Tie Dye

Before all the COVID-19 craziness happened, my mom and I planned a fun activity for my nephew Henry.  He is in kindergarten and it all started when I wore a new shirt (similar to this one) and he complimented it, which was super cute. 

So we found the perfect tie dye kit at JoAnn Fabric with three colors in it that could work for a boy or girl and we also bought t-shirts there for Henry and his two younger sisters.

For this Project you'll need:
Tie Die Kit  - linked above (it comes with powder, mixing bottles, rubber bands and instructions)
white t-shirt(s) (you might as well do several, because the die, once mixed, doesn't last very long)



This is Henry's shirt - he did such a great job!!!

He concentrated and worked very hard on making his shirt.  He was careful not to over saturate - he dropped drips on each section and so he has a lot of white in his end design.

To make the "swirl" - lay the shirt flat, then pinch the spot where you want to be the center of the swirl, while still pinching, rotate your hand clockwise and the shirt will start to twist into a swirl.  Keeping that flat, swirled disc of t-shirt, wrap rubber bands around it in intervals like the picture below.  This will keep the swirl in place and give you a guideline of sections.  You then drop dye of each color onto different sections and then leave the areas under the rubber bands white.  Once you've gotten it as saturated as you want it, flip the t-shirt disc upside down and do the same thing on the back side.

My mom made this one for Marlowe - center swirl, medium saturate - it turned out great!

I made this one for Gia - mine is unique because I started the center of the swirl off-center - in the bottom right of the t-shirt and because I fully saturated my sections, which didn't leave much white.

Tie-Dye is super on trend and really fun to make your own - order a kit and make your own!

Quiet Book - Solar System

To figure out colors and design for each planet, I used different pictures I found online, this is one of them.

For this project you'll need:

felt in various colors

scissors

needle

thread

sewing machine (optional)

brown, rock-like beads

18 magnets - I got mine from Hobby Lobby and got the strongest magnets available, because they have to "stick" through two layers of felt.

The solar system pages are fairly simple overall - 

Step 1: 

Cut out three circles for each planet.

Step 2: 

Sew two of those circles together, making sure to put a magnet in the middle.

Step 3: 

Decorate each planet with felt pieces and hot glue.

 Step 4: 

Cut out a sliver of sun for the edge of the page.

Step 5: 

Sew the sun and the 9 orbit lines to the black felt pages - I used my sewing machine for this.  In hindsight, I probably should have practiced more to make sure they all ended up in a more uniform curved line - I got better the last few planets!

Step 6: 

Sew the third circle for each planet to their respective orbit lines, making sure to put a magnet in between the circle and the background page.

Step 7: 

Sew on beads to make up the asteroid belt.

Although it's not 100 % to scale and scientifically accurate, I like that there are a lot of things to learn from these pages.  The order of the planets, their sizes, relative to each other, what an orbit is, what an asteroid belt is.  If a parent is around, they can help learn the names of the planets and can help the child speculate about why earth looks blue and green and why some planets have rings.

Are you planning to make a Quiet Book? Get started with an assortment of felt:

DIY Pirate's Treasure Map

I LOVE how my nephew Henry, who is 4, gets really into topics.  He's been into trains, dirt movers, colossal squids, octopuses, the human body and now pirates.  When he discovers these new interests, his mom takes him to the library and they check out all the books on that topic.  He listens intently and learns all the facts.  It is super cute.  So when my sister told me the new topic was pirates - my mind started turning.  I thought he'd love finding a treasure map and hunting for buried treasure!

I was searching through Dollar Tree  - looking for treasure and getting ready to buy giant checkers and spray paint them gold - when I found the perfect package of oversize coins in the party favor section!  In the same aisle I found a little gift box that was perfect.  And then I bought a 2 pack of gold bead necklaces (and pulled off the shot glasses).

Then I went to the park and surveyed it - I figured out a perfect place to hide the treasure and drew myself a rough map of the park.  Wichita has the perfect park for this activity - the play equipment is a pirate ship.

For this project you'll need:
brown paper bag
markers
"treasure"
"treasure chest"

I cut an oval out of the bag and then crumpled it and tore the edges - to add character and make it look old.  Then I used colored pencils, markers and metallic pens to prepare my map.

I got to the park ahead of Henry's family and hid the treasure and rolled up the map and told him I found it in Pirate's Park and I needed his help to find the buried treasure.  He was SUPER excited!

I helped him spot landmarks on the map and he ran to each new landmark - each one taking us closer to the treasure.

Once we found the treasure - he was still so happy and excited - he carried it all around the playground. 

His baby sister was very interested in the treasure too!  I love that for under $5 and a little effort - Henry and I created this fun memory together.  It's one of my favorite jobs, as an Aunt, to create magic for my nieces and nephews.