Crayon Candles (diy)

  I have posted my box of crayons before.  I can't recall when it started obviously it didn't happen overnight but let me stand back and admire this box of crayons with endless possibilities.

  Thanks to Google and Pinterest we have the ability to type in a project and be provided with images and directions on how and what go make with anything.  Enter my idea to make crayon candles.

  This is an easy craft for you to make.  As you can see from my box of crayons there are a variety of brands in there.  I can not comment on which brand worked better or which didn't.  In my box are name brand crayons as well as generic crayons and those crayons you get from restaurants (I may be a hoarder).  So with that last statement I just said if you want to make one of these you can collect from the restaurants or just buy a few boxes.

  For this project you need crayons, a twine and glass jar.  Choose your crayon color combinations.  I planned on doing a wave of colors so I choose a few colors versus a solid color.

Of course you need to peel them and choose your pattern if your using more then one color.

This is a good easy step for little fingers if they want to help you!

I used a empty clean soup can to melt the crayons.  Reuse at its finest.   Fill a pot with water and bring it to a boil.  Add your crayons to the can.  I  melted my lighter colors first.  You see I'm using tongs to grab the HOT can and then I poured it into the glass jar after it was thoroughly melted.

I used twine that after much research was comfortable with this choice versus buying anything in particular.  You need to prepare the twine wick prior to use.  To prepare the wick you need to coat it several times with wax.  Dip it in wax, let it dry and redip.   

You will need to secure the wick to the bottom of the jar.  I added the wax slowly and held the wick in place until the wax dried.  There are different ways to use this including attaching the top to a chopstick and dangling the wick to the bottom.

After your wick is set continue adding your other wax colors.  You can see my jar was small and I only used 4 crayons per color.

It looks like a candle, works like a candle and in all senses it is a candle.  This is a super easy project to make.  A great personal gift to make for the holidays.  Pick up some glass jars at the thrift store, dollar store or reuse old baby food jars or items you may have on hand.  Make them one color or mix them up.  

I had fun making this project and look forward to making a couple more in different ways and shapes.

#nablopomo 

The Night Voyage (review)

You can almost tell by the beautiful decorated cover that this is a very thought out book.  That this book is not your average book.  That this is a book that can take you on an extraordinary journey.

This book is a coloring book in the sense that the pictures on the pages are blank.  The pictures are so detailed and the portray the story with little to no words.  This is a story coloring book.  I do not write adult coloring book with strong hesitation but, if you know the artist and their capability you can make the right decision if this book were to be given as gift.

The story follows a little girl through her dreams.  She has presents to give out and she takes different modes of transportation, sees many different things as well as has a companion along the way.  There doesn't seem to be a dull moment on her journey although toward the end she falls asleep. 

 Follow her on her journey.  Coloring the pages will only make this book more magical and pretty.  The artwork alone is stunning.  Who doesn't want to look at a book filled with presents and happiness?  This would even make a great gift colored by one individual and presented to another.

Because of the intricate detail on each page I would reserve caution to more fine tuned artists.  Each page is filled both large and small work to be filled in.  Most pages have a white background but there were a couple with shaded.  Pages held a variety of shapes, different positions of pictures resulting in some tricky coloring.  Some pictures were in the crease of the book.  Bold lines for you to follow (or stay in).  As well as empty space on some pages allowing for your own background or not.

This is a gorgeous book and I can only hope to do it justice as I color in it.  It is definitely no a book you would sit down and finish in one day nor, maybe coloring it with children or kaos around.  Pull this book out on quiet relaxing afternoons!

I am in awe of the author Daria Song  and would like to look at more of her work.  She truly has a talent.

I received this book from Blogging for books for this review.  All opinions are my own. 

Find out more about the book here.

Multiple Elmer (Pinterest Challenge)

  Have you read Elmer?  It is a book about an elephant, a multi colored elephant.  One who gets tired of feeling different.  He wants to be the same as everyone else. His present state of a patchwork of all colors makes him feel self conscience.  He decides to paint himself gray like his friends.  He eventually figures out what happens when you try to act like something you are not.

 The story of Elmer tries to teach us that we are the way we are and sometimes when we try to change who we are and it's really not necessary.  The people you have in your life accept you and like you for who you are.  Kids need reinforcement to know that their differences are no excuse to change and certainly no reason to make fun of people.

  To emphasize the beauty of Elmer we made some crafts to go along with the book.  We started with a color by number sheet.  My daughter had to follow directions to color the appropriate numbers.  However you could just skip the directions and color Elmer whatever colors you want.  That's the true fun of this book.

The second craft we did was to recycle good old toilet paper rolls.  She selected a color of her choice and we constructed an elephant.

Lastly we pulled out the Legos.  My daughter is getting better with directions.  Legos make it easy to assemble their projects.  Step by step she followed the instructions to build her very own Elmer.

  Reading a book and following it up with a craft or two helps your child in multiple ways.  A child is able to recreate a scene, reflect on a important point or summarize the overall story.  Creating a project is not only fun, the child is making a lasting memory of a story as well as bringing it to life.  We found all our projects on Pinterest.

  Pinterest is a great resource to tie books together.  With a little research you can find projects including  crafts, food, coloring sheets, lesson plans as well as other theme related books.

  We had fun with this project and I can't wait to read and craft another book with the kids.

Stars without stripes (Day 3 Pinterest Challenge)

   Ok, so I am almost caught up!  I have all the projects done it's just a matter of writing up the posts.

  In keeping with the red, white and blue theme for Independence Day I made this project of stars.  This project could partially be done by kids but I did this one by myself.

    First off everyone has a box of crayons like this right?

Well, you will still have your box when your done.  I only used 2 crayons.  1 red and 1 blue and it made 11 stars!  Depending on where your going to use them and how many you need will determine how many more crayons you will need.

  Peel the wrapper off and shred the crayon.

  Place it in wax paper sealed around all the ends and cover with parchment paper.  Iron the crayon filled papers.

Draw your desired shape and cut them out.

I punched holes in mine and tied string to them.

The stars can be hung anywhere and made in any color.  Make some for a birthday or special occasion.  I hung mine up in between two rooms.

I love how these turned out.  They look really cute.  I can almost see a different shape seasonally.  Dangling down a mantel, as fringe or a banner.

Older kids could probably help with this craft if not using the iron they could cut the shapes.

  Can you see yourself making these in your future?  I would say this is a #pinterestwin!

Artist Trading Cards (ATC's)

  I randomly like to post the status of a group I am closely related to.  It is a group full of artistic kids.  Kids of all ages and artistic abilities.  Kids from all over the world to include homeschool and public school kids as well as teachers for elementary classes are involved.  Church groups have participated as well.  Any group is invited to join not just individual kids!

  I was introduced to ATC's a couple years ago through another group and eventually started to participate myself before bringing my kids into it.

  Artistic Trading Cards (ATC's) are cards made, designed or decorated  by any means.  The cards are 2.5 by 3.5 in size and traded in group themed events or individually.

  My kids group available on Facebook is comprised of children ranging in age of 4 years old up through teenagers.  Most of the trading is done in the group themed events.  I offer a different them event every week.  Kids make 3 cards for the theme and mail them to me.  I receive all cards and mail different cards back to the participants.

   Kids enjoy mailing the cards off and receiving cards from different kids in different locations.  There is room for more kids if your interested comment below.

  Come back tomorrow for Wordless Wednesday to see the variety of cards!