Thursday, December 15, 2011

Getting Crafty

Okay, so I have been on an insane craft kick today. And I'm blaming it all on Pinterest. I have become slightly addicted to Pinterest lately and have gotten a lot of ideas and inspiration for kid's activities from the other pinners. Top that off with a trip to Michael's this morning to stock up on craft supplies and we have craft addiction. Sometimes I think I enjoy having a toddler more than my son enjoys being a toddler... So, here's a sampling:

A puzzle made with popsicle sticks and a recycled holiday card:


Simply glue a photo onto some popsicle sticks, wait for it to dry, then use a craft knife or razor blade to cut.

Homemade bath crayons:


Buy some glycerin soap at a craft store. Melt it in the microwave, add food coloring, and pour into a mold. I used an ice cube tray. You can also add essential oils if you go for scents, though I find that a bit unnecessary for bath crayons. Takes about an hour to cool completely, then pop out of the mold and you have crayons!

Color activity:


Swing by your local home improvement store and pick up some paint swatches. Cut them into strips and glue some pieces onto clothespins. Easy and CHEAP!

And a pom-poms in a bucket activity:



So easy: use an old plastic container (mine is a yogurt container). Cut holes in the top that are just smaller than the pom-poms. Your little one will get lots of fine-motor-skills practice pushing the pom-poms through the holes! And the Eskimo literally had a meltdown when I took this away from him for nap time. 


What's that? You want to do all of these too? By all means! HAVE FUN!! Also, if you're not already on Pinterest, you should be. :)

38 comments:

  1. Nice! I am excited to try the popcicle puzzle. That would be easy to stash away in my purse for on-the-go entertainment emergencies.

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  2. Will the food coloring stain?

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    1. No actually it doesn't. I sometimes drop food colouring into the water of the kids bath, a green or purple bath is way more fun that plain old clear, and I've never had a stain on the bath, or on the kids. :) You'll possibly get stained fingers when making the crayons but food colouring eventually washes off.

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    2. a few months late BUT yes, the food coloring will stain, just not always, not all colors and probably not drastically. I did the bath activity with colored ice and the stray splashes left some green in spots that wouldn't wash off. my advice, dont use on a school night. simple. =)

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  3. I didn't have any trouble with staining. Actually didn't end up coloring very well at all. But my son LOVED chasing them around in the water. :)

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  4. Hm. Wonder why? Ok, thank u! :) I'm gonna make some, maybe they'll work well enough to occupy him while I attempt to bath him lol!

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  5. see, now I am a mom of adult children(no grand babies yet) so I thought the essential oils WERE necessary in the bath crayons...make a set for mommy and daddy too!!!!!

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    1. Maybe that's where I went wrong. I'll have to give it a shot. Thanks!

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    2. how about some tea tree oil that would be a good antibacterial to protect the kiddos skin tea tree is very good for you

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    3. I have never had any trouble with staining. Purple water for a princess is always appreciated :)

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  6. We also use a parm shaker and cut straws to fit and have our toddler put them in the small holes...works wonders!!!!

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    1. We might have to try that one! I was also going to try pipe cleaners in a pasta strainer to keep him busy. :)

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  7. No more toddlers, mine are all school age as of this year. But I'm thinking Christmas gifts for great nieces and nephews. Can't wait.

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    1. Great idea! These are all cheap and easy and would be great as gifts. :) You might want to check out some of my discovery bottle posts for gift ideas. The dolls and cups is also very cheap and easy and could be painted Christmas colors very easily. Happy crafting!

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  8. You can do this with an ice cream bucket and plastic milk jug lids.

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  9. I wonder if adding a little scrap of washable crayola to the soap when you melt it would make it color better?

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  10. I'm a soaper - it's what I do. DO NOT use food coloring in your soap!!!! It will potentially stain your skin, washcloths, and bathtub. BAD idea. You can color it with cocoa powder if you want brown and it will give it a chocolate scent, or other all natural alternatives like turmeric (many of you will have these in your kitchen cabinet). Also, you can use skin safe colorants specifically made for soap that you can buy online.

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    1. I made bath paints from liquid soap and food coloring, and my tub, towels, and children are stain free. As you can imagine, I had to use a high concentration of food coloring to achieve desired effect, and used these paints daily during tubby time. No issues :)

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  11. These are ALL Great projects! i work as an activity Director at a home for elderly residents with varying stages of dementia! I will definitely make the tongue depressor puzzles to use when I do one on one activities with different residents. I am also going to pass these ideas on to the OT students we have interning at the home!

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  12. Love all these ideas. Definitely going to do each of them with my little ones as he gets older! THanks!

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  13. Remember please that the carnal rule is that if you let you toddler play with anything small enough that it will fit inside a cardboard toilet paper roll, than it can choke them. Please refer to the American Heart Association guidlines on their website. Lets keep our little ones play time a safe time.

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    1. The little pom poms could be a really bad choking hazard!

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    2. If u pay attention to ur children while they play, or even play with them choking hazard reduces greatly.

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  14. My 15 month old grandson loves the pom pom toy! And my teenagers love to throw the pom poms around the living room that my grandson leaves laying on the floor! LOL!

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  15. These bath craeyons are genius. I definitely have to try them!

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  16. Wonderful ideas. I am putting up a Crafting Saturday Showcase on my blog in April. I would like this post to be one of the ones featured. I would only need one picture and then I'll put a link with the ideas. Please email me at authorjaniscox@gmail.com
    Blessings,
    Janis

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  17. Food coloring is not really great for them to eat or drink let alone soak in nightly. I wouldnt care aboyt staini g as much as the dangers of the junk they are sitting in.

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  18. My husband and I use food coloring in regular shaving cream. Our daughter loves to paint herself, her toys and the bath tub with it. NEVER stained anything!! Guess it depends on how much coloring you use.

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  19. I loved all the crafts. I am really excited to make the bath crayons. My kids love stuff like that. I thought I'd share it too with my readers. Also I never had a problem with staining. I made my own paint and used food colouring for the colour and had no problem with my kids staining, I actually expected it to stain but as my kids were so little I liked the fact that at least if thy ate it, I knew what was in it. You can see my paint on the website. :)

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    Replies
    1. www,smallstepsparenting.com

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  20. Very Nice ideas, when I will have kids will surely try them :)

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  21. What do you use the clothes pins for after pasting color swatches to them?

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    1. You match them up with the colors on the swatches. I made this years ago, and my son (now six!) and daughter (3) still play with them! It helps them identify variances in color. Tricky!

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  22. YOu have shared really an amazing and nice blog,.
    THanks for sharing with us,
    badezuber

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