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Archive for DIY goodness

keep . Salem School Chalkboard

If you’ve spent much time browsing the Field Guide, you know that I’m usually inspired by a love of old things, especially if those things add a depth of meaning to my own memories and experiences. Through a little foraging and pandemic-motivated restoration, a new “old thing” is gracing the walls of our entryway as we come and go. It’s giving a fun, old school vibe to our virtual learning efforts, and surrounded by vintage jack-o-lanterns, it’s bringing a finished touch to this much-used space. Today, I wanted to share a little more about this pandemic project!

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make . Printable Valentine Fortune Cookies

Are there hearts and flowers in your future? Love is in the air, and it’s easy to share the good fortune on Valentine’s Day with these paper fortune cookies! I’ve been wanting to share more free downloads and paper craft ideas on the Small Pond Field Guide, and my daughter says that this one passes the cuteness test! Shaped like traditional Chinese fortune cookies, a batch of these paper creations would make a sweet addition to your Valentine decor, or a unique way to create handmade, personalized Valentines or party favors. Plus, they are easy and quick to make!

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make . DIY Watercolor Paint

Baby Girl loves the YouTube Kids iPad app! She just loves it. I like it because I don’t have to worry about questionable content, and it gives her the opportunity to wander through some of the things that interest her. These days, she’s excited about cooking and party planning projects, how-to’s for dollhouses and doll furniture, and crafts, crafts, crafts! She’s a crafty girl! It’s not unusual for me to walk into her room or our play room/Kid Cave and find some idea she’s seen on YouTube starting to take shape with her own spin applied to it. Earlier this week, I came home from running a few errands to find this scene on the coffee table…

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She explained to me that we were making paint – a video she had seen on YouTube Kids. Since I’m a painter, that’s all it took to get me interested! The idea is really kind of cool, using old Crayola markers to make watercolor paint. Baby Girl went through her markers and found all the ones that had lost too much ink to really be fun for marker art. It turns out, when you place those markers in water, the remaining pigment seeps out to create varying shades of “paint” that still has some artistic life in it. I thought it was a great way to repurpose what might have otherwise been thrown out, and Baby Girl and I spent a little time experimenting with the paints.

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Different colors created paint with various amounts of vibrance. Baby Girl used 2 or 3 tablespoons of water for each color, and I imagine the intensity of some colors would be greater with less water. The paints made for very nice watercolor washes with light color building up slowly with more layers. We thought the fluorescent yellow marker created the most fun effects. It was a great opportunity for us to experiment with color, and I showed Baby Girl how to sprinkle salt on wet painted areas to see some of its marbling effect. For our experiments, we used my practice paper, which is thick, but not standard watercolor paper. It gave us a lot  more curling and puddling at the edges than traditional watercolor paper would. I had planned to try to create some backgrounds that I could use with lettering, and I ended up just having fun with how water and color work together. Here are some of our experiment results!

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make . Color-It-Yourself Gift Card Holder

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This Fall, a colleague from WCBI TV, the local CBS affiliate station in Columbus, Mississippi, called to invite me to join a monthly segment on their MidMorning with Aundrea morning program. It’s a “mom’s panel” with a couple of other moms of friends who share my Baby Girl’s kindergarten class, and we just sit and talk for a few minutes about the stuff moms normally discuss! It’s been really fun and maybe a little out of my comfort zone, but still something I’ve enjoyed doing it. One of the things we talked about in our November segment was how we approach teacher gifts for the holidays. The consensus from Toralyn and Nell, like me, was gift cards! We’ve all had a habit of getting gift cards for our teachers and including them with a little personal happy to say “thank you” and “merry Christmas” to those men and women who love on our kids each school day.

I’ve been taking a little time this week to look whats cool and trending to bring to fruition some of the make-able ideas that have been flowing through my brain in preparation for the holidays. One of those ideas is a fun way to present gift cards to teachers or anyone else on my list. I’m planning a Christmas issue of AQUA, my e-based creative journal that will have a couple of printables and free artwork features to enjoy — including a printable gift card holder to correspond with the calendar I shared yesterday. But, I also thought it would be so fun to give a gift card in a holder that my kids can personalize with their own styles. SO, I decided to create a Color-It-Yourself design! I printed the layout and asked Baby Girl to color the images for me. She was happy to get involved! This template includes two holders and is pretty easy to fold and glue into the finished product. [You could also insert a business card or a set of gift tags!] Just cut out along the outline, and use a craft knife to cut the slit shown in the bottom flap — this will help the holder stay closed. Then, fold all the flaps back. Apply glue stick to the side flaps and secure them in place with the bottom flap. The top flap will slide into the slit to close. An easy personalized holder! I hope you enjoy trying it out with your little ones.

DOWNLOAD THE TEMPLATE

If you’re not on the AQUA list, go ahead and sign up! It’s just one email a month that usually includes two or three pieces of free downloadable artwork as well as a peek at what’s happening in the Pond.

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Calendar Printable + It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like…

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“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas 
Toys in every store 
But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be 
On your own front door!”

{“It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas”}
~ Meredith Wilson

Can you believe it’s December? Thanksgiving holidays ushered us right into a new month, and Christmas is in full bloom around the Pond. I love transforming our rooms with Christmas traditions, and this year I’m on a mission to simplify our schedules, our places and our thoughts. Last weekend we spent some time pulling Christmas boxes down from the attic and decking our halls with so many familiar treasures. We each enjoyed our own moments of “oohs and aahs” remembering where each holiday item should be placed in the house — and finding a few new places for things too! We are saving our Christmas tree for Saturday, so more trimming is in store!

Last week when we celebrated Thanksgiving at our farmhouse, I took my paints to do a few watercolor sketches — possum haw holly, pine fronds and cones, as well as some practice painting words. I’ve put some of the sketches together in this printable December calendar. I hope you enjoy it this month! Punch a hole and hang with a ribbon or trim it to tuck into your journal or sketchbook as a reminder of how precious these days really are. There is also a little gift tag/paper admonition you can clip off and share with someone else to cheer it forward — do not open until Christmas! Click the image below to DOWNLOAD the printable calendar, and  I hope a few photos of our decked out halls will get you in the Christmas spirit.

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