Painting (and washing) Animals!

 It's the unexpected surprises that keep life exciting. Which is why on a mellow Sunday afternoon I told my children they could paint their (indoor) toy animals. Of course there was one condition - They must give those animals a bath afterwards (I knew this would be exciting for them as well, but I acted like it was a condition.)

They all lined up, even the Mr. Furry the cow, who to put it nicely is a little OCD and lives in our bath. Talk about germaphobe!

Some became pretty abstract.

 Some made tracks.

 Some lost their patches.

They all got nice and clean afterwards.

 Only to start all over again.

Here's to many unexpected surprises in your future. Thanks for reading.
xo,
green owl mama

Create

 

Spooky Glue Ghost Necklace

 I love Halloween crafts. Not because I love scary spooky creatures and things that come out at night, but because I love turning those creatures and things into the most adorable creatures and things you could imagine. Like these cute as can be glue ghost! I heart them.

And all you need is glue, a plastic bag, eyes, yarn and a hole punch.

First, make your ghost shape and fill it in with glue.

Next, add some eyes.

 

This was the point I wished I had remembered the book under the bag to transport, so here is your reminder - do this on a book to transport!

 They take a good day or two to dry. I just hid them from the kids while they dried - out of sight out of mind and no impatience! Once they are dry the kids are so excited to see the friendly ghost they made. Time to peel off and punch a hole in the top (if you want to make a necklace.)

Add some yarn and you got a pretty adorable spooky necklace for Halloween that any kid can make! Yippee!
Happy October ( in two days!!)

6-Word Memoirs, Honest Tea

This morning when I opened my bottle of Honest Tea I noticed writing on the inside of the cap. It read:

6-Word Memoirs

Mom's.

Alzheimer's.

She forgets.

I remember.

-Becky Blanton

This was so moving and inspiring to me. Just six words is all I read, but they were so personal and sincere. This tea cap writing inspired me to start a daily writing with Emma. When I picked her up from school I asked her to think about a point of the day where she felt lots of feelings. It could be good or bad. We sat together and talked about different moments in our day where we felt different emotions and which ones stood out.

I wrote six words about my morning with Grayson. How I watched him be two and remembered Emma "being two." It was a sweet and sentimental morning for me and I wished I could stay there for awhile longer than I know I will. 

Emma told me she really enjoyed school today. This is what she broke her six words down to, which let me tell you was a little difficult. 

And then she wanted to write six words about dinner because she said she loves to sit with her family at dinner especially when candles are lit. This was a reminder to me to actually sit while I am feeding the children and I guess to light the candles as well.

I loved sitting down with her today and recapping on our day together. I loved hearing her honesty and just talking openly. I will try to do this with her a few times a week. Not only does it help me to hear about how she is feeling, but I think these will be wonderful for her to see and read as an adult. 

Thank you Honest Tea. I love you for many many reasons, but your 6-Word Memoirs are so special to me now.

Sweet Vintage Doily Ghost

We are approaching October and we are wasting no time in this house. Costume making has begun and decorations are slowly trickling out. Yes we love the fall. Leaves falling, crisp air, apple picking and of course Halloween!

We had some doilies we found in an antique shop recently that were just waiting to be soaked in coffee. Yes that's what we did with them. They were just too cheery and white to be turned into our vintage ghosts.

Some dark coffee did the trick and smelled great too...in an antique coffee shop kind of way.

We let them dry awhile and admired how pretty they looked hanging over our back fence. Once they were dry we washed them to get the coffee smell out and they were the perfect shade of old ghost.

Battery tea lights are my best friend during the holidays and with a couple of mason jars our ghost were ready to come together.

Here they are. Are they pretty or what? I added some felt eyes and our house took it's first step in transforming for October.

Gelatin Fun!

Sensory fun activities are a favorite in our home. I love seeing these little hands explore, learn and discover all while relaxing their body and mind and thinking this is the most fun they've ever had! On this day we made jello. What? Is that surprising? A health nut, sort of hippie "ish," tree loving, farm going, organic kind of gal like me doesn't make jello? Ok, ok...this is not jello to eat, but it does feel pretty cool and made an afternoon for my kids pretty exciting.

First off, for some fun gelatin sensory exploring - prepare your gelatin as directed on the package, only leaving out any sugar or flavoring of any sort.

We waited..and waited and once it was all set I let Emma pop the jello out onto a plate.

You can use watercolors or just food color mixed with a few drops of water. I gave Emma droppers and brushes, but she definitely preferred the droppers.

She mixed colors and watched has the gelatin changed with each color she added.

I knew it was inevitable. It was just a matter of time until...........

She really began to enjoy the wonderfulness of gelatin.

DIY Stress Ball - AKA "Squeeze Your Worries Out Ball"

We call it the "squeeze your worries out ball" and made it for times when my daughter had some worries to squeeze out. Like her preschool Christmas performance and the first day of kindergarten.

Check out my article on Family Sponge for how to instructions on this cool stress ball. Even if there are no worries to get out it's a fun sensory ball that kids of all ages can't stop squeezing.

Nature Walk & Paint

We go on nature walks pretty often. It allows us to explore together and be close to nature; which in return is such a happy and peaceful time for us. 

We discover new textures, shapes, creatures and colors.

We make up stories and imagine new things.

We see things that may go unnoticed at any other time. It's beautiful and joyful and I highly recommend you walk with nature each day.

With our findings this day we decided to do something new. Add color!

Beauty on beauty.

Sunflower Pen for a new friend

 We had a very special day last week. We met Emma's kindergarten teacher. I couldn't believe it, as I walked through the halls of an elementary school. Really? This day is here? My baby that I feel like just yesterday I was rocking back and fourth in the rocking chair knowing she was asleep, but continuing to rock because I just wanted her to sleep on my shoulder a bit longer. That baby, that baby is going to kindergarten this Monday? Really? I know it had to happen and I know it will be a fun and exciting time for her, but I will cry. There you have it. I will not say maybe or might. I just know, I will cry, but that is why I spent that extra time rocking because you see...it's all going by so fast. 

 Now on to the craft! We thought a nice gesture for our new teacher would be our favorite happy sunflower.

 Using floral tape we added some forever (artificial) sunflowers to pencils. It was simple and cheery and a great way to start a new year with a new friend.
Here we go!

Recycled Cap Magnets

We have been saving bottle caps for the unknown art project that we knew would come up one day. Today was that day. Grayson (my 2 year old) is fascinated with magnets. He could play with them all day long. I don't know what it is about magnets.

This literally took about a minute to complete. We cut an adhesive magnet strip into squares and stuck each square onto the flat side of clean bottle caps. There you have it, a set of magnets for your toddler.
P.S. Here is a tip I learned from my very handy sis-in-law, Sally. It was one of those "Duh!" moments for me, so I will share it. Got a real stainless fridge that won't let your magnets stick? Move your magnet play to the washer and dryer!