Painting on a Mirror

Today is hot, really really hot so to entertain Liam while Neevah was at 'school' I whipped up some Shampoo Paint for him to play with. This paint is so much fun, it is messy (in a good way), it smells great and has a interesting foamy slippery texture. Shampoo paint could be used in the bath, shower, on widows or on a Mirror as Liam did today.

Shampoo Paint
6 Tablespoons of Shampoo
2 Tablespoons of Water
Food Colouring

Put the shampoo, water and a few drops of food colouring into a container and mix with an electric beater until it is foamy (kind of like shaving cream)

Painting over his reflection

Messy!

Enjoying the feel of the paint

Artist at work

Stretching up high

Cleaning up

Shampoo paint can be slippery under foot so we did this activity with strict supervision as Liam was standing/sitting in the sink.
I have to add this is a great way to clean a mirror ours is now sparkly clean with next to no effort :)

' This activity is being featured at Creative Connections for Kids '

Flowers with Heart Shaped Petals

Neevah loves these brightly coloured flowers and she has had a lot of fun planting them outside and picking them to give as gifts to her favourite toys.

You will need
Coloured Paper
Craft Stick
Green crepe paper
Button
Scissors
Glue

To Make
1. Cut the coloured paper into hearts - you will need 4 hearts per flower
2. Stick the hearts to the craft stick pointy side in
3. Stick a button in the middle of the flower
4. Take a small piece of green crepe paper and pinch it in the middle - this will be the flowers leaves
5. Glue the leaves onto the craft stick
6. Time to play

Neevah's planted flowers

We Play - Coffee Can Marble Painting

This is such a fun way to paint and could easily be done inside or outside.

You will need
A clean coffee can with lid
Paper
Paint
Marbles or similar
Scissors

To Make
1. Place the paper inside the can so it lines the walls - you may need to cut the paper so it fits
2. Cover 2 or 3 marbles in paint and place them in the can
3. Put the lid on the can
4. Time to paint

You could shake the can

You could roll the can

Or you could kick the can

5. Let dry
6. Optional - cut the painted paper into fun shapes these will be great for making cards

Don't forget to stop by Childhood 101 We Play where you can find lots of other great play ideas....

Bubble Wrap Printed Hearts

This is just a super simple idea to get us back into the swing of blogging. You could use these cute hearts to decorate a door/wall/notice board or if you made the hearts small they would look great on the front of cards.

You will need
White Paper
Red Paint
Bubble Wrap
Paint Brush/Roller
Scissors

To Make
1. Cut a small piece of bubble wrap to use for printing
2. From the white paper cut out a heart
3. Paint the bubble wrap with red paint a big brush or roller would be good for this
4. Press the bubble wrap paint side down onto the heart then gently peel it off
5. Cover the heart in bubble wrap prints
6. Let Dry

Pay it Forward - 2011

I am really excited about this idea I love crafting but it took me a day or so before I decided to participate even though it should be right up my alley. I guess I have a little self doubt when it comes to gifting something I have made .... Is it good enough? .... what if the recipient doesn't like it? etc etc but thinking logically no one is going to expect the Mona Lisa or any other Famously Fantastic piece of Artwork

So I am putting it out .....

"I promise something handmade to the FIRST 5 people who leave a comment here.

However, to be eligible, you must repost this message, offering something handmade to 5 other people. The rules are that it must be handmade by you, and it must be sent to your 5 giftees sometime in 2011. Ready, set, GO!"

Once you have commented and reposted your own Pay It Forward please come back and post the link in my comments :)

A huge thank you to Becky from A Peek Over the Fence for blogging this idea and getting me out of my comfort zone just a little :)

Please join me in Paying It Forward in 2011

P.S this would be so much easier if I was crafting for kids

Cute Fish Bowl

The residents of Neevah's Doll House have become the proud owners of two pet fish. This cute little fish bowl is quick and easy to make with only a few supplies needed.

You will Need
Clear Soft Drink Bottle
Coloured Paper
Blue Tissue Paper
Black Marker Pen
Scissors
Sticky Tape
Glue

To Make
1. Cut the bottom off the soft drink bottle this will be the fish bowl but don't discard the top as it makes a great funnel in the bath.
2. Cut out a few fish from coloured paper
3. Give your fish faces
4. Tape the fish into the bowl with faces facing out - Neevah needed a little help with this part to get the fish facing the right way
5. Put glue in the bottom of the bowl
6. Lightly scrunch up some blue tissue paper and put it into the bowl - you may need to add extra tissue paper until the bowl looks full we did this by dipping more tissue in glue and sticking it to the tissue already in the bowl
7. Find a place to put your new pet fish

Packing a Bag

Neevah loves packing little bits and pieces into bags to take on her adventures outside but sometimes the things she packs are not suitable for taking outside such as puzzle pieces. When I spotted a suitcase craft over at No Time for Flashcards I knew it would be perfect for Neevah.

You will need
A File Folder
Crayons
Stickers
Coloured Paper
Junk Mail/ Old Magazines
Scissors
Glue

To Make
1. Turn the file folder into a bag by cutting a handle
2. From the coloured paper cut out the first letter of your childs name
3. Go through the junk mail and let your child cut out anything they would like to pack in their bag
4. Decorate the outside of the bag with crayons and stickers
5. Stick the letter you cut out earlier to the front of the bag so everyone knows who's bag it is
6. Open up the bag and pack it by sticking all the bits they cut out earlier inside

7. Let dry if needed

8. Time to go on an adventure

Neevah packed a camera, a teddy, some pens, clothes, Tinkerbell, youghurt, a digger and some other little toys

Craft Stick Birthday Candles

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you ....... These cute birthday candles are so easy to make and are fantastic for pretend Birthday Party fun.

You will need
Craft Sticks
Paint
Glitter
Yellow Card
Red Marker
Glue
Scissors

To Make
1. Paint one side of the craft stick
2. Sprinkle with a little glitter
3. Let Dry
4. Repeat on other side
5. From the yellow card cut out flame shapes you will need twice as many flames as you do candles
6. Use the red marker to make them look a little more like flames
7. Glue one flame on each side of the craft stick
8. Time to play

Adding candles to a playdough cake

Make a wish and blow out the candles

The Name Song

Just a very quick post tonight to share this fun idea I found at MommyNature.com for teaching your little one the spelling of their name. Neevah calls it the name song and it is sung to the tune of B-I-N-G-O .....

There was a girl that I knew
and Neevah was her name
N-E-E-V-A-H, N-E-E-V-A-H, N-E-E-V-A-H
and Neevah was her name

Neevah loves this song so much and after singing it only a few times she almost has it down pat although she tends to run the V-A-H together. Tomorrow we will try writing her name on a colourful piece of paper and sticking it to the fridge or somewhere similar so she can point to each letter as she sings it hopefully this will help her to pronounce each letter individually. We have also sung it using her friends names and i must say long names are a little harder to fit into the tune but we managed it by only spelling the name out once.

I hope you have a lot of fun singing this cute little song with your kids.

Cork Boat Races

We have made boats before using small plastic containers and they were great for floating in the paddling pool but this time i wanted to make something smaller so we could race them. Neevah and I went for a walk to find the perfect leaves for the boats sails and when we got home I made the boats.

On the look out for the perfect leaves

You will need:
Corks
Toothpick
Leaf
Knife
Hot Glue
Straws

To Make:
1. Slice the cork in half carefully with the knife
2. Glue the 2 halves together side by side with hot glue making sure both the flat sides are up
3. Thread the leaf onto the toothpick to make a sail
4. Poke the toothpick into the cork
5. Fill a large container with water
6. Place your boats into the water and move them around by blowing through the straw and you can also race them from one end of the container to the other
Just came back to add these boats may not last a long time as the hot glue seems to let go on the damp cork after awhile but they are lots of fun and can always be glued back together again

We Play - Does it Roll?

There has been a lot of interest in transport related toys and books over the last few weeks in our house .... Liam's new train set has been played with everyday since Christmas, Matchbox cars are also popular with both the kids and Dig Dig Digging by Margaret Mayo is one of the must have bedtime stories. Daddy put together a little ramp for the kids today so we could play Does it Roll Down the Ramp? although I am sure this is not all it will be used for.

I gathered together a few items a ball, toy car, dinosaur, crayon, wine cork, square block, toy egg and a roll of sticky tape for the kids to try and roll down the ramp. I also drew up a simple graph with two columns Rolls & Doesn't Roll for Neevah to have a go at graphing the results this is the first time we have tried something like this.

A ball rolls down the ramp

Neevah putting a small x in the roll column

A square block doesn't roll

A cork rolls if you lay it on its side

An egg has a funny wobbly roll

Sticky tape rolls very fast - this was Neevahs favourite

Our Results
Rolls: ball, toy car, sticky tape, crayon, toy egg & cork
Doesn't Roll: square block & dinosaur

Don't forget to stop by Childhood 101 We Play where you can find lots of other great play ideas....