A little textured fun...

with glue!
This project is best done on white paper, card stock, paper plates, etc. I wouldn't bring it out and hope to accomplish it all at one time since there is a lot of drying and waiting to do. What you can do is bring out the glue and the paper and make nifty glue pictures. Set them aside to dry and finish up in a day or so.

What you need:
*white glue that dries clear
*white surface for gluing. Paper plates or heavy paper are perfect
*watercolor works best but tempera will work also
*paint brushes or sponge painters
*containers for paint if using liquid paints
*covered surface for painting
*flat surface to dry artwork

scrumdilly-do it!

Set out your splat mat or cover your work area and pass out the paper or plates. Hand your kidlets a bottle of glue and let them have a go at it. Draw pictures or swirly designs, it is totally up to your wee ones! You can use a pencil to create an outline but know that though the glue covers it when it is wet, once it dries, the pencil lines will show through. *if doing this with toddlers or glue happy kidlets, I pass out tiny glue bottles. Pick up one for each kidlets and refill from a larger bottle. I've noticed that the wee ones will use as much glue as you give them so if you start small and let them know that the glue bottle is theirs and once it is empty it is empty for that project, everything should work out fine unless of course you have a mad happy glue fiend then I suppose patience is your best bet.

Once your kidlets are done with their glue pictures set aside to dry at least until the next day. If I know kidlets, they will have covered their surfaces with super thick gooey piles of the stuff and that takes a long long time to dry! If you need to distract your wee ones from their pictures and they are glue happy and age 4 or up, let them paint a hand with the glue and have a peeling contest. Remember how much fun that was? When the pictures are dry, set out paint and brushes and have your wee ones paint over their glue art. The paint will cover the glue and create a textured design. Experiment with different paint. What does thicker paint do? Watercolor? What about water with a drop of food color in it? Will markers cover the glue? Whatever you do, have fun and let your children be your guide!

Another something "magical"...

Magic Pictures!
This is a great activity to do with crayons of course but using white candles makes it even more magical. Invisible pictures!

What you need:
*white candles; tea lights, votives or birthday candles work best
*white paper, thick for painting (I used matte board cut to postcard size)
*liquid water color or food color
*containers for paint
*mess friendly area to work in
*splat mat!
*mess friendly clothes or smocks if using food color
*soft paintbrushes or q-tips

scrumdilly-do it!

Set out your supplies. Use small plastic or glass cups or saucers for your paint. If you do not have liquid watercolor, you can make a liquid painting using 5 drops of food color to a small amount of water. If you make your own paint with the liquid food color, make sure to make your paint in a clear glass container or small plastic container. The food color will most probably stain. If you are using small tea lights, you can put your paint into the small metal cups the candles come in, makes clean up super easy!

Pass out candles to your kidlets and encourage them to make invisible pictures on their paper.


Once they are finished drawing, have your wee ones paint, paint, paint away!

Oooooh, magic!

They can draw pictures or designs, it all comes out pretty nifty.

The best part is you can turn their artwork into postcards for friends and family! I mailed mine to Granny1

Happy painting!

Black Magic...

The crayon kind!

 Do remember breaking all your crayons in an attempt to make a black magic picture? Do you remember how your arm got soooo sore scribbling back and forth as hard you could muster? Do you remember just how awesome your final picture looked? It made all that hard work worth it! Now it is time to clue your kidlets in, the scrumdilly-do way!

What you need:

*crayons

*light colored cardboard or card stock

*sponges or sponge brushes

*black or dark acrylic paint

*mess happy clothes

*covered work surface

*toothpicks or chopsticks

scrumdilly-do it!

 

 Set up your workspace and give each kidlet a piece of card stock or two. Dump out those crayons and encourage your kidlets to cover their paper with as much crayon as possible. The darker the crayon the better, and the less waxy the crayon the better. This is where crayola brand really shines but any brand will do. The key is to cover so encourage your wee ones to make patterns, not pictures. Ask questions about their favorite colors. I once had a wee one cover their cardboard in all the green crayons he could find. It made for a super nifty etching.

 

 

 

 

 Once their papers are covered, squeeze a bit of paint either onto the surface or in a paint tray, cup, bowl or cupcake liner. Now it is time to paint over all that hard work. Acrylic paints work best as they are pretty thick. You want a thick layer of paint to cover the crayon. Having more than one crayon-covered piece to work on will help with the wait. Your kidlets can paint one at a time and move onto a second coat seemingly sooner than if making only one black magic sheet. The acrylic dries enough pretty quick so go ahead and slap on another coat of paint. Once all sheets are painted, set aside for a thorough drying, about 15 minutes. Try using other colors, not just black. A darker paint of course will have more impact.

 

 

 

 Once your sheets are dry, it is time for the etching fun to begin. Pass out toothpicks or chopsticks or knitting needles even, if your wee ones know not to use them as swords or weapons of mass destruction. Direct your kidlets to scratch away at the layer of paint to reveal all that swoony color underneath. Have fun! You may want to spend some time decorating the toothpicks while they wait for their boards to dry. Pass out some scissors, colored paper or felt and glue. Cut out crazy fun shapes and images to glue to the tops of the toothpicks and viola, a fancy, schmancy etching tool is created!

 If you find yourself up with nothing to do, you may want to prep a bunch of boards to pull out when you need something fast. These are great for the car, super market and doctor’s visits. Toss a bunch of boards into a bag along with a couple of toothpicks and you are ready to dazzle!

Recycled: cardboard tubes

As in paper towel and toilet paper...don't toss them in the trash, turn them into nifty bracelets and wrist cuffs!

What you need:

*cardboard tubes from paper towel rolls, t.p. and/or gift wrap

*paint (acrylic or tempera)

*paint brushes

*scissors

*glue

*clothespins

*glitter

*ribbon

*scrap paper or magazine pages

*buttons, beads, fabric scraps, etc.

*mess friendly work area

scrumdilly-do it!

Set out your supplies and cut your tubes into wrist friendly sizes. If your kidlest are scissor happy, you may let them cut their own width but it can be a little frustrating. You want to cut up from the bottom of the tube 1-3 inches and then cut along the cylinder part of the tube so that you end up with a "C" shape piece.

Have your kidlets paint their pieces. You will need more than one coat for vibrant colors but your kidlets may decide to collage their pieces with fabric scraps and paper instead. If painting, use a clothespin to hold the two ends together to retain the curl of the tube. If not, the paint will make your piece go flat and you won't have a bracelet anymore.

Once the pieces are dry, your kidlets can go to town decorating them. They can glue ribbon, trim or lace around their bracelet or they can add ooddles of glue and glitter. There are no limits!

Once they are done, set aside to dry and then have cuff happy fashion show. Show us your bling!

Watermelon Day!

August Third is Watermelon Day and while I don't have nifty step by step photos for ya right now, I do have a brand new KABOODLE list and a fun idea!

Paint with watermelon! This is a super fun, super sticky snack time activity. Oh how I wish I had pictures for ya...perhaps my gal Dani may have a go at it and supply us with some pics...hint, hint, nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

What you need:

*watermelon, sliced like bread slices, in rounds

*cookies cutters

*plain or vanilla yogurt

*food color

*colored sugar or cake decorations

*wax paper, freezer paper or large plastic trays

*cups to hold your yogurt paint

*a hose to wash your kidlets off!

scrumdilly-do it!

Add about 1/4 cup of yogurt to at least two small containers. Add a drop or two of food color and mix it in. This will be the "paint"

There are two ways you can go about this, you can slice up the melon into long strips that your kidlets can use as brushes or you can set out rounds of melon, give your wee ones a couple of cookie cutters and let them have a go at it. They can cut out shaped pieces of melon that can then be dipped into the "paint" and plopped onto their paper or trays for some printmaking fun. Once their picture is "finished" set out some small cupcake liners with colored sugar or a salt shaker with sprinkles and let them add some "glitter" once they are all done, snap a few shots of their amazing work and fabulously sticky selves and then let them eat their art!

Your kidlets can also use their yogurt "paint" as icing and they can make watermelon "cookies" for snacking on.

Happy Watermelon Day!

*more watermelon fun

*watermelon facts

*Herbie Hancock does Watermelon Man