Doily Heart Stencils

My favorite Valentine's Day craft that Baby Bear, Papa Bear, and I have done together so far has got to be the doily heart stencils we did. I just love how they turned out! All I did was tape some heart-shaped doilies to a piece of white paper and let Baby Bear paint. I gave him red, blue, and yellow tempura paint along with some blue and silver glitter glue to use for the picture. He alternated between using the paintbrush and making hand prints on the paper. He also painted Papa Bear's hands and had him make prints. It was a great family time that turned into a beautiful work of art!

This is what it looked like when we were done painting but before I peeled the doilies off

This is what it looked like after I peeled the doilies off! I love it!

Most of the doilies stayed in tact, so I glued them to another piece of paper for a separate work of art. :)

Valentine Sponge Painting

Baby Bear likes painting with different tools, so this week I introduced him to sponge painting. I cut a heart shape from a sponge, showed him how to use it as a stamp, and gave it to him to try. It was an instant hit!

I dribbled a little bit of tempura paint into a bowl. I chose this instead of our paint tray so the sponge could soak up more colors. I was also careful about the order I place them in so that Baby Bear could watch the colors mix to make new colors as he painted.

Dipping the sponge into the paint

Stamping a heart

Lots of stamping!

Look, Mama! More colors!!! Mix, mix, mix!

The finished product (with a few hand, foot, and leg prints mixed in ;) )

Heart Pancakes

A heart pancake is a simple food that fits the heart theme. To make our meal healthier for Heart Month, I added a little flax seed to the pancake batter. Baby Bear couldn't get enough of them! He ate his heart, plus he stole two of Papa Bear's large pancakes! Sometimes I puree a fruit or veggie to add to the batter, but fresh fruits seemed to add the perfect touch for this meal.

Scratch Art

Recently, Baby Bear and I have been trying our luck with store-bought finger paints instead of the homemade edible ones. The colors are a little more vibrant, and, let's face it, it's just easier sometimes. So far, he's been doing very well with these paints. He's tried tasting twice, but I was right there with a damp washcloth to wipe off his tongue. He didn't like that and hasn't tried again as of late. For Valentine's Day and Heart Month, I decided to turn one of Baby Bear's paintings into scratch art.

I started Baby Bear out with only red paint. I gave him a doily to make a print with, which was fun. Then, he took his paintbrush and started painting his hands to make prints.

He wasn't content with just red, so I added a little blue but didn't mix. This gave the paint a bit of a tie-dyed effect.

Baby Bear finds painting himself far more entertaining than painting paper. This is why we do all of our painting in the bathroom now. Having the bathtub right there comes in very handy!

While Baby Bear played in the water after I rinsed him off, I used the end of the paintbrush to scratch a few hearts into the paint. This could be fun for older kids to do themselves.

Crayon Resist Valentine's Painting

I found a recipe for homemade watercolors on I Can Teach My Child, so I thought I'd try it for a crayon resist painting with Baby Bear.

I started by drawing some hearts with pink, white, and purple crayons on a sheet of white paper. Then, I mixed the watercolor.

 This is the recipe I used:
1 T Baking Soda
1 T Corn Starch
1  White Vinegar
3/4 t corn syrup
3-4 drops red food coloring
1t  red glitter glue

At least some of the paint ended up on the paper. ;)

I learned that with this particular watercolor recipe, dark colors work best for crayon resist painting. Most of the purple hearts were visible, but the pink and white ones were covered. This could be in part because I added glitter glue to the original recipe. I think next time I will add a little less corn starch and use a black crayon. It went on smooth, washed off fairly easily, and provided a source of artistic entertainment for Baby Bear, though. That's a win in my book!

Heart Meatball Spaghetti

I'm not really a big fan of Valentine's Day, but I do love all the creative opportunities it presents. The other day while browsing the Disney Junior site, I came across this idea for spaghetti with heart meatballs and thought it was just perfect for Baby Bear since he loves spaghetti. I made the meatball mix (I use ground turkey instead of ground beef) and shaped a few hearts by hand. They didn't turn out an ideal heart shape, but hey, I was sculpting with meat! :) The next day I needed to get some stuff for a Heart Month luncheon and decided to do the meatballs again, but I bought a heart cookie cutter for this batch. The hearts came out better and tasted just as delicious. It was a cute meal for upcoming Valentine's Day and Heart Month.

Indoor Picnic

Although the weather here has been unseasonably (and wonderfully!) warm, we've been receiving what seems like spring showers. So, when I wanted to take Baby Bear outside for a picnic but the ground was too wet, I threw together an impromptu pretend picnic indoors instead. We used pretend food, little plastic cups from an old tea party set of mine, and a couple of our reusable plastic plates. We pretended to nibble on our food (Baby Bear happily said, "Nom, nom, nom, ahhhhh!" after each food) and sipped our pretend lemonade. It will be nice when we can have a real picnic outdoors again, but for now, we're having fun with these pretend picnics.