Father's Day Gift

Most of the gifts made by kids for Father's Day usually have fish, tools, electronics, or golf on them.  That's great for other dads, but my husband does not fish, is certainly not a tool guy, is not much of an electronics fanatic, and he has only golfed twice (maybe) since I have known him.  So, I am always on the lookout for something cool that my kids can make for Dad. 

Before I go any further, if you are my husband, my father, or my father-in-law (I don't think my father-in-law even knows what a blog is, but just in case) then stop reading this right now before you ruin your surprise!

When I saw these coasters on the Frugal Family Fun Blog, I knew that C and R would be making them for Father's Day gifts.  They are perfect because it is an easy project for kids of all ages, and the end result is something very useful!  I was not going to post this (because I am afraid that my husband or father will read this post and spoil the surprise, so stop reading NOW), but I think some of my readers might like to try this with their kids.

If you want to make coasters, first go to Home Depot and buy the 4 x 4 bathroom tiles.  We bought white, but they do come in other colors.  Each tile is only 16 cents so this is a very budget friendly gift!  You also need tissue paper in a few different colors, small felt furniture protector circle thingies, and Mod Podge (I bought the glossy kind and I got it from Michael's). 

C and R each made one coaster for each of the three recipients.  They chose the colors and ripped the tissue paper.

They applied a layer of Mod Podge to one tile and then stuck the tissue paper on the tile.

Then they applied a layer of Mod Podge over the tissue paper.  If you have never used Mod Podge before, it will look white when you apply it, but it dries clear and glossy (if you buy the glossy variety, there is a matte variety too).  Here is a picture of a few of the coasters before the Mod Podge dried:

We waited fifteen minutes for it to dry and then added another coat of Mod Podge.  I think we added one or two more layers of Mod Podge the next day because I wanted to make sure the tissue paper was really stuck on there and I also wanted the coaster to be water resistant.  We only did one tile at a time because I didn't want any chaos.  This was my first time using Mod Podge and I was a bit nervous about the whole thing!  These are the silly types of things I worry about.  Also, part of me really wanted to micromanage the whole thing and make sure that every spot of the tile was covered, but I took a deep breath and reminded myself that this is something my children are making for their father and grandfathers; it is not my gift to give.  I'm glad I let them do it their own way! 

Anyway, when everything is dry, stick the little felt circles on the back of your coasters (I put one in each corner) and you have a beautiful homemade coaster. 

They are very cool!  I am really excited about this gift.  My husband always uses a coaster, so I think he will LOVE the constant reminder of how much his children love him.

Also, if you don't have a chance to make these for Father's Day, you could have your child make holiday coasters using tissue paper in different colors for specific holidays (red and green for Christmas or orange and black for Halloween)! 

Art group

I love the Artful Parent and was so inspired by her that I recently started an art group. I am not an artist and our projects will be pretty simple, but the point of the group is to get some moms and kids together to have fun and leave with a craft or piece of art. The children range in age from three to five, but older siblings will probably join in when school is finished.

There were four moms and eight children present for our first art group meeting. The kids played for a while and enjoyed these amazing pumpkin chocolate chip muffins that my friend, Julie, made. Then, I was thrilled when one of the children asked if we could do the craft. I wasn't going to push the craft if the kids would rather play but they were all so excited to get crafty.

Our first craft was for Father's Day. We did a scissor skills project to work on those fine motor skills while creating something for Dad. The final product was a tie and I got the template here. You could easily draw it yourself though.

I printed up the templates on card stock and cut construction paper into strips ahead of time. The children cut the strips into smaller pieces and then glued the pieces onto the tie. Then, the children cut the tie out after they were finished gluing. I didn't photograph any of the other children because I would never post pictures of children without the consent of their parents and I would hate for parents to feel obligated to say yes. I think it's easier to just post the pictures of my own children.

Art group was a success and I think all of the Dads are going to be thrilled!