Creative Kids: Wrapping Paper Canoe
Brina and Karlie’s wrapping paper canoe
After a recent celebration at our house we had leftover wrapping paper, tissue paper, and a couple boxes. As I was cleaning up the girls asked if they could use the leftover items for a few days before we threw everything away. After a few moments of hesitation I decided it wouldn’t hurt anything to let them play with the items and get creative. They were thrilled to have such large pieces of wrapping paper and goodies to create something super special.
Once they decided what they wanted to do they took the largest piece of wrapping paper they could find and made a wrapping paper “canoe” out of it. The red tissue paper was used to create four rows of benches inside the canoe. They used some of the cardboard to make oars for their boat. I am not sure why they decided to make a canoe but they both worked together to come up with the idea and did well working together on it. I let them keep out their wrapping paper canoe for several days. I was pretty impressed with how they were able to put everything together all on their own and even made something that resembled a paddle out of cardboard.
Even though my preference would be to clean up the wrapping paper, cardboard, and tissue paper right away after the celebration I allowed myself to let go and let the girls have fun with the items. The items were trash but they had a blast creating, using the scissors and the glue to put together their wrapping paper canoe. Yes, I could have thrown all the wrapping items away as soon as the celebration was over but I would have never had the joy of watching my kids entertain themselves for hours with their handcrafted wrapping paper canoe! It is a great way to reuse the wrapping paper multiple times plus the kids have a blast too!
Cardboard paddle for their canoe
Creative Kids: Outdoor Painting Fun
The girls love their easel and can often be seen drawing with crayons, colored pencils or chalk, but their absolute favorite activity is painting. When we have a nice day outside and a few minutes we will take the easel out onto the front porch and let the girls paint. Over the years it is amazing to see their painting masterpieces become even more beautiful and specific.
Karlie getting started with her painting project on a clean sheet of paper!
Karlie’s finished artwork
Paint table complete with a bowl to rinse the paint brushes. Paint table complete with a bowl to rinse the paint brushes.
Brina starting her artwork with a clean slate! I wonder what she’ll paint?
Brina’s artwork masterpiece. A flower blooming on a sunny day with the initials of her entire family.
Gift Giving: Cinnamon Handprint Ornaments
Are you looking for great gifts to give but are on a tight budget? This is a simple recipe that uses a few items from your pantry and makes a thoughtful Christmas Gift. I posted this last year and it was a huge hit so I am sharing it again this year. These were inexpensive, easy to do, and the girls had a lot of fun. You probably have all the ingredients in your pantry already.
Cinnamon Handprint Ornaments:
- 2 cups Flour
- 1 cup Salt
- 5 teaspoons Cinnamon
- 3/4 cup Water
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Stir in water gradually to make dough. If it is sticking to your hands, add more flour or if it is too crumbling add more water. Knead dough for approximately 8 minutes until smooth. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll out dough to desired thickness (typically between 1/4 to 3/4 inches thick).
We used a football cookie cutter for the oval (you can use a circle or anything big enough that they can fit their hands in) than lightly floured their hands before making a slight indention on the clay. We took a stamp and pressed their first initial in the bottom of each palm to help us remember who it belonged to. Since my girls are twins their hand sizes are almost the same!
After making the handprint in the clay use a straw to make a hole in the top so you can hang the ornament.
Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hour. (Thicker dough will take longer to bake). They are done when the clay is dry, you notice a slight change in color. Cool and add a ribbon of your choice!
Optional: Once cooled you can use spray on polyurethane for extra shine.
Ours still smell great even after a year. We made more than one batch since we have a large family but you can do as many as you want. With the extra dough we made Christmas ornaments so we could hang them on the tree.
