Friday, April 10, 2009

birthday countdown

We've been slacking a little bit in the "craft a day" department. It's been kind of an off week for me and I haven't been sticking to my new schedule as much as I had been last week. But, I told myself that it's all about being flexible, so I did the best I could and that's OK with me. No reason to throw the schedule out the window for one off week.

So, Thursday I forced myself out of the slump and we decided to make a birthday countdown for Mikayla's birthday coming up in just 13 days! I thought it would be fun for her to tear off a piece of the chain a day as we count down to the big day of her turning THREE!

I wanted Mikayla to be involved in the process as much as possible...and let go of my control a little bit. So, we started out with painting some colors to use as the cupcake cut out. One page blue and one page red. I decided to use Color Wonder paper and paints to avoid a mess (hey, I said I was only going to let go of control a little bit).


She loves using my paper trimmer, so I let her cut each of the strips for the chain.


I decided to throw in a little color lesson while we were at it.


Since Mikayla's family party is actually before her birthday, we made a special link that said Family Party. Mikayla wanted to add her extra special touch...isn't she so cute concentrating on her artwork?


Then we linked together the strips of paper with a stapler.


Here is the final cupcake...she was insistent on blowing out the candles. So cute!


I needed to hang it somewhere high enough that Austin couldn't reach it. It's hanging in our hallway...right next to her room.


When we made it, I added one extra chain so Mikayla could tear it off for today.


I LOVE THESE BLUE EYED BABES!!

Check out I Blame My Mother for more kid friendly fun!!

24 comments:

Jen @ tatertotsandjello.com said...

Oh -she is adorable! And what a great idea so she can visually see when the big day comes. I love it!

So cute!

XOXO
Jen

Unknown said...

Great idea. Maybe one I will try for Kenneth. He loved counting the days before Christmas!!

Sharon said...

Great idea I had never thought of! Happy Easter!!

Sarah said...

We do a prayer chain for advent counting down to Christmas and right when Christmas is over they ask if we can make another. My middle one is always asking when it will be her birthday - I just have to do this with her birthday coming up in June....she'd be completely OK with one each year....364 links long :)
Thanks for linking - enjoy your weekend!

Dawn said...

Great idea!! My girls have birthdays in June and are always asking "how many days?" Cute pictures :) Have a great weekend!

Jess said...

Great idea/ (:

Kelli said...

That is such a cute idea! I love the way she's concentrating on her work.

Unknown said...

Too cute!

The birthday chain is a great idea!

lsnellings said...

What a cute idea! I will have to tuck that one away for Libby's next birthday!

DairyQueen said...

My daughter lives for birthdays! She doesn't care if it's hers or someone elses...she's a party girl!

Both of my girls will love this though, we are going to put this on the to-do list!

Shawn said...

What a great idea!

I shutter to think how high I would have to hang my chain so it would be out of reach of any visiting little ones. Sadly, I'm afraid the roof is out of the question!

Tanielle said...

What a great idea!!! My girlies would love this. I think we'll wait though considering their b-days are in Dec., Jan., and Feb. I gotta remember though!

Heather said...

She did an AWESOME job...it turned out very cute! I have been thinking about letting Meara make one with Mickey Mouse's head this time to count down to our trip.

Missy said...

What a great idea. Looks like it was a lot of fun for her to help out with.I've got to get in b'day party mode myself. My daughter's party will be around the first part of May. Fun!!! Have a great day!

Katie said...

I love it Heidi! Isn't letting go of control the hardest part?! It came out so nicely and it's so much better to get them involved.

Shelby said...

I love hanging it from a cupcake, it makes it functional and cute! My daughter turned 3 in December... it is hard to believe that much time has gone by already. Happy Easter!

Angie said...

What a great idea. My boys would love that.

Shelley @ My Treasure Hunt said...

I love this idea! I wanted to do that for my son's birthday but never got to it and his birthday passed us by! Maybe next year! Also, I have never thought to let him play with my paper trimmer. I am thinking he would love that! Thanks for sharing!!

Jen said...

What a great idea! Very colorful, too!

Jen
Creative and Curious Kids!
http://raisingcreativeandcuriouskids.blogspot.com

God's Shining Stars
http://godsshiningstars.blogspot.com

vicki said...

I LOVE THESE BLUE EYED BABES, TOO!
LOVE,
GRAMMIE

sunnymama said...

This is a fantastic idea. I'm wondering now if sunnyboy would 'get' the idea if we did it for his 3rd birthday later this year. He loves making paperchains anyway :)

Miller Racing Family said...

Love the birthday chain countdown. What a wonderful idea. We will be doing that is June. Thanks for the idea. Have a great day!

Kris said...

What a clever idea!! Very, very cute! And a great way to help them get excited for the count-down. Thanks for sharing!

heidi said...

How FUN! You are such a great mama, Heidi!

 
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