I think I'm going to focus my time and attention on updating the directory for now, so blog posts may be sparser over the next week or so. Or they may just be about every new (and oh so exciting) development in the new art directory. Like this one:
I'm actually having a really good time tunneling through the archives and "discovering" posts from the past few years. It's bringing back lots of good memories. And making me want to try some of the projects again.
I'm working on a new and improved arts and crafts directory for The Artful Parent. This is a project that has been on the back burner for almost three years now (since Daphne was born!) and it feels good to start in on it. I had childcare yesterday morning so I was able to really dig into it, but that doesn't mean that it's almost done.
There is a playdough cake on the little red table. Homemade puppets on the counter. A pretend store that threatens to take over the living room.
The girls have played, fought, and played some more. They've watched some Netflix. They spent way longer than I expected exploring these super cool geo boards. They had a friend over for the afternoon and played in the kiddie pool and blew bubbles in the backyard. They snacked on frozen yogurt tubes and used the yogurt to decorate their faces and bodies when I wasn't looking.
I haven't had a whole lot of time for creative projects with my kiddos in the last couple of days because of Jury Duty. But we did manage to squeeze in this easy and frugal activity—painting stickers from the stationery store (and then creating art with them).
We love mixing up homemade art materials in our house. By making the materials first, we add another whole dimension to our arts and crafts activities. I've noticed that kids have just as much fun making them as using them. And, of course, homemade is a frugal and often environmentally friendly alternative to many commercial art materials.
The kids and I made these colorful wooden art blocks yesterday. We all agreed they are wonderful and want to make a whole bunch of them, both for the chance to make some more (they were a lot of fun!) and so we can have a set of artful building blocks for stacking towers and building castles.
Now that Maia is on summer vacation, we have been using Daphne's nap time to read and, often, to work on an art or craft project together. Yesterday we made melted bead suncatchers, an idea I found on Craftster (via Pinterest).
They were surprisingly easy to create yet are very durable. Unlike most suncatchers and stained glass projects we make out of paper or contact paper, these melted bead suncatchers will last and last and will also withstand the elements for outdoor use.
We've had a resurgence of interest in the typewriter since school has let out. Even Daphne has joined in to bang away at the keys.
I had put it away for several months, but brought it out and set it up again on Maia's homework desk with a fresh ribbon. Now I hear the girls click clacking away on it at least once a day.
I imagine it's at least partly because I was the child of a pragmatic mother in cowboy country. But I also think that fairies weren't, perhaps, as popular as they are now. It seems that there are all kinds of fairy books, fairy dolls, fairy wings, fairy everything these days.
