Craftz

I’ve been saving up some kid craft project pics so prepare yourself for a picture-laden post (Did you hear that squeal emanating from California? That was my mom…). And my husband just handed me a grapefruit martini, so I’ll refrain from using big words…



Sculpey relief prints via The Artful Parent is our current favorite. You impress found nature objects into sculpey clay and then bake. They're fun to make and both kids can get lost in creative play with these for long periods of time. The imprints have amazing detail - see the Artful Parent post as my pics were all washed out (sad face). Toddler and preschooler friendly and no cleanup!!




Puff Paint also via The Artful Parent
A mixture of flour, salt, water & food coloring painted on cardboard then microwaved to “puff up.” This was perfect for the 2-year-old need to slather paint on thick, as the thicker the paint, the puffier the outcome. They both liked it but didn’t really get what we were doing until the end, so it was kindof like a “you’ll see, it’ll be really really fun” kind of project. Super easy though and minimal cleanup.





Baking
Inspired by this fabulous book where Holden can “read” the recipe, here they're making Fruity Granola (and yes, they eat it!!) I love the Moosewood cookbooks and the kiddums adore Mollie Katzen’s delightful illustrations. The kid quotes inside are hilarious, too! Heavy on the cleanup, but worth it if they're eating wheat germ (we tweaked the recipe).



Embroidery (love that concentrated foot action in the pic!)
Holden has graduated to a true embroidery needle and linen (as opposed to plastic/blunt needle on burlap) and is doing really well. What’s more impressive is when he starts getting tired or frustrated with it, he ends his sewing session and moves onto something else. I could use some lessons on that…



Quilting
Because I had to throw in a plug for my WIP Doll Quilt for the swap… It’s a disappearing 9 patch and that’s all I’m gonna say, but the kids love arranging and rearranging the blocks into different designs (hmmm, wonder where they got that from?). I like Holden’s use of negative space on this one…





Tried and true:
Garbanzo beans – give the kids open access to the bulk bins and they will come away with a favorite pastime!
Tree art – nature’s canvas
and Peanut Butter + Birdseed Pinecones



And finally, a Montessori “Plan of the House” project from this book where you draw a house and the child is supposed to fill in the details of the home: cozy living room, colorful kitchen, warm inviting yard... Um, my child drew the house on fire. He did draw a little kitty house beside it, so there is hope (for the cat at least)!