Sponge paints

Sorry for the delay! We are in the process of moving and it has been a hectic few weeks! We did manage to do some fun thing and activities each day!
Sponge paints seemed like a great idea for both my boys as it would be cleaner! My 2 year old really enjoyed it but of course did get it in places he shouldn't. It was much easier clean up though! That is a plus. I just put out 3 colors and let him paint on paper and even boxes as we were packing. He really enjoyed it. We will be using them for a background for a photo.
My 9 year old kept trying to cut fancy shapes in the sponges and wanted to do a whole boatload of sponges. I had to stop him from cutting them all! He is at the stage it is hard to please. He seemed to enjoy it while doing it but later complained that it was not fun and was a baby craft...can't please them all! ;) guess I will have to look I to more advanced ones!

Box tunnel

In the process of moving my kids have been playing with boxes and just generally getting in my way. (not unusual) I decided to pull this project off of pinterest via celebrateeverydaywithmebut did a smaller scale as I did not want to use a large box until after the move! We cut tunnels and covered the box with white paper and added details by printing some items out. The street is simply construction paper with chalk on it for the lines. This is how it looks now! We are going to add things as we go so it will freshen the toy up! My monster loves to crash the cars in line and makes them race. He also likes to get the pullback ones out and fly them off the top or try to get them lined up to race through the tunner!

My 9 year old is already thinking of building a city...I need to hold him back until after the move or he will use all my boxes! :)

Pencil Holder

We have been saving all sorts of things we normally recycle. Cans are one of them. We intend to make a can caddy and have them all put together but Carter is adamant that he do each one himself so we have only gotten started. He wants to put 6 together and fill them for his new teacher. For the first one he simply used duck tape and gems and glued them on. I kept wanting to stick my hands in to help but he kept getting mad! :) We will keep adding until we show you the final project!

Shaving cream and colored bubbles

I am sure most people have seen the colored bubbles in the stores lately. We were given one as a gift and decided to give it a try one afternoon, immediately I realized how messy they were and sealed it back up not wanting to stain the clothes the kids were wearing. We have seen the shaving cream play a lot on pinterest and have been playing with it ourselves for years so I decided to let the boys have at it with both the shaving cream and colored bubbles.
It ended up being art! The boys had fun lathering up and then blowing bubbles on each other I see the design they made when popped! Sorry for the few pictures buy my 9 year doesn't permet them anymore!! ;)

Lots of fun! Very pretty splatters and boys that were happy they were making a mess!! Pick some up it was worth it!

Money in the Bank

I wish! My 9 year old is a WWE freak. There was a Money in the Bank show yesterday and he got busy making his own briefcase just like the one that hangs from the chain in the show. He thought of this himself and go on the computer and found the stuff he needed to make it all while I was putting my 2 year old down for a nap. I love that he is becoming independently creative without me having to make him do crafts. Its nice, and gets him off the computer or xbox. Here is his project!

Rainbow Toast and Eggs

I thought this would be a great breakfast treat! The benefit from it was I actually got to drink a WHOLE cup of coffee while watching the boys!! WHOOEEE. Anything that lets me drink a cup of coffee while still hot is AMAZING. Found this one on pinterest (THANKS) via shareandremember. Simply milk, food coloring and bread needed! We used some for egg and toast and some for just toast! Pretty!

Homemade Binoculars

Simple craft today! Kids love looking through Pop Pop's binoculars, so we decided to make some! The boys are out hunting in the yard now looking for Big Foot, Bad Guys, Birds and Bugs. I like that something soooo easy can keep them busy and get their imagination running!

Homemade Binoculars Items Needed:
2 toilet paper rolls
tape
string

We just used paint tape and duct tape to decorate. You can have them decorate them or paint them if you want! Tape them together. Add a string or shoelace for them to wear around their necks and let them go!!! You can even tie this into the earlier scavenger hunt post and pair them up together! Have fun! We hope everyone is enjoying the posts and projects!

Duct Tape Purses/Wallets

This one if for older kids! We ran into someone with a duct tape purse and thought they were cute! I did the purses and my 9 year old did the wallets. He wants to try a purse but he gets the tape all wrinkly after a certain size :) I will leave the tutorial for the experts at: all things thrifty. I basically followed their instructions and decided that the fabric inside is not totally necessary. Just looks nicer. We used all duct tape and just double sided it! It was a fun project with a cute outcome! We gave some out for birthday gifts and Carter made wallets for his cousin. Here are some of the pictures!

Hummingbird sun catchers!

We love hummingbirds! Nana loves in the mountains and we see a lot! The boys are fascinated with how fast they are! We have some friends visiting from Illinois and decide that we could make hummingbird sun catchers so when they go home they can look at them and remember their trip to Colorado!
Items needed:
Contact paper
Tissue paper
Marker

I printed a humming bird coloring page from www.1001coloringpages.com and traced it onto the contact paper. I then cut it out and gave it to the kids with tissue paper. They could use big pieces or tear them up. Once completed press another piece of contact paper on top and trim! You can add details with market if you want! They looked beautiful! My friends 6 year old little girl loved them! She did three! Some made them all colors others made them the same. They had fun doing hem and turned out great!

Circle paints!

Today we decide to paint with circle objects, trying to teach my 2 year old shapes. We rounded up different sizes of circles and dipped them in paint then onto paper. We stuck with 2 colors as we are going to use the art in a project later. I also have figured out to limit the colors I give him otherwise it ends up bring a big blob of color! Callen enjoyed this a lot. We used bottle caps, crayon ends, Dixie cups, and toothpaste caps. It is quite messy but he had a lot of fun dipping! :) great project for little guys! My 9 year old wasn't entertained. I have an idea for the art that will come in a later post!

Clorox Containers Upcycled

We are going to make our own cleaning wipes and baby wipes so we are in the process of converting some containers. I will do some also but my 9 year old is the one who is doing them currently. It makes him proud to see his work. I have noticed though that if I do not stop him at a point he keeps going and going and going. I have looked and been very impressed at how well it looks and then a few minutes later I am like OMG (in my head) he keeps adding and adding! At least he is having fun!

Once again, I simply gave him a empty clorox container and art supplies. He came up with a beach theme on his own and I think he did a good job! :) He is anxious to make more! I will take better pictures later! Sorry about missing a close up shot today!!

Toddler Wipes Toy

I am not sure about other moms, but wipe containers are available in my house most of the time! I also have a 2 year old that seems to love to pull the wipes out of the containers one at a time. I catch him in the act at least once a week. Other times I will find wipes all over his room. We are in the process of making our own wipes, and doing research on them but thought this would be fun for him! We had Everything on hand and cost us nothing! I will continue to switch up the fabric and add different kinds, textures, and colors. Not sure what to call this but:

TODDLER WIPES TOY ITEMS NEEDED:

Empty wipes container

craft supplies to decorate (I let my 2 year old pick out what he wanted)

Glue Gun

Fabric (we used old clothes that had wholes and cut rectangles out of them)

We started by giving Callen the items he could choose from to glue on. This itself took 30 minutes as he is not used to being able to root through the craft bins. H likes all the bright colors of course. I used the glue gun where he told me to and he pushed them on except for the small beads as they are little I did not want him to get hot glue on himself. He dropped them on and I pushed in. We used some sparkly sticker paper and ribbed paper for different textures. He likes to strum on the ribbed top. Next we went to the scrap bin and found different textures of fabric to put in there. Fleece and Sweats were his favorite. We tied some together like a clown handkerchief and left some separate! This was a hit. I am not sure if he loves it as much as real wipes but he has fun with it! He now carries it around and shows everyone his magic. If he starts to go for his wipes in the bedroom I grab this one and give him it. I am pleased with this one! 

4th of July Firework Art

With all the activities going on for the 4th we stuck to a simple painting project. I set out red and blue paint added some water to thin it and gave the boys a straw. I quickly had to take the straw away from my 2 year old as he did not grasp to blow in it, he would for a minute and then tried to suck up the paint so...we gave him a paint brush.

Carter was excited they looked like fireworks, but it was not as easy as it looked. I guess next time I will add more water to the paint so he won't have to blow so hard! :) Quick, Easy, and something new with paints.

Mason Jar Lanterns

We found these at indulgy.com via pinterest and were excited to make them! Very easy to make! I think I have found that Carter my 9 year old just likes to go...He insists on not waiting for my help or instructions just dives in when I put the supplies down. His first lantern was interesting...he was upset about it until I sat down and helped him.

LANTERNS: ITEMS NEEDED:
MASON JAR OR ANY TYPE OF JAR
TISSUE PAPER
MOD PODGE (WE MADE OUR OWN 1/2 GLUE 1/2 WATER)
PAINTBRUSH OR SPONGE BRUSH

Simply take your paper, cut in shapes you want and modpodge on to the outside of jar! Once dried go over with a thin layer of mod podge! Careful not to tear! Carter was more pleased when we cut shapes out to glue instead of just wrapping around. I liked the look. I might try a fancier pattern paper next time! Will be cute on the deck by the hot tub!  Will do again!!! I will be excited once school starts so I can start doing some of these projects myself!! :)

Sponge Fights!

This is a great project and saves my fingers and time! It has been floating around pinterest and we have been waiting to try it! Great Water Balloon Alternative!

I bought a pack of 6 sponges from the dollar store. Cut them in thirds. Zip Tied the middle! Soak with water and throw! Lots of fun with this one! We will be making more!! No tieing of balloons, no picking up scraps for a week, the kids can pull them out themselves! Whooooeeeee FUN!

COLOR EXPLOSION MILK

This is another one we see everywhere on pinterest! The pin we used for instructions and question ideas is kidsactivitiesblog . They had some great ideas on questions to ask Carter. His answers were pretty funny! The nice thing about this is all items are on hand and not a lot of set up! Fill a plate so the bottom is covered with milk, drop food colors in and drip soap in! Very little soap needed! Put it q-tip for best result! Or just do a drop at a time!

The boys each got their own tub and I dropped the food coloring in. Then we talked about the soap going in and what it would do. Carter said "duh bubbles" He was quite surprised with the reaction! After multiple try's we decided it was best if you put he soap on a q-tip then put it in milk. It led to the best chasing colors. My 2 year old like it but had a hard time keeping his fingers out. His ended up brown pretty quick! Lots of fun though!

Bubble Snakes

We have seen the Bubble Snake around pinterest in quite a few places. My favorite blog we spotted it at is playathomemom . They have many great ideas. They have a ton of supplies too. I am not quite as fancy as them but still have fun! Carter has the chicken pox so I have to keep things simple and happy for him!



BUBBLE SNAKES: Items Needed
Empty Water Bottle, soda etc...plastic
Sock
Tape
Dishsoap and Bowl

Very Easy! Those with older kids might not even need to tape! We did because I figured my 2 year old would pull the sock off!

Cut the bottom off the bottle, Put Sock on (From your mismatch pile) :) Tape the top (I used duck tape)
Stick sock part in soap and water and blow! We had a lot of fun experiementing with these also. We would see who could get the longest one, who could get the fattest one etc... We even tried to race them down the slide. It didn't work down the slide! But made the slide fast! We also had seen pins that had colored them. I really would suggest not to do this! We tried it, food coloring everywhere!!!

The best part was the kids keep playing with them! When they got in the pool later they grabbed them and had fun blowing the bubbles in the pool. They took them with them to the shower and had fun in there also! I just switched the soap to Baby Soap in the shower! Viola! Clean Kids and they did not even know it! :)