Valentine Sun Catchers

Today I was inspired to do an art project with the boys.   This morning I took them to the pediatrician for a wellness check-up.  Both Wildman and Cutie Pie had to get shots.  They were less than thrilled by the time we left the doctor’s office.  I was looking for something to help perk them up and figured a fun craft just might do the trick.  Moose and B ended up coming over for a play date and lunch so they helped us create miniature masterpieces too.

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and the sun has been shining brightly all week.  Given these facts, I figured a heart sun catcher would be perfect.  I rummaged through some drawers and managed to find all the materials I needed.

Materials List

• Wax paper
• Construction paper
• Red and pink crayons with paper removed
• Box cheese grater
• Glittery paint
• Paint brushes
• Glue sticks
• Iron
• Scissors
• Hole punch
• Ribbon

I found some old/broken crayons in Wildman’s art supply stash.  We removed the papers and set to work grating them into colorful confetti using the cheese grater.  While Wildman grated the crayons, I cut out heart-shaped frames from pink construction paper.  I just folded a rectangle of paper in two and cut out a heart in the center with scissors.

I set the kids up with Valentine’s glittery paint that I picked up at Michael’s.  They painted all over a big piece of wax paper.  I made sure to cover the table with a vinyl tablecloth to keep spills and crazy paintbrushes from getting out of control.

Next, the kiddies sprinkled the red and pink crayon shavings onto the wax paper.

The kids took a break to run around on the playground while B and I worked with the iron.  We placed a fresh piece of wax paper on top of the kids’ artwork and sandwiched the two pieces of wax paper between two dish towels.  With the iron on a low setting, we melted the crayons and the wax from the wax paper to seal the sun catchers.  We allowed them to cool for 10-15 minutes then cut the wax paper creations into rectangles that were slightly larger than the heart cut-outs in the construction paper frames.  We adhered the wax paper between two frames using a glue stick.  I punched a hole near the top of the frame and tied some ribbon into a loop so we could hang the sun catchers in the window.

Viola!  A craft that meets my three requirements: cheap, fun and easy!

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Oddity

I get using farm and jungle animals on the spinning park puzzle thing.  Pig… check.  Cow… check.  Zebra… check.  Dachshund… what?!  I thought a wiener dog was a strange choice.

It’s currently 35 degrees outside.  Winter’s icy grip has finally reached us here in Florida.  I’m trying to stay warm with my cup of coffee.  The kids are eating dinosaur egg oatmeal.  Brrrrr!  My thin blood can’t take this.  There will be no park for us today.

What a Beautiful Day

Today I am hopeful.

Today I am thankful.

Today I am proud.

Today I feel more than apathy, fear and dread.

I’ll admit that I was on the fence during this presidential election.  I was unsure.  Should I choose experience?  Should I choose change?  There was no clear cut choice for me.  I had reservations about both candidates.  I took a deep breath on election day when I cast my vote.  I made a decision.  I won’t tell you for whom I voted.  But I will tell you that today, Inauguration Day,  my heart is full.  It seems so clear that the right person was elected.

If my great-grandfather were alive today, he would not believe it.  For as much as I loved him, I did not like or share his views on civil rights and minorities.  Today I witnessed history!  Americans have their first African-America president.  How wonderful to see MLK’s vision realized.    Thank God it’s a new day.

For as optimistic as I feel, I have many nagging concerns.  I am concerned for our new President’s safety.  There are lunatics in this world, both foreign and domestic…  It scares me.   His plate is full.  The full weight of his responsibility will hit him in the morning when he receives his first security briefing.  I pray that he has the clarity and fortitude to make the tough decisions. He seems to be surrounding himself with people that will make him the best that he can be.  We have to break free from the thinking that got our nation into this mess.  I pray that Obama can lead us through a massive paradigm shift.

Today I really do feel more than apathy, fear and dread.  And that is so good.