Animal Track Art

    This is for all those little scientists out there... for the wee ones that love to use their 'noculars to explore and their imagination to go new places. My son LOVES animals and loves to learn about them. The other day he saw some of our dog's footprints and the mud and was very intrigued- insert picture of mommy with light bulb turning on above her head. Why not make this into a cool painting project that will create some frameable art for me?! 
 Materials:

• Plastic Toy Animals (preferably ones without batteries.)
• Paint (we used Crayola washable paints for kids.)
• Construction Paper 

   Choose a few plastic toy animals from your collection that have interesting and different shaped feet. We grabbed a few dinosaurs, a giraffe, a pig, and a bear.  Squeeze some paint onto a paint friendly surface.  I always use old shoe box lids because they are thick enough to withstand paint after several uses.

   Dip the animals into the paint one at a time and 'walk' them across the construction paper. Explain to your kids that all animals are different and each have a unique foot print. They will love to see all the shapes and prints their animals make. My son got so excited and really understood that a bigger animal foot made a bigger print. Pretty cool watching them learn and actually seeing things 'click' like that :)

   After you have done several animals and several colors, start a new one! We created 4 or 5 print papers and I think I am going to frame them in the family room...they turned out really cool! 

   Enjoy 'tracking' everyone!

Here's a cute video of my little guy REALLY enjoying this project :)

  

Here's a great deal on construction paper-I love buying in bulk, especially if you are always crafting!

Recycled Train!

This week I took my little guy to a The Train Museum. Ok, it was actually called The Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History, but we call it the Train Museum in our house, for obvious reasons.  "We" are obsessed with trains. My husband found this site when we were looking for new parks to visit and thought Eli would love it. He did. We spend over 3 hours there! They even had a mommy and me class that we attended (free with museum admission) and loved every second of it! The class teacher, Mr. Ken, is a former kindergarten teacher and was absolutely great at keeping the kids attention. Always a plus when you are attending any kind of class like that, especially with a two year old. 
  We learned and sang about the parts of the train, saw what made the train move, climbed on a foam train and we even made a recycled train at the end of the class. I was most impressed with the craft train. You know I love a good craft, but I love a good recycled craft even more :)  We will definitely be attending many more classes at The Train Museum that is for sure! If you are in the Kennesaw, Ga. area I highly recommend you stop by for a visit, especially on a Thursday when they are having the train class!

   Materials:

• Small Cardboard box (Tea Bag boxes are great)
• Toilet paper roll
• Wine cork
• Black construction paper (any color will do if you don't have black)
• Half an egg carton
• Paper plate
• Washable Paint
• Paintbrush
• Crafter's Glue/ Hot Glue
• Scotch tape

   Start by cutting your egg carton in half with a long, serrated knife.  Tape both sides together so your train body will stay intact when you are painting in the end.  Next, cut your box in half using the same large knife. This is obviously a job for a grown up before they kids are involved :)  I like to get all of my 'supplies' together before we sit down so I don't end up with a frustrated little boy.  The last 'prep step' is cutting a triangle out of a paper plate. If you have a small paper plate you can just quarter it and use one of the pieces for your 'cow-catcher' on the front of the train.
  Now that the prep is done you can get your little one involved. Using the crafter's glue, attach the Tea Box to the top of the upside-down egg carton.  I like crafter's glue because it dries faster than Elmer's but is still safe for them to use...with supervision. Hold the box in place for about 15 seconds to let it set. Count out loud and encourage your kids to count with you.  Eli is really into counting now so he digs this part.
   Next, attach the toilet paper roll to the top of the train body, or egg carton. Hold it for about 15 seconds. 
   Attach the quarter piece of paper plate to the front of the train using scotch tape. The teacher called this a 'cow catcher' at the mommy and me train class, but it is actually called a 'cow killer' as one of the other moms so eloquently put it...adding that our kids are to sheltered these days. I just shook my head and quietly agreed as I turned by chair back around :)

  Now attach the wine cork to the center of the toilet paper roll using some more craft glue. Hold it for a bit longer, maybe 25 seconds,  so it can dry and will stay put. 
   The last step to assembling the train is adding the wheels. Cut small circles out of black construction paper, or any color you have on hand, and glue them to the bottom of the train. We used 3 or 4 on either side.
   Let your train dry for a few minutes before you start to paint. Let your child choose a few colors for their train and let them paint it all over. We chose red and blue because Thomas is blue and Norman is red :)  I was so pleased with the end result and so was Eli. He gave this to his Daddy to take to work to show off to his buddies.
   If you are feeling REALLY crafty, check out this recycled train!

 

Cotton Ball Polar Bear

   With the weather so unbelievably cold lately that even us Georgians are getting snow flurries, I thought this wintery craft was appropriate.  The last time it snowed Eli was still a newborn, so I wanted to explain to him what was happening and where the snow came from. Naturally, I turned to a craft and some printouts to do the trick. Now Eli is well versed in snow and we have a beautiful craft to show for it! 
Materials: 

• Construction Paper
• Cotton Balls 
• Q-tip
• Blue and White Washable Paint 
• Paintbrush
• Elmer's Glue
• Googlie Eyes  

  You can use any color construction paper, but I suggest not using white so the 'snow' sticks out a bit more (we used gray).  Draw a line about 2/3 of the way down the paper and ask your child to paint snow on the top section of the page, above the line.  It's important, especially for toddlers, to learn to follow instruction. Guiding them through a craft is the perfect way to teach them how to be patient and how to follow the rules.  Now, let your child dip the Q-tip in blue and white paint to create the snow falling from the sky.   Show them how to dot the paper so they make little dots of snow, instead of using the Q-tip like a paintbrush to create strokes.
   Now grab the cotton balls and the Elmer's glue. Coat, or have your child coat, the bottom portion of the paper with glue. Then show them how the cotton balls stick to the paper when they place them on the page.  My son really loves to use his glue stick so this is probably his favorite part :) Explain to them what snow looks like, what it feels like and why it happens.  If you need some help explaining the scientific details on snow, play this educational video all about snow while you are creating your own!
     Now that your 'snow' is covering the page, you are ready for the polar bear. Trace a polar bear outline on white paper, cut him out and let your child glue him on. If you'd rather print out a polar bear or need some drawing inspiration, (come on, you can draw one!) go here to see some cute polar bears.  All that's left to do is give him some googlie eyes-everything looks better with googlie eyes!  Happy Cotton-ballin', everyone!
  *** I love new ideas~ Share your crafts or DIY projects on my facebook page! If you are out of ideas, check out my Pinterest boards!***

Tin Foil Paint Tray Clean-up

   
Sometimes just thinking about doing a painting project can make you tired, especially when you have a toddler to look after while cleaning up. This idea really came out of necessity.  I needed something that was going to help me clean up his easel after we used it. 

Materials:

• Aluminun foil
• Paint
• Paint brush
• Messy child

   Although it isn't necessary for me to get the easel completely clean after each use, the big blobs that would stick to the easel paint cups after only 10 minutes really bothered me.  I needed something that was going to buy me some time so I could get my little man cleaned up before I had fingerprints all over my walls and before the paint would stick to the easel...what.a.pain.  Then it came to me----Tin foil!!!!  Why hadn't I thought of this before? I use tin foil when I am painting (it is easier to mix colors on, more so than plastic) so I felt really dumb when I finally started using this technique with Eli.
  All you do is line the easel paint cups with tin foil! Shape the tin foil the best you can to fit inside whatever you will put the paint in then when you are done you just ball it up and throw it away! Genius if I do say so myself.  Especially when I am busy with +Blossoming Buttons Custom Stationery and Art!
   Most parents who avoid painting projects are mostly worried about the mess and the clean up. You can't control the mess, you have a kid, but you can make the clean-up a little bit easier! Got any other tips I haven't thought of yet? Please comment and share them! Use this technique for any other painting project, see us use it in the packing peanut project! Happy painting, everyone :)