Layouts by the numbers

Stamping Fun

I was running around with my buddy Lorien tonight (she is almost 6), and we decided to go to Michael's.  I don't know if I've mentioned before that I am an absolute sucker when it come to buying my son two things: books, and art supplies.  This apparently carries over to my friend's kids.

Her enthusiasm for everything in the store was beyond adorable.  She was particularly interested in stamps, and there were several $1 bins full of stamps.  So we picked out a few.  Ok, initially it was a few.  It turned into about 10.  Then we had to buy ink, naturally.  And some paper.  (Seriously.  I'm a sucker.)

When we got home, Lorien and her sister Aowyn (who is 7) were beyond pumped about the new materials.  We sat for over and hour as I taught them how to use the stamps and ink pads correctly: keep your fingers on the wooden grooves instead of the flat sides, rock the stamps on the ink pad instead of pounding them, clean the stamp really well before loading it with another color, etc.  We had a few mishaps, but on the whole I was really proud of them for how quickly they caught on, and how deliberate they were with both their stamping decision, and taking care of the stamps.  

Any kind of art activity is so, so good for kids.  Creating art is by nature a multi-sensory experience, plus it requires hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, mental planning, cause and effect reasoning . . . completely worth the time and effort.  If you're interested in blogs about art activities to do with children, the absolutely most lovely one I've found (and followed faithfully) is this: The Artful Parent.

Box drawing with Clara

Ok, so this isn't a scrapbook page, but some pictures about being crafty.  (click to view larger.)

I went to visit Miss Clara today (along with her mommy and baby sister) and this empty box was calling to us.  It was sitting in the hallway, having recently arrived carrying a birthday present for her (she will be 2 next month.)

It's amazing how much you can have with a Sharpie and some crayons.  She was most interested in the door I drew (along with windows and a doorbell) and the piano. :) She also liked the sun and rainbow I drew, then asked for a moon.  A lot of what I drew was directed by her, and I drew lots of shapes, her name, and the words mom, dad, and Zoe (her sister.)  She went to town covering the whole surface with an orange crayon.  Sweet sweet girl!!!

Album for a birthday girl

The days leading up to Aowyn's birthday were pretty busy for me, and I didn't get around to getting her a present.  (BAD Aunt Jenny.)  She LOVES scrapbooking, however, so I told her for her present I would help her make an album.

The chipboard 5x5 ringed album was only 99 cents at Target, as was the set of flower stickers.  I picked out a set of old KiMemories papers that would match the pictures (and each other.)  Oh I got her a set of sticky jewels at Michael's, too, and she was obsessed with them.  They were like $3?  I also picked out the best 8 pictures and sized them in Photoshop so they would look right in a 5x5 album. 

The hardest part was sitting down with Aowyn to make the pages - I tried to let her have artistic freedom, while guiding her a bit so the pages would look good.  :)  I did all the cutting, double-sided taping, and paper/photo placing (after consulting with her) and I let Aowyn have at it with the stickers and jewels.  I tried to go fast so she wouldn't get bored, but she IS just 6, after all.  She was pretty happy with the end result :)

School assignment: scarecrow

My buddy Elauna came home today with the following assignment: make a scarecrow out of materials found in your home.

I think that teacher underestimated the amount of materials found in my home.  :)

We cut the base out of a cardboard cereal box, then added layers of papers and stickers and fibers.  Elauna drew the scarecrow's face and designed the top of the hat, and the necklace (which bears the name "Emma.") And she helped me with tracing, color picking, and sticker and paper placement.

The piece of cardboard allowing it to stand alone is covered in grass-colored paper and covered with fall leaves stickers. :) Around its wrists and neck - and sticking out from its hat - are fibers meant to seem like hay. Then there's fibers as a belt, and also at the bottom of the overalls for clothing accent. :)

I had a fun time using my stash and silly creativeness on a non-scrapbook project!

Get Well card

Tonight as my friend dropped off my child (whom she had picked up after school) and her 3 kids (for me to babysit), she asked if we could make a get well card since Aowyn and I were planning on scrapbooking anyway.

This is what Aowyn and I made.  (She LOVES to play with rub-ons, so we used an old Marcella by K set.)  (She also likes making faces at the camera LOL.)

Then she and her sisters signed the inside of the card, and it was good to go!

Christmas ornaments

My best friend and I often baby-sit each other's kids . . . she has 3 kids and I have just the 1, so it's a pretty big change for me to have 4 kids at home!  Sometimes I put in a movie and turn down the lights, but sometimes I decide to do an activity with them.  Tonight was Christmas ornaments.  With very little Photoshop prep (and pictures emailed yesterday by mom!), I was able to amuse them for 30 minutes!

Here are pictures of the Christmas ornaments. The first column is the Photoshop file, the second column is the ornaments on the tree, the third is the girls proudly displaying their crafts.  (Jake didn't want to make a photo ornament today.)

I printed the images on cardstock, attached them to craft foam, then let the kids decorate the backs with glitter foamies. Then we ran a ribbon through hole-punched holes, and it's ready for the tree!  (We also sat for a while with more paper to goof off with MORE foamies.  You can tell Lorien - the youngest - liked the foamies the best.)

 

You can find the Christmas kit I used (by Eva Kipler) at SweetShoppeDesigns.