Toddler Craft Project: Chalk Paint

Last week we made Chalk Paint, and oh was it loads of fun! I know I have seen this before and have been dying to try it. Of course, when I went to find a recipe I had a difficult time finding one that made sense, so we made up our own. Hours...and days later we are still painting our sidewalk with these bright neon colors.

The recipe is super easy (and edible too...which I found out when my toddler decided the paint was brightly colored milk....I guess he was thirsty-don't worry, he only took a sip!). Here's the secret to making chalk paint, enjoy!

To Make 1 Cup of Chalk Paint (One Color)
2 Tbls Corn Starch
1 Cup Water
About 5-6 drops of food coloring (we used Neon Colors)

Pour the corn starch in to a cup or jar, add the water and stir or whisk well. Make sure there are no lumps. Add the food coloring. Stir well again until you have the color brightness you want. Go outside and paint the ground!

{Child Craft}: Stamping With Your Food

Let's get crafty today, shall we? First, I would like to apologize for the photo quality of what I am about to share with you. Our impromptu crafting session the occurred while I was making dinner, so the lighting wasn't the best, but oh did we have fun! Stamping with the left-over lettuce ends!

 After cutting off all of the leaves to our sturdy romaine lettuce, I handed it over to my toddler with some paint and paper and let him stamp, mash and bang that stock onto the paper making unusual impressions to his heart's content. 

We experimented with color mixing. Red into yellow to make orange. 

The end of the lettuce is just the right size for a wee toddler's hand. After his painting session we let the masterpiece dry and I turned those "stamps" into a beautiful flower card we used for my Mother-in-Law's birthday. 

Have you been creative with your food lately? 

Paper Swirl Valentine's Card Tutorial

 Materials:

-1 pre-folded card or piece of card stock
-Valentine's heart stencil
-Colored pencils in red and magenta or purple
-Pink, red, and purple construction paper
-Scissors
-Regular pencil
-Glue or glue dots
-Outlining pen

 place your stencil on top of your card

 Outline the heart using the red pencil

 Using the red pencil, fill in the heart roughl

 Switch to the magenta pencil and outline the arrow pieces ans fill in

 Your completed heart should look like this

 Next, stack your construction paper and cut thin strips using your scissors. I used childrens' scissors because that is all I could find and it is a good demonstration that kid's scissors are possible of great things.

 After the strips are cut fold them in half and cut. You should have 6 strips, enough to make two cards

 Look at all those strips!

 Now, lay one strip on your table and place your pencil at the end that is closest to you (your belly), begin rolling the pencil away from you taking the strip with you.

 The strip of paper should wrap fully around your pencil.

 Do the same as before with all of the remanaing strips. You should have a nice piles of little spirals

 Bring your card back into the picture and determin whether you want to use school glue or glue dots to adhere your spirals to your card. Both work. The glue dots are great if you need to be done quick, but look a little more rushed. The school glue drys clear, but takes a little longer.

 I went for the school glue. Put a few dots of glue in the locations you want to place your spirals

 Add all sprials to your card and allow to dry completely

 Time to outline and add your personal flair! I love using Steadtler pens, especially the fine points. They don't smear, last forever and are water resistant.

Using your pen of choice, outline your heart, add doodles and maybe a little Valentine's Day sentiment.

And, that's it! Tuck one into your next Valentine's gift.

Halloween Treat Goody Bags

I seem to be drowning in black construction paper. Every year this seems to be a problem. I guess craft projects don't typically demand the use of black (or brown construction paper for that matter) all that often, especially childrens' craft projects.

In attempts to be "green" and "resourceful," I suppose that's the Girl Scout in me, I am devising new and innovative ways to use up that darn paper! Fortunately with Halloween just around the corner black is in. So, I apologize if all of my latest projects include the use of black construction paper, but hey, at least you too can put some of that extra paper to use. Now...what to do with all that brown. November is on the horizon, turkeys anyone?

Check out my latest article regarding the use of black construction paper: http://www.examiner.com/children-s-crafts-in-oakland/halloween-twitch-hat-reat-holders-peferct-party-goodie-bag

You too can make whimsical Halloween goody holders!

Enjoy!

Julia

Regain your creativity- creative blogs

Artists, like writers, will often complain about getting into a sort of "writer's block," or rather, a creative rut. Creative ruts seem to happen at the most inopportune times , but there are several ways to get out of them and the next several articles will explore some methods to get you and your children back on track to creativity.
One of the best methods to regain your creative spark is to do a little research, and one of the best places to look is the internet. Type in "craft blog" or "childrens craft blog" and you will have a list of creative brain candy generated for you within seconds.

If you are looking for frugal crafts for your toddler or early school-aged children check out Frugal Family Fun Blog. Vallerie is a mother of two and will provide you with oodles of craft activities that you can create with your children on a budget. She breaks down her projects into categories, so if you are looking for the perfect back to school craft or something fun to do in the outdoors Vallerie has it all for you! She knows how to make creative play fun and affordable.

Two homeschooling mothers Maureen and Shanti of Twig and Toadstool blog together about their adventures in crafting, homeschooling, and sharing their lives with their children. Their projects reflect their love of nature and their Waldorf pedagogy. All of their crafts are colorful, whimsical, and often connected to nature. Check them out the next time you want to make homemade hand cream or create a dazzling window star.

If you love frills, flowers, scarp booking, and cooking then Little Birdie Secrets blog is just the place for you. They are another blog that was created by a few friends who loved to get together and craft; a sort of quilting bee on the web. Don't think all of their crafts are just for girls just because they feature flowers and pretty things, oh no! Several of the authors have sons and will feature creative activities that boys will enjoy. Check out their  tutorial on how to create a flower rosette clip

These are just a few of the creative blogs out there. Keep searching for a creative blog that speaks to you. Creativity is often sparked when you have the influence of other creative minds, so it is important to find resources that resonate with your sense of style, purpose, and creative philosophy. More to come on methods of igniting that creative spark in you and your children.