Creative Mom Cafe

I have been having a blast writing here at 451press! But I want to be more productive with the information and crafty ideas I give you here on my site.

As of August 1st I will have MONTHLY THEMES. My creative ideas will fall into the theme of the month. Mid-way through the month I will post what the next month’s theme will be so you can keep your eye out for HOLIDAY IDEAS or SEASONAL CRAFTS or the like.

I hope you enjoy this new format and I welcome your ideas and comments.

Watch this MONSTER video as your inspiration for a fun activity to do with your kids today!!

My mom used to do this with me and I have passed it down to my own children. Even my 8 & 9 year olds STILL love it. It is simple and you need not a single creative bone to do it well!

I call it:
SCRIBBLE INSPIRATION

1. Grab some paper and pencils, crayons or markers.
2. Make a large “scribble” on the first piece of paper.
3. Hand the paper to your child and tell them to turn your scribble into a monster.
4. Have them name their monster and hang it up!
5. Pass the baton (or in this case the pencil) and have your child scribble and YOU make a monster!

Watching the video will just make it more fun.

You can do this anywhere…..in line at the grocery store, in a traffic jame or in a doctor’s office while you wait your turn and to take their little minds off the shots on the other side of the door. It doesn’t always have to be a monster….it can be anything.

Try doing this activity with NO prior prompt as to what they will turn your scribble into. Just scribble and let them have at it!!

Have fun! Email me with the pictures of your art work - I would love to see it!
Rrraargh!

The days are looming….the early mornings, the bus stop, the sad faces pressed against the steamy windows. SCHOOL!

Some kids are aching to get back to their daily grind after a month filled with, “I’m bored!” Other children are wishing the day would never come - especially the youngest people in your household.

This is a fun craft to help them remember (or identify for those reluctant first-timers) what they love about school!

It’s an ABC - Back-to-School Scrapbook…
Each page of the scrapbook should highlight a letter of the alphabet and an activity, object, person, etc that has that letter IN it! Don’t stress them out by trying to have a word that STARTS with that letter - that can be more difficult than you think! Especially for ‘X’!
Use your imagination, extra art supplies and your outdated magazines to complete this project with your child. It is not something you will start and finish in a day and if you time it just right, you could do a letter a day and have it completed to read together the week before school starts.

Give your child the freedom to make the choices…
“What do you love about school that starts with an ‘A’?”

If they are very young and don’t have a good grasp on letters and words, give them choices…
“Do you want your ‘S’ page to be for “Snack” or “receSS”?

Have fun and help them get comfortable with saying “good-bye” in September!

Great Scrapbooking Link

Did you find the perfect buttercup? A beautiful leaf? A grasshopper or butterfly who has passed but appears to be naturally preserved?

Get yourself a simple shadow box and freeze that moment in time. Maybe you are out on a summer nature walk with your children. Maybe you are taking a break from the chaos in your home by taking a walk in the park. A moment to celebrate can be made permanent with this craft.

Some simple supplies like torn paper, a swatch of fabric and some hot glue will do the trick to capture your moment. Make sure you allow the found object to take center stage and not be overpowered by the adornments you choose to add.

I like doing this sort of thing when we go on vacation. This link below is a photo of a dragon fly that was our ‘pool friend’ while we vacationed in Disney. Unfortunately, he met his demise the day before we left and we found him lying on the sidewalk around the pool. We wrapped him carefully in napkins and an empty cracker box tucked in my suitcase was his transportation for our flight home. He sits on our mantle and reminds us of our sunny days with Mickey!

Be creative. Email me with you photos and ideas!

Our Disney Dragon Fly

We all spend so much time looking for the right decorations and invitations, matching the colors and theme so our children’s birthday parties are a thematic HIT among their friends!!

Who are we kidding? The kids don’t even notice! But after the party, the thank you’s are usually an after thought and thrown together on extra blank “run-of-the-mill” Thank you’s from last year’s party.

Here’s a great idea for unique Thank You’s for after a birthday party. Simply by using Microsoft Publisher or a similar program you can take digital photos from the party and use those for the layout of your thank yous!

Take this one step further and send a different photo for each guest highlighting your child opening THEIR present or playing with it afterward.

Your guests will be thrilled with a visual reminder of how much fun they had at your party and they will be happy to know your child is enjoying their gift!

Happy Partying!!

Microsoft Publisher Tutorial

Corel Snapfire FREE Trial Download

This is a great way to keep track of the ideas that breeze through your brain throughout the day. You may think you don’t have any creative ideas but you do. The last time you tripped over the hot wheels traffic jam on your way up the stairs, I bet the idea of a ‘catch-all’ basket on the bottom step flew through your mind. This is the kids of idea you want to catch and that wrangle into your Creative Journal.

Go out an buy yourself a journal that LOOKS like YOU…something that calls out your name from the shelf. If you are super duper creative like me, buy yourself one with a plain cover and decoupage your favorite photos or words cut from magazines all over the front.

Select a home for this baby and don’t leave the house without popping it into your purse. The next time you are at the store and you think, “Geez, what was I just thinking that I needed to pick up?” your handy dandy journal will be in your purse and you can start looking for the perfect ‘catch-all’ you wrote after your ‘trip.’

Oprah has done a whole show on journals, take a peek here

Here is an idea for decorating your journal

I want to welcome you to my site. I am a former art teacher turned freelance writer and uber creative mom of three. I have volumes of ideas for making your house a home, keeping your kids engaged, creating lasting memories and making your life easier.

I have a husband who is as neat as a pin. We share a large walk-in closet and his side is immaculate…my side looks like it threw up on itself. I am in NO WAY one of those organized, has a labeled “home” for every tool and supply kind of artist. There is no need to feel inept on this site. We are all frazzled moms! We all feel like running away sometimes. But let’s add some beauty to our lives and make our days a bit more enjoyable!

I look forward to sharing my ideas with you and hearing your comments. Please feel free to email me with questions and comments!