Impress Your Kids » Crafts

DIY Beanbags For People Who Don’t Sew & Aren’t Too Crafty

ohAmanda — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 14:34:39 +0000

Ever since I made that David and Goliath beanbag for Asa, he wants to make beanbags. He clearly has me confused with someone who knows how to sew or make adorable fabric crafts. But because we’re back into Mommy-and-Asa days, he keeps bringing up beanbags. After we drop Lydia off at school, I’ll ask, “What do you want to do today?” He’ll say, “Let’s make a craft. Can we make beanbags?”

I finally acquiesced and I’m actually pretty impressed with how cute they turned out. And they didn’t require a trip to the store or any sewing!

All you need is some leftover fabric (I had a scrap of material from Asa’s Ace Party and an old camp t-shirt from when I was like 12 years old), colored duct tape (this is a must for any craft closet), scissors, beans and a stapler.

We cut out a piece of material about 6 inches wide by 12 inches. Basically a giant rectangle. You can do whatever size you want.

Fold in half and then staple around 3 sides. Keep the staples close together so the beans don’t fall out!

Fill with beans. (I don’t have a picture of that. Because, well, you try taking a picture, filling a bag with beans while a 3 year old helps you!)

Then fold a piece of duct tape evenly over all four sides. Trim the corners and you have a fabulous beanbag that is guaranteed (I think!) not to bust, spill or leak!

Asa and Lydia have been playing with them all week! Now to think of some beanbag games…

Linked to Skip To My Lou’s Made By You Monday

***Impress Your Kids has some new digs at ohAmanda.com! Come visit us there for all the Impress Your Kids archives and all our new posts–including our Easter newsblast with fabulous tips for celebrating a meaningful Easter with your kids!***

When God Created My Toes

ohAmanda — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 16:41:29 +0000

One of our favorite books is called When God Created My Toes by Dandi Daley Mackall. I’ve probably posted about it eleventybillion times because we love it. The pictures are modern and they are the kind of illustrations that tell more of the story than the words do. I love it!

This week, while Lydia is doing a study on bones and muscles so I thought this would be a fun book for Asa and I to study together. And when I say study, I, of course mean read like 5 times and do a craft.

So, we traced Asa’s body on my handy-dandy long paper from Ikea. (Don’t tell, but I made him lay there in his undies so I wouldn’t get marker on his clothes.)

The book just asks funny questions like, “When God created my toes…did he know I’d giggle? Did he watch them wiggle? Did He have to hold his nose, when God created my toes?” So, we went through each page of questions and added the appropriate body parts to our flat-Asa.

Asa had so much fun adding body parts to..well, himself. I’ll admit, flat-Asa does look a little creepy, but Asa thinks he’s awesome. And it was fun to talk about how God created every part of Asa–right down to his hips (that would be those strange green triangles you see below)!

Oh, you can’t see the toes on this picture! I painted Asa’s toes and let him make a footprint. Little baby toes are my fave. Yum!

(By the way, you know the best way to do foot/handprints, right? Paint it on with a brush! Don’t let your kids dip their hands into a puddle of paint. They’ll be covered in it!)

It isn’t the loveliest of crafts, but you know I’m a fan of hanging stuff on the walls and this big flat-Asa reminds my little guy that God made him! Knowing God put together every single part of you is a big foundation for healthy self-esteem. Today, I’m praying you and your kids will know that God made every part of you and loves you intimately!

VBS: Sky {& a fun airplane craft}

ohAmanda — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 12:06:44 +0000

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you probably saw my VBS and Performing Arts Camp updates last week. The kids spent five days at VBS (Group’s Sky theme!) while I taught at my mom’s Performing Arts Camp for elementary school kids. (I really need to do a whole post about Performing Arts Camp because it is a cool concept. I know I’ve mentioned it before, I think this is my 3rd or 4th year teaching at it.)

The kids had a blast at Sky and I loved it because the theme was all about airplanes! I’ve already planned Asa’s 4th birthday (in September) which is going to be a Flying Ace party! So, this felt like the prequel to his birthday.

Where was I?

Oh yeah, VBS. So, every day the kids played games, had Bible stories and made a craft. The first craft they made was a necklace with a clay pendant. The pendant had their thumbprint in it and took several days to dry. The day they wore it home, we had to stop by the chiropractor afterwards. Asa went to the bathroom while we were there and his pendant was apparently not dry and it dropped INTO THE TOILET.

He was so tired and so excited about that necklace that he wailed (WAILED!) for 10 minutes until I FISHED IT OUT OF THE TOILET. Oh my word. It was lovely.

I was thankful when they came home with a paper craft the next day–and it is the coolest craft! It’s a spiral-y, paper and straw, super fast airplane! I think I may have seen a picture of these somewhere else, but never in real life. It’s so simple you can make one in less than a minute.

All you need is a plastic straw and a piece of paper. OK, some scissors and tape would help, too.

Cut a one inch strip from the long side of a piece of paper. Then cut off the short side.

Tape both into circles.

Tape a straw onto the circles–one on top, one on bottom.

That’s it! Now start flying it by throwing it small side first. It is so fun–they kind of spiral across the room and they really zoom! I have to admit, I was playing with it after the kids went to bed!

Are your kids going to VBS this year?