We had Alaina and Ruby over this weekend. We hadn't been able to do that for about a month, so we were looking forward to seeing them again.
When we got to their house, we saw their art work hanging on the refrigerator. The one on the left is Ruby's. That's a picture of Aaron (who has a green truck) hauling home a Christmas tree. The other two are done by Alaina. They draw better at 6 and 9, than I ever did, or do now at 60!
When we got to our house, we started a project. I saw something about making ice balls, using balloons. You put food coloring in a balloon, then fill it with water and set it outside. When it's frozen, you peel the balloon off.
Here they are helping carry out our water balloons.
We put them in the snow in the front yard.
It got down to 16 degrees during the night and the girls couldn't wait to check them in the morning. We looked at them, but left them alone while we did some other things and checked them again in the early afternoon when I was taking them home.
When we checked them, we were surprised that they weren't totally frozen. A couple of the balloons broke so we drained them and left them in our yard. We loaded the others in a tub in the trunk of the car, hoping they didn't break on the way home!
We stopped to see Grandpa at work. He had been telling them about the paint machine, and how they had 12 colors and with them, they could make any paint color. They thought the machine was pretty cool!
We stopped to see Great Grandpa and Grandma and were sad that they weren't there, and then we went back to their house.
They have been working on a snow fort, so we thought our ice balls would be a perfect decoration for it. Thankfully none broke on the way there, so we peeled off the balloons and carefully put the ice balls on the fort. They were careful to arrange the colors the way they wanted them.
They look pretty with the sun shining on them.
We'll see how long they last, but this was a fun and easy project and the girls loved the finished product!
You are just the best grandma, Mari!! What fun you have with those two girls! No wonder they are so good at art! You have been helping them be creative since there were old enough to understand crafts. Cassie will have all that fun too, and she will have creative cousins who will also show her how to create. Just plain awesome!! xo
ReplyDeleteWhat a stroke of genius, these ice balls are beautiful!! You are such a fun grandma. I see so much artistic talent in these drawings! I could not draw any better for sure!
ReplyDeleteThose balloons are shining like jewels, that is new to me. Why did I not think of that as a child when I built snow forts in Wisconsin?
ReplyDeleteYou two are so good with the girls! Love the ice balls on the fort...oh, to be a kid again.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun those little girls are and you have such good ideas for them. I love the ice balloons.
ReplyDeleteThose are beautiful. You are such a creative nana, Mari.
ReplyDeleteThat is an epic project! Cheap, easy, and one hundred percent effective. They look beautiful adorning the snow fort. I wish Dagny and I could do that ... wait! Maybe we can, if we put the balloons in the freezer. I'm afraid it rarely gets cold enough here at night to freeze them. But if there's a frigid snap, maybe we can try it! Love you friend! xoxo
ReplyDeleteI just love this balloon project!! I sent the picture of it to Sammy.
ReplyDeleteThat fort looks beautiful and what a great idea to freeze water in balloons. I would like to try that with my grandsons, but I think I'll wait a few more years! They are only 2 and 4 and patience is not a easy thing for them right now! Your granddaughters are adorable and so talented!
ReplyDeleteYou have a couple of pretty accomplished artists in your midst! The balloon idea is clever. I'm going to try it with my littles. The "polar vortex" is supposed arrive here any minute so the weather will be perfect for freezing balloons!
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy you got to have more time with your girlies. The project turned out beautifully! They are so pretty. 💕
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