Even Daddy got in on the action; we each painted our own frame however we wanted. Then came the job of creating a masterpiece to go inside.I made 4 hearts (one for each of us)….Daddy made a whoopie pie (don’t ask)….Jacob made the sunshine….and Jaden (with Daddy’s help outlining) made a couple of trucks….it was a blast!If you’d asked me before I had kids how I’d be decorating our home, I might not have said framed children’s artwork….but I have to say, it makes some of the best home decor we’ve ever had gracing our walls. It’s contemporary, chic, and overall, full of sentiment and meaning. It’s a great way to decorate, and your kids will be so excited to see their handiwork displayed on the walls of your home for all to see. It was an exciting time for Jaden, especially; he was so excited to see his frame go up on the wall. In fact, we also had an old picture from when Jacob was in kindergarten of a butterfly he’d made, so that went into a frame, as well.I’m thinking we still have room for a few more frames, and we still have another whole wall on the other side of the hallway. There is no end to how we could decorate that wall.

How do you decorate? Do you frame your children’s artwork?

First, tie a piece of twine or string onto your roll, so that you can hang it in a tree. Next, lather peanut butter all over the roll (I think Jaden ate more than he lathered on.)Finally, roll in birdseed….or popcorn….or raisins/cranberries, etc.The fun part is going outside to find a good tree; we hung ours on a tree right outside our dining room window, so we could watch the birds.

We actually did catch a bird enjoying the feast this week; maybe I can get a pic to share sometime…we have a ton of birds; the boys love watching them, and so does our cat, Harold.;)

Adding glitter was the icing on the cake for Jaden.Of course, then came the shake, shake, shake.Methinks putting the pirate in with Santa might have been a bad idea….we have a fallen Santa!The childlike wonder was so worth it all….

I’m seeing a LOT more crafting in our future.:)

Anyway, just wanted to share some of the stuff we’ve been doing.  Jacob is just thriving with our new curriculum, and Jaden’s absolutely loving his “school.”  We read lots of library books, and then I base most of Jaden’s lessons off that same subject matter; we also have been focusing on different letters via the books and projects; for example, one week we focused on apples, the next we did bugs.  I get a lot of ideas for Jaden from Homeschool Creations and No time for Flashcards.  I love, love, love those sites; the ladies who run them are truly gifted and creative and absolute dolls for sharing with all of us “not so creative” educators.  We use lots of other things too like BrainQuest, cut and paste activities, games, tracing activities, ideas from magazines, etc.  Here are some of our recent projects.

We had the opportunity to review this awesome Create your Own Pop-Up Books Kit from Growing Tree Toys (review coming soon on MamaBuzz).We’ve had lots of playdough time; this is a great thing to give Jaden while Jacob and I work on something that he needs more of my attention with. He finds all kinds of creative things to do with his playdough, including using it as a phone.:) We use these playdough mats every week.Another activity that I just recently introduced Jaden to is Dot Paints, which are wonderful!  They’re easy cleanup, and he loves it when this box comes out.  We found these bandage lightning bugs, and they were so much fun to do.We sailed the bathtub blue with the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, as we were learning about Christopher Columbus one week in history.Jaden enjoyed making this Cut and Paste Train, and then chugging it around the house for the rest of the morning, and of course, when Daddy came home.Jacob is in the midst of learning about early America and the Indians, so he designed and made a tepee yesterday, sticks and all.  His wigwam from the day before didn’t turn out so good.  We were doing something wrong, not sure, but now his tepee happily sits with his cowboy/Indian sets.Today Jaden got to make this Cat in the Hat hat. I think I need to fix it, as our plate was way too big, but he’s had a time wearing it around the house.  Just for the record, this is one of his favorite movies.Finally, Handy Manny has made a deep impression here.:)So, what are you guys doing in your homeschool adventures?  Anything new and exciting to share?

The boys got busy making Father’s Day cards, and we put little pockets on their cards, so they could insert coupons for Daddy time and tickets to see a movie that Daddy had been wanting to see, The Last Airbender. The glue dots worked great for their cards.  While they were steadily working along, I decided to create this cute teacup card for my mom, for which the inspiration came from Martha Stewart (yes, I am a fan….she has the most amazing crafts). Anyway, we had a blast, and the glue dots did great for the boys’ cards; they didn’t want to stay sticking as well on mine, but I think it’s because I was trying to insert little teabags down into the cup, and they didn’t want to hold all of that weight pulling on them.  It was just too much.  However, for crafting with the boys, they are awesome in this mom’s book.  They are less hassle because they’re so much less messier than liquid glue or even gluesticks, which Jaden has an obsession with.  He can’t paint the table with Glue Dots, which makes me that much happier.:)

You can find Glue Dots online; you can even like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.  You’ll find some really creative project ideas online, as well.  They have a variety of dispensers available.

(Disclosure: I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Glue Dots blogging contest to be eligible to receive a $30 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.)

That blog gets my creative side flowing, and last week, I finally decided to take the plunge and try this whole Mod Podge thing out for myself.  I’ve actually never used it, except for small school projects, but apparently, you can do just about anything you want with it.  So, I decided to take our plain, white, utensil crock we have next to our stove and transform it into a thing of beauty.

Behold, the power of Mod Podge!:)All I did was cut up pieces of scrapbook paper into squares.  Now I do have to say that the lighter weight paper was so much easier to work with on the rounded, slick surface of the crock.  The heavier paper didn’t want to stick so well, but it did after sealing and drying.  After cutting my squares, I put a layer of Mod Podge (I used Matte finish) all over the outside of my crock, where I wanted the paper to go.  Then I put Mod Podge on the backside of each square of paper, as I added it onto the crock, trying to come up with a creative design as I went.  I used a paintbrush, but next time I’ll probably use a sponge brush, since it would be a lot easier and smoother, I think.  Once I had all my squares on, I also put a piece of vellum paper that reads Bless This Nest, and it has 2 little blue birds on it, one on each end. After everything was Mod Podged onto the crock, I then brushed over it all with another layer of Mod Podge.  I’m thinking I should have done more than one layer maybe, but it really did a great job of sealing the layers together.  Not saying this crock will be easy to clean, by any means, but it definitely is cute! The Mod Podge sealed it well, but it’s just not as smooth as I thought it’d be.  I love it, though!  Definitely gotta try more Mod Podge projects.

First of all, you have to gather your supplies, and for this particular wreath, I needed the grapevine wreath, floral stems (of your choice), wire cutters, and scissors.The first step is to cut your floral stems to the length you want them.I cut mine, so that there were still a few leaves left, just to give the wreath a little greenery, as well as flowers.  Then, it’s as simple as taking your stems and just placing them into your wreath, wherever you want them to go.  I tried to keep mine going in the same general direction, so they all flowed together well and almost looked as if they’d grown from the wreath.I love these grapevine wreaths, because it’s so easy to just find spots for your floral arrangements; they just poke right into the wreath, and there’s no need for fasteners of any kind; once you have them in, they stay in place really well.Then, voila, you have a wreath.  With sales and coupons, you can easily make a wreath for under $15; this one actually cost me about $12, by the time all was said and done.  You can make these types of wreaths for summer or winter.  In the winter, I have one made with white lights and a cranberry type of vine.  It makes for a really festive decoration.  Hang your wreath on your front door, and you’re showing hospitality to your guests. 

Happy nesting!