Monday, September 29, 2014

Homemade Toys: Felt Leaves

Continuing with the homemade toy festival going on around here, I bring you, Felt Leaves!


You may remember the Felt Board that I made back in the spring with flowers, grass, and clouds.  The leaves can also be used with that, or thrown into the air with reckless abandon.  They float slower than paper, making the felt a bit more realistic for leaves.


 Supplies:
Sharp scissors
Felt in Fall colors
Fine point permanent marker

This was really pretty easy.  I freehand cut out some leaf shapes, then drew on veins with my permanent marker.  I even tested to see if the marker would come off while it was still "wet"- and it was totally fine.  I did some ovalish leaves, pointy maples, and roundish oak leaves, in yellow, two shades of orange, and red.  I also made a little plastic bag for them, complete with a hanging ribbon, so that they can (theoretically at least) be cleaned up and hung on a hook.

We'll see if they ever make it back into the bag

Friday, September 26, 2014

Homemade Toys: Halloween Sensory Bottle

 John's been on vacation this week; we were supposed to go to the beach, but he has been sick, so it's been a stay-cation.  Suffice to say, we've been making a lot of fun toys with an extra pair of hands around.  Stay tuned for details on all of the projects below (and more!)

The teepee is finally finished! Even the dog likes it!
Felt leaves!

Working on decorations for Z's upcoming b-day
Halloween in a bottle!
Inspired by this post, I decided to make Z a Halloween Sensory Bottle.  I didn't have a fancy water bottle, and couldn't find those tiny spiders at any stores nearby, so I used what I had.  I think it turned out pretty well!

Supplies: 
Water bottle- empty
Baby oil (so that the "webs" and halloween bits float slowly)
White yarn, cut into short lengths
Halloween confetti
Clear packing tape

Into a dry bottle, add your confetti and yarn. Fill with baby oil (Alert! This will use almost an entire bottle of baby oil, just so you know.). Seal.  The original author glues the bottle shut with super glue, but I used tape (since that's what we had).  I think it will stay closed just fine, but this activity should probably be supervised.  Shake it up!  Let your kid shake it up!  Be mesmerized by the things floating around.  :)  

I think next time, I will add a bit of glitter- because who doesn't like glitter?

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

This is real life

Sometimes I don't get everything done.  Most of the time, probably.  


This is real life.


I've been trying to contain the plethora of toys everywhere by putting away a few sets of things that were driving me crazy.  It's sort of working.


Then the Bean wants to color.


This happens roughly 10 times a day.


I tape these re-used posters from J's work to the floor (because they're slippery!) and she can color to her heart's content for a few days on the same paper.  And it makes for a colorful entryway too.
Sometimes Minnie likes to help.



Sometimes the crayons run away from home. 

(Did I mention that they're washable crayons?  Really fabulous parenting choice by me, considering that she's already drawn on a leather chair, my side of the bed, and the front door. Everything came off with water!)


 Did you notice that there are 10' PVC pipes all over the living room too?  They're for a super secret project that I'm almost finished making.  For now, Z likes to pick them up and scream into them, surprising herself with the distance of sound every time. :) It's super cute.

I guess what I'm saying is, embrace the chaos.  And if not embrace, at least find the cute side of it!  (We won't talk about how many dishes are in the sink right now.)

Monday, September 8, 2014

New Crayons!

They won't look like this for long!



Who doesn't love new crayons?



It makes me happy that she loves drawing so much!



Sometimes we are so excited about crayons, we run out before bath time just to draw some more.