Tag Archives: art

E is for Elephant: how to make a paper plate elephant

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It’s been awhile since we’ve actually done a letter-inspired craft but today was letter “E” day and “M” decided we should make an elephant.  This was done entirely by “M” with very little mom-help.

First “M” painted a paper plate blue.  Then I drew a circle on blue construction paper and she then cut out the circle and then cut in half.  The middle of the circle was discovered by folding the circle in half and then cutting along the fold (the beauty of symmetry: both sides are the same!).  Next she cut out a strip of blue paper for the trunk and she folded it back and forth a few times to give it more dimension.  And clearly sharing my love of googly eyes she chose to glue on the eyes rather than draw them.

Now to celebrate our elephant craft—elephant dance party (you’re invited)!  Which obviously means lots of stomping and noise, and don’t forget to swing your arm like a trunk (key).  You didn’t just have me doing that solo, did you?  So it’s just my family that finds random reasons to dance?  Hmmm.

Clabber Girl Kids Play Clay

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I was in the midst of using cornstarch for another project when low and behold there is a recipe for play clay on the side of the can!  So the next opportunity to try it out, we did.

To make the “kids play clay” you need:

  • 1 cup salt
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/2 cup Clabber Girl cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup cold water
  • 1-3 drops food coloring

I read through the instructions on the can before I started but it wasn’t until I actually began that I came to the conclusion that they weren’t exactly detailed enough*.  Might be the scientist in me, but I like precise.  I’ve added my thoughts to their directions below.

  1. In a medium saucepan, mix salt and 1/3 cup of water over medium heat, stirring occasionally (about 3-4 minutes).  [I had no idea what the end goal of this was, since all stoves are different heats was it just to warm the salt, was the salt supposed to go into solution, or was I trying to bring it to a boil?  The last was what I did and later discovered was right.  You want the solution to come to a boil and then wait another 30 seconds or so before taking it off the heat.]
  2. Remove from heat; add cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water.
  3. Add a few drops of food coloring [I added only one and in the future will probably add a couple more, although the color did come out to be nice, just light.]  The mixture will resemble mashed potatoes. [Precisely.]
  4. Stir till thickens. [It thickens really quickly, in my case, so you don't want to dilly-dally stir, stir, stir.  Otherwise you'll end up with some really grainy clay and some softer.  Try as I might I cannot get an even texture.]
  5. Cool, then knead on board or countertop that has been lightly dusted with cornstarch. [No "lightly" about our dusting.  It could have been that our clay was still warm to the touch - couldn't hold off the fun any longer - but it was awfully sticky, so we added more and more cornstarch to the counter and kneaded until it was no longer sticky.]

Oh good, it says right on the can “NO MESS!”, thank goodness ;) .

Hmmmm, this no mess thing appears to be a sham.  Our caterpillar “Happy”.

Store unused play clay in refrigerator in a sealed container with a damp sponge. [We have ours in a tupperware with a damp paper towel.]

A few days later we cut out shapes in our clay and let it dry for a couple of days (note to self, use straw to keep a hole in clay and that can be used to hang it up).  Then we painted the clay using Crayola washable paints but they just aren’t looking as fabulous as they could be (the colors are dull and the paint is cracked).  So for the next attempt I might try a different clay recipe and/or use different paint.

* Later when I searched online the directions are more descriptive/helpful.

Spongepaint frame

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While cleaning up after bathtime last night I came across our insect sponges (former grow capsules sponges) that we “grew” a couple of weeks ago.  While my kids love watching the sponges grow in water, in fact it’s what I give as treats from time to time since they like them so much, they tend to play with the sponges the day of and then never again eventually to be filtered out of whatever hiding spot they make it into and then thrown out.  Well last night it occurred to me to use them for sponge painting during our inevitable craft time today.  I happened to have a $1 wooden frame from Michaels and after showing Maddy how to dip and paint with the sponge I let her go at it.

Getting started:

A work in progress:

Ta da!

The use of sponges (not paint brushes) inspired my daughter so much that once the frame was finished she looked around the room for other alternative painting items.  She came across the squirt gun and immediately had the brilliant plan to fill it with paint and repaint our house.  Sadly I had to squelch that creative thought but I did remember reading about blowing paint.  Of course at this point my daughters love of making new colors which usually ends in “dark honey” brown and “dark marigold” more brown had kicked in so this is what we were working with:

She thought the use of the straw was awesome but the activity didn’t last long since I forgot/neglected to thin out the paint first.  But it has inspired me to look for other fun ways to paint.

After the frame completely dried the colors were definitely less vibrant and since I seem to be into sealing everything these days I thought I would try out my glue/sealant (Michaels Mod Podge equivalent) on the frame.  The colors really shine, at least as bright as before, and I love the texture that the sealant brush added.

Homemade puff paint

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I’m all about mixing science and art time.  ”M” is so into science/art projects that every time we do one she ends up inspired and attempts to create something new long after we’re done.  Like today she mixed the remaining paint with the leftover ingredients, asked for some Cheerios (that was a no), and stirred it all together to make…..glitter glue!  Ok, not so much.  In fact it was just painty saltwater.  But I love that she is always thinking and imagining and coming up with new things (FYI “M” is of the mind that it just needs to rest awhile and what she’s made will certainly work….we’re checking on it’s progress tomorrow).

To make puffy paint I used this superfantastic housingaforest.com recipe.  This is a must-do activity.  It is so much fun and the results are great.

What’s great is that this paint is made with a grand total of four completely kid-friendly ingredients.  Even better you already have all of these ingredients!

Instead of bowls I let “M” mix everything in baggies.  Let me just say that this recipe results in paint with the consistency of cookie dough.  Lovely raw cookie dough…..love….cookie dough….Here’s what you’ll need:

  • plastic baggies
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp salt
  • food coloring
  • A little more than 1/3 cup water (or a little less than 1/2 cup)
  • construction paper, cardboard, or mat board
Put all of the dry ingredients in baggies (one for each color), mix well.  Shake and squish to your hearts content.  Then add the water and repeat.
I initially tried to snip the corner of the baggie and pipe it on to the paper.  Worked great for me, not so much for the 3 year old, but squeeze bottles can be found/purchased in any craft store (usually in the food area).
After you’ve finished your creation microwave for 20-30 seconds (maybe longer depending on how much paint you use) and…..POOF!  Bonus the “paint” is now basically rubberized, so you can touch it (it feels like soft plastic) and it will last!
“M” and I made self portraits:
“M” prebake…..
POOF!
Moi:
Poof!
Seriously how great is this stuff?

PUFF! LOVE!

Go ahead, go make some.

I should mention that the above recipe was our second attempt.  Our first attempt at making homemade puff paint used this recipe:

  • 1 cup salt
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup water
  • food coloring

FYI this recipe makes a ton 3 cups of paint.  I only realized that once we had added food coloring.  Thankfully we started with yellow so split into three containers, added some blue dye to one, added red dye to other and there ya go, three colors.  The problem that I have with this recipe is that I was never able to get the flour/salt clumps out.  So putting it into a squirt bottle was torture for “M”, they kept getting clogged and she lost interest pretty quickly.  Not to mention there was not a lot of puffing going on here.  It’s quite possible that I added a little too much of one thing, not enough of another, or just didn’t mix enough.  So if you stumble across this recipe somewhere else and it looks as if they are having a wonderful time, go ahead and give it a try (then tell me if it worked out loads better for you).

Afterwards I let it dry out and this is the end result.

Homemade bird feeders: If you make them, they will come

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A few months ago we meandered into the cleaning supplies aisle at the grocery store in the search for Borax.  Wouldn’t you know that also happens to be the pet food aisle?  Quite possibly my kids favorite trip to the store ever.  ”J” went from bag to bag making the various animals noises that he spotted in each picture (he also claimed a dog bowl as a souvenir that I let him carry until check out).  ”M” went from bag to bag daydreaming about all the pets she may someday have.  Sadly for her kitten dreams, daddy is sooo allergic.  But after about 30 minutes, the terms of compromise, in order to actually move out of that aisle and finish shopping, were to buy a bird feeder (bonus-it was on sale for $2).  We watched intently as the birdy-word spread about the promise of food in our yard.  And were sad to see it go after awhile.  So I was really excited by the idea of making our own birdfeeders.  Coincidentally I now have enough birdseed to last the year sitting in my pantry.

I used the recipe I found at jugglingwithkids.com.  We made a double batch since the recipe is enough for only two shapes.  We made several large and four small ones (“M” called them birdy appetizers).

Proof positive that if you build them, they will come our 1/2 acre (generously) lot is literally littered with bird nests.  My favorite is the one under the awning.  I believe crazy birds live there.  Ones with zero housekeeping skills.

Things I might do differently next time:  Although we do have a box of 100 plastic cookie cutters that are adorable, they are pretty shallow.  Getting the bird feeder out of the cookie cutter resulted in a few casualties because several of them were either stuck or frail from being so thin.  Also I noticed that the gelatin pooled on the bottom of the bird feeder, perhaps turning over the cookie cutter periodically as it is setting would help prevent this.  Lastly getting the string through the bird feeder proved to be challenging even with the hole, especially with the smaller ones (yes I should have tried something other than yarn, but it’s what we had).  For the next round I might actually embed the string into the bird feeder; pour half, place a string loop, cover with remaining food.

Handprint heart

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With Mother’s Day this weekend I thought I would post a cute personalized gift idea  (inspired by this post found on Pinterest).

Fold a piece of card stock in half and have your child’s thumb touching the fold with the pointer finger pointing towards the fold but not touching it.  [Our first attempt my daughter's pointer finger was touching the fold also but the result was less like a heart and more like a cut out triangle.]  Then trace the fingers and cut out remembering to cut from the fold towards the pointer finger tracing but not actually following the curve of the finger itself so that both the tip of the thumb and the “extended” pointer finger form a heart when the paper is unfolded.