Quick Tip #6--Storing Kids' Artwork

My kids draw pictures and make things for me ALL THE TIME.  And they expect me to save and treasure every single one.  I do treasure them, but I don't have the inclination (or space) to store all of those papers and things.

The solution is simple:  take pictures!!

Star Wars is a big theme around here.  My 7-year-old son drew these:

In case you missed some of those details, here's Princess Leia.  See the buns?

And here's Yoda.  I love the frownie faces.  And the stick legs with ball feet.

He's not alone in his Star Wars fixation.  My 4-year-old son did this one of Darth Maul.  He was so proud of how he turned out.  Fierce.

He also did these of Yoda.  Star Wars art is so simple, no bodies required!

My 5-year-old daughter did this one of my husband.  The body is included, but no clothes.

I typically like to label the artwork with the child's name and age, though you can tell by those above that I often forget.

Some things the kids want to keep on paper, not just the computer.  They typically do those things into composition books.  My seven-year-old son is currently writing his own reptile book, complete with drawings.  =)  My nine-year-old daughter is currently writing her own comic book, again in a composition book:

You can also do pictures of things they build, paint, etc.  It all stores nicely on a computer, disc, etc.

How do you store your kids' projects?

Nine-Year-Old's Craft

My oldest daughter turned NINE the other day!!  *gasp*  Time goes by soooooo quickly!!

For her birthday we gave her a sewing machine...

...and a small sewing kit...

...and a Star Wars Ahsoka figure and a lightsaber--because every girl NEEDS a lightsaber!!

Anyway, she's really been wanting to learn how to sew.  I told her she'd need to learn how to sew by hand first, then we'd move on to the sewing machine.  So yesterday I got some fabric squares left over from another project and started with the basic project for her:  a small pillow for her dolls.  She chose a different fabric for each side, and we got started.

I really wish I would've gotten pictures of the stitches she did!  I did the first two stitches to show her what to do, what size to make them, and how far apart they should be.  She did all the rest.  She was quick and did AWESOME!!!!  I was sooooooo impressed.  And she didn't even draw any blood.  =)

She stuffed it with some jersey fabric scraps.  I showed her how to do a hidden stitch and she closed it up like a pro.  Now Josephine can sleep comfortably with a little pillow of her very own:

I'm so excited to be getting started on the next generation of sewers.  And now my 7-year-old son wants to get started learning, too!  WOO HOO!!!

Seven-Year-Old Boy's Craft

My seven-year-old son wanted me to show you that he's crafty, too!  He loves building his own creations.  His latest is a very versatile firearm.

It's used for hunting, and he can change caliber depending on what game he's stalking.

It even has sights in the scope.

It's amazing what his mind can do with a bit of foam packing, a paper towel tube, a toilet paper tube, q-tips, paint, and tape.  He says he's sorry he didn't take pictures for a tutorial.  =)

(Don't worry, it's not loaded, safety's on, and the chamber's open.  hee hee)

He says he's bringing home venison for dinner.  Yay!!!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Project - Tutorial

Our family loves the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle.

My kids love to read this book, but I wanted to make it more interactive.  I started by sketching all the foods the caterpillar eats through onto paper.

I then cut all the foods out of colored felt.  I glued on the embellishments at first, then I decided that it wouldn't be enough to stand up to lots of use.  So I added some stitches, too.

I then made a ribbon caterpillar.  I used green 3/8" grosgrain ribbon with a medium-sized red button head.  I sewed the button onto the ribbon.  I used a larger green button on the rear end of the caterpillar to hold the foods on as he eats through them.  I also drew on a smile and two antennae.

I cut slits in each of the foods, just large enough for the red button to pass through.  

Now the caterpillar can eat through all the foods he eats in the book!

This is so much fun for the kids, and it's great for education, too!  It helps them work on their counting (one apple, 2 pears, etc), it helps them work on figuring out sequence (what did he eat first, second, etc), and it even gives them practice on how to button a button!

If you decide to make your own food and caterpillar, please e-mail me pictures.  I'd love to see them!

Linked up at: Fabric Bows and More, Serenity Now, Six Sisters' Stuff, Chef in Training, and Tea Rose Home.

Kids' Crafts

When we were at Michaels last week, the kids were wanting one of everything (of course, I was wanting a few of everything, so I can't blame them!).  Kids LOVE crafting.  So my hubby was excited when he found some little wooden boxes and wooden wiggle animals for less than $2 each.  My girls each got a "treasure box," and my boys each chose a wiggle t-rex.  Then we came home to paint them (I unfortunately forgot to get a before picture).

It's fun to see the different painting techniques.  My 4-year-old eventually gets her completely painted...one dot at a time.

My main rule with the kids painting (other than to keep the paint where it belongs) is one color at a time.  We've had too many projects that all turned out a muddy brown.  The kids aren't very good at keeping individual wet paint colors separate from each other, and they all end up mixed into one, uniform, funky color.  So I've learned to do one color at a time, then we play or do school or whatever while that color dries before we come back to do the next color.   It also saves on paint, since they're less prone to want some of every color.

Here are the final results.  I think they turned out pretty good!  The castle and flower on the boxes were bought prepainted for $0.67 each.  Have I said lately how much I love Michaels?

It was an easy, cheap, super fun craft day!