Felt doll family, hair clippies, and night vision binoculars!

Happy Friday all! Who gets a 3 day weekend? I'm super jelly of all who do. But life's a weekend for the ol' troopleader isn't it? Today is a rare "what shall we do with today" day, as most of our days are pretty structured. Friday is normally Sunny's day at her BFF Ruby's house but Ruby and her mom are out of town this week. Mommy has a bit of work today then we can play!

For now, an assortment of fun.

First, the silly binoculars. Last night I was cleaning up and stopped to peer through the bright red cellophane wrapping of a discarded mini babybel cheese. You know the ones, the little round cheese wheels our kids love to open themselves and pretend the wax is pac-man (ok that's me, my kid has no idea who pac-man is). Lately I have been discarding a lot of babybel trash and was thinking I should come up with something to do with the wax and bits of pretty wrapping (it's a disease). The next thing you know,



I know, I know. Even the cat is like what the... but Sunny loves them. It changes the whole world! Now what to do with the pac-man wax? Hmmm...

Meanwhile, wanna see our family of felt dolls?



Heeheeheeeeeee.

I salvaged a shallow cardboard box (a box lid would work great) and lined it with felt, then cut figures out of thin cardboard and glued oatmeal-hued felt to them (because apparently that is our skin tone) and then the fun part- making outfits! Sunny has the most. She has swimsuits and dresses and play shorts and we're working on a princess dress! Daddy has a few hats and mommy has dress up clothes too. I glued a bit of sandpaper on the back of each piece of clothing so it will stick to our porridge epidermi and voila! Oh the scenes we could do! We could do a beach or a forest or a grocery store! Have you noticed yet that I love felt?

Speaking of, you can use the leftover bits to make hair clippies!



This I have only tried once so far but it's really easy. I was inspired by a hair clip Ruby wears sometimes. It looks handmade and it's really cute. I thought, how easy that could be! So I used Ava's 3rd birthday as an excuse to try some out. I also made a couple of bow clips out of ribbon but I'm not satisfied with those yet. I couldn't find my hot glue gun so I actually sewed these onto the clips but once I find my gun, oh, it's on.



Clip a few to a handmade card and you've got an inexpensive but personal gift for the wee lasses in your life.

Ooh! I just thought of what we're doing today. Miniature shop, here we come! squeeee!

Contact Paper Collages and more fun outdoors.

Today is a school day for Sunny, and I have no children so will therefore be working, not crafting or having other mom fun. boo! (Is it ok that I secretly relish these days? Just me and the cats and my coffee and the clickety clickety clickety of my craptop?)... So today's post will be retroactive.

Aside: Last night I dreamed of putting out wildfires with my old neighborhood friends in Pleasantdale (yes that is where I grew up- eerily fantastic, eh?) Shelby, Amanda, Danny, Megan, all of you were there! Anyway I woke up and realized it was probably due to my wearing to bed the same sweater I wore to a bonfire gathering at Stacy and Heidi's last weekend, the woodfire smell triggering both memories and alarm bells. Nutso. Anyhoodle, this reminded me to mention that if you can remember, is really cool to ask your kids immediately upon waking what they dreamed of. Often they will remember and recall cool visions and stories their little heads would otherwise have soon forgotten. I will never forget the first time Sunny came clambering into my warm morning blanket burrito to tell me about her first dream. "Mommy I had a blue bird in my hand and it flewed away!"

So, today's post is handy for very little children because it is easy for small hands and extremely low mess or fuss. (Muss is not a word. I just refuse.)

Lay a sheet of contact paper sticky side up on a small table, taping down the corners. Provide your child with colorful scraps of paper, bits of nature like leaves and flowers, dry pasta or anything else small and light. Let them go nuts arranging the small items on the sticky paper. Most things can be lifted and placed again and again. My daughter loved this beginning age 1 and still does. We used this method to learn our shapes too, and how you can arrange them together to make pictures (how some squares and rectangles can make a house, or 3 circles make a snowman, etc.) The same sheet can be used and reused until no longer sticky, then you can start all over again. I used to keep a sheet taped low on our refrigerator and a basket of media in the kitchen for times when Sunny wanted to be with me while cooking or cleaning in there. She was entertained and I was rewarded with an ever-changing work of art on my fridge!

Following are some pictures from a year ago when I took Sunny and Nora to their favorite neighborhood park to play and collect bits of nature, then we came home and made nature collages.


Play, play, play.


snack, snack, snack.


gather, gather, gather.


create, create, create!


repeat, repeat, repeat to hearts' content.


And here's one of wee Sunny in front of her fridge collage installation.

Terrariums!

Oh sweet cathexis! I am currently crushing hard on terrariums. Sunny (3), Ruby (4) and I recently made some sweet little mini gardens. It was so fun and so easy! I can't wait to make another.

Here are the items needed to make your own.

Container - Glass is great because you can easily see into your garden and whether it needs water or not. You can get creative here. From mason jars to aquariums, there are many options. The containers can have lids or not, it's up to you. Since my obsession began I can't pass by the glassware section of any thrift store without checking for the perfect min-garden container.

Pebbles- After you clean your container thoroughly, the first thing that goes in is a layer of small rocks or pebbles. This is so water can drain and collect in the bottom. (Again, put your noggin to use. In place of pebbles you can use sea glass, marbles or any other small, water-proof item you want to use.)

Activated charcoal (optional)- You can find this at nurseries and pet stores. Put a half inch or so on top of your drainage layer to keep your garden aerated if you're working in a container with a lid. If your container is open it is, in my opinion, not necessary, though I believe some people do use it regardless.

Moss- Moss is one of my favorite things on earth. The texture, the vivid color, the loamy smell. I love it all. Add a layer of moss at this stage to keep soil from settling into your drainage layer. This is not bad for your terrarium, just an aesthetic issue. I love to be able to look into the side of my terrarium and see the distinct layers at work.

Potting soil- Now it's time to add your potting soil. Keep in mind how big your plants are to allow adequate room.

Plants- Now it's time to plant! Little ferns, ground cover, and any small plant that likes a humid environment is good for a terrarium. Give them space between to grow.

Charms- I love to add some whimsy to my mini gardens with little charms such as fairies, gnomes, etc. AGAIN with the endless possibilities! Oh I just want a terrarium in my pocket everywhere I go!

This is the one that currently sits on my desk. It makes me grin every time I look at it.

Purse Craft and Candy Store

Hello! Today in my charge are girl scouts Sunny (3) and Nora (5). After lunch they asked to make a craft. They know I'm a sucker for craft hour. I didn't have anything on deck for once though, so I asked them to think of anything they might want to make. Sunny requested a real live elephant. Nora, ever the more practical of the two, suggested we make purses. Ah and just after I picked up a stack of felt on sale at Joann's last week! What a simple project! I decided I might make a fancier attempt at felt purses when I don't have two little girls climbing my legs with excitement.

As it is, each little clutch took me about 5 minutes to complete. I just folded a sheet of felt twice, sewed up the sides, turned inside out, sewed a button on the flap and cut a slit for the button hole. Voila!

Sunny's:


Nora's:


I let them decorate them with stickers (but ain't the possibilities just endless??) then I set up a candy shop with Sunny's toy cash register, a bucket of plastic lollipops, marbles for jaw breakers, craft puffs for gumdrops, etc. and gave them each some change to keep in their purses for candy shopping. Obviously this day's activity is not for kids under 3 and these 2 know better than to put anything in their mouths. Every kid is different so always use your best judgement about these things. Don't sue the troopleader if your kid has a Curious George moment with a nickel or a marble!





Stay tuned, as I plan to post a lot of photos and info about fun projects and outings of the past, then post a new one every day to inspire you and your little ones!