Ice cube painting....

Today at the little afternoon arts and crafts class that I teach every Wednesday we painted with ice cubes and it was tons of fun. I just used a little food coloring and water and froze it in an ice cube tray and added Popsicle stick halves for gripping. They worked best during the first half hour when they were still pretty frozen but the colors dulled quite a bit as they melted. It was still a ton of fun. A great summer craft for sure!

Root Children

(mama made root children)

(Sophie made flower fairy)
I am finally getting into gear and catching up with the Craftalong (info on my side bar).
This was the March project that Sophie and I completed while I was sick during Spring break.
These were so much fun to make but the sewing was little tricky for my 10 year old. I wanted to make one in every color, and I almost did. I am sure they will be present in our home for many springs to come.

Tiny tea luminaries.....

I was at a friends house a few weeks ago when I noticed a beautiful homemade lantern on their dinner table that her son had made in preschool. Since I teach a weekly craft hour with children and I am always looking for simple and beautiful craft ideas for children. I was so excited with the idea of making these sweet little luminaries in time for Thanksgiving. My friend also happened to have box of baby food jars that she gave me to use. Later I found a bunch of tea lights at a thrift store that fit in the jars perfectly.
All you need to do is brush a layer of glue onto the jar, then stick on pieces of torn tissue paper and then cover tissue with another layer if glue to smooth it out. Light and enjoy!
Warning they are incredibly addictive to make. I can't seem to stop making them. They are slowly filling the dark corners of our home.They glowed on our Thanksgiving table as we gave thanks for our blessings. As we near the Winter Solstice these warm little luminaries warm our souls and bring much needed light into the darkness.
These would make perfect gifts for family and friends from your sweet child.
Thanks for the idea Hope!
p.s. You can see more beautiful homemade lanterns here.

Five Little Pumpkins Craft

I found this cute craft while doing an on-line search for my Wednesday arts and crafts class.When I find the link I will post it,I am not claiming got have made this up, in fact I have seen several similar crafts on-line. All you need is construction paper, glue, markers or crayons, and Popsicle sticks. We added the curly gift ribbon to ours as vines. My class is pretty limited in time but If we had all day to do this we could have painted the fences, as it turns out we barely had time for the glue to dry.
This is a fun little craft for all ages.

Bubble Printing....

Every Wednesday afternoon I teach a little arts and crafts class for kids. This week we did bubble prints and they were so pretty I though I would share them here with you. This is my first experience with bubble printing, I have never heard of it before a few weeks ago. I know I would have used this painting technique while I was in art school. I think it is so beautiful and fun too.
All you do is mix a bit of paint( a tsp , if that) with liquid soap and a tablespoon or so of water into a dish or bowl and blow into it with a straw until the bubbles are exploding over the top of your container. Then stamp you paper over the top and the bubbles will pop leaving beautiful prints. We used acrylic paint but I am sure tempra and liquid watercolor would work just as well.
Make sure the kids you are crafting are old enough to blow, not suck into the straw. Blowing lightly works best, one little girl left craft time with a face full of purple freckles.

Chicken Easter Egg Cozies

Here is my finished Craftalong project for March. Chicken Easter Egg Cozies! So quick and fun to make! These are sure to be part of our Easter tradition from now on.
It is never too late to join the Craftalong. If you are interested please click the link in my sidebar.

Valentines Day wreath

Sophie and I made this fun fabric wreath inspired by a tutorial on GardenMama's blog. It was quick, easy and fun to do. I feel inspired to make one for every holiday now. It is also a good way to use up some of my fabric stash.