KIDDING AROUND SERIES - GHOST LEAVES

I have never done a kid craft on my blog.  I'll admit that it's possible some of my projects may have turned out to look like a kid craft, but it was not intentional.  So when the girls at the Inspiration Cafe wanted to do kid-themed crafts.....I totally freaked out.  Totally.  I mean, I've already told you that my 5 year old grandson has the attention span of a gnat, so crafting with him is almost impossible.  But, sometimes things just work out.  Last Sunday, my brother-in-law called and said my awesome nephew, Dain was wanting to come over to see me.  Always exciting! Seriously...this kid will pick up a huge snake.....

He will also make creepy faces in my corn maze for a photo shoot...

You will never be bored around a kid like this!
The wheels started turning in my head.  His attention span is bigger than a gnats...maybe like mosquito-sized.  I decided to ambush him into making a craft with me.
 To get a 9 year old boy to do a craft with you...you had better at least call it something cool...like Ghost Leaves. 
Gather up a few supplies...

You'll need 1 cute kid, some white craft paint, fake leaves,googly-eyes, magnets, a hot glue gun and some glue dots.
You'll want to paint one side those cheesy faux leaves with some white craft paint.

 I love the look on Dain's face when we first start out, but...he quickly warmed up to the whole leaf painting thing.

Paint as many leaves as the mosquito-sized attention span allows.  They dry really fast and are still very flexible. 
Flip them over and put a magnet on the back with a little hot glue.  Hold that magnet down for like 30 seconds and talk about googly-eyes.  Kids love them.  Just knowing they come next makes Dain smile.

Little glue dots are perfect for sticking on googly-eyes.  They're too small for a hot glue gun and you don't want to burn precious fingers that might be needed for picking up a snake.

You can tell that the attention span and picture taking tolerance are running low now, which is a good thing, because this project is over.  We have Ghost Leaves that will stick on your fridge...or your school locker.  Cool....

 .....and fun!
Don't have any googly-eyes??  No problem...a marker works just as well!  How do I know this?  Because after my nephew left I decided to play around and make one myself.  I opted for a Vampire Leaf....

 

Now go play! Please be sure to come back and join us for our Kidding Around link party coming up  Monday, September 16th.

Kidding Around Series~Black-Out Scrape Pages

Hi, everyone!  It's Heather from the Beating Hearth here for my turn on this fun series!  I instinctively decided to do an art project for this series because my kids make a lot of art at our house.  A lot.  In fact, so much so that Daddy quite often has to take their art to...we'll call it "work".

I guess I don't know what these are really called.  So I am calling them black out scrape pages.  You'll see what I mean in a minute.  Trust me, they are a lot of fun...and a good way to keep kids occupied for at least 10 minutes.  Maybe 20 if you're really lucky!

1.  Color all over a piece of card stock with a rainbow of colors using crayons.  It needs to be heavy-duty paper because you are going to scrape away the layers of black crayon with a nail. 

2.  Once you have covered the entire page, cover over your beautiful colors with a heavy coating of black crayon.  Thick.  Try and cover up the previous layer completely and thoroughly.

Start scraping away at the black crayon and exposing the rainbow colors underneath.  When you create, keep in mind it's fun to play with light and dark.    And just start scraping.  Anything goes!  I would recommend scraping over newspaper...the black wax gets everywhere.  The girls had fun and so did Mom!

Don't forget to join us next week for more fun shares for our "Kidding Around" Series.  Also, be sure to join us for our link party that's coming up in a few weeks!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Heather

Kidding Around Series - Girls' Swim Bag

Woohoo our new series "Kidding Around" kicks off today - so exciting!!!

Today I'm going to share the easiest and quickest project ever! Okay maybe not "ever".. but pretty close!

This project was a great collaboration between my 5 year old and myself. 

She desperately needed a new swim bag as her old plastic Dora one was literally held together by a few threads. And the fact that she is nearly 6 and Dora is sooooo 3 years ago, she wanted to choose something more her own style.

A trip to Spotlight was in order and she chose all the components (I had another idea in my head but this time I let her have artistic reign).

What you need for your very own bag:

Stencil, fabric pens and a bag 

(we chose a calico craft bag for approx $6)

The whole project cost about $17.

 I placed a sheet of thick cardboard into the bag first just in case the pen came through the fabric, which it didn't, much to my surprise! 

Position the stencil where you want to draw, I didnt measure, which I think you probably should do.

Once you have drawn your design on using the fabric markers, iron the bag to set the ink.

Simple as that!

I love it and Payton is thrilled with her new bag.

I only drew one flower onto the back of the bag, so it wasn't too plain.

 Payton has it all packed and ready for her next swim class!

I think she is more excited about her bag than actually swimming!

Don't forget to join us next week for the next installment of our fun new series..

Take care

 xxx

 

Linking up to these great Parties:

http://www.bystephanielynn.com/2013/08/the-sunday-showcase-party-no-207.html
http://diyhshp.blogspot.co.nz/2013/08/more-merrier-monday_11.html
http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com/2013/08/inspiration-monday-today-were-inspired_11.html
http://www.sewcando.com/2013/08/craftastic-monday-link-up-giveaway-news.html
http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.co.nz/2013/08/make-it-pretty-monday-week-62.html
http://www.keepingitsimplecrafts.com/2013/08/motivate-me-monday-186.html
http://jembellish.blogspot.co.nz/2013/08/a-round-tuit-166.html
http://www.craft-o-maniac.com/2013/08/craft-o-maniac-monday-link-party.html
http://www.linesacross.com/2013/08/monday-funday-30-creative-link-party.html
http://www.skiptomylou.org/2013/08/12/made-by-you-monday-164/
http://www.homestoriesatoz.com/tutorials/tutorials-tips-link-party-122.html
http://www.alderberryhill.com/make-the-scene-monday-87/
http://www.watchoutmartha.net/2013/08/martha-mondays-link-up-party-features.html
http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.co.nz/2013/08/welcome-to-136th-masterpiece-monday.html
http://cupcakesandcrinoline.com/2013/08/project-inspired-linky-party-27/
http://www.cleanandscentsible.com/2013/08/the-inspiration-exchange-no-12.html
http://smartschoolhouse.com/uncategorized/link-party-whimsy-wednesday-aug-13
http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/2013/08/wow-us-wednesdays-131.html
http://www.gingersnapcrafts.com/2013/08/wow-me-wednesday-116-call-for-fall.html
 http://www.thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.co.nz/2013/08/time-travel-thursday-161-talented-time.html
http://www.saving4six.com/2013/08/welcome-to-think-tank-thursday-43.html
http://www.thecraftyblogstalker.com/2013/08/blog-stalking-thursday-106.html
http://www.sweetbellaroos.com/2013/08/14/pin-it-thursday-40/ 
http://www.artsyfartsymama.com/2013/08/artsy-corner-link-party-3.html 
http://www.aglimpseinsideblog.com/2013/08/catch-glimpse-party-144.html 
http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/2013/08/transformation-thursday-2.html
http://www.houseofhepworths.com/2013/08/14/hookin-up-with-hoh-161/#more-14306
http://www.the36thavenue.com/2013/08/best-diy-projects-19.html
http://www.stonegableblog.com/2013/08/tutorials-tips-and-tidbits-61.html
http://www.oneartsymama.com/2013/08/shine-on-fridays-4.html
http://happyhourprojects.com/happy-hour-friday-08-16/

Blanket & Onesie Cupcakes by Made In A Day

Hi I'm Kim, I am a craft blogger from Made in a Day! I am an artist turned hair stylist, mom and now craft blogger! I'm kind of a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to creativity! I like re-purposing old seemingly useless items into something awesome and new!

My friend had a baby shower for her Sister-in-law last weekend and so of course I scoured the internet for a great shower gift and came across many, many versions (and videos) of these cute cupcakes made of blankets & onesies! So I combined a couple of features and added my own twist to these beauties by adding a headband in the center and wow were they a hit! They came out soo cute! Here's how I made them: Materials needed: 4 receiving blankets, 4 onesies, 4 elastic headbands, 4 take & toss baby bowls, straight pins and pastry box (I got mine at Michaels).

First fold the blanket in half, then fold with open ends toward the center in 2 1/12 in folds. Fold your onesie in half, sleeves in. Place the headband long ways on the snap end of the onesie and roll tightly, (kind of like you are rolling dough for a croissant). Pin with two straight pins to keep it secure. Then begin to roll, really tight as you go, wrapping one end of the blanket around the onesie all the way to the other. Place inside the bowl, tucking the end of the blanket down inside the bowl. Place them in a cake box and that's it~ instant cuteness!!! Now if I were really crafty, at the time I would have also made a wrapper for that bowl, but I was late getting it done. (You can also place the rolled blankets in large cupcake liners, coffee filters or just tied with a bow instead of the bowl version). Just Google them, click "Images" and see the endless versions out there.

Here is one version without the headband.

Add some stuffed love and what a cute instant gift!

We are so thrilled to have Kim share this darling baby gift at Inspiration Cafe today!  Go check out all Kim's other projects on her beautiful blog Made In a Day.

Pre Feast Crafts for Kids

Hi everybody, it's Heather from The Beating Hearth and it's my turn over here at Inspiration Cafe.

This round, all the members of Inspiration Cafe are talking about what inspires them.  This has been so much fun to read for me and hopefully for you as well.  My inspiration comes from a couple of places really. 

My family is my primary inspiration.  I love to create a happy, warm and loving home for every member of my family.  What does that mean?  I am making quilts to keep them toasty, crocheting life-like dolls for my husband to take to work....ummmm...and cooking tasty food for us to eat together.

My second inspiration is selfish.  I am motivated to keep myself sane.  I do this by crafting and sewing.  I have found the saying "If Mama ain't happy ain't nobody happy" to be very true.  So, I get to have fun playing with fabric, express my creativity, make pretty things and take some time for myself....which refreshes me and gives me the strength to continue on when things get sticky.

Today, I have two projects for kids to do during the Thanksgiving pre-feast wait.

The wait for Thanksgiving dinner can be so painful for kids.  They are starving because you only gave them a tiny lunch in preparation for the feast to come.  They're antsy because so much is going on...Grandma is running around making sure the gravy doesn't burn and that her rolls are rising like they should...and the kids don't have anything to do...except for watch the parade on TV...and if there isn't candy being thrown (I don't know about your kids), but mine are not interested in a parade.

So, here's a fun tradition you can start with your own family as we are starting with mine.  Making Christmas decorations before the feast begins.  The children in my family are young, so there is nothing too advanced here, but they're sparkly and kids love sparkly.  This is while things are still cooking and dinner is still a ways away.

Buy some felt.  Whatever color you like.  Fold a piece in half and cut out the first initial of each of the children who will be making an ornament.  You want to make the lines of the letters fairly thick so you can get a nice layer of sequins on.  I just free-hand cut my letters, but you could draw them on the felt first to make sure you like what you've got.  This is something you will probably want to do in advance unless your kids are capable of cutting these out on their own.  It only takes a minute.

You want to have two pieces exactly the same because you are going to glue the two pieces together to give your ornament some stability.

Use craft glue.

Have them put a dab of glue on the back of a sequin and put it on the felt letter and continue on until it is completely covered.

Using some glittery thread and large needle, make a loop so they can be hung from the tree.  Put somewhere they can dry.  Feast.  Take home special Christmas ornaments.

Now, once you've got dinner almost ready, and you want to round up the kids to get them close, here's the next project...

If this is your table setting, notice the canning jar in the corner.  You are going to make one of these for each of the kids in your family.  To make things really fancy, you can also make your own cloth napkins

You will need a pint size canning jar for each child.  You will need 16 crayons per each jar.  You will need construction paper as well.

Cut several pieces of construction paper in half length-wise.  I put 4 pieces of paper per jar.

Write a note for each of your children letting them know all the reasons you are thankful for them.  This is a nice thing to read during your Thanksgiving meal.

Put 16 crayons on the perimeter of each jar.  Roll up the 4 pieces of construction paper.  Take your list and roll it up and place it in the middle of the construction paper.

Tie a piece of burlap and a bit of gold ribbon around each jar...you know...to make it festive.

Put these next to the place serving of each child and a few minutes before the feast begins, have them draw pictures of what they are thankful for.  If they are old enough, they can write what they are thankful for as well.

My Oldest....

...is thankful for the turkey.

My Youngest said she is thankful for me.  Aaawww...so she drew a sunflower.

Thanks for reading!

Linked up Here:

 High Heels and Grills
clean and scentsible
Semi Homemade Mom
DIY Crafty Projects
Ginger Snap Crafts
Someday Crafts
adorned from above
Southern Lovely



Heather