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How To Make A Sensory Board For Toddlers

This is a really easy, cheap and fun artsy DIY activity! I scoured the local thrift stores and dollar stores to pick up little nick knacks and bits and bobs that you wouldn’t ordinarily be able to find in Art stores. I used a Hungry Little Caterpillar theme at the bottom of my board with a garden and flower theme. Mostly my idea was simply to create a highly visual and vibrant sensory board that would captivate Little Viv, 9 months, and make for vibrant play. This board took an afternoon’s work. However I was free from the pitter patter of little feet.

What You Will Need:

a large workspace
acrylic paints & mixing palate
paintbrushes
a glue gun & lots of refills
PVA glue
scissors
stencils or computer generated images (optional)
tinfoil
oil pastels
a large board e.g. white canvas, cardboard poster etc.
I used an up cycled IKEA frame because I knew when finished, it would be light enough to hang on the wall
sensory materials e.g. popsicle sticks, felt, textured card, coloured paper, straws, pipe cleaners, beads & jewellery, stickers, raised foam letters, buttons, pom-poms, dried flowers, goggly eyes, glitter and sequins etc.

> Now create a design or theme and go crazy with the squiggly scissors! I turned to pinterest for inspiration.

How To:

Assemble all utensils, clear a large workspace and lay out your designs
Paint and redecorate your chosen frame/board (if up-cycling) and allow to dry
Turn on your glue gun and allow to heat, resting on tin foil so as not to stick
Glue down your materials onto the board.
I used PVA glue to stick the paper and also for the glitter!
Note: be careful not to use too much hot glue on the smaller objects (i.e. buttons) as it will run up the sides when pressing down and likely burn your fingers. And that hurts.
Allow the board to dry completely, testing each item to make sure they’re glued down properly
Note: As many of the sensory items used are small, they present a chocking hazard to small infants if not glued down correctly
Give the board to your little ones and watch them explore a whole new world of touch, sounds and colour!

The perfect DIY discovery sensory board for young inquisitive minds!

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>>> What kind of crafts have you been creating recently?

DIY Up-Cycled Photo Frames

DIY Up-Cycled Photo Frame Art

This is a really easy, cheap and fun artsy DIY activity that I did recently with Miss6. I made them as a gift to celebrate the boyfriend and mine’s anniversary. We’ve also been working on decorating our apartment over the last few months. It’s a very slow progress because we are going very slow and thinking about every little piece before we buy it. Whilst we share so many interests, ideas and perspectives it seems that we don’t always agree on decoration. Bummer! Where I want to do very clean lines with a mix of french country and classic (lots of white, wooden materials and simple designs), he seems to be a little more into the “geek” side. Our taste is proving to be so different that I keep threatening (promising) to make him a designated ‘man cave’ where he can keep all of his toys and collectables that he loves so much. So I decided that this little gift would be the perfect excuse to get some more art up on the walls, sans lengthy deliberations!

Further Reading: The Only Arguments In My House Are Because My Boyfriend Plays Video Games

I had planned to make these up-cycled photo frames over a weekend but as usual my plans changed and I found myself doing them at work. Of course Miss6 didn’t mind! She’ll happily enjoy any reason to take part in a little arts and craft. Although I did have to promise that we could make some more for her own bedroom that we’ve been repurposing and redecorating.

What You Will Need:

photo frames
acrylic based paints OR spray paints
paint brushes (size relative to the size of the frames)
paint mixing palates
coloured cardboard or photo backing paper
scrapbook sticker dots
scissors
plastic sheeting or plastic tablecloths

Then add something artsy to fill your photo frames!

I used a love heart stencil to cut out significant locations on a map of Sydney that were special to my relationship with the boyfriend. Although you could use anything to put inside your frames e.g. special photographs, ticket stubs from movies or festivals, restaurant business cards, jewellery etc. I got the original idea from these photos on pinterest, I’m completely addicted to it! I find that pinterest is great platform for bookmarking because it’s very visual (which helps me to remember things better). But it’s also a huge time pit – 5 minutes easily becomes 2 hours! By the way, you can follow my boards on pinterest {here} if you’re not already doing so.

Steps:

Suit everyone up in art smocks to protect clothing
Cover the work area in plastic sheeting or an old plastic tablecloth
Lay out the paints, paintbrushes and the photo frames
Paint the frames in your chosen colours and leave to dry
Whilst frames are drying, arrange your display art
e.g. stick photos to cardboard or get a little crafty with some love hearts like I did!
Fill your frames and wrap with a big red ribbon

What is your favourite craft activity? Do you give gifts on anniversaries? Do you also have a boyfriend that likes to hoard collectables?

DIY Painted Pasta Necklace

We’re in our last week of school holidays here and desperately looking to fill in the time and keep ourselves busy. Faced with a grey, rainy miserable day, I had to forgo the original plans of a “Beach Day!” and quickly look to other options.

I’m a big believer in the importance for kids to get creative; to use their imagination, their concentration, and self perseverance in order to manipulate their little hands in creating mini masterpieces! There’s a lot to be said, like this great article by Melissa Linton, for these ‘old fashioned’ activities – they can deliver more than the equivalent painting/drawing iPad app can.

This was a great activity to do with Miss 6. All of the equipment is simple and easy and can be readily found around the house. Which means you don’t need to have an exclusive members card to Office Works or the Art Shops in order to get creative.

DIY Painted Animal-Pasta Necklace + Jewellery

What You Will Need:

acrylic based paints OR water paints (note: water based paints will need a few coats)
paint brushes (size relative to the size of the pasta)
paint mixing palate
paper plates
water cup for paintbrushes
animal shaped pasta (penne or rigatoni would also work)
string
scissors
plastic sheeting or plastic tablecloth
art smocks

Steps:

Suit everyone up in art smocks to protect clothing
Cover the work area in plastic sheeting or an old plastic tablecloth
Lay out the paints, paintbrushes and a water cup for rinsing the paint brushes between colours. Remember to keep the water cup in the middle of the table to avoid stray elbows knocking it over
Cut the string to size (for necklaces or bracelets)
Portion the pasta into individual bowls for each child
Paint the pasta (I like rainbow colours) and place onto paper plates to dry
Once pasta is dry, thread onto string and fit
Set aside to dry completely whilst packing away and cleaning up
Wear the painted pasta jewellery and smile! 🙂

Note: The animal pasta we used was very small and could present a DANGER and CHOKING HAZARD to little munchkins. Be sure to keep all small objects out of reach of the newly crawling and curious minds.

We made our painted pasta necklace and jewellery in the morning whilst Little Viv had her nap and were all cleaned and packed up and ready to meet BM for lunch without too much hassle.

DIY painted pasta jewellery is the perfect craft for a rainy day or snow day! #nannylife

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>>> What kinds of arts and craft activities have you been doing lately?