When Readers Try Your Crafts…

May 8, 2013
Posted by critters and crayons

Do you know what bloggers love?

They love when they throw an idea out there and some busy person reads it.

They love to see comments and shares, because most bloggers are also busy people who barely have time to even write the stuff they’re blogging about!

But, more than anything, bloggers love to hear about how people not only read something they put out, but that they tried it.

Back in September 2011, Critters And Crayons ran a post about making Fresh Strawberry Cream Cheese Cake Pops.

Some readers gave them a go. Here’s what happened.

And a lot of factors can affect whether or not the outcome works out for a reader-tester.

Is the tutorial sound?
Is it too brief?
Is it too long?
Is it descriptive enough?
Are the photos accurate?
Does the reader have any innate crafting or cooking skills?

So, please imagine my surprise and thrill when I happen upon something like this after Critters And Crayons has been tagged on Facebook by someone who read a craft post and then tried it:

Critters And Crayons ran a post a few days ago about the school supply cake the kids helped to make for our daughter’s Kindergarten teacher.

And, look at what Local Laredo Rotarian, Catalina Zaragoza, DID!

Catalina’s Supply Cake: Getting All The Supplies Together!

The “Cake” Assembly!

Um….Can you say GORGEOUS???!!!

Classy And Beautiful!

Bam!

The Tutorial Worked!

(Bloggy Brow-Wipe)

But, none of this is to say I don’t love reader submissions of crafts and recipes that have gone wrong, either.

I mean, let’s look at that sorry cake pop, again.

Critters And Crayons is not, after all, solely a crafting blog.

I like to think it’s about making us all laugh.

Sometimes, I’m the only one laughing at my own jokes.

Loudly.

But, that is not the point.

I happen to know that no one laughed harder than the awesome reader who submitted that failed cake pop to the Critters And Crayons Facebook Page two years ago.

Bravo, Woman!

Keep on baking those Pin-Tastrophes and broadcasting it to the world! It’s a mood-booster for the rest of us!

And it brightens a blogger’s day, ESPECIALLY, because the thought that anyone might even LOOK at something that we put out and then think,

“Hmmm….of all the ideas out in the Insta-Pinterest-o-Gram-Twitter-a-Faceb0ok-&-Google-Plussed-Up E-Verse, I think I’ll give THAT idea a try” is simply AWESOME.

And, in closing, I want to just leave this one last bit about how great it is to hear that a recipe or a tutorial actually worked for a reader.

Recently, I posted the accidental recipe for “Battered Candied Bacon” on The Critters And Crayons Facebook Page

You can find that recipe HERE.

On that post, I received one of my favorite comments ever from a reader, and fellow blogger, Tyuana of The Fuzzie Chronicles.

It went like this.

She made it.

She ate it.

She liked it.

BLOGGY SCORE!

SO……Lastly Lastly…. ( I meant to put two “Lastly’s…..I said, “in closing” up there and then didn’t close anything up.)

Things have moved so fast this year that I nearly forgot to wish The Critters And Crayons Blog, which is now part of the newly formed Critters And Crayons, LLC, a Very Happy 2-Year Blirthday!

So, Thank You!

Thank You for reading and supporting Critters And Crayons since it started two years ago.

Thank You for trying any of the ideas that get thrown out there!

And, THANK YOU for sending in the photos of your Successes and….. Other Things.

Oh!

Lastly Lastly Lastly!

There are still a couple of days left of Teacher Appreciation Week….if you need some more ideas, you can always check out the Critters And Crayons Teacher Appreciation Ideas Pinterest Board!

So…..Feel free to send photos!

PINNABLES AND PIN-STROSITIES WELCOME!!!

Pin It

A School Supply Cake For Teacher Appreciation Week!

May 6, 2013
Posted by critters and crayons

Teacher Appreciation Week is May 6th through May 10th this year!

I’m happy that we’ll be on time for it.

Last year, for some odd reason, I thought it was the week following the actual celebration period.

Thankfully, the teachers were gracious and happy nontheless. :)

This year, I asked for some ideas on The Critters And Crayons Facebook Page and received some really great responses from moms and teachers!

Click Image To Go To someecards To See The Original Image!

Many of the comments on the Critters And Crayons Facebook Page from teachers who liked receiving supplies they could use throughout the year reminded me of the School Supply Cake made by The Outlaw Mom a couple of years ago.

Since, I saw that someecard about teachers not wanting crayon wreaths, I figured we’d try the School Supply Cake, instead. :)

Here’s how we did it together with the kids!

To make this School Supply Cake, we used the following:

1 Paper Plate Holder (4 for $1 at the Dollar Store)
1 Paper Plate
1 Container of Disinfecting Wipes
24 Mechanical Pencils
26 Pens
12 Highlighter Markers
2 Large Rubber Bands
1 Large Roll of Colored Duck Tape
1 Smaller Roll of Colored Duck Tape
1 Small Stackable Container of Thumbtacks, Clamps and Paper Clips
Ribbon
Small Chocolates

(*Note: There were a few leftover pens and markers which went into our office supply/craft drawer….)

The kids enjoyed separating out the supplies!

They sorted them by supply type (pencils, pens, markers) and then by color.

This made keeping a color pattern much quicker to do and it also gave opportunities for the kids to practice pattern-making themselves.

Just place one of the large rubber bands around the Disinfecting Wipes Container.

Insert the school supplies into the rubber band until you have them arranged in the way you want them!

The kids both enjoyed this part of the activity!

To make the Supply Cake larger, simply put another rubber band on top of a completed layer!

We only did two outward layers, but you could continue to build to make a thicker “cake”.

To build up, we simply added the two rolls of Duck Tape!

Our daughter wanted to add a surprise to her teacher’s gift!

And add the cake topper of stacked paper clips, thumbtacks and clamps!

The Supply Cake for Teacher Appreciation Week is finished!

Some people bring something small each day of Teacher Appreciation Week, but we are opting to give just one gift this year to our daughter’s primary teacher.

For the other teachers and staff who help our children, we plan to send in some share-able treats to go around on one of the days!

I’m glad there is a week set aside to recognize schools, teachers, staff and administrators for what they do for our children.

It is such important work.

We should be thankful every day for what they do, but it’s nice that for one week of the year, we all get to make crayon wreaths, beaded bracelets, school supply cakes and handmade cards with phonetically incorrect messages from our new readers to thank them, isn’t it?

And there’s always Happy Hour.

And Chocolate.

Or Both At The Same Time.

HOW ARE YOU AND YOUR KIDS CELEBRATING TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK?

Pin It

Upcycling Your Kid’s Happy Meal: The Hen Craft Challenge

April 26, 2013
Posted by critters and crayons

Upcycling Your Kid's Happy Meal Critters And Crayons is participating in Mollymoo’s Hen Craft Challenge!

Mollymoo made some incredibly cute paper mache hen handbags back in February in her country of Ireland.

They were super popular and sparked a call for parent bloggers in The Kid Blogger Network to make a hen that represented where they live, their quirky sense of humor, or any hen-related craft….

The kids and I “upcycled” Happy Meal boxes to make our hens.

WHY A HAPPY MEAL BOX?

Because my pre-school son believes that THE HAMBURGER is the NATIONAL FOOD of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

Seriously.

It’s what he told his pre-school teachers.

And, they told me.

…but also, and most importantly, because paper mache looks like an awful lot of work.

So, I made a Funny Happy Meal Hen.

(…well, I think it’s funny.)

And, our daughter made a Piñata Hen because we live in South Texas.

Here’s a slideshow that shows what we did!

Make sure the sound is on….

For the tutorial, check below the slideshow!

Upcycling Your Kid’s Happy Meal – slideshows

HERE IS HOW WE MADE THEM!

For the Funny Upcycled Hen:

1) Fold to one side the “M” handles which may or may not represent brand arches for a reknowned fast food eatery.

2) Use masking tape to secure the meal box with folded handles.

3) To make the head, take out the french fry box which may or may not bear a potentially recognizable fast food brand. :)

4) Cut down both sides to open the fry box.

5) Draw this guy. Or draw a better hen face. However, be sure you draw the comb upside down on top of the chicken’s head. Bear with me, there is a reason for this.

6) Trim around the hen’s face like you see in this photo.

7) Cut the folded part of the hen’s head off. This will become the comb.

8) Now, fold the oval you just cut off the hen’s head so that the red side shows instead of the striped yellow side.

9) And, cut little triangles out to form a comb.

10) Place a strip of tape on the back of the fry boxes…

11) Fold the box so that the yellow/white side stands up like this….

12) And slide the red comb down between the two sides of the hen’s face so that it sticks to the tape.

13) Color in the hen’s face, add some googly eyes and attach to the Meal Box. I think that the smile on the side of the box looks like a chicken wing. So, I didn’t bother decorating any further. :)

I DID try to engage our 4-year old son in the hen craft challenge. He used his Happy Meal box to draw what he called a “Batman Chicken”.

I can totally see it.

Our kindergarten daughter wanted to make a piñata hen since we see so many piñatas here in South Texas.

(Speaking of piñatas, have you read Critters And Crayon’s post about How To Avoid Being A Piñata Event Failure? You’ll thank me.)

To Make The Piñata Hen:

1) Tape down the box so the handles are folded to one side.

2) Make a head. I asked our daughter if this was a turkey head- but she is committed that it IS a HEN. Our daughter glued this hen head to the end of a popsicle stick.

3) Fill the box with candy.

4) Cut strips of tissue paper (enough to cover a Happy Meal Box). Ours already had scallops in it. If yours doesn’t, you can cut the paper so that it has a fringe look.

5) Use a gluestick to glue along the top edge of each strip of paper.

6) Wrap the tissue paper around the box and layer strips of paper up until the box is covered in different layers of tissue paper.

7) Insert the popsicle stick with the hen head into the box and you’re done

8) We don’t actually intend to hit this thing, by the way. It’s a piñata hen decoration that represents where we live, but you COULD string it up if you cut small holes in opposing sides of the box and ran yarn or string through them. It wouldn’t take much force for it to break open.

AND THAT’S THAT!

Critters And Crayons will be linking up to Mollymoo’s Hen Craft Round-Up when it goes live HERE.

I WONDER…..

HOW DO YOU UPCYCLE EVERYDAY ITEMS THAT MIGHT NORMALLY END UP IN THE TRASH OR RECYCLING BIN?

LET US KNOW!

(Oh! And, if you’re in Laredo and haven’t entered

The Ladies of Laredo Ultimate Give-Away that is live until May 10th, 2013….

please click HERE and enter! It’s free, easy and quick.

You won’t believe what you can win. I mean, really. It’s awesome.)

Pin It

The Opportunity Learner’s Series: Our Montessori-Style Kitchen Corner

April 10, 2013
Posted by critters and crayons

This post is an introduction to a new series on Critters And Crayons that will explain how we made a couple of corners in our kitchen into Montessori-inspired learning stations.

The Critters And Crayons Opportunity Learner’s Series is about:

Easy, Affordable, DIY Montessori-Inspired Learning Materials

that you can incorporate into your most frequently used family spaces

(even if those spaces are relatively small).

It wasn’t on purpose! We have a pretty traditional play space, full of toys and books and learning materials…upstairs.

But, it seems like we spend the vast majority of our time downstairs IN THE KITCHEN.

Materials and activities seemed to migrate down to the table because I was cooking or cleaning, we were eating or snacking, the kids were doing art or building legos…

I realized one day that if I made some of the fun learning materials available to the kids, that they would play with them.

But, I needed the space to stay organized and to be visually-appealing.

The kitchen is not only where our family hangs out, it’s also where our friends come over…so I bought a 20 dollar shoe rack I liked at the local bulk warehouse and our Kitchen Montessori Corner was born.

I need to state that I am not a Montessori Guide or Teacher. I’m a mom who has enjoyed watching her children learn some pretty nifty things in their pre-school years using some of the non-traditional learning materials you’ll find in a Montessori environment.

Our kids do a lot of playing, building, pretending, arts & crafts, and nature exploration in their daily activities, but they also seem to enjoy the hands-on, sensorial method of learning inherent in Montessori Materials that reinforce learning of concepts through experience.

I use the term “Montessori-Style” because some of the materials in our “Kitchen Corner” are actual Montessori materials and others are INSPIRED ( in concept or similarity of function) BY authentic Montessori materials you can purchase through places like The Montessori Outlet. (A good example of this would be our twist on doing Math Sums using blue glass beads in a tray and strips of paper with written sums on them instead of the traditional numerical counting rods you’ll find in a Montessori classroom.)

In many cases, we use recylables (like empty spice jars), re-purposed items (like ice cube trays), or inexpensive options (like dollar store metal napkin holders to hold boards and paper tablets or muffin tins) in order to compose the learning materials to make them more affordable.

It’s never mandatory that the kids “play” or “use” any of the materials in the kitchen.

We don’t force them to sit to do work. The items are there for when they want to use them.

Days or weeks may go by and nothing is picked up.

And, then, for some reason, a tray with a map and little replicas of world monuments catches our pre-school son’s eye and he’s “playing” with the geography tray.

Critters And Crayons Montessori-Inspired Geography Tray

In the coming weeks, I’ll be posting about how we made

some of the materials you see below.

I hope you find the information helpful!

Our Kitchen Corner Shoe Rack With Montessori-Inspired Materials

Tong & Chopstick Transfer Activity

Pattern Rubbing Plates & Writing Pads

Chopstick Transfer & Creative Pattern-Making

Assorted Flash Card Basket

DIY Sensory Letters

The Prism

Sensory Sand-Writing

Tangrams

The 100 Board Number Tiles

Homemade Flash Cards Supporting School Curriculum

Hands-On Sums Activity With Glass Beads

Water Transfer Activity & Color Mixing

Popsicle Stick Shape-Making

Bead Counting & Snake Game

10 Wooden Squares of 100

DIY Snack Station

Art & Creativity Station

Sensory Whole Wheat Coconut Oil Cloud Dough In A Craft Box

Flower Arrangement Station

You can find Critters And Crayons posts about Montessori-Inspired Activities, Lessons and Materials (often with some humor) HERE.

Also, some of my favorite Montessori Blogs and Resources are listed below!

Living Montessori Now

Confessions Of A Montessori Mom

Montessori Tidbits

Carrots Are Orange

The Montessori Outlet

The Montessori Print Shop

HOW DO YOU ENCOURAGE LEARNING AND DISCOVERY AT HOME?

Pin It

Saint Patrick’s Day Origami Sun Catchers With Kids: Shamrocks, Rainbow Stars And…Batman {Shamrock Tutorial)

March 13, 2013
Posted by critters and crayons

It’s Spring Break and Saint Patrick’s Day is right around the corner!

I was looking forward to spending some time with the kids in the morning doing something creative and remembered we still had the origami sun catcher kit full of translucent origami paper that we could use to make Saint Patrick’s Day Shamrock Sun Catchers.

What I learned, again, is that craft-time with kids, like most things with children, doesn’t always go as planned.

Here’s our St. Patty’s Day Sun-Catcher window. :)

I had a vision of us decorating a window with a bunch of green four-leaf clover “shamrocks” like the one you see below.

By modifying a star-pattern, I figured we could just make a bunch together for a festive, green, Irish window.

Our son was much more interested in building a Bat-Plane!

So, I helped him make one.

And, he wanted help making a Batman Symbol Sun Catcher…

So, I obliged.

The symbol came out pretty cool, I think.

Not very festive, but it made our son happy, and that was the point of this crafty session, anyway, right?

The mind of a child is quite amazing, though.

Where I saw a sort of failed holiday crafting session and lots of unused origami sun catcher paper, our son saw an opportunity to build something for his blue Bat-Plane….

A GARAGE, of course! (Techically, it would be a HANGAR, but our son calls it a garage, and he’s in charge of his own imaginative play, so I’m going with it).

I would have never thought to do that with that square piece of paper.

Our daughter was more interested in doing her own rainbow star using a simple fold in the origami sun catcher book that came with the kit.

To do this, just fold the square in half so that it forms a triangle (not a rectangle). Then, fold the sides into the center so that it looks like a kite!

This is about the most simple fold for a child, probably best for pre-schoolers and kindergarteners, if they really want to do this on their own.

She glued the pieces together in the center after making 8 “kites”.

An adult might be inclined to intervene and make sure that the colors are balanced or that the lines are glued together perfectly, but I think it is important to let the kids do what they will (unless they ask for help in making things line up perfectly).

And here is the result of our kindergarten daughter’s individual effort.

She, like her brother, had no interest in making Shamrocks with mom.

They wanted to do what they wanted to do with the materials in front of them.

Our son’s innovative “Bat-Plane Garage” and our daughter’s rainbow star with an imperfect “octagon” in the center show their little minds and hands at work.

So, I made my own four-leaf clover….all by myself.

If you think that your kids want to ever make a sun catcher shamrock for St. Patrick’s Day, I’m going to go ahead an include the tutorial below:

How to make suncatcher shamrock for st patrick's day

Step 1) Start with the square green piece of paper. You’ll need 4 of them and a glue stick to finish the origami sun catcher shamrock.

How to make suncatcher shamrock for st patrick's day 2

Step 2: Fold the square in half. And then fold each of the ends into the center so your paper looks like this

How to make suncatcher shamrock for st patrick's day 3

Step 3. Fold ends of the paper into the center. Then, fold the top corners into the center so that it looks like a very tall house. (That’s how our kids refer to shape that results). Do the same folds at the other end so your paper looks like this.

How to make suncatcher shamrock for st patrick's day 4

Step 4. Make four of them.

How to make suncatcher shamrock for st patrick's day 5

Step 5. Using gluestick, glue two of the “petals” together in the center. You can align the edges as a guide, like you see here.

How to make suncatcher shamrock for st patrick's day 6

Step 6. Glue the remaining petals on.

How to make suncatcher shamrock for st patrick's day 7

Step 7. Use clear tape to adhere to a window and you have an origami sun catcher shamrock!

We hope that everyone has a wonderful Saint Patrick’s Day!

If you do decide to do a Saint Patrick’s Crafting session with your kiddos, good luck!

I hope that it comes out just as you’d hoped!

But, really, the more that I look at our Saint Patrick’s Day Sun Catcher Window, I am starting to think that it could not be more… PERFECT.

You can read a little about how Saint Patrick’s Day is different for us now that we have kids by checking out this post:

Saint Patrick’s Day Then And Now

And for A LOT of Saint Patrick’s Crafting Ideas, check out Mom To 2 Posh Lil Diva’s Collaborative Pinterest Board for the holiday!

St. Patrick’s Day Pinterest Board

WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING FOR SAINT PATRICK’S DAY?

ALL GOING AS PLANNED?

US, NEITHER. IT’S ALL GOOD.

Pin It

Our Super Hero Academy Party!

January 29, 2013
Posted by critters and crayons

We threw a Super Hero Academy Birthday Party this year for our son…..

Last year, we ran a Super Hero-themed party and you can read about it:

here (for how we did it, complete with tutorials on Super Caped Marshmallow Pops and activities),
and here (for all the funny stuff that happened at the party),
and here (for the pleasures and perils of the 150+ lbs of Super Cloud Dough at the Super Hero Party)!

This year’s Super Hero Academy Party was incredible fun to plan and throw. Here’s what we did!

We made our own pennants using materials from the local craft shop….just the pennants, stencils, glue, ribbon and glitter- It’s a good, cheap way to personalize your party!

***CREATIVE TIP!!! I never realized how easy and inexpensive a pretty name pennant banner was to make until my little sister asked me to make one for her daughter’s ENCHANTING Little Red Riding Hood Birthday Party!

You can see the banner for that party below and the gorgeous party in my sister’s post here.

To learn about how we “Quilled Superman” to make that paper filigree rendition of our Super Son, you can go here.

We made simple vanilla cupcakes with buttercream frosting with golden sprinkles in black cups this year. For the recipe we love, you can check out Recipe Girl’s excellent Wedding Cupcake recipe here!

And, those cupcake holders are made using Dollar Store candle holders and metal platters affixed with super glue!

We made a spiderman cake using the same Recipe Girl wedding cupcake recipe (only with a box of Devil’s Food cake mix).

***CREATIVE TIP!!! I found Duff’s Candy Writer in black to be very helpful in doing the lines of The Spider Man. It hardens quickly and really helps novice cake decorators to stay within the lines with the buttercream frosting! A few moms asked where I found the cool black cupcake liners and those were also from the Duff line, as well as the really pretty gold, white and shimmery sprinkles! I found the Duff line of cake decorating items at our local craft store.

You can also go here to check out other interesting baking items from the Ace of Cakes guru’s line!

We used simple gold balloons, and a giant Spidey balloon visitor that stalked the guests from above…..

About a week before the party, we had a painting play date where the kids had fun painting a bunch of boxes black with giant rollers.

***CREATIVE TIP!!! Get the kids involved in the large-scale painting activities and teach them about recycling and re-using items to make their Gotham City! Including them in the party prep is fun for them, builds anticipation, and cuts down on some of your work!

With a few swipes of white paint with a sponge brush, we had a move-able, build-able Gotham City for the kids to run through!

The Birthday Boy could teach Super Students how to chase a villain through the city streets!!!

The kids had a lot of fun chasing each other between the buildings….

….Where they played Super Heroes Vs. Villains. The Bad Guys get wrapped up in the Super Heroes’ Crepe Paper of Truth….

And Super Kids can learn to build their very own City!

OR Batmobile!

It’s a cool photo prop, too!

***CREATIVE TIP!!! You can make Super Hero cuffs out of coffee cup sleeves and duct tape, and super hero capes from plastic table cloths! For other parties, cover the coffee sleeves with patterned duct tape to make trendy bangles!

We laid out a roll of plastic table covers in a sky blue color the Birthday Boy picked out with trays full of pre-cut cardstock shaped like Pentagons.

There were caddies full of safety scissors, glue sticks, markers, glitter glue and stencils for the kids to create their own personalized symbols.

Whenever we go to Starbucks, we always save our cardboard sleeves.

For the kids who wanted Super Hero cuffs, we simply wrapped them in gold or silver colored-duct tape!

Busy Super Heroes can just fish a a cape or costume out of a SUPER HERO DRESS-UP BIN!

The Lead Super Hero Instructor conducted an expert demonstration on how to make those “POP!” and “POW!” sounds for the others to follow!

***CREATIVE TIP!!! Bubble Wrap can be bought in bulk at postal/mail centers where they sell it by the foot! Compare the prices at your local bulk warehouse or home improvement store! It is a super fun and low cost way to really entertain the kids! For $15, we found Green Lantern-hued giant bubble wrap at a local home improvement store!

***CREATIVE TIP!!! A Bubble Blower doesn’t cost much and provides a lot of Summer fun. Kids can “Pop” the bubbles while they make Bubble Wrap Popping Sounds as part of the Comic Book Sounds Activity of the Super Hero Academy!

And, then there is the leftover bubble wrap pre-school after-party….

My awesome hubby spray painted a skyline for the Punch & Hunt Activity we came up with to replace our normal pinata activity!

Toward the end of the party, parents held up the skyline banner between all the little Super Heroes and a field of party favors for the kids to hunt once they punched through that skyline!

We liked this idea because the kids didn’t have to wait in line for their turn, and there were no swinging sticks endangering small children or adult knee caps! :)

***CREATIVE TIP!!! Get a huge roll of butcher block paper from a bulk warehouse for under $20 and use it all year for large arts & crafts projects like this one! For the Punch & Hunt, pull a length as long as your “hunting area” and use a brick or block of wood to shape your skyline to fill in with spray paint!

***CREATIVE TIP!!! The Super Hero Punch & Hunt (A banner skyline that kids punch through before going on a favor hunt) is a fun alternative to the pinata!

Even some feisty moms were ready for the Punch & Hunt!!! Ha!

We asked the older kids to save some of the items for the smaller ones as part of the “Safety Briefing”…..

Meanwhile, behind the backyard fence….as kids began opening their Iron-Man shaped Gummy Treats….

Two masked villains plotted to STEAL Candy and Coloring Books!!!!!

They snuck into the backyard where the Super Heroes were playing with their bat slinkies and Captain America yo-yos……

EGAD!!!!!

***CREATIVE TIP!!! A couple of parents in black with masks make excellent villains who can be foiled with some simple spools of crepe paper! Delightful for the kids!

BUT, HAVE NO FEAR, PARENTS!

THE SUPER KIDS ARE HERE!!!!

CREPE PAPER AT THE READY!!!

THE VILLAINS SCATTERED FROM THESE FEARSOME FACES!!!

AND BOOYAH!

THE BAD GUYS WERE…..DEFEATED!!!!!!!!!!

ALL WRAPPED UP IN THE CREPE PAPER OF TRUTH!

CANDY-STEALING CRIME JUST DOESN’T PAY, DOES IT?

GO AHEAD, VILLAIN!

YOU CAN SAY IT!

SO…UH…WHO’S YOUR DADDY, NOW???!!!!???!!!!

And, THAT, was the final exam of our son’s Super Hero Training Academy!

Another Class of Super Heroes graduated and are now ready to defend party favor bags the world over….

And, we owe it all to our Birthday Boy,

The Super Hero Extraordinaire,

The Destructor-Instructor,

The Master of All Skills Super Hero,

And Our Beautiful, Wonderful Son….

So, Until Next Year…..

Super Hero School’s Out!

Happy Super Hero Training Academy Birthday to Our Little Super Hero…

And To ALL Of Yours!

For MORE Super Hero Birthday Party Ideas, please check out my dear bloggy friends’ party ideas!

Megan of Coffee Cups And Crayons wrote about their fantastic Batman Party!

Super Hero Play Inspirations From Go Kid Yourself!

And you can always check out Critters And Crayons’ Super Hero Party ideas from last year!

Pin It

I Quilled Superman

January 16, 2013
Posted by critters and crayons

We’ve dabbled in origami and tissue paper crafting but I’ve been intrigued by “Quilling” (kind of the art of twirling paper fancily) ever since I first saw it featured last April,on the The Outlaw Mom’s Blog as part of her “CRAVE IT. COVET. LOVE IT.” Series.

So, I bought all the stuff the craft store aisle implied I needed by its mere presence in the “quilling” section and promptly stuffed my own stocking with it.

Our son’s birthday party is coming around AGAIN and he wants another Super Hero party. We love themed parties and we love Super Heroes so we’re looking forward to this one after last year’s!

You can go here to see what it looked like (The Pinnable Post). And you can go here to read about all of the funny stuff that happened at it (The Un-Pinnable Post). :)

This year our 4-year old son is the primary Super Hero Instructor at his own personalized Super Hero Training Academy. That post will be out sometime next month. :)

We always try to create our own activities and props which saves a lot of money and also gets the kids excited and invested in their parties in the weeks leading up to the big celebration of their arrivals.

I reasoned that this was as good a time as any to try to learn to quill and make a Super Hero sign for our front door.

So, I sat down last night, read the instructions, messed up a few coils and then completed my very first quilling project!

He’s not perfect by a long-shot.

And, I don’t really have any tips or tutorials for you other than it takes a few screw-ups to figure out how to get the coils where you want them at first.

And, there is an art that I have not yet mastered that enables one to emplace glue in a way that doesn’t smudge or crust or ruin the effect.

I didn’t have a template- just an image in my mind of my little boy, wearing his beloved Clark Kent curl and his cape (which is why his initial is on the front of the costume)- so all I can tell you is that I built the image as I went and then just filled up the empty space between the coils.

No real plan.

See how easy this is?

I only offer this up to you to show you that you can create some pretty cool stuff

if you’re willing to just dive in and screw up a few coils with sticky fingers before making something you love.

I was “Super” intimidated by the look of quilled art before breaking out the tools- which explains why it took nearly a full month to just open the packaging and read the instructions.

Our son is just tickled at this paper rendition of him.

It isn’t pristine at all. There are definitely some amateurish flaws- but to our little boy, it is just perfect.

And, I am well aware that my lack of a template or clear artistic vision resulted in a bouffant resembling the fuzzy turban of one of Queen Elizabeth’s Palace Guards, or perhaps the image is less Superman and more Napoleon Bonaparte in his jammies….but, I only had two goals when I set out to make this for my little boy:

1) Learn How To Quill and

2) Quill a Clark Kent Curl

There is our son at the local kids’ hair salon where he asks for “The Clark Kent” haircut and they totally give it to him.

And here is how I “Quilled” Superman’s curl to match my baby boy’s:

There is still a lot of learning to be done when it comes to paper crafting- but I have to say, I think quilling may have just become a new hobby. (Because I need another one of those).

Just, whatever anyone does, DO NOT buy me crochet needles or sewing machines or woodworking or distressing tools. :)

I AM TOTALLY INTERESTED IN LEARNING ABOUT YOUR HOBBIES!!!

WHAT ARE THEY?

DO YOU DIVE IN OR DO YOU RESEARCH THEM OUT FIRST?

Pin It

O, Hotel Tissue Paper Christmas Tree!

December 21, 2012
Posted by critters and crayons

We’re away for The Holidays.

Seeing family is great and we’re in a place where the chilliness actually matches the stereotype for December weather.

But, we are in a hotel. And, this meant that the room seemed a little sterile (well, in an aesthetic way, of course.) A blue light might demonstrate otherwise, I know. This is something I try to avoid remembering. :)

The kids and I decided to do something about the lack of Christmassy-ness.

We took a quick trip to the Dollar Store where we spent hardly any money at all on cute stockings for each of us, tissue paper, wrapping paper, and ribbon. I had considered spending the 12 dollars it would have cost for the emaciated, plastic, poorly made tree at a local Hobby Shop, but decided that for about 6 bucks, we could make our own unique tree together.

So, we did.

(Ugly-Awkward Photo Watermark Disclaimer: Please forgive the awkward watermarks across each of the images below. Our hotel stay has also presented several technological challenges, and in this case, those pertain to our registered watermarking software. After lengthy and repeated attempts to get the watermarks to show properly, I finally decided to just run this post, because it would be good to get it out BEFORE Christmas.)

We made a Tissue Paper Christmas Tree!

I thought a little while about how to do it with tissue paper and a wrapping paper roll. And, I finally settled on trying to do it the same way that we used to make tissue paper flowers out of Kleenex as a kid in Korea.

The tutorial you can find Here by Chatelaine.com can walk you through the most simple method of making tissue paper flowers that can be used for gift-wrapping, bouquets or decor.

(If you are looking for a tutorial on how to make fancy tissue paper flowers using pipe cleaners, check out The Outlaw Mom’s Tutorial Here!)

To Make This Tissue Paper Tree, You Need:

1 Wrapping Paper Cardboard Tube
50 Sheets of Green Tissue Paper (recommend Dollar Store/Dollar Tree for this)
Ribbon or Rubber Bands
5-10 Sheets of Tissue Paper for “ornaments”
A Drinking Glass
A Few sheets of tissue paper (to stuff around tube in drinking glass to stabilize tree)

Total Time To Complete:

Enough Time to Watch Arthur Christmas And Jim Carrey’s The Grinch…..

I started with 50 sheets of Green tissue paper, which cost $5 from The Dollar Tree.

I cut the sheets into four equal squares to form 200 squares.

Each “leaf cluster” consisted of 6 green squares folded into a fan shape (see tutorial link above).

Instead of securing the fan in the center as the tutorial shows to make a flower, only secure one end of the fan. This gives the leaf cluster volume and length.

I used ribbon to secure the ends, but you can use rubber bands as well.

Make enough of the tissue leaf clusters to go around the tube completely. It took 4 to 5 tissue clusters per layer for this project.

Secure the tissue clusters to the tube using tape reinforced by tied-off ribbon or rubber band.

The wrapping paper tube is planted in a drinking glass and stays in place because paper has been stuffed around the tube to stabilize it in the glass.

Do the same for each layer.

As you get closer to the top, secure the edge of each tissue paper fan closer to the middle in order to shorten the length of each leaf cluster.

Simply moving the rubber band or ribbon tie-off closer to center is much faster than measuring and cutting differently sized squares of tissue paper to work with!

Once you complete the tree, create your ornaments using the colored/patterned tissue paper to make flowers you can tape or glue into the tree’s fluffed layers.

Our daughter is five and half and was able to help make her own mini-tree using a paper towel roll!

She and her little brother enjoyed decorating the little tree they helped make.

Once we finished the tree, hung the stockings and wrapped the presents, there was still one order of business to take care of….This is our door for all the transient passers-by on the second floor….

I’m not sure what our hotel mates think as they pass our door, but I like to imagine that they think that we are SUPER Cool And Merry!

In the end, I think that our little tree came out alright- The kids got a kick out of helping to craft it, and you CANNOT beat the price!

We are ready for Santa, Baby!

ARE YOU TRAVELING OVER THESE HOLIDAYS?

DID YOU DECK THE HALLS? HOW?

Oh, Again…Sorry about those watermarks….Humbug.

Pin It

4 Ways To Play With A Yoga Mat!

October 29, 2012
Posted by critters and crayons

I haven’t written about kids and yoga since one of C&C’s all-time most popular posts ran last year around this time on Why My Daughter Was Kicked Out of Yoga. Well, this isn’t a humor post like that one. This one is less about the kids and more about the mat.

A little over a week ago, I posted a picture to the Critters And Crayons Facebook Page about a little morning game we were going to test out to see if we could coax some enthusiasm out of our children before the sun came up! Our little morning surprise involved a yoga mat and some other fun materials- and I realized that we’ve found a few uses for our yoga mat beyond the normally recommended exercises. :)

Yoga Mat Play Idea #1:

Yoga Mat & Pilates Ball Bowling!

The night of that post, after the kids and I picked up the play area before bed, I had an idea as I looked at the rarely used bowling pins and even more rarely used yoga mats and weighted pilates balls in the corner.

So, after the kids were sleeping soundly, we laid out a couple of yoga mats and split the bowling pins between them.

The yoga mats looked like bowling alley lanes, and the smooth surfaces were perfect for setting the pins up easily for the kids.

The weighted pilates balls made the kids feel like it was more like a real bowling experience!

(To read a C&C post about real bowling with little kids ( and how to re-gain tactical advantage), you can check out the post that was featured in WordPress’ “Freshly Pressed” last year: How To Survive Bowling Day When You’re Outnumbered.)

C&C Freshly Pressed Feature

The reason I thought the morning pilates ball yoga mat bowling would be a good idea is because, sometimes, the mornings can be a little hard to get going……Does this look familiar to you?

And, our little plan worked!

Once the kids’ eyes were open, I said, “Go into the play room. I think there is a surprise game waiting for you!”

The kids rolled the ball into the pins a few times before we started our normal routine.

But, we promised them to finish the games when they returned.

In the evening, my husband assumed duties as the pin-setter-upper at the end of the mat.

But, this time, the kids had their own ideas about how they were going to go bowling. And this brings me to……

Yoga Mat Play Idea #2:

Monster Truck Yoga Mat Bowling!

And despite the size of those trucks, no husband was harmed in the making of this post.

But, there WERE a couple of very happy children.

Over the Summer, the kids surprised me by taking out the yoga mat for some unexpected Monster Truck Jamming on the Hotel Room Floor.

Yoga Mat Play Idea #3:

Yoga Mat Monster Truck Jam/ Demolition Derby!

They laid out the mat and dumped handfuls of unshelled peanuts on top of it. Those Monster Trucks and children commandeering them had a good time.

Of course, I might have been more agreeable than usual because I knew I wouldn’t have to vacuum the floor each day of our stay, too. :)

And, then, a yoga mat is also good for another good kind of play…..

Yoga Mat Play Idea #4:

Actually DO Yoga On The Yoga Mat

Our kids do Kids Yoga as part of their pre-school curriculum. But, we purchased an inexpensive Kid Yoga DVD that the kids enjoy watching and copying. It is a fun thing to do as a family!

HAVE YOU USED YOUR YOGA MAT FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN YOGA?

AND, BACK TO OUR MORNING ROUTINE SURPRISE PLAY IDEA, WHAT DO YOU DO TO ENSURE A SMOOTH AND HAPPY MORNING ROUTINE?

Pin It

Devine Acres Farm: A Great South Texas Family Experience!

October 15, 2012
Posted by critters and crayons

It’s been a year since we’ve been back to Devine Acres Farm. You can see last year’s post on it here. Without knowing much about the farm, we thought we were going to take photos with some pumpkins.

We quickly learned there was much, much more than that waiting for us. So, of course, we went back this year.

For Laredoans, it is about an hour and a half away. But, it is so worth the drive.

If you go, I recommend you leave earlier in the morning before the afternoon heat hits.

Devine Acres offers a truly rustic, old farm experience for families amidst its sea of planted Christmas Trees. The place is green and marked by oak trees, with towering windmills and all kinds of games and play areas for the kids:

water duck racing,
fishing (don’t bring your poles, just pick one up around the pond),
bean bag tosses,
tractor hay rides,
a gorgeous park with swings under oak trees,
live music,
face painting,
a petting area,
a tricycle track,
and many more family activities!

Oh- and there IS a pumpkin patch where kids can decorate their pumpkins, too.

To see more photos of the excellent time waiting for you for $8 a person (3+), you can see the gallery below.

Devine Acres Farm also offers

school field trips,
deals for groups and parties,
a photo contest
and they also host a great event at Christmas time called Pancakes With Santa.

Critters And Crayons also includes information about Devine Acres Farms in the Laredo Community Round-Up during the Fall and Winter seasons. Just click on the image below to check it out.

You can find more information about Devine Acres Farm via the official website here or on the Facebook Page here.

Days like this, in places like this, are what family memories are made of. If you are in South Texas and you haven’t visited, you really, really should.

*****

This is NOT a sponsored post. I was not asked to review or promote Devine Acres Farm nor did I receive any form of compensation to write this post. This is simply a review of a fantastic activity that families should know about if you live anywhere near Devine, Texas. :)

Pin It