It’s hard to believe, but we’re already amidst December, and in our house, December 1st means that all things Christmas are fair game. We’re doing a very low key Christmas this year {like really low key}, but low key doesn’t mean without tradition. Our fun little traditions are much too special anticipated to let go of, so this year we’ll simply pare down a little bit when needed. Like instead of 10 different types of homemade Christmas ornaments, maybe one or two will do…
Tag Archives: glitter
Glittery Bejeweled Mini Pumpkins
This afternoon’s invitation to create was a very simple one… Tons of glitter, jewels, glue, and a few adorable ‘baby boo’ pumpkins.
Princess Play Dough Kit
Today was Miss G’s first birthday party back in Canada and she was thrilled that a) it meant she got to finally see one of the friends she’s missed terribly while away, b) that it was princess-themed and involved art, and c) that it gave us the perfect excuse to create a ‘princessy’ gift.
Celebration Play Dough
Celebration play dough, also known as ‘party play dough’ in our house, is a favourite. I mean really… How can you not love it? It’s super sparkly and shiny, it’s bright and colourful, and it’s soft and squishy. Fun on soooo many levels. So in preparation for the big day tomorrow {how is it already NYE?!}, Miss G and I whipped up a fresh batch this morning.
Glitter Monogram Ornaments
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While Miss G and I were out oohing and ahhing at all of the pretty things in Pottery Barn Kids earlier this week, I spotted some beautiful glitter monogram ornaments that I knew we could easily make at home.
SPARKLY Coloured Pasta for Beading, Crafting, and Sensory Play
During a quick stop to my very favourite grocery store in all of Kuwait, Gracen and I came across ditalini pasta and both immediately saw the potential in its shape. She carefully selected a specific bag from the shelf and tossed it into our cart with gusto {and a giggle}.
Homemade Glitter Glue Paint
This summer, Gracen absolutely fell in love with a set of glittery glue paints that Grandma Charlotte had stashed away for her. They were different than regular glitter glue as you didn’t squeeze them on – they came in little pots that had brushes attached to the insides of the lids {much like nail polish does}. For several days, Grae sat in the shade of a tree and worked on painting a giant fruit box with them, delighted by how beautiful they looked when applied. So when she brought them up in conversation a few days ago, I figured we may as well try making a copy cat version since we didn’t bring them with us to Kuwait. And you know what? They turned out beautifully!
SPARKLY Sidewalk Chalk Paint
I’m not going to lie… We’ve been here in Kuwait for less than two weeks and I’m already going a little crazy. The trouble is, as of now, we don’t have a vehicle. Not because we don’t want one – we’ll be purchasing something as soon as possible – but because we need things like bank accounts and civil identifications before buying, and those things take time to acquire {lots and lots of time}. In a place like Vancouver, you can easily do without. Public transit is easy, as is walking or biking. Sidewalks are plentiful and things like parks and community centres and playgrounds and coffee shops are most often a short distance away. Here, not so much. It’s amazing how much you miss having sidewalks when they’re no longer around… In all fairness, we do have a Starbucks and a small playground within walking distance, but with the current state of our budding neighbourhood, they’re a {very hot} 30 minute walk through deep sand, trash, and construction sites away. Taxiing would be our other option. They’re inexpensive and plentiful, but in a country that doesn’t really do car seats, me lugging our 26 pound seat downstairs, installing it while attempting to supervise Miss G nearby, then lugging it around at our destination isn’t really feasible. And so, we stay at the apartments, making the most of our days inside or down in the courtyard and common play areas for now. It’s a great practice in patience for an always-on-the-go gal like me and it’s definitely pushing me to be creative in coming up with fun and engaging activities using minimal supplies.
Today as we rooted through a box of craft supplies we brought from Canada, Gracen enthusiastically retrieved a 6-pack of glitter pouches and asked if we could use them to make something. Though I’m normally up for a mess in the name of good fun, I didn’t particularly feel like having an apartment full of glitter today (the fact that we don’t yet own a dustpan may have something to do with it), so I quickly thought of something we could do with it outdoors – add it to our go-to homemade sidewalk chalk paint! The recipe is one of our very favourites because of its simplicity and the fact that you really only need two kitchen ingredients and some water to make it, and adding glitter could only make it better, right?
Sparkly Foam Sensory Tray
Do you ever set up an activity that you think will be a total hit and it just kind of flops? Or if it doesn’t flop, it just doesn’t take off the way you thought it would? That was the case with this sensory tray.
After a Sunday morning adventure and a good afternoon nap, we decided to hit the backyard. Brad and I wanted to get some yard work done, so I decided to set up a sensory station for Grae to explore in between searching for rocks, running around, and helping with the yard work.
I kept it very simple and filled a tray with raspberry-scented shaving foam, sprinkled glitter on top of it, and set out a warm bucket of water with a hand towel.
Grae dove in.
She definitely had fun mixing up the different colours of glitter and squishing the foam between her fingers…
And she even thought it was funny that it stuck to her hands at first, but after a while, the fact that she couldn’t properly clean the foam off of her hands and arms, even with the bucket of water and towel, started to bother her.
She decided to gather some sandbox tools and played for a while longer, but the activity never really took off the way I thought it would. In the end, there was a giant tray of semi-played with foam just left there and she was done.
If anything, this was a great way to get messy. ☺
I guess all activities can’t be a total hit, can they?
♥
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Snow Dough {for 4}
I loved this simple variation on the usual cloud dough, and today I simplified it even further for some messy morning sensory play with the cousins. To create some “snow dough” of our own, I simply made our usual cloud/moon dough and dumped in a couple of small bottles of silvery light blue glitter. A fun way to kickstart the New Year, right?
Though I could have added more festive / wintery items (mini evergreen trees, plastic animals, snowman accessories, etc.) to the sensory bin, I just stuck to the usuals this time around… Plastic cups, bowls, spoons, and cookie cutters and the kiddos loved it.
Three of the four munchkins were very eager to join.
Let the fun begin!
The sparkles are hard to see, but if you look closely, you should be able to spot them.
Kinslee digging in.
The fourth monkey just couldn’t resist the fun.
Snow dough toes. ☺
Korbin was a master moulder.
A girl who isn’t afraid to get messy.
Snow dough smoothie, anyone?
Experimenting with snow dough snowmen…
A safer building site.
Snowballs stacked.
Ummm, Grae… What happened to your hair?
Who says the snow dough has to stay in the bin?
Mission accomplished!
This explains things.
Sparkly Snow Dough (we doubled this recipe for a group of 4 children)
- 8 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 cup of baby oil (or other oil)
- 1 small container of white/silver/blue glitter
Mix with your hands or a whisk until ingredients are evenly distributed. Play!
♥
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