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Puffy Paint Snowmen and The Last Snowman Blog Tour

Posted on February 4, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

When I wrote my review of The Last Snowman on Tuesday Tales almost two months ago, I kind of fell in love with the book and snowmen in general. As I watched JC share more of the reviews, I started to think about snowmen crafts to try with the boys if we were stuck at home. An opportunity came up to run a giveaway of The Last Snowman and some swag for my readers to celebrate the release of the paper book version. In case you are wondering, you can still purchase the Kindle version of the book for $3! Oh and if you grab that check out how the book is designed to ‘animate’ when you flip pages. I instantly knew what I wanted to try with the kids and include as a perfect activity to pair with reading this book. As you can see below, I now own a copy of the paperback version as well!

So, when I agreed to be part of The Last Snowman blog tour I knew what I had to make. Years ago, I saw another teacher make puffy paint with kids to use in the classroom. It looked like the perfect paint to try for making our own Last Snowmen. The puffy paint only needs two simple ingredients. Of course, it is all about the props and accessories for the snowmen so other items had to be located from around the house.

Supplies for Making the Puffy Paint:

shaving cream
white liquid glue
construction paper – you do need something to paint on
paint brushes – different sizes work for for snowmen and snowflake making
bowl to mix paint
glitter – optional if you want your Last Snowman to sparkle

Supplies Suggestions for Decorating your own Last Snowman:

googly eyes – all snowmen need eyes that move
construction paper – makes great snowmen hats, scarves, mittens, and more
scissors – carrot noses need to be shaped along with other items
foam sheets – we did not use this, but had it in case we wanted to use it for snowmen arms or clothing
yarn – great for mouths and could be used for scarves
pom-poms – many uses within your painting
beads – my kids loved these instead of buttons for decorating their snowmen

You could honestly use almost anything you have in your crafting supplies to decorate your own Last Snowman. Think outside of the box and let your kids go wild.

Ready to make your paint? Just add equal amounts of white glue and shaving cream and mix. It really is that simple. I let each of my kids have their own bowl to test it out. When we found that one was a little too sticky on the paint brush, I added a smidge more shaving cream and it was ready to go. Your kids will love watching the mixture puff up. It really does this right before your eyes. Give everyone a piece of construction paper and let them get started.

Once the boys had their snow down onto their papers, it was time to decorate them. They decided that they wanted to stick with the construction paper to make hats, scarves, and arms for their creations. One nice feature about the puffy paint is that you just use a little bit on the items you want to add to your pictures and they will stay in place thanks to the glue.

Of course, once the kids were done, I had to try this out for myself. There was extra puffy paint, so I made my own snowman as well. Here are our three creations before they dried. (FYI – when it dries the snow puffed up even more. I was very impressed.):

Giveaway Time:

Now that you can make your own Last Snowman with puffy paint, would you like to win a prize courtesy of author JC Little and her sponsors? Here are the prize details:

Author JC Little is giving the winner a paperback copy of The LAST Snowman. In addition to this, she is adding in a cute mug from her Zazzle shop that will feature illustrations from the book. As she notes, it will be perfect for a little hot chocolate after playing in the snow.

…and sponsor swagstuff. I’m so proud to offer this to your readers in both the USA and Canada! These are brands that I use myself all the time and I believe in them. – JC Little

Boiron will including a winter-themed swag bag with items that are specifically for the cold and flu season like Oscillo, Coldcalm, and Chestal.
Dot & Lil have designed a custom soap just for The LAST Snowman blog tour. The winner will receive a limited edition “Hot Chocolate Swirl” soap! It will be chocolate scented and have chocolate soap sprinkles on top, with the book cover design on the label. In addition to this, their gift bag will include Shea Rescue Butter for lips and nails.

Rules for Giveaway:

MAIN RULE – If you had to design your ideal Last Snowman, what would he or she look like? Tell me what they would be wearing and other details about their personality.

The following Bonus Entries may also be done. Please be sure to leave separate comment each time you complete this item.

1 Bonus Entry – Tweet about the giveaway using the share button. Be sure to include @TheAngelForever and #TheLastSnowman within the message. Also feel free to thank the giveaway sponsors @BoironUSA and @DotandLil. You may do this entry twice a day.
1 Bonus Entry – Head over to say hello to The Animated Woman and check out the other blogs participating in this tour. Leave her a message and let me know that you did this in the comments below.
1 Bonus Entry – Draw or paint your own Last Snowman and share it via Instagram (if you do multiple snowmen or the kids do…share each one and enter below for each of your creations). Be sure to tag me @TheAngelForever @TheAnimatedWoman and #TheLastSnowman. When finished come back here and share a link to you picture.

Please follow the rules above within the comment section. Giveaway begins February 4, 2014 and ends February 10, 2014 at 10:59 EST. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you once the giveaway is over. I will select the winner using random.org and contact you via e-mail. You will have 24 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to US and Canadian residents only.

So get your paint brushes ready, make a snowman, and be sure to enter the giveaway thanks to JC Little and her sponsors.

Additional Disclosure: I wrote this post to participate in The Last Snowman Blog Tour because I love JC Little and wanted to share her success with my readers. I received a copy of the paperback book (which is gorgeous) and all opinions are my own. No other compensation was received and all giveaway items will be sent from JC Little and her sponsors to the winner.

Categories:
arts and crafts Blog Tour bloggy friends books

Math Fun for Kids

Posted on December 13, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

As I mentioned a few months ago, I am writing posts on the Bedtime Math blog. The posts have been on a wide variety of topics since the first one.

$My Bedtime Math Posts$

It has been a lot of fun thinking about activities that we have done with the boys that were fun and locating math right in them. My mind already did that with science, so it just seemed pretty natural given my kids love math. So far I have written:

With winter break coming up and more days inside thanks to the weather, everyone is looking for more ideas to do at home. I hope you will join me over at Bedtime Math Blog to look for some fun activities from myself and the other bloggers there.

Categories:
arts and crafts Educational My Other Projects

Making Pom-Pom Hats

Posted on November 18, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Growing up, I remember wearing fun winter hats with giant pom-poms on top. I am not sure why I remember that, but I do. For years, I have avoided hats in the winter time. I have never found any that I like, that fit right, or are fun. A short time ago I started to crochet my own hats for everyone in the family. Guess who is hooked (no pun intended) on wearing hats again? I have been making a lot of hats, but I was not in love with my pom-pom. I tried to make it on my own and did not have a lot of yarn left in the skein. The one for my mother’s hat was a little better, but did not make me happy.

Thanks to Instagram, I saw photos of the new Clover Pom-Pom maker and wanted to check it out at the craft store. When I went to pick up some yarn for projects the other day, I stopped by to look at the different pom-pom making options. Since I am a Clover fan, I decided to get the large pom-pom maker to test out. I had some more of the yarn for my first hat to redo that sad looking guy on top.

While the directions on the back of the box were easy to follow, I decided to check out Clover’s YouTube video to make sure I was setting everything up for the first time. Here are some photos from my process.

I still need to help the shape out a bit and cut from yarn to fix it up a bit, but it looks so much better. Check out the sad old pom-pom next to the brand new one. Then, through a small procedure (scissors), the old pom-pom was removed and I sewed the new one in.

And, just like that, I fell in love with the Clover Pom-Pom maker that I bought at my local craft store. Are you a fan pom-pom hat fan, or do you prefer to have a plain hat to keep your noggin warm?

Categories:
arts and crafts crocheting

Crochet Hat Central

Posted on November 7, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

When I find a craft that I enjoy, I tend to go a little wild making items. Years ago it was knit cloths, scarves, and blankets. Recently I switched my focus to crocheting. For a while I was constantly making crochet granny squares for what eventually became my rainbow blanket. Next up, I fell in love with making wristers. Then, I knew the cold weather was coming and wanted to make hats. I never tried a knit hat, but crocheting intrigued me. Last week, I decided to try the First Fall Crochet hat pattern by Lion Brand Yarn.

While I liked this pattern, I wanted to make something that would not require me to stitch it up in the end. So I found another pattern on a video (not sure the name) and made another hat to match some wristers that were already finished.

I quickly fell in love with this pattern because it is the base for a lot of more fun character hats that I want to try one day soon. Some may include two mouse ears and help me to share my Disney Side a bit more this winter. So to practice, the boys each picked out some yarn for me to make them something. NHL’s hat is orange and black. JSL wanted a TARDIS blue hat. I made a hat to match my potato chip scarf that I knitted last year. Of course, once I was finished, I decided that it had to have a pom-pom on top. I made another hat with a pom-pom for Nana to match some wristers that I crocheted her a while back.

Do not worry about TechyDad, I need to size a hat for him and then his will be all set. Now I need more yarn and people to make hats for STAT!

Categories:
arts and crafts crocheting knitting

Selecting Baby Blanket Yarn

Posted on November 4, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

While I will not be having any more babies of my own, I adore making items for new babies. A special handmade baby blanket is what I usually make for family and friends. In recent years, I have had a favorite chunky yarn that was always my go to for projects. I would knit up a diagonal blanket for the new little one to grow into and use for a longer time. When I was invited to a baby shower for a friend, I started to look around for new yarn. My friend is not going to find out the sex of her baby until he or she is born. This meant that I needed to find a color that would work for a boy or girl. Ideally I did not want too much blue or pink. Enter Bernat Baby Blanket yarn in Little Sunshine.

The Bernat Baby Blanket filled two musts in my mind. It was not wool for sensitive baby skin (it is actually polyester) and it is machine washable. My boys were jealous when they felt how soft it was once I got started on the project. Originally, I had planned on crocheting my first baby blanket, but I did not like the way it was folding up, so I went back to my favorite baby blanket pattern. I also liked how Little Sunshine has peach, yellow and green for a different color combination. When all was said and done, the blanket above was large and the boys helped me to pick out the new baby a little buddy to go along with it.