Puffy Paint Snowmen and The Last Snowman Blog Tour

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!

Puffy Paint Snowmen Paintings

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.

Painted Snowman Supplies

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.

Making Puffy Paint

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.

Painting and Decorating Snowmen

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.):

Last Snowman Puffy Paint Creations

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:

Giveaway Items for The Last Snowman Blog Tour

  • 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.

It's Me

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.

Share:
Share on Facebok
Share on Twitter
Share on Pinterest
Share on Google+



Frozen #DisneySide on a Saturday Night

In our house, you never have to worry where our Disney Side has hidden. When you least expect it, it will show up in full force. It may be me wearing my Minnie Sparkle Ears to a meeting at school, or it could be crafting with the kids. Of course, it could also be on Twitter while Tweeting to my husband on a Saturday night. Let me set the scene. TechyDad and I were both sitting at the dining room table working on some freelance work. I decided to put some music on. It prompted the following  from Techydad, which of course needed a reply.

Our DisneySide in Tweets

This continued back and forth for about an hour. We may not have gotten a lot of work done during that time, but oh my goodness did we laugh. It truly is magical to see how something silly that had a touch of Disney got us smiling and refocused on our work. You can see more of our Tweets back and forth with the Frozen theme on TechyDad’s post What Happens When Frozen and Exhaustion Meet on Twitter.

Has your Disney Side every shown up in an unusual manner? I would love to hear all about it.

It's Me

Share:
Share on Facebok
Share on Twitter
Share on Pinterest
Share on Google+



The No Resolution Zone

Almost a month of 2014 has come and gone and I have not broken a single New Years resolution. Of course, I should probably mention that I do not make resolutions. Back in 2009, I actually wrote about the Anti-Resolution Craze. To me resolutions set a lot of people up to fail. Personally, I tend to do better with goals. Making smaller goals that work toward a bigger ones help me to be successful and keep these items in check. This holds true for work items, as well as health and wellness. Last year as part of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers, I received a Jawbone UP. At the time, the UP helped me to realize that I needed some new sleep goals.

Jawbone UP helping to work on goals

Moving forward, I want to use my UP as an even more powerful resource. I know it can track my steps and help me to get toward the 10,000 steps that I would love to meet each and every day. Of course, writing and crafting a lot means that I am often sitting for long periods of time. My new goal is to make sure I am not inactive at home for more than 45 minutes to an hour. I am able to set the UP to alert me with a buzz of my wrist so I can get myself moving. It could mean taking a quick walk outside (if it isn’t too cold), walking in place while watching the news, or popping in a workout DVD. I know I need to get more active and I am hoping my UP will help me to track this more.

Idle Alert on the Jawbone UP

I now have set up one of the Alarms on my UP. Thanks to the UP Idle Alert it will now let me know if I have been sitting still for more than 45 minutes from 8 in the morning until 7 at night. So, we will see how this goes. I figure this is one step toward the process of healthier living. Then, I will work on adding the MyFitnessPal integration in. I know TechyDad loves that app and it can work with my UP, so I should try it out.

So what technology tools and apps do you use to work toward health and fitness goals in your life?

It's Me

Disclosure: As a member of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers, I received an UP by Jawbone (link to information page). The UP allows me to track my activity, sleep, and other items with the app that go along with the device. In addition to this, I receive other devices from Verizon to use in my life. There was no other compensation. I am a long time Verizon customer, and all opinions are my own.

Share:
Share on Facebok
Share on Twitter
Share on Pinterest
Share on Google+



A Variety of Fun Winter Activities

This winter has been brutal around here and all over the country and beyond. There have been many days when the kids would love to go and play outside, but it is simply too cold. Recently, I have been reading a lot of the blog posts from other writers on the Bedtime Math blog for ideas to keep the boys busy. I am very lucky to be part of this very special group. It has also inspired me to let go, get messy, and have more fun with the kids because they are growing up before my eyes.

Snow Paint Fun and Learning

Here are some of the latest from the Bedtime Math blog that may be something you will want to check out for a snow fun or other days when trying to keep warm with your kids.

  • Mini Football = Big Super Bowl Fun – Angie Six shares a great game of football that is fun to try inside and keep the kids busy.
  • So You Wanna Be A…Firefighter – Great new series written by Derek Stump that looks at careers that involve math.
  • Snowflake Fun – Candace Lindamann gets the entire family looking at the math behind snowflakes.
  • Watch Out For Flying Marshmallows – Yes, I encourage you to get your kids to let marshmallows fly around your house.
  • DIY Recycled Rock Band – Angie Six shows us how to make some fun musical instruments with things you will have at home.
  • This Craft is For the Birds – Kim Moldofsky has kids feeding birds and making winter animal observations.
  • On a (Math) Roll with Tape – Grab a roll of masking or painters tape and get ready to move around and have fun with this post by me.

These are just some of the fun items that we have done and are going to try over the next few weeks. I have more fun planned and I know the other bloggers do as well. How have you kept your kids warm, busy, learning, and having fun this winter?

It's Me

Share:
Share on Facebok
Share on Twitter
Share on Pinterest
Share on Google+



Disney Sidekicks

Sidekicks are a must have in life and Disney movies. Some of my favorite memories at Walt Disney World have been interacting with famous sidekicks like Donald, Tigger, Stitch, Pluto, and others. As you can can imagine, there are too many to include in one post, but here are some of my Disney sidekick meetings and viewings from trips gone by. Who is your favorite Disney sidekick?

Disney Sidekicks

Focused on the Magic

Be sure to stop by Focused on the Magic by clicking on the button above to join in the Disney magic this week.

It's Me

Share:
Share on Facebok
Share on Twitter
Share on Pinterest
Share on Google+