Have you ever seen these ah-mazing surprise boxes that open and unfold the moment you take the lid off? I recently spotted the idea on my Instagram explore page and of course I haven’t been able to find the Reel since, but I’ll definitely link it here if I come across it again.
The idea is simple – surprise boxes are gift boxes that sort of “self-open” to reveal all kinds of fun goodies the moment you remove the lid. They’re SO. MUCH. FUN.
I made the kids each one for Valentine’s Day and kind of went with a self-care theme, but you could make them for any occasion – a birthday, a graduation, a wedding shower, or anything else! Make surprise boxes for your kids, your partner, a friend, a parent, or anyone else! You can also make them as big or as small as you like and fill them with less expensive gifts or more luxurious items. Anything goes, really.
Here is how to make your own surprise box at home…
You’ll need:
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-2 boxes with lids, one smaller than the other (you want them to fit inside one another with a little bit of space in between – I found mine at Dollarama)
4 larger gifts (the thinner / flatter the better)
4 smaller gifts (the thinner / flatter the better)
1 small square or circular gift (doesn’t have to be thin / flat, but needs a flat bottom)
strong tape or mounting squares (I love these mounting squares – they make the job really easy and they’re super sticky)
scissors or a utility knife
Here’s exactly what I included in my kids’ surprise boxes this time:
Okay, now to make them… It’s actually not hard at all – gathering up the items I wanted to include was the most time consuming part!
Step-by-step instructions:
1. Using your scissors or utility knife, carefully cut down the seams of both boxes so they fold open and the 4 ‘flaps’ lay completely flat.
They should look like this. Don’t worry if the edges aren’t completely perfect when done… It doesn’t matter that much.
2. Using mounting squares (or loops of tape), adhere the 4 bigger gifts to the 4 flaps on the bigger box, keeping them as close to the top edge as possible.
3. Now do the same thing with the 4 smaller gifts and the smaller box, centring each object on its flap instead of keeping it close to the top edge.
4. Take your final gift, the small item that doesn’t necessarily have to be flat (mine is the small candle), and use a mounting square or tape loop to adhere it to the centre base spot on the smaller box.
5. Now gather up the four sides of the smaller box, place the lid on to hold everything in place, and tack it to the middle of the larger box using another mounting square or tape loop.
6. Gather up the four sides of the bigger box and place the lid on it to hold everything in place too.
At this point you could very much be done, but I’m a little bit extra and didn’t love the tops of the boxes as they were, so I decided to print off a couple of things to add to the top – a simple ‘Happy Valentine’s Day’ I found and customized on Canva and a photo.
I cut these out and just glued them onto the lids of the boxes with a glue stick and that was that!
When finished, the boxes appear to be regular gift boxes and I’m sure the receiver will think nothing of them other than the fact that they probably contain a lovely gift inside…
Of course when they remove the lids, they’ll be in for a SURPRISE, which totally makes the gift!
My plan is to keep the boxes and reuse them again and again to make surprise boxes for different occasions, which will mean it’ll be less work next time!
Simple winter decor made from paper bags? Yes please! These 3D paper bag snowflakes might be the simplest and quickest DIY decor project ever, but they turn out every time, look beautiful hung up, cost very little, and can be reused year after year and then composted when done. They’re so, so good.
Here’s something about me… Seasonal decor isn’t really my thing. I love it for other people, but I just don’t love it for me. I don’t love having and storing STUFF, I don’t love the extra work of swapping things out, and I’m sort of just happy with leaving our house decorated as it is all year long. There’s no Christmas village that comes out, no big mantle display, no seasonal mugs that appear in a hot cocoa station on the counter… It’s just not my vibe.
These though? I can get behind. They’re fun to make with the kids, the snowflakes can be reused year after year and fold down flat so they require very little space, and when I’m done with them? They can be recycled or composted.
Sign. me. up.
Wanna try?
Here’s what you’ll need:
– 8 to 12 paper bags that are all the same size
– a glue stick
– a pencil
– a good pair of scissors
– twine
– a hole punch (not required, but helpful)
– paper clips or small alligator clips (optional)
– watercolour paint & a paintbrush (optional)
Okay, let’s do it! Here’s how to make a paper bag snowflakes at home…
Start by placing one of your paper bags on the workspace in front of you with the folded flap facing up and the bag’s opening at the top.
Side note: bags that make great snowflakes include brown paper lunch bags, paper bakery bags, small craft bags, paper party bags, collected gift bags, and saved paper grocery bags.
Using a glue stick, cover the entire surface of the paper bag with glue. Quickly place a second bag directly on top of the first bag, making sure it’s lined up and oriented the same way as the first. With a little bit of pressure, smooth the bag down to ensure the two are fully attached.
Repeat this process until you have a stack of 8 to 12 bags glued together. For paper lunch bags, 10 tends to be a good number. If you’re using smaller bags, you’ll need more and if you’re using larger bags, such as paper grocery bags, you may be able to get away with only using 8. Something to keep in mind: the more bags you use, the more full and intricate your finished snowflake will look, but more bags will also make it more difficult to cut.
Next, it’s time to cut out your snowflake designs. This part of the process is very similar to cutting out 2-dimensional snowflakes, but can be a little more difficult due to the thickness of the paper bags. Feel free to draw your designs on with pencil first or just go straight to cutting with scissors.
First, cut the top open ends of the paper bags into a shape of your choosing. Snipping off the top corners to create a triangle top looks great, but you can also do a more rounded shape, a single angled line, a zig-zagged top, or any other shape you might like to try.
Now cut along the sides of the paper bags. Anything goes here – cut out triangles, semi-circles, and lines in different sizes and formations. Just be sure not to cut out TOO much and to keep the bottom flap part mostly in tact.
A couple of cutting tips:
– Make the cutting part of this project easier by preparing two half stacks of bags, cutting the design out of each stack, and then glueing the two stacks together.
– Make it even easier by cutting your design out of one bag and using it as a template for cutting out the other bags before glueing them together.
– For little ones requiring a lot of help, consider having them draw their design onto the paper bag stack and doing the cutting for them.
Time to fan out the bags in a circular motion to bring your creation to life! If you love how your snowflake looks fanned out, you’re ready to secure it. If it doesn’t look quite how you’d like it to, fold it back up and adjust your cuts or add a few more.
When you’re ready to secure your snowflake, you have two options – clips or glue. If you’d like your snowflakes to fold flat for easy storage after use, secure the two flat sides of the bags together with small paper clips or alligator clips. You might be able to see them a little bit, but they shouldn’t be overly noticeable. If you don’t mind storing the snowflakes in their 3D form, or if you plan on composting them after use, just glue the two sides together – so easy!
Finish off your project by using a sharp pencil tip or hole punch to create a small hole in one of the snowflake’s points. Thread a piece of twine through and secure it with a knot. This will be used for hanging your snowflake.
If you’d like to, you can add a little bit of colour to your snowflake using water colour paint… Just go easy on the water as paper bags tend to get soggy easily.
And that’s it! Make a bunch and hang your snowflakes along a wall, in front of a window, from a mantle, or even from the ceiling.
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Over the Christmas holidays, Miss G and I spent an afternoon together creating her very first dream board and we had SUCH a good time together. I mean what’s not to love? We flipped through magazines, found beautiful images and words, chatted non-stop about all of her hopes and dreams {if you know Grae you know that she’s a HUGE chatter}, and created something really special for her room. A perfect girls’ afternoon, really.
Now that being said, I’m no dream board expert, but I’m learning… Thankfully my mom is a strong believer in dream boards, so I have some knowledge about what they are and how to make them from her, plus I have done them with students in the past. Here’s how we made ours this time around…
First off, what is a dream board?
A dream board, or vision board, is a collage of images, affirmations, and words that represent one’s goals – who they want to be, what they want to do, what they want to have in their life, among other things. They’re designed as a source of inspiration and motivation and can be a really powerful tool for both adults and children alike. For kids, dream boards can be a really positive and encouraging way to foster self-confidence as they serve as a source of inspiration and a regular reminder of their hopes and goals.
Here’s how to make one with your child…
Step 1: Gather your supplies. While dream boards are most often made using poster boards and glue, I think using a cork board and tacks is very clever when dream boarding with kids as they allow for more flexibility and can easily be changed and rearranged. You’ll also need a variety of magazines and a pair of scissors, and markers, washi tape, a notebook, and a pen or pencil are optional, but recommended.
Step 2: Do a visualization. As adults, we most often focus our vision boards on the coming year, but with kids I think it’s easier to open it up and focus on the future in general. Before beginning the visualization, talk about how the future can be next week, next year, or even when they’re an adult. Turn on some calm music and invite your child to get comfortable, close their eyes, and envision what they want their future to look like. You may want to gently prompt their visualization with some guiding questions.
Sample Guiding Questions
– What things do you want to do?
– Where do you want to be?
– What qualities do you want to have?
– How do you want to feel?
– Who do you want be with?
– What will you do for fun?
– What do you want to achieve?
– What do you want to do for work?
Step 3: Create a mind map. While this step is optional, I find it really valuable when dream boarding with kids. After the visualization exercise, take out a notebook and a pen or pencil and help your child jot down the key components they visualized for their future using a mind map format. I like to place the title “MY FUTURE” in the centre and have categories like “BE”, “DO”, “HAVE”, and “ACHIEVE” branching out from around it in order to give the child a starting point. This step helps solidify the visualization and serves as a guide when searching for images, words, and phrases to represent their dreams later.
Step 4: Find or create images, words, and phrases. Something you’ll want to be mindful of here is that your magazine selection reflects your child’s interests and includes people who look like them. Invite your child to flip through the magazines to find images and text to represent their future dreams. As they go, they can use their mind map as a checklist in order to ensure that all of their ideas are represented. Encourage them to use paper, markers, and washi tape to create their own images, affirmations, and words in order to fill in any gaps or to add to the images they found.
Step 5: Create your dream board. Ask your child to sort through their images and words and group them how they see fit. Next, help them play with placement and overlapping on their work surface to create mini layouts that are visually appealing to them. As they’re ready, have them tack their clippings and creations onto their cork board using the minimum number of tacks required. Encourage them to switch things up as needed, only fully tacking things down when everything is in place and they’re happy with how it looks.
Step 6: Display and discuss. The final step! Find a spot to proudly display your child’s dream board. Somewhere where it’ll be easily seen each day is best as it’ll serve as a point of inspiration, motivation, and reflection. Sit with your child and soak it all in. Talk about their goals and dreams and together, come up with some actionable steps they can take in order to make their dreams become a reality. Encourage your child to spend some time with their dream board each day and to add to it or switch it up as they feel necessary (goals and dreams do sometimes change over time, after all!) And that’s it! In the following months, come back to the dream board with your child every now and then and continue to foster them using it as a tool and source of positive inspiration.
With Christmastime quickly approaching, I’ve been thinking a lot about gifts for the kids… We’ve kept it pretty minimal for the last few years and have just done a really good stocking for each of them, plus their usual book and jammies on Christmas Eve, but at this point, even filling a stocking feels unnecessary. Our kids are truly the luckiest and really just don’t need anything at all. With the help of my friend Crystal {of Otherware}, I’ve come up with an experience gift I’m super excited about and I just know they’re going to LOVE it. I’ll be sure to share it here afterwards, but it’s a lot like this ‘a special day in a box’ gift idea I used earlier this year to plan a special day with each of my kiddos.
Now a little back story first… As much as I’d love to take credit for the idea, Grae was actually gifted an ‘adventure in a box’ by her uncle and his girlfriend a few years ago and I just thought it was the sweetest, most clever gift ever! It was presented in a little box with a beautiful ‘Adventure’ sticker on top and inside were little notes and items that explained the day. BRILLIANT, right?! Firstly, it meant a really special day with two people she loves, and secondly, it completely avoided the addition of STUFF. Something I appreciate beyond measure. {Plus I just really love a good DIY kid’s gift.}
Here’s a peek at how I put together my version of ‘a special day in a box’ for Grae and Sam….
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First up, supplies… You’ll definitely want a box (I bought mine at the dollar store) and a photo representing each of the stops on your child’s special day (I snuck out one night after bedtime, quickly went around town and snapped them on my iPhone, and sent them off for printing at London Drugs that same night). Once those things are ready, scour your drawers for items like paper, scissors, fine liners, tape, glue, baker’s twine, tissue paper, card stock, labels – whatever you think you might need to put it all together!
Alright – now to put it all together! First up, create a label for the top of your box. It can say anything you like – I went for ‘a special day just for you’, but ‘let’s go on an adventure’ would be cute too. Whatever floats your boat.
Stick or glue the label on the box and that’s done.
Next up, write a little note to your child explaining the gift… I did this on a tag-shaped piece of paper with a little baker’s twine through the hole at the top and went for rhyming and cheesy and wrote:
Sam,
I’ve got a special day planned just for me and you,
So look in this box and see just what we’ll do!
Love,
Mama
Now to prepare the activity cards… Again, this can look however you like, so feel free to make it your own! I had my photos printed as squares (4×4 if I’m not mistaken), then cut out card stock rectangles that were slightly larger. When I glued the photos onto the card stock, I glued them nearer the top so the finished cards would look similar to polaroids (not that my kids would know what those are – hah!), and wrote a little note at the bottom explaining the stop and what we’d do while there. I finished off the activity card with a number sticker in the top corner just because I had them and I knew they’d provide Sam with some good exposure to numerals {do teachers ever stop thinking like teachers?!}
Here’s a look at what Sam’s special day in a box included, though keep in mind that we live in a small town with very limited options and I gifted these to my kids for Valentine’s Day, so smack dab in the middle of our cold, snowy winter… Had we lived in Vancouver at the time – oh my gosh – the possibilities! Or had it been when the weather was nice? So many outdoor options!
Anyways, with that disclaimer out there, his special day included a stop at the dollar store to pick out a Hotwheels vehicle (his absolute favourite), a trip to the mall to ride those cars you put a dollar into, a stop at the bookstore to browse and select a book, and a visit to his favourite cafe to have a warm drink, play with the trains, and enjoy a baked good.
Now I will say this… As much as I maybe felt like some of these options were a bit lame and more focused on STUFF than I would have liked them to be, Sam thought each stop was absolutely incredible and was nothing short of STOKED throughout our adventure. I actually don’t think the activities matter a ton. Of course you want them to be things your child enjoys, but I think it’s more about the time together and the fact that this is a dedicated ‘special day’ than anything else. I could have told him that we were going to the park right by our house that we go to all the time and my guess is that he would have been thrilled with that too.
And here’s a peek at what Grae’s ‘special day in a box’ included… You can actually pop over to CBC Parents to read my ‘Build an Adventure Day in a Box’ post all about G’s day.
Alright, time to finish off the gift! I lined my box with a strip of tissue paper, then set the activity cards in, making sure they were in the correct order with the last stop in the bottom of the box and the first stop on the top.
Then I wrapped the activity cards up in the excess tissue paper, put my little note on top, closed up the box, and that was that… A special day in a box ready for gifting.
With Sam not feeling well earlier today, we decided to spend our afternoon close to home and out of the sun. I love setting little play invitations out for the kids to discover after school, but since I hadn’t gotten a chance to set something up during nap time, I quickly pulled together a classic while Grae and Sam devoured their afternoon snacks… Magic mystery painting! {An absolute childhood classic if you’re old like me – hah!}
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Now I have to preface this all with the fact that I wasn’t planning on sharing any of this here, so didn’t pull out my big camera like I should have… hence the cell phone photos. Not ideal, but meh.
* Other thick, absorbent papers will work too, but watercolour paper can soak up a ton of paint without sogging up and ripping and it dries flat.
** Any type will do, but we love our Sax liquid watercolours and I think they’re PERFECT for this project… They make it super easy for little ones to get a brush full of paint (just dip and go) and they’re super washable. We used just a few drops of liquid watercolours diluted in small cups of water.
Okay, so here’s how easy this is… First, use the white pastel to draw simple pictures, lines, and designs all over your watercolour paper. Two things to keep in mind… 1) Solid, thick pastel lines make for the best end result, so be sure to use lots of pressure when drawing and 2) your kiddos don’t care what your drawings look like whatsoever, so don’t let the fact that “you can’t draw” stop you from doing this… Just really go for it!
Here’s how I set it out for Grae and Sam… My white pastel drawings on a giant page of watercolour paper, plus little jars of Sax liquid watercolours diluted in water right on top. Oh, and paintbrushes too, of course!
I had already told Grae and Sam that this activity involved something magical / mysterious, so they wasted no time getting to painting once I told them it was ready to go.
And they were totally wowed. (Even though Miss G’s done this loads of times… The resist part is fun, but it’s uncovering the hidden drawings that makes this activity so fun and engaging.)
Part way through they decided that they’d try to paint the entire surface so as not to miss a single drawing or design, which I thought was very clever!
When they were mostly done, I encouraged them to go in and add more paint – a) because the paper can handle it and b) because it allowed them to explore colour mixing.
Isn’t their piece beautiful?! Plus, when you have kiddos with a 5-year age gap, the very best thing is finding activities they both enjoy and can do alongside one another.
When they were done with the first one, Miss G asked if she could create a second one full of things Sam loves… And I mean, how can you say no to that, right? So while she worked on her version, Sam whipped her up a snack of toast, carrot, ice cream, and pancake.
Then it was back to work!
Here’s the one G made… Isn’t it the sweetest? Complete with all of the things Sam loves – fire engines, food, and Blippi, plus his name and his age.
After making the most adorable little Christmas truck ornaments {inspired by Little Blue Truck’s Christmas} with Sam earlier this week, today Miss G and I made her book-inspired ornament of the year… Test tube snow globe ornaments inspired by the pages of Ada Twist, Scientist! I wasn’t sure how they were going to turn out, but now that they’re done, I think they’re so beautiful and fun!
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If you’ve not read Ada Twist, Scientist, you must… Along with the other books in the collection (Rosie Revere, Engineer and Iggy Peck, Architect), it’s one of our absolute favourites. Ada is endlessly curious and while her experiments and quests to figure out how things work often wreak havoc in her family’s day-to-day life, she learns the value of thinking her way through things and always remaining curious.
The pages of the book are filled with bottles of Ada’s colourful concoctions and experiments, which is exactly what inspired Miss G’s little test tube snow globe ornaments.
There’s a lot of wiggle room as far as which materials you use for these test tube snow globe ornaments, but here’s what we used to make ours:
– little glass craft jars with screw on lids (I REALLY wanted ones with rounded bottoms like these ones with cork tops, but alas… small town living doesn’t always allow for these things. We ended up finding these very similar flat-bottomed glass craft jars at our local Dollarama and they worked just fine. In fact, they’re probably better for the fact that they stand on their own while making them, but they’re just not quite as test tube like.)
– Gorilla Contact Adhesive (I wouldn’t use something like this with Sam, but Miss G is 8 now and this glue worked really well)
– washi tape (which we ended up adding into the mix at the last minute)
Here’s a closer look at the little confetti bits and slime add-ins I put out for Miss G to use. These were all things that came in one of those big slime making add-in kits you can order online.
Here’s how Grae made her test tube snow globes…
First up, she tested the bottle brush trees in the glass craft jars to make sure they fit well.
Most of them fit perfectly and the ones that didn’t simply got a little trim.
Then it was time to adhere the trees in the bottoms of the test tubes. To do this, we simply followed the instructions on the Gorilla Contact Adhesive packaging and put a little glue on the base of the tree, a little glue in the bottom of the test tube, let both sit for two minutes, and then carefully put the tree down into the test tube and pushed it down firmly. {In true Miss G fashion, the two minutes of waiting just HAD to be filled with reading.}
Now while the glue we used does say that it’s ‘immediate contact’, it also says that the glue isn’t fully cured for 24 hours, so we probably should have waited before adding water, but we didn’t. We gave the trees 10 or 15 minutes to set, then went ahead with the project like the impatient people we are – hah! One thing to note is that the trees / test tubes that we used a thin layer of adhesive on definitely formed a more immediate bond, while the ones with more adhesive were still wiggly when we moved on to the next step
Next up, the water.
Aren’t they pretty just like this?
Then Grae worked on tinting the water with liquid food colouring. Because a full drop was too much for the amount of water in our little test tubes, she used a food pick to add the teeniest bit of colouring at a time until the colour was just right.
With the water the perfect shade, she added in all of the confetti, bits, and bobs her little heart desired.
Here are her finished test tube snow globes… Aren’t they gorgeous?
At this point you could secure the test tube lids with glue, but we skipped that part and just ensured that they were screwed on as tightly as possible.
Now while I thought we’d tie our baker’s twine / embroidery thread around the test tubes and create our little hanging loop that way, it just didn’t work out how we thought it would… Instead, we opted to tape a little loop of thread to either side of the lid and then secure everything with several rounds of decorative washi tape, which I think looks really cute too.
Here they are all done and ready for the tree!
This post is part of the awesome 10 Days of #KidMadeChristmas Ornaments series we’ve participated in in years past… If you’re looking for some fantastic ornament ideas to try at home with your kids, pop over and check out the master list of kid-made ornaments – there are SO many lovely ones this year!
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One of the Christmas traditions I just adore? Making a new Christmas ornament with each kiddo every year! It’s such a fun one-on-one project and I think the kids really love hanging their newly made decorations on the tree {and revisiting their old ones each year}. The type of ornament we make is often inspired by something they love or by a favourite book, and this year Sam’s little homemade Christmas truck ornaments were inspired by Little Blue Truck, the star of a collection of books we’ve read again and again.
You know what I’m really good at? I’m really good at doing different kinds of creative projects and activities with the kids, photographing them, and then never ever getting around to sharing them here. Like REALLY good. I’ve got hundreds of projects photographed and waiting to be written up from years previous… There just aren’t enough hours in the day. {Sidenote: Can you believe that for the first 5 years of Miss G’s life, I published a blog post every nearly every single day?! SOOO crazy. Though most of those years were during a time when blogging meant sharing photos and words… There was no need to worry about SEO, pinnable images, amazon links, or getting people to your site via social media, so I guess it makes sense that I’m lucky to get a couple of post up a week nowadays.} Anyways, my goal is to make time to share some of those projects from years past and the first is this easy DIY no-sew parrot costume.
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I mean, how cute is this little parrot of mine?? This was actually Sam’s very first Halloween costume and because it’s actually a parrot cape, he was able to wear it while being worn in the Ergo, which I absolutely loved. I just popped him in the carrier and then put the hood on his head, flattened the cape out over the Ergo like you would a blanket, and loosely tied the ribbon around his little neck. It was perfect.
How did our littlest bubba become a parrot for Halloween? Well, it all started with this pirate princess costume for Miss G… Her first ever purchased costume. She fell in love with it while shopping at Costco and I’ve always said that I’ll make her costumes for as long as she’s happy to have me make them, so… As much as it sort of killed me to buy one after years of getting to make something from scratch, a store-bought costume it was.
And of course every little pirate princess needs a parrot, right? {One that was happy to let his mama make his costume, thankfully.}
Everything required for this little getup? An old red cape we had in our dress up station {though you can find these inexpensively on Amazon and even dollar stores sometimes}, cheap craft store felt, and a glue gun. Seriously, that’s it.
Anyone who knows me well knows how much I love putting together fun gifts for kids. It’s my jam. There was a period in time when Miss G was a preschooler where I’m pretty sure every one of her friends got a play dough kit of some sort when their birthday rolled around, but we’ve also done LEGO kits, writing kits, art kits, car kits, baking kits, sensory play kits, craft kits, science kits, peg doll family kits, travel activity kits – wheeew. The list could go on. The kit-style kid gift is obviously my go-to. It requires no actual making of things… Simply collect items, pop them into a container of some sort, make the kit look somewhat pretty / organized, and you’re good to go. Truthfully, when we make kits as gifts, we don’t even bother wrapping them. We just add a tag with some baker’s twine and call it good.
This DIY slime kit is one of our more recent diy gifts put together for my sweet, slime-loving niece Kinslee for Christmas last year. Well, apparently it was well liked, because guess what we’re putting together for her for her upcoming birthday…. Yup – another DIY slime kit! {G’s also got one on her birthday wish list, so maybe I should just shop for two while I’m at it?}
Here’s a peek at our collection of kit items once we had done our shopping…
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The first step in the collection process? Picking out a slime recipe book to include in the kit. There were a surprising number of options at our local bookstore, and while they all looked pretty good, I ended up picking The Slime Book over the others simply because I liked the fact that it didn’t advertise its recipes as ‘borax free’ like the others did. {Silly, I know… I don’t know why it bothers me, but slime recipes that are made using laundry starch, detergent, contact lens solution, etc. all work because those products contain some form of borax. Therefore, not borax free. Hmmm…}
I also really liked how it included this little shopping list in the front… Made the job of collecting things super easy!
We were able to find everything else between our local dollar store and the big box grocery store we often shop at, which I thought was pretty good. Here’s exactly what we included in the kit…
– 2 bottles of this clear glue {though this clear glue is a much better deal and what I was looking for in the first place}
– a couple of bottles of glitter {which is terrible for the environment, I know… we’ve stopped buying it for use at home, but I’d love to find a more earth-friendly version for situations like these… any suggestions?
We also included loads of fun add-ins, some of which were from the list at the front of the book and some of which were inspired by flipping through the slime recipes themselves:
The containers aren’t necessary, but I do think it makes it easier for slime kit recipient to manage all of the loose parts and it certainly makes the finished kit look more put together.
With everything ready to go, we placed everything neatly in a white bin we’d picked out…
And that was it.
To finish it off, we slid the book into the back and attached a big old-school mail tag that said ‘Kinslee’s SLIME KIT’ onto one of the bin’s handles, and our DIY slime kit gift was done!
With the end of the school year quickly approaching, it’s already time to start thinking about teacher appreciation gifts and this year we’ll include this ‘Thank you for being my teacher’ print-out with a purchased gift. We’ll probably mount it on coloured card stock or put it into a pretty frame of some sort, but wouldn’t it be amazing if every child in the class made one and we had it bound into a book?! Oh my heart! A full class book would make for such a beautiful, meaningful gift.
We’re officially into the last week of school and I couldn’t be more excited about it. Miss G had another absolutely fantastic teacher this year and for that, I’m incredibly grateful. In our experience, the teacher really does make {or break} the school year, and her teacher this year certainly made her {our!!} year a positive, happy one. Despite being new to the school this year, Grae made loads of friends, was happy to go to school each day, and got to take part in all kinds of really cool process-based, collaborative, and creative projects.
While we’re still working on putting together a little gift, Grae’s had this sweet little thank-you-for-being-my-teacher printable ready to go for weeks now and I just think it’s so simple and sweet.
First, let’s start with the draft. How much or how little you support your child through the process of completing the bullet-point lists and sentences will depend on their reading and writing skills, as well as how ‘kid-made’ you want the finished project to be. In my opinion, invented spelling is awesome and perfection is overrated, but either way, the one thing I would suggest is having your little one complete the project in pencil first. This way mistakes can easily be fixed and changes can be made. You know your little one best, so sit down and work on this together, or let them do it completely independently — or a little bit of both — it’s up to you!
Once you and your little one have reviewed the draft, invite them to trace their pencil lines with a black fine liner. While this step is optional, I do think it makes kid-printing pop and the overall project look super polished.
Now that the words and drawings have been traced in black fine liner, give it few minutes to set (so it dries completely dry), then allow your child to gently erase the extra pencil marks.
Lastly, invite your little one to add some colour to their project. Of course the drawing of your child and their teacher can be coloured in, but encourage them to also colour the banners, the little arrows and even the page border.
Once it’s coloured, that’s it! Your beautiful ‘Thank you for being my teacher’ poster is ready for gifting.
And if your school principal is leaving like ours is {don’t even get me started – I don’t think I’ve fully accepted it just yet}, check out this ‘Thank You for Being My Principal’ printable Miss G has also been working on.
If you know me well, you know that one of the many things I would LOVE to do one day is facilitate sensory-rich art and play classes for little ones and their parents or caregivers. It’s been a dream of mine ever since Miss G was four months old and she and I attended Kindermusik classes in a fellow expat mama’s home during our first stint in Kuwait… I just loved that the instructor was creating this awesome little community of expat mamas while doing something she loved and getting to stay home with her kiddos all at once – a dream come true, really.
I was lucky enough to get a little taste of facilitating sensory and art classes when I taught at a creative play and learning centre during our second stint in Kuwait, but what I’d really love is to have a gorgeous little studio in the backyard {I’m picturing bright white walls and loads of light pouring in through big windows} dedicated to bringing parents and their littles together through playing and creating. As much as it would be a space for parents to connect with their kids, it would be a space for parents to connect and form friendships too… There would be time for free play, books woven into our time together, and the projects would be as sensory-rich and open-ended as possible. Ugh – doesn’t it sound amazing?? {ONE DAY!!}
Until then, I’ll enjoy all of the fun play and art projects with my own kiddos and since the weather recently perked up in the Okanagan, Sam and I have been doing just that!
Below are 5 open-ended, sensory-rich art activities that he’s absolutely loved recently… In all of these, we used one or more products from Crayola’s ‘My First Crayola’ line aimed at meeting little ones in the early stages of their development. The art tools are sorted by stages rather than ages, which I love because as we all know, all kids develop and progress differently. The 3 stages are:
1) Scribble – for kiddos making their first random marks
2) Doodle – for little ones who can repeat different types of lines
3) Draw – for kids who can draw shapes and basic pictures
Now while I’d say that Sam is pretty much in Stage 2: Doodle at the moment, there are definitely Stage 1 tools he still loves using and there are even a couple of Stage 3 products he’s able to use independently. In the end, you know your child best, so go with what works for them!
This post is sponsored by My First Crayola. I’ve been a Crayola fan for pretty much my entire life… {tell me – was there anything better than opening a brand new jumbo box of crayons with the sharpener built into the back as a child?! Nope. There really wasn’t.} as always, all of the opinions in this post are my own.
Alright, ready?? Here are 5 super fun, open-ended, sensory-rich art activities to try with your little one…
Rip & Stick Sticky Collage
The materials:
Crayola construction paper {we used full-sized sheets from the huge pad we always keep on hand as well as half sheets from the Preschool Readiness Kit simply because the colours are so beautiful}
Cut out several construction paper frames, adhere them onto a large roll of clear contact paper, and then cut away the extra contact paper. Hang the frames up onto a wall or window sticky side out and include a little basket or tray of small construction paper squares and the safety scissors {if including them} nearby.
The process:
Invite your little one to rip {and or cut} the construction paper squares into small bits. Sam’s not quite ready for scissors just yet, but he was very interested in them and gave them a go. Ultimately, we went back to ripping because it’s more appropriate for his current abilities and he loved it! While it can come off as simply destructive, ripping paper actually provides a great fine motor skill workout and provides both auditory and tactile feedback – win-win!
With the paper bits ready to go, invite your little one to stick the bits up onto the frames. The contact paper is a great way for little ones to explore the concept of sticky and makes creating collage-style art a breeze.
Another perk? A contact paper collage means no glue necessary, so this is virtually a mess-free activity.
The finished project:
Isn’t this beautiful with the sunshine streaming through the window? I especially love this project because it can be left up for days and added to when the mood strikes.
Using painter’s tape, secure the watercolour paper to a flat, easily washable surface. This will not only keep it in place as your little one creates, but will also leave a beautiful white border around the edge of the piece that will make the finished project pop and look super polished. Remove the caps from the tripod markers and stampers and place them in a tray for easy use and prepare a jar with some water and the paintbrushes in it for a little later on.
The process:
Invite your little one over to draw and stamp on the large piece of watercolour paper.
The more colour the better in this case, so it’s perfect that the little shape stampers we used basically beg to be coloured in. {Just look at that concentration, will you?!}
This is also the perfect time to experiment with different types of lines… Slow ones, fast ones, straight ones, wavy ones, crazy ones – anything goes!
Alright, now for the magic! Once your little one is done colouring and drawing, tuck the markers and stampers away and bring out the water and paintbrushes.
Invite your little one to paint their picture with water and watch as they observe with wonder.
When the painting process is complete, leave the piece to dry. Later on, gently remove the painter’s tape to reveal white border.
Using masking tape or painter’s tape, secure a piece of bristol board to the underneath side of a low table {coffee tables and kid-sized tables are perfect for this}. Trim the bristol board first if needed. Set out a variety of crayons in a tray or basket under the table.
The process:
Invite your little one to draw upside down! Sam totally got a kick out of this.
While this may seem like such a simple activity, the upside down element really brings a sense of excitement to the project and requires some gross motor planning that just isn’t required when drawing or colouring in the usual manner.
Depending on your little one’s interests and abilities, he or she may experiment with different kinds of lines and formations like Sam, or he or she may compose more of a traditional picture – both of which are great. There’s no right or wrong here and the activity can be left out and added to for as long as you like.
The end result:
This is what I found under our coffee table a few days ago after more than a week of adding to it. Obviously Miss G jumped in on the fun at least once and fun was had. It may look like nothing more than scribbles, but the purpose with open-ended art is the process of course.
Foamy Painting
The materials:
a large tray with a raised edge {even a baking sheet will do}
watercolour paper
water
Crayola Fingerpaint {this stuff is super washable – even after sitting on our easily stained white table for 45+ minutes}
1 tablespoon of dish soap {while natural formulas will work, the foam made by a traditional formula seems to last longer}
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
Simply place everything into a blender and blend on high for approximately 30 – 45 seconds. Repeat for each colour, working quickly as the foamy bubbles do disappear over time.
The set-up:
Trim your watercolour paper so that it will fit on your tray or baking sheet. Whip up foamy paint, place it into a tray of some sort, and set it out with Crayola’s Jumbo Paintbrushes {I love the sensorial element these add to painting projects}.
The process:
Invite your little one to create a masterpiece using the foamy paints you made. I tend not to give Sam any instructions with projects like this one… The more open-ended the better.
Although the foamy paint will thin out with time, the beauty of pairing it with these Crayola Jumbo Paintbrushes is that their sponge-like textures totally have the ability to reactivate the bubbles. Sam discovered this on his own as I sat back and observed and he was so pleased with himself.
Allow your little one to explore the paints with his or her hands too if desired! This is as much a sensory play activity as it is an art activity and this homemade paint is super washable, so nothing to worry about there.
When done, carefully remove your little one’s piece from the work tray leaving all of the bubbly foam in place and set it somewhere to dry. If you have something that will allow it to get some airflow on the bottom too, even better! {The cooling trays you use while baking are amazing for this purpose.}
The end result:
How unique is this finished texture?! It almost reminds me of the moon’s surface.
Set your drop cloth out and secure the bristol board to it using the white border method. Place your paints into a paint tray of some sort and designate one paintbrush per colour. Trim a piece of bubble wrap so it’s the size of your bristol board or smaller.
The process:
Invite your little one to paint on the more textured side of the bubblewrap. For this project, you may want to encourage him or her to be generous with the paint as it tends to turn out better when a good amount is used.
Next, flip the bubble wrap over onto the bristol board canvas and invite your little one to {carefully} walk, dance or stomp on top of it. You want the bubble wrap to stay as flat and still as possible, so if you can hold down the edges while your little one dances and stomps, I’d recommend it.
You may also want to put on some tunes for this step – I mean, what doesn’t a little ‘Baby Shark’ make better??
Carefully lift the bubble wrap and invite your little one to do some more painting on it.
Then repeat the walking / dancing / stomping process again and again until the bristol board is covered in layers of textured, bubbly-looking paint.
And if all that stomping and dancing tires your little one out, why not let them have a little lay down on their artwork, right? {HAHA!}
The end result:
Beautiful, right? I love how the colours gently blend together in some spots while the individual bubbles are quite evident in others.
Well, that’s it. Five super open-ended art activities for little ones that are all about experiencing the process rather than creating something with a specific finished product in mind.
What do you think… Would your little one enjoy any of these?
Come August we will have been in our new house for a year, and though we’ve definitely ‘settled in’, our house is still a little stark. We still have a few key pieces to purchase, but the biggest part of part of it? There’s really nothing on the walls. I figure it will eventually come together and while I have a few different ideas for this tall bare wall on our landing {instagram wall? low profile book case?}, in the meantime we’ve been using it for all kinds of vertical projects and play. This giant sticky collage was a total hit with both kids {and that’s no small feat when they’re 5 and a half years apart!} and was added to each day for about a week and a half.
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The best part is that so long as you have these three items – contact paper {CAN}, wide painter’s tape {CAN}, and scissors – you can pretty much make this project happen with random loose items from around the house. No need to buy anything new!
Now a word on contact paper… You can find this stuff at office supply shops, but many dollar stores carry it too. lt’s usually in the kitchen aisle with the other drawer liners and no slip grip rolls. For this project, we used two full rolls of the clear contact paper that Dollar Tree stocks.
Alright, so here’s the trickiest part of this activity… Getting the contact paper {CAN} up onto the wall. Not going to lie – it can be a bit frustrating at first. We’ve been doing contact paper activities since Miss G was wee and I kind of have my method down now, thankfully.
First off – don’t attempt this while you have little ones who desperately want to get to the playing part of the activity around. Still, even now, I put our contact paper up during nap time or at night when Sam is in bed. It’s just easier that way.
Second – roll your length of contact paper out on a table and fold back just a couple of inches of the paper backing along the length that you’re going to tape. This will reveal the sticky side {which of course you’re going to want facing outwards on your wall}.
Third – while still at the table, run a length of painter’s tape along that edge, adhering half of the tape’s width to the contact paper and leaving the other half to adhere to your wall.
Fourth – stick the contact paper up onto the wall, keeping it as straight and flat as possible and then gently peel off the paper backing.
Now if you’re going to do a GIANT sticky collage wall using two strips of contact paper like we did, prep the second strip of contact paper the same way – the only difference is that the taped edge is going to be the bottom side of the collage wall. Then, holding the non-taped edge of the contact paper strip {paper backing still on of course}, place it onto the first piece of contact paper so they’re overlapped a couple of inches. I sort of pat it into place to make sure they’re stuck together well before gently tugging downwards and adhering that bottom strip of tape onto the wall. The goal is to have it as flat as possible, I never seem to get mine *perfectly* flat and it really doesn’t matter.
Last step – add painter’s tape {CAN} along each vertical side to complete your sticky canvas.
Now for the fun part… Collecting your loose parts! Basically anything goes here – no need to buy anything new unless you truly have a house free of any little junky bits / craft supplies. Most all of our stuff comes from our craft drawers, but also look in your junk drawer. Things like bits of string, twist ties, bread ties, and scraps of packaging work well! You can also cut pictures out of your weekly flyers – they’re basically like stickers when paired with a sticky collage wall and bonus: get the kiddos to cut out their favourites for some added scissor practice!
Here’s what I originally set out with our giant sticky collage:
Then with the giant sticky collage wall set up and the loose parts collected, I left it for Sam to discover after his nap. {Of course there’s really no missing something of this size!}
He stuck up a couple of little parts {talk about an awesome fine motor skill workout} and was pleased as punch about the whole thing.
We had to run off to grab Miss G from school {yup, with Sam in robot jammies}, but as soon as we returned home, it was back to the sticky wall.
He was soooo excited to show his big sis!
What I love about open-ended invitations like this one is that kids always seem to add their own spin on them given some time and space. And honestly, most of the time their ideas are better than mine! After Sam had lost interest and moved onto something else, Miss G asked to bring out our giant ball of multi-coloured yarn and I just think it was such a neat idea.
Now here’s my secret to making the interest for invitations to play or create like this one last as long as possible… Add a few new things each day or two! So in this case, I’d make sure the landing was tidy (I’ve totally noticed that my kids don’t gravitate to spaces that are scattered and a mess), then I’d add a few new things into the loose parts tray to keep interest high.
While Brad isn’t the type to whip up something crafty with the kids for Mother’s Day, writing for CBC Parents means that Miss G and I often get to create fun gift ideas to share on their site and of course – I directly benefit. ;)
In the past we’ve made an ‘I love you’ pillowcase (the sweetest, simplest thing) and a family portrait mug for Father’s Day, and this little ‘I love you’ teacup gift sort of combines the two.
It’s soooo easy that I’m hoping even those who consider themselves not at all crafty will give it a shot with their kiddos. The best part? {And this isn’t really usual advice from me, but} if you shop at a big box grocery store, pretty much everything you need should be there!
Oh my goodness… Sam had such a fantastic time in his little bath tub art studio this afternoon. If you’ve ever wondered how to paint with your toddler without creating a total disaster, or if you’ve avoided toddler art projects all together because of the mess they make, this is for you! Not only is the mess contained within the tub, but clean up is a total cinch and it’s never been easier to transition straight into bath time afterwards. Win!
Last fall, Miss G went through a huge ‘inventing’ stage. She loved nothing more than putting random bits and bobs together to create these elaborate structures and objects… It was SO cool to watch her imagination come to life. Since she was constantly rifling through our craft drawers and recycling bins to find what she needed {and often wanted help locating specific things}, I asked her if she’d like to help put together a DIY Inventing Kit – a collection of items that she could have organized and in one spot whenever the urge to invent struck – and of course she did! The result was this awesome kit full of colourful recyclables, materials, and adhesives, plus a couple of inspirational books.
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