Teaching Kids To Craft

I am always a bit frustrated when I see kids craft projects posted on the internet that couldn't possibly have been created by a kid.  Adults make "perfect" craft projects but kids create very differently from adults and guess what?  They think their final product is amazing no matter how it looks.  I am a firm believer in letting my children express themselves as they create and even though I sometimes have to stop myself from "perfecting" their project, I encourage them to make it how they want.  So the other day when we were going to make some birthday cards for grandma I quickly whipped up this project:

I cut out all my pieces but didn't put it together.  I let my girls pick their own papers and then drew all the pieces for them to cut out.  They did the cutting of everything but the feet and black eyeballs.

Then, and we have never it done it this way before, but what we did is I showed them (instead of just telling them) what to do as I put mine together.  It worked out so well and I wasn't frustrated because they weren't following or understanding my directions.  I told them to watch and showed what to do each step and then they repeated on their pieces.  It was so much funner that way and they didn't get frustrated and want to give up because they didn't know what I was talking about.

In the end this is how their owls turned out:

Now here is a good comparison of what an adult can do verses a child.  But theirs are still adorable. I am really proud of how well they watched and followed directions.  Why didn't I think of show as you go crafting before?

After we were done I asked them to dictate to me a message from Grandma.  Don't you just love how kids just say exactly what is on their minds:

Valentines Coupon Books for Kids from Mom

Look what I got for Christmas:

It's a package of 500 small paper bags( 8 1/8 " x 4 1/8") from Sam's Club.  It is just what I asked for.  I mean what more does a girl need than 500 paper bags and Pinterest-it's a match made in heaven.  So I decided that this year I am going to try and do 1 project using paper bags a month (at least , though I might be an overachiever).  So for this month I thought I would show you how to use paper bags to make a coupon book for your kids. There are always coupon books for kids to make for parents but how about one that you make for your kids.  

The one that I made has 6 coupons so you will need 6 bags.  I do have a link to the coupons however they are not rewritable (because I am not smart enough to figure that out-so if you know how please share that info) so if you are good with the coupons I came up with then please feel free to download and print them to use.  If you would like a set of blank coupons sent to you please send me an e-mail.

1. You will start by putting all 6 bags together and stitching through the bottom end  (eyelets, brads or staples would probably work too).

2. Don't stitch up any higher than a 1/4" because you need the full length of the bag to fit the coupons.

2. Now you will attach the bag flaps to each other.  If you fold back a bag you should see something like this:

Put a couple of pieces of double sided tape on the flap and tape it down to the next bag.  Repeat with all the bags.

Then place the bags with the flap side up.  This will become the top of your coupon book.

3. The next step is to decorate the front.  I cut a piece of cardstock the same width as the bags and large enough to cover the bottom flap of the paper bags.  I also cut a small embellishment piece that I punched with a scallop punch and also the cover.

4. Attach these with glue, glue dots or double sided tape.  I tied a bow with some embroidery floss over the top (but bakers twine would look excellent-I just don't have any of it).  I am not sure if I am still completely satisfied with the cover but I didn't have any more time to fret over this project, so I moved on.

5. If you want you can stitch over the end of the cover paper again if you want-just adds a little extra detail.

6. Print out the coupons on cardstock (or presentation paper which is what I have been using lately and I love it.  I got 2 big packs at the thrift store one day and I am so happy with it).

7. Cut around the coupons.

8. Attach little ribbons or other embellishments to the ends of the coupons to make them easy to pull out.

And there you have it.  A cute and easy Valentines Day coupon book for your kids.  Of course you could use the same idea for husbands or boyfriends, or even grandparents.  

Want to print the coupons yourself?  Go here and here for coupons and here for the cover.

Also shared here:

Family Goals for 2013: A Better Job Chart and Warm Fuzzies

This year I wanted to incorporate a few ideas into our family that will hopefully be helpful to both kids and parents.  I am big on traditions or things that are repetitive for my kids (like things they can count on happening daily or weekly).  I wanted to improve our job chart (to make it something that was user friendly for my kids and made them more accountable) and I wanted to create a new daily tradition for our family for the dinner table that encouraged positive actions and words.  Here is what I did.

#1. The Job Chart

I found this chart at Walmart in their back to school clearance for .98 cents.  I modified it a bit by dividing the chores section into two columns (one for the to do's and one for the jobs done).   

I did a search online for job chart ideas and let me tell you there are plenty of them out there.  I needed something that was visual since my kids can't yet read.  I also needed something that I could make rather quickly.  I didn't want the process of making the job chart to be a waste of my time.  There were some really cute ideas online but I kept telling myself, "I want this to be user friendly and don't want to worry about my kids wrecking it in the process of using it."  I found this fantastic set of job pictures here at Confessions of a Homeschooler.  I printed off two sets but had them print so that I was getting 2 pages on one (because I wanted small pictures to put on my glass rocks) and I also printed out the blank cards so I could draw some of my own job ideas.

 I cut out the pictures that I wanted from the job chart cards.  I picked jobs that would be my kids everyday jobs plus a bunch of others so that they could choose two extra jobs each week.  I used a glue stick, rubbed it on the picture side, stuck it to the flat side of the glass rock and added a magnet with some superglue.

 So the idea is that they have 5 jobs which are their everyday jobs (make bed, brush teeth, get dressed, pick up toys, and preschool).  Then they each choose 2 extra jobs for the week (fold laundry, put away groceries, clean the art center, clean dollhouse area, clean bathrooms, help mom cook etc.)  Each day when they accomplish a job they move their marker to the done side.  I want to make them more accountable with their job chart so that I can say things like, "no you can't have that until I see that you have 3 jobs done."  I think the visual reminder will be really helpful to them.  I also included jobs for mom and dad because in our house everyone does jobs and some family members (dad in particular) need a little reminder of what his or her jobs are as well.  Each week at Family Home Evening the kids will choose new "extra" jobs and we will assign mom and dad new jobs.

 Idea #2: Warm Fuzzies Jar

I came up with this idea to encourage everyone in our family to focus more on the kind and positive things in our family.  Every parent knows how easy it is to tell your kids to "stop", "don't", "quit it" and to find all kinds of things that are annoying, bossy, rude or unkind.  But it harder to recognize and acknowledge all the good things (well at least it is for me-I want to but I don't always do it).  The warm fuzzy jar sits in the center of our table.  Each night at family dinner we take turns sharing kind things that we saw happen in our family during the day.  Each family member can technically share as many kind things as they want to but at some point there may have to be some monitoring if the ideas are just being shared so that someone can hear themselves talk or put a cool pom pom in a jar.  When the jar is filled we will go and do a fun family outing like go swimming, go to a movie, go out for dinner and ice cream or go to a kid museum then we will empty the jar and start again.  I am hoping that what ultimately happens in our home is that everyone works a bit harder to be kinder and to notice the kind deeds we do for each other. 

Keeping Memories: Made Simple (Part 2)

Here is another set of easy memory keeping ideas.  These are things that can both be made in a few hours or ideas that you can add to over a period of time.  Sometimes I just get a little bit of time in which I try and get something put together as quick as possible and other times I start something that I only have time to add to periodically.  Here are some examples of both.

Idea #1. A sisters picture book.  This is actually the second one of these I have made.  I intend to make one a year (and now that we have a baby brother in our family they will become siblings books).  These are so easy to make.  The best thing to do is look for an online picture ordering deal (like sometimes Snapfish has 200 prints for only a few dollars).  I never can think of 200 pictures to order or why I would want that many but for something like this it is perfect.  I always make one for each child when I am doing it.  I order a bunch of prints of them together, punch holes in them and make a cute cover.  Add rings and it is done.  You can write on each picture what they are doing but of course that adds time.  I did that on the first one I made but this second installment I did not.  It is just a fun little album showing them together.

Idea #2: A mini family album.

Last year after we got family pictures done I ordered extra prints for each girl of some of the family pictures and some of the individual pictures.  I made one for each girl-specifically with pictures of them.  I wrote a personal note on the inside cover of the album, laminated it and bound them.  It is just a simple little book with a specific theme.  And this is a good place to put in a plug for getting your own laminator and binding machine.  I ordered both from LTD and love them.  They are fairly cheap models (both in price and quality) but they do the job and are so handy for memory keeping ideas.  Just a thought for Christmas gift ideas.

Idea #3: Girly scrapbook. 

Like I said in the first of the series, I am not a good scrapbooker.  I found this cute set of scrapbook paper though that had all these great prompts for memory keeping.  It was meant for an actual scrapbook I know but I just cut the paper apart, wrote in the spaces provided, and added pictures in between and punched holes in the corner and put them all on a ring.  They turned out to be wonderful little mini albums about each girl.

Idea #4: Picture DVD's.  

There are lots of programs out there to create DVD's of pictures.  I use Smilebox. It is super easy and user friendly.  They have lots of different themes to choose from.  You can choose to add their music options or if you pay for their service you can add your own music.  I try and create one of these each year-either per child or of the family.  

Idea #5

A "What you Said" book.  My friend gave me this when Small Fry was a baby.  I don't have one for my other children and it is one of those memory ideas that is hard to keep up-especially if you have more than one child but it is fun and worth giving a try.  I didn't use it really as it was intended.  The pages had specific spots on which to record different things your child said.  I just basically wrote entry's like a journal.  I tried to record some of the super funny things she would say as well as make little entries of things she was able to do at certain ages (like "at 20 months you could do.....).  I only kept it up until she was a little over 2 I think but it is still going to be a fun record for her.  I tried to record things my little pumpkin said in my journal from time to time but I know I didn't write down nearly as many things for her.

Do it Yourself Art Center for Kids

My girls are at an age where I can trust them to write and draw on a paper rather than all over the house and right now it is one of their favorite things.  I decided that it was time for me to throw caution to the wind and just let the art supplies be where they can be used.  Part of that came from talking to my mom who has been finding all sorts of different art and craft supplies she had for us when we were kids that she was always "saving" for just the right project.  Now she is wondering what she ever saved it for-why didn't she just let us use it?  That got me thinking.  I have tons of stuff in my craft room that I have been stock piling and for what?  Why not clear out some of my space and just let my girls have the stuff?  Who cares if it all gets used in a few days.  I have more and so does the dollar store.  Who cares if they right on a paper once and throw it away or glue one thing to it and call it a masterpiece.  The fact is that they are exploring and creating and I would much rather have my children be creative than be good at a sport, or dance or even reading.  So I created this little art center for them while they were gone one day. 

 I had found this piece of peg board at a thrift store a few months ago and finally decided that this is where is needed to go.

 I found this card box at the thrift store and turned it into the paper station.  I filled it with scraps of colored paper and note books, envelopes, paper dolls and writing paper.  Below are jars of pom poms, buttons and craft sticks.

 I used a few pegs to hang scissors and bags of chipboard letters and decorations, some foam stickers and paper flowers (all stuff that was just taking up space).

 I bought these cups for a dollar for a set of 4.  They are attached with zip ties to the peg board.  Below are two baskets: one for glue and one for stickers.

The whole project cost me around $20.00 and is so well worth it.  It will take some getting used to with the girls remembering to put things back but if I can learn to relax and just let them create and play then it will be one of the best things I have ever created for my kids.

Creative Mom #8 Bits of This and That

Hello Small Fry & Co. readers! My name is Britli and I am the girl behind Bits of this and that. I am so excited to be blogging over here today! I recently have just started a blog and love being part of the blogging world. I love to craft, sew, decorate, organize, paint, coupon and scrapbook. I blog about bits of this and that, a little of everything!
I have a 9 month old boy and his room is done in a cowboy theme. With all of the subway art floating around I decided to do a cowboy themed one to go with his room. So thats where the project started....
This is the before picture.... I found this frame at DI for a dollar and thought it would be perfect for this project.

I started out by taking the old picture out and using the cardboard piece behind it. I got paint color strips and glued them onto the cardboard piece. (I did every other strip with the dark end on different sides so the dark and light wouldn't be the same place) I put a books on top of it until it dried so it wouldn't curl.

Once the glue dried I cut the extra off and put it on a newspaper. Then paint with crackle medium and let that dry.

Once the crackle medium was dry I painted over the top with a tan paint.

As its starting to crackle...

I then got out my handy dandy Silhouette! I did cowboy words so it would match Baby B's room, but you could do any variety of words. Also if you don't have a silhouette you could print or stamp letters and cut them out. Or even the press on letters would work good too. :) (Or if you want certain words cut out in vinyl e-mail me and I can do cusotm orders through my etsy shop. :) There is a link on my blog.)

After I pulled all the extra vinyl off. (I had to do it in a few different pieces where the frame is so long) And yes the U is missing in "Buckaroo." Accidentally pulled it off too so I had to cut an extra one. :)

I then pressed transfer paper on top of the vinyl so I wouldn't have to mess with the spacing.

Here it is once on the transfer paper. It is backwards but will be the right way once it is on whatever you are putting it on.

Here was the first finished product. I got this far and didn't like the color of the frame. So back to a new idea... :)

I decided to paint it with a really light tan. Once it was dry I sanded it to make it look distressed and old. I also got out a flat head screw driver and scratched it up and hammered some screw driver marks into it. Yep don't know what else to call that. :)

And here is the finished product! It was a fun project and really quite easy and quick!

Stop by Bits of this and that and say hi! Become a follower! And stay a while and see what I have been blogging about!