Fence Post Santa

Santa HO, HO, HO!

      I realize that it is a little early to think about Christmas decorations,  but some people like to get an early start in planning their crafts for each season.  This Santa is on my front porch today.  Believe it or not,  Santas like this one  were  made by my 5th graders.   An easy painting project for a child to do.     This Santa was made from a picket fence post many years ago. 

      The design was drawn with pencil to section off the different colors.   The the painting of the red, white, and black colors was quite easy.   After the white paint dried glitter glue was applied to made the beard sparkle.  The nose was made from a large red wooden bead cut in half and glued.    To top off Santa's hat, red, white, and green pipe cleaners were braided with a bell attached.   This was attached this a large headed nail.

     Santa stands faithfully by my front door each year to welcome everyone at Christmas.

      Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Beti 

Advent Calendar

       A Family Tradition

       Many years ago my  children received an Advent calendar from my husband's aunt.  She had made felt ornaments to attach to a felt tree.   All of the cousins used these Advent calendars as they waited patiently for Christmas to come each year for about 30 years. Aunt Marian had made four Advent calendars, one for each family.    Each ornament had its own little pocket, 24 in all.

       Two years ago, my two sister-in-laws and I decided that we would make an Advent calendar for our children now that they were grown and living on their own.    Some were married and having children.    We wanted this tradition to carry on for the next generation. 

       We divided up the 24 ornaments.   Each of us would make 8.    We had to make 12 of each ornament for our combined 12 children.  

       From the top we made sleighs, angels, train engines, drums, piggy banks, houses, stockings, candles, holly leaves, wrapped gifts, horses, snowmen, bells, gingerbread men, hearts, ornaments, tin soldiers, fish, birds, wreaths, candy canes, apples, mittens, and puppy dogs.   The stars at the top were made by our Aunt Marian. 

      Here is the tree before trimming at the beginning of Advent.   All the ornaments are tucked into a numbered pocket.

         And the tree on Christmas Eve all decorated.    The little ones love to choose an ornament and snap it on the tree.   This is great for eye hand coordination.     Children can talk about the colors and shapes of each ornament while placing them on the tree. 

         We added a Nativity scene under our Advent trees.    My sister-in-law found the darling set of buttons and had to purchase them.    They add a beautiful reminder of the true meaning of Advent and Christmas.

      
     
Beti
 

Turkey Finger Puppets

Gobble, Gobble!

       Thanksgiving will be here before you know it,   but a cute little turkey can be fun to play with any time.  Now is the time to make these cute turkey finger puppets for your kids in time for Thanksgiving!
    

       I know this guy has a frightened or startled look on his face.   You would to if you or one of your friends were on the menu for Thanksgiving dinner.

       I like to create felt finger puppets for my granddaughters, nieces, and nephews.  Having a large scrap box of felt comes in very handy when these little friends need to be made.    As you can see, the smallest scrap of felt can be used for feathers, a beak, or eyes when making a felt finger puppet.

      These little finger puppets are only about 2 1/2 inches tall.  They are appliqued and then stitched together with embroidery floss.    I don't use any glue.   They are very soft and lovable. Each turkey has a little yellow beak that opens.   Gobble,  Gobble!


     

        These turkeys were a lot of fun to make. They would make a great addition to my Old MacDonald felt set. Here is the link if you would like to see the rest of the farm animals.

http://betikempa1.blogspot.com/2017/01/felt-old-macdonald-had-farm.html

Here is the horse.

   If you like finger puppets, give these a try.

Beti

The Detroit Zoo during the Winter

  Detroit Zoo

in the winter!

                  We took a ride to the Detroit Zoo.   Our zoo is great any time of the year.   There are wide paths to walk on between the exhibits.   Perfect for Social distancing!  Not many animals were out frolicking in the cold.   Not even the Polar Bears!   But, we had a great time!

           The Detroit Zoo opened the new Polk Penguin Conservation Center that was perfect on a cold winter day in Michigan.   When you first walk in you can view the little rock hopper penguins swimming around and diving under the water.   The guide instructed us to walk down the ramp to view the penguins swimming under water.   The ramp is surrounded by a 360 degree video of Shackleton's  ship and icebergs.  Very interesting and gives you the feeling of going deep into the ocean.

           These penguins at the end of the tour were having a great time walking around on the ice and diving into the cold water.    My granddaughter really enjoyed watching these Black and white very entertaining birds.

            There were many beautifully colored peacocks was strolling around the grounds of the zoo even thought it was about 30 degrees and windy that day.    This fellow just wanted to show off his lovely tail feathers.    He followed us around as we walked the zoo paths.

  
           We also found a nice warn place to visit with the giraffe family.   Here are three of the four family members.   The baby giraffe is up front with mother giraffe peering over the baby's head.   The father giraffe, the tallest on the right, was in a separate area but could visit anytime he wanted.

           As you can see the sign on the right says "QUIET".  The giraffes don't like a lot of noise.  Shhhh!

           The Detroit Zoo is a great place to take "children of any age".

Enjoy the winter season wherever you live. 

Beti

The Book Nook is set for Christmas

    Christmas in the Book Nook

      The 5th graders have decorated the Book Nook in our corner of the hallway for Christmas.   Comfy chairs are a perfect place to sit, curl up,  and read a good book.   Last year I was in the local grocery store.    I saw a display of candy canes in cardboard cartons.    I love to find free things that I can use in school.     The cartons were designed to look like a red brick fireplace.    BINGO!    A ready made fireplace for our Book Nook! I added a little glitter to the flames of the fire for a extra sparkle.

          Of course all the 5th graders made their own stocking to "hang by the chimney with care in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there".

   Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Beti

Felt Nativity with Finger Puppets

Nativity Play Scene
and Finger Puppets

     It is never too early to start planning for Christmas!

      I decided to make felt Nativity scenes for my granddaughters to play with.   They needed something unbreakable and quiet to interact with for a quiet play activity.   The Bible story of Mary and Joseph coming to a simple stable for the birth of Jesus was the perfect setting for this felt play set.    Nothing too fancy, just the basics.

      Making the finger puppets a was  the beginning of the project.   Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus were the first to be made.    Two of each were stitched from small scraps of felt and embroidery floss.     Mary is about 3 1/4 inches tall and Joseph is about 3 3/4 inches. Each is about 1 3/4 inches wide.

       A small brown manger with hay has a pocket for the Baby Jesus to sleep peacefully. The manger is attached to a pocket in the stable.   With this pocket,  Mary and Joseph are able stand in front of or behind the manger to watch over their new born child.

     The Three Kings are different heights in the same range as Mary and Joseph.  They are each carrying a different shiny gift.   As I said before,  nothing fancy but durable for many hours of play by little ones.

        This Nativity scene would not be complete without a donkey.    Mary rode on  the donkey's back on the long journey to Bethlehem.   We all remember the "Little Drummer Boy" song during the Christmas holidays.      A little drummer boy finger puppet was added so the girls could sing a song when they play.

          A smiling angel is always around to protect and watch over the Christ Child.   You can see the angel standing behind the manger.    The angel is able to watch over the Holy Family in a small pocket near the star on the top of the stable.    The star will guide the Three Kings or Wise men to see the New Born King.



        The play scene has plastic canvas in between the inside and outside.   This plastic sheet gives the felt strength and helps the Nativity play scene to stand up on its own.   Felt pockets are secured to the insides of each panel.    The pockets are designed to hold the finger puppets in place when the scene is closed after play. 

          As you can see, the " tan colored ground" folds up into the play scene.    The two sides fold in and are secured with velcro.    A handle made of green grow grain ribbon was stitched on so that this play set can be easily carried by a young child.

           I hope this Nativity Play Scene will give you the incentive to make something like this for a young child that you know and love. 

    

Happy Sewing!

Beti

Christmas Wreath

            Since Christmas is right around the corner, a hand print wreath would be a good project on a cold day for an 18 month old.    As you can see, some green hand prints are distinguishable, but  most are more of sliding hands across the paper.      We worked on those little red berries for a finishing touch.

        I did not want it to be perfect because this is the art work of a toddler.
When she gets to preschool, kindergarten, or 1st grade her teacher can tell her
to make beautiful hand prints.    Good luck with that!     I didn't want to upset my granddaughter. 

        To make this look more like a wreath, I did cutting.

       The bow hand prints were left over from the candy canes we worked on the day before.     "Waste not, want not" when working with a toddler or any child on an art project.

       This wreath is being sent overseas to her DADA who has been deployed.  So make sure your package gets sent out early enough to get to its destination in time.
I hope this wreath will  make his time away a little easier.

            Merry Christmas 
 to all our service men and women who are spending the holidays apart from their families.


Beti
 

North Pole Finger Puppets

Finger Puppets

       My latest finger puppet collection centers around the Arctic regions of our world.  Brrr!    These are made of small pieces of felt stitched with embroidery floss so they are warm and cozy little friends.

            A cute white seal pup and polar bear are found in the cold arctic.    The seal pup has a worried look on his face sitting next to the polar bear,  though I don't think the bear will bother him.   The polar bear is very friendly.

        I added a snowman just for some added fun.  We know how Frosty likes to dance and play in the snowy and cold weather.   Of course Frosty has to have a bright red scarf around his neck to keep away those cold winter winds. 

         Lastly, a penguin was added to the group of felt friends.    I know penguins don't live at the North Pole,  but this one begged me to include him with the other cold weather friends.    So, please explain to your little ones that penguins live at the South Pole not the North Pole.

         I find these finger puppets great for dramatic play or a quiet time activity for preschoolers.    Songs  can be incorporated with finger puppets easily.   They can be taken in the car or on an airplane trip to keep a child occupied for a period of time.    Hide and seek is easily adapted with finger puppets in the confined space of a car seat.    The child can close their eyes and the parent could hide one or all of the finger puppets to find.

      

        The little boxes are made from Altoid tins.     I stitched a small piece of North Pole flannel fabric, that I found at JoAnns, to a piece of felt.     The felt was then glued to the top of the tin  with tacky glue.      All four little chilly friends fit perfectly into the tin for safe keeping.

          I made two sets, one for each of my granddaughters.     They are slightly different so there is no confusion when clean up time comes around.  

       You can view other finger puppets ( Halloween collection,  Baby Sharks,  Moose finger puppets,  and Animal Bed Tins) in previous posts if you are interested. 

       Enjoy the wonderful day! 

Beti 

Gooey Play

    

Goo 

and More Goo!

            Today I mixed together  2 T. of sugar and 1/4 cup of cornstarch.   This mixture was added to 1 cup of cold water in a small sauce pan. I found this recipe on one of Martha Stewart's blogs. ( Martha Stewart's recipe calls for 4 T. sugar, 1/2 cup of cornstarch, and 2 cups cold water).   Then sugar and cornstarch was stirred into the water heated over medium heat.    Stirring constantly while heating the mixture began to thicken.   When heated and stirred the mixture will be smooth.    This mixture will continue to thicken after it is removed from the heat.

            I stored the gooey mixture in a plastic container.  You can add food coloring to make a "finger paint" if you wish.  I did not try this.  We were thoroughly entertained with the white goo.  
        

                As you can see, this toddler used her Ernie in the goo.   Just another addition to the the tactile experience.
          
            I did let my little one spread the goo on a blue sheet of construction paper.  Prior to the activity, I used masking tape to form the outline of a snowman ☃.  After the goo was applied to the paper, coarse salt was sprinkled on the goo to give a snowy effect.   You can see where the masking tape was removed from the paper.

     
  I'm not sure which way the paper is turned to look more like a snowman.   This did not turn out the way I had planned.    Oh well, sometimes you have to take the good with the bad.   I always tell my kids that I learn something new every day.    I guess I'll have to do a little more experimenting with this goo. 

          This was a good activity for a January day or any rainy day during the spring or fall.   There are some days we could not get outside to play.    January or any winter month in Michigan can be a difficult time to get your kiddos out doors for play time.

 Enjoy the day!  I will!
     Beti

Barkley

        

 Barkley

Barkley is showing off his latest haircut.

 

     This is Barkley, a cute little Yorkie in our family.  I spent a couple of weeks in the presence of this little fellow.  He brightened up the day from the first thing in the morning to the last yawn at night. 

    

          This box was intended for my granddaughter to play in, but Barkley decided it would be fun for him too.

         This is when he was just a pup wearing his winter coat. 

    He doesn't like to get wet, so Barkley rides on his own raft in the pool because he wants to be part of the action.

      Last, but not least, here he is with his friend, Aldo the large black dog, taking a rest after an active day.

   

Barkley loves his baby.

        Everyone needs  to relax sometimes!

 It was a rough day.  Everyone needs a little snooze!
What can I say?

Enjoy your day!

Beti 

Flannel Stuffies

Flannel Stuffies Pocket Pals

          I love to wander through the flannel aisles at JoAnns!   The colors and patterns are so much fun.    Cars, animals, dolls, monsters, spacemen, holiday designs,  I could go on and on.

              I found a flannel fabric with polar bears holding fish and wearing hats and cozy scarfs.    How Cute!     The tallest bears are about 4 1/2 inches tall and about 2 inches wide. Some are smaller about 2 1/2 inches tall and just as cute. 

      First,   the bears were cut apart so they could be sewn.   Each bear piece was placed on felt and sewn around the figure.   Stuffing was adding and then the open edge was sewn together.   Finally, the edges were cut with pinking shears.

 
        This was an easy little project.  Hopefully the grandkids will enjoy playing with these new soft friends.

Beti 

Hello Mr. Gecko

Hello, Mr. Gecko!

        Spending time in Arizona means you will see a different variety of animals from the assortment we have in Michigan.    One of my granddaughter's favorite pass times is looking for geckos.      Baby geckos, Dada geckos, Mamma geckos, large and small, are so much fun to look for in the yard.     I should say, on the outside walls of the house.     These little guys are so very fast, and they blend into their environment so well.   So looking for them is a challenge.    But they like to hang out there in the hot Arizona sun and sun themselves.

      I have to say that I'm not sure that "gecko" is the correct term for this little reptile, but that is what my granddaughter calls them.    If you know the correct name for this little guy, please feel free to leave me a comment.
   

      Well, one afternoon while cleaning up after lunch, Mr. Gecko decided to come into the house and walk around on the kitchen window sill.     He startled me to say the least.  Then I had to figure out how to catch the little guy and get him back outside where he belonged.       He was hanging out on the windowsill between the blinds and the window behind the kitchen sink.
  
     First,  I had to clear all the dishes, cups, etc. from in and around the sink.    I needed to have easy access when trying to catch a very, very fast gecko.   Then what am I to use to trap him?    I had a good size plastic bag from grapes.   You know the kind with the little holes in the sides.  

    Mr. Gecko needed to be cornered so I could carefully get him to run into the bag.   As you can see in the picture, he was near the side of the window.    Lucky, he did run into the bag without me making a lot of noise.    By the way, I was doing this while my granddaughter was taking an afternoon nap in her crib.   Her bedroom is adjacent to the kitchen.

    So now what do you do with a trapped gecko?     Of course I could not just let him go.  My granddaughter would have been terribly disappointed not to see the gecko close up.

      You put the gecko into a bucket for safe keeping, of course!

       Now he was only in the bucket for about an hour before my granddaughter woke up from he nap.    Needless to say, she was very excited to see Mr. Gecko.
We had a good time pointing and talking  to him.
    
         A few weeks earlier by accident another gecko fell off the side of the house and into this same bucket.    He tried to jump out.       As you can imagine, this scared my daughter and granddaughter.     When she sees a gecko, she shakes her finger and says, "No, No, Mr. Gecko, don't scare us!"

     We placed the bucket on its side so Mr. Gecko could  leave when he was ready.     I didn't want him jumping up at us this time.     Eventually, Mr. Gecko went on his merry way. 
  
         This is one of Mr. Gecko's friends.      He is much darker in color than the other gecko.      This one is climbing down the outside of the house.

       We are visiting our family in Florida now.   What do you know?  There are geckos here, too!   Well that's all for today.    No geckos in Michigan.      Enjoy the  weather where ever you live no matter what time of the year.

Please leave a comment if you find the time.  I'd love to hear from you.

Beti