Firework Crafts

 This is it, my last 4th of July post for the year. I didn't realize how much we have done over the course of a couple weeks. The anticipation was just too exciting, I guess. These last two firework crafts are simple and great crafts to do tomorrow afternoon while waiting for all the festivities to begin.

 This Firework Drawing was done using oil pastels on black paper and then going over them with glitter glue. If you don't have oil pastels, chalk will work well, too. They both give that great "pop" effect on the black paper.

 We started our Popsicle Stick Fireworks by gluing four sticks together to create a star look. Tacky glue works best for this. We added ribbon strands to the back using the same glue.

Next, just decorate. We used dot painters, but just about anything from paint to glitter will get the job done.

Now, I must sign off for a bit. We have dear friends arriving in just about an hour. Wine is chilling, grill is ready and the kids are soaking each other with water balloons as I type.
From our creative space to yours--I wish you a beautiful day.

Red, White and Blue Tie-Dye for The 4th of July

 That's my cutie patootie nephew above, eating ice cream in his red, white and blue tie-dye. Is that photo just screaming the 4th of July or what?! Yes, tie-dye is a necessity for the 4th and really easy to do!

 You need a t-shirt, (did I just state the obvious? Sorry!) plastic gloves, rubber bands, plastic bag and red and blue dye. If your dye does not come with those great squirt bottles then you will need those, too.

 With a damp t-shirt you will pull up from the center and start to twist. This is for traditional style tie-dye. You can also just twist in random spots to create small star-bursts all over the shirt.

 Start to rubber band the shirt as you go.The more bands the more design you get. I usually use about 8-10 per shirt.

 OK, this is a must do outside part of the project. Once your shirts are all twisted and secured with rubber bands you can start dyeing. Squirt the dye right onto the shirt using enough to saturate the shirt. Try to keep the colors separate. They will blend quite a bit if they touch too much. Once they are covered well with dye place the shirt into a plastic bag over night. The next day cut the bands off and wash (alone) in the washing machine.

 And now you got yourself some pretty cute 4th of July gear! For more details I shared this tutorial over at Kiwi Crate.

Happy 4th!!!

With Love,

Em, Gracie, Neh-Neh and Jewels

Ribbon Mobile

 The sun was out today in our rainy city and all we wanted to do was to be outside and make pretty things. We painted shells and made nature puzzles, but what I adore most from our afternoon is this ribbon mobile. So many colors and textures, it is simple, but stunning and I made it with my two favorite people.

 Materials:

embroidery hoop

ribbon

twine

 We collected scraps of ribbon from our ribbon drawer and Em cut different lengths using her trusty safety scissors! The more patterns, colors and different lengths--the better!

 We tied them all around the embroidery hoop and watched it slowly become a magical tree ornament for our yard.

We used twine to hang our new yard decor right in our backyard. It makes me happy to look out our kitchen window and see our creation.

I shared this at Kiwi Crate. Head there for more fun family crafts.

Face Paint Pretend Play

 

Em and G absolutely adore face paint, but they would much rather be doing the painting then actually getting painted. I don't blame them--that is where all the fun is, isn't it?  I created a little face painting station for them in our yard and they played, imagined and created for hours.

 We used a few retired dolls for this, but if you don't have any dolls to risk becoming rainbow fashioned you can easily find a few at a local thrift shop. Along with our dolls I grabbed a few small paint brushes, new kitchen sponges, a couple rags and of course paint!

 We used kids washable paints (just regular old paints) and I mixed them with a little bit of baby lotion to allow them to wipe off easily.

 They got to work! This particular doll is an old pro at this, can you tell??

 The damp sponges let the kids wipe and start over as much as they please.

 I wish I had this recorded for you all to hear the conversations between the face painters and their ever so easy going customers. It was a riot!

While we are still enjoying our summer vacation I know a lot of you are back at school, wouldn't this be a fun surprise to set-up for the kids as they return home from those first few days of school?? I hope you will try it. It's one of those simple activities that brings so much joy to the little ones.

I shared this over at Kiwi Crate, join me there for more tips and fun!

Water Balloon Yo-Yo

 Water Balloon Yo-Yo's are one of those fun treasures I remember doing as a child once summer came around. It really doesn't get much better for a 6 and 3 year-old. (Holy 6 and 3! That's the first time I used the new ages of the kids....do you feel it coming? I have to say it now....wait, wait.....where did the years go? Just yesterday they were babies. Sigh.)

 Back to some summer water fun! All you need are water balloons, large rubber bands and water!

 I filled up a few (or more) water balloons and cut the rubber band to be the string. Tie one end to the balloon in a double knot. The other end you can leave or make a little loop for tiny fingers.

 I can't tell you the laughter this brought out. They loved bouncing their yo-yo's and the bonus was when they would surprisingly pop mid-air! Such joy!

DIY Lemonade Stand

I seriously think Emma may have actual dreams about lemonade stands. It's one of those things that makes her eyes light up and gives her the biggest smile on her face. We have had a few in our time with just a simple kiddie table and a few plastic glasses, but on the first day of summer this year I decided we should finally do it right!

 We had this large box that delivered recently and I knew it would be the perfect base for our lemonade stand. Along with a couple PVC pipes, markers, paint, easel paper, X-Acto knife and tape we were ready to get building.

I made 2 "x" cuts on top of our box to hold the PVC pipes. These pipes are really inexpensive and at every hardware store. You can buy one and ask the store to cut it in half for you. Ours were each about 4 ft long.

We made the top banner with a long sheet of easel paper cut in half (the other half went around the box.) The kids had a blast painting and drawing all over it to turn our box into a lemonade stand.

While our paint dried we made some simple strawberry lemonade using a store bought lemonade and strawberries that the kids happily mashed up.

Our lemonade stand was now open for business! We never actually made it to the front yard, but we had a ton of fun selling and drinking lemonade with each other.

When we were done we moved our stand to the play room where it continue to get used for all sorts of imaginative play scenes.

I shared this full tutorial over at Kiwi Crate. Check it out!

Ocean Sensory Tray

It's amazing what a little colored water and a few toy sea animals can spark in children. Em and G played with this for hours and had an entire story line happening.

 I used a large Rubbermaid storage container and added liquid watercolors to turn our water ocean blue!

 The kids loved to help get this set up. It only takes a few drops of the paint to get that great blue color.

The fun started when the animals started getting names! I love listening to the little stories that a 5 and 2 year-old can come up with. Imaginations are the best toy a child has. What a great way to cool off on a hot summer day!
More details on this and more summer crafts over at Kiwi Crate.

Beach Crafts

 A walk along the river or a trip to the beach has become so much more for me since having children. Watching precious memories be made is a beautiful experience. I have these sweet memories that I hold special from my childhood. Knowing these are the days that Emma and Grayson will think back to as adults is an amazing feeling and I love being a part of it all. It's one of those unexpected cool feelings that you never thought of before becoming a parent.

 To add to the magic of the beach we usually make a few crafty things to keep as treasures, because we all know wherever children go they will find treasures.
Our Summer Treasures are simply shells we found on the beach and decorated sea side with markers. They came out lovely and were pretty fun to make while listening to the waves.

 While we are talking shells these fun Seashell Friends are super silly. With a few simple glued on additions our shells got names, homes and became little ocean found pets to the kids.

 Is this guy cute or what?! Although, we made our Starfish Friend at home, I wanted to add him to the mix. We used craft sand, but it would be fun to create this star guy on the beach with real sand. Some air dry clay, a star cookie cutter, sand and googly eyes is all you need for this.

Lastly, as a way to keep all of our findings and memories we made these cool Vacation Jars. A retired pickle jar will do. Just fill it with anything special from your trip. This works for any kind of vacation. We used some washi tape to date and title our jar.

Here's wishing you and yours some wonderful summer memories.

Firework Headband and 4th of July Visor Craft

 Emma is a girl who loves to accessorize! I should probably not support this habit (that everyone curses us with...you are gonna be in trouble with that one!) But, it's just so darn cute to watch her each morning rummage through her baskets of bracelets and "match" them up to her little outfit. So, for the 4th of July we had to, of course, make a few accessories.

 This cool Firework Headband was easy to put together. We twisted a bundle of three pipe cleaners to each side of the band. The sparkly one was a fun addition!

 At the top, we used a pencil to curl each pipe cleaner.

 That's it! Emma loves this fun festive headband.

 Our Fourth of July Visor Craft is a great party craft for kids. It comes together really easily with a few foam or felt stickers and glitter glue. A lot of fun for all ages to make.