Dot painting and practicing staying inside the lines!

Her birthday is just around the corner and she's been talking about it every day for months. I planned a little activity for her to get her even more excited about her birthday, not sure if that was the right way to go, but it did help her to practice staying inside the lines and making dot painting. It was so much fun that I wanted to share this idea with you guys.

Grab yourself a piece of paper (we used a proper canvas paper, but I'm sure normal would work just fine as well), a black marker to draw your picture with, Q-tips and paint. First draw a very simple picture, make sure that there's enough pictures with spaces to fill with dots. I'm sure older kids can draw the picture themselves, but for little people this is the spot where you need to do the prep work for them.

Then choose your paint and put one Q-tip in each paint so that your child doesn't try to take different colours with the same Q-tip. After that it's just time to make some spots. We actually did this together a little bit so that she was able to watch me doing it and take example from it. Then just admire your work when you're finished!

As you see, you don't have to be a very good drawer... And I tried to keep it really simple. This activity was so much fun, and I was amazed how she got the idea of keeping inside the lines, she never stays inside the lines when colouring. Recommend trying this fun!

Shopping bags made by daughter and her mama

Before we went to Finland I got Emma to draw two special pictures on a piece of fabric, one for her mummi (grandma) and one for her pappa (grandad). They both had birthdays during the summer so this was going to be a present for them. I sewed the fabric into shopping bags. Good team work I say and we did a HI-5.

Inside of the bag is rather retro and on handles she painted spots. Pretty cute if you ask me, I might want one for myself too.

Sand painting

Have you ever tried sand painting with your kids? It's so easy, so magical and keeps them busy for a good long hour.

Here's what you do:

Paint a picture with glue.

Sprinkle sand over your picture.

Or pour sand over the picture.

Dip your paper and get rid of all the extra sand.

Admire your creation.

Emma did this together with her cousin. They were both amazed how the picture appears visible when you pour the sand over it. It was so cool to watch them go and do this whole activity all on their own. They are getting so big, *snif*

All you need is glue, paper, paint brushes and some sand. And don't forget to clean your brushes in warm water after you're finished, that way you can use them another time as well.

And remember to take a picture of your cool sand painting!

Toddler craft // our new necklaces!

Couple of weeks ago I ordered some wooden beads online and I had actually forgotten that I even ordered them, until the mail came today. Emma went nuts over them. She was telling me all the colours and was pleading me to make a necklace for her. Well ok daughter, I thought, but you can do it yourself.

What a super awesome activity to do with your child! It builds their motor skills like no other and you can teach them counting and colours at the same time. So get some wooden beads and some thin round elastic and get creating necklaces.

She didn't have the energy to do a whole necklace full of beads, but I think it actually looks more hip and fresh when there's only few there, and I made the knot at the back so that if she ever wants to continue she can. She put hers on very proudly and then she asked me where mine was. Oh I didn't even think to make one for myself as I was in awe staring at her and amazed of how wonderfully she was doing her own necklace.

Guess what she did next, after she had just told me that she was tired of making hers and that it was finished. Yes she started to make me one. I told her the colours I wanted on mine and she kept picking them and putting them on the elastic. Thank you baby girl for making me a lovely autumn colour necklace.

Now we can match all winter long. Aren't they cool!

February

Hey it is the second month of the year! Here's this months art work from Emma and a thought that somehow fits in me so well. It makes me understand me a bit better. Maybe that's why I feel so different so often, because I'm trying to make a difference. Ha!

There's a thought for you too, do you try to make a difference and in what?

New year - new start

I have never in my life made any new year's resolutions. Never! This year however I am making one. Only because I am ashamed of myself and I really really know that I can do better. I need to do better. My family and friends mean the world to me, I wouldn't be who I am today if it wasn't for them. And last year was my lowest point as I didn't send one birthday card or present or anything to that matter. That all needs to change this year! I want my family and friends to know that I am thinking of them, that they are important to me and that they matter!

First step into keeping my resolution is this calendar that I whiped up. I let Emma paint on it and then I wrote a funny thought that I saw. I am now trying to fill it with all the birthdays that I need to remember.

 

Now it's on our fridge so I can be reminded everyday. I'll make a new one at the end of each month. Next step though is to make some cards to send. 

Have you made any resolutions? If you have, how do you make sure you keep them?

Melbourne cup // with kids

Last year when someone told me Melbourne cup was on, I thought they were speaking a different language as none of that made any sense to me. This year I'm smarter, I know it's got something to do with horses and fancy dressing. FANCY DRESSING! Yes, I'm all over that. Any reason to have a party is a good reason for me.

My awesome friend organized a lunch (and why did I not take a photo of the amazing cake she made, it had horses on it, dang it.). She invited bunch of us stay-at-home mums over and had a great idea that the kids could do some crafting. Melbourne cup is all about fancy hats and hair pieces, though yes mainly it's about the horses. But I'm more into the hair things. So kids did their own hair accessories. This one is Emma's creation.

And check out the mess they were able to make:

Thanks again Linda for having us over! It was so worth vacuuming the night before, wasn't it. :)

From big sister to little brother

How do you prepare your first born for a sibling? I've heard horror stories, but also stories full of love for the new baby. I wanted Emma to be as ready as possible. The whole pregnancy, we tried to talk to Emma about this new baby that was going to join our family. We put her in her big girls bed and after she was used to it, told her that the new baby was going to sleep in the cot. We went through all the tiny clothes together and she helped me put them in the drawers. She got her own baby for her birthday that she has practised putting a nappy on and practised comforting a baby and putting it to sleep. (Don't stress, she won't be doing these for her brother, but she does know now what you do with a tiny baby). Of course we've also talked about the belly and how the baby is there, she has talked to the belly and blown raspberries.

All these things have prepared her very well, but I wanted to do something else. Something that would be totally from her to her new baby brother. So she could give him a gift and show how much she loves him.

Rattle was a perfect gift I thought. She got to paint as much as she wanted (fabric paint). She chose orange and I chose yellow to go with it, as I'm not a big fan of orange. Then when she was finished painting, I looked at the pieces and saw a lion. Yes I stepped in a bit and drew a sleepy lion on the other side and awake lion on the other. She didn't mind.

The little man couldn't care much for his new rattle yet, but it was very important for the big sister to give him his new toy. 

I'm two, painting

Last year we started a new tradition; whenever our child (soon children) turns a year older they get to make their own painting. Last years painting you can see HERE. This year, her painting looks like this.

Where as last year I chose the colours, this year she got to choose the colours herself. And as last year she painted with her fingers, this year she used two different brushes. Oh she's not a baby anymore! I like this little tradition of ours.

Quick and fun textille printing with a toddler

Whoa time goes fast now that hubby is home. I've had hardly any time to get on the computer as I'm enjoying cooking. Yes who would have known! But I'll share more about that later.

Now I just wanted to quickly show you guys what our little miss wore on the graduation day. And it's as if she knew what the shirt was saying, because she has been testing our nerves more than ever during the last week.

I cut the letters out of contact paper (with a big help from my lovely sister-in-law) and then Emma went nuts with the paint over the shirt. I did have to monitor her quite a bit so that the stamping stayed on the letters. She still had a lot of fun.

Then I just waited it to dry and peeled off the letters. Quick and easy. I don't know what I was thinking when I chose the green colour, I should have gone with blue of course. Blame it on the pregnancy brain which has made me mix my words around lately so that no-one understands what I'm saying.

So here's to hoping that you understood the method even if I didn't make any sense. Do try it, it's a lot of fun!

Heart means I love you (a little tutorial)

... or I lylyy as my darling daughter would say.

Yes mothers day has come and gone, but I haven't had any time to share what we made with Emma for the women in our lives. I had a great vision of Emma pressing her fingerprints into heart shapes. So here's our idea that you can do with your kids for any occasion! We are sending these out as birthday presents and Christmas presents too, so not just Mothers day presents. Actually they would be great for Valentines day too (thinking ahead is always a good thing).

Turns out Emma is still a bit too young to make heart shapes with fingers. We did try and managed to do five hearts like that. Then I decided to do a stamp out of a piece of cardboard and that was easier and quicker for her to do. So I've put together a little tutorial of how to make these lovelies.


You get the idea from the pictures, but I've added a few lines of extra insight if you want to read them too.

What you need is:

• some light coloured material
• fabric paint
• a cap of a bottle to draw a circle (and a pencil of course)
• some felt
• fray stop (optional)
• cardboard for a stamp if you want to use a stamp
• scissors
• hot glue gun
• sewing machine
• safety pins 

First of draw some circles on your material. This helps your child to know where the hearts need to be and will save you a lot of material since they won't be making them randomly all over the place. It'll also help you to cut the hearts out in a circle shape, dah!

If you want to use a stamp instead, you could cut out a heart shape straight away. I wanted to make it a bit more challenging for Emma so I made a rain drop shape and she had to stamp twise to get the heart shape. I did have to help her out with the other half of the heart but it was fun doing it together.

I placed the stamp I made of cardboard on top of a pen with double sided sticky tape.

 Once the hearts are dry, you can just cut out the circles of the material.

You can make a patern for the flowers if you want them all to be the same shape.

My material was fraying a lot so I used a fray stop around the edges of the circle. It's awesome stuff and helps out a lot in small projects like these. After applying fray stop around the edges it was easier to sew the circle on the flower.

Now I know that all you people in Finland won't find fray stop in the shops. I've tried and the sales people haven't had a clue of what I've been talking about. So the best way is to order online if you want some. And in Australia, you can buy these in almost any craft/material shop.

I sewed around the circle twise.

It depends on how old your child is, but obsiously the older they get the more they can do themselves. Cutting the flower, and even sewing is not a problem for older children. But even though my kiddo was only able to do the hearts and even in them she needed help, I'm still writing in the cards that it's made by Emma.

Here's still the ones with the finger print hearts:

 How cute are they! A little piece of love for someone special.