Mother's Day Art, Craft & Gift Ideas

Well we are half way through the school holidays here in SA which only leaves a few weeks to get the Mother's Day gifts sorted! How quickly is this year going???

I've found some super cute ideas during my Pinterest scrolling that I really wanted to share with my teacher and early childhood educator followers. You might recall that last year my Year 2 students and I combined science with our Mother's Day gifts and created home made bath bombs. I also wanted to remind you of this post from the previous year - these ideas are super simple, perfect for dads to do with the kids at home.

Anyway, now for some new ideas! This first one is of course from Teach Starter which is always my first stop when looking for resources. This flower paper craft is so simple but so effective.

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It's never just a cardboard box

I am constantly amazed at the creativity of young children to see the possibilities in ordinary things. Various recyclable materials and other bits of "junk" can be magically transformed into imaginative worlds and crazy new characters.

A while ago, Miss M's school books arrived in a cardboard box, measuring about 60cm x 40 cm x 5 cm high (plus an identical lid), and I thought to myself, I can't just put it in the recycling bin, surely we can make something out of them! They were the perfect size for creating a small world, so that's exactly what we did.

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Our latest craft contributions for Inspire Book Box

Did you know that I'm one of the regular contributors to Inspire Book Box? Every second month I'll come up with an art and craft activity that ties in with the theme and key text from that month's book box. I really love how children's reading and literacy is being extended into the arts (and cooking too!) through these comprehensive packs. Here's my previous post with my very first activity contribution + review.

Inspire Book Box is so much more than a book delivery. It's almost like a mini unit of work carefully curated and themed to match the picture book perfectly, and that's why I'm so proud to be part of the team. It really warms my heart to see other children all over the country enjoying my activities after their Inspire Book Boxes have arrived in the post!

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"I Want to be an Artist" {My Creative Child Review}

You might remember when I took Miss M to an art class at Little Picassos last year. These beautiful art experiences for young children are held at Glenelg and Hyde Park studios (both of which are not near me!). So I was thrilled when I found out they are offering subscription art kits from their new side business called My Creative Child, because it means Miss M and I can create beautiful art together at home.

The February Art Pack was kindly gifted for the purpose of this review. 

Everything you need to create the art is included, already cut to size or pre-prepared, and the materials are of a beautiful quality (Miss M got her first set of oil pastels which she's so excited about, now that she's a school girl).

There are 5 activities included in the pack, all carefully planned out and tied in with a particular theme for that month. I noticed a similarity between the activities and the art classes themselves; let me explain more..

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All the love heart eyes for these Valentine's Day ideas

Apart from going out to dinner with my husband, I've never really done much for Valentine's Day in the classroom or with my own kids at home. But lately I have seen some of the cutest, sweetest ideas on Instagram that I just had to share them and try some myself (or share with my teaching partner because she'll be the one in our room on the actual day). Valentine's Day has evolved to being more of a celebration of the special people in your life and recognising the things that you love. So with that in mind, I thought I'd share these oh so gorgeous activity ideas!

First up are these 2 ingredient clay dough glitter hearts which I could totally see being hung as ornaments on a twig tree in your classroom. They sound really simple to make - but plan to make them ahead of time if you want the children to take them home to give as gifts. They could also be repurposed as Christmas or Easter tree decorations! Making simple play dough hearts would also be a great idea. 

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Fab Father's Day Crafts

I can't believe that another Father's Day has rolled around again! This year is just going way too fast. Before I know it I'll have a two year old and Miss M will be at school - eek! 

Anyway - just like last year, I've decided to bring you all some simple and sweet Father's Day craft and gift ideas. So if you haven't already planned anything - check these out!

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Easter Art for Kids {Little Picassos Art Class}

Sponsored by Little Picassos, Adelaide. All opinions are my own.

There are so many activities on offer for kids these days - swimming, dancing, endless sports, kindergyms and playgroup. But are you aware of any art classes in your area?

Miss M and I recently attended a class especially for preschoolers at Little Picassos, Adelaide. I would love to take you through what we did step by step and share with you how brilliant it was. I was super impressed and Miss M (the keen artist that she is) absolutely loved it. She was so eager and just wanted to dive right in to every task, but when she paused for those instructional moments and I watched and observed her - she really listened and took in what the teacher was saying.

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14 Things to Make and do with Salt Dough

Move over play dough - salt dough is our new favourite sensory play + craft material! Play dough has probably been the activity Miss M spent the most time doing in 2016 - but the thing she loves with salt dough is that she gets to keep and preserve her creations.

So it's the week leading up to Christmas and it's a great time to make some Christmassy bits and pieces using salt dough, either as a gift for family members or just for the fun of it!

I brainstormed (and then browsed Pinterest) for as many different things to make with salt dough and we tried to make as many of them as possible!

This is pretty much a fool proof recipe - just don't make any plans to leave the house because they take about 3 hours to bake and dry out in the oven (very low temp - around 120).

• 1 cup plain flour
• half a cup of salt
• half a cup of warm water

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SNIP SNIP! {Early Learning Opportunities with Scissors}

This week it's been all about SCISSOR skills and activities over at Early Learning 101 on Instagram. If you don't follow them already you really should! Each week there is a different early learning theme to inspire your week of activities, and the hashtag #earlylearning101 has heaps of great inspo! Lucky me this week I was asked by the hosts Nichole (You Clever Monkey) and Amy (Playful Learning Co) to be their guest judge - so of course this got me thinking as to how I could put some more scissor skill practise into my week with Miss M (and I looked back through some old blog posts and photos as well to find some more ideas to share!).

Play dough is a great way to start with a toddler developing their scissor skills. Easy to use plastic scissors cut through the squishy play dough with ease. Roll out skinny worms to cut, or play hair dresser like Miss M is here!

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Eight Excellent Christmas Tree Arts, Crafts & Activities

~It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas~

The tree is going up tonight!! Our normal family tradition is the first of December, but Miss M and I are off to the Christmas concert at school tomorrow night so we are doing it one night early! I am so looking forward to getting into the Christmas spirit this year with our two little ones. To keep the tree safe from Little Man's inquisitive clutches we plan to pop it in the play pen (which wasn't being used for it's intended purpose anyway). This is quite a popular idea for households with toddlers and babies on the move I've heard.

So today I've got some fun and festive Christmas tree themed art, craft and activity ideas for you and your kids to enjoy in the lead up to the special day!

Felt Christmas Tree Decorating

A perfect activity for toddlers (but preschooler's will love it too) is this felt Christmas tree. Stick the tree to a wall using command strips, and the felt decorations stick to the tree. Your little one can decorate and re-decorate the felt tree to their hearts content. Get them from Charlie Robin Designs (but make sure you order before the 12th of December).

Kindly gifted for the purpose of this post.

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Flowers, Flowers Everywhere! {30 Art & Craft Ideas}

As I sit and write this, it is a glorious 25 degrees in Adelaide! Whoop whoop!

So to celebrate the start of Spring I've got an awesome collection of flower arts and crafts from some fantastic kid bloggers. I've organised them (roughly) into ages, but of course your little one will probably need a bit of assistance and guidance.

All images used with permission. Thank you contributors! 
I've got the love heart eyes for these collages!

Toddlers

 

There's lots of paint stamping, handprints, footprints and egg cartons in this collection. Miss M and I are keen to give the egg carton flowers a go! Will be sure to share when we do :)

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Last Minute Father's Day IDEAS!

Dad's special day is coming up this weekend so it's time for us mums to get our creative on and make some stuff with the kids. In my house we got busy with salt dough, handprints, footprints and dotty pictures!

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SUPER Simple Mother's Day Craft {Dads I'm talking to you}

Ok Dad's, this one's for YOU. James I hope you're reading this ;)

Mother's day is coming up - just a gentle reminder. It's May 8th, the second Sunday of May. Don't worry, you still have plenty to time to whip something up to give the mother of your children. And I've come up with the simplest list you'll find on the net. Us mums love handmade stuff from the kids, but they usually need a little bit of adult help, and FYI we shouldn't have to make our own gifts!!

Scribble or Messy Paint Hearts

Let the kids go crazy and scribble on some paper, or if you're feeling ambitious and don't mind the clean up, get the paints out. When they're done cut it out into a love heart shape. Fold in half and there you have a Mother's Day card.

If you don't mind some extra cutting, cut out the letters of 'Mum' and glue on another sheet of paper or card. Save some of the scribbles or paintings to use as wrapping paper later.

If you buy a card from the shop (hint: we love special messages inside about how wonderful we are) let the kids decorate the card and envelope with more drawings. If we have young kids who can't draw yet - we love their scribbles!

Colouring In

This one's pretty simple too. Print out any of these colouring in pages, and let the kids go to town. 

Go here or here

Hint: Laminating kids colourings/drawings makes them an instant gift!

Handprints and Footprints

If you think you can handle it - try painting your little one's feet or hands. This one's great if they can't hold a pencil yet and can't make much else! Tip: feet are easier, babies hold their hands in tight little fists until they're about 6 months old. Mum will melt! We love this stuff.

Stickers

3 year olds and up can probably manage stickers on their own. Buy some hearts, flowers or butterflies and let them decorate a piece of paper or card. Done.

Stuff in a Jar

Jars are all the trend right now. Take the kids shopping and choose mums favourite lollies, chocolates, tea bags, coffee sachets or Nespresso pods (whatever mum loves), let the kids pop it into a jar and call it a gift. If you can be bothered tie a ribbon around it :)

Crockery

Grab a white coffee mug, bowl or plate and let the kids decorate them with coloured sharpies (keep this one for older kids - maybe 3 and up - but you'll have to watch them so they don't draw all over themselves!). Bake in the oven for 120 degrees for 2 hours and they'll be done! If you want extra brownie points, bake some cookies or brownies with the kids to add to this gift.

Photo Gifts

If Mum is a coffee lover and you like the mug idea, but want it even easier, check out Vistaprint. Mums LOVE photos of their kids. We can't get enough of them. Upload a photo of the kids on a mug, iPhone case, fridge magnet or mouse pad... Here are the shipping details to make sure mum gets it by mothers day. VERY IMPORTANT!

• Express - 3 business days
• Priority - 5 business days
• Standard - 10 business days

If all else fails, buy a photo frame from the shop to pop a photo of the kids in.

Last but not least - give us a sleep in!

Lauren :)

Linking with Jess

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Christmas Craft with a CleverDIY Project Kit

We love art and craft in our house (well Miss M and I do) and we were so excited to receive this special little package in the post the other day... {gifted}

image source - Clever DIY Media Page

This is the CleverDIY Christmas Project Kit! CleverDIY is CleverPatch's new side project providing creative crafty solutions specifically for parents. Many teachers order their bulk craft products from CleverPatch (myself included), but the great thing with CleverDIY is that in this neat little box, you get all the things that you need for just those projects - not huge tubs of paint, glue, glitter which you'd never get through and would clutter up your cupboards at home. They've thought of everything!

"A back to basics approach to kids creativity"

The project kits cater for a variety of ages. Little tikes such as Miss M can work closely with their parents to paint and stick, 5-7 year olds may only need a little extra parent help, and 8-12 year olds can fly solo and be kept busy working independently.

The other great feature of CleverDIY is that you can subscribe and receive a new project every month or just purchase a single box (great birthday or Christmas present idea). You can also order extra craft items from their 'shop'.

Here's a little snap shot of our projects (some not quite complete yet). Looking forward to adding some of Miss M's decorations to the tree and putting the wreath on our door.

I've been so lucky to collaborate with CleverPatch in the past - here are two previous posts if you're looking for more arty and crafty ideas...

Art and Craft Ideas with CleverPatch
Clever Craft Ideas

Now, here's the exciting part, you have a chance to win a CleverDIY Christmas Project Kit for yourself! I'm hosting a huge Christmas giveaway - starting on Tuesday the 1st of December, and there are 7 prizes up for grabs over the week. So stay tuned for a blog post on Monday with all the details, and keep an eye on my Instagram and Facebook for when it all kicks off on Tuesday night.

So excited! (If you know me in the real world you'll here me exclaim with a little squeal) :)
Lauren x

{Thanks to the team at CleverDIY}

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Miss M's Rainbow Room {and her move to a big girl bed}

Hi there!

This post has been a while in the making. It was back in August when we 'ditched the dummy' and not long after Miss M moved to her big girl bed. Since then we've been slowly transforming her room from nursery to kids bedroom (here's my second ever blog post when I shared her bird themed nursery). Make sure you have a squiz at what it looked like before! We kept the tree wall decal and bird mobile and just added a few other little rainbow accessories to go with her new big girl bed and furniture.

It's quite a small bedroom, and this configuration was the best we could come up with. The little gap between the end of her bed and the IKEA squares is just enough! We added the little drawers and doors to the IKEA squares to keep them looking a bit neater and less cluttered (Miss M loves hiding special things in there). I love cane baskets too and they fit nicely with the decor. You can't really see the rest of the room - not that there's much to see, just a built in robe :)

So here's how we went about transitioned Miss M from cot to bed in a few brief dot points (she's 2.5 FYI)

• We took the side of her cot a few months ago so she got used to having that freedom and she did really well with it.
• We gave Miss M the choice of keeping her bedroom, or moving to our other spare room and she chose to stay put.
• We had a specific idea in mind of what kind of bed we wanted (tassie oak, light wood colour) but she still had fun testing out the race car beds in the shops. She wasn't too fussed on what we ended up getting. When the bed arrived she went along with her dad and granddad to pick it up with the trailer and then watched (helped) them as they assembled it. 
• The cot and other white nursery furniture made it's way to the baby's room and this was all fine with her (luckily).
• I checked out some quilts on line and chose my top 5 for her to choose the one she liked (we had already done a lot of talking about rainbows for her new bedroom). 
• You'll notice in the photo below that her dolly 'Lily' has her own cot, and I got this on the same day as the big girl bed, so that Lily could go in her new bed too! This worked a treat!
• And that was about it! We made it exciting and she has slept really well since we made the switch a few months ago. Her latest thing is wanting to sleep with the door open - so we'll see how that goes in the weeks to come.

Does anyone else arrange their books in rainbow order?!?! Or is it just me?
Love having this little bookshelf right by the bed

If you've been a long time follower of my blog - you might remember this post when I shared where my love of rainbows began :)

And here's an image from another previous blog post - I made this rainbow mosaic picture using Miss M's paintings cut into squares. It's hanging on her built in robe with some of her other art work.

Finally, here's a list of helpful links for where we sourced all of this awesome stuff! (Not sponsored)

• Rainbow bunting made by Miss M's Nanna :)
• Pom pom rug from Ecoviva (gifted)
• Rainbow Print by Sarah Tamblyn Designs (gifted)
• Quilt by Kas Kids
• Bed + bedside table from Forty Winks
• Tree Wall decal from SimpleShapes on Etsy
• Bird Mobile from Felt n joy on Etsy

Do you have a theme for your kid's or baby's room? I'm getting excited to start planning our baby's room next!
10 weeks to go!!

Lauren :)

"Rainbow Magic" by Sarah Tamblyn Designs

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Simple Painting Ideas for Toddlers

I was feeling arty and inspired today so Miss M and I did some simple painting activities together. You've probably seen them elsewhere before, I'm certainly not claiming them as new ideas - just wanted to share what we've been up to.

I love this first one because it is literally NO MESS! Simply put a piece of paper into a tub, squirt a few blobs of paint, place a small ball inside, put the lid on and ask your toddler to shake it all around! (Tip: marbles would probably work better - but we just used what we had - a plastic golf ball).

Miss M and I were both too curious to see what was happening inside the box that we took the lid off and rolled it around a bit more. "Wowee!" she says :)

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The next idea is called Tape Resist Painting. All you need to do is grab some painters tape (because it will remove much easier) and stick it all over a large sheet of paper. Miss M loves painting with her hands so that's what we did. Even when I try and give her the bush, she starts painting her own hands lol!

When the paint is dry, carefully remove the painters tape. Magic to a toddler's eyes!

See some of my other painting ideas here

• Zip Lock Bag Painting (a guest post I wrote for my friend at Sarah Tamblyn Designs)
• Homemade Wrapping Paper (guest post written by Sarah Tamblyn for teacher types)
• Tiny Handprints, Footprints & Fingerprints (one of my older posts)

Well, thanks for stopping by. It's been a wonderful Saturday to have some blogging time :)

Lauren

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Clever Craft Ideas + CleverPatch GIVEAWAY!

I love that Miss M is getting to the age when we can enjoy doing art & craft together. So I was thrilled with CleverPatch sent me another box of crafty goodies and asked if I'd like to host a giveaway. I said yes! Keep reading to find out how to enter and win a box of goodies worth $50.

{gifted - not sponsored}

If you missed my last 'CleverPatch' post - here's a snapshot of what we got up to...

Clockwise

- Decorate a coffee cup with porcelain markers

- Foam flower photo frame magnet

- DIY suncatcher clever kit

- Bead book work clever kit

- Wooden key holder

- Super silky twists for drawing

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Under the Sea Painting & Stickers

Miss M loves to "mix all colours" when she does painting, so for this activity I restricted her to blue, yellow and green so that the end result wouldn't end up a shade of brown and would somewhat resemble the ocean (these water colour paints are my own). Once dry she had fun decorating it with these fantastic sea creature stickers. 

Foam Fishy Magnet

A super quick and simple activity for all ages!

3D Wooden Flower & Tree

This flower & tree were lots of fun to paint. We used our own paints and there are endless possibilities for decorating them. They'd make a great gift!

DIY Windmills

These windmills are super cute and come in a packet of 8. Little ones can enjoy decorating and older children can have a go at assembling it themselves by following the simple instructions included in the pack.

Terracotta Birds

I'm still deciding what we might do with these cute little terracotta birds - paint and decorate and hang from the cubby house verandah maybe?

A couple of other craft ideas I wanted to share...

Terracotta Pot

This was a special Mother's Day gift that Miss M and her cousin made for their Nanna. I bought this pot myself, but CleverPatch sells them too.

Painted Shells

These are some shells Miss M collected from the beach, but you can also order them through CleverPatch as part of their 'naturals' collection. Still deciding what to make with these - maybe a mobile?

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To enter this CleverPatch giveaway...

• Leave a comment below telling us why you love art and craft (in 25 words or less)
• Enter your name and email below to subscribe to the CleverPatch newsletter.

Name




Email

The winner will be selected by me (Lauren of Teacher Types) based on the best and most creative response to the question. This competition will run for the entire month of June 2015, and a winner announced in this blog post in the comments and on Facebook on Tuesday the 30th of June at 8pm (Adelaide time). This competition is open to Australian residents only. The winner has one week to contact me with their mailing address and I will pass it on to CleverPatch. There is no postage cost to the winner.

Good luck! And thanks again to the lovely team at CleverPatch :)

Lauren

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Arty Crafty Fun at Splodge!

I always love discovering fun new places to take Miss M. Here are some of our favourites I've blogged about previously;

• Amalie's Play Space
• Semaphore
• The Big Rocking Horse
• Tea Tree Gully Toy Library

Last week we ventured a bit further away from home base to Splodge on Diagonal Rd in Warradale to meet Miss M's Auntie and cousin and we absolutely loved it! There was so much to do and it has a really homely feel with little rooms and play spaces to be discovered. Little ones can be kept busy with art & craft, painting, sensory play, dress ups, play dough and much more (while parents enjoy a coffee & snack).

Entry is $5 (for under 3s) or $7 (for over 3s) and little extra 3D crafty models are an extra $4 (but there's heaps of other paper and materials which are included in the entry price). There's plenty of choice on the menu for adults and kids.

The staff were friendly, and always zipping around, dustpan in hand to clean up after little people and ensure supplies were topped up.

What else do you need to know?

Open Tues - Fri 9:00am - 3:00pm

They also offer birthday parties and school holiday programmes. 

I forgot to take my usual good camera, so just snapped these few with my iPhone.
{Not a sponsored post, just wanted to share our fun day}

We'll be back to see you another time Splodge!

Lauren x

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