Crafty Critters

Summer days are awesome and all, but a person who loathes the heat and secretly wishes for fall most days can only spend so much time outside.  Also, said persons' children get to tired and grumpy to be outside any longer and so it is that we resort to other activities.

As is the norm for us during the nicer weather, craft time takes a back seat.  With pools and walks, adventures and swingsets there ends up being very little time for our indoor creativity to come out.  The other day however, Corey was gonna be gone late, the girls were slightly less than happy and I was desperate.  So, out came my big craft tower and we got to creating.

Sometimes, our creating results in endless pieces of paper covered in glue and misc stuff.  Bethany would be content to sit at the table and glue for hours, but somedays I try to purpose that gluing.  This day, that's exactly what I did.  And now with Audrey getting older wanting to be just like her sister, I have to purpose crafts that they both can manage. 

We started with two empty granola bar boxes, I cut the flaps off the top.  (Please note these bars are strictly Coreys, I'm a fan of the fruit and nut kind of granola, he's a fan of the chocolate and marshmellow sort - stinkin' metabolisms)

The girls each chose their favourite color paper, for Bethany of course it was green (which is her ultimate favourite color) and for Audrey it was "yella"  she actually says it just like that and I couldn't help by self but ask her to say it about 15 times before we carried on.  They each took a glue stick and covered the box in glue.  I touched up the job and then attached their paper, essentially wrapping the boxes, leaving the top open.

Then they set out to decorating.  We have oodles of stickers to decorate with, the foam ones, shiny ones all sorts.  I find that with little ones like Audrey especially who can't work the glue properly these give them the same results as their older sibling with out the hassle.  And for Beth, sometimes it's nice to do a craft that isn't so messy!

I also punched holes in the sides of each kids box.  Now be warned if you try to use a hole punch and are as cheap as I am  frugal, such as I , therefore deciding to purchase your hole punch at the dollar store, don't use that hole punch on this craft.  Between the thickness of the box and the craft paper it can be a little tricky to punch through.  Then if you have the brute strength of Superman (thank you Total Gym and two children over 25lbs)  like I do, and then are plain stubborn and determined, you'll bend the punch so badly that the two handles touch and the top one is also twisted.  Good times....not so successful.  I used the end of a pair of scissors and did it the other way.

When the kids were finished I threated through two pipe cleaners fastened together, attached name signs I made them and voila!  We had two little mail inboxes for their doors.

These guys LOVE getting mail.  There is nothing that excites Bethany more than mail, so I thought this way if she gets any in the real mail (if you want to send her some mail e-mail me for our address, she'd love it!) I could put it in there for her to find, and otherwise I can leave the girls love notes and such.  I did just that the first night they were up and the very first thing she said when she came piling into bed with me that morning was, "MOM! I have mail!  The mail guy came, while I was sleeping and, and, and....I HAVE MAIL!" 

Audrey still thinks her's is a purse, but that's ok, it still lands on her door at night.  I love when crafts turn out successful, watching them enjoy the "fruits of their labour" is sweet and I hope is teaching them to love the creative girls inside!