Crafts with kids, 1986 and 2014

Throwback Thursday

October 1986 —
Craft time with my two-year-old daughter, Megan:

February 2014 —
Craft time with Megan's two- and five-year-old sons, Mac and Bubby:

Today's question:

What do you do with your grandchildren that you fondly recall doing with their parent(s)?

Quick crafts with kids: Simple Halloween skeletons

Do you have extra cotton swabs on hand at your house? Those plus some glue and black (or any color) construction paper are pretty much the makings of a super simple skeleton craft for kids of most ages.

Here's the skinny on the skeletons my grandsons made in less than 20 minutes Saturday morning, inspired by this crafty post from Spoonful.

WHAT YOU NEED:

Several cotton swabs

glue (not a glue stick)

 white paper

black construction paper

black marker for drawing skeleton faces

WHAT YOU DO:

Put some glue in a small container that's easy for the child to dip into with the cotton swabs .

Dip each end of one cotton swab into the glue and place vertically on the black construction paper.

Add more cotton swab bones for legs and arms.

(Note: Two swabs per leg and arm make for a more accurate skeleton... ya know, the kind with elbows and knees. But does it matter if Mr. Bones can't bend his arms or legs? Not one bit.)

Don't feel like adding legs or arms? Do whatever you feel like doing... which may be swirling glue in spots around the paper just because it's fun to do when you're two.

At some point in the process — it doesn't matter the order — freehand draw a skeleton skull on the white paper. Cut out and glue in place.

Cut cotton swabs in half for the rib bones, to be glued horizontally on each side of the first swab placed on the paper.

Cut both ends off one swab for feet. Cut the remaining stick — and another stick — into "fingers" to be glued at the end of each arm.

Use the black marker to draw a spooky or silly face.

Explain to your brother why you drew the face the way you did.

Appreciate your work.

Even if it's work Gramma and your brother helped you do.

That's it!

Want another quick and easy Halloween craft? Try these Simple Spooky Spiders Bubby made last Halloween.

Today's question:

What's most prominent in your Halloween decor — skeletons, ghosts, zombies or pumpkins?

How to make a marshmallow shooter

Marshmallows and kids go together. Marshmallows and kids and homemade shooters for flinging the marshmallows soaring off into the stratosphere go together even better.

Here's how to make your very own marshmallow shooter to share — or not share — with the kids:

What you need:

• Disposable party cup, one per shooter, with the bottom third carefully cut off by an adult

• Balloons, one per shooter plus a few spares, just in case

• Mini marshmallows (Regular size might work, too, but I can't vouch for that)

What you do:

Carefully cut off about 1/8-inch from the rounded end of a balloon. Stretch that cut end of the balloon over the rim off the party cup (not the cut-off end), covering the entire opening of the cup and stretching to allow about 1/2-inch of the balloon to extend up the side of the cup, all the way around.

Roll up the cut edge of the balloon ever so slightly all the way around the cup, to ensure the lip of the cup will grab any edges that threaten to slip off, keeping the balloon secure in place. Then tie the opening of the balloon just as you typically would with an inflated balloon.

Your cup/shooter should look like this:

From there, the fun begins:

First, load the shooter with one marshmallow.

Ensure the marshmallow is centered over the tie...

Then pull back the tied end slightly for the marshmallow to fall into the indention.

Aim your shooter in the direction you want the marshmallow to fly.

Then pull back even farther on the balloon, making sure your hands are closer to the rim than to the cut edge of the cup (because it's sturdier on the rim end and won't crush the cup). Also be sure to r e a l l y concentrate...

Then let go and watch her fly!

Or not fly... at least not at first.

With a little practice, aiming and shooting the marshmallow long distances comes easily. Bubby and I were eventually skilled enough at it to compete with one another to see who could shoot the marshmallow all the way across the yard and over the fence (into the wash, not the neighbor's yard).

We tried shooting Cheerios and tiny craft pom-poms, too. We did the pom-poms indoors so as to not litter. The pom-poms didn't work so well. The Cheerios, though, were a smashing success — especially when we tried them indoors and they burst into pieces upon hitting the vaulted ceiling. (Don't tell Megan.)

Roxy, the family dog, had a great time gobbling up all the marshmallows and Cheerios, both inside and out. And call me a bad grandma if you must, but Mac nabbed a fair share of the misfires, as well, picking them up and popping them into his mouth as quickly as we could fire them off. Hey, it kept him busy while his big brother — and his grandma — got the hang of shooting the marshmallows and more over the fence and out of the park.

Today's question:

When did you last blow up a balloon? Or eat a marshmallow?

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Tie-dye for tots... and older kids, too

My youngest grandson, Mac, doesn't have the penchant for craft-making that his older brother does. Bubby's attention span can handle a craft that has, say, six or eight steps, knowing there's a grand payoff at the end. Mac, on the other hand — because he's younger and always on the go, go, go — can handle a craft with one quarter that number of steps, and instant payoff of some sort is key.

Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway), finding a craft that pleases both can be a challenge. This one, though — a tie-dye project of sorts — was a success. Mac created one or two and was done; Bubby made one after another until the food coloring bottles were nearly empty. Yes, success!

What you need:

• Coffee filters

• Food coloring

• Clothes pins (or large metal binder clips or large paper clips)

• Paper plates or newspaper — or both — for protecting the crafting surface

What you do:

This craft can be done indoors, but I chose to do it outside to take advantage of the desert weather. Warning: Don't do this outside if there's even the slightest breeze.

Flatten out a few coffee filters per child. Then fold in half and half again and half again, to create a long triangle or sorts. For each child, attach a clothespin to a folded coffee filter, to not only hold the coffee filter closed, but to create a handle for the child to hold the filter without ending up with technicolor hands.

Holding the filter over the paper plate or covered surface, have child carefully squeeze drips of color onto the filter, covering both sides of filter as desired.

Once the child has added all the color he'd like, an adult (again, to prevent colored hands on the child, at least to some degree) should carefully remove the filter and open it up, placing it to dry on the paper plate while a new filter is added to the clothes pin and a new creation started.

Allow the filters to dry completely, then display as desired. Bubby and Mac chose to hang all theirs on their family room window, which created a bit of a stained-glass effect they were quite proud of.

A fast, cheap and easy craft for kiddos with short or long attention spans — and for grandmas and others who claim they're not crafty (you know who you are!).

Today's question:

What did you most recently use food coloring for?

Butter candles plus the GRAND Social

We grandmas are a crafty lot, and many of us are dedicated fans of Pinterest. This weekend, though, I stumbled upon a craft far more clever than most I've seen on Pinterest of late, one from a very non-grandma-like fellow who likely doesn't even possess a Pinterest profile.

Take a look:

Come on, now, you know you want to try it. I admit that I do ... and will ... eventually.

Now, though, it's time for this week's GRAND Social! Thank you for once again joining me. Dive in and enjoy! And please do remember that if you link up and receive visits and comments to your post, linky protocol is to return the same in kind to others. Cheers!

How it works:

• All grandparent bloggers are invited to add a link. You don't have to blog specifically about grandparenting, but you must be a grandparent who blogs.

• To link up, copy the direct URL to the specific post — new or old — that you want to share, not the link to your blog's home page. Then click the blue "Click here to enter" text below and follow the directions to add your post and graphic to the list.

• You can add up to three posts, but no duplicates, please, and none you have promoted on a previous GRAND Social linky.

• No contests, giveaways, or Etsy sites, please.

• Adding a mention at the bottom of your linked posts, such as This post has been linked to the GRAND Social linky, is appreciated. Or, you can post the GRAND Social button using the following code:

<a href="/" target="_blank"><img src="http://grandmasbriefs.squarespace.com/storage/GRANDsocialbutton.jpg " alt="Grandma’sBriefs.com" width="125" height="125" /></a>

• The GRAND Social linky is open for new posts through Wednesday evening, so please come back to see those added after your first visit.

• If you're not a blogger, you have the pleasure of being a reader. All bloggers who link up would be honored to have you all — bloggers and readers — visit, read and comment, even if it's just "Hey, stopping by from the GRAND Social."

• Looking for another grandparent linky? Be sure to visit Connie's Grandparent's Say It Saturday Link Party each Saturday.

Thank you for participating in the GRAND Social!

Many word Wednesday: Grandma's Valentines

I recently succumbed to the One-word Wednesday meme. Once in a while, I must make it a Three-word Wednesday. Today, though, I pull out all stops and count not a word, for it will take far more than one and many, many more than three to explain this photo. Here are my many words:

All about Pinterest are cute crafts in which kids use their hands, feet, toes, thumbs to create mementos for Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, anyone who's into saving funny shaped ghosts, reindeer and more featuring an adored kiddo's paw print. I love these things, have made such things with my grandsons, even created a board in which I collect the ideas.

While perusing my Pinterest boards for ideas for Valentine's Day, I came across that board and decided to turn such handprints on their head, so to speak. I enlisted PawDad's help, and together we painted our hands to create a Valentine's Day masterpiece for our grandsons. Here's what we came up with (do note that the names inside the hand hearts are the boys' real names, changed here via Picasa magic to Bubby and Mac as that's they're assumed names on my blog):

Along with packages of M&Ms and a few deflated balloons on which I wrote messages o' love for each boy to appreciate once the balloon is inflated, this is what they get from Gramma and PawDad for Valentine's Day. I hope our grandsons love them as much as we love them—the boys, that is.

Full disclosure: I hung our first practice handprint—with J + L written in the center—on my refrigerator. I love not only my grandsons, but PawDad, too.

Today's question:

What are you sharing with your loved ones for Valentine's Day?

FAMILY photo frame: A crafty craft for the non-crafty

Not long ago, I shared directions for making a pillow chaise for kids. I claimed it was easy, something even those with minimal crafting experience could pull off with ease.

Well, I was wrong in making that claim. I immediately received comments on the difficulty of the chaise pillows for anyone who doesn't sew—which I hadn't really considered.

I have considered the non-sewers this time, and I offer you this: a craft that truly is easy and requires absolutely no sewing at all.

Can you spray spray paint? Then you can do this.

Can you use a glue gun? Then you can do this.

The "this" is a unique photo frame that looks far more crafty than it really is. If you can operate a can of spray paint and operate a glue gun, this is the craft for you.

The craft is a FAMILY photo frame. I made one for each of my daughters for Christmas, and they looked like this:

That's the one I made for Megan. Each frame I made was the same yet different, to match the different personalities and decor of my daughters. Bonus: Each featured buttons from Granny's button tin, bits from their paternal grandmother that I've pledged to share with my daughters in myriad ways.

Here is how to make a similar FAMILY photo frame for yourself or as a gift.

How to make a FAMILY photo frame

Here's what you need:

BRIANNA'S FRAME• 1 8X10 black wood photo frame

• unpainted wood letters: F A M I L Y (mine are 1 1/2 inch)

• 5 unpainted mini clothespins

• 1 8X10 scrapbook paper page — choose one in a pattern befitting the recipient's decor and interests, keeping in mind the frame will be displayed horizontally

• 5 buttons — I choose buttons to match the scrapbook paper, all from Granny's button tin but new buttons would work, too

• black spray paint

• glue gun and glue sticks

• 4X6 photos to display

Here's what you do:

1. Spread newspaper in an outdoor area where you can spray paint the letters and the mini clothespins. Spray one side of letters and clothespins, making sure all visible surfaces are painted. Don't worry about the wire clothespin clasps getting paint on them for they will work even when painted. Allow to dry.

2. Remove the back of the photo frame and place the scrapbook paper where a photo would go. Replace back.

3. Evenly center the dried FAMILY letters about an inch or so from the top of the horizontally positioned frame. Use glue gun to carefully glue letters in place.

4. Carefully position the five clothespins along the bottom frame, centering on edge so they won't break off when adding or removing photos. Use glue gun to glue each clothespin in its spot.

5. Once clothespins are securely glued and dried, carefully glue a button to the top of each clothespin. Ensure the top edge of the button meets the top edge of the clothespin so the entire button is backed by the clothespin stick. (If you don't have the entire button on the stick, the button will come off when subjected to the pressure of opening and closing the pin when adding or removing photos.)

6. Ensure glue has dried and all letters, clothespins, and buttons are securely in place, then add photos. (Vertical photos work best if using all five pins.)

ANDREA'S FRAME

Ready to hang and enjoy!

Of course, you can always create the frame vertically, just use fewer clothespins and letters in a size that ensures the word FAMILY fits.

There you go: A crafty craft for the non-crafty—with not a single stitch of sewing involved!

Today's question:

How many photo frames do you guesstimate are on display in your house?

How to make a pillow chaise for children

Every once in a great while, I surprise myself and do something that exceeds my expectations. Most recently, it was the making of the pillow chaise lounging thingees I gave my grandsons for Christmas. They turned out far better than I expected, and were received with far more appreciation than I thought might be the case, especially considering they weren't toys—which, as I learned here, are far preferable to practical presents.

What? You missed my post about giving Bubby and Mac their pillow chaises? Well take a look at their joy and ability to play slug in front of the television, thanks to a soft and comfy gift from Gramma.

At the time I posted that, many readers wondered about how to make them. So here I offer a gift to you: Directions on how to make the super simple pillow chaises.

I first saw this on Pinterest, but in all honesty I never looked at the directions and now I can't find the original pin. So what follows is my made-up method of providing rest and relaxation for little ones (or big ones, if you're so motivated).

The chaises are nothing more than four or more pillows sewn together. You can sew the ends closed, but I chose to use Velcro at the openings to allow pillows to be removed and covering laundered.

What you need (for one chaise):

• Four or more pillow cases — As my grandsons are only a few feet tall, four were enough; use an additional pillow case for each foot of your intended recipient's height over three feet.

• Four or more pillows — Same rule as above regarding the number to use.

• Velcro — Plan on 16 inches per pillow, enough to provide a closure for each pillow case.

What you do:

1. Using two of the four or more pillow cases, sew one to another along the long sides, with right side out and the openings on the same end. Create a half-inch seam allowance and use a tight stitch for strength. The seam will be showing on the outside; do not turn the pillow cases inside out. (Depending on your sewing ability and frustration level, you can pin the cases together before sewing.)

2. Using a third pillow case, sew it to one of the two that are already connected, ensuring openings are on the same end and seam will show on the same side as the first seam.

3. Do the same with the fourth and all additional pillow cases, always ensuring openings are on same end and seems will show on the same side.

4. Cut Velcro—both the hook and the fuzzy side—to fit inside the opening of each pillow case. Sew the hook side to one edge of the inside opening of each case, about half an inch from case edge. Then sew the fuzzy sides to the opposite side of each case opening, ensuring they match up with hooked Velcro beforehand. Again, you can pin first, if desired.

5. Insert a pillow in each case, then Velcro shut.

6. That's it! A simple pillow chaise for a child!

A couple notes:

• There's no need to use expensive pillows; I purchased the ones that are $2.50 each at Walmart. Using the $5 twin packs of pillow cases from Walmart, this made for a $20 price tag for each chaise of four pillows (not counting Velcro).

• The chaises can be used in a couple different positions, depending on how you prop the end pillow(s). One reader asked what kind of frame supports the pillows and the answer is that there is no frame—nothing but pillows, laying flat or propped up in various ways.

• As a child grows, you can easily add additional pillow cases and pillows to allow for the child's increased length.

• If you plan to mail the chaise to a faraway grandchild, your best bet is to mail the empty (but sewn together) pillow cases along with a gift card for purchasing the pillows. Otherwise, it's a rather expensive gift since even though the chaises are light, they're bulky and cost a crazy amount to ship. Trust me, for I learned this the hard (and expensive) way.

Of course, the chaises are soft and comfy and perfect for watching television, reading, or napping. That's not all, though. My genius grandsons quickly figured out they make great fort walls, as well.

Today's question:

What is your favorite position for watching television—sitting up, reclining, or a full-out sprawl on the floor?