Fun but messy Valentine's Day project for your Tot

So today my 2.5 year old and I have been having fun in the kitchen with a messy, sticky art 

project for Valentine's Day and I decided to share it with you! This is a great project for kids that like to get messy (ie. mud pies, play dough, etc....things that "squish") and is a great project for using up small scraps of yarn or ribbon. You could use this same project for Easter or for Christmas by changing the colors of yarn and the shape of the cookie cutters! For this project, you'll need:

• 1 jar (only part of it actually) of Mod Podge or a bottle of plain white school glue
• A bowl or plate you don't mind getting "gluey" (we used a paper plate with a rim)
• A cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil or waxed paper (parchment would also work)
• Cookie cutters in choice of shapes (we used hearts for Valentine's Day
• Various scraps of yarn or ribbon in 1-2' lengths or shorter
• If making into a card, you'll need card making supplies like cardstock, stickers, etc
• If making into an "ornament", you'll need a length of ribbon or yarn for hanging your "ornament"

To start with, place your cookie cutters on your foil/paper covered sheet pan. Now, pour a puddle of your adhesive onto your plate/bowl. If using school glue you may want to water it down a bit since it will be thicker. Now comes the fun but messy part... Let your tot put the pieces of yarn/ribbon into the puddle and squish it all around! Make sure the yarn gets thoroughly coated in the adhesive mixture. Now, take the strands and run them through your fingers to remove any excess adhesive and then swirl into the inside of the cookie cutters on the cookie sheet. This is "artistic placement" so feel free to swirl and swizzle to your heart's (no pun intended!) content! Once you're satisfied with the number of strands in the cookie cutter, press down lightly to make sure the strands stick together and then lift the cookie cutter and move to another spot to continue making your shapes.  Allow to dry for several hours or overnight until thoroughly dried and stiffened. You can now make them into any number of things. Use them to decorate packages, as decorations on cards, as ornaments...the uses are endless! We're going to use them on the front of the Valentine's Day cards we send to her grand/great-grandparents! I'll post a picture of the finished cards when I complete them...

Pinecone Bird Feeders with a Toddler

Pine Cone Bird Feeders with a Toddler

So this fall my in-laws gave me a bag full of extra-large pine cones they had collected, knowing I would come up with something crafty to do with them. And so what better project to use them for than as a handmade Christmas gift, made by my 2 year old daughter, her daddy and I, that we can give back to them (and to her other grandparents). I had her daddy take pictures as we made them so we can also share the photos of her making them with her grandparents. 

Now, this is a MESSY project, so to start with I recommend you either do this project outside where you don't care if there's a mess, or do like we did and put a tarp or large blanket down that you can get messy on and then take outside to shake out. I have a "picnic blanket" kind of thing that we put down because it was too cold outside to do this outdoors. You'll also need some sort of large open pan (a roaster, disposable or otherwise, works well) or box to put the birdseed in. We used the box from a flat of bottled water for ours. And you'll need a large bowl, large spoon, disposable gloves (if you don't want messy hands), a large jar of peanut butter, a bag of regular yellow cornmeal, some kitchen twine (or other strong string) and a bag of birdseed. You want birdseed that's mostly small pieces, not all sunflower seeds, etc. because it won't stick as well.

First step is to put down the tarp. Then, cut some lengths of twine and tie them to the fat end of the pinecone. Hubby did this for me. Leave them untied at the end so they can then be tied to a tree limb.  Meanwhile, mix peanut butter and cornmeal in a large bowl until the consistency of cookie dough. You'll want it a little sticky so the bird seed will stick but not so creamy that it just smears onto the cone. 

Mixing the "dough"

Once you have this mixed up, pour your bird seed into whatever container you're going to use for rolling and you're ready to go. Because my toddler is only 2, and doesn't particularly like having messy hands (doesn't like mud, etc. on them), I handled the "dough" part, but if your toddler likes squishing things, let him/her do the "squishing". Just take a handful of the peanut butter "dough" and squish it in between the tines of the pinecone. Make sure to pack it in pretty tightly and then round it with your hands.

"smooshing" it into the pinecone

Once the pinecone is covered with the "dough", place it into your pan/box of bird seed. Now, roll it all around, coating it in bird seed.

Covering with bird seed

Make sure to pat the bird seed in well so that it doesn't just fall off. You want it to adhere very well to the "dough".

Patting it in

Fun with bird seed

After they're all covered, lay aside to dry on a sheet pan or drying rack. This will help them "set". Then just bag them up and they're ready to go.  We put ours in "non-zip-top" plastic storage bags and then twist-tied them closed. Give them as gifts or use them yourself in your own yard (we don't have any trees, thus no birds, so are giving them as gifts). Tell the recipient to just tied the cone outside to a tree branch where they'll be able to see the birds come and feast. The peanut butter and cornmeal are good foods for the winter as of course is the bird seed and even the pine cone is a tree as some birds enjoy the seeds found deep inside the cone. The best part is, this project is 100% biodegradable so no need to clean up or throw away any part of it. Enjoy this fun project and have fun getting a little messy!

Final product