Winter Weather Indoor Arts & Crafts

This winter has been unusually colder, hitting several all-time lows in Georgia and the southern states. Even today snow fell in parts of Texas that very rarely get any snow ever and tomorrow south Georgia and even Florida are expected to get hit with snow, though I'll believe it when I see it. We've unfortunately had only one snow worth mentioning, leaving mostly flurries and rain, rain, rain. Ugh. Funny how this happens, but we once lived in Macon, which never gets snow and the year we moved north, it snowed. Last year in Canton, we got a few flurries while most surrounding counties were covered. Again, this year we are even further north and closer to the mountains and still no snow! It's so frustrating!
The week Liam was born, the weather was still in the 80s... and the weekend after he was released from the hospital the temperature dropped immediately to the low 60s and 50s! What the heck happened to our fall weather? I thought the fall would be a great time to have a baby because of the weather, but it dipped down a bit too low for a preemie and then the rains came and haven't stopped much around here. For families who usually spend most of their time outdoors, bad weather is quite unwelcomed and no fun at all. Parents must think quickly and break out their own creativity for their sake and the kids!

In a recent article I addressed how easily one can rely on television as an activity or a babysitter, but there are so many other better options to fill your day and make some memories. We have adopted many fun indoor activities over the past 2 years, but one has become the biggest hit of them all:

Arts and crafts!

Josiah loooves painting, drawing, cutting, pasting, playdoh, etc. You can find many great craft ideas online or just make up your own projects. A child around the age of 1.5 and up will be game for just about anything, especially if it is potentially messy!
A recent project for us have included wrapping presents and letting Josiah add his own artistic touch:

Baby Soleil's presents- Josiah helped me wrap, put stickers on them, color them, and then arrange them in the basket!

We've also had fun making masks, making a picture frame, and letting Josiah help me with Liam's scrapbook. You can get a variety of arts and crafts for very cheap at craft stores like Michael's. When I say cheap, I mean about $1 for each little pre-packaged project! Plus, if you use coupons like I do, there is a 40% off one item coupon in just about every Sunday newspaper.

This is a princess party Josiah attended this summer- kids could decorate their own magic wands, crowns, and swords with glitter and markers! You can find all of these at Michaels for also about $1 and they were a HUGE hit. Josiah still plays w/ his sword!

Paintings make wonderful presents for grandparents so, even before Josiah was 1 year old i bought fingerpaints so we could make cards, doodles, and momentos. Things can get a little messy so, be sure to lay down some newspaper or a mat... and store paints out of reach. I learned this right after Liam was born...

A when I say messy, I mean messy!

I am also a huge fan of Ikea, especially their children's section with all kinds of pretend play toys and art supplies. At Christmas we picked up an easel (with a chalkboard/dry-erase board), safety scissors, art paper, and chalk for a total of less than $30! This has recently become a huge hit. You can also pick up a cute $10 table at Ikea and/or a plastic 3-door drawer system to store all of your art supplies like crayons, colored pencils, and markers. This way you will know where to find everything when it's art time! This has worked very well for us and helps contain some of the mess!

Silly Josiah drawing sea creatures we saw at the aquarium

Playdoh Christmas ornament Project

The mess that is our living room during the day

Learning how to use safety scissors-- run for your lives!!!

Plan on sending out cards for the holidays? Well, buy some posterboard or art paper, stickers, etc. and make your own with the kids! Josiah just scribbles on cards, telling me what he's drawing so, I always write what the drawing is. Relatives love the extra touch and it is a great momento.

Some of our Valentine's Day cards! We also made some w/ art paper, but i forgot to take pics of those!

When we moved into our new house I didn't want to color all over the walls since we are renting so, I bought wall stickers!

Josiah's car room

Liam's Woodland Creatures Themed Room

These were great fun for me and for Josiah! He loves stickers and to be able to help and apply them by himself was exciting for him. It takes some time, especially with a little one, but it's something well worth the time because you can see it every day. Josiah still talks about his cars and, since they are removeable, he occasionally switches them around on the wall. These are a bit more expensive than a dollar, ranging from about $15 to $30 at target and you can find some very creative designs for not only children's rooms, but for the entire house on ebay. Some artists are even willing to create stickers to suite your tastes for a very low price on ebay if you write to them.

We pretty much do some kind of art project every day at the house. Even Liam gets to participate- he loves watching his brother and we can do imprints of his cute little feet and hands. :)

Well, the weather here today is calling for about 1-3 inches of snow so, hopefully we will get some fun time outside tomorrow! Let me know your arts and crafts secrets out there! I am always looking for new ideas. I recently heard about edible paints that you can make yourself so, we may try that. You can apparently also buy them on the web, but I can't seem to find a link. Anyone know? We also do some artistic cooking, but that's for article! Have a great weekend!