Germ Free Get Well Cards

We have a friend that is going through chemo and was in the hospital with pneumonia.  In an effort to keep his exposure to germs to a minimum (and he wasn't feeling up to visitors anyway) my son made him a card and we scanned it into the computer and then emailed the picture to our friend.... germ free get well wishes.

(The card refers to the time little guy was in the hospital with double pneumonia).

Hair Styling Blogs for Hair Challenged Mommies

I admit it- I'm not any good at styling hair- not even close.  My youngest daughter has the whimpiest head on the planet- so, rather then endure tears we generally go with the "brush it yourself" parenting technique.  Now that she is approaching 12 I've felt motivated to try a little harder.  I've done some research and here are my favorite four blogs with hairstyling ideas- some even have videos.

Some of these styles are way beyond my skills- but most of these blogs have "quick and easy" labels- and some of these blogs are no longer active- but the files and many of the styles are timeless.  Enjoy.

Adopt-a-do- cute girl hairstyles

Cutie Pie Hair Creations

Pretty Hair Is Fun To Do

The Story of a Princess and her Hair

My daughter did relent and allow me to style her hair on Sunday and it actually turned out really cute- this picture from Pretty Hair is Fun To Do shows the style we chose .   I was so proud of myself.  So, even though I've been letting my kids watch Get Smart reruns all week I'm giving myself a good mommy high five!

On the Homefront- update

A little update on the chicken adventure.  The kids are thrilled with their "business".  They have 14 chickens and collect about 10 eggs a day.  They sell the eggs to our neighbors.  With the salmonella egg recalls and the generosity of sweet neighbors they have more customers then eggs at this point!  

The chickens roam free during the day and are fed in the evenings.  I may be prejudiced but I think the eggs taste extra good.

Making Her Doll Bunkbeds

My ten year old and her dad completed this project a few Saturdays ago.  I did help a bit with the mattresses.  Dad used scrap lumber from the shop and put together the beds.  He and sweet daughter painted them and covered them with pink fabric.  I helped by showing sweet daughter how to sew covers for the foam mattresses (just a bit of foam from the fabric store cut to size)- and she sewed all three.  We made the mattress covers just like a pillowcase, inserted the foam, and then slip stitched the ends closed.

All three dolls are tucked in cozy.  Sweet daughter believes that they feel claustrophobic and is in negotiations for some bed alterations- however, she totally enjoyed the project and I love how she had some extra fun,quality one-on-one time with dad! 

My Grandson Turns One

My daughters and I did a little photo shoot of my grandson because he turns one this week- it was really fun and we ended up with some photos we really like- hurrah!

Being a grandma is so sweet- this little one is on the move and doesn't hold still for too much cuddling right now- but it's pretty delightful when he comes by the house and waves and breaks into a huge smile- just for grandma!

Babies are for gently loving and cuddling, for kissing and giggling.  I'm a firm believer that you can't spoil a child with too much love, attention and kindness.  Hugs and kisses just make them sweeter.

                                                   

Summer Craft Projects: Art Supplies for Kids

I've been thinking about some fun projects to do with the kids this summer.  I also want sometimes when I can just hand over art supplies and see what they come up with.

We invested in some high quality colored pencils at Christmas and both kids love them.  They especially like the flesh colored pencils.  However, finding a decent pencil sharpener has been less then successful!  And who wants to use a dull, can-only-color-on-one-side-because-the-pencil-wood-is-ripping-the-paper-on-the-other-side pencil?!! 

Well, happy day, Angry Chicken posted about pencil sharpeners and I went online and bought two immediately!  I followed a comment suggestion and found the kind of sharpener Amy loves and has had for twenty years here at MerriArtist. 

MerriArtist is a fun online art store but you do need a $20 order minimum so check out some of the other cool looking stuff they have like:

      *Chalk Markers, use like chalk looks more like a marker (washes off with water)!

      *Hot cakes Encaustic Wax Paints, I've never heard of anything like this, and you'd have to carefully supervise older children- but these paints look so FUN!

Some kid's creativity supplies that we already have and enjoy:
               Crayola Fabric Markers and Crayons

               Prisma Colored Pencils

               A stapler
               hole punch and three hole punch
               Brads, paper clips (colorful ones are fun)
               Plain Paper (my kid's don't like coloring books- sometimes they  like printing one coloring page 
                         off of the internet)
              Sculpey Clay (they have MANY different kinds now- you can make stretchy toys, erasers, etc.)
              Paint: watercolor, tempra, finger, etc.
              Playdough
             Felt Glue (works 100 times better then regular glue when trying to glue felt together)

             Beads with large holes (for the little crafters).  Junior, age 6, made this for me this week :o)

             Good Scissors for paper, I love my adult scissors by this brand and would like to try these for
                         little guys.
             Good Scissors for fabric

Here's to a summer of crafting!  What products do your kid's enjoy?
          

Story Time and Children's Book Review

I love books.  I love libraries.  I love to read. I love to read to my children.  I'm totally guilty of having bedtime last far too long because we are having so much fun reading together. 

This is a picture of my married daughter reading to her baby and my other children listening in (because you are never too old for a good book).  One time while going through a bummer time in my life a counsellor suggested I go back and read some of the books that I enjoyed as a child.  It was great- I still pick up a good kids book every now and then just for fun, just for me :o)

Here are a few old favorites that I just added to my "Mama/ Grandma library"- I used to read these to my baby sisters.  I love the gentle words and sweet illustrations! Babies and Baby Animals by Gyo Fujikawa.

I've read this sweet gorilla book to children for many, MANY years.  The surprise ending is great and it reinforces that no matter how old we get we are still lovable.

I also purchased a  copy of this vintage book, The Silly Mother by Lois Duncan, that my mother used to read to me.

Children's Artwork Into Jewelry III

charm without dimenional glaze/ easier to photograph!

As long as we are talking about changing children's artwork into jewelry I thought I'd share one more idea. 

Purchase a charm in the scrapbook section that has an inspirational word on it.  I chose "family".  Look for a charm that has a simple shape and a hole for hanging.  On the back there will be some tacky stuff.  If it is flat against the charm just leave it.  If it sticks out at all you will need to scrape it off- carefully, don't cut yourself.  You can use a solvent like "goo-b-gone" if you'd like, just make sure to clean it all off!

Now scan your child's artwork and select one small element you love- maybe his smiley face or a heart.  Place your charm over the art, being careful to center it and lightly trace around the art with a pencil.  Remove the charm.  If your traced frame actually captures the work you want then cut out the picture.  If it's not quite right you can do it again :o) 

When you have your charm and paper charm carefully modge podge them together.  Brush very gently or your ink will smear.... let this get dry and then do one more coat of modge podge let this dry (2 or 3) hours.  Then come back, turn your piece to the word side and use a pin to carefully poke a whole where the jump ring goes.  Use a cardboard or foam nail file to file off any places that paper sticks out around the charm.  Then on the art side smoothly apply your diamond glaze.  Carefully spreading the glaze to the edge and removing any bubbles.  Let dry, following your glaze directions. 

Then using a tiny, tiny drill bit (found in the wood section of your craft store) -slowly twist it into the hole of the charm and through the glazed picture on the back- you don't need a drill just use your hands.  Add a jump ring and a chain and you're done!  Now when your charm doesn't have "back" so you won't have to constantly flip it over.

Children's Artwork Into Jewelry II

I originally posted an idea about making children's artwork into jewelry or key chains 4/23/09.  For those of you who don't want to mess with modge podge and dimensional glaze you can purchase these little glass charms, called Memory Frames, made by Ranger, inc..  Simply open them up and pop in your memory glass and your scanned, cropped and miniaturized artwork- add a pretty chain and you're done!  Oh, and I added a tiny bit of scrapbook paper to the back of the artwork so that the backside of the charm was cute, too.  One reader suggested using any jewelry type frame and sealing the artwork in with the dimensional glaze- good idea!

If you are making key chains you can purchase any premade- to-hold- photo- key chains. 

Again, prepare your artwork to the size you need and slip it into the key chain.  If your child is old enough you can give them a canvas already cut to size and even if their work is slightly three dimensional it will still fit inside most frames- so cool having the actually texture visible!  (However, I noticed that giving a small piece of paper to my five year old to draw on really cramped his style- keep an eye out for that).

This next idea I've seen somewhere before- but I couldn't find the link- sorry about that!  You can purchase acrylic frames with a magnet on the back.  These come in a great variety of sizes.  It is very easy to change the artwork in these frames too.  Once again, you can scan and crop your child's artwork and slip it inside the frame.  These are great for displaying on file cabinets and refrigerators.  Grandparent's love them, too.

Your kids feel like a million bucks when they see you using and displaying their work!

Camping In the Pines -Enjoyed

We're back home. Clean. Isn't plumbing wonderful?! I think all the camping laundry is done too- thanks to my dear hubby.

We camped in the green mountains near Ruidoso, New Mexico and set up our tent next to a small meadow- hoping to see a few deer. Instead there were about 30 elk- cows and their calves grazing through the night.

My children- probably future combustion experts- gathered the wood, helped start the fires, and kept the fires going. We did some hiking and took some short walks (hence the flip flops).


Played in streams...


What is better then soaking your feet in tumbling cool water, smelling the pines, and listening to the bubbling of a brook mixed with the delighted laughter of children?


We just enjoyed being together. And while I was enchanted with God's amazing creations my beautiful daughter gave birth to my first grandbaby. A sweet baby boy. More on that miracle later.

A Happy Note

Isn't it great when your kids make you a gift?! I wish I could save them all (I wish I would have saved more of the ones my older children made for me). Now I have a scrapbook with some of my favorite notes and pictures from the kids- nothing fancy just art work taped on acid free paper. Maybe I'll even add photos of some of the larger, bulkier items. I wish there was some way to capture the magical total love freely given from my very own child, don't you?

New Blogs for Entertaining Kids

My kids have reached the boredom phase of the summer. The since-I'm-bored-I-think-I'll-entertain-myself-by-annoying & teasing-someone-else-stage (also known as the watch-mommy-pull-her-hair-out-stage).

I'm all for "entertain yourself" parenting. But I think its healthy to offer a new idea now and then. I found this new blog full of activities to do with the kids. Most of them are very inexpensive and looked like things that kids would love!! The more recent posts are more time intense than her earlier posts- just a tip for finding what meets the needs of your family.

Here is another wonderful list of 77 boredom busters. Enjoy!

Mommy Lessons

The following are a list of quotes about parenting that I strive (and stretch, and fail, and try again) to live by:

Brigham Young, whose daughter described him as an ideal father, taught the following:

Study their [your children's] dispositions and their temperaments, and deal with them accordingly, never allowing yourself to correct them in the heat of passion; teach them to love you rather than to fear you.

Children who have lived in the sunbeams of parental kindness and affection, when made aware of a parent’s displeasure, and receive a kind reproof from parental lips, are more thoroughly chastened than by any physical punishment that could be applied to their persons.

Kind looks, kind actions, kind words, and a lovely, holy deportment towards them will bind our children to us with bands that cannot easily be broken.


On teaching reverence and respect Margaret Lifferth said:

Often the child who is the most disruptive needs your love the most.

...reverence is rooted in love, so is the teaching of it. Harshness in our training begets resentment, not reverence. So begin early and have reasonable expectations. [In my experience harshness in any training builds resentment].

We encourage reverence when we take a crying child out of the chapel and find another room where we continue to listen to the meeting until the baby is calmed or a disruptive toddler is soothed. [The choice of the word soothed went straight to my heart- so many other words might have been used (disciplined, taught, distracted- is there a message in the choice of that particular word?)].

Obviously there are all kinds of quotes about parenting. Today I'm focusing on kindness. It is so easy to think about, and in the hustle & bustle of a day, so hard to do!