Derby Horse and Hat

We live in Kentucky, so when the Kentucky Derby rolls around, it's a big deal. It's that time of year and Derby is right around the corner. Last year we babysat the sweet 2 year old that we keep during the week for Derby (her parents went to Derby - how fun!).  So, in the spirit of Derby we made a few projects.  A Derby Horse and a Derby Hat. 

For the horse, I had the girls put their shoes on and stand on a brown piece of construction paper.  I traced around one of their shoes and then had the 4 year old cut hers out and I cut the 2 year old's out. Then we cut out a strip for the neck and two triangles for ears. 

Like the tongue...a sign of a true artist at work, right?  Michael Jordan stuck his tongue out when he dunked the ball, so I take that to mean whatever she sticks her tongue out while doing, she'll do like a pro :)

I had pink yarn (I know, not realistic, but it's "pretty"...and that matters to some little girls), so I wrapped it around our paper towel holder and then cut down the middle to make several at one time little "hairs" for the mane.

After that we glued the ears and neck to the face (foot).  Once the horses were assembled we glued the mane (yarn) to the neck and between the ears.  After that we just glued on eyes and drew nostrils for the nose and our horse was complete. The 2 year old's horse ended up with 4 eyes and some extra colors on it...love the creativity of little ones.

Then we thought we should make a Derby hat to go with our Derby horse. 

For the hat, we cut the middle out of a paper plate (plus a little to get around her head) - this I did with just the 4 year old while the 2 year old napped.  I let her decorate her hat with markers and stickers while I cut different size squares from old magazines.  I chose pages that were brightly colored and in contrasting colors.  Then I had her cut them in flower shapes.  This can be done free hand, or you can fold the squares in half to make a triangle, then in half again into a triangle shape, and then once more - then cut the edge of the triangle and open it up to a flower. Then we glued 3-4 flowers on top of each other largest to smallest to make our finished flower.  These would be cute with a button glued in the center too.

Then we glued the flowers on the hat, punched two holes in the sides and put yarn on it to tie the hat in place.  She saw a picture of the 2 year old's mom with her Derby hat on (which she wore to the side) so she had to wear her hat to the side because "that's how you wear a Derby hat!"

Don't mind the food on her face :)

Let the races begin...

Molly

Makeover Monday: A Box Turned House



This Monday we decided to makeover a box.  I know houses out of boxes are pretty standard, but I'm pretty happy with the little porch we were able to make for our house.  This was a bathroom vanity box and in it were these nice thick pieces of cardboard with supports in just the right place to make them hold a 90 degree angle very nicely.  We used them to create the roof for the house and porch and then I had saved some of the nice thick rolls that you get when you purchase the fabric that has to be ordered.  

I planned to spend time painting it a pretty pink color with my daughter one afternoon, but before we got to that, she wanted to "decorate" it.  The decoration process turned into a week long, multiple friend project and it was so fun to see all their ideas come to life. I just left the craft supplies out for a week (until they started making their way into other rooms) and let the kids decorate whenever they got the inclination.  8 kids worked on decorating this bad boy and I think it's just fantastic!

We plan to finish the mailbox, number plate, and flower boxes in the near future. 

Getting Crafty!

Molly

What Do You Do with Your Kid(s) Artwork?

I have piles and piles of my daughter's artwork that I hate to throw away, but I'm not sure what to do with. There are a few art projects that I have actually done something with and I'm so glad I did. 

I made a binder with all the art projects she did for preschool this year (we homeschool, but you can do this with what she/he bring home too - I included some of her Sunday school pictures too).  I just slipped the projects into sheet protectors and into a 3 ring binder.  This works great for things made on an 8 1/2x11 sheet or smaller.  Construction paper (I discovered) is too large for a binder.  So, all her construction paper projects are stuck in the folder part in the back.

Once I realized construction paper is too large for a binder and that it fades over time, I decided to buy a large package of scrapbook paper at Hobby Lobby.  It's almost as big as a ream of copy paper and it's about $10 (so a little more than construction paper) but it's also more like card stock weight. Nice thing is it doesn't fade and fits nicely into the binder - so it's worth the extra few dollars to me. 

Some of the special pieces I framed.  We have two pieces hanging on my daughter's bedroom wall.  They are her first painting and her second drawing (first drawing went to the grandparents).  I love seeing these all the time.  It's a reminder of how far she's come in her artistic ability and it adds color to her walls. 

If they weren't her "firsts" I would probably change them out every month or so to change it up, but since these are firsts, they are staying. 

A friend of mine staples or tapes large pieces of construction paper together and tapes the projects into her "books" so that she can fit all different sizes of artwork into the books. She said her daughter enjoys going through her books and looking at all her artwork. 

What do you do?  I'd love to hear your comments and get a few more ideas...I currently have a basket on a bookshelf and a drawer in a dresser packed and these projects need an organized, new home :)

Busting at the Seams with Art,
Molly

Bubble Wrap Art

This is definitely a "pinspiration." I saw this on pinterest and had to try it out myself.  We did this with my 4 1/2 year old daughter and the 2 year old I babysit.  Both were able to do it and both had a great time.  It was fun making multiple prints and also trying different looks as we dragged the bubble wrap across the paper.

To do your own Bubble Wrap Art, cut a piece of bubble wrap the same size as the paper you'll be using.  Then have the kid's paint the bubble wrap. 

Notice the blue on my table?  That's a shower curtain from the Dollar Tree...also found that tip on Pinterest (I believe).  Works great for a no mess painting session and I don't have to go scrounging around for newspaper.  It just stays in our paint basket with all the painting supplies.

After the bubble wrap is completely painted, lay it on the paper and press down all around the bubble wrap.

Then pull it up and voila, you have a beautiful piece of art work.  You can make several "prints" before painting again.  The bubble wrap can also be washed with soap and water to be reused for another project :)

For a picture of the finished product, visit the website where I initially saw the idea.

Molly