Crafts from Aunt Leslie

Years ago when I sent out the Magical Childhood newsletter, I sometimes shared crafts from my Aunt Leslie. My Aunt Leslie ran a day care in her home when she was younger and she loved kids and crafts.  She used to send us crafting supplies and gorgeous handmade cards, ornaments and treasures.  Her letters were like works of art.  She also used to send me craft ideas from her day care days, and I used to pass them on in the newsletter.  They were simple, easy crafts, but they always made me smile.

Tonight, my Aunt Leslie is in ICU and she has a short time left to live.  She had a perforated ulcer and things went very bad.  She’s been taken off the respirator and I’ve been told it’s a matter of time before she dies.

In honor my Aunt Leslie, I’m reprinting these tonight.

Crafts from Aunt Leslie:  Edible zoo

On a piece of paper or poster board, map off areas and put up a sign that says “zoo.”  Have the kids glue animal crackers in the areas.

Crafts from Aunt Leslie:  Glue painting

Add some white glue to poster paint.  Cut out pictures or shapes.  Paint a background with the colored glue and stick the pictures onto it.  For example, use blue paint and cut out fish.  Paint the paper blue and stick the fish onto the “sea.”

Crafts from Aunt Leslie: Picture frame

Cut a picture frame from a piece of cardboard.  Have kids glue macaroni (shells or other shapes) to cover the frame.  Spray paint with gold or silver paint and dry.

Ideas from Aunt Leslie: Sticker Squares

To teach kids their numbers and how to count, divide a piece of paper into ten squares.  Number each, and have kids put the correct number of stickers in each square.

Crafts from Aunt Leslie

Make a Balloon Pinata!

To do:
Make a thin glue with Elmer’s glue. Blow up a balloon, cover it with strips of colored tissue paper (several layers!), leave a hole to fill and let dry. Pop the balloon. Fill with candy or very light toys (could add confetti or paper streamers as filler). Put a long string to hang it inside the hole, cover the hole with more tissue paper and let dry.

Tonight, I sat on the couch and looked at old photos of my late mother, my late Aunt Linda and my Aunt Leslie and told my kids stories.  We laughed and cried and I tried to give them a sense of who Aunt Leslie was before she was the great aunt who sends neat craft stuff.  She was the aunt who took me to see the Johnny Carson show and the aunt who drove around with her boyfriend in Hollywood to help me find palm fronds to take home to Minnesota as souvenirs for my friends.  She was the aunt who found out I wanted to learn to do plastic canvas when I was 14 and sent me a giant garbage can full of all different yarns, plastic canvas and pattern books.  She was a wonderful aunt, sister, mother and grandmother.

Please take time with your kiddos today to call or write your loved ones and let them know how much they mean to you, while you still can.

We love you, Aunt Leslie.

Alicia