Make Spin Art using Tupperware (Method 1)

One of my clearest childhood memories was attending a birthday party and getting to make spin art t-shirts.  I remember carefully dripping beads of paint onto my shirt and then watching my artwork spin around and around.  Once the spinning stopped, voila!  All my beads of paint spread out and made a lovely sun burst design.

It was magical.

For some reason this particular memory popped into my head this past weekend  I felt inspired to try making our own spin art with Chuck too.

But how would we do it?  We didn't have a spin art machine, or a salad spinner, or a lazy susan. 
I was stumped.  Luckily, clever hubby came up with two ideas to make spin art using materials that we already had at home.   

Materials:
- Tempera paint
- Tupperware
- Paper cut to fit the bottom of your Tupperware
- Yarn
- Packing tape
- Masking tape (optional)

Directions:
1.  Cut a piece of yarn.  Tie it together to make a loop.

2.  Use packing tape to attach the loop to your Tupperware.  Congratulations! You now have a human powered spin art machine.

3.  Place drops of paint into your Tupperware.  (Optional:  You could also tape your piece of paper down into the Tupperware first and then place your drops of paint inside.)

4.  Close the lid and spin your Tupperware around and around. 

 5.  Open your Tupperware to reveal your spin art design.  (We placed a piece of paper over the design to capture the paint.  Alternatively, you could have also just put the paper inside first and then add the paint.)

Really, really easy, right?  The only problem was that our design wasn't really sunburst looking. So clever hubby got to thinking and came up with another solution....

which you'll have to read about tomorrow!
(Can you guess what it is?)

Happy toddler crafting!

Toddler painting with toys

Ok, the title of the post pretty much says it all.

1.  Get some toys.
2.  Dip them in paint.
3.  Watch your kid go to town.
4.  Remind your child to not paint the floor... or wall... or you... or...
5.  Pat yourself on the back for entertaining your child. 
6.  Wash toys and child in bathtub.
7.  Watch your kid go to town cleaning the toys.
8.  Pat yourself on the back for keeping the fun going.

What can I say?  Entertained child = happy child = happy mama

Happy toddler crafting!

Toddler Tupperware and Ball painting

This past weekend, Hubby, Chuck, and I spent a lot of time in the apartment.  To help pass the time, we read lots of books, played lots of games, watched lots of movies, and did a lot of painting. 

This week I thought I'd share four different ways that we painted with Chuck

(Who knows?  Maybe these posts will come in handy if you're ever stuck at home with a toddler too...)

Today we'll start off with method 1:  Tupperware and ball painting 

Materials:
- Tupperware
- Piece of paper cut to fit inside the Tupperware
- Masking tape
- Tempera paint
- Small ball 

Directions:
1.  Tape your piece of paper onto the bottom of the Tupperware
2.  Drip drops of paint inside of your container
3.  Add a ball into the container
4.  Close the lid
5.  Shake your container!

6.  That's it!  Open your container and reveal your toddler's Jackson Pollock-esque work of art.

I definitely give this activity a thumbs up.  It wasn't very messy (hooray!) and Chuck enjoyed squeezing the paint and shaking the container.  (Personally, I found shaking the container to be very therapeutic.)

Happy toddler crafting!

Using crafts to encourage others: A look at a Crafting Ezine

It shouldn't come as a shock to you... but I love crafting.

Oy.  How I love crafting.

I love making stuff and I love the idea that my stuff can bring a small smile to other peoples' faces. 

And that's why I'm super thankful that talented bloggers Amy (AmySullivan1) and Lisa (AboutProximity) included my galaxy umbrella in the first issue of their new ezine, Impact.  This is a quarterly magazine that will focus on different ways that we can positively influence others' lives.

Their first issue shares some great ideas for encouraging others through crafts.  You can check it out below!

(Ooh.. those cute winter gloves and foot scrub recipes are calling my name.  Happy crafting and have a great weekend.)

Note:  If you're having problems viewing the embedded magazine, you can also click here too.

Perler Bead Safety Pin Bracelet

And so the Perler bead craze continues!

(You know how they have "Shark Week" on tv?   Maybe I should have called this "Perler Week..."  Hmm...)

Last night while watching tv, I strung a whole bunch of black and white Perler beads onto some safety pins.  Why?  Well, because I wanted to make this bracelet...

The black and white design makes it quite graphic, the Perler beads make it fun, and the silver safety pin bits make it a bit edgy.  When I wear it, I imagine that I'm a hip preschool teacher going out to a club.  (Wow.  I really need to get out more....)