The Art of Fall

Now, who doesn't love Fall colors?! At an art session for 6 year olds, we focused on leaves, trees, and fall colors. The session started with the kids listing out fall colors and I have to say that it was my favorite part!  Apart from the expected oranges, reds and browns, I heard grey, purples and then.. honey, mustard, ketchup and olives! How cute and creative! 

 

We then sat down to make trees. The kids drew the trunks of trees or used printouts and added leaves using paint in the colors that they had listed. We stamped the leaves using corks (that Whole Foods generously donated to the project), pencil erasers, and even our fingers!

Was so great to see all the lovely color stories on each sheet of paper.. true Fall Fun!!

Fabulous fun with Fabric!

I LOVE fabric.. the textures and colors have always fascinated me. I've been working with fabric every since I was 8 when I made a bag for my mum's birthday present. I felt an immense sense of accomplishment! Now, I get such a thrill when I see little ones experience a similar feeling when they look at the fruits of their labor. 

I recently introduced a dozen kids to the world of fabric paints and techniques at a 'design your do' art session. They started off learning how to stamp patterns on fabric - using wood blocks and rubber stamps. We then moved on to stenciling and freehand painting.  We wrapped up with each of them designing their very own apron or t-shirt.

Some of the parents stayed for the session and it turned into an impromptu parent-child project. So fun!

It was amazing to see their excited wide eyes as they peeled off the stencils and lifted the stamps. Creativity was really high with some of the kids conjuring up whole stories on their shirts and mixing various techniques to create something that was truly their own! 

And if I had to make a prediction, the designer bug has bitten more than a handful of these kids!

Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?

Growing up, Sesame Street was one of my first loves. From Big Bird to the Count, I learned so much about counting, words, and friendships. So when my son's first birthday came along and saw that he simply adored Elmo, I couldn't wait to bring Sesame Street come to life!

I love sending a little package a week or so prior to a party to build excitement and give the little ones a sense of what to expect. This time I spent some time thinking about what kind of things one would need on a trip to Sesame Street. So here is what I crafted:

I sewed a wallet using foam rectangles, letters and circles, and ribbon. I also filled the wallet with Sesame Street money that I found on the Sesame Street website. We also put together a music CD complete with all of the songs that I sing to my little one as well as the Sesame Street theme song with a little verse on the back   of the envelope about singing is the way to get to Sesame Street. Then I crafted a map with downloaded images and red footprints and asked the guest to help Elmo find his friends. I included all of the activities the children could expect at the party (with some surprises included of course!). The younger kids (2-4) gravitated to the characters on the map while the older kids actually were engaged in the map activity. 

All in all it was a super fun way to kick off the excitement to the party and helped the little ones in their journey to Sesame Street. I always wondered how to get to there and now I know!

Trucking around...

Toddler birthdays are so fun and special! Very recently, we planned a very special one for a li'l boy turning two who was into trucks in a big way.  So, we decided to turn him into trucking king pin for the day! To our surprise, his adorable older brother couldn't wait to play host and lent a helping hand each step of the way. 

Set on center stage, was the birthday cake which we fashioned into an 18 wheeler! Since the birthday boy loves truck stories, we created a fun little story - a scene of an accident - with his fav vehicles and his very yummy cake. He loved it so did every one of our guests. Some of them even engaged in a guessing game of which one was the cake.

 

What is truck party without a playing dress up with some trucks! We created a fleet of trucks for our little party guests out of a cardboard box, paper plates, pictures, and craft paper. The trucks were such a hit that the kids didn't want to take them off! This was perfect for the red light/green light game we played at the party. 

 

The party area was zoned into several sections. One of the more popular ones was the 'construction zone'. A baby pool was wrapped in black plastic and given some tread marks (thanks to some handy dandy chalk) and filled with sand. We finished it off with some mini diggers and sand toys and it was all set! It made the perfect construction site. The slightly older guests had a fabulous time hammering nails (golf tees) onto boards (styrofoam, of course). We had an autobody shop - an art & activity corner - with tattoos, playdoh, paint, nuts, bolts, blocks and more. Another fun spot was the 'city of Truckee' where we created a city with a rug play mat, cars, trucks, and traffic signs.. so fun!!

 

The entire venue was injected with road signs to set the right mood. Transportation themed bunting zig zagged above everyone's heads and made for a festive time!

Guests could recharge at the 'Truck Stop' which had a range of truck and truck themed food that was served along with Oil (apple juice) and Water.

Traffic (cheese) cones, timber (pretzel) logs, and popcorn satisfied those little munchies. We also had sandwiches (cut out in truck shapes), tires, and other transportation themed food too.

So that our little movers had a rest stop we fashioned these moving boxes into little stools. So cute!

As the day wore down our little truckers had to bid over and out. Each guest took home a 'trucker survival kit'- a change of clothes (blockprinted onesies, tshirts or aprons), some instant energy food (chocolate truck shaped lollipops) and a set of handy tools - all packaged in a traffic cone. All the adorable little guests had a fabulous time.. and were a tad disappointed that it was wrap up time. A sign of a very fun party!