Just Add Stickers

  Well, I missed posting in the month of May. Since returning to blogging a year ago I have given myself the goal of posting twice a month I didn't get to it last month but we have been crafting and I have some fun new ideas to share! First I want to announce a new adventure I am embarking on with my sister, we have written a book and it will  be available in paperback, kindle and even audiobook at the end of the summer! For years my sister and I have been writing fairy stories together. We were inspired by the stories our Grandmother told us while we were growing up. Together we have created characters we really love who go on fun adventures and clean up the environment along the way. I am so excited that we will finally be able to share our stories with everyone! 

We celebrated April, the month of the military child, by creating our own dandelion art. The Dandelion is the flower of the military child because they are both resilient, putting down roots and bloom wherever the wind takes them.  Material: Canvas (I used flat canvases in wood frames) Paint & brushes We to do: Start by painting your canvas a base color, or leave it white. I chose blue, little man chose dark purple and little miss started out chosing wgite but added a lot of purple. Paint a stem and leaves in black, add grass and leaves along with any other details.  There are different ways to paint the dandelion fluff, we used both, finger painting and the back of the brush. Little Miss preferred finger painting while Little Man used the back of the brush. I used the back of the paint brush and painted my dandelions in the shape of hearts. When using the back of the brush, dip the brush handle in paint, place the brush on the canvas away from the flower stem and drag the...

I love crafting (obviously) and I love it even more when I don't have to buy supplies just use what J have on hand, or reuse material that was headed for the recycling. Little man will often sort through the recycling bins when he wants to create something.  This is a fun little craft I came up with and it is easily recyclable when you're done playing with it. We made it for Little People but it works for any action figures. What you need: Egg cartons Black paper Paint, paint brushes and markers Glue stick What you do: Cut the egg carton into 'cars,' two egg cups attached, one for a driver's seat and one for a back seat. You can make a four passenger car or a school bus by leaving more egg cups attached together. Choose the color of your car, paint it and add any designs or race stripes. While the car is drying, cut 5 circle out of the black paper. Decorate the wheels and steering wheel with white paint or a light color marker, I used a silver Sharpee.  Once the car...

This year our March Break was pushed until April because of the pandemic. We were still dealing with lockdowns and not able to purchase no  essential items in store. Our local library put together a great grab bag of crafts for the kids. I picked up 2 and added my own crafts and activities and so was born the great craft marathon of 2020.  The library pack included: perler beads and a tray to make flowers, felt and stuffing to sew a donut guy and canvas and paint to make a colour wheel.  I added: a sketch book and markers, a pack of crayons and canvas to make a melting crayon picture a Lego activity book and royal puppets. I put all the activities in 2 large paper bags and let them close their eyes, reach in pick out one activity a day. It gave us lots of activities to do, lots of time to spend together. It was a crafting marathon lots of glue gun glue and paint was used, it was definitely the most crafts I've done in one week! Happy crafting! 

Our mega 'the floor is lava' obstacle course This past Family Day I decided to try having our very own Yes Day. The idea came from the book and the recently released Jennifer Garner movie of the same name. During this time where everything is uncertain and the kids don't have much control over anything, they are doing so well at rolling with the punches.  I thought this would be a good way for them to have some control and let us do something different as a family.  In preparation for Yes Day we came up with the idea of having two Yes Days back to back. The first Yes Day was the parents Yes Day! Everything we asked them to do, they had to say Yes! No, but Mom, no just a sec, no I'll do it later, just yes! It was a good day. When we first mentioned the parents yes day little man said "we have to have some ground rules!" We set up some ground rules for both Yes Days beforehand. Parents Yes Day Ground Rules: Not a whole day of chores Kids Yes Day Ground Rules: Ti...

If you're looking for something to keep the kids occupied for an afternoon, try making this picture frame puppet theatre and puppets. Have the kids decide on a story, maybe their favorite movie, book or video game. Start by making the puppet theatre using a blank picture frame that you can find in any craft section. You can make a neutral background, green grass and blue sky, or add details specific to your story as my son did. Little man chose the notebook of doom as his inspiration. Little Miss chose purple for her background because it's her favorite colour. Next, choose the characters for your puppets. That's all you need for an afternoon of puppet shows.  What you need: Blank wood picture frames large or small (from the Dollarstore)  Popscicle sticks Paint and brushes Paper, construction paper, markers and glue To make the Background: Set up a painting area, protect the table, water, paint etc. Lay out the picture frames. Paint the picture frames and set to dry To make...

Little Miss will be starting kindergarten next September. We're practicing letters and fine motor skills such as gluing and using scissors. I did the same kind of acrivities with Little man before he started school.  What you need: Blank paper or a work book (we have a sketchbook we use for our 'school' work) Red, pink or purple construction paper Markers, pencil, glue stick and scissors  What to do: On the white paper, draw 8 hearts in pencil, write the letters I-L-O-V-E-Y-O-U in the hearts. Cut 8 hearts out of the construction paper and write the same letters in each heart using the markers. Lat the construction paper hearts out on the table beside the white paper. Give your little one the glue stick and have them choose one heart at a time to glue on the corresponding letter on the white page. When all the letters are glued down you can draw and decorate the white paper.  Happy learning a d happy Valentine's Day!