Archive for the ‘children’ Category

{LOVE Painting} Seattle Area Lifestyle Photographer

February 8th, 2013

This was one of the very first pins I ever pinned on Pinterest, was this preschooler masking tape painting. I loved the simplicity, I loved the texture, I loved the art. Having two art loving boys, this was a really fun project for them to do together, and create something beautiful and  permanent for their [...]
 

This was one of the very first pins I ever pinned on Pinterest, was this preschooler masking tape painting. I loved the simplicity, I loved the texture, I loved the art. Having two art loving boys, this was a really fun project for them to do together, and create something beautiful and  permanent for their room. It’s one of the most remarked on pieces of artwork, and they proudly tell everyone that “I made that!” when people ask about it. Due to the layers (and layers, and layers!) of paint, it took a few days to dry, but totally worth it.

Supplies You’ll Need:

  • canvas (I used a 12×12)
  • acrylic paints
  • masking tape or painter’s tape
  • baby wipes (to help clean up your children, and anything they touch, afterwards)
  • plastic sheeting or something on the floor as the painting area

 

I took the canvas and taped out the letters to the word LOVE. I was cute and made the O into a heart. 

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Then, I put different colors of acrylic paints in paper plates, and let the boys go to town. I did regulate it, one color out at a time. (otherwise, you just end up with a big brownish blob).

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They really enjoyed the feeling of the squishy feel of the paint between their hands.

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Then, they put their handprints all over the canvas. 

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Handprints!

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Finished with the layers of handprint painting! I loved the bright colors so much. You can see the edges of the tape slightly under all the paint. It took a couple of days to dry since there were several layers of paint.

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I then peeled off the tape to uncover the L O V E, and let the boys put a final handprint each on top after everything had dried. 

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Here it is displayed in their room. They are proud of their artwork, and I love how it looks.

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{Heart Stick Arrows} Seattle Area Child Photographer

February 6th, 2013

Often, it can be challenging finding crafts that will withstand brother battle attacks, cardboard box forts, and just plain old fun. When I found this link for these arrows of love, I was quite intrigued. (be forewarned that the Krokotak site is in Bulgarian, but it’s a goldmine of interesting and FUN crafts!). Plus, it [...]
 

Often, it can be challenging finding crafts that will withstand brother battle attacks, cardboard box forts, and just plain old fun. When I found this link for these arrows of love, I was quite intrigued. (be forewarned that the Krokotak site is in Bulgarian, but it’s a goldmine of interesting and FUN crafts!). Plus, it is a very simple craft. All I used were sticks from the yard, craft glue, and felt. The original site called for yarn as well, but since i didn’t have any on hand, I just cut up longer strips of leftover felt to tie on the ends of the arrows. Did I mention this craft is 1) SIMPLE , 2) HARDY and 3) FUN. What more can you ask?

What You’ll Need:

  • Sticks (we got both long and short, fat and skinny sticks)
  • Felt
  • Craft Glue (I used Aleene Tacky Glue)
  • Yarn (optional)

 

First, gather up your four year old. I mean, gather up some sticks. Cheesy four year old is optional.

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Next, cut out some felt hearts.  I found it was best to cut out hearts that had a deep V in the middle. You’ll need two for each side. (this is actually my older son. I just wanted to give him a shout out. :)

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Put down one felt heart, some glue, then your stick. You want to glue your stick on the rounded side of the heart, away from the pointy end.

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Next, put more glue on the side of the stick and on top of the stick (if you really like glueing, feel free to put it all around. My kids are glue minimalists though.) Then, put the matching heart on top and leave to dry for a few hours.

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I cut strips of felt and tied it to the other end of the stick to make the arrow “fletching”. EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZY.

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Voila! Heart stick arrows. These were made with our “big” branches.

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How cute are they? Yes, we definitely could have used more glue, but they have been holding up with over a week of play, so I think we’re good to go.

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Here are the ones we made from little sticks (and little hearts). I think we’re going to put these on strings with Valentines attached and give them to our neighbors. Aren’ they adorable?

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My little one loves them as well. My boys and I give this craft six thumbs up! As a bonus, when you are struck with one of these cupid arrows, you fall in love. :) I hope you enjoy making them as much as we did!

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{I Heart You – Valentines Day Fun} Seattle Area Children Photographer

February 5th, 2013

I’ve already declared my love of Valentines Day, and my youngest has his preschool Valentines moustached up and ready to go. As a photographer, I feel grateful for the chance to be able to put a personalized spin on my boys’ Valentines for class and actually put their pictures on them. You can google up [...]
 

I’ve already declared my love of Valentines Day, and my youngest has his preschool Valentines moustached up and ready to go. As a photographer, I feel grateful for the chance to be able to put a personalized spin on my boys’ Valentines for class and actually put their pictures on them. You can google up “Valentines picture templates” or creature your own, but it’s a fun way to print them out (wallet size at Costco for us), and my boys have a swell of pride handing out Valentines with their own pictures on them to their classmates. It’s also a step away from the commercialization of buying candy and choosing a Batman or Barbie set at the store (and having to go to the store with uncooperative children in tow).  Here’s a look back at some of the ones we’ve given out over the last few years.

 

Look at my tiny little baby! I think this was his very first year of preschool.

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My oldest, just a scant few years ago.

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I call this his Calvin Klein jeans pose. 

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Superheros can be your Valentine too

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Last year, this was our outtake from the Valentines Day photoshoot. My youngest was beginning to realize he could cheese it up, BIG TIME, for the camera.

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We ended up giving out ladybug Valentines with his picture in the middle.

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My oldest gave these out, with a robot he designed on the back.

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{Science Fun – Density Tower} Seattle Area Lifestyle Photographer

February 5th, 2013

**Hello and welcome! Please check out my other science experiments under the “science experiments” categories above. And please, leave a comment on how you found me!**   Everyone has seen the very cool layered density column featuring different liquids (usually different colors), then you drop in things to show how there are different densities and [...]
 

**Hello and welcome! Please check out my other science experiments under the “science experiments” categories above. And please, leave a comment on how you found me!**

 

Everyone has seen the very cool layered density column featuring different liquids (usually different colors), then you drop in things to show how there are different densities and things fall in either all the way, some of the way, or float right at the top. This is a great visual learning experiment. You pour the heaviest liquid in first, being careful not to let it touch the sides. Then, pour in the rest of the liquids you chose. Pick some household items to drop in (ping pong balls, golf balls, pick both heavy and light objects for the best displays), and let your little scientist figure out how density means that different layers will support different items!

 

What You’ll Need (in list of heaviest to lightest):

  • Honey
  • Corn syrup or pancake syrup
  • Dish soap (I used Dawn because it was blue and pretty)
  • water (you can color it)
  • vegetable oil
  • rubbing alcohol (you can also color this to differentiate it or just to make it pretty.)
  • lamp oil
  • Random Household Objects – have fun with this one! check out small items like toy balls, ping pong balls, golf balls, beans, legos, screws, washers, keys, etc.

 

 

Our layers! I used what I had on hand.  In order: honey, corn syrup, dishwasher soap, water (I colored it red to differentiate), corn oil.

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My little scientist in training.

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I let him pick items around the house to drop into the layers. He picked lego mini figure, buttons, different beans, pasta, peppercorns, an aluminum screw and a metal screw.

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The ingredients and what the layers looked like. In hindsight, I would have colored the water something lighter!

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He didn’t believe me that the layers wouldn’t mix, so he was watching very closely.

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“mommy, look! they’re staying separated!”

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Our first pass dropping items into the layers.

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Lego Man and the peppercorns stayed on top.

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After a while, we noticed that items started to sink through the corn syrup layer, especially if you piled more things on top.

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A before and after shot. Overall, a fun and colorful experiment!

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Science Sparks

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{I Moustache You to Be Mine} Seattle Area Lifestyle Photographer

January 26th, 2013

I love coming up with cute Valentines idea for my kids, when they’re in an amicable mood for a photoshoot. I had seen some really cute moustache themed Valentines stuff on Pinterest lately, mainly ones that said “I (moustache) you to be my valentine” and thought HEY! I can do that! I already had felt [...]
 

I love coming up with cute Valentines idea for my kids, when they’re in an amicable mood for a photoshoot. I had seen some really cute moustache themed Valentines stuff on Pinterest lately, mainly ones that said “I (moustache) you to be my valentine” and thought HEY! I can do that! I already had felt moustaches on hand, so I cut out hearts from felt I had in the craft room, then bribed my youngest with jelly beans, and trundled off into the backyard for a quick photoshoot. Yes, there’s glitter all over his coat, and his hat is missing a pom pom, but his smile is contagious, and I think the pictures came out pretty cute.

 

Do you know this face? I call this “four year old CHEESE” face. Maybe you’ve seen this face too, on your child.

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I asked him to hold his hands over his heart. He held it over his stomach and told me, “I love my tummy more”

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Sometimes, the outtakes are the best part about a photoshoot.

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Jon Cusack, eat your heart out. I thought about photoshopping a radio, or some rain in the photo, but thought the face and the posture said it all.

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Look at this face!

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I love this.

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Happy Valentines Day! 

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{Playground Challenge Roundup} Seattle Area Lifestyle Photographer

January 26th, 2013

The KaBOOM! Summer Playground challenge is over, and I think I’m finally recovered to put together my thoughts. It was six weeks, from July 2nd to August 13th of checking out parks in our area, taking a picture with my phone and their Tag! app, and of course, playing. To see what my oldest thought [...]
 

The KaBOOM! Summer Playground challenge is over, and I think I’m finally recovered to put together my thoughts. It was six weeks, from July 2nd to August 13th of checking out parks in our area, taking a picture with my phone and their Tag! app, and of course, playing. To see what my oldest thought of it, check out his blog post here.  Here’s a few take aways of our summer of playground park play (say that three times fast!)

  • We are so, incredibly lucky to be able to live in an area that is rich in playgrounds, both indoors and outdoors.
  • I created a small, playground monster in my youngest son. Even now, months after the challenge is over, he wakes up asking me what park are we going to visit today.
  • To differentiate between parks with playgrounds, and parks without playgrounds, we coined the term “adventure park” for those that didn’t have a playground.
  • Getting outside, every day, was as much fun for me as it was for my kids. Sometimes it’s nice to get out!
  • With visiting playgrounds in the city, we’d walk around and also visit small, local bakeries and shops and support local businesses as well. Such fun all around!

We’re definitely going to continue visiting playgrounds throughout the winter, the spring, and next summer. Also, through this we participated in a local playground build in our city, improving an existing park with more playground equipment. And we are all looking forward to our upcoming trip to Washington, D.C. and visiting the KaBOOM! officies and their Play Academy and sharing our throughts about the Summer Playground Challenge! So go out there, find some playgrounds, and get your play on!

 

Some of the best things about parks in the area? The view. This was at a new find for us, Richmond Beach Saltwater park.

 

We also discovered this awesome park close to our house! Forsgren Park

 

My younger son gives his stamp of approval for this playground.

 

We also found this awesome playground/wetlands near our home (North Rose Hill Park)! It had a toddler playground on one end of the park that had this cool big rig truck for kids to climb

 

Then through a short mile walk through a boardwalk covered wetlands area, you reached this cool castle park playground on the other side of the park.

 

This was the new family recreation playground at the Bonneville Lock and Dam

 

Lounging around at our favorite park, Grass Lawn Park in Redmond

 

It even has a toddler spray area to play in as well

 

 My personal favorite was when the boys would play nicely with each other. This is Enatai Beach Park in Bellevue.

 

Another new favorite, North Acres Spray Park in Shoreline

 

And sometimes, you find parks in the most unexpected places.  This is Albert Davis Park in Lake City. Probably only half a city block, but my kiddos had so much fun playing here.

 

It’s not the size of the park, but how much fun your kids can have. So get them out, and PLAY!

L

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{Paper Heart Valentines} Seattle Area Lifestyle Photographer

January 24th, 2013

February is just around the corner, and with that comes one of my favorite holidays, Valentines Day! I was looking for some fun crafts to do with the boys, and came across this paper heart craft from Roots and Wings. Theirs seemed a little more work than my boys could handle (aka it looks more [...]
 

February is just around the corner, and with that comes one of my favorite holidays, Valentines Day! I was looking for some fun crafts to do with the boys, and came across this paper heart craft from Roots and Wings. Theirs seemed a little more work than my boys could handle (aka it looks more mom intensive than boy intensive), so I tweaked it a bit. I used old magazines papers, and had the boys tear out any that were red or reddish colored for them to cut up to use. Then, we cut them up into strips, and used a ribbon instead of a brad to hold it together in the middle. I think it came out very well, and adds a pretty decoration to our home!

 

Concentrating very hard, the sparkly cape gave him super cutting powers.

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You want to end up with different lengths of paper (I chose three different lengths for the boys)

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To make it easier for them, I placed a ribbon down the middle of the paper heart to help attach it, instead of using brads. The other paper sides would go on the other side of the ribbon.

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The other side (yes, it does look exactly the same). You sandwich them together with the ribbon in the middle, smallest lengths closest to the ribbon.

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Then, I had them staple the bottom of ALL the paper strips to the ribbon, and then fold the strips up (shortest strips first) into a heart shape onto the ribbon and staple it. Repeat with the longer lengths.

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This was a super easy project! We then hung them on crepe paper around the house as decorations. So pretty!

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A close up. I loved using the recycled papers to give the hearts a unique look.

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Our garland! You can see we made some with construction paper as well. It was really fun, and an easy craft for both the boys!

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{Fall Activity Tree} Seattle Area Childrens Photographer

September 5th, 2012

We did this last year and it was such a hit, the boys asked to do it again. Around here, autumn begins with long rainy days starting in October and doesn’t really end until June. With school holidays, snow days, days off from school due to power outages, the “activity tree” is a great way [...]
 

We did this last year and it was such a hit, the boys asked to do it again. Around here, autumn begins with long rainy days starting in October and doesn’t really end until June. With school holidays, snow days, days off from school due to power outages, the “activity tree” is a great way for a frazzled parent to have some things on hand for the kids to do, or look forward to doing as a weeknight or weekend treat.

I got the original marbled leaves idea from Little Wonder Days’ blog. First, I cut out different leaf shapes (I googled “leaf shapes”  and found a bunch of great leaf outlines to print).  Definitely use cardstock or a heavier paper (I used old file folders). Regular paper will soak up too much paint and you won’t get the marblized effect. Also, I would recommend just putting the leaves on top and then lifting them, instead of dragging the leaves across. Dragging mixes the colors, and while it’s fun, you get more brownish leaves instead of the marbled leaves.

 

Shaving cream with acrylic paint on top. I let the boys swirl with a chopstick.

 

What your leaves will look like. So pretty!

 

Be sure to have some sort of water on hand, for fun mixing when you’re done with the leaf crafting.

 

If your kids are like mine, eventually after all the leaves are marblelized, they’ll start to play with the paint and shaving cream mixture themselves

 

Then you might have some kid clean up to do as well. :)

 

After we made all the leaves, the boys and I made a list of what type of activities we wanted to do during the fall and winter. Then we wrote one activity onto the back of each leaf.

 

Using paper grocery bags, I made a paper bag tree with branches to hang all our leaves. I used thumb tacks to secure the leaves to the wall. Last year, after we picked our activity, the boys would have the leaf “fall” to the ground. They were pretty excited about the bare tree at the end of winter!

 

Here is our list for our 2012-2013 Autumn Activity List:

  • make a spaghetti and marshmallow building
  • have a sleep-over in the tree house
  • go bowling
  • make a train city and take over the house
  • have an unbirthday party
  • have a rain party (I’m not quite sure what this entails, but my youngest came up with this so we wrote it down)
  • make s’mores for dinner
  • go camping (with the tent) in the family room
  • kids get to be the parents for a morning, while the parents get to be the kids (big hit last year, requested again this year)
  • make cookies
  • go on a scavenger hunt
  • write and mail letters to family
  • make our own movie
  • visit a farm
  • have an egg hunt
  • put on a puppet show
  • go on a hike
  • do Dad’s electric train set
  • do a leaf nature book
  • shadow puppet show
  • make a blanket fort
  • family board game night
  • pretend to be pirates for a day, even when we leave the house
  • make a time capsule
  • have a dress up parade

 

Have fun and ENJOY! The more input your children get, the more excitement you’ll see them generate, and the more creativity they’ll get flowing. Plus, there are just bonus points if it’s something you can direct them to do and it lets you have a few more moments of peace and stillness during the long winter’s day. :)

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{What My 7yo Did This Summer – In His Words} Seattle Area Lifestyle Photographer

August 28th, 2012

We did the KaBOOM! Summer playground challenge and boy was it ever fun! Not only did it let us explore the awesome playgrounds near us, but my kids woke up every day asking “what parks are we going to today mommy?” It made my heart swell to have them so excited to go out and [...]
 

We did the KaBOOM! Summer playground challenge and boy was it ever fun! Not only did it let us explore the awesome playgrounds near us, but my kids woke up every day asking “what parks are we going to today mommy?” It made my heart swell to have them so excited to go out and PLAY! And let me tell you, we played hard. In the hot sun. In the rain. In the fog. I asked my older son his thoughts about the playground challenge and I was pretty amused when he asked if he could do his own blog post. So here, in his own words (and pictures), a seven year old’s take on the playground challenge!

 

Meet my 7yo!

 

A self portrait

 

What did you like most about the playground challenge?

Answer: going to parks! (I love his labelling on all his drawings. this was a playground that had twin side-by-side slides that both of my boys loved)

 

What did he think all playgrounds should have?

answer: RINGS! (do you love that he drew “sweat” drops too?)

 

Draw your favorite play area.

Answer: North Acres Park (this is my favorite drawing set of all. the parents on the “hell aka hill”. the ice cream truck that was ALWAYS there. and his representation of what the water spray park looked like was pretty accurate!)

 

What do you think all playgrounds should have?

Answer: monkey bars (again, he drew the “sweat” dripping down from himself. heh!)

 

 

 

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{Tidepool Exploration} Seattle Area Lifestyle Photographer

August 23rd, 2012

Living here in the lovely Pacific Northwest, we’re very lucky to be able to go to the beach and explore the sand and surf. Along with building sandcastles, my kids love to explore the tide pools. It’s a lovely reminder of the wonderful and fragile ecosystem surrounding us, and which we live alongside. There are [...]
 

Living here in the lovely Pacific Northwest, we’re very lucky to be able to go to the beach and explore the sand and surf. Along with building sandcastles, my kids love to explore the tide pools. It’s a lovely reminder of the wonderful and fragile ecosystem surrounding us, and which we live alongside. There are a few things we do to make a trip to the tide pools more memorable:

Tide Pools Checklist:

  • Check times for low tides. I like going to the NOAA website, or your local newspaper (like the Seattle Times) will have it listed as well, usually under the weather section.
  • Bring appropriate clothing, including footwear. Rocks are slippery, so flip flops would not be a good choice. A sturdy shoe with good traction and grip will prevent cut feet or turned ankles.
  • Likewise, it’s good to have a full change of clothes in the car, just in case. Like, a brother dumps a full bucket of water on top of another brother’s head.
  • have the kids bring a bucket (or a flat tupperware container)
  • if you have it, bring along some popsicle sticks and string. You can mark off a square section of the tide pools (use the sticks as fence posts, and rope the string around to make the square). Makes a great and quick observation point for kids, especially small ones who may be overwhelmed with everything.
  • for bigger kids, have them bring along a magnifying glass as well to check out sea animals.
  • Remember, tide pools are animal homes. So talk to your kids about not removing animals to take home, etc. In my pictures, you do see my kids handling sea stars and hermit crabs, but I made sure they replaced them where they found them. We talked about how it would be if someone came and removed them from our house, and how they would not like that very much. Practice good, ecological etiquette so others can also enjoy the tide pools as well.

 

At Marina Beach Park during a neap tide. See how far out the low tide went?

 

Sunhat? Check. Boots? Check. Bucket? Check.

 

Tide pools aren’t only found in the subtidal area left after a high tide leaves, they can be found amongst the rocks in the intertidal area as well.

 

 

Don’t forget the appropriate footwear! My son loves his ladybug rainboots.

 

In cases when you don’t plan ahead, the tide pools can provide you with these fabulous seaweed footwear instead.

 

Checking out the sea life.

 

The best thing about tide pool exploration is the sense of wonder by all ages! You’re never too old, or too young, to be too cool to check out tide pools.

 

A very serious discussion about where to explore next.

Tiny hermit crab! My oldest actually would stalk out a tide pool for half an hour to watch a hermit crab move to a new shell home.

 

Starfish in your hand! My youngest said that it was very tickly, and not like a spider at all.

 

The boys were quite intent on all the new discoveries they were making left and right among the tide pools.

 

Don’t forget about looking down inside the rocks either. We found this between rock crevasses. It’s either a flattened sea anemone or a sea cucumber

 

Another hermit crab! You can see the little antennae poking out towards my son’s thumb.

 

After closer examination in our buckets, we put everything back in their original tidepool “families”.

And one last cool find!  We found this guy clinging to some rocks. We believe it’s a tonicella chiton.

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