crafts – Page 3 – Jack of All Trades

Tot School: Pinecones, Pine Trees, and Lumberjacks: OH MY!

leslie December 29, 2016 0 Comments

The Pineywoods of East Texas.That's what we call home.Monday was the day after Christmas and it was a beautiful warm morning. Time to get out and go exploring! We have some gorgeous trails and gardens not far from home called the Mize Azalea Gardens which we have yet to explore! It was the perfect place to talk about the the tall pines that tower over all the rest of the trees,...

Crafting with Kids: Baking Soda Clay Ornaments

leslie December 10, 2016 0 Comments

Every year I choose a special ornament that goes with something special that happened that year to add to our Christmas tree. My mother-in-law did this and wrote the dates on all my husband's ornaments from his childhood and when he and I got married, I wanted to carry on the tradition.This year has been an especially hard year for us and trying to find an ornament has proven quite...

Watching a Child Create

leslie October 14, 2016 0 Comments

Sweet Pea is a cautious observer. Always has been.. and hopefully, always will be.I have always known this about her, but I had never seen it so prevalent in her creations as it was on the day we had an Invitation to Create a Muddy Pig.She did not pick up the picture of the pig, or study it any more than she normally looks at something. But as I watched her place her "mud" aka brown...

Art: Process vs. Product?

leslie September 10, 2016 0 Comments

I went to college to be an art teacher. In fact my degree is in Fine Arts with an emphasis in painting, and I graduated with an EC-12 Art Certification. I was blessed to be able to teach high school Art I for 2 separate years out of my 8 years of public education (art positions are hard to find and keep with all the cuts yall). Please allow me to tell you something about my experience...

Fiesta Birthday: Maraca Making

leslie July 21, 2016 0 Comments

I don't know where the time went, but Sweet Pea turns 2 on Friday.... tomorrow. Time is so precious, so fleeting. I only get 16 more years. It's not enough time. So, I am going to relish each and every moment I can... well try to at least. We are hosting a little FIESTA themed birthday party for Sweet Pea on Saturday, and this past week, I have worked on her...

Getting Ready for a FIESTA: Invitations

leslie July 9, 2016 0 Comments

Pinterest made me do it. Do any of your sentences start out that way too? Well, Pinterest is helping me plan my little Sweet Pea's 2nd birthday... we are having an all out Fiesta before we Siesta!So you have to start with cute invites for a party and I found this image on Pinterest...I love the little fringe on the top and bottom right. Super cute, right? and totally says Fiesta!So I...

Tot School: 5 Little Speckled Frogs

leslie May 3, 2016 0 Comments

I have scavenged, pinned, researched, downloaded, printed, and created our first Tot School Unit on PONDS. For the next several weeks, Sweet Pea and I will do all things pond related and specifically talk about frogs and turtles more than other animals. Today I wanted to share a little game I made for my girl based on the song, 5 Little Speckled Frogs. Let me apologize in advance for the song...

How Does Your Garden Grow?

leslie April 19, 2016 0 Comments

What did we do before Pinterest?!?! It's amazing what you can find on there. I know a lot of people can look on there and get overwhelmed especially with the comparison game, but for me Pinterest is like a visual encyclopedia. I type something in, and boom, research is done. Millions of ideas, thoughts, and visual representations are there to GUIDE me. And that's the...

Making Play dough (with no cream of tartar)

leslie March 11, 2016 0 Comments

I wanted to play with play dough with Sweet Pea...but I did NOT want to go to Walmart at 8 in the evening. Have you been then... its like all the cashiers go home and everyone in town heads to the store!!! Lines backed up to the clothes and I thought I was going to be the only one there. Wrong...So I decided I would make play dough following this 3 minute YouTube video ...

Sensory Easter Eggs

leslie March 1, 2016 4 Comments

Sweet Pea is 19 months, and it is like her brain is a dry sponge just ready to soak up any and all things placed around her. She's grasping things faster than I expected, and I am so enjoying making these Tot Trays to challenge her into learning new things.Easter is around the corner, and here in Texas, we didnt have winter. We've had a most enjoyable spring that sprung like a month...