Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog! It’s almost August, can you believe it? Where has the summer gone– I’m sitting here wishing for the cooler temperatures of early summer, it was 100 degrees here in my little corner of Wyoming all last week. Thank goodness for air conditioning and popsicles!
So to try and beat the heat we are going to revisit springtime with some flower postcards! This is a fun activity both adults and kids can enjoy, and as always there’s a fun little trick involved, so let’s dive right in, shall we?
For this weeks supplies I have Smiling Hippo Watercolors, as always! A variety of soft and coarse brushes, my handy dandy Smiling Hippo ceramic water cup (it’s so cute!) and some letter parchment paper. I decided against watercolor paper for this activity since the letter parchment is heavier and feels more porous to help trap the glitter flakes. But feel free to experiment and let us know what works for you!
As always, I taped the paper down to get nice crisp borders, because who doesn’t like a satisfying tape peel at the end of a job well done?
Pardon the painted table, a hazard of being an arts and crafts family!
I limited what colors we used because sometimes when the littles are presented with too many choices, they can’t pick. So we picked out a couple greens, some reds, pinks and sparkly blues. To make the blooms, we used a fork. That’s right, silverware! The prongs are perfect for making tulips. I did think after the fact you could make a crazy daisy with them too!
This trick is super easy, all you have to do is paint the back of a fork with whatever color you choose, then roll it onto the paper.
It works best if you paint across the back, not up and down the tines. Going perpendicular to the edges scrapes the paint from the brush better.
Then roll the fork along the curve to transfer the paint! I showed my lil artist how to do this and she was amazed at the magic trick. Depending on how old your little is, you might need to help them paint the fork since that’s tricky. She loved being able to copy cat and made several beautiful flowers all by herself!
It has been such a treat watching her learn the dexterity and planning skills over the last couple of months. Her movements have become more precise and she’s very proud of her works, and of course I am too! The fridge is covered in this summer’s projects. Soon there will be enough to start building an art book for her!
Look at the concentration on that little face! Creating together is a wonderful way to teach fine motor skills and planning. Well, as much planning as an almost three-year-old can do! After we made one postcard together, she wanted to make one all by herself, she made blue stems on one side and started to make red flowers. She couldn't quite master painting the fork on her own, but she did very well for her first try!
I hope you enjoyed this edition of the Smiling Hippo Blog! Stay tuned through August to see more of my kids corner activities and the rest of the Smiling Hippo Brand Reps! See you next time!
-Meg