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

Need Some New Play Date Ideas?

September 25, 2012
Posted by critters and crayons

Critters And Crayons is participating in a Play Date Blog Hop with a group of fantastic kid-bloggers!

GoKidYourself

All Done Monkey

Learn with Play at home

Coffee Cups and Crayons

Caution! Twins at Play

Here are some of C&C’s ideas for themed play dates worth trying!

Try A Group Nature Hike…

Our family recently went on a nature hike with two other families and it is something we plan to do on a larger scale soon with several other families. There is nothing like getting out into nature where discoveries and beauty abound.

The children are delighted by the simplest sights: a snake trail across a dirt path, a rocky crevice swarming with giant ants carrying morsels half the size of their bodies, hardened tree sap, seashells on a hilltop or driftwood near the river.

For so many of us busy-folk, these things lose their magic. But, children can teach us to view them with wonder again.

And this photo was taken on a different nature excursion but it is too cute not to share. Our 5 year old daughter found those snails at a random rest stop on a road trip.

That adorable little snail in her hand wasn’t even the size of a pencil eraser. He was just teeny tiny. We were all surprised to find that all of the shells were filled with these cuties! So, grab some baggies and some magnifying glasses and take your play date into nature!

And There is Always Origami (Of Course)…..

Here, we made simple origami suncatchers in the hotel room. But, you can see how we made origami into a play date and party theme here: The $50 Origami Party!

And How About All That Make-Up You Need To Get Rid Of? It’s Totally Great For An Art Play Date!

Did you miss the post on using old make-up to make art? Did you miss my hubby’s mascara grim reaper?

I made a huge purge of make-up in my last de-cluttering phase and it is all now in a tackle box we keep in the kitchen.

The kids make some pretty neat art with it. Here, you can see our daughter’s work- It reminds me of a Dia De Los Muertos exhibit.

Imagine how fun it would be to line a floor with unrolled butcher block paper and to see what the kids can do with that old lipstick of yours? What took you 10 years to throw away will be gone in 2 minutes, I promise.

And What About Those Puppets?

We recently figured out that the best and cheapest puppet storage that places puppets right at a pre-schooler’s height for rapid fire puppeteering is a shoe rack. Since then, we have been doing some serious nighttime puppeteering.

Sometimes, the kids put on the show for us or their “audience”.

Yes. That is a T-Rex wearing pink Minnie Mouse undies. We don’t discriminate around here. All animals (living, extinct, or inanimate) have an inalienable right to modesty.

If your Puppet Show Play Date lacks humans, please feel free to borrow our kids’ solution. :)

And You Can Always Keep It Simple With a Sweet Family Pretend Pizza Party Play Date…..

This might be the best play date of all. It is the “unwind and bond as a family” play date.

Mom and Dad might exceed the tensile strength of those Little Tikes kid stools, and we may have to shift our weight from side to side to keep parts of our body from tingling and falling asleep- but it is worth it.

These are the play dates that might be the most memorable- the ones where we stopped doing what we think we need to do to focus on what we really need to do.

DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS FOR PLAY DATES?

HAVE YOU BEEN TO ANY COOL ONES LATELY?

For more fantastic ideas from other Kid Bloggers, check out the links below! If you have a play date post, please feel free to add it!

Pin It

The $50 Origami Birthday Party! {DailyBuzz Moms 9×9)

April 24, 2012
Posted by critters and crayons

I am thrilled to participate in the DailyBuzz Moms 9×9 “Party On” Challenge!

This month’s “Party On” theme came just in time for our daughter’s fifth birthday party! We have some big-time expenses around the corner (family weddings, extended travel, showers to throw…) and so we wanted to see if we could throw a nice and memorable party on a budget.

Origami was the way to go for us!

We ended up spending just under $50!

Here’s how we did it!

1) WE HOSTED THE PARTY AT HOME.

This saved a lot of cash. Here, you can see our play room ready to host 8 kids. Yes, we had to clean up our play room afterward. (But, we do that for play dates all the time.)

2) WE MADE OUR OWN DECOR.

We used pieces from around our home (like that shadowbox from the living room, those vases from the kitchen and birdcages from our daughter’s bedroom)….

3) WE KEPT THE FOOD SIMPLE.

The party was at 3 PM so folks didn’t expect a big food spread. We laid out chips, dip and cupcakes for the adults with a couple of bottles of sparkling soda. The kids “dined” on croissants filled with organic blueberry jam and peanut butter.

We made origami pouches to hold the organic apples and yogurt pretzels (bought in bulk). We made our own cupcakes and decorated with toothpicks through origami cranes. And, our daughter helped to make the origami heart decor for the apple juice boxes!

***Note: Kids with peanut allergies were given peanut-free options :) ****

4) THE KIDS’ ACTIVITY WAS….ORIGAMI!!!

We had a lot of origami paper left over after the home and food decor were made. One pack of origami paper costs $10 for 150 sheets. It went a long, long way and the kids enjoyed learning how to make simple folds of hearts and rockets.

5) WE MADE OUR OWN ORIGAMI PARTY FAVORS.

The kids took home pencils displayed in vases as decor topped with origami flowers or rockets.

There were also some simple pinwheels to throw and little flower hair clips for the girls to choose from. Each child took home 8 sheets of origami paper secured with a paper clip.

The cost of the party favor materials? $2.99 for 20 hair clips from Hobby Lobby and $1.50 for 12 natural pencils from Target plus a few sheets of origami paper from the $10 pack. I bought a pack of multi-colored buttons at Ross for $2.99 (normally $8 value).

An origami party is a versatile, inexpensive, beautiful, and cultural way to throw a party for children.

I definitely recommend this kind of party for children 5 years and older.
Yes. There IS a time-cost to make the decor that balances out the money-savings.
BUT…. the beauty of origami is that it is something that can be done anywhere and anytime.
You could make just a couple of items a day months or weeks in advance. I started two weeks out and folded during episodes of CSI, The Apprentice and The Voice. :)
I actually always have sheets of origami paper in my bursting planner to pull out with the kids wherever we might be.
The best part of it all? I have a lot of leftover materials to do other projects with! (Like these Origami Paper & Mod Podge-coated Dollar Store Cookie Tray Magnetic Boards I’m making for my friends! Total cost…about $1.50 per board. :)

To See More Photos Of Our Origami 5th Birthday Party, Here’s A Slideshow!

(Ipads and Iphones may have difficulty viewing the slideshows, sadly…)

Origami Party – free slideshow maker with music

********************************************************

If you’re interested in how we made some of the party decorations and favors, you can check these past C&C posts on how we made and used the origami butterflies and cranes:

For the Butterflies: Decorating A Girl’s Room- DIY Origami Butterflies

For the Cranes: Origami Ideas For Family Fun, Gifts & Decor

Here are links to other online origami resources!

TO LEARN HOW TO MAKE THE SAME ORIGAMI FLOWERS FROM OUR PARTY, I’VE CREATED A TUTORIAL FOR YOU!

(Again, Ipads and Iphones may have trouble viewing slideshows…)

Origami Flower Tutorial – free slideshow maker with music

Many Thanks to DailyBuzz Moms For Featuring Our Party!

PARTY ON!

HAPPY FOLDING!

Pin It

Origami Ideas For Family Fun, Gifts & Decor!

April 10, 2012
Posted by critters and crayons

Last month, I ran a post on how we made an origami butterfly wall for our daughter’s bedroom.

Origami was such a prevalent sight in my early childhood in Korea that I am still surprised when someone asks me what it means.

So, I thought folks might be interested to see some of the ways that my kids and I use the origami we make together as gifts or as decor around our own home!

We recently made this Origami Butterfly “Specimen” Shadowbox for a good friend of mine who was leaving. She plans to hang it in her play room!

For room decor, you can make large cranes and suspend them with thread in small bird cages or Wedding card holders- like this pink one in our daughter’s room:

Or this white and gold one I gave to my departing friend to hang in her family room.

And for other rooms of the house, you can take things like that bird cage-inspired platter-topper and use it to hang cranes or other paper birds….

There are many tutorials available online and Hobby Lobby has a few books for beginners, too! Other great places to check for deals on origami kits are stores like Ross, Marshalls or TJ Maxx. I have seen expensive kits there for much less!

I admit, I keep a few sheets of origami paper in my planner for emergencies.

Sometimes a child nearby is crying or my kids are bored- and origami has a way of soothing them.

Maybe it’s the concentration on the folds, or the rote activity of repetition (like knitting) that does the trick. But, there is usually some level of delight for a child to see a 2 dimensional piece of paper transform into a 3D figure.

The very best things about origami are that it is a simple way to bond with your kids and it is inexpensive.

Our four year old already knows how to make her own origami baskets!

The thing I am most looking forward to is seeing her and my son teach their own kids how to do this ancient paper-folding art that I learned in my childhood.

Those creations will be the most special of all, I think!

Pin It

Decorating A Girl’s Room: DIY Origami Butterflies

March 26, 2012
Posted by critters and crayons

We are re-doing our daughter’s side of the room. She loves butterflies.

We decided we would make our own ” DIY Origami Butterflies ” to create a sort of migratory pattern where the butterflies started near her brother’s side of the room and finished up by her bed.

We got out a bunch of scrapbook paper I’ve held onto now for about 5 years and she picked the colors she wanted them to be.

I downloaded a printable tutorial on how to make origami butterflies here.

She helped to make a couple by following some simple folds I taught her.

And then, I just made butterflies until we had enough to fill her wall.

Total cost for the entire project was around $12 for the scrapbook paper, origami paper and thumbtacks we used to affix each butterfly.

She’s happy with it!

And so are we!

One of these days, I might make the butterfly migration go around the entire room….as soon as the blisters on my fingertips heal from all that origami. :)

Pin It