SPARKLY FOOTPRINT DRAGONFLIES

Isn't it crazy how quickly we start taking the beautiful spring weather for granted? We made it through the longest, coldest, snowiest winter we've had in a looooong time, and ever since no-coat weather arrived, we've spent every free minute outside and it just feels like back to normal. All it takes is one gloomy, rainy day of being stuck inside, though, to remind you how lucky we are to have the sunny ones. 

A couple of days ago, on our first gloomy day in a couple of weeks, I got tired of putting Kinley's Crocs back in the closet and trying to explain to my whining toddler that I understood that she wanted to head outside, but we couldn't because it was cold and rainy.

I also got tired of playing the jellybean game that she invented. It started out so cute, but has since gotten old and made me feel like a terrible mother. For Easter, we gave her a set of ABC magnets that have matching picture magnets to go with each letter (A/apple, E/elephant, etc.) She also got Starburst Jellybeans for Easter. It just so happens that the J magnet's corresponding picture is a jar of jellybeans, and she figured out the day after Easter that if she brings me the jellybeans magnet, I say the word out loud and when that happens she runs to the kitchen island and points up at her baggie of jellybeans and grunts and dances until I give her one. She plays this game all day long. Thank goodness she is almost out of jellybeans. I know. I'm the mom. I should just take them away or tell her they are all gone, but who wants to be the meanie mom that confiscates her sweet baby's Easter treats? Not me. Especially since she works so hard for them. :)

So, anyway, I was so tired of listening to whining to go outside and grunting for jellybeans that I decided it was time for a happy distraction in the form of an art project. And nothing makes an art project more cheery than a bunch of glitter, right?

All you need for this footprint craft is:

1 1/2 sheets of construction paper (all the same color, whichever color you choose.)

Paint/paintbrush

Glitter

Scissors

Pencil

Elmer's Glue

Glue stick

Googly eyes

*We made two dragonflies, one for Grammy and one for the cabinet gallery.

I have to say, I absolutely love the Crayola fingerpaint. It scrubs right off of your skin without even leaving a little shadow of leftover color, and I've scrubbed it out of the rug and our clothes with just water and hardly any effort. A washable paint that really is washable?! Amazing. 

Whenever I am trying to get some perfect footprints, I put Kinley in her highchair and give her something to do to distract her on her tray while I get to work painting her feet. Today, I gave her the half sheet of construction paper to paint so we could cut the dragonfly bodies out of it.

Okay, SuperBaby is distracted. Time to get to work.

Start by painting just one foot. Stamp it down twice on your paper to make one side of the wings, like this:

Clean off that little tootsie, and repeat with the other foot. It should look like this:

Now, you've gotta let the paint dry. It just so happened that as soon as we started crafting the sun came out and dried up all the rain, so we put on our jackets and went for a little walk while our dragon-feet dried.

I practically had to drag SuperBaby all the way back home. That girl loves being outside.

As soon as I took her jacket off, she ran to the fridge to find her jellybean magnet, so while she was busy, I hurried up and painted some Elmer's Glue onto her foot wings to prep for the big glitter shower.

Kinley loves to be in charge of glitter shaking, and since I refused to give her jellybean number 45 for the day, she was feeling extra ornery and shook her glitter EVERYWHERE. 

*I think this would look really pretty with really fine iridescent glitter, too, I just didn't trust Kinley with that stuff! Regular glitter is hard enough to clean up.

I just shook the excess off in the sink. Here are the finished wings:

Time to cut out the body. I just free-handed this shape, but if you don't feel comfortable doing that, you could just trace a wide Popsicle stick for the body and something round, like a spice bottle, for the head.

Now, break out your glue stick and have your little plop those googly eyes wherever they want. Kinley, as usual, relished every minute of glue stick time.

She's getting really good at following directions, which is fun for me. For this project,  I pointed to the dragonfly head and told her to put glue there and she actually did it! Hooray!

Now, it's your turn to use the glue stick to attach the bod to the wings, just like this:

Turned out pretty cute, huh? 

I think one of these slipped in a frame or done on a canvas would make a really cute Mother's Day present for grammies. Last year, Kinley made her Grammy a footprint butterfly art project for her office that is still getting rave reviews. I'll have her send me a picture and give you instructions for that, too, if you want.

Tomorrow is supposed to be another gloomy day here in Buckeye Country. I can't wait to dish out jellybeans and try to block SuperBaby from running out the door. Hmmm...art project? :)