Make Your Own Shrinky Dinks

Does everyone know that #6 recyclable plastic (usually clear take out food containers) is shrink plastic?

It is true!

So, here is what I do. I save it up and trim it down (using my scrapbooking trimmer, scissors, craft punches, etc). I round the corners using a corner punch and punch holes using a hole punch.

Then let the kids write or trace a drawing on it. They shrink up thicker and heavier than the storebought film.

I also like to make teeny tiny ones & have the kids write their names and the year on them. I use them to tag certain xmas ornaments so we know whose are who’s. Plus seeing their penmanship is always cute! I use a jump ring to attach the nametag and it is small enough that it is unobtrusive.

And because I am often lame about taking photos as I craft here are some other photos to show the shrunken size.

~~

 

 

crafting with a 4 yr old

With Christmas less than 100 days away crafting is in full swing.

I got some little flat wooden hearts at Michael’s (thank you, 40% off coupon) and sprayed them with chalkboard paint (define obsession- I am not obsessed *twitch twitch*). Some I punched with my handy dandy cropodile (I was skerred but it punch right through like buttah!) and will use those as gift tags and some I am glueing to clothespins and will pin a gift’s ribbons (that sounds confusing – I just wanted tag options)

Then I had a craft fail (I stuck some cork tiles on some more kitchen cabinet doors and for some reason they made the cabinet doors not close all the way- ugh- so I ripped them off) but I made lemonade outta lemons. I traced the little chalkboard hearts and cut them out with scissors, punched cropadile holes in them and was going to leave it at that but . . . we had the glitter out and, ya know, I have glitter in my veins! They kinda look like sugar cookie ornaments now.

So, Miss Crafty 4 year old painted on the glue and I poured on the glitter (sorry, she is not to be trusted with a paper plate full of glitter on her own!) I used modge podge instead of elmers just because when I cleaned my craft closet recently I discovered a plethora (a plethora I say!!) of bottles of modge podge.

But then we had this leftover glue and glitter and the pile of clothespins was RIGHT THERE. Before I knew what happened we had glittered tiny, small and regular sized clothespins. Not sure what to do with them other than glue magnets to the back and gift them out at the holidays.

bird collage on a plate

Saw this:

Made this: 

We’d painted with blue paint the day before and instead of tossing the paper plate paint palette, I remembered this project. She loved it! T drew & cut the bird and egg shapes. She did the rest. We talked about nests and what they are made of. She wanted to make more! It did take a few days (and a nighttime elf adding more glue to ensure structure stability) to dry completely.

Making Angry Bird Cupcakes

Saw these and showed them to the 13 yr old and he recreated them for the 8 yr old’s birthday!

Boxed cake mix cupcakes and this frosting. The frosting was amazing and made wayyyyy too much. It covered 2 boxes of cupcakes with loads extra! Turns out it is Martha’s 7 minute frosting. Gonna have to find a recipe that makes a smaller batch.

We went through our stash of cake decorating supplies and bought a few things at central market. The eggs are candy coated almonds. The eyes are mini choc chips jammed into mini marshmellows. The beaks are gummy orange slices snipped into thirds. The bag of large marshmellows for the bellies went missing so we improvised. And T came up with the black (from angry birds Rio) bird design all by himself.

We had a yummy dinner, opened gifts and then enjoyed these! And, yes, this is the best photo of all three kids. Do you know how hard it is to get all three to look at you and smile- and not imitate an angry bird or fake a smile?

Making Cow Shirts!

If you know me- you know how much I adore Chick Fil A. My fave store- they know me by name. (is that a bad thing??) They know I want a sweet tea with no ice and an ice water (I mix my own – that’s how I roll).

And Friday was Dress Like A Cow Day. The littlest one needed a shirt so we made it using the spin art machine. Squeezing the paint bottles is good fine motor skillin’ for her and just plain fun. We use the paintings like stamps to make spots on a shirt. We have done this loads of times before- word of warning: If the kids are making one for you try not to let them stamp two RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE CHEST. Also, don’t do red or mostly red- looks bloody. We have done spider web prints for halloween party and we have also used the artwork as gift tags, fronts for thank you notes and cards. We love our spin art machines (I may have recently downsized from 4 machines to 2- what?? I cannot pass them up at yardsales!)

The CFA dress like a cow experience was great! The 8 yr old said he had to wear those shoes because they look like hooves (how smart!) and the littlest one is wearing shoes (clear glitter jellies) but looks barefoot in the photo. She stole my hat. And does anyone get the joke I made with my mask? No one but the Husband seemed to get it. The boys wanted tie on masks. I wanted mine on a stick so the littlest one did, too.

Which brings me to a strange new phenomenon! The littlest one freaked out when she saw the CFA cow person in a costume. I mean really, really scared- hiding under the table, so scared she was on the verge of crying - Wow. That was a new thing. I sent her to the car with T while I got the food and when I got to the car she hopefully asked “Did you kill it?!?” She said the cow wanted to get her. And then all she could talk about was the “cow with the big head” and how even though it was a person in a costume it wanted to get her. *sigh* But it was still a great time.

Toilet paper Roll = pencil holder

Cannot recall where I first saw it but we have been making these things for years now. Toilet paper tube + 2-3 binder clips (depending on size of clips). Clip one med or lrg or 2 small at one end of the tube to hold it shut. Clip another on one side and fold one silver arm up to create the hanger. Fits easily over a push pin. We have these on each corkboard and several by the kids’ desk. Yes, you can write on the tube to jazz it up. We also sometime staple the end shut and just use the binder clip for hanging.

Arctic–semi homeschool project

The 2nd grader had to make a diorama about the Arctic. hmm ok. But the homeschooler teacher in me is a little . . well, let’s just say I was googling a lot and he is wayyy less artisticly patient than the 6th grader so there might have been some teeth grinding and eye clenching and I might have had to have my wonderful hubby help him finish it or I would have gone absolutely crazy with frustration.

Here are some of the things I found for him to use:

I found a box and a piece of cardboard to wedge in it. The diorama was about the arctic habitat and I wanted him to understand both the land and sea habitats.

I had him go digging through the gift wrapping supplies and find white or silver tissue paper and he glued it to the box and cardboard wedge but you could read through it so we also glued tinfoil on it, too.

I printed the pictures out and had him cut them out – leaving space around the and enough of an edge that they can be staggered for perspective. Hard for him to do with his dysgraphia but was good practice for him.

I showed him how to glue the fishing line on with a scrap paper glued over it on the backside. And he had a ball with those!

I was trying to teach him perspective and might have gotten a wee irritated when the husband just let him glue the photos on any old way wherever. (time for me to breathe and let go of my perfectionism and control and understand now was not the time to try to teach perspective, now was the time to Get ‘Er Done).

I had wanted him to glue cotton balls or sytofoam peanuts as snow or icebergs but that did not happen. Knowing he had to explain his model, I printed the same photos much smaller and he trimmed and glued them to a piece of paper and then wrote the name of each animal (so he did not have to remember it). Then we glued these to each side of the diorama. I just loved the big polar bear infographic and had to use it somewhere so he just glued it to the backside.

I think it came out nice. I was happy that he had done all the work with minimal help from us (well, I did most of the prep work but he did almost all the hands on work). And he got an A! He was the only one to do the arctic! I guess the ocean habitat is way more fun for most folks. But I was glad he got to learn some new facts and was interested in it.

Case Closed

Easy craft and the 13yrold whipped out a handfull in no time flat.

I have some stiff felt on hand. Folded it in half and roughly cut the shape, sharpie dots on the inside, Big Bite to punch the holes,  use large giant needle and yarn to stitch on the outside. Easy cheesey. Had to play with the size but also good for eyeglass case, cell phone case etc – gift for the grandparents!!