Think Thanksgiving

Here are a couple of cute Thanksgiving crafts to try at home. I can't lay any claim to the ideas and I'd gladly credit the original if I could only think of where I found them.....


Step 1: Paint your kids hand to make a turkey body. I used brown, red, and yellow.
Step 2: Print the hand on construction paper. You can see that I pre-printed a Bible verse that I hope to help my kids learn this week.
Step 3: Using construction paper, cut a head (tear drop), nose (triangle), and whatever that red thing is called (...I should really know this by now). Glue the pieces to the dried hand print. You can either cut eyes or use google eyes....my kids can't get enough of the google eyes.




Okay, so truth be told...you will end up making these hats if your kids are under the age of 6, but trust me, they will never look more adorable and it is totally worth the effort!

The pilgrim boy hat is, I think, fairly self explanatory. You cut the shapes, glue them together, and then attach them to a long strip of paper to make a sweat band like hat. The girl pilgrim hat takes a bit more ingenuity.

Step 1: Use a 12"x18" construction paper. Fold back one of the 18" sides to make a 1" crease.

Step 2: On the opposite side make two 5" slits.

Step 3: Make a hole punch next to the 1" crease on each side. Attach string to tie the hat under the girl's chin.

Step 4: Fold and staple the cut flaps to create a bonnet. And let it be said that I am no hand model....man, do I need to lotion!









Happy craft time pilgrims!

We're Going on a Bear Hunt

I need to step it up in the craft department. I have 2 kids who LOVE crafts and truth be told, the other night they snuck down to the basement to "craft". Their version of crafting included watercolors, old business letter head paper, and glitter...handfuls of glitter! So, after I de-glitterized the basement and banned them from all paint, I thought that maybe I should offer a few more mommy lead crafts so that they don't have to sneak off to get their fix.

So, here's some fun that we're working on at our house. If you're not a big fan of this book, copy the idea and use it with any book that your kids love. I'm happy to report that it promotes literacy,(you can use that line to impress other moms, pediatricians, and teachers) and your kids can actually play with it and re-tell the story when they're done.

We're Going on a Bear Hunt is a classic children's book. The repetition of the text makes it an easy read for early readers! Here's what we did:








I stapled together 6 pages of construction paper, 1 for the title page and then 1 page for each of the "oh no" adventures....grass, river, mud, forest, snowstorm, and cave.









For my 3 year old, I made the backgrounds and for my 6 year old, I helped. Then, using a paper trimmer, make a slit in each background. Be sure to leave a margin so you do not cut the paper all the way to the edges.










Color people shaped popsicle sticks to use as bear hunting characters. You can also glue on a paper person to a regular popsicle stick.










Have your kids draw or sticker in details to the pages. We plan to add flowers to the grass page, foot prints to the mud page, forest animals to the forest page, fish to the river page, and a bear, of course, to our cave page.





Kids can re-tell the story using their own book! Help them slide their characters through the slot on each page of the bear hunt. Encourage them to use the pattern, "Oh no! ________ We can't go over it. We can't go under it. Oh no, we have to go through it!"




Happy bear hunting!

This post is a part of Things I Love Thursday.

Easy Art for Kid's Rooms

I'm always looking for an inexpensive way to decorate my kids walls. Here's a very cheap way to pull it off and put your creative powers to use.

First, pick up a blank canvas at one of the big box craft stores. They come in all different shapes and sizes. When you shop, be aware that some have a clean looking edge on the sides and others show the staples that fasten the canvas to the frame. You can frame it ($$$) or use ribbon to cover the staples.


Next, I used an accent paint I had left over from painting a tree on my daughter's wall. You can use any coordinating color. You could simply use your trim paint or consider bringing in your child's bed spread or curtains to a paint store. They can easily create a match and mix up a quart for you.


Next, find coordinating paper (I used scrap booking paper) to create frames and other decorative shapes. As I mentioned, I painted a tree on my daughter's wall, so I continued this pattern onto one canvas along with simple squares that will act as frames for photos. The birds and flowers are stickers that I found at a craft store.
You could also add your child's name in large letters...you get the idea. Be creative and have some fun. Don't worry about cutting out your shapes perfectly either. You won't notice the imperfections once it's finished and on the wall.

Finally, glue every thing down using Mod Podge. Be sure to use a matte finish so it doesn't turn out super shiny. Once everything is in place, coat the top with a layer of Mod Podge too. If bubbles pop up under your paper don't stress. They will work themselves out! When your paper is wet you can lift color and it also can rip easily so use a bit of care. You can use mounting tape to place your photos on your canvas once it's dried.

Viola! Easy, cheap, and cute!