Open the Doors to Creativity in July

Like this print? You can purchase it from me here...

I've always loved design and creativity, but it's so easy to get stuck in a creative rut. I'm on a new mission to get inspired again...not by looking, but by DOING.

I just took two classes on the Alt Channel in partnership with Bing's Summer of Doing (#thanksbing). Thanks Bing! They were absolutely fantastic and inspiring. For those of you out there who are bloggers, there are some great blog related classes coming up!

Classes are $15 (totally worth it), but you can get some for free if you blog about them.

It's amazing how much you can learn and apply in just an hour class- and how it can get the ball rolling again.

Would love to hear if you've taken one of these classes, or if there are other class series out there that you like or would recommend.

Playing with Rhythm Sticks (or straws!)

My son takes classes at The Little Gym every week and one of the activites that he's always enjoyed is using rhythm sticks to practice motor skills and hand-eye coordination. It also helps reinforce body part names (and even some letters). And of course, you can also practice music and rhythm. It's also a great opportunity for toddlers to listen and mimic.

The activity can be done with both babies and toddlers. Babies who are unable to hold the sticks and sit in your lap while you tap this sticks, or you can help them hold the sticks while you tap them. I remember Ethan enjoying this activity even when he was only a few months old.

Daddy helping

We actually have a pair of rhythm sticks at home...they are relatively inexpensive. But what if you don't have a pair?

Enter Daddy's great idea to use straws! The straws are great because I can leave them accessible in the toy box. They also don't hurt as much if the tapping gets a little crazy! Of course, they don't make the same great sound that the rhythm stick do!

Sorry for the photo quality here- I had a camera attacker on my hands!

Here are some of the activities we do:

• Drum them on the floor
• Tap on your...toes, knees, belly, hand
• Put them on your head like bunny ears
• Make letters...T, X, L, V
• Roll them between your hands...under your hands...under your feet
• Tap them together
• Tap your stick on my stick. Now I tap yours.
• Tap one like you're hammering a nail
  

Rolling on his leg

Of course, I'm sure you can come up with more--maybe even your little one will add to the list!

Masking Tape Sculpture

Toddlers (and babies too) really enjoy the sensory activity of playing with masking tape. In looking for a crafty activity that we could do with minimal prep time and mess, I pulled out a piece of cardboard, some crayons, and some making tape. Initially I thought we'd place the tape on the cardboard and color on it, next to it, etc. (more like these masking tape paintings)

The project morphed a bit. Ethan wasn't really all that interested in coloring (he was more in the mood for paint), but he was very happy to pull off pieces of tape and stick them to the cardboard. Sometimes the tape would be flush against the cardboard. Sometimes the tape would arc off of the cardboard. Sometime the tape was a knotted mess. Other times the tape was only sticking to other pieces of tape. 

"Rip it Mom!"

The end result was a curly tape sculpture that the little guy really enjoyed making (and had negligible amount of clean up). Total cost was approx 50 cents worth of tape.

Win-win!

What fun have you had with masking tape?

Seeing Stars this July 4th

I have to admit, I'm a bit lax on the intentional crafts and projects lately. June has been insane for our family and our preparations to move have our house looking a bit like a box fort. Still, when the little guy asked to paint this weekend, I quickly pulled together a Fourth of July star theme.

I had brought some form stars in a dollar bin awhile back and Ethan painted them while he sang "Twinkle Twinkle" (his idea). You could just as easily cut out stars from construction paper. The point here is that the project doesn't have to be amazing to be fun and creative. 

Imagine they are hung from curling ribbon. That was my intent, but all the ribbon is already backed away neatly in a cardboard box. Instead, we improvised and hung them on the back door with some scotch tape. They look good :)

Here are some other projects from that past that you may enjoy while you celebrate your holiday this week:

Handprint Fireworks

Aluminum Foil Stars

Hope you enjoy a fantastic and safe holiday!