Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Hands on Halloween - Card Making

Who doesn't love snail mail?!?!?!  Earlier this week the kids and I created some festive cards to pop in the mail to some of our friends.

The supplies were basic and I had most of them on hand, but I did pick up this package of cards at JoAnns for $5 (it was $10 and I used their weekly coupon).  We used less than half of the package, so I think that it was well worth the investment :)


I wanted to introduce them to some new-to-them painting techniques and first up was sponge painting.  The boys each cut out ghost shapes out of paint chips (I have a big supply of those in my craft closet) and then I taped them down onto the white cards.  We used three different shades of purple and we took turns dabbing our papers with the same shade one at a time.


We used three shades of purple and talked about shades and color tones (warm and cool) and Luke explained to everyone how to make purple from primary colors.  #ofcoursehedid


By doing one color at a time and passing around the sponge with that color we avoided a huge giant mess.... and only ended up with a huge mess. :) hahaha


After the cards had dried we taped removed the ghost shape and were left with a white ghost on a sponge painted background.  The boys thought this was super cool and they then got to pick out googly eyes and draw on their "ghost faces".





Next up we "observed" some candy corn and then I gave them each a big orange paint chip and we painted on a white stripe and a yellow stripe.



I don't have any pictures of the next painting project because I was busy assisting, but we made thumb prints using orange paint (and Griffin opted for a hand print).




After Griffin went to bed, the boys and I worked on some Frankenstein cards. 

I taped down a paint sample that I had cut into an appropriate size onto the front of a card and made a sample for them to look at.  I knew that the cutting would be too tedious for Mason so I cut out his pieces for him and he focused on gluing.





After the cards were dry, we worked on our handwriting.  For Mason I wrote out the names and he traced them.  Luke wrote the names of his friends on his envelopes on his own.


For Mason I wrote the messages on the inside of the cards and he signed his name. 



Here are Luke's finished cards and a couple of his envelopes :)


 And Mason's :)



This is kind of how I envisioned them turning out, but the way the kids made them their own is so much cuter! :)





This weekend consider popping some handmade snail mail into the mailbox :)

Happy Crafting!!!

39 comments :

  1. So cute! I love this idea. We're totally whipping up some cards for friends and family this weekend. Thanks for the great ideas!

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  2. Adorable and such great ideas! I'm grabbing some paint chips at the store today. :)

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    1. They're great things to have on hand for crafting! Have fun!

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  3. Super cute! Frankenstein and G's handprint pumpkin are my favorite!

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  4. Cute! Such a great way to get the kids involved in blessing others. Love it!

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  5. Cute idea, mama!!

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  6. Love these! You are such a creative and fun mama! Thank you for sharing these with us, my daughter loves to craft and will love making these! Have a great day!!

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  7. These are adorable! I think Xavier needs to make some for his teacher and friends :) Thanks for sharing Andrea :)

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  8. SO cute!! Love all the projects you post :)

    - Seri
    www.Serisblog.com

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  9. These are adorable. And I LOOOOVE using paint chips for crafting! I use them a lot when I do my scrapbooking. :o)

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  10. Super cute! Holiday crafts are hands-down the best!

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  11. I noticed that most of the art you do with your kids is "product art" instead of "process art." Here in Wisconsin, we are not even allowed to do product art with children in childcare centers and it is discouraged in schools, due to not allowing children to use creativity and exploration when completing the art. Obviously sometimes product art is okay, but I think it would be super fun if you just provided your kids with a variety of different materials and let them have at it! :)

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    1. We do lots of "process art" as well - in fact, I shared our free collage time just last week :) http://www.momfessionals.com/2015/10/collage-mode.html

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    2. haha i'm not trying to be a debbie downer!! I am a teacher of two year olds and am just passionate on my view of early childhood education...which has to do with allowing children the freedom to explore and be creative in their artwork. I never said Andrea doesn't do process art...I just couldnt help but give my two cents :)

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    3. I'm with Cassie on this one!!

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    4. I disagree, a balance is needed. It certainly won't prepare children for situations when they need to follow a specific process. As a high school teacher, I can tell you that so many teens are lacking in basic "following directions" skills. Creativity is wonderful, but I would be very concerned as a parent to have my child enrolled in a classroom that "only" allows process art.

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  12. Thanks for the idea.
    Can I introduce your idea on my personal blog? (It's in Korean)
    Hope you don't mind...

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