DIY Kids Coins

 I've been busy! I got this idea a few weeks ago and started figuring it out in my mind while I waited on buying some supplies (this was NOT expensive!) My mind started rolling after seeing this post about robot coins here, and this idea about story stones here. I've also been brainstorming games and activities to help Otto count up to 20. He's great up to 12, then gets confused with the teen numbers {whose brilliant idea was is to name them that way?}. So the Coins were born. I like that they are small . I like that they are sturdy. I like that they have numbers and pictures. I like that with one item, there are many different games and activities.

So here's the idea and the many uses of the coins: 

1. Otto can post the coins in numerical order while at the same time (this is important so they aren't fighting!) Atlas can post the coins which have pictures on both sides.

2. Both boys take turns picking ones that I specifically ask for (ei. Atlas, where's the guitar? He LOVES it!)

 

3. Otto can sort them by categories: Numbers, Weather/Nature, Things, Food, People/Animals, and Transportation.

4. We can pick them out of the jar one by one and use them as story coins. The idea is that you choose one to start your story, then as you go along keep choosing new coins, weaving that item into your story.

5. They can be used to match colors, and I'm sure we'll find other uses for them as we use them more!

Here are the coins front side:

 

And flip side:

 

I wish I could give everyone my JPEGs for printing them out, but because I used all items from scrapbook designers, it would be illegal! I can tell you how I made them and give credit to the designers whose work I used.

I used 1.5" wooden discs from Michaels. They were 22 discs to a pack, and I used 32 coins. (There are some leftover, so I can always add more pictures if I want.) Since I couldn't just wait to use two 40% coupons in two visits (the only store that carried these was a bit far away), I used one coupon and bought the other at full price. Total price: $8

The can was an upcycle cocoa can. Total price: free (we already used the cocoa, right?) I covered the can with some nice scrapbook paper. Price: 25¢

For the images, I created a new document in Photoshop Elements and made a template to house each item at the perfect size. Then I added each item, resizing them to fit. Some of the items are from online freebies while others are from kits I purchased previous to this project. After I filled a page with the items, I deleted the template part and printed the sheet. If you are interested in making your own, Google images is a great way to get clip art.

Next, I used a 1-1/4" circle punch to punch the images, then mod podged the circles onto the discs. My husband commented, "That's your favorite stuff, isn't it?" Well, I do love my Mod Podge!

And there you have it! Fun Coins!

A breakdown of the items I used:

Sahlin Studio: numbers (recolored), deer; 

Designs By Dani: flower, shoe, ice cream, popsicle, boy/girl, robot, owl, blue car, street light, yellow bus, rocket ship, skateboard, submarine, blimp, race car; 

Just Jaimee: rainbow, cloud, boots, beach ball, hot air balloon; 

Creativity By Crystal: planet, house, guitar, apple, whale, dump truck; 

Megan Turnidge: star, arrow; Amy Stoffel: raccoon, fox

Melissa Bennett: sun; Karla Dudley: moon; Sugary Fancy: umbrella; Sugar Hill Co: tree; Queen of Quirk: record player (recolored); Zoe Pearn: heart; Digital Design Essentials: camera; Cinnamon Scraps: cupcake; Little Butterfly Wings: dog; Jady Day Studio: bee; R. Wagler: butterfly

Getting Crafty | Easter

I like to think that the boys love to craft, but I've finally allowed myself to admit the truth. Only one loves to craft. The other gets excited about it, but it doesn't last long. Otto loves to manipulate things with his hands - he enjoyed piling the cotton balls shown on this project into a mountain, gluing some in the process, but then decided he was done - not even a quarter of the way into the project! Atlas, on the other hand, completed his entire project then wanted to finish Otto's for him! Then he got excited as he watched me stapling the ears on, wanting to staple something himself. That started another project of stapling a book (a few folded pieces of paper together) and drawing in it. Also completed. The whole time Atlas was crafting, Otto kept himself busy cutting pieces of paper into tinier pieces of paper. A boy's fascination with scissors...

The bottom picture shows the few Spring/Easter crafts we've done so far: painting on cardboard (the hands belong to Atlas), coffee filter butterflies (Otto: one. Atlas: three.), and the cotton ball bunnies we made today.

I can't wait to do this craft with the boys for Easter FHE:

(click on the picture for the link. Includes a Free Printable)

Playdough. For 4 Hours.

 We put Atlas down for a nap, and this big boy played playdough for 

FOUR hours!

Atlas had a full nap and then joined the fun. Otto built walls, dinosaurs, and did a little baking/mixing in the end. I couldn't believe how intensely and how long he played!

We have been using this playdough recipe, found here:

 

(click on picture for the link)

The last time I made this recipe, I tried to add a scent to it using tea water, but it didn't really work, so I tried adding some almond extract. I had to add quite a bit to get even a faint scent. Have you tried adding scent to your playdough? Update: We now regularly scent our playdough with essential oils. A few drops does the trick, worked in after we warm it over the stove. We've tried citrus oils - lemon, lime, grapefruit, orange, and we also love lavender, eucalyptus, and peppermint. The boys love choosing their color and scent, and will help to work it in, kneading it like bread dough. So fun!

Valentine Hearts

This week was Valentine's Day. I hope you all felt the love! I was so prepared this year. After our family being sick for most of January, I wanted to be sure to do some fun things with the boys in February for Valentine's Day. So, we baked sugar cookies and decorated them - the boys helped with everything! They loved watching me roll out the dough, then being able to take their cookie cutters and cut the dough into hearts and little animal shapes. We waited until Atlas was napping to do the decorating (because I just knew how that could go!) Otto loved mixing the icing and sampling the red and pink Mike and Ikes we got to decorate the tops. He decorated the big ones we made for the grandparents and Pappy (Andy), and a few small hearts, then decided he was done.

Another other crafty thing we did for Valentine's were these beautiful hearts! They were so simple. I got the idea from here and it was perfect for both boys to do. They ripped tissue paper, then used paint brushes to glue them to wax paper with Kid's Mod Podge. Atlas especially loved the gluing part! Otto helped me cut out some of the hearts (then announcing that he was done), and I strung them into a banner for the window. It looks so pretty in our window! Definitely a project we may have to add to next year!

 

The boys and I also made some Valentine playdough. I tried to brew some tea to make it smell nice, but it really didn't work, so I added some almond extract... and then some more, and then some more... but it just didn't take! I guess the salt smell is just too powerful. I've seen blog posts by others on how they fragranced their playdough, so I'll have to try again. Or maybe it doesn't work as well with herbal tea? Not sure.

Happy Valentine's!

Merry Christmas | Christmas Nativity

 Merry Christmas! It's Christmas Eve afternoon, and half of us are visiting with family. The other half are napping or preparing for tomorrow. We've been having fun playing with some new Nativities. Here are the Nativity Blocks I made for Otto and Atlas to play with. They both love them, and I love them too, since I'm not worried about them getting wrecked! We've been doing a Christmas advent calendar, with Christmas activities each day. I set these up the night before, and in the morning when I told them there were Nativity Blocks to play with, they were so excited!

I used this set

  

(if you're interested in this set for this purpose, you will need to ask for the PNG files from the company because they only provide you with a PDF file, which is locked and comes in larger sizes than you really want for this project). I shrunk all the images in photoshop and printed them out at home, then mod podged them onto the blocks.

Merry Christmas to you all

 -

I hope you have time to reflect on the Nativity in your own ways, as we have had the chance to do all this month.

Paint in a Bag

We made paint in a bag last week and it was super fun. I got two recipes for making your own paints from Family Fun crafts here and a different recipe to try another time here These recipes would also be great to try as finger paints. I loved this recipe because the colors aren't so transparent, and you can make it yourself without having to buy expensive paints from the store. We mixed up some primary colors and Otto smooshed them with his tummy and hands to see what colors they would "turn into". This was really fun, and the bags are still here and paint is still soft, almost a week later. The only thing I'd do differently is put the paints in bigger ziploc bags or put less paints in the smaller bags. Because if I'd have done that, we could use these not only to squish the paint, but to continue to do mess-free paintings like here. I think I'll transfer some paint over so some bigger bags this week to do some paint writing like that.

Pom Pom War

A little while ago I let the boys have at 'er with all the mini pom poms I've been hoarding saving. If I remember correctly, I just wanted them to be doing something so that I could be doing my something. Totally worked.  At first, they had fun filling and dumping and refilling the five or six empty containers I had given them (ideally for sorting, but I'm a Mama to two very active boys. Who am I kidding?!) Then it became all-out pom pom war, then rolling in the pom poms, filling dump trucks, and so forth. Our family room looked like a pom pom bomb had exploded! Then the boys very diligently helped me pick up every.single.mini. pom pom. 

I'm still finding random pom poms to this day.

My Brother My Friend Subway Art

Last week I was in some kind of funk and just couldn't motivate myself to do much of anything. But I was feeling bad for my boys. We just weren't doing all the usual stuff. I decided that we needed to do something creative. I've been seeing some cool subway art around the internet lately and thought maybe we could make our own. I got so excited that I skipped a step I should have done, then payed for it later on.  I will tell you how I made this and include the step I should have done!

1. I used a plain old 16x20 stretched canvas from Michaels. This had been sitting in my basement forever, with grand plans in my head of what I might do with it. But, plans are better carried out and I decided that my brain was taking too long for those other plans!

2. PREP YOUR CANVAS. Okay, so I didn't do this and had to go back later to touch up the letters because the paint bled under the vinyl letters! So. Very important to prep - use white paint, gesso, whatever. Just don't skip this step!

3. Cut vinyl letters (or get them cut). The bold letters I printed off my computer, then cut them into the vinyl with an exacto, the fun font I cut with my cricut. Stick the letters on your canvas how you want them. Make sure they are well sealed.

4. This is the fun part. Let your kids have free reign with paint, brushes, fingers, and hands! If they are littles like mine are, point out all the "white parts" to cover.

 This is what it looked like when the boys were finished.

 Atlas: "My work here is done."

5. Allow to dry. When paint is dry, you can spray the whole thing with a lacquer spray for more of a sheen. I used acrylic paint, and I thought it ended up looking a little dull, but the lacquer gives it just enough of a shine. 

6. Carefully peel off your vinyl letters. You can do this before step 5 if you want to spray everything, letters and all.

 As you can see here, there was a bit of bleeding. I ended up touching up the bold letters, but not the names. The letters would have been much crisper had I only been a little more patient and did #2!

So there you go. Totally easy, Totally do-able, Totally Cool art for your home.

New LO and Easy Scrap Craft for the boy

I finally made a new LO! I had made a deal with myself: As soon as I cleared the crap off both my craft desks, I could actually craft again! Most of the things on my desks just needed to find places, be organized, etc. I got to it and reaped the rewards when all was completed! I even got to indulge in a bit of Forsythe Saga with Netflix! 

Manilla tags have been popping up everywhere in scrapbooking, and since I've sat on my boxes of tags for quite awhile, I thought I should put them to creative use! I used them here in my LO,

and here, in a very easy craft Otto and I did together. I LOVE washi tapes! I purchased some from Freckled Fawn and was so pleased with their service and shipping prices!!! You don't find good shipping prices often! And the tapes are adorable! I sat down with Otto, while he did his own tag and I did one for Atlas. So easy. I just ripped some of each tape and set it on the side of the desk and he decided where it went, we punched their names with my DYMO, printed off some recent pictures on plain 80lb white paper {because I seem to be behind, yet again, on getting recent pictures developed!}, and he chose the type/color string for the pull. He was so pleased with himself, and what a cute result, no?