Arts & Crafts Archives - Because Babies Grow Up

Ghost Craft for Kids

October 14, 2014 by ajpassey 2 Comments

Scott (3) has finally decided crafts with Mom are fun. Yay! And since Ben (1) wants to be involved in everything, I’m looking for simple things the three of us can do together. This ghost craft met all my requirements and the boys loved it! My requirements for a simple, toddler friendly craft include 1. easy to manage mess, 2. hands on experience, 3. focus on the process of the craft, and 4. supplies I have on hand.

Materials for this Ghost Craft

black construction paper
chalk
white tempera paint
pom pom balls
buttons for ghost eyes or googly eyes

Preparations Needed for this Ghost Craft

I cut the black paper in half.
I drew a white ghost outline on each paper with chalk.
I made my own ghost ahead of time as an example. I had SO much fun painting with the pom poms.

The only part of this prep that I did ahead of time was to make the example ghost craft. Cutting the paper, drawing the ghost, setting out the paint and pom poms, I did all of that while the boys excitedly followed me around. We talked about the colors and the different parts of getting the ghost craft ready. It was actually a great vocabulary building experience for doing the actual craft. Scott was able to follow directions very well because he knew all the parts of the process and was ready to go. It also gave lots and lots of exposure to new words (dab the pom pom) which is super important for kids to learn and be able to say new words.

I loved watching their little hands manipulate the pom poms. Ben is gaining so much control over his fine motor movements (using the muscles in his fingers and hands). After the boys were finished painting with their pom poms we hung them up to dry and cleaned up our mess. We came back a few days later and glued on the eye balls. I hadn’t originally planned on adding the eyes, but since they painted over the eyes I had drawn, I felt like they needed something more to really look like ghosts.

Their ghosts are so cute hanging up in the art room. My mother-in-law made a cute display area on one wall. It’s a black board with giant clothes pin clips that she painted and modge podged with matching scrapbook paper. There is a clip for each child. I love that Ben is now old enough to have his own creations that hang there!

More Fun Ghost Craft Projects for Little Ones

Ghost Craft Tutorial from No Time for Flashcards

Cotton Ball Ghost Craft for Toddlers to Make from Happy Hooligans

Popsicle Stick Ghosts {Kid Craft} from Glued to My Crafts

Pencil Eraser Ghost Craft for Halloween from Crafty Morning

Spinning Ghosts Tutorial and Free Pattern from One Creative Mommy

All These Shapes: 25 Crafts and Activities with Shapes for Kids

September 19, 2014 by ajpassey 3 Comments

We’ve been totally inspired by the Pop Ups new maker-themed album Appetite for Construction. If you’re little ones aren’t in school yet, you may not be familiar with the “maker” trend in bringing children into a wonderful world of creativity. Children as early as kindergarten are attending STEM classes. STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Children get to witness and participate in real world applications of these fields in age appropriate ways. I love that schools are focusing on making “making” fun!

If you spend most of your time with the under 5 crowd this being a new focus may surprise you. Toddlers and even preschoolers are natural makers. They are prolific makers. Every waking moment is filled with discovering the way their world works. Our joy is in learning to be makers all over again by following their lead. That said, it is fun to introduce new concepts to them through various crafts and activities.

In honor of The Pop Ups new album and one of my favorite songs “All These Shapes” I’ve collected 25 Crafts and Activities all about shapes and how your little one can be a maker using shapes.

1. Driveway Shape Maze from Creative Family Fun

2. Shape Button Sort from Life with Moore Babies

3. Shape Hunt from Creative Family Fun

4. Going on a Shape Hunt from Gummy Lump Toys Blog

1. A Shape-ly Owl Craft from B-Inspired Mama

2. Letter Ss Crafts and Activities from Artsy Momma

3. Circle Frog Shapes Craft from Artsy Momma

4. Oval Bunny Puppet from Lovely Commotion

1. Felt Board Easel DIY from Tiny Rotten Peanuts

2. Shapes and Colors from From ABCs to ACTs

3. Sandpaper and Felt Shape Matching from No Time For Flashcards

4. DIY Felt Sewing Shapes from Munchkin and Bean

1. Dr Seuss Shape Activity from JDaniel4’s Mom

2. Shape Scarecrow Craft from No Time For Flashcards

3. Felt Shape Flowers Activity from B-Inspired Mama

4. Exploring Shapes and Colors with Clowns from Cutting Tiny Bites

1. Train Shape Matching Puzzle from Craftulate

2. Color and Shape Matching with Blocks from Craftulate

3. Shape Sorting, Matching and Sensory Bin from Munchkin and Bean

4. Homemade Shape Puzzle from CBC Parents

1. Shape Collages from Creative Family Fun

2. Paper Roll Shape Stamp from Mama Papa Bubba

3. Masking Tape Canvas Painting from Hodge Podge Crafts

4. Pattern Block Art from Frugal Fun 4 Boys

5. Giant Paper Popsicle Craft from Tiny Rotten Peanuts

And a bonus craft!

6. Star and Crescent Printing from In The Playroom

And a bonus song about shapes you can sing with your little ones.

What are you making today?

Happy Grandparent’s Day

September 7, 2014 by ajpassey 4 Comments

In Tennessee we passed a particular church everyday on the way to and from Sammi’s preschool. The one thing I distinctly remember from that church’s marquee is their Happy Grandparent’s Day sign each fall. And every fall I remember thinking we needed to get something put together for our grandparents so far away. And by the time we got home and unloaded out of the car, followed quickly by bathroom trips and pleas for snacks, making a card from Grandparent’s Day had completely fallen off my mental agenda.

So yesterday I saw something announcing that Grandparent’s Day was today. At first I was deflated, sad that I missed this chance again. But then I remembered that our parent’s don’t really keep track of this holiday so it probably won’t matter that we missed it again. After I felt better about myself, I had an aha moment in which I envisioned a cute poster spelling out LOVE using the kids prints. I pulled out the largest paper I had and got ready to bring the kids in when I had another aha moment. Our littles aren’t so little anymore! There was no way that even on this large paper I was going to squeeze in all their feet in the shape of letters.

In the end, I did each kid’s letter on its own paper then scanned them on to the computer where I could resize and squeeze away. I did the handprint heart for the “O” from Ben’s hands. It took four tries to get something resembling a heart. But to really help it look like a heart I wanted to add a border. After thinking through a few options, I decided to outline all the letters by writing the name of that child repeatedly around their print.

I have to admit, I am quite pleased with the final print I put together. The best part, now that it is digital, I was able to email it to all the grandparents! Ah, now we will rest. Happy Sunday and Happy Grandparent’s Day!

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star-y Night Craft for Preschoolers

April 28, 2014 by ajpassey 2 Comments

Scott’s a preschooler! What? Twinkle Twinkle Little Star has been one of Scott’s favorite songs for a while. It’s fitting since his bedroom is decorated in an outer space theme with lots of glow in the dark stars. However, crafts have not held Scott’s interest much. But I’m holding out hope that we will have some craft making memories. This was one successful Twinkle Twinkle Little Star crafts for preschoolers

Make this Twinkle Twinkle Little Star craft for preschoolers today via BecauseBabiesGrowUp.com

Elli loved this craft, too!

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star-y Night Craft for Preschoolers

We’ve been working on colors and chose this craft to work more on the color yellow. I drew a cityscape on a piece of blue construction paper. The Eiffel Tower just sort of happened. My favorite though was when Scott added a star to the top and showed me, calling it the Eiffel Tower. I didn’t know my heart would be so happy about him recognizing and loving this structure.

I cut strips of yellow paper then had Scott cut the yellow strips into little bits. While he was cutting the bits I drew the cityscape and tore small pieces of Duck Tape (that we got from our awesome Family Forward trip to Universal Studios Orlando last summer)

Scott enjoyed gluing the star bits in the sky and then adding in the Duck tape stars. We had fun talking about the color yellow, gluing, and his strategies for where he placed the stars. He stuck with this Twinkle Twinkle Little Star craft for preschoolers longer than I had expected. He was also very excited to show it off to his dad when Brent got home.

Looking for more Twinkle Twinkle Little Star crafts for preschoolers? Check out these Twinkle Twinkle Little Star crafts.

Find Easy Kids Crafts for March on Instagram

March 20, 2014 by ajpassey Leave a Comment

Instagram is fast becoming my favorite place to find inspiration for my creativity. There are so many amazing bloggers sharing snippets of their easy kids crafts. And with hashtags like #kidscrafts and #rockinartmoms your creativity will be on an adrenaline high.

In this month’s Growing Up magazine, I’ve gathered 9 spring/March crafts from some of my fave Instagrammers. Their blogs are beautiful and so are their Instagram accounts. I highly recommend checking them out and following along.

I Heart Crafty Things/@iheartcraftythings

Pink Stripey Socks/@pinkstripeysocks

Momma-Doo/@ashley_mommadoo

Creekside Learning/@juliecreeksidelearning

Echoes of Laughter/@echoesoflaughter

Tisha and Trey (and Daddy, too!)/@tishaandtrey

@tinylittlestitch/Etsy store: Tiny Little Stitch

@debonou

Check out the crafts hand picked to make this month more special for you and your little ones. Issue 5 is on SALE until Sunday! Only 1.99 for the issue, or start your monthly subscription for just .99. Prices good through Sunday, March 23. While you’re there checking out the crafts, enter your email for 4 FREE songs. Who doesn’t love free music downloads, right?

DIY Halloween Treat Bags

October 30, 2013 by ajpassey 1 Comment

I am so lucky this year to be a home room mom, twice! Last week we had Elli’s Kindergarten class party. Lots of moms and grandmas showed up to help and enjoy the party with their little ones. Because I was so focused on that, I kinda neglected Sammi’s class. Her teacher didn’t want a party, just treat bags. So, just in time, I got a letter sent home inviting parents to send in candy and come help fill bags if they wanted. All that was left was to get the treat bags. Enter my talented mom!

Color Heals Me is a new blog my mom just started to journal her adventures in art and art journaling. She is the doodle master! The girls and I have had so much fun learning to doodle with her. She recently created a Halloween doodle free printable. We used her doodle printable to decorate the treat bags for Sammi’s class.

First I printed out her doodle page on different shaped label stickers. Then we each took a label sheet and colored in the doodles.

Sammi and Elli used watercolors. I encouraged them to not use too much water so the colors would be vibrant and not spread.

My favorite is colored pencils so that’s what I used to color my doodles.

Once the paint was dry, I added the round stickers to the bags. I’ve had my labels for a few years (I bought a huge stack) and found they didn’t stick to the paper bag as well as I’d have liked. I wish I would have covered them with packing tape to make sure they stayed put. Sammi wrote the names of all her classmates on the bags. She loved the idea of each person knowing which bag was there and not fighting over which they thought looked the fullest. I’m so glad she’s thinking of these things and planning solutions for them.

After the bags were filled, we used the rectangle labels to close them up. Turns out it’s okay they don’t stick that well, because Sammi’s teacher had more candy to add. This was a fun project to do with the girls and made for a quick but darling treat bag for the kids in Sammi’s class.

Want to make your own? Or just have a fun Halloween coloring sheet? Download the free Halloween doodle printable and let the creative juices flow!

What’s your favorite medium: paint, colored pencil, crayon, marker? What’s your child’s?

Rock Garden

September 11, 2013 by ajpassey 2 Comments

flowers-painted-on-rock

We received a text from my mom one day that had this gorgeous painted rock. We were totally inspired! I ran out and bought a gold paint pen so we could get to work.

Then came the treasure hunt for our rocks. We searched in our yard and came up empty. We went for a walk in the woods behind our house and didn’t find a single rock.

On Labor Day we went to Natural Tunnel State Park in southwestern Virginia. After taking the chair lift down to see the tunnel, we hit the jackpot! There were so many fantastic rocks to choose from. We each chose a favorite, or two, to take home.

We had a lovely crafting session on the front porch after school one day. We chatted about school, plans, and dreams while we painted our rocks. Then we arranged them in a lovely garden to see as we come and go from our home.

Sammi love entertaining Ben and helping him discover the world around him.

Last Chance Halloween Ideas

October 30, 2012 by ajpassey 1 Comment

Only one day left! Happy Halloween, tomorrow. Just in case you are looking for some last minute ideas, here are some ways to celebrate with ordinary supplies you probably already have on hand.

Pumpkin Pictures

Supplies:

White glue
black food coloring/paint
crayons/oil pastels
watercolors

We drew our pumpkins and the background with pencil. Then we mixed the black into the food coloring into the glue. We painted the lines with the black glue. This created a barrier around sections that helped keep the watercolors in their section.

After the glue dried, we created patterns with the oil pastels. Once we were pleased with our patterns, we pulled out the watercolors and painted each section.

From the Archives

Halloween Wreath: We just used plastic Halloween trinkets we had collected over the season and glued them to a paper plate wreath we painted.

Cotton ball Ghost: I googled “ghost coloring page” and picked one I loved then printed it out. We glued cotton balls to fill it in. This is great for really little ones all the way up to 4/5 year olds. Especially when you let the squeeze the glue themselves. Excellent fine motor development!

What are you or your little one dressing up as this year?

Watercolor Therapy

October 8, 2012 by ajpassey 2 Comments

We had an atypical weekend as we watched General Conference for our church. (It’s a broadcast from the leaders of the LDS church that comes in 4 2-hour sessions over two days.) By Sunday afternoon the kids were restless. We’d done puzzles and workbook pages, snuggles and snacks. We’d been spending our time downstairs watching it on TV. But for the final stretch, we took the iPad upstairs and sat at the kitchen table.

The kitchen table is a gathering place in our house. It’s where we craft, snack, do homework, eat, read, listen to music, and produce art. Sammi commented one day to me, “Isn’t it funny that we eat dinner at the craft table?” Creative expression is a huge element of our kids’ days. They are happier and more at peace when they’ve had time to create something. So on this Sunday afternoon we brought out the big guns: the watercolor supplies.

We had watercolor paper. I love the texture of watercolor paper.
We had Crayola watercolor paints. They have the brightest colors and wash up the easiest of all the brands we’ve tried.
Then we have a collection of brushes. The kids love big brushes. Sammi is starting to understand using different brush sizes for different details in her paintings.
Finally a cup of water. And a medicine dropper. We use it to drop a little water in each color.

Here’s the final products. But like always, the process was where they unwind and get back into their good moods. The end result is proof of happy memories and brings a smile to our faces!

Scott’s Watercolor

Elli’s Watercolor

Sammi’s Watercolor

What do yo do to get your kids out of a funk?

Happy Valentine’s Day: Song and Craft

February 14, 2010 by ajpassey 3 Comments

Happy Valentine’s Day. Hope it’s one filled with love and friendship for you and your little ones! Here’s a favorite song of ours. I shared it last year, as well as this awesome nesting heart project.