Make Something Monday: Passport

This week we're starting our school year with an ABC world tour. When you travel out of country you need a passport so I made one! With only a few scrapbooking supplies I was able to create a pretend passport that looks pretty similar to a real passport. Very simple, all done and ready to be filled with stamps/stickers from the countries that we visit!

Template for this page found here

Pretend passport next to a real passport

Make Something Monday: Writing Center

The writing center is done! I'm so excited to share it with you!! I love when things turn out exactly the way I have them imagined in my mind.

The whole project spurred from making a mailbox for Charlotte. She's been getting a lot of mail recently and I wanted her to have her own little spot to check. The mailbox is just made out of a saltine cracker box covered with tissue paper.

The writing center is a cardboard box leftover from moving

Double sided tape helped cover it with wrapping paper

I used the flaps I cut off from the box and made little boxes to stick on to the writing center. I later wrapped them with wrapping paper as well

There is an about me page with all of Charlotte's information, including our address so she can address her letters. There's her mailbox with a letter from mommy waiting for her.

A small calendar I got from Target and two boxes (made like the one above) filled with notecards and envelopes.

A few printables (from Persnickety Pickles) with how to's for writing a letter, making a card and writing a postcard. The index cards have addresses for the people Charlotte interacts with most. A plastic lid from a box of cards holds stickers.

I printed this alphabet chart off from abcteach.com

I wanted to buy a pad for making lists but had a hard time finding one for the price I was willing to pay, so I made my own with regular lined loose leaf paper, with a cardboard backing. The index cards have different items that Charlotte can make lists of such as colors, types of candy, different animals, etc. Last is the story section, there is a box with a pad of writing paper, a printable (that came with the other Persnickety Pickles printables) about writing a story and on the index cards are writing prompts.

Most writing centers I've seen also have crayons, pens, pencils, markers on them. Since this is low enough for Lexi to reach I keep the writing utensils in a different location that's high enough that Lexi can't reach but Charlotte can. There is also blank drawing paper (of various sizes) in the bins on the side of the desk this is on top of. This writing center is designed for Charlotte to sit down and explore by herself without me there unless of course she asks for me. I can't wait to read what she creates!

Make Something Monday: Chalk Dust Art

This is a post straight from my children's art blog

Dilly-Dali Art

__________________________________________________________

Recently we were playing with sidewalk chalk and I noticed

it  sure does make a lot of dust,

we should play with the dust.

So that's exactly what we did!

I decided to turn this into a color mixing activity as well as a shape activity

Start with the 3 primary colors

make sure you press really hard,

you WANT to make dust,

layer another color on top.

You know

...red and yellow...

...red and blue...

...blue and yellow...

I set out plastic forks, spoons and knives

 for the girls to play with.

Forks made lovely lines in the dust,

just like a zen garden

Charlotte's tool of choice was a plastic Play-Doh knife

You can make whatever designs you like

then 

just rake them out and start over again!

The red and yellow weren't mixing well enough in my opinion,

 so I added more yellow

The more you play with the dust,

 the better it mixes together

We experimented with making prints in the raked dust

it makes a really neat 3-dimensional effect

I knew it was time to begin cleaning up when the girls started smearing the chalk

all over themselves

Just wash it all away

The mixed colors really show up when water is added

and since the kids are already going to need a bath

let them splash around a little

:)

Monday...Again...Already...

Once again, I don't have a Monday post for you.

Just look at this mess!

This is all of the art supplies

a whole studio's worth

and

I can't get to any of it!

 WAHHHHHHHHH!

The main reason all of this is in storage is because I can't find the pieces to my shelf that keep the actual shelves up. 

I'm pretty sure the pieces are in one of those containers too.

I can't get the hubby to lift the containers out for me either

because

he tweaked his back

and 

the chiropractor has put him on limited activity.

He's one lucky husband 

(for now)

I can't wait to get my supplies out and unleash the artsy-craftsy fury!

Make Something Monday: FAIL

So, I recently posted a blog about how I'm going to stick to an awesome blog schedule and post regularly. Well, the very first day of my new blog schedule and I've already failed!
It's not that I didn't have the time or that I completely forgot about it. I was actually thinking about it all day!

I just couldn't decide what to make!

Since I live in an apartment now, that's a bit smaller than my house, I can't just make whatever art I want to or put it where ever I want, so I've been trying to think of the needs I have and go from there.

After thinking and thinking and then thinking some more I've finally figured out what I want to make!

All I can say is that it will involve melted crayons.

I don't know if it's going to work the way I want it to but I can't wait to start gathering my materials and put  them to use!

Be on the lookout for it next Monday for sure!!