Getting Artistic With Quarto Books!

There's nothing more fun that getting your craft on!  I'm a crafter at heart.  I inherited that from my mama, who inherited it from her daddy.  My problem is, unlike my mama and grandpa, I need a little "help" being creative.  Haha! With three small kids, I often feel like I don't have enough brain cells left to think things up on my own.  So I'm always thrilled to try a new artistic how-to book! 

The fine folks at Quarto Publishing Group were kind enough to send me some help, so let's take a look!

1.) Art Lab For Kids; 52 Creative Adventures In Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Paper, And Mixed Media -

Blogging Through the Alphabet: J is for "Jump for Joy! Its National Play Doh Day!" (Sept. 16, 2013)

OK.  OK.  I know.  I'm stretching things quite a bit to make this my "J" post, but COME ON!  Its National Play-Doh Day!  Whoop!  Whoop!  Did you know the original "Play-Doh" was actually invented as a wallpaper cleaning agent?  Seriously!  We LOVE Play-Doh in this house!  But what I REALLY love is making our own!  Yep!

 

 

Homemade Play-Doh:
1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vegetable oil
food coloring

25 Days of Christmas - 25 Names of Christ (An Advent Idea)

OK folks! Tomorrow is December!  Can you believe it?  I can't!  Of course, that might have something to do with the fact that I was sick for practically the entire month of November.  Ugh!  Thankfully, I'm feeling better!  Anyway, with Christmas approaching, I thought I'd share a wonderful idea that I found on Pinterest - an advent for the month of December featuring 25 ornaments each with a name of Jesus!

I try very hard to make sure that my little one grows up understanding the true meaning of Christmas - that Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth and was born as a baby.  That He grew up, lived a perfect life, and died to save us from our sins.  Now, don't get me wrong.  We have a Christmas tree.  We exchange presents.  We have lots of snowmen decorations, etc.  But we try to also fill the house with things that remind us of Jesus - like nativities, decorations with Bible verses, etc.  So when I saw this idea I knew we just had to do it! 

Genesis 15 - God's Covenant with Abram - and Homemade Salt Dough Stars!

Yesterday during our journey through the Bible, my little one and I read Genesis chapter 15.  We discussed God's covenant (contract) with Abram. -

"And he brought him outside and said, 'Look toward heaven, and number the stars,

if you are able to number them.' Then he said to him, 'So shall your offspring be.' 

And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness."

- Genesis 15:5-6

(If you'd like to read more about our journey through the Bible, you can go here: "A Call to Join the Jochebed Club")

So what would be a better way to continue our lesson on God's covenant with Abram than to make homemade salt dough ornaments in the shape of stars!!!  I got my recipe for the salt dough here.  And it was SOOO EASY!!!  All you need is:

1/2 cup table salt
1/2 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour (plus more to flour your work area and more for thickening your dough)

The first thing to do is assemble all of your ingredients and tools...  You'll need your salt, flour, and water, plus a measuring cup, a big bowl for mixing, yellow food coloring (if you want your stars to be yellow - but its not necessary), a spoon to mix with, a rolling pin, (or a drinking glass - something to roll the dough with), star-shaped cookie cutters, and a straw to poke holes in your ornaments.  (Oh, and if you want to make these babies into a little hanging decoration like we did, then you'll need fishing line or twine or wire or string or yarn or ribbon.  I used clear fishing line, but I forgot to put it on the counter for the picture.)

Homemade Play-Doh

    

     During the first day of our 12 Days of Easter Countdown, my "Little Bug" and I discussed the name of Jesus - its power and meaning.  Being that my "Little Bug" is not yet 2 years old, I opted to do a very basic activity - PLAY-DOH!!!  (We used cookie cutters to cut out Play-Doh letters to spell out Jesus' name.) 

Easter At Our House (and Some Ideas for Yours)

Our Little One's Easter Basket this year -

Complete with Easter Storybook, The Parable of the Lily,
Veggie Tales DVD, Stuffed Lamb with the words "He Lives"
and Lindt's chocolate lambs

Let me start out by saying that the Easter Bunny doesn't visit our house. Yes, you heard that right. Santa doesn't come here either. Now, I know that's an extremely unpopular thing to say, so before you label me the "Worst Mother In America," let me clarify a few things...

Celebrating 12 Days of Easter - Ideas for Crafts, Activities, and Snacks

Yes, this is my second Easter post in less than a week. I can't help it. I love this holiday!!! I mean, COME ON! What could be better to celebrate than the resurrection of our Savior!!! And just as I mentioned in my previous post (which is also full of craft ideas), I really think we should give Easter the same attention that we give to Christmas. After all, if the Resurrection had never happened, then Christmas would be meaningless!
At Christmas, we often do Jesse trees or other Advent activities that count down to Christmas day with stories about Jesus' lineage and His birth. Why not do that at Easter with stories about Jesus' life? So here's another GREAT idea to help you celebrate Easter for more than just one day:
The 12 Days of Easter Countdown!