A stamp art activity for a homeschool craft.

Beautiful Crafts for Children and Creative Inspiration from Kindness

/ Crafting / By

Hello again and happy Wednesday! In a last-minute decision, I decided to split my blog post for the week into two separate posts. The post I am sharing with you guys today- has an element of the post I will share with you all on Friday.

While one post features beautiful crafts for children, the other post features a delicious, savory recipe. If you have a keen mind and a creative spirit- you may be able to find the subtle clues, which allude to Friday’s post, laced through my writings and photos

In America, many people are busy making preparations for next Thursday (Thanksgiving Day). What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than with a thankful heart?

This week, my children were given an unexpected gift, which inspired me to create a post focused on gratitude. Please join me and my family as we make homemade thank you cards using different natural items as “stamps.”

We will also be making a special fabric recipe holder that was inspired by the gift the children received. So come along and join in the fun. The only thing required of you is to bring your imagination.

~An Unexpected Kindness~

One warm day this week, the children and I went for a walk in our neighborhood. When all of a sudden, we heard a faint voice say, “Do you have a moment?” When we turned to see who the sweet voice belonged to, we saw one of our lovely neighbors standing on her front porch. (This particular neighbor lives about a quarter of a mile away from us, therefore, we do not know her very well). Naturally, we have introduced ourselves and have seen her though the window as we walk. Immediately, she remembered my name and the fact that I homeschooled my children.

In her kindness, she offered each of the children a beautiful crayon and notepad, fabric case. What a special gift! She had sewn each of the four children a different pattern and filled each case with multicolored crayons and a fresh pad of white paper.

We were all so surprised and delighted at this unexpected gift of true kindness. As we spoke with her, we learned from our conversation, that her 84th birthday is coming up on Christmas day.

A hand sewn, fabric crayon and paper case.

~Pay it Forward~

As the children and I left her, we had a meaningful conversation about true kindness. We encouraged each other to look for a simple way to pay that kindness forward to someone else this week. Which led us to discuss how we might let our kind neighbor know we appreciated our precious gifts.

As we planned, we decided that we would make homemade thank you cards to bring to her mailbox.  (Keep following along to see how we made our homemade thank you cards through a homeschool craft).

~Homemade Stamp Art~

Yesterday morning when I woke up, I was not expecting to do a craft- per say. However, the idea came to me when my children and I were on our usual morning walk. I was thinking about the ingredients in my upcoming post when the idea sprang to my mind. “I know, I know,” my mind seemed to scream! “Use your blog ingredients to create a homeschool craft!” Therefore, I decided to use one of those lovely ingredients (and I won’t tell you which), as art.

When we arrived back home, I instructed the children to have a seat while I collected the necessary supplies. Paper, pumpkins, paint, cauliflower, and leaves. We then used our natural “stamps” which were the pumpkin, the cauliflower, and the leaves, to create our own patterns with paint.

My oldest daughter remarked, “Mom, it is like we are designing our own wallpaper!” She was correct. 

This simple stamping idea is easy to use in a multitude of ways. Many foods create interesting patterns and designs. Foods like cabbage, onion, and carrot spring to mind.

Creating stamp art using pumpkins, paint, and paper.
Art supplies for making homemade stamp art.
*Choose any colors you like, and experiment with different natural items, to achieve unique textures and designs.
Natural items are being used to create painted stamp artwork.
Stamp art patterns and prints.
*The small pumpkin made a sweet flower-like shape. This was one of our favorite "stamps."
Stamp art using natural items to create prints and patterns.
*Our yellow leaf made an interesting print as well.
Using a leaf to create stamp art.
A pumpkin being pushed down on paper to create stamp art designs.
*By adding a bit of pressure and "rocking" the pumpkin around, we were able to create a "firework" or flower-like print.
Using the bottom of a pumpkin to create a stamp art design.
*We had fun experimenting with different colors to create interesting patterns.
Stamp art flowers made with a pumpkin.
*This stamp art activity kept the children engaged for at least an hour. We made page after page of "stamp art" to display on our refrigerator.

~Incorporating Stamp Art into a Homeschool Lesson~

Indeed, bringing this stamp art activity into the homeschool realm is an easy task. For example, you may wish to incorporate this activity into a lesson on fruits and vegetables. Utilizing family discussions to discover how produce is grown and what nutrients the produce contains (is a beneficial topic). You may also discuss how fruit and vegetables go from the farm to your dinner table. Or you may learn how to use fruits or veggies in a special recipe. The sky is truly the limit.

Let children create their own patterns and designs and you will be amazed at their level of creativity. If this activity is done outside, all the better for the mess factor. For the mess, stays out in the yard, while the children are getting fresh air and sunshine. A homeschool win- win!

~Transforming Stamp Art into Thank You Cards~

To transform our stamp art pages into thank you cards, we used a premade thank you card as our pattern.

As it would be, on a previous thrift store shopping spree, I had bought a pack of 50, unopened, thank you cards (all for one dollar- bargain!). We then used one of those cards to trace a card pattern onto our stamp art. After this, we simply glued the stamp art onto the front of the card. Once the art was attached to our card form, we pressed the new card under some heavy books to allow the card to dry flat.

In the end, this little activity evolved from a homeschool art lesson in stamp art… to a lesson on showing gratitude and kindness.

Making homemade thank you cards using a thank you cards as a pattern.
A thank you card was the template for our stamp art cards.
*Design lovingly created by my oldest daughter.
A homemade thank you card.
*Top tip: spread the glue thinly with a paint brush. You do not need much glue. As you can see, the moisture in the glue makes the finished card a bit wavy- but this is nothing that a few heavy books cannot fix.
A homemade thank you card made using stamp art.
A homemade stamp art, thank you card.

~Seal the Deal~

Seeing as we were already doing lots of stamping in our lesson, we decided to stamp a bit more.

Have you ever used a wax seal to stamp your handwritten cards with? I bought this wax seal-stamp kit from Hobby Lobby last year, and I find it charmingly sweet.

Because when you homeschool -EVERYTHING- is a lesson, we had some fun discussions about the kings of the past, using signet rings, to seal their most important documents and letters. And while, we do not personally use our stamped seal in this same historical manner, we do use it for a bit of extra beauty.

In my opinion, little touches like this make homemade cards even more special. Carrying on with my themed idea of making ordinary things lovely.

A wax seal stamp kit.
Melting the wax for the wax seal.
*The heat from the flame melts the wax so that it can be poured and stamped. I let my flame get a little too close to the bottom of the metal scoop spoon. Nevertheless, it got the job done!
A wax seal kit.
A wax seal on a thank you card envelope.

~A Fabric Recipe Card Case~

Of course, the inspiration did not stop there. I thought it would be a fun project to re-create our neighbor’s idea of a crayon holder. How could I also use this idea to make something ordinary… lovely?

“Hmm, think, think, think… Oh yes, I’ve got it now!” (As my mind is doing a little dance). “I will make a fabric holder for my new printed recipe cards, that I created last week!”

And that is exactly what I did. I bought some fabric from Hobby Lobby (for less than two dollars as it was only a small amount)- perfect for a small sewing project. From there I “shopped” my scrap fabric basket and retrieved some pink fabric (that I had from a previous project). I used my new recipe cards as my pattern. Then, I added some sweet vintage lace (that I previously bought at a thrift store), to complete my look.

While I am not a seamstress, I do enjoy small sewing projects from time to time. Now, every time I open my recipe holder, I will receive much joy. The unexpected kindness of a woman has rolled over into my life… and the lives of my children.

Let us all strive to be thankful and look for ways to be kind. During this thanksgiving season- and every season.

A pin cushion and fabric being cut out to create a fabric recipe case.
*The floral fabric was new, but the pink fabric was leftover from a previous project. Waste not, want not.

To see how I made my pin cushion from a vintage trinket holder and the same pink fabric that I am making my recipe case with, click here.

A hand sewn recipe card and pen holder.
*Borrowing my neighbor's clever idea, I sewed a half inch open box section for my pen to live in.
Recipe cards in a recipe case-perfect for keeping recipes organized in a pretty way.
A handsewn recipe card case.
A recipe case with vintage lace.
*Dried flowers make everything look charmingly romantic.
A hand sewn recipe holder- decorated with a dried flower.
Recipe cards in a fabric recipe case.
*Because I used my newly designed recipe cards as my template, they were the perfect fit! Snug as a bug, in a rug.
A recipe case made with fabric and vintage lace.
The inside pocket of a recipe case.

~Until Next Time~

In conclusion, I hope this fun DIY post inspires some of you to create something simply lovely. I find that even in the simplest activities, using my hands and my mind to create something …is a joyous task indeed.

Now, when I am in the kitchen, preparing food for my family-I can smile as I open the fabric recipe case and remember the kindness of a sweet friend who took the time to share her love with my family. It is my hope that my post also shares some of that same love with you all!

Tune in Friday, where my Happy Hawks Homeschool crew and I will be making a delicious English-inspired dish that would look great on a Thanksgiving table.

Remember, my stamp art holds a clue as to what my recipe may be. Any guesses what this dish is?

Until then, enjoy a quiet cup of tea and strive to be thankful. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1A1nNe7YL7/

~Elizabeth~

A cup of hot tea and a lovely candle burning.

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