Snowflake Rubbing Paintings

Sometimes we create art for the product and sometimes we create art for the process. This was definitely a process based project that turned out very pretty in the end.

To create our artwork we used some basic materials we had around the house, including some plastic snowflake decorations we've used in our windows before. Quite a while ago I thought about trying to use them as rubbings. We finally had an afternoon to play with them a few weeks ago. 

Quick Pick & Project of the Week: The Day the Crayons Quit Mural

The past week has been pretty busy with parent teacher conferences and a couple of other school meetings in the evenings. It's weeks like this that I am definitely aware of how many things parents (myself included) need to balance in order to keep things running smoothly. It reminded me that one of the reasons I started this blog is to give other people ideas on how to interact, connect, and create without too much fuss.

I also love discovering great kids books, and often create quick, easy to put together projects after we read something. This inspired me to create something new: The Quick Pick & Project of the Week. Each week I'll pick one great book and pair it with a no fuss extension project. I'll try to pick books which can be found at your library or easily bought online. Hopefully they inspire some of our readers to take a few moments, gather a couple of simple materials, and connect.

For our first one we used the book The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Dawalt and created a crayon mural.

We recently were given this great book by some family friends and already love it. Each color crayon writes a letter to young Duncan expressing their concern over how they're being used (or not used.) At the end he creates an amazing picture using all the colors in a variety of ways. We enjoy the humor of the story found in each letter and the Duncan's creative drawing at the end.