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The Empowered Educator

Inspiring ideas, training and resources for early learning.

Christmas dresses and puffy paint…hohoho

by The Empowered Educator 7 Comments

My goodness it is a busy time of year isn’t it? A big hello to those readers who have dropped by from  Early Play Australia …..i’m really pleased to be a part of such a great network. Unfortunately at this time of year and with visitors having just arrived this will probably be the last post for a few days or until next week….please bear with me, i shall be back with more family antics when the chaos of the season dies down a little!

I finally finished the toddler twosomes Christmas dresses ….. i’m quite pleased with how they turned out for a basic sewer such as myself….the pattern is so easy and can be found here . I used my own measurements for the skirt so it was a better fit (and to be very honest i am not good at converting measurements – have no idea about inches!)

I just love rik-rak…it seems to be getting harder and harder to get hold of here for some reason!

The girls love owls so i thought this material was perfect when i saw it! Also not too overly christmassy so will be able to get some wear out of them over summer.
  
 I also ran up another out of scrap material for summer fun!

Hopefully i will be able to get some pics posted of them wearing them soon…..i really like that the straps just tie together as they get a better fit and you can adjust as they grow bigger so quite a bit of wear from this pattern which is what i like! Don’t look too closely…the sewing isn’t the greatest but i think they will look cute in them anyway and they were made with love (and a little swearing late at night but i promise they didn’t hear me!)

I very rarely dress the toddler twosome in the same outfits but i really wanted them to have the same material so for once they will be dressed the same….i actually can’t remember the last time they did wear the same outfit….i think it is important for them to be recognised as individuals as they are already so very different which i think is special!

As i was sewing i did wonder though how long i will be able to just use the same ‘wardrobe’ of clothes for both girls…..because they are both the same sex i just buy/make their clothes and i just dress them in whatever….no one has a certain item of clothing if you know what i mean. However….i wonder how long i will be able to do this for and if they will begin to have their favourite items as all children do at some stage and then do i just keep that item aside for that child only or even will i need to have a different wardrobe for each? At what age do children begin to show their personalities and individual tastes with clothes do you think? Just the musings of a tired Mum and not important in the parenting scheme of things of course but something to ponder all the same!

Before i go i wanted to share an activity the toddler twosome and Miss Teen had fun with the other day…used to be a favourite when i worked in a toddler room. Puffy painting……

We used Christmas colours as we haven’t really been old enough to get into all the structured Christmas crafts yet…well not without a lot of adult intervention and i don’t really see the point of that…i like craft to be about what the children can have fun doing…even if it doesn’t always work to my plan!!!
We began using stubby and shaving brushes and cardboard and then soon moved to our favourite…fingerpainting!
Then back to brushes…..
We haven’t really done much with brushes as yet so it was quite a sensory activity as well for them…shaving brushes are always popular for little chubby hands!
Miss Teen got creative with a teaspoon to make swirly patterns
The finished product after being zapped in the microwave for 40 secs or so….they didn’t puff as much as they normally do but i think this is because i left them outside while we cleaned up for lunch and the flour mix was getting a little old but you get the idea!
It’s a good one to let them run their hands over afterwards too.
I really love to see my children messy after a hard mornings play and craft…..strange i know but i always feel a sense of pride that i have helped them achieve something when i let them get dirty outside or covered in paint….things can be washed…..fun and the memories of toddler play builds skills for life ! Do you like your children to get messy?
…….all in a toddler’s day of ‘work’ (although not looking too princessy here, hehe)!

For those of you who might like to give it  a go the  recipe i use for puffy paint is as follows……….

PUFFY PAINT
1/2 CUP FLOUR
2 TEAS. BAKING POWDER
2 TEASP. SALT
FOOD COLOURING OR EDICOL DYES
MIX TOGETHER AND ADD ENOUGH WATER TO MAKE A SMOOTHISH PASTE, ADD COLOUR, PAINT ON THICK CARDBOARD.
WHEN THE MASTERPIECES ARE COMPLETED (OR THE PAINT IS EVERYWHERE!) ZAP IN YOUR MICROWAVE FOR 30-40 SECS UNTIL THE PAINT PUFFS UP ON THE BOARD.
ENJOY!
๏ปฟ

Thanks for dropping by…i shall try to get another post in before Christmas but family is requiring a lot of my time at the moment as I’m sure parents everywhere will understand!I hope everyone is enjoying this final lead up to Christmas and not becoming too stressed!

Jode x

Filed Under: Ideas for Frugal Fun, Ideas for Messy Play, Ideas for Painting Play, Ideas for Toddler Twins, Outdoor Learning

« On my Mind…..The Happy is back!
The gift of Christmas Spirit…. »

Comments

  1. Tammi says

    21/12/2011 at 11:18 am

    Ooh those dresses are just adorable. I bet your two will steal the show in them ๐Ÿ™‚
    The puffy paint looks like fun too, might have to make some for our little one.
    x

    Reply
  2. Mooberry Farmwife says

    21/12/2011 at 1:50 pm

    Darling Dresses, Jode! Such lovely work. Thanks for sharing your cute little creations with us. ๐Ÿ™‚ Merry Christmas!

    Reply
  3. Beth (www.livinglifeintentionally.blogspot.com) says

    22/12/2011 at 11:13 am

    Those dresses are beautiful!! Love the brown flowerly one!! And your Christmas art work is so festive =-) Thanks for linking up to TGIF! Have a Merry Christmas,
    Beth =-)

    Reply
  4. Ngo Family Farm says

    22/12/2011 at 6:08 pm

    I love owls, too ๐Ÿ™‚ The dresses are just perfectly beautiful!!! What lucky girls to have such a creative mom.
    -Jaime

    Reply
  5. babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, oh my! says

    22/12/2011 at 9:28 pm

    LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! this past week I had recived the leibster award and I would LOVE to pass it on to you!! your blog rocks!

    Reply
  6. Jode says

    23/12/2011 at 3:10 am

    Thanks do much for your comments guys….i just posted a few pics of the girls wearing their dresses and am happy with them.Merry Christmas to you all xxxx
    Babies, toddlers, preschoolers….your words are so lovely, thanks for passing on the award, so kind of you….i have left a comment on your blog under your award post!

    Reply
  7. Katie says

    29/12/2011 at 12:46 am

    LOVE the paint all over her face…looks like you had a BLAST! Thanks for sharing at Thrifty Thursday!! Hope you had a fantastic Holiday Season!

    Reply

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Jodie
Hi, I'm Jode, Mum to 3 girls in Australia, and an early childhood educator, presenter and consultant.
I share ideas, inspiration & resources for play based, inquiry led learning
Find out more about me here...

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