Comicon 2016: Link from Legend of Zelda

Specifically, from the Windwaker game. Link’s costume changes from game to game but Windwaker seemed like the best way to go to keep it light and simple (seeing as how it’s going to be 115 degrees in Phoenix on Sunday).

His dad let him pose with the Master Sword for the picture but he’ll be carrying around the foam sword you see in the bottom right picture. Hopefully, he doesn’t get the urge to smack too many things or he’ll lose sword privileges :)

The costume was pretty simple to make. So much of it was actually from Walmart, I was surprised. In case you’re curious here’s the breakdown…

Boots - we already had them, I think they are from Crazy 8 or Children’s Place. They are actually a size too small though (8). He says they are comfy, but I also picked up a pair of light brown shoes as a backup.

Leggings - girls’ 2T Garanimals white leggings from Walmart.

Green undershirt - size 2T, Garanimals, from Walmart. Technically Link’s is long-sleeved, but not in Phoenix in June, it’s not.

Green tunic - a Hanes youth size XS from Walmart. It was already a V-neck. We just cut the sleeves and tucked them in with iron on fabric bond.

Hat - Amazon

Shield - Actually a Nintendo DS case, which is perfect because he can stick a few small toys in there. It retails for $20 but I caught it for $5 on Amazon. The only downside is it’s a little heavy, even empty… he may not want to wear it for long periods of time. We attached it to the shield strap with Velcro dots.

Foam sword - Grabbed it a few months ago from Target’s Dollar Spot when they were having 50% off the Dollar Spot - so it was 50 cents. Certainly not accurate to the game, but I wanted “least likely to harm anything” over “accurate” for a 2.5-year-old.

Shield strap and belt - ribbon from Walmart. It’s the width you can see on his belt, and we folded it over for the shield strap. The texture is super close to an actual belt, and since it’s a ribbon, it’s so light. It’s attached in the back with Velcro dots.

Belt buckle - Yellow Crayola brand air dry clay with some Sharpie. Super simple and weighs absolutely nothing. Attached with super glue.


So there you have it! I can’t remember at all how much the boots were, but excluding them, the entire costume was easily under $30.

Mother's Day 2016: Potted Solar Lights

Activity completed April 2016 for Mother's Day, May 7.

One of the projects we did for Mother's Day this year was decorated terracotta pots with solar lights. I had seen this on Pinterest and thought that Tripp would enjoy decorating the pots, and he did. (Ignore the crooked light on the blue pot... I just stuck it in there for the photo.)

We used:

• Medium sized terracotta pots
• Small solar lights (found in Walmart's garden section)
• Acrylic paint
• Masking tape

I painted the pots first and then we decorated them. On one side of each pot we put Tripp's handprint. On the other side I taped masking tape and let Tripp finger paint over it. (Probably next time it would be best to do the handprint last, since I had to protect it from rogue paint.) You can do all sorts of things with the decoration of the pot... fabric, paper, paint, stickers, maybe even a photo.

Then all you have to do is Mod Podge (I used outdoor Mod Podge) to seal and add the solar light.

Some consideration should be taken with the solar light. We brought a pot into Walmart with us and tried different lights - our Walmart actually didn't sell plain terracotta pots so we couldn't just grab some off the shelf. The lights that fit were the smallest. Even so, when Tripp added some paint around the hole in the pot it made it a bit snug for the light. You'll want to consider that when painting and Mod Podge-ing.

Finding Shapes at the Park

Activity completed April 2016.
 
Color and shape learning can come from anywhere... I've found I have had the best luck showing Tripp the shapes, colors, letters and numbers that surround us, rather than using toys and activity books specifically for that purpose. Who wants to be quizzed when they just want to play?

On a rainy day earlier this month we discovered a local park full of interesting shapes. We walked around and found all of the triangles. He identified each color inside the triangle, told me the yellow was his favorite, and asked for a photo in each one.

Cardboard Box Car

Activity completed March 2016.

 I was about to break down a box to add it to our recycling pile when I realized it was the perfect size to become a cardboard box car. It took a little bit of work to show Tripp how a box can become a car, but we worked together to transform it with Sharpie and black construction paper. He plays with it every day!

Train... Going Fast (Laminated Train Printable)

Activity completed January 2016.

Tripp loves the book Freight Train by Donald Crews. The book is very simple, following a freight train on its path through the mountains. Each train car is a different color and the illustrations are bright and bold.

Through the blog Mama's Happy Hive, I found this PDF which had very similar train cars to the cars in the book. We have a home laminator so I printed them out, cut each train and then we laminated them. Now Tripp can set up his own freight train however he likes, or follow the train from the book.

Black Light Alice in Wonderland Fun

We visited the IDEA Museum on New Year's Day 2016.

This isn't a project we made, but something I saw at our local children's museum that I think was really cool! It would be a fun birthday party idea or rainy day activity.

At the museum, they have a room that is completely black lit. It used to be set up like a campground at night with glowing stars on the ceiling, a picnic table, and tent.

Now the room is Alice in Wonderland themed with awesome glowing tableware, plates, bowls, and food. They painted Alice in Wonderland murals on all of the walls and painted toy food in paint that would react to the black light. It is really something magical and very fun to see!

Four Seasons Hand and Fingerprint Tree

This past Christmas I wanted to do as many homemade or handcrafted presents as I could. Handmade gifts are my favorite to receive and I want to nurture a spirit of giving of yourself in my kiddo so it was a natural fit this year. For my grandmother, I decided to try this project: DIY All Season Hand and Fingerprint Tree from Rhythms of Play.

The limitation here is how old your kiddo is and the size of their hand. We ended up going with small 4x4 canvas squares. We had a lot of fun with this project - so many colors of paint to choose from!  I was able to get it done in just a couple of days and I think it's adorable.