I found children’s needles at the craft store, and couldn’t resist the opportunity to introduce my daughter to sewing/needle work. These needles are large, plastic, and dull-pointed. I purchased the pack of two needles, one sheet (appx. 12″x18″) of plastic stuff (I have no idea what the name of it is) with holes that are larger than the standard size, and some colorful yarn.
If you ever make Pillsbury cinnamon rolls, you are familiar with their little icing containers. These things are great. We use them for holding our water when we paint with watercolors, I use them for Landon’s small portions of baby cereal he is now eating, and most recently, we used one to make a stamp.
Ink (or paint), an icing container, and self adhesive foam stickers are all you need. Because Ava’s name and individual letters in her name are all symmetrical, we were able to make a stamp of her name out of foam letter stickers. It was easy for her to tell if she had the letters on the ink pad and where she was placing the stamp on the paper because of the partial transparency of the icing container.
I no longer keep my magazines around forever (see my post on organizing magazine articles). But before I throw them out, I have fun flipping brainlessly through the pages and cutting out cute pictures that Ava may enjoy. Then I put them all in a plastic bag and save them for a rainy day.
Ava really loves glueing and sticking, and so it’s super fun for her and easy for me to spread out the newly cut magazine pictures, give her some paper and a glue stick, and let her have at it. I love watching her choose the pictures she wants and observing how she lays them out.
After she finishes her collage of pictures, I can trim the edges and we add some finishing touches to turn it into a card.
A couple weeks ago, I introduced Ava to “Blanket Time” and it went over great! In case you are unfamiliar with the concept of blanket time, let me assure you that it is wonderful. Here is how we are doing it…
I lay a blanket or small quilt down on the floor in a location that is quiet (and safe) for her and is not right around me. I let her choose one toy (or set of related toys like her dollhouse or Mrs. Potato Head) and one book and take them to the blanket. Next, I ask her the rules of blanket time, to which she promptly (and happily) replies, “Rule number 1 is ‘Sit on my bottom.’ Rule number 1 the second time is ‘Be quiet.'” Then I set the timer for 20 minutes (we’ll probably start doing 30 minutes soon) and let her push the start button. That’s it. I walk away, she plays, and there is peace and quiet for 20 precious, consecutive minutes!
We made two different wrapping papers today. One used brown paper and the other used a piece of heavy tissue paper from a purchase that was wrapped yesterday at Hobby Lobby (my favorite store). We used paint (we have Crayola Washable Tempera Paint) and stuff we had from around the house. For the Circle pattern, we used different sized lids and an empty toilet paper roll.
These turned out really cute, and now we will roll them up and use them to wrap someone’s gift one day. Ava had a lot of fun, and actually, so did I.
Back when I was busy bringing Landon into the world, my mom and Ava made this pretty paper chain necklace. So, paper chains aren’t just for Christmas trees, after all. They colored their cardstock paper first. Then they cut it into strips (they used scissors with a scalloped edge) and glued it together. It’s really cute, and half a year later, it’s still holding up and getting worn around for dress up time – and so is the hat. 🙂
I hate to throw away a pretty greeting card. After someone has paid $3.79 for us to enjoy a card, I hate to just trash it. So, we started turning the cards into bookmarks. They end up being the perfect height and weight, and they are rather attractive. Very simple. Very cute.
Variations:
o Rounding the bookmark’s corners with scissors gives it a nicely finished look.
o Adding a hole at the top with a ribbon run through it, is a nice touch.
o I have discovered over the past couple of years that I LOVE using magnetic bookmarks. You can easily make your own by using a greeting card and one of those promotional magnets that you get in the mail via realtors, the phonebook, and so on. The thinness of these magnets works great for books, as opposed to the standard thicker craft magnets. You may be able to purchase thin magnets in a craft store (I have never checked), but why bother when you can probably find it in your mailbox?
Why so many?
I like to have a bunch of bookmarks to choose from, because as my mom says, “Sometimes you want a particular bookmark that matches the subject or feeling of the book you are reading.” And if we give someone a book as a gift, it is nice to include an appropriate bookmark.
More Ideas:If you have so many cards that you can’t possibly turn them all into bookmarks, my aunt, Shelly, suggests you donate the fronts of your cards to St. Jude’s Ranch for Children by mailing them to:
St. Jude’s Ranch for Children
Recycled Card Program
100 St. Jude’s Street
Boulder City, NV 89005
What do you do with your used greeting cards?
Ava loves flowers. We can barely take a walk around the neighborhood, because she always wants to stop to pick dandelions and clover. Besides picking flowers, she also likes to arrange them. She gathers her flowers, vase, watering can, and other necessary supplies, and she plays. So, today I took her to the Dollar Tree and let her pick out some new fake flowers for her inner florist, and we found some really pretty ones. Pretty good for three dollars.
I wanted something at our house to say, “Jesus is alive! We believe in Jesus! He loves us!” But I didn’t have anything… except for Window Crayons. So, we busied ourselves on the front storm door. The positive of this decoration is that it was free, and hey, it won’t take any room to store.
We placed the bunny pancake on top of the syrup and then sifted powdered sugar and added chocolate chips (or raisins) for eyes and nose.
Here’s a project that took some time, but it turned out so great! Because I wanted her growth chart to be able to change rooms, or houses, or be boxed away, I decided to make my daughter a fabric, keepsake growth chart. When I created this growth chart in 2010, it wasn’t common to find them made out of fabric, but you can find them easily now on Etsy and in shops. If you still like the idea of making your own to fit your child’s personality or room decor, however, you may want to give it a go, too!
