Wooden Eggs from Children’s Art

I love making crafts from my children’s artwork, and we have plenty of artwork around our house from which to gather inspiration. We had three wooden eggs in our stash of art and craft supplies, and I thought that was perfect for my trhee older kids as we prepare for Ostara next weekend. When I proposed the idea, the kids were throughly enthusiastic.

The first step involved pencil and paper. The kids drew various designs that they thought they might like on their eggs. After they were finished, I took various drawings they had made, transferred them to the wooden eggs, and woodburned the pencil marks. For a really polished and professional look, I would have colored them myself. However, I wanted the kids to have their own eggs, so I handed the newly woodbunred eggs back to them to color as they saw fit.

 My eight year old had gone with geometric designs, and I was easily able to incorporate them together. I had imagined his egg with brighter colors, but he chose the subdued colors he prefers (minus his lifelong favorite – orange) and it really does scream him.

My six year old daughter wanted spring ideas, as she said she was ready for spring to be here and winter to be over. I think she accomplished that with her sun drawing. The other side of the egg has a butterfly. I love her simple shape butterflies. Some of her other drawings included eggs with zigzags and stripes, so I transferred those in between her spring drawings. She loved it.

My three-and-a-half had a happy face and a rainbow. He also had a horse that he had his sister help him with. Since I wanted it to be his egg, I declined putting someone else’s drawing on it. I reminded myself of this later as I saw the way he colored his egg – totally different than his carefully constructed rainbow on his paper. He was so pleased with it, though, and it will always remind me of how he was at this age, alternating between sage beyond his years and an impulsive little boy.

March’s Families, Create! challenge was filled with awesome animal-themed posts. From Mo Willems to monkey finger puppets, our writers and crafters kept busy getting creative with the little animals in their lives.

Visit Code Name: Mama and Living Peacefully with Children to find out how you can participate in the next Families, Create! Carnival. Our April theme is “Fantasy” – childhood is a fascinating time, filled with magic around every corner. What can your family imagine and create?

Please take time to read the March submissions by the other carnival participants:

• Lizz at Am I a Funny Girl turns a family outing at the zoo into a picture book to keep.

• Maman A Droit shares her easy pattern for a felt monkey finger puppet with you!

• The kids at Living Peacefully with Children celebrated the emergence of Spring with butterflies. Check out their Coffee Filter Butterfly mobile and Pipe Cleaner Art.

• Aunalise at My Sweet Potatoes offers helpful ways for a child to remember calming techniques with a “Calming your Beast” basket.

• Most of us have monkeys running around our house at times. Or lions. Or elephants. Make your child’s creative animal play even better with stuffed animal tails! Dionna at Code Name: Mama shares an easy tutorial.

• Galit Breen at These Little Waves shares an easy way to get creative with Mo Willems’ “We Are In A Book.”

• Maman A Droit shares her pattern for a felt bunny finger puppet-a perfect Easter basket filler!

• Brenna at Almost All The Truth shares a look at butterflies through metaphor, books and a coffee filter craft.

• Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children knitted some simple Nugget Bunnies for her children’s Ostara baskets while practicing a new technique.

• Amy at Anktangle shares photographs of crocheting a lovable stuffed turtle for her son to play with.

• Aunalise at My Sweet Potatoes knows a few ways to bring beneficial birds to the garden.

• Megan at Purple Dancing Dahlias shares a fun little first sewing project.

• Lauren at Hobo Mama has a fun and easy game to make to stimulate your preschooler’s memory.

• Using her children’s artwork as inspiration, Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children woodburned wooden eggs for them to color in honor of Spring.

• Aunalise at My Sweet Potatoes is making nature bags or field bags for nature journals and the other things we may need as we explore our planet.

• Animals are the inspiration for this set of handmade clay items for an I Spy bag at Living Peacefully with Children.