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!

 

Repurposed Frames

   This is another project that I have been doing for years. It's so easy and will really save you a TON of money. All you need are old frames, or frames purchased from the thrift store, and some paint. I love to group a bunch of pictures together, but that can get pretty expensive. This idea,  takes so little time and money and  will give you a beautiful arrangement of pictures you can be proud of!







Materials:

• Spray paint (or any kind of permanent paint.)
• Assortment of thrift store frames
• Drop cloth
• Painters tape  

   To start this project, make a run to your local Goodwill or any other local thrift store.  Go straight to the frame section, and trust me, there will be a HUGE frame section. It always amazes me what some people will throw away.  Luckily, for me, they decided to recycle it instead :)  Choose an assortment of frames with different textures and border widths. Don't worry about what they look like now..try to look past any ugly floral patterns or paint chipped frames, they will be beautiful when you are done with them! The one thing I do suggest is only choosing frames that still have the glass intact-you need frames with 'good bones.'   First, take the frames apart leaving the glass separate so it doesn't get painted.  Now grab a drop cloth so you can prepare for painting.  I try to keep the pieces together so I know which frame went with which parts.  You can even go as far as labeling them with a pencil before you take them apart.  You want to have just the actual border part of the frame, but if the back stays attached you can just take out the glass and cover any area you don't want painted with painter's tape.

  Bring your frame pieces to your drop cloth and cover with one coat of paint. Use even strokes so you avoid any drops of paint falling and glooping on the frame. I usually use spray paint because it is so much quicker but you can always use paint and a brush, too. Allow your frames to dry for at least an hour before applying another coat of paint. I recommend at least two coats so your frames are not splotchy.
  Let all your frames dry overnight then re-assemble to see the magic you have made! Now all these matching frames are ready to be hung in your home! Don't you feel so proud of yourself?! Go enjoy and repeat :) These frames would look great over your DIY headboard!
 

This is the paint I used for this project (I used whtite):

Packing Peanut Paintings

Sometimes painting on a flat piece of paper gets old.  Try this smart trick to give your kids a new sensory experience. Packing peanuts are good for so many crafts and people are so quick to throw them away! So save those peanuts!  One day your kids will get stir crazy and you will need a new project for them to pour themselves into.

Materials:

• Packing peanuts (hopefully left-overs from a package but if not you can buy them cheap.)
• Thick paper (I used dry-cleaner shirt boards.)
• Kid's glue
• Any size paintbrush
• Washable paint
• Sharpie

   Start by choosing the paper you are going to use.  We save the cardboard pieces the dry-cleaner uses when they wrap up your shirts, they are great for so many craft projects.  As a matter of fact, you should start a 'craft scrap' bin in your house somewhere.  We save all of our scraps and store them in a big basket that we call our 'supply box'. Eli loves sorting through it and it's fun to figure out what to make out of your 'left-overs'.
   Now grab your packing peanuts. Glue them to the board in any shape you want.  We did a snake and a rainbow. They were the first things that came to my mind, but you could do any animal outline or shape. This is a great holiday craft, too...snowmen for Christmas, shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day, flower's for Mother's Day, there are so many options!

   Let your packing peanuts dry for a few hours and come back to the project ready to paint.  Use any size paintbrush and let your kids paint the packing peanuts and the surrounding paper/board.  This is a cool new thing for them to paint and it will be exciting for them to experience a new technique. Explain to them the difference in texture, the sounds it makes when they paint over it, etc.  Texture is a difficult thing for kids to understand so this is a great opportunity for them to learn something new!
   Once the paint is dry, use your sharpie to label what they drew.  When you label it, spell it out-loud and your kids to spell it back to you.  Having the name of their drawing right next to it will be effective recognition and it will help them when they learn to read.
  Enjoy your kids and help expand their imagination! They are never to young to craft!