Toddler painting keepsake - masked stencil canvas wall art

My two year old son loves to paint and draw. I end up with stacks of scrap paper covered in scribbles that I don't know what to do with, and they usually end up in the trash. Some of his projects make it to the fridge where they live for a month or two before being filed away in a box in the garage. Every so often I like to do a craft that is a little more of an "heirloom" - something that demonstrates where he is developmentally, but is also nice enough to have on display for the long-term. The kind of project that might become a gift for his loving family and friends.

From http://innerchildfun.com/2013/02/love-painting-for-kids.html

About a year ago (when he was still one), I saw on pinterest a way to use masking tape to make a painting. In that example, you simply tape out a letter shape with masking tape, allow your child to paint the whole canvas or paper, peel away the masking tape, and voila! Instant art! It acts as a sort ot reverse stencil.

I made one of those paintings with my kiddo, on a small stretched canvas, of the KLAW's first initial and hung it in his play kitchen.

My pal Darcy, of Moonlady's Kitchen, saw our project and totally cranked it up a notch. Instead of simply using tape as-is to make block letters, she began using sheets of tape to make stencils of different shapes, and from there we took off to all sorts of projects. Here is a tutorial on how to make a variety of cute DIY wall art with your toddler.

1. Start with a stretched canvas or flat canvas in the size you want. You can either use regular acrylic craft paint (I buy mine at Walmart for 50 cents a bottle - and let the little guy pick out a new color every so often) or washable paint and then protect it with a clear coat of spray paint when you're done.

2. If you want a background color, begin by painting that. For the horse, We did the blue for the sky on half the canvas, let it dry, taped off the area that was blue with a design to make it look like a rolling field, and painted the bottom half green. I've found that putting blobs of different color paint on the canvas and letting the kiddo smoosh it around with a paintbrush is a good way to get full coverage, pretty patterns, and control where the paint goes.

PRO TIP: Choose colors that are within about 3 to 5 segments of each other on the color wheel for each design. If you glob on orange and blue, or red and green, you'll end up with a muddy brown mess. Stick with all cool colors or all warm colors; add in a little white, or use a variety of intensities (bold to pastel) to get a nice variation of color to create texture.

3.  Download simple line art/clip art of the design you want. Print out the images, scaled to fit on your canvas. Or, if you're super artsy, you can free-hand a design later. But tracing, for me, yields great results. (I suppose if you have a fancy Silhouette Cameo machine, you could probably have something cut out by that, too...)

4. Apply masking tape in overlapping rows to a piece of parchment paper. It will be pretty transparent so you can trace the design you printed out on to the tape or parchment.

5. Once drawn, with the tape still attached to the parchment, cut out the design. I used scissors, being careful that the cuts on the outer portion were tidy, but chopping up the poor tape horse.

PRO TIP: If you have a cutting mat and an Xacto or rolling cutter, that would work and you would be able to preserve the inside design to use as a reverse stencil on another project. Darcy has even used the tape peeled off from that reverse stencil type project to make an additional craft, such as a greeting card (on the right). (Thanks, Darcy!)

6. Peel the stencil off the parchment and apply to your canvas (once the background paint is dry). Use additional tape to mask of any areas not covered by the stencil. Use your fingernail to press around the edges of the design so they are tight against the canvas to minimize seepage.

7. Repeat the painting process used for the background- putting blobs of paint in the design area and allowing the child to paint. Make sure the whole design is filled in.

What my child painted

 8. When the paint is dry, remove the tape to reveal the design.

What the result looks like

9. Finish with any details you may want to hand paint, such as the faces I added to these cardinals and the branches on which they are perched.

Here's one more we made, for which the little guy selected a bold color scheme.

masked

finished

There are so many possibilities with this technique, and it doesn't have to be exclusively for toddler art.  This blogger used sheet music (scrap paper) as the background and adhesive stencils available from Michael's. The beauty of the masking tape method, though, is that it is CHEAP and quick to do with items on hand - which is key when you've got little ones running around.

Sheet music stencil on savedbylovecreations.com

  Here's another blogger's version that looks very trendy! Cheap and easy update to your decor.

Chevron art from laurawadsworth.com

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Baby Led Weaning: An Introduction

I recall being at a barbecue, about 1 year B.C. (before children) and seeing my friend Kristen's young daughter toddling around in adorable cloth diapers, munching on a stalk of raw broccoli. I was flabbergasted. Cloth diapers in 2012? Babies eating food that wasn't pureed into an unidentifiable mush? I immediately began peppering her with questions. How I adopted her cloth diaper ways is a story for another post, but I was intrigued to learn from her about this thing called Baby Led Weaning. I learned that babies, from a very early age, can eat a variety of whole food, and THEY LIKE IT! You mean I didn't have to wash blender parts, prepare 87 different recipes, or drop a small fortune in the baby food aisle to make sure my kid was getting the best food out there? Sign me up!

I did my research once The KLAW was born, and we decided to give this BLW stuff a try. I love talking about our experience with it, and find myself sharing tips over and over within my mom groups. My friend Darcy challenged me to write a blog post on the topic, and I thought it was a great idea. Not only could I reach more people, it would save me from retyping the same way-too-long facebook posts every few weeks.

Very Hungry Caterpillar

Please note: I've had one child. His personality and developmental curve led themselves to BLW. He tried everything I offered him, so much so that his first birthday had a "Very Hungry Caterpillar" theme. But remember: Every baby is different. YMMV. I hope you can use these tips, but please don't despair if your experience with your own child isn't the same as ours. As long as your kid is reasonably healthy (peeing, pooping, growing), you're doing great. And if your kid is fed a pouch or a puree - don't panic! Your kid is not broken! It's not worth ruining Christmas because a well-meaning Grandma thought little Jimmy looked hungry and needed some nom noms and shoved mashed banana in his face with a spoon.

First, what exactly is Baby Led Weaning? In my experience, it has absolutely nothing to do with weaning. The KLAW is still nursing many times a day, but also loves to eat solid food. It should be called Baby Led Food Introduction, in my opinion. Basically, you take cues from your child as to what they are ready to try in terms of solid food, and introduce accordingly. They are fed table foods, just like mama and dada eat, complete with seasonings and (unless it is a normally pureed/soft food like applesauce or mashed potatoes) they are served in easy to handle pieces. The child is offered the food, and eats as much as he wants. This supposedly teaches portion control and reduces obesity later in life. I found that some days The KLAW could put away an entire small chicken breast with some sides, and other days would rather feed the whole thing to the dog. Remember, for kids under one, food is for fun. Most of their nutrition is still coming from breastmilk or formula.

Happy to share

Signs of Readiness

This Cheeto is delish.

The signs your child is ready for solid table food become pretty obvious. He should be able to sit up, even if it's with some support in a padded high chair or bumbo. He should be showing an interest in what you are eating. We knew The KLAW was ready to start on solids when, at five months old, he grabbed a Cheeto out of his daddy's hand and started chomping on it happily. The next two signs are a kind of chicken/egg situation. The skills will start out rudimentary, but improve quickly with practice eating. The baby should be able to pick up an object in his fist, put it in its mouth, and gnaw on it. At first your kid might stab himself in the eye with a zucchini spear, then take a nibble and immediately eject it from his mouth with his tongue. NORMAL. He's learning. This will improve quickly. One difference between BLW and spoon feeding is that with BLW a baby learns to chew, then swallow, whereas with purees, the baby learns to swallow, then chew.

Next, he might get the food to the back of his mouth, but gag, and maybe even throw up. Traumatic, but again, NORMAL. Gagging is not choking. Your baby might choke on any number of food or non-food items. Knowing the baby Heimlich is important. But if your kiddo is trying to down a delicious piece of asparagus and suddenly looks and sounds like he's hacking up a hairball? Yeah, that's gagging. NORMAL. Look up BLW videos on YouTube to see what to expect. Soon your kid will go from grasping his food like a microphone to being able to pick up small pieces with his fingertips using a pincer grip. At this point your options for self-feeding increase dramatically. I honestly think that BLW helped The KLAW develop really great manual dexterity.

The KLAW was a dental prodigy from an early age. He cut his first teeth at 5 months, and is currently working on his two year molars (the final four baby teeth) at 18 months. While I think this helped speed along his affinity for solid foods, you would be freaking amazed what these little tykes can gum. The KLAW was eating bits of steak with two or four teeth. So if your child is showing all the other signs of being ready for food, don't let his gummy smile hold you back! Fun fact: Cold, raw foods with soothing properties (like cucumber) can provide teething relief, as can frozen fruits (such as grapes) offered in a mesh teether.

Pickles are delicious and feel good on my swollen gums

Allergies

Introduce new foods with caution, one food every three days or so to make sure there are no allergies. There is so much literature out there about allergies, all conflicting. Introduce peanuts too early, your child will have a peanut allergy. Don't introduce them early, your kid will have a peanut allergy. Who knows. We have no family history of food allergies, and no reason to believe our kid had any sensitivities based on the foods he received second-hand from my breast milk. So we stuck to the three day rule for a couple weeks, then just let him try whatever. I kept a list of foods he tried, so that we could back out what he might have reacted to, if he had a reaction. Process of elimination is easier when you only introduce one at a time, is the logic behind the three day rule.

Also, just because you see some redness on your kid's face, doesn't mean a trip to the ER. Consider what you just fed your child. Was is applesauce with a healthy dose of cinnamon or garlicky hummus? Did your kid smear it all over his face or drool incessantly throughout lunch? Ok, now think about how YOUR face would look if you gave yourself a cinnamon/garlic facial. Probably red and irritated. It's NORMAL. Use your mama gut, as with most things parenting-related.

But what about gluten and sugar? I dunno, but these donuts are delicious!

Honey is the one food that is an absolute no-no for any child under one. It is not an allergy situation, it is the fact that honey can contain botulism, which their little immune systems can't fight off. The botulism can't be cooked or filtered out, so can remain even in processed foods. Be mindful of honey graham cracker products, honey cereals, and honey butters. After the age of one, go nuts with the local honey, it's supposedly great to ward off those allergies!

What to feed your kid

By now you're probably thinking, ok great, but WHAT DO YOU FEED THE BABY? Again, the answer is, for the most part, whatever mama and dada are eating. I found myself modifying my meals or restaurant orders slightly to accommodate my youngin's developing palate. That means more soft finger foods to share (never order an infant a kid's meal, you'll be wasting your money). But if it tastes good to you, chances are it could taste good to your kid. Have you tasted rice cereal or "chicken pea pear" puree baby food? GROSS. If you wouldn't eat it, why would you want your kid to?

AVOCAD-NO!

Don't be afraid of spices and herbs, or dishes with several integrated ingredients. I found that The KLAW would not eat avocado, but would put away some guacamole on tortilla chips (the thin ones - super thick ones are no bueno for babies: not crumbly enough and with sharp corners). At seven months old he was eating curry, By one year he would eat salsa with a spoon. Not every kid will be like that of course, but you'll never know if you don't try. Even butter and garlic in mashed potatoes made them more appealing to my little guy. Limit salt and sugar to your discretion. Cook your food a variety of ways as you would for yourself. Roasted, grilled, or sauteed foods offer you more opportunity to infuse a little flavor than plain ol' steaming.

I set out with the intention of offering my kid wholesome healthy foods. ONLY wholesome healthy foods. File that delusion under "I was a better parent before I had a kid." When The KLAW's first food was a Cheeto, I realized that an organic, whole food, fresh-from-scratch every day lifestyle was, for us, a pipe dream. I mean, was I really going to give up Cheetos? My list of suggested foods includes nice healthy choices along with those quick and easy snack foods that are good for playdates, grocery store distractions, and other public/meltdown-inducing situations.

Stage One: Fist Grip and Gumming 

We tried one puree- Beets. It turned
our baby in to a zombie.

Start off with spear-shaped foods that little hands can grasp with a fist, leaving an end sticking out to gnaw on. Soft foods are preferable. You can also offer the child a loaded spoon (or loaded chip/cracker/bread) if the food is conducive to being eaten that way (like mashed potatoes or hummus on pita), but let him put the spoon to his mouth. Since your child is self-feeding, and is, let's be honest, still kind of a spazz, there will be a mess. Put the food directly on the high chair tray to avoid projectile bowls, invest in a good bib with a pocket to catch wayward morsels, lay down a tarp under the high chair (or get a dog), and stock up on washcloths. In early days, you might find that a sample of solid food simply whets your nursling's appetite for boob juice.

Stage Two: Pincer Grip

You can introduce smaller items now that they have chewing and swallowing down for the most part and can pick up little items with their fingertips. Things like blueberries, hot dogs and grapes can be introduced but should be monitored as they are choking hazards. To be safe, cut into non-windpipe sized pieces before serving. You can pre-cut bites of cooked meat or other knife-and-fork type foods for your kid





Stage Three: Utensils and Dipping

Offer your child a kiddie fork or spoon when they seem interested. At some point kids might begin to prefer to eat EVERYTHING off a fork, including whole dinner rolls, or want to dip all their food in some sort of sauce like ranch dressing or ketchup. At this point fingers may still be used too. Offer food pre-cut for little mouths. This toddler phase can include whatever you're having at mealtime.







Good First Foods for Stages One and Two

Fruits
Dried or Freeze-dried fruits (mango, pineapple, prunes, apricots, raisins, etc)
Apples (baked or sauce)
Banana
Kiwi
Oranges (Cuties or other seedless varieties)
Peaches or other stonefruit
Pears
Strawberries (and later smaller berries)

Veggies
Asparagus
Avocado (or Guacamole with chips)
Broccoli (cooked or raw)
Butternut Squash
Carrot sticks (cooked at first)
Cauliflower
Cucumber spears
Green Beans
Pepper strips (green, yellow, red - raw or cooked)
Potatoes (roasted wedges or mashed)
Sweet Potatoes (baked "fries" or mashed)
Zucchini spears

Grains, Proteins & Dairy
Cheese sticks
Egg (scrambled, hardboiled, quiche, etc.)
Hummus (on pita or pretzels)
Meats (soft meats like pulled pork or brisket, poultry in strips or chunks, ground beef etc)
Pancakes (or waffles)
Pasta (shapes like bowtie or penne are good, with any type of sauce)
Peanut Butter Toast fingers (or with jelly!)
Quesadillas
Refried Beans
Seafood
Tofu
Yogurt

Snacks
Animal Crackers
Goldfish
Lentil/Pea snap snacks
Pickles
Pirate Booty (cheaper than the Gerber puffs)
Pretzels (rods are good)
Salsa
Veggie Straws (in the chip aisle or healthfood section)

Pea snacks from TJ's

Resources

The main online resource for Baby Led Weaning is, naturally, babyledweaning.com. They have a facebook group as well. Wholesome Baby Food is another site many moms like for their healthy recipes, most of which are purees but is a good resource for baby nutrition in general and has a section on BLW. And of course, consult your pediatrician. She may think you're bonkers (mine gave me side-eye when, at his six-month appointment, I told her The KLAW had tried 40 foods already.), but can advise you on allergies and other factors particular to your baby's development.

Yum! Who doesn;t love fair corn?

Happy eating, and please feel free to contact me with any questions!

Pi Day Recipe: Cutie Pie!

The KLAW is now an 18 month old toddler with a strong will. He knows what he wants, and even though he has a very small vocabulary, lets us know exactly what that is. Lately the thing he wants most is FRUIT!  He will eat fruit for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Today he has had five bananas. I know this is about four too many, but at least it's something unprocessed and full of nutrients. He can say banana (nana), but also loves apples, pineapple, grapes and citrus, especially clementines or mandarins.

mmm nanas!

peeling Cuties

The Cuties clementines/mandarins are especially great because he likes to peel them once I get it started. Then they break up in to bite-sized seedless wedges, perfect for little hands (as advertised). I made the mistake of buying another type of orange citrus (tangerines, I think) and made a huge mess every day as I unseeded the darn things for him.

Cuties!

Pi Day is here, an annual tradition observed on March 14th (pi=3.14=3/14) by nerds like me around the world. This year is going to particularly epic. Pi to many decimal places is 3.141592653 which makes the magical moment 3/14/15 at 9:26:53 a.m. or if you want to be extra specific 3.14159265359 which rounds to 3/14/15 at 9:26:54 in the morning. But with a toddler around, I would be doing pretty good to have anything coordinated in the nine o'clock hour, in some time zone somewhere. We'll be having breakfast pot pies (the cheapie Budget freezer ones) at that epic moment, or thereabouts.

But I still wanted to have a sweet pie, so I came up with an idea for a pie I can make ahead of time and serve after our supper (or maybe lunch, we'll see). Combining my kid's love for the Cuties and the momentous Pi Day, I came up with... wait for it... the CUTIE PIE! Get it? Get it? I crack myself up. I have a family-favorite standby recipe from my Gram for key lime pie. It is so universally loved that it even won a bake-off at my former employer which meant the recipe was printed on their Recipe Hand Towels and sold to the public!

Wisteria Recipe Hand Towels

For the Cutie Pie, I simply substituted orange juice concentrate for the lime juice and added a dash of lemon juice to give it some extra tang. I was going for a Creamsicle type flavor. Garnished with some fresh Cutie wedges, and voila, a simple Cutie Pie that even a toddler can help make.

The Cutie Pie

Ingredients

1 can Sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup Orange juice concentrate (no pulp, thawed)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

8 oz. container (regular) Cool Whip (thawed)

1 large graham cracker crust

Cutie clementine wedges for garnish

Directions

Whisk sweetened condensed milk with orange and lemon juice. 

Fold in Cool Whip until just blended. 

Pour filling in crust.  

Refrigerate 6 hours or overnight. You can also freeze it to serve later. Garnish with Cutie wedges before serving.

 

Don't forget to lick the spoon and whisk!

And clean up any sticky messes.