Super-Quick Bunny Mask

Materials:
White paper plates
Pink construction paper
Packing tape
Glue stick
Black marker or black pipe cleaners
Optional stick for holding


Since we have so many paper plates lying around for our Easter guests tomorrow, I thought I'd throw together some Easter bunny masks for the kids.  I cut out a big circle from the center of the plate. I then cut the removed circle in half for the ears.  I traced the white ear shapes onto some pink construction paper and then cut the inner ears SLIGHTLY SMALLER than the white ears. I glued the pink inner ears onto the outer ears.  For sturdiness, I used packing tape to attach them to the mask. I really wanted to use black pipe cleaners for the whiskers but we were out. I settled for black marker instead.  We then used packing tape to secure the holding sticks.  Done!!! 

Happy Easter!!!

Art in the Garden

I am furloughed this week so I get to pretend to be a stay-at-home mom.  It's great!!!

Today, Noodlebug and I worked on some projects for the garden. Awhile back, we saw a garden loom made of chicken wire at the Bay Area Discovery Museum. It was covered in strips of colored plastic bags (reduce, reuse, recycle!) and we loved watching them blow in the breeze.  So, I was really excited to see a Garden Loom project in the new Artful Parent Spring e-zine. We constructed one right away. Right now, our loom only has a few strips of fabric but we will be adding some string and fabric as time goes on. In the meantime, we enjoy watching the strips blow in the breeze and remain hopeful that some of the pieces will make it into some local nests.

 

 

My husband found a beat-up planter box and asked us if we'd like to paint it. Yesterday, we spray-painted it with leftover paint.  (hence the dark blue color)  Today, we got out the acrylic paints and went to work.  I painted a little garden scene full of insects.

Noodlebug chose to paint a rainbow.  Then, he had to stop because he was concerned about the amount of paint on his hands. I keep trying to turn him into a messy artist but he is pretty fastidious.

Tomorrow, Bug will be in school so I'll be working in the garage. Still trying to clean out and get organized from our move over a year ago!!! But progess is being made.

Happy Spring!!!

Action Pack: WATER

This year, ACTION PACK is exploring the elements.  The latest ACTION PACK is all about water.  Perfect for this time of year as the days get warmer.  I have been stockpiling ACTION PACK ezines (and ALPHABET GLUE ezines) for quite some time. They are terrific resources for activities for kids and I plan on using them all Summer long for ideas for things to do.  In ACTION PACK ezines, you can find ideas for arts and crafts, science experiments, adventure, cooking, and play. I'm looking forward to trying out the water rocket.

In this issue, you will find:

1. :: Jo Newman  and her children make natural watercolour paints & salt from the sea
2. :: Susan Schwake & her students show us some water colour techniques
3. :: Vicki Smith makes paper mache bowls with her students
4. :: Joanie Gorman and a bunch of kids make a fleet of boats & cork sailors
5. :: Marcie Cuff and her daughter send a message in a bottle
6. :: Kathreen Ricketson & family [that’s me] investigate ocean flotsam & jetsam, make some ephemeral beach collections & experiment with sea jellies
7. :: Gina Vida and her children make two ice projects
8. :: Helen Bird shows us a fun wet felted project
9. :: Natalie Kramer  experiments with water tension four different ways
10. :: Jo Ebisujima and her son experiment with water density & quiz us on water usage
11. :: Alex Kelly and her kids go fishing & learn a lot about fish while using a Japanese printing technique
12. :: Melissa Wastney bakes water crackers 
13. :: Lucy Hordern and her daughter create a water bottle rainbow 
14. :: Dawn & Wesley Smith make a water rocket 
15. :: and Jackie Boucher has designed a water themed word search & colouring page

Find all these projects and more in the ezine for only $6.00.  While you are there, check out the back issues including the PRESCHOOL COMPILATION ISSUE filled with preschool projects from the first two years of ACTION PACK.  60 pages of projects for $10.00. After purchase, you will receive a link to the PDF of the ezines.  Go here to buy your own copies!!!


(I love ACTION PACK so much that I am now an affiliate)

Creative Rut

I haven't had the opportunity to be very creative lately. I have all these great ideas for Easter and I'm running out of time.  I haven't even decorated yet! Maybe this weekend.

I did complete two pieces in LIFE BOOK. I'm not really happy with either one.  The first one REALLY didn't work.  I am so terrible at drawing faces.  The figures are based on actress Christina Hendricks.

The next piece is based on this photograph of me:

I have always thought it would be fun to have dreadlocks and tried to do that in my picture. Instead of the desired effect, it started to look more like something out of Ancient Greece.  So, I went with it and painted myself as a Greek muse.  The muse of Comedy, of course!

Hopefully, I'll get to do something crafty this weekend.