KISS crafts

Keep It Simple Sweetie
J-cakes found a book in the pile I was sorting to sell or give away. She wanted to keep it. My first thought was, no way! we have so many craft books that we never use- and I suddenly stopped short hearing my own internal dialogue...

So I said sure. To make sure my end goal was accomplished (the ongoing quest to simplify our cluttered lives) I asked her to choose a book or toy from her room to trade for it. Win-win.

She sat flipping through it while her big sister read the dust cover of a Jean Auel book that looked interesting, (now that she has finished Hunger Games, she is in the market- suggestions?) and little brother tried to master the buckle on his old car seat. With M-cube asleep, I thought I might actually get those boxes of homeschooling resources sorted and priced.

Alas, J-cakes found a craft she wanted to do, and I decided we could quickly do a simpler, more sustainable version of it. The original project involved wallpaper scraps & poster board. Ours uses a felt board and shapes I cut quickly- as J-cakes looked at the book and told me what to cut- she wanted exactly the same items.

Even my big girl got involved: G-pie was the first to arrange it (precisely like the picture in the book).

I cut an extra banana, blueberries & a "cutie" for C-dough to play with (he pretended to peel & eat them over & over).

A sweet time shared by simply keeping it short and capturing the moment. G-pie has started on another project from the book...

No Sew T- Shirt Bags

Last night we did another handcraft from our always growing Pinterest projects board. This one was easy- a no sew tote or market bag made from an old T-shirt. G-pie & I both chose sparkly purple T's and it took less than half an hour. More detailed instructions can be found here... http://www.leethal.net/zine/?p=1344



This has me thinking about adding another workshop to the Learning Barefoot fall schedule- a projects, handcrafts and reduce, reuse, recycle series for girls (and their moms?)- there are so many options. There are so many creative and crafty homeschoolers out there. What fun to share the fun of making things that are useful and unusual.

Now webcasting live at a computer near you...

We are having so much fun with this little family project.

G-pie & J-cakes have been "doing preschool" and wanting to do even more crafts and science experiments and I have been looking into Ustream for other projects involved with www.learningbarefoot.com and we have hit upon a great way to enjoy both our hobbies.

Our new channel "Learning Barefoot" has 1 regular series- "Preschool Fun with Grace & Joy", which is going to be webcast live on Wednesdays at 10am. We will also be featuring special guests, friends and other interesting segments- as well as new weekly shows (that we hope, will be) of interest to the homeschool world.

You are invited to join in the discussion by logging in to either twitter or facebook and commenting during the live show- or leaving a comment on this blogs's Learning Barefoot Channel Page.

Preschool Opp

The littles and I explored some colors, sorting, fine motor skill building while the big girl slept in.

This free slideshow customized with Smilebox

Doing Pinterest

Yesterday we made the DIY Bracelets that we had discovered on Pinterest. G-pie had noticed we had a lot of projects pinned and none done. So after doing the menu board, I created my "completed projects" board and have been inspired to do more (so I can fill that board on Pinterest, LOL!)... so many creative and crafty ideas.

G-pie made the bottom one for her Grandma's 60th birthday gift, while J-cakes and I made the top one, also for Grandma. Then we decided to make this tasty Kiss Gloss as a party favor for the fun celebration we shared with the family.

We made cinnamon flavor. It has a bit of a zing. But the candy melts and paraffin wax give it a nice consistency- it is super easy to make...


We used red candy melts, household paraffin wax, petroleum jelly and cinnamon candy flavoring. Along with the coconut oil, a baggie, a bowl of hot water and 9 sterilized bead containers from the craft store. We doubled the recipe given on Brooke's blog, http://www.cheekykitchen.com/, and next time I would probably cut down the cinnamon flavor. We have plenty left to try out the cherry and peppermint flavors that came with the set of oil based candy flavorings. I would love to try and make this a more natural gloss- replace the paraffin & vaseline with cocoa butter perhaps, and the artificial flavors with natural essential oils.

For this project I did finally get around to opening the new coconut oil that Tropical Traditions sent- and I also used it to make eggs yesterday morning (and to to rub down the potatoes and yams for baking for last night's dinner party). I am only comparing it to the other one I have tried, which we ordered from www.azurestandard.com, from Wilderness Family Naturals.

Both are certified organic- I really need to do some research on the differences in extraction methods- the Tropical Traditions sounds better

"...the pure coconut water from inside the coconut is used to extract the coconut milk using traditional methods. Small scale family businesses [in the Phillipines] produce this oil in small batches, taking great care and pride in their work."

The Wilderness Family Naturals on the other hand is "mechanically expressed without the use of solvents or chemicals and 'super cleaned' using hot water and steam."

For dinner we grilled Tri-tip, fully loaded the baked potatoes, which turned out perfect- the skins were softer than when I have baked potatoes rubbed with other types of oil or fat. The coconut oil worked splendidly. It was also a good choice for the yams- which were terrific with a tiny bit of butter. We also had sour dough bread and a Spring Berry Herb & Feta Salad with TJ's Rosemary Pecans and TJ's Champagne Vinaigrette- wish I had taken a picture of it.

The family enjoyed the evening and my MIL seemed to appreciate the celebration. and look at the dessert my equally creative SIL brought... Sprinkles Cupcakes and cake pops, brownie bites, chocolate dipped marshmallows, Champagne- oh and ice cream from a place in Santa Barbara where the boys and their mom used to stop on road trips.

An abundance of delight and decadence!

Starting early...

We started making Valentines today. I figure if we make a couple, a few times a week it will save me from having to help crank out 30 on the 13th.

Love the idea I got from one of my past baby signing mamas- trace your little one's (or your own) hand, and glue down the two middle fingers to create the "I Love You" sign. Simple, sweet and a nice keepsake!

Followed up our morning time at the table with build your own parfaits- 

My sweeties enjoy being able to customize their snack (even though they worked with the same ingredients)...

Tuesdays at the table time... trying to make it work weekly.

Art Studio

My new passion is our developing "Art Studio"- all my sweeties love to create, and having a place that allows some room for exploration, plus space to hang out together for inspiration and collaboration! I've been spurred on by so many great rooms while being incredibly productive Pinterest... you really should not click this link if you value your time on the internet http://pinterest.com/barefootin/family-style-learning/, but if you are already a Pinner, well then don't forget to open the link in a new tab so you'll find your way back here to finish my fascinating blog post.

We made Koolaid Playdoh recently, and it has been a popular little brother occupier, while I continue to sort and organize and the girls paint, cut, glue, glitter, bead & feather. G-pie has drawn many a cat picture and once C-dough had cut all the playdoh in little tiny pieces with his little Mickey Mouse knife, he learned to sponge paint, hold scissors (he is definitely a lefty)- oh yeah... and pour rubber cement out all over his sister's bedroom floor (one of the major factors in the rush job on the Art Studio, by dear sweet Sugar Daddy on Wednesday night)!

Last night we fit in a little family style creativity before bedtime with a really fun game, it was surprisingly easy and the 6 resulting pictures were funny - one actually turned out pretty good! http://familyfun.go.com/playtime/tag-team-drawings-844516/

There are so many studies on the benefits of art, I am blessed to have a family who is so talented and encourages me, the wordy one, to use more imagery and imagination when creating. We are lucky to have space dedicated to the messy business of creating.

And speaking of the messy business of creating, tomorrow I have an ultrasound scheduled, so the girls are doing an etching project discovered in the California Studies Weekly newsletter that we have been reading this year- it is fun, with crossword, trivia and interesting information delivered in a colorful, easy to digest format (and the state standards are covered for those using a charter school). Pics will be posted on Google+ and facebook soon...

Our house is haunted!

The girls have spent the week sniffly and creating crafts to celebrate the spooky season- and making home made costumes...

Today these super easy, even for the tiniest tot, ghosts have been popping up all over the house.
All you need:

• Two napkins
• Plastic bread enclosing thingy (I compulsively save these, they make great race boats with a drop of liquid dish soap and a little engineering, but normal twist ties or a scrap of yarn would have worked great, too
• Marker for faces

Ball up one napkin, open up the other. Put the ball in the center of the open one, wrap around to firm ghost. Twist the napkin at the "neck" and use pop on the neck band. Draw on face. These little spirits are even handy should a spill happen, amidst all the scary fun!