Crafting With Kids

I don't seem to update this blog as often as I had planned. This doesn't mean we aren't getting ooey and gooey in our craftiness. Lately it seems we just do spontanious crafts, I forget to take pictures, or I totally plan to do up a quick blog, but then tantrums, fights, playdates, lunch, snack, nap or pretty much any other aspect of mommydom happens and the last thing on my mind is blogging about our craft. It happens.
Instead of this being an excuse blog about why I haven't posted, here are some tips that I have found totally useful while crafting with my monster(s).

Home made smock: Little dudes get messy. It doesn't take a lot of time or effort to get completely disgusting, especially while crafting. Take an old shirt of dad's and cut out the back (look at the picture below for a 'template' - you want to cut out all the red). Then your little one can slip their arms in and you can tie up the back so it's not flopping all over the place.
You can add velcro or a ribbon to tie the back in place. You can also flip up the bottom and tie it around your little one's waist and then they have a pocket in front.

Finger Paint Sponges: Finger paints, especially with an eager little artist, get mixed together and turn a gross looking colour pretty quickly. Instead, soak small sponges in paint (you might need to add a little water). Voila! No more paint swamp. This works really well for fingerprint or handprint crafts since you do get saturated in paint.  

Time: if a craft says it'll take about 20 minutes to complete, give yourself an hour. Plan on giving yourself at least half an hour of clean up time after - some projects (glitter projects!) you will be cleaning up over the next few months, after some projects require a bath, and yet others you'll only need to do a quick wipe down and you're on your way. But always plan on the worst - it'll quickly ruin your fun if you have a toddler covered in paint from head to toe (and every crack in between), but not enough time for a bath.

Don't Aim for Perfection: We'd all love to cover our walls and/or fridges in beautiful artwork from our kids, but the reality is that sometimes what they make isn't all that pretty. But I bet you they had a heck of a lot of fun making it. Let them take the reins and make what's in their head - this will help develop their own creative juices.

Have Fun!!: If crafting with your kids isn't fun, if it's too stressful, or too messy, or too time consuming - don't do it. It will just turn into an unpleasant experience for everyone. When your kids go to school they will be coming home with more crafty/artsy projects than you know what to do with. So stick to what you and your family is comfortable with.