Category: creativity

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Paint ‘n Take!

The Birthday Girl

My budding artist’s belated birthday party went really well! No one got hurt and nothing got broken, which is a miracle when you host a party for 20 five-year-olds. Most importantly, Lily thought it was a great party, and that’s what counts. (How could it go wrong when you have cupcakes and ice-cream?)

You know those dreadful little painted figures you see in OTHER people’s china cabinets? Well, it turns out they are not so dreadful when it is your children who have painted them. In fact, they may just be considered works of art. Masterpieces, if you will!

LOOK! This little cupid now has a front and center spot in my china cabinet, along with the frog that Emmy painted mostly pink.

Look at those rosy cheeks!
Emmy loved painting this frog! She loved painting it so much, in fact,
that when the first coating of paint dried, she went back and added a second coat!

It was the perfect party for my little Lily. Mom would have approved!
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It’s All Beeswax to Me!

Remember the week before Christmas when I almost showed you the Christmas presents we made? And I almost ruined the surprise for the people receiving the presents?

Thank goodness I stopped myself!

I am a well-known procrastinator. If you want to know where to find me on Christmas Eve, I’m usually at the mall. So when I saw this cute craft in Family Fun magazine, of course I waited until the last minute to go buy honeycomb wax sheets! I thought they would be easy to find at a craft store, but… they weren’t. I finally found a candle making kit at Hobby Lobby, but it’s cheaper to buy beeswax sheets through candlewic.com.

To make these candles, we cut star shapes out of the beeswax sheets using cookie cutters. I warmed the sheets first using a hair dryer to make them more pliable. We put five layers together, added the wick, and put five more layers of beeswax on top. We used a smaller star cookie cutter to add a little extra decoration on each side of three of the candles. We were only able to make four candles from the kit; I was disappointed that I couldn’t find more beeswax sheets.

We gave two candles to my grandma, and two to my dad. Homemade gifts are always nice, and the girls were proud of their creations!