Summer Nature Sun Catchers

I have been lucky enough to get into cahoots with a brilliant preschool teacher and friend from my neighborhood this summer.  Amy and I have decided to do "Crafts on Wednesdays" at our community-run park.  We meet for an hour each Wednesday and do activities with neighborhood kids.  Not only does it give moms & little ones something to do, but it also draws our close knit community even closer.

This week we came up with a fantastic idea that I just had to share.  We made nature sun catchers to celebrate the first day of summer.  I always try to keep the gals in tune with the colors of our natural environment and the seasons.  Today we noticed how the pretty pastels of spring give way to the deep, saturated colors of summer.

First we cut sheets of Contact paper.  We measured roughly about a 12x12 piece. Each child gets 2 pieces. We peeled the backing off of one piece and placed it on the table, sticky side up. If the paper keeps rolling back up, try to bend back the 4 corners to stick them to the table.  That will create a flat work space.

Next we sent the kids out into the park to find pieces of "nature"- blades of grass, flower petals, clovers, dandelions, leaves, etc.

After collecting their goods, they arranged them to the sticky side of the paper.

After everything is arranged just so, take the other piece of Contact paper and place the sticky side down on top of the arrangement.  Smooth it over and press out any air bubbles.  Cut your project into any shape you wish, punch a hole through it, and string it with yarn.

We hung some on our deck and of course the gals thought a few would look lovely hanging on the shutters on our front window.

We will also try this for fall and collect different color leaves, pine needles, etc.  It would be fun to compare the two and see how the colors of our mountain world change with the seasons.

Outdoor Chalkboard

The girls and I created this neat little drawing station in the yard. I saw the idea in a Lowe's ad and slightly revised it to make it a more kid-friendly project.

We took cement board and painted it with black exterior paint (flat finish). I was told this works better outdoors since regular chalkboard paint cracks and peels when exposed to the elements.

A friend of mine showed us how to create alcohol ink tiles.  I cannot believe how easy and fun (and cheap!) this project is with school aged children!  We plan to make these tiles in the future for other projects or gifts. 

Here's the tutorial on her blog A Bird and a Tree After buying the ink set for $10 which we can use many times, the only cost is the tiles at Lowes.  We chose the 4x4 tiles for 16 cents each. 

I used tile adhesive to arrange the tiles around the cement board.

And here is our finished outdoor chalkboard.