In all that we do

Sizzle here and today I am sharing a totally different creative perspective and that is being creative in all that we do. There are creative ways to do anything - be a mom, in our job, in our schooling and in our communities. As someone who studied public relations I realize the creativity in marketing, in commercials (on tv and radio), in community events, in incentives and in public speaking. The way we do the day-to-day things and make them work for us is where the seed of creativity is planted.

Over the last three years I have held the same calling in my Church; I am the primary chorister. For those of you who don't know primary in the children organization in the LDS church where the children attend classes and learn about the Savior through music. The music part falls on me.

I am not a musical person really, I have never been in choir so I don't know how people teach songs professionally so I have to be creative and try to do things that capture the attention of the children and get them to sing the songs. It is challenging for me BUT I have really felt my creative muscles at work. I have come up with things that I NEVER would have thought of otherwise and I use them on my kids at home too. BONUS.

So today I thought I would share a little bit of creativity under fire. When you have to come up with something- on a time line and it has to work...

This one I had to do because there are kids esp older kids who just look at me as I sing solo. So I made this so if everyone watches me and sings they put one bubblegum ball in the machine and when it is full I will give them a treat. They have to work hard to get a ball - if one person isn't singing I don't give them one - it has to be a team effort. It works. They have sung a ton better.

One week I did a lesson on dynamics and the symbols so they would pay attention to my hands telling them what volume to sing. I made these signs and the kids get a turn to control the dynamics of the different songs we are learning. They love it and it allows us to repeat the songs dozens of times without boredom kicking in.

One of my all time favorites and I still can't believe I thought of this is Brother/Sister potatohead. This is for when we have to review a lot of songs - like the end of the year when we are getting ready for the primary program (when they sing in front of everyone and put on a program).

I made a dozen eyes, nose and mouths and the kids pick from one or the other. They especially like it when I accidentally say "come pick a nose." I couldn't find the faces to show you they must be at church but I used a jack-o-lantern face, a scarecrow face, an owl face, braces, glasses, big full red lips, a long pointy nose, one with a wart---you get the idea. On the back of every piece is the song we have to review. It is funny to see the face come together.

So you see how having to do something can inspire you to think in creative ways and try new things. Not everything I have tried has been successful but I have to keep trying and some things end up being great.

Try to add some creativity to your everyday life this week, you might be surprised with what you come up with.

Sizzle

Belt from Felt

I am still working/thinking about Halloween costumes...I am a last minute kind of gal when it comes to Halloween. If my kids aren't excited to be something particular for Halloween I can't really just pick something for them to be; for one thing if they don't like it they won't wear it. So far I have a few ideas: Robin Hood, Pirate, and a Jedi. I am not sure yet but they all have one thing in common: a belt. So today I made a belt out of felt. It was fun and pretty easy.

Just cut two strips out of brown felt and sew around it and then through the middle to keep it together. Sewing on felt looks so nice- you can really decorate it with your stitches. The belt needs to be long enough to wrap around the waist with some to spare. You can always cut it if it is too long but you can't make it longer so too long is better.

After I sewed the belt I made a buckle. I just cut a square that was about 1/2in taller on each side of the belt. I sewed around the perimeter a few times and then down the middle and then one each side of the line. I used the existing line as my guide meaning I lined my presser foot on the sewing machine with the line. After I sewed around and through the square I folded each half and cut out two squares for the belt to go through.

Then I pulled the belt through and wrapped it around the middle and sewed it down a few times. Then I cut another set of strips to make the belt loop- I sewed them together and then sewed it to the belt.


This is what it looked like when it was done. At this point the kids thought a pirate would be cool so I made this little dagger.

I am not sure what else I have lying around the house I can use for a pirate costume. I can't go to the store because I am currently a nurse to my hubby who is recovering from having his appendix out (yikes) and he can't get up or down yet. So I have to be really creative.

So I need something that will look great with these accessories, any ideas?

Halloween Spiders

Hi everyone, this is Sizzle!  This week I am going to be sharing some easy halloween crafts you can do with kids.  A lot of parents I know, say they have trouble thinking of things they can do with their kids - especially if they are young.  I had some of the cousins over this weekend for some halloween fun (most of them are under three) so parent supervision is required. 

I think it is great to do stuff with your kids earlier than you would think. The sooner they realize that something can be made from nothing the more they can grow their imagination and the more they can entertain themselves later on. 

The first thing we did was to make these cute and easy spiders

All you need are a few simple supplies: large pompoms, pine cleaners, googly eyes and glue. 

You will cut the pipe cleaners in half with wire cutters so you don't need as many as you would think.  Everything is easy to find in any craft store. 

All you do is stick the googly eyes on with glue and then bend the pipe cleaners to the shape you want then dip the middle in glue and stick to the bottom of the spider. 

They are fun for kids to look at (who DOESN'T love googly eyes) and also really cute posed on top of a pumpkin, bookshelves, hanging from a string around doorframes etc.

You might get this reaction from 1 year olds!

Switch it up

I want my kids to be creative. I know my first one is because he colors and makes books and asked me how to do all kinds of things like how to make sand. He wanted to build his own BEACH but sometimes when we see something the same way over and over again we start to think that is HAS to be that way or it is SUPPOSED to be that way so switch it up a little.

I decided I really wanted SCONES especially since I am not pregnant so I can eat honey. That is the hardest part of being pregnant for me - not being able to eat honey. So now I want scones and cornbread all the time because they are so SO much better with HONEY.

We used cookie cutters to cut the dough into different shapes. The boys loved it. I did too.