• Crafting Our Own Pottery

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    Brina learning how to work the pottery wheel!

    One of the gifts Karlie recently got for Brina was a do-it-yourself pottery wheel.  Since we like doing “crafty” things we decided it was time to try it out and see what we could create.  Since it was Brina’s pottery wheel she went first, but she was kind enough to let all of do a piece as well (even Mom and Dad).  While our creations are not anything fancy or perfect we had a blast creating neat items on the wheel.  Maybe with a little more practice we’ll be doing master pieces!!!

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    Karlie trying it out too!

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    Having fun shaping the item.

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    Focusing on making her pottery piece

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    These are the pieces we ended up making with Brina’s pottery wheel.  Waiting for the pieces to dry so we can do the next step….painting!  It was a lot of fun!  Thanks for sharing Brina!

    Kids Craft Pottery Wheel Kit

    We used the Kids Craft Pottery Wheel Kit which can be picked up at WalMart or Amazon (WalMart’s had a much better price on this item).  We did have to mix in some water to get the clay soft enough, but once we got going the clay and the pottery wheel worked great!  The clay was air dry so we didn’t have to worry about baking it.  You can get more air dry clay at Hobby Lobby too if they want to do more projects.

  • Hug in the Mail

    Karlie sending a hug in the mail to Daddy!

    When Jake was away on a trip the girls wanted to send him a hug since they couldn’t hug him in person.  If you cannot read the card it says:

    Since we cannot be there to “hug” you in person we are sending you a “mail hug”. I love you Babycake! Spread out the hands in the card and that is the biggest hug the person who did it can give you. XOXO

    Laying down with her arms spread out as wide so she can give Daddy the biggest hug possible!  I traced her hands on the paper and cut a string of thread the length of her arms and taped it to the back of the hands after she decorated it.

    Karlie showing off her giant hug!

    Karlie’s Message – “I love you Daddy. You are the best. Good is fun. I love you.”

    Brina decorating her mail hug for Daddy!

    Brina showing off her hug that she is sending to Daddy!

    Sending my Handsome Man a hug in the mail!

  • Creative Kids: Color Spin Painting

    Color Twist Craft – Brina adding a little yellow to her masterpiece

    Karlie used some of her spending money to buy Brina this special gift.  They both had a blast trying it out!  It was a lot of fun watching them do their craft.  This gift has been a great source of entertainment for both girls.

    Brina’s turned out really well!

    Karlie doing two colors at once!

    Jake pushed the yellow knob on the side to spin the paper while the girls dropped some paint onto their papers.  They were fascinated by it and there was very little mess because all the paint stayed in the holder.

    Karlie’s masterpiece

  • 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