Wrapping Paper project

My mom didn't believe in wrapping paper- at least not in the traditional sense of the word.  She used to give me cards that she hadn't signed, and when she arrived at Ocho's party the week she died she was so proud of presenting the present to me in a bag she had actually bought.  (if you got a gift from my mom, it was likely put in a bag you had already given her once).

So it's sort of funny that I'm a touch obsessed with gift wrapping.  When I say a touch, I have tons of bows and twine and ribbon.  I love the look of a nicely wrapped present- it's quite nice to be a part of my husbands family- since they invest in similar things.

Since EG loves to do all sorts of art projects, I decided to make something special and unique for this year's holiday season- hand made wrapping paper.

 One Sunday morning, while Ocho napped and Daddy took a breather I set us all up.  A long roll of white paper (this one from Ikea, but available at almost all the kiddo and craft stores) taped to the walkway of our front yard.

Washable finger paints (thanks Tanner!) and a place mat for her to put her feet on.  I'd been doing this for a while, but I'd never let her walk on the paper before, it was always just a bit of coloring here and there on the same paper.

Boy did we have fun.  EG is completely into it- totally messy and of course wanted Mommy to help too.  I would pick her up, put her down and help her make nice footprints.  We did at least three sections of paper this long.

 Biggest challenge- to much paint on her feet and slipping. It was a bit difficult to get enough paint to have fun, but not to much to be slippery.  Add that to an occasional gust of wind off the ocean, and it could be a bit of a challenge.

Then of course, it was a touch hard to dry.  Lots of saturated paint, and so I was trying to lay it out in the sun so she could keep painting.  It ended up ripping off the roll, which isn't a bad thing.

As you can see she's wearing a bathing suit top.  I misjudged how messy everything would be and we started out the painting in her regular clothing. While the paint said ultra washable, it still took two washes and a stain remover to get the dress back to normal.  But this bathing suit from Hanna Anderson held up great, is SPF 50 and made clean-up super easy; just let her jump straight on into water play!

If you'll be getting a gift from us, maybe you'll luck into some handmade wrapping paper from EG.  If not, don't think that you're not loved- we just haven't made that much.

This is a great project for anytime of the year, and if you keep with crayons/markers, etc then it would even be easier.  Can't think of a nicer way to involve the kiddos in all the gift giving coming up in a few weeks.

Are you ready of the holidays?