one at the library! Thanks.
-Reshama
www.stackingbooks.com