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Category Archives: get crafty

Sparkly Heart-Shaped Wands

1 / 31 / 131 / 25 / 14

Sparkly Heart-Shaped Wands | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

In addition to our annual Valentine’s Day tea, Gracen and I have a couple of other Valentine’s parties and classes to attend this year.  And since we don’t do the whole candy thing just yet, it means getting a little bit more creative with the ‘treats’ she hands out.  When I asked her what she’d like to give her friends, she responded with Valentine’s slime (thanks I’m sure to our Halloween version for her ballet class friends) and heart wands (thanks to a Kiwi Crate package we received from our most recent PBK story time).  And because both take a little bit of prep work, we started early…  More time left over to figure out what we’ll bring for the 30+ kiddos in her Strong Start class, right?

These little wands are beautiful and easy to make, and although some may think they’re a little ‘girly’, we believe that hearts and magic are for everyone. ☺

Heart Wand Materials

Here are the materials we used for the project…  Wooden dowels, adhesive glitter foam sheets, acrylic paint, a paint brush, and some ribbon.  The best part is that we picked up all of these things at our local dollar store, so not only were they inexpensive, but we only had to make one stop – always nice with a toddler in tow.

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First off, we started the project by painting our wooden dowels.  Miss G does not always enjoy having her hands covered in paint, so we attached clothespins to the ends of the dowels so she could rotate them as she painted without painting her fingers.  When she declared a dowel done, I went over the stick with a couple of quick strokes in order to smooth out the globs.

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Then, because the tips were not painted where the clothespins were, I was able to stick the dowels into chunks of {gingerbread} play dough to dry upright.

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A couple of days later, when our paint was good and dry (it actually only takes about an hour), we came back to our project.  We started by drawing a heart shape onto a piece of cardboard and cutting it out to use as a tracer.

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Next, using our newly-made tracer, we traced hearts onto the backs of our foam sheets.  Gracen was happy to do the first few, and let me do the others when it came to this job.

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With some strategic placement, we were able to fit 4 hearts onto each of our foam sheets, but of course it depends on the size of your tracer and the size of your foam sheets.

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Next, we cut out the hearts.

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Now to actually assemble a wand, you need two foam hearts, a wooden dowel, and a cute little helper.

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This right here was Grae’s favourite part of the whole project… Peeling the backings off of the hearts!

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With one heart shaped peeled, we placed the sticky side up on our work surface and placed the unfinished end of our dowel in the centre of the heart, up maybe an inch or inch and a half from the bottom.

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Then Grae peeled the backing off of another heart, and we carefully placed it on top of the dowel, making sure to line up the hearts as closely as we could.

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With the heart in a good position, Grae pressed everything together firmly.

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Next up – the ribbon!  We chose 3 colours, looped them in half, and cut them slightly shorter than the length of our exposed dowel .

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Then we stacked them up and tied them onto the dowel at the base of the heart, giving them a little tug to coax them into falling downwards nicely.

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Then, with a different, slightly narrower ribbon, we tied a bow right above the previous ribbon knot…

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And finished off all of the ribbon ends with v snips.

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And there you have it.  Sparkly heart-shaped wands for Miss G’s little friends.

♥

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Valentine’s Creative Table

1 / 24 / 131 / 11 / 14

One of the things I’ve been doing to encourage independent play {and creativity} in recent months is keeping a fun, inviting, and well-stocked ‘creative table’ for Gracen.  All it is is her little table (or sometimes a tray or even the floor) with an assortment of materials available for her free use.  Sometimes it’s paper and glue and embellishments (like in our Christmas tree creative table), sometimes it’s play dough and cookie cutters and decorations, and sometimes it’s a tray of baking soda with droppers and dishes of different coloured vinegars.   Naturally, some creative table set-ups are more open-ended and some lend themselves more to a finished product, but either way, the purpose is for Gracen to explore materials, experiment, and create freely while enjoying the process.

Valentine's Creative Table | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Today, Miss G and I did a little bit of shopping for this year’s Valentine’s Day projects (yes, we’re thinking about it already), and though I intended on holding off on a Valentine’s themed creative table for a while yet, my little lady popped up from her afternoon nap and her first words were, “I want to craft now.  Grae Grae gets her new craft things!”  And that was that.  A Valentine’s creative table it was.

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Together we gathered up all sorts of pink and red craft supplies…  Smelly markers, sparkly foam shapes, bingo dabbers, stamps and a stamp pad, doilies, construction paper hearts, and some glue.

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As she does with most creative projects, Grae dove right in.

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The immediate favourite?  The foam stickers.  She plower through the initial stash and asked for more right away.

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Throughout the afternoon and evening, she came and went as she pleased, adding to her pieces as she wished.

Here are a few of the pieces she declared ‘finished’…

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While it won’t be around until the big day (I try to change up our creative table supplies every 4 to 7 days or so), there’s no doubt it will be enjoyed, added to, and revisited for several days to come.

♥

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Felt Board Name Game & My Favourite Fonts

12 / 21 / 123 / 22 / 14

One of Grae’s favourite quiet indoor activities is playing with her felt board.  It’s a good thing, because I love making new felt board games for her just as much as she loves playing with them.  This is a super simple “game” that takes no time and very little skill to make, and is perfect for munchkins who are interested in letters or ready to begin learning to spell their names.

But before I begin, a few questions I’ve been asked about felt boards recently…

Where can I buy a felt board?

You can buy them at almost any teaching supply store (and even some toy stores that carry educational games), but it is very, VERY simple to create one on your own using a large sheet of felt (purchased at a craft or fabric store), a frame with with glass removed, and some glue.  Making your own also means that you get to choose your size, felt colour, and frame colour, plus it’s a really inexpensive project – win!  Here is a simple tutorial on how I made Miss G’s.

Dumb question, but do the felt pieces just stick onto the felt board without glue or velcro or anything else?

Yes!  The beauty of a felt board is that felt sticks to felt, making felt board games good for hours of interactive fun.  No glue, tape, or velcro needed. ☺

What kind of felt do you use for your projects?  Is the cheap stuff found at dollar stores okay?

For felt board games, the inexpensive stuff made of recycled bottles is perfect.  It costs about 30 cents per sheet, comes in tons of different colours, and can be purchased from dollar stores and craft stores.

Do you cut out every shape freehand or do you have a website where you print out shapes to trace onto the felt for cutting?  

To be honest, I cut out many of the shapes freehand just because for me, it’s easier than finding a template online, printing it off, and using it as a cutting guideline.  That being said, if I’m creating something more complex, I sometimes draw on the backside of the felt (the slightly shinier side) with chalk (it’s easy to wipe off afterwards) before cutting.  For letters, I always print them off using a word processing program first and use them as a guide (as I did for the name game below) because I find them trickier.  If you’re not a super drawer/cutter, you can always use Google images, search for your desired shapes, print them off, and use them to make the cutting process easier.

 

Okay, so here’s how I made Grae’s new name game…

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First off, I gathered the materials…  Some felt, straight pins, scissors (smaller sharp ones work best for felt), and the letters of her name printed in 300 point Illuminate font.  (See some of my other favourite fonts below.)

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Next, I quickly cut out around the letters, getting rid of the extra paper.

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With the letters prepared, I pinned them onto my felt pieces using a single pin per letter.  (Pinning right on the letter as seen in the case of the ‘r’ and the ‘e’ makes life easier… do it that way instead of pinning in the centres of the letters.)

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Next, using my small, sharp scissors, I cut the letters out, cutting through both the paper and the felt at once.

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The last step involves taking the pins out and removing the paper.

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Voila! Easy felt letters.  Now it’s time to play.

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Depending on the age and interest level of your child, you could add in the letters for their middle and last names, or cut out all of the letters of the alphabet, allowing them to experiment with making other words too.

To see more easy to make at home felt board activities, click  here.

 

Another thing I’ve been asked about a lot lately is about the fonts I use regularly here on Mama.Papa.Bubba., so I’ve put together a little collection of some of my current favourites, including Illuminate, the one I used for this project.  All of them are free and Mac-friendly.  Simply click on the links below to download them.

Font LoveMy Own Topher // Penna

SPRINGTIME // MARI & DAVID

appleberry // LoveLove

Aria Penci Roman // geeker

Matilde // SIMON SCRIPT

Janda Safe and Sound

Illuminate // Girth Control

arsenale white // HEAVY WEIGHT

MARKUS INK // RETURN TO SENDER

Elsie Tall n Skinny

Lavanderia // ANTELOPE

♥

 

5 Comments

Puzzle Piece Wreath Ornament

12 / 16 / 1212 / 19 / 12

Puzzle Piece Wreath OrnamentNot too long ago, Miss G ‘s advent calendar pouch included jigsaw puzzle pieces and the instructions required to make a snowflake ornament.  Gracen really enjoyed the project and loves her sparkly snowflake hanging on the tree, so she was excited to find more puzzle pieces and a note saying that they could be used to make a wreath ornament today.

IMG 3586This time, we started with an ‘O’ shaped cardboard base.  Gracen glued her puzzle pieces (this time using just regular white glue) onto the cardboard doughnut, overlapping them as she went along.

IMG 3589When the ‘O’ was covered to her liking, we set it aside to dry for a while.

IMG 3592Later in the day, she came back and painted the puzzle piece wreath all green.  She quickly discovered that dabbing the paint on gave much better coverage than brushing it on, so she went with that method.

IMG 3599When she was done painting, we let the wreath dry again.

IMG 3601Next came the really fun part – decorations!  She chose magenta sequins as holly berries, but you could easily use buttons, mini pompoms, foam circles, or dot stickers too.  Just add some dots of glue to the wreath and pop your decorations on.

IMG 3697The last step was adding a little ribbon bow I’d quickly made for her… Regular white glue worked just fine for this job too.

Later on in the evening, once the frontside was dry, I flipped it over and added a ribbon loop using my glue gun (I had it out already – you could just as easily use white glue or craft glue) and the pretty little ornament was ready for hanging.

♥

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Christmas Nature Wreath

12 / 11 / 1212 / 11 / 12

Christmas Nature WreathFor the last few days, Gracen’s been working on these sweet little nature wreaths at her creative table.

IMG 3425It started out as a very simple painting station with a few cardboard o’s and some paint in different shades of green.

IMG 3433When the paint was dry, I added a few other things into the mix…  Glue, mini pinecones, bits of evergreen tree, and dried out red berries from her autumn nature shelf.

IMG 3435Though this creative table set-up didn’t take off quite like the paper christmas tree one did, it’s been something that she’s come back to each day.  She’ll spend a little bit of time adding to one of her wreaths, move onto something else, and come back another time.

IMG 3437IMG 3439This morning, after walking past the wreath on our door, she asked if she could have some bows for her wreaths, so I brought out my glue gun, cut up some ribbon, and added a few to the table.

IMG 3441After adding her bow, she put on the finishing touches…

IMG 3454And voila!  A beautiful little Christmas wreath made of things {mostly} found outdoors.

♥

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Christmas Tree Decorating Creative Table

12 / 6 / 1211 / 22 / 13

As much as I’d love to have an entire room dedicated to play and discovery, our little two bedroom house simply doesn’t have the space.  So instead of an actual playroom, we’ve taken various playroom elements and created play spaces around the house so that Gracen always has plenty of opportunities to create, explore, and play.  If you were to visit our house, you’d most likely see some sort of sensory tray or bin happening in our kitchen, an easel and art supplies in our dining area, a felt board station, creative table, and toy area in the living room, and a nature shelf, dress-up corner, and book nook in Gracen’s room.  This set up works really well for us and the nice part is that if I’m making dinner or folding a load of laundry or doing some sort of other job, Gracen always has the choice of doing a project or activity of her own in the same room.

One of the areas Gracen’s especially taken interest in lately is her creative table.  All it is a regular kid-sized table and chair set, but the fun part is that new creating materials find their way onto the table every few days.  Some days the materials are really simple (something like card stock, stickers, and crayons, or paper, stamps, and ink pads), and other days the materials are a little more exciting (sparkly pipe cleaners and shiny pony beads, or chocolate play dough, gingerbread man-shaped cookie cutters, and buttons).  I almost always put out new materials while Miss G’s asleep, and I leave them for her to discover on her own.  Though I don’t actively encourage her to engage in the activities at her creative table (they’re more of an ongoing invitation to create), she almost always squeals in delight upon finding something new and gets creating right away.

Christmas Tree Decorating Creative Table | Mama.Papa.Bubba.This invitation to decorate paper Christmas trees was a HUGE hit today.  So much so that she ended up creating seven different trees and took her time with each, creating seven unique masterpieces.

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Puzzle Piece Snowflake Ornament

12 / 5 / 1212 / 7 / 12

Puzzle Piece Snowflake OrnamentToday, Gracen’s advent calendar pouch included a handful of jigsaw puzzle pieces (from Urban Source) and a handwritten note telling her that they could be used to make a snowflake ornament (I originally found the idea here). She of course was ready to begin the project the very instant she opened it.

IMG 3261While puzzle pieces are the main material, a few other things are needed to make this pretty little ornament… Glue of some sort (craft glue or hot glue would probably work best), some white crafter’s acrylic and a paintbrush, a scrap of cardboard or card stock cut into a circle, a small piece of ribbon or string to hang the ornament from, and some glitter (completely optional, but not in Miss G’s opinion).

IMG 3262To get started, glued 3 puzzle pieces onto our cardboard circle, evenly spaced like this.

IMG 3269During the process, we quickly realized that pieces shaped similarly to this one were going to work the best, so we dug those out and put the others aside.

IMG 3264Next, we added 3 more puzzle pieces.  We tried to place them on top of the original 3 as the instructions say to do, but when it didn’t work out very well for us, we slid the original 3 out closer to the edges, and added the next 3 onto the edges of the cardboard circle too.  It worked out perfectly and was much easier for Gracen to do.

IMG 3271When our snowflake was completely dry about an hour later, Gracen gave it a good once over with white paint.

IMG 3272While the paint was still wet, she did the job I think she looks forward to most when crafting…. She sprinkled on a very generous amount of sparkles over the entire thing.

IMG 3283Later in the evening when her snowflake was dry, I hot glued a little loop of ribbon onto the back, and voila – a new handmade ornament to add to our tree.

♥

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Christmas Tree Felt Board

12 / 3 / 123 / 22 / 14

Last year, Miss G had her own wall-hung Christmas tree to made of felt.  I won’t go into the grossness that is the fact that our garage is home to mice (or the fact that her little tree wasn’t properly packed away), but needless to say, the tree is no longer.

Felt Board

Since Grae’s really been enjoying her felt board games lately, and since I have other plans for the little chunk of wall that held last year’s tree, I decided to make her a smaller Christmas tree felt board set this time around.

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All it took was a big sheet of green felt (available in craft stores) cut free hand in the shape of a tree, a brown felt stump attached to the base of the tree with fabric glue (hot glue or craft glue would work just fine too), some ornaments cut from bright coloured felt, and a yellow star to top the tree.

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And since Grae had a really nice long nap and I had finished all of the other pieces, I decided to cut out a couple of presents for her to place under the tree too.

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Now she has a {new} little tree that can decorate again and again all by herself, regardless of the time of year.

See our other felt board ideas, as well as a tutorial on how to make your own easy felt board here.

♥

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4 Comments

Simple Paper Chain

11 / 30 / 1212 / 6 / 12

IMG 3080This evening, Miss G and I put together something I loved making as a child… a simple paper chain.  We started with some paper scraps I had left over from a Christmas bunting and used a paper cutter to trim them into neat strips.

IMG 3087Miss G then chose her “special starting paper”, loaded one end with several swipes of a glue stick… 

IMG 3082And I helped her roll it up and she pinched it tightly while counting to ten.

IMG 3084IMG 3085Together, we added ring after ring…

IMG 3089Until we had this sweet little holiday-themed paper chain.  I’m not sure what we’ll do with it yet… In my classrooms, I’ve always used them as a countdown tracker of sorts, snipping off one link until the big day, but I’m not sure that Grae is going to want to cut apart the creation she’s so proud of.  It may just be a sweet little addition to the holiday decor we’ve slowly been adding around our house.

♥

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A Yearly Tradition: Handcrafted Christmas Ornaments

11 / 27 / 129 / 22 / 13

I know I’ve said it before, but becoming a mama has given me an overwhelming urge to create special traditions with our little family of three.  Things that we look forward to each year…  Memories Gracen will hold onto for a lifetime.  The holidays are extra special when looked at through the eyes of your child, aren’t they?

Looking back on my own childhood, the holidays were filled with special traditions I still remember vividly now as an adult.  Trudging through the snow out at Imperial Oil (where my Dad worked) in the freezing cold and selecting the perfect tree to cut down and take home…  Having a special evening dedicated to decorating the tree together…  Visiting ALL of my grandparents’ houses over the course of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day… Staying up as late as we wanted on Christmas Eve with our cousins…  It all seemed so magical. The thing is, the times I remember most have nothing to do with wish lists, Santa visits, or presents received.  All of the memories that stick out in my mind are about doing things as a family…  Just us spending time together.

And that’s my hope for Gracen when it comes to the holidays…  That she’ll come to cherish the time we spent doing things together more that any of the material indulgence that inevitably comes with Christmas.

Handcrafted Christmas Ornaments

This past weekend, we carried on a tradition that we began last year… An afternoon filled with holiday music and handcrafted ornaments. The hope is that one day we’ll have a giant tree filled with beautifully mismatched homemade ornaments that mean more to us than store bought ones ever could.

Here are this year’s additions…

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First up are some very simple, but very beautiful beaded candy cane ornaments.

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To make these, we used sparkly pipe cleaners cut in half and colourful iridescent pony beads Miss G selected at the store herself.

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To get started, I simply folded over one end of the pipe cleaner to create a little nub to hold the beads on, and Grae began adding beads.

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The wonderful thing about making these ornaments is that little ones get to sneak in a ton of fine motor skill practice while making them.

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Once the pipe cleaner is nearly full, just flip over the open end to create a nub on the opposite side.

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Then gently bend your beaded pipe cleaner to form a candy cane shape. (This is the one that Gracen made – start to finish – by herself).

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Next, we did a remake of an ornament we made last year… A glass bulb decorated with a family of thumbprint reindeer. To make this one, select a solid-coloured glass bulb (one with a matte finish will photograph much better – duh!), then cover your thumb with a thick layer of brown crafter’s acrylic.

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Carefully press your thumb onto the glass ball.

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Hang your ball somewhere or carefully set it on a small cup and allow it to dry completely.

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Once dry, use red crafter’s acrylic to add noses and a black paint pen or Sharpie to add eyes and antlers. Easy peasy!

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The last batch of ornaments we made were out of cinnamon dough (2 cups of applesauce, 3 cups of cinnamon, 2 tablespoons of nutmeg, and 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla mixed like mad by hand ).  With these ones, we used extra cinnamon to prevent sticking, assorted cookie cutters, stamps, straws to create ribbon holes, a rolling pin, and parchment paper.

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This dough was quite tough and much easier to work with than last weekend’s baking soda clay.

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It could easily be rolled, handled, and stamped without sticking at all, which was nice.

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On the downside, handprints and thumbprints were out of the question.  The dough just simply didn’t have enough give to it.

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Once we’d filled our baking sheet, we popped the ornaments into the oven on the lowest setting and let them stay in there for several hours, flipping them once and a while.

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I wish I could somehow bottle the smell of our house while they baked and share it with you all here… It was divine.

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Before going to bed, I turned off the oven and let the ornaments sit in there overnight, just like I did with the baking soda clay ones.

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When we awoke, they were fully dry and hard as a rock, but still smelled delicious.  (These are a few of the ones G made all by herself).  We added small loops of baker’s twine, and voila – they’re ready for hanging.

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And how sweet is this little initial bunting Bradley made for Gracen?

Now we just have to get a tree so that we’ll have somewhere to hang all of these beautiful new ornaments.

♥

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I am so thrilled to be sharing this family tradition as a part of ‘12 Days of Christmas Traditions with Vancouver’s Top Mommy Bloggers‘.  If you haven’t already, please pop over to JulieNowell.com to read her post about carrying out traditions in a new home, and be sure to pop over to The Write Mama tomorrow to read all about Lori’s Christmas Village tradition.  Enjoy!
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Baking Soda Clay Ornaments

11 / 20 / 1211 / 5 / 13

My personal rule?  All things Christmas wait until December 1st.  Well, besides crafting or purchasing the odd little gift here and thereI guess…

This year though, I’ve broken my own rule. I’m not sure how it happened, but we were looking for a fun afternoon activity and somehow I ended up whipping up a batch of baking soda clay without giving any thought to the fact that it’s still November. Oops…  It’s okay, though.  We started the tradition of making special handcrafted ornaments together as a family last year, and I already have {more than a} few new types in mind for this year, so we’ll just call this our practice round…

Baking Soda Clay Christmas Ornaments

I’ve always been a fan of salt dough ornaments.  The dough is easy and inexpensive to make, it’s really easy to work with, and you can shape and mould it almost any way you like.  The only downside to salt dough, however, is that it loses some of its appeal when it dries out.  Last year we made several different salt dough ornaments, and though they are special because they are handmade, they did crack / puff up / brown a little bit during the drying process.  So when I started seeing baking soda clay pop up all over Pinterest just after Christmas last year, I knew we’d have to baking soda clay ornaments a shot during our next round.

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The dough itself is very easy to make.  It involves just three ingredients (baking soda, cornstarch, and water) and a little heat, and before you know it, it’s done.  I followed this recipe almost exactly, but added about a tablespoon more cornstarch.  The result is this amazingly soft, smooth, bright white dough that feels silky in your hands.

UPDATE:  The recipe link we used for this project no longer exists…  Here is a similar baking soda clay recipe. 

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Once the dough was made and was cooling, I collected a few things from around the house to use to create shapes.  Cookie cutters were the obvious first choice, but mason jar lids, the rims of glasses, and butter knives all work well for the job too.

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Next, I gathered some materials to make impressions in the dough.  After a visit raiding Gracen’s stamp collection and nature shelf, this is what I had.

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I also got out a rolling pin, some kitchen scissors (for freehand shapes), some straw pieces (for creating holes to tie twine through), and some extra corn starch to prevent the dough from sticking to everything.

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We got started by giving Gracen a chunk of the dough to just play with and explore at first, but of course she requested a cookie cutter and stamp and was right down to business.  That’s just her style.

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Now anywhere you read about baking soda dough, the instructions will clearly advise to leave the dough sit until completely cool, but we were too impatient for that.  As a result, our dough was still a tad bit warm and sticky, which made it a little bit tricky to work with.  My advice? Wait until it’s completely cool.  Lesson learned.

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What we found worked really well, even with our warm sticky dough, was using the bottom of a flat dish or glass to flatten the dough, rather than using the rolling pin.  The rolling pin was just too sticky for our dough, but the dish bottoms worked perfectly.

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As far as making the impressions went, we found that lightly dusting the stamp or object with cornstarch first, then pressing it into the dough and removing it slowly turned out great results.

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The same technique worked best with the cookie cutters too – dust cookie cutter with cornstarch, then push the dough out of the cookie cutter gently and slowly.

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When we’d used up every last bit of dough, I popped the ornaments onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and put it into a just-warm oven to dry out.  We left them in there for several hours, flipping them every now and again, and before going to bed, I turned off the heat and left them sit in oven overnight.

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The next day, we got out our paintbrushes and acrylic paints, and painted away.

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These are some of my very favourite ornaments that Grae made.  She pressed the dough, cut the shapes, and decorated them all by herself.

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This little reindeer family was made by making 3 small balls, flattening them down with the bottom of a cornstarched bowl, and then pressing our thumbs into the middles.  I cheated a little bit and used a Sharpie for the antlers and names, because well, we all know how they would have turned out had I used paint…

IMG 2522This heart ornament also started as a flattened ball, and then I used a cookie cutter to push just part of the way through to the dough to make the heart shape.

Once our paint was dry, we added some string to hang them from.  Ribbon or jute would be pretty, but I have a thing for baker’s twine currently, so we went with that.  Here are some of our finished ornaments…

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Aren’t they pretty?

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And because our yearly ornament making tradition is bound to leave us with heaps of special, handcrafted tree decorations one day, we added the year onto each.

♥

Though we didn’t do it this time around, giving the ornaments a light coat of Mod Podge or spray-on sealant make protect them and help them last longer.

40 Comments

Cookie Cutter Bird Seed Feeders {A Toddler-Friendly Method}

11 / 14 / 1211 / 15 / 12

I must admit, I’ve seen many recipes like this one from Under the Sycamore floating around the internet, and I’ve been skeptical. Very skeptical, in fact.  I guess I was envisioning some sort of jello-y bird seedy concoction and I just couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that a hunk of seedy gelatine could last more than a few minutes (especially in the summertime) when tied to a string and hung from a tree.

But when Gracen woke up from her nap today and immediately announced “All done sleeping!  Nice nap.  Grae Grae wants to MAKE some ping!”, then suggested bird feeders, I decided we’d give it a shot.  I had two goals in mind – first, seeing if gelatine +  bird seed really does equal cool bird feeders, and second, figuring out a way of making them without having to have Grae stand at a hot stove to stir a pot of water.  
 

Cookie Cutter Bird Seed FeedersI’m happy to say, our experiment was a success.  Not only do we have trees sprinkled with pretty bird feeders (thus some very happy birds), but Gracen was able to do almost all of the steps on her own at our butcher block and there was no stove required.

IngredientsHere’s what we used for the project… Bird seed, gelatine, boiling water, straws cut into 2 inch pieces, some baker’s twine, and some cookie cutters and pancake moulds.

IMG 2276We started off by emptying two packets (not boxes – the above photo is misleading) of plain gelatine into a very large mixing bowl.

IMG 2277Then I carefully poured in a little bit of boiling water (this is one of the only jobs I did for the project).

IMG 2282Gracen then stirred the mixture very gently until all of the gelatine was dissolved.

IMG 2284Next, we measured out our bird seed.  We used a “wild bird” variety, but I think pretty much any type would work as long as the seeds and bits are not too big – I think a finer blend works best in this case.

IMG 2286Then Grae poured the bird seed into our gelatine/water mixture.

IMG 2292We stirred it for a few minutes, making sure that all of the seeds were evenly coated and that there was no longer excess water at the bottom of the bowl.

IMG 2294Next, we covered a tray in parchment paper and laid out our cookie cutters and moulds.

IMG 2295Using a teaspoon, Grae filled each cookie cutter with seed, one by one.

Here she is hard at work…

IMG 2299You want to make sure that they’re a little bit overfull, so be generous with the seed.  (This recipe made these five feeders, plus a large bird seed “cupcake” too).

IMG 2305Because the mixture gets really sticky, we covered the cookie cutters with a layer of parchment and Grae pressed the seeds down into the moulds.

IMG 2306You want to make sure the seeds are packed very tightly – it’s part of what makes the feeders stay together well.

IMG 2309Next, we took our straws and carefully inserted them into the cookie cutters, making sure to not place them too close to the edges.  Once the straws were in the seed, we pressed the seeds down around them to make sure everything stayed tight.

IMG 2314Next, we popped the entire tray into the fridge and let them set for a couple of hours before taking them out and letting them dry out on the counter.  We left them for most of the evening, and before I went to bed for the night, I flipped them over so that the bottoms could dry out too. (It’s a bit awkward to flip them with the straw sticking out the way it is, but you could trim the straw if you liked.)

IMG 2319The next morning, we gently popped the shapes out of their moulds.

IMG 2321Then we plucked out the straws and made sure that the holes were clear all the way through.

IMG 2323For the last step, we took some baker’s twine (ribbon or jute would be perfect too), put it through the holes, and knotted the tops.  Voila!  Pretty little feeders for the hungry birds in our yard.

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Cookie Cutter Bird Seed Feeders (a toddler-friendly method)

Adapted very slightly from this recipe

  • 2/3 cup of boiling water
  • 2 packets of gelatine (a box has 4)
  • 2 cups of bird seed 
  • parchment or wax paper
  • cookie cutters or silicone moulds
  • straws cut into 2 inch pieces

Pour the water into a very large mixing bowl.  Add two packages of gelatine and stir until it’s fully dissolved.  Add the bird seed and mix well until everything is evenly coated.

Place cookie cutters/moulds onto a parchment-lined tray and scoop seed mixture in until heaping full.  Place another piece of parchment on top of the cookie cutters and press down firmly to pack in all of the seeds.  Remove the top parchment layer and gently poke straw pieces all the way through the seed shapes (be sure not to put them too close to the edges).  Pop the tray into the fridge for a couple of hours to allow the feeders to set.

Later on, remove the tray from the fridge and let sit on the counter to dry out.  Flip the cookie cutters over a few hours later to let the bottoms dry out too.  Let sit for at least 3 – 4 more hours (overnight is best) until the feeders are completely dry.

Gently remove the seed shapes from the moulds (they should be fully dry and hard to the touch at this point – if not, allow to dry longer).  Carefully remove the straws and tie a twine loop through the holes.  Hang in a tree. 

 

♥

 
62 Comments

Winter Mason Jar Lanterns

11 / 12 / 1211 / 12 / 13

What do you do when it’s {long past the} time to pack away the Halloween things for the year, but your toddler has developed a particular affection for the battery operated votives that previous lit her jack-o-lantern?

Winter Mason Jar Lanterns

Create a new use for them of course! Er, at least that’s what we did…

IMG 2129

Here’s what we used… Mod Podge (regular white glue watered down with water works just as well), a jar, some tissue paper squares (we bought ours pre-cut, but you could just as easily cut or rip up large pieces), glitter, a pipe cleaner (perhaps 2), and a foam brush.

IMG 2131

Grae started by painting part of her jar with Mod Podge.

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Then she carefully placed tissue paper squares into the glue.

IMG 2136

She continued adding Mod Podge and squares until the entire jar was covered. I actually couldn’t believe how into this process she was.  She took the job very seriously and did every last bit on her own.

IMG 2139

Once she was done covering the jar, I gave it a gentle once over with Mod Podge to smooth everything down.  While the jar was still wet, Gracen sprinkled a light layer of glitter over the entire thing.

IMG 2141

Then we placed it right side down on some parchment paper and let it dry.

IMG 2146
IMG 2150Once it was dry, Grae used some clear glue and sequins to give the lantern a little bit more sparkle.

IMG 2161Then we let it dry again.

IMG 2162

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Afterwards, we used our pipe cleaners to create a handle for the lantern.
IMG 2168
And that was it.  A new place for G’s beloved votives to call home. ☺
♥
7 Comments

A Poppy for Grae: A Remembrance Day Poppy Hack for Kids

11 / 10 / 1211 / 2 / 15

Remembrance Day Poppy Hack for Kids | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

I’ve always thought that children should be encouraged to wear poppies just as proudly as adults do come November, but let’s face it – they’re just not that kid-friendly.  The straight pin is just too pokey (and sometimes just downright dangerous), and inevitably, they fall off within a half hour of being put on and get lost.

So while I taught at a school that encouraged all children, including my 2 full classes of Kindergarteners, to wear a poppy on the day of our Remembrance Day assembly, I had to figure out a better way.  Some teachers  wrapped scotch tape around the bottom of the pins, and I briefly experimented with replacing the straight pins with safety pins, but helping 40+ five year olds with either on an already busy day was just too much.  I needed something I could put together in advance and the kids could put on themselves… And that’s when I figured out this simple Remembrance Day poppy hack.

This morning, using my magnet method, I modified a poppy for Gracen to wear throughout the weekend.

IMG 2078

Here’s what you need… A poppy, two small identical magnets (the stronger the better), a tiny embellishment of some sort (sequin, bead, pearl, button, etc.), and some glue (preferably something that will bond well to the slightly plasticky back side of the poppy… Hot glue can be used in a pinch, but a good craft glue will adhere better).

IMG 2079

First, take apart the poppy.

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Then, using just a tiny bit of glue, stick your embellishment onto the black centre piece of the flower.

IMG 2088

Now, using a tad bit more glue, glue the black centre onto the main part of the poppy.

IMG 2090

Depending on the type of glue you’re using, you may have to let the front side of the flower dry before flipping it over.  Once it’s dry, adhere one of your magnets onto the backside of the poppy with a generous amount of glue and allow it to dry completely.

IMG 2096

IMG 2098

When your little one is ready to wear the poppy, simply slide the second magnet  inside their shirt and place the flower on top. (Attaching the poppy to a shirt pocket or collar works well too.)

IMG 2110

If your magnets are of good quality, the poppy should stay securely attached to your little one’s jacket without a problem also.

IMG 2099

Of course this method is not suitable for young children who still put random objects in their mouths, but it’s perfect for older children and those who are completely done with the mouth stage.  As with all toys and accessories, supervision is key.

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11 Comments

Painted Polka-Dotted Pumpkin

10 / 30 / 1211 / 1 / 12

Last year, we all carved our pumpkins together.  And though Gracen had a blast scooping out pumpkin guck, sorting seeds, and watching the carving action, she didn’t really get to take part in decorating her own pumpkin.

So this year, we decided to switch it up a little.  Brad and I still carved our pumpkins, but in order to let Gracen be fully in charge of decorating her very own garden-grown pumpkin, we set her up a little pumpkin painting station.

IMG 1237IMG 1242IMG 1244With a handful of brushes and little containers of purple, green, orange, black, and glow-in-the-dark acrylic paint, Grae got busy beautifying her pumpkin.

IMG 1252IMG 1257It was  the best of both worlds, because not only did she get to decorate her pumpkin, but she also got to help us do all of the fun messy parts of carving ours.

IMG 1269After having her fill of icky gunk scooping, it was back to pumpkin painting. She covered  the entire thing in a thick layer of paint and then we let it dry overnight.

IMG 1525The next day, we used a little trick I learned years and years ago and cut a hole in the bottom of the pumpkin (no need to mess with trying to get a lit candle in through the top – you simply set your candle down on a surface and place the pumpkin on top).  Together, we scooped the insides out and used our apple corer to polka dot the pumpkin’s surface (which worked brilliantly, btw).  

IMG 1533Gracen loves it.  It glows just like Mama and Papa’s jack-o-lanterns do, and we were able to preserve almost all of her painting masterpiece.

♥

4 Comments

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