Curling up with a good book

Today we have Posies and Petals guest posting with us!

Winter is a great time to curl up with a great book. I relish that quality time with my kids and recently we've had quite alot of it. So I asked Will to bring me his two favorite books, I wasn't surprised that he couldn't stop at two. First he brought me these two....

  

then these....

 

and lastly this one.

They are all fantastic books that I have enjoyed in my classroom as well as my living room. Today we spent a little extra time with Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. We made a tree and used our letter magnets to retell the story. First Will and I, then Will and his dad, then lastly Will told the story to his sister Caroline, who sat and watched in amazement.

Then we just happened to have some animal crackers shaped like letters, so we acted it out again over snack! I love when things work out like that. Tomorrow, we will look for number magnets to act out Chicka Chicka 123.

What are your favorite books right now? For yourself and your kids? I always love hearing new titles!

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Chinese New Year - Lantern Printable

Today is Chinese New Year!! 2012 is the year of the dragon

To celebrate I have a fun printable to share with you! Chinese Paper Lanterns

Download in black & white
Download in colour


1.  Print out the lantern. You can print off the black and white version if printing onto red paper, or if you want to make a fun colouring activities with the kids.

2. Cut out the lanterns. Cut along the solid black lines, and fold along the dashed black lines.


3.  Starting at one end of the lantern, glue or tape each of the tabs onto the next panel of the lantern. Keep going all the way around the lantern, for the top and bottom tabs. When you reach the end, glue the last tabs onto the first panel.

4.  Punch two holes at the top of the lantern (where indicated with black dots). Thread the lanterns onto some string, or onto some fairy lights like I did. Do not place a flame inside the lanterns.

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EtsyKids Design Challenge: It's time to Vote!

It's time to vote for your favorite item! Voting will be open until January 27th. This month, EtsyKids members were challenged to create an exciting new item based on a theme "Love & Kisses". We received a bunch of fantastic entries from some talented people. Please vote for your favourite item from the list below.

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{{ HUGS!! }} from Us to You

'cause it's National Hug day and, well ... we think you're pretty great!

Safe in Your Arms, by MossyRockDesigns

XOXO Valentine Cupcake Wrappers, by YourlittleCupcake

Tree Hugger Cinch Backpacks, by TheSewingLoft

'Owl Hug Ya' 11x14 acrylic on canvas, by FairyDawn

Personalized Great Bear Hug Teacher Notepad, by kindlivingdesigns

Hug Me Valentine hairclip, by fortheloveofzebra  

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Salt Paintings

By: Cori of Peace, Baby! Batiks

Winter hasn’t snowed us in yet in Maryland (we’re still waiting!), but we have had several windy, chilly days that have kept my son and I inside and looking for things to do. A couple of days ago, I found directions for salt painting in a science activity book I bought my son (he’s 4) for Christmas.

Man, did they come out cool!

Here’s what you need:

Paint (I used poster paint)
Brushes
Heavy paper (I used cardstock)
Large-grain salt (I used Kosher salt)

First, pick a couple of paint colors. We used purple, yellow, green, and glittery red, but I’d recommend darker colors so the effect of the salt shows up well. (It got lost a little on the yellow.) Then, water down the paint so it’s fairly thin.

The instructions I had showed dragons, so my son decided he wanted to make dinosaurs. We drew our dinosaurs in pencil on the cardstock and painted over them. We didn’t worry about staying inside the lines; I cut them out after they were dry. Put a lot of paint on your drawing. You want lots of liquid for the salt to soak up.

While the paint is still wet, sprinkle lots of salt all over your artwork. Set aside to dry.

When the paint is dry, brush off the salt grains, and you’ll see that wherever there was a salt grain, you’ll see a darker patch of paint. If you’d like, add detail to your drawing with a marker. We cut our drawings out and mounted them on black construction paper.

Here’s the science bit: The salt crystals absorb the water from the paint around it, leaving dark spots where the crystals were because there was more paint there and elsewhere on the paper. Try larger-grain salt for bigger dark spots!

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Introducing Booger & Tash!

Today we introduce you to Vickie from Booger & Tash!

Q: What motivated you to start your shop?

I first started my shop when my youngest daughter (my middle child) was 2 1/2, I was looking for children & baby items that were cute, but also trendy & unique, and I just wasn't able to find that in the stores/ malls. I knew that I could make the things that I wanted & I figured that others were probably looking for the same things too, so I opened my shop.

Q: What is the story behind your shop name?
My shop - Booger & Tash is named after the nicknames that I call my daughters (Brianna - Booger, & Natasha - Tash)

Q: Do you have a favorite Etsy Shop (non-child related)?
Oooh, there are so many great shops on etsy! A few of my (non-child related) favorites are http://www.etsy.com/shop/JennifersJewels where I get my labels, http://www.etsy.com/shop/goosegrease so cute!, http://www.etsy.com/shop/sunshineceramics made the most beautiful christmas ornaments for me a couple of years ago, http://www.etsy.com/shop/PolishedProductions?ref=ss_profile makes lovely frames, http://www.etsy.com/shop/shopsaplingpress her stuff just makes me laugh!, http://www.etsy.com/shop/scratchandsniff?ref=ss_profile Lou made me a very cherished silhoutte of our late dog & of course, my sister's new shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/MissVeraVintage?ref=ss_profile for vintage barbies

Q: What surprised you most about having your own craft / online shop?
Custom requests! I always find it surprising when someone requests something that doesn't really fall into a catagory of my shop, I recently made a couple of pairs of suspenders for a bride's fiance for their wedding, & a minky pillowcase/ sleepingbag for a puppy to sleep in!

Q: What do you find most challenging about being an Etsy seller?
Shipping costs & delivery times. I live in Canada, shipping from here is very expensive & often takes 2 - 3 weeks, especially if the order has to cross the border.

Q: What's your personal philosophy behind your shop / products?
I want to make items that are modern & hip, but also will stand the test of time. I want the customer to know that I take pride in every item I make & choose the best supplies, from the fabrics to packaging.

Q: How would someone (other then you) describe you?
People I know, would describe me as calm, patient, even tempered & kind.

Q: What music do you have on while you are creating?
I don't, usually just the hum of the sewing machine & the sound of my son snoring in his highchair beside me :)

Q: What do you do when you aren't working?
Well, I have 3 young children (2 girls & a boy) so, when I'm not working, I'm usually driving them to school, library storytime, gymboree or playing with & taking care of them.

Q: Anything else you'd like to tell us or share?
I love that I have found Etsy (& EtsyKids Team) A place where I am free to sew/ create & meet new people. I love hearing about how customers use the items that I create, the stories behind custom requests & the pictures that customers share with me.

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How to make cupcake toppers tutorial

Today April of kidEprints has a lovely tutorial to share with our readers. kidEprints sells a variety of lovely printable tags including a lovely collection of valentine themed ones!

April has written a really useful tutorial on how to turn printables into cute cupcake toppers.

The first step is to print your digital file. If printing with a JPEG image, treat it like a digital photo and try not to use any margins. Photo printers are the only printers that will allow for borderless or no margin printing. If you need to use margins, use the smallest size available (usually 1/8 inch).

Next, using your paper punch, centre the image and punch out a topper, repeat for all of them.

Place one topper face down and glue a lollipop stick to the centre back. The best glues are thick and acid free, or you can use a hot glue gun. You can find lollipop sticks and most major craft stores.

Add a bit of glue around the outer edge of your topper and stick a second topper on top so your cupcake topper is double sided. Place in your cupcake and you're done!!

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