The other night I chopped up peppers to serve with dinner.  I started by chopping  the tops off horizontally . As I set the tops on the counter, I thought they looked like flowers.  I knew that I needed to save them. So I stuck them in a plastic bag and tossed them back in the fridge, because Mama had an idea.















It's two days later, and I'm finally getting around to the peppers I shoved in the back of the fridge. They still look just as pretty and vibrant as when I first cut them.  So what did I save them for? Painting with Peppers!!

With the help of my two youngest, we gathered up finger paints, paper, newspaper, a Styrofoam tray and smocks.  My youngest also found a green Bingo dauber and an ink pad and stamp that he had to have too.  But he was being a forward thinker because the green stamper was quite coveted and came in handy.

After setting up a painting area in the kitchen and getting my 3 year old into her painting smock we were ready! My toddler was not interested in a smock.  He just wanted the mysterious green bingo dauber to play with.

My daughter loves to paint and she took right to messing about with the peppers.  Because little brother was coveting the green bingo dauber, she of course had to use it too! So there were a few tiffs with little brother over the green bingo stamper, and a few talks about sharing along the way.  But otherwise there was a lot of creating going on.

Seeing them getting into the paint and exploring different ways to use the materials inspired me.  I used the peppers to stamp out flower heads, then used the green stamper to make stems, leaves and grass.  My daughter saw what I was up to, but I didn't force her to partake in my project. She did ask me what I was doing though.


I think using the peppers to stamp out flowers would make a nice Mother's Day or Spring art project. You could add embellishments, attach a poem or even make a greeting card. Just putting that out there.

All in all both my littles had a good time messing about with the paint and peppers.  I even got to get a little creative myself. It was an easy activity to pull together, and it gave us something to do together.

I hope you find something that inspires you to do with your kids.  Remember sometimes the little things, like the tops of peppers, can lead to bigger things, like making memories with your kids.  Happy Mother's Day!

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I love to reuse household packaging. I've made felt board pieces out of cereal box characters; made organizers out of food boxes; and bookmarks out of packaging too. At the moment my kitchen island is balanced by a tiny piece of cardboard too. Repurposing at its finest!

As I was sweeping, I found a popsicle mold package on the floor.  I set it on my counter as I swept. When I glanced over the holes in the package reminded me of eyes.  I instantly felt inspired to create.

I took out a black marker, scissors and construction paper.  I decided to cut the cardboard packaging in half.  Then I took one half and placed it on the paper. I drew dots in the holes for eyes.  This helped me to visualize an outline.  My first thought was a monkey.

As I placed the packaging on the paper in different ways, I came up with a few ideas. When I put both halves down on the paper, I decided to draw a boy and his mother.

I think kids would have a lot of fun with this activity.  It is pretty open ended.  They could first pick out a package from your recycling.  Then they could cut it up into shapes and then they could draw around the packaging. Sky's the limit!

This is a great creative and family-friendly activity.  So please share if you give this idea a try! Have a great day!

I've been on a drawing kick lately.  I've never considered myself to be especially good at drawing, but I want to get better. To help me, I've been exploring how to draw tutorials.  Sometimes I just observe a picture and start drawing an outline and go from there.

This morning, I drew animals and even tried my hand at pattern drawing.  I think they came out pretty good.
I drew with a black marker on tracing paper. Then I gave the drawings to my Daughter (3).  She colored them with crayons and chalk.

I think she made my drawings look a lot better.

                     




My Daughter loves any chance to use scissors. So she got right into this activity. You could also talk about the emotions of the plate people. Why are they happy? Why are they sad?

**BTW, I can't take credit for these activities solely. I saw these ideas on Pinterest.  I did however, draw the lion and faces, cut them out, and write up instructions.  I actually never read the articles attached to the pins. My apologies Pinterest people! 

Hope you feel as inspired as I was! I think your kids will love it! 
What quick crafts have you done lately with your kids?

The littles and I were playing in the yard earlier; and I started to admire all the mushrooms and wildflowers growing in our yard.  I instantly got inspired to setup a nature painting activity for them.

I setup a kid-sized table outside, with poster board, fingerpaints, and assorted wildflowers and mushrooms. It got really windy, so we moved the art fun into the garage.  My daughter got right to work making her masterpiece.  It was fun to watch what she chose to work with and how. I left it up to her to choose.

Little brother got in on the fun as well.  He mostly explored the paint.  He also pulled the paper off the table a few times too. Lol!

If you are worried about little ones sampling the mushrooms...you could use mushrooms bought in the produce section at the grocery store.

This fun art activity could be changed up by using seasonal produce, like apples. It's a fun way to tie in food and foraging with nature and art.  Just another way to get kids excited about food and nature.



Do you do nature art with your kids?  Please share in the comments.