paper crafts

Photo from Kaboose.com

Sunday is Valentine’s Day, but it is also the beginning of the Chinese New Year. So if you are ready to move on from the pink and red invasion that is Valentine’s, celebrate the year of the Tiger with these simple and fun crafts from Kaboose. My favorites are the paper lanterns and the red firecrackers (TP rolls!) 

Before getting started, you can go here to read how the Chinese celebrate the New Year, why they use the lunar calendar, and other facts and information. Talk about the culture and traditions with your kids as you create your New Year’s crafts.

If you feel really festive, you could plan a typical Chinese New Year meal. If not the whole meal, maybe serve some dumplings (they look like golden nuggets,) oranges (perfectly round, symbolizing completeness and wholeness,) or long noodles (served to symbolize long life) at some point this weekend.

Photo from Simple Sage Designs

What a wonderful way to decorate your door for Valentine’s Day? An easy, CHEAP and fast project you can have done in mere minutes. Check out the photo tutorial at Simple Sage Designs.  Also loving the birthday skirt…alas, no little girls around here for that.

Photo from WhiMSYlove.com

How cute are these? Via Dollar Store Crafts, here’s an idea from fellow bento-maker WhiMSylove…salt shaker photo holders! Check out her tutorial here for the easy and cheap details.

This could be a cute and simple Valentine’s Day idea, either for photos or for little valentines for friends. Maybe fill the shakers with candy hearts or red hots? Oh, I feel some inspiration coming on….

Well, my heart was in the right place when I wrote my post last week about MLK Day, but my planning skills…another story.

I had intended to volunteer at the Arkansas Foodbank Network for a few hours this afternoon to recognize Martin Luther King, Jr Day. I had also spoken to my son’s teacher about a little service project the kids could do at school for MLK Day.

Well, it goes to show that when you have more than one adult helping to plan, things usually will work out.

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My Pollock-in-training's handiwork

I don’t know about you, but I get REALLY excited about my kiddo’s artwork. I study the washable-paint swirls, looking for the makings of an artsistic genius lurking in those messy masterpieces.

I hate to part with anything he’s colored/painted/drawn, so when the pile was so high that the husband began to drop hints like, “Is that really necessary?” I had to come up with a new idea.

He does the majority of his painting on an art easel with a roll of paper, so most of his art ends up measuring 18  by 20 inches. That is just enough paper to wrap a box!

So I took all of his loose artwork and rolled them together, and put them with my rolls of wrapping paper. When I use one for a gift, I try to center the top of the box on a colorful part of the paper for maximum impact. I don’t add any ribbons or bows, and either write the child’s name on the box or attach a gift tag.

I love this idea threefold: it goes along with my 3 R’s obsession, it showcases my budding Signac at work, and allows me to continue to hoard. What more could I want?

I don’t know about you, but I have a tendency to hold on to stuff. I particularly like greeting cards, and collect the ones we get all through the year.

I saw some gift tags cut in the shape of initials from cards earlier this year on line or something like that, and thought that would be a great use for my collection. I grabbed up some Christmas cards from my stash for the project, and set out to make some gift tags instead of buying new ones.

Step one

Photo from Babycenter.com

To go with our Thanksgiving placemats, I found some very festive turkey napkin ring craft ideas on several websites. And, surprise! They are made with toilet paper rolls! Gotta love it.

Anyway, you can go here for the instructions for the cutie one in the picture, found on the Babycenter.com website.

The Familyfun.com site has a tutorial on how to make a turkey napkin ring using small craft spoons and…you guessed it…a toilet paper roll.

And if you don’t feel like painting and coloring, go here to print off a template you can cut out of some turkey napkin rings from Familycrafts.about.com.

Photo from Makeandtakes.com

On a whim we visited Battle’s Cadron Crest Orchard in Guy about a month ago, right at the tail end of the peaches and the beginnings of the apples. Being a city kid, I’d never been to an orchard before and thought it would be a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

I did not expect to have SO. MUCH. FUN. pickin’! There were hundreds of trees, and the fruit was literally falling from the trees as we walked through the rows. And they were so beautiful…natural, unwaxed, and DELICIOUS. The best fruit ever. Period.

After I did my Potato Stamp post, I remembered hearing about apple prints….using apple halves as stamps. As this craft is on my mile-long list of ideas for the blog that have not yet come to fruition, I could not wait any longer to share!

Make and Takes has a great photo tutorial for making Apple prints (cute site!), and of course my beloved Martha has some of her own examples of apple prints.

My idea is to stamp the apples onto some napkins and use them for fall…maybe I will get to it in a few weeks…before Thanksgiving is my goal.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a BEAUTIFUL weekend!

Leigh

Usually the kiddo’s school has a Halloween party and we all bring goodies to eat, but I always like to make treat bags for them to take home with them, too. I’ve started to think about different Halloween treats for him to take up to his school, so I thought I’d share what I’ve found so far.

Photo from Craftbits.com

Mummy Treat Cups
Most anyone could make this craft just using what you already have at home. I’m sure any color disposable cup would work, just clear out your cabinets instead of buying more cups at the store. 

Photo from Kaboose.com

Egg Carton Treat Cups
As always, I’m all about reducing, recycling and reusing. This is a great way to reuse your empty egg cartons before they go to the trash or the recycle bin.

Photo from FamilyFun.com

Treat Bag Stickers for Halloween
Have your kids color these sweet Halloween pics then cut, glue them onto a paper bag, then fill with Halloween goodies!

Photo from Kaboose.com

A Handful of Treats
Kids will get a kick out of this treat bag…a spooky popcorn hand complete with a spider ring! Here’s a recipe for making popcorn in different colors…green would be great for a witch’s hand!

Well, last night our family had its first International Night…the first of many to come as we learn more about the world around us through cultural crafts and food.

We started on a pinata a few days ago, and since it was FINALLY dry by yesterday morning, we got straight to work decorating it after school/work.

String for hanging the pinata.

I took a pair of scissors and poked holes on opposite sides of the opening and tied the ends of a 2′ piece of yarn through the holes. The brown bits are is the whole wheat flour.

Prepping the paper

I decided to use tissue paper instead of paint, thinking the glue would dry faster. The kiddo picked out 2 colors and he started to tear the paper along the grain into strips. The goal was to aim for strips 1-2″ wide, but then again he is 3.66 years old and accuracy is not his forte. It’s the participation that counts!

Slapping some paper onto the pinata.

I hung the pinata on the back of a chair so we could swing it around as we glued on the paper. I squeezed some glue onto the pinata and we started to wrap the strips around it.

Mom helping out with the decorating.

And I've lost him to the TV.

This is how most things work out if the TV is on. The kid can’t help it, he gets it from me. And my Dad.

Stuffing the pinata with goodies.

The husband helped fill it full of goodies and leftover strips of tissue paper. We let it hang while we enjoyed a delicious dinner of…

Mmmmm.......

Tilapia Tacos! So easy and soooo good, and totally in our International Night Mexico theme. I’ll see if I can get the recipe posted on “Will They Eat It?” in the near future. After noshing on those, the kiddo just could not wait to bust up the pinata.

Trying to crack that thing open.

Yes, that is a lightsaber he is using to break open the pinata. That’s what happens when you live in a house with Star Wars freaks.

Banging it into submission.

He ended up ripping the pinata from the yarn and it fell to the floor, where he continued to beat it with the light saber until it bled Sweet-Tarts. Victory! We enjoyed some before heading back to the dinner table for the finishing touch…

Double mmmmmmm.......

My first attempt at a Tres Leches cake, a very Mexican dessert and very, very, very yummy. How can you go wrong with a cake containing 5 eggs, 1 can each of sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk? Topped with real whipped cream and sweet strawberries? It was very well received in the Crafty casa.

Notice how all the icing is gone first? He gets that from his Dad.

After dinner and bath, we snuggled up and read a section in the Childcraft Holidays and Customs volume about pinatas and celebrations in Mexico to round out our International Night experience.

Maybe we will visit Germany next time…homemade pretzels, schnitzel, potato balls? Or Thailand with spring rolls and pad thai? Where do you think we should head next?

Have a great weekend, guys…

Leigh