Paper Dress: Glitter Poinsettia

Christmas is around the corner and kids are making all sorts of holiday projects at school. Big E took home a poinsettia made out of red construction paper. Little E took out origami paper right away and wanted to make some flowers too!

I drew some poinsettia foliages on the red origami paper.

Little E cut them out and glue them on the skirt.

 Then we added some green leaves and yellow core.

They look bright and festive already!

We used glitter glue to make some decorative details. 

Happy Holidays, Everyone!

Paper Dress: The Bird Cage

If you know me, you know I have a favorite brand for handbags. And this is the newest apple of my eye from their Asian influenced series. 

Some critics found it a tacky representation of 1920's Shanghai. Some found it whimsical and clever. I just thought it reminded me of my last grandpa's bird cages. He had always had 3 bird cages at his place - a bamboo cage with a yellow bird, a wooden cage with a white bird, and a golden-color metal cage with a green bird. As a little girl, I enjoyed so much watching Grandpa feeding them and cleaning the cages. I loved it when Grandpa whistled a different tune to go along with the each birdie's singing.

But just like childhood memories, this precious bag is gone in a blink of an eye. I decided to make my paper version of a bird cage with Little E's help.

I drew two little birds and cut out some black tissue paper making a cage shape.

Little E colored the birdies green and cut them out.

We glued the birds on the skirt part and started twisting/lining up the golden pipe cleaners.

Then we glued the pipe cleaners in place using white glue.

It was not easy to keep them in place!

After leaving the dress dry overnight, here is our 22nd paper dress made together - The bird cage!

Paper Dress: Sea Star Bubbles

A friend of mine recently shared this photo of amazing sea star online. I was totally in awe of its vibrant colors and unique pattern. Big E and Little E have always enjoyed observing the life of different sea animals. After I showed this photo to them, they were so excited and asked to see more sea creatures at the local pet store. This week, Little E and I decided to make a paper dress about this beautiful sea star!

I drew 3 sea stars with a black sharpie. 

Little E and I spent quite some time to choose the colors and filled the patterns in.

Look how colorful these sea stars are after we cut them out!

The cutting part was not easy for Little E but we worked as a team.

Then I pulled some bubble wrap pieces out. 

Little E painted them with water color - pink, purple, green, and blue.

The water color took a bit longer than we expected to dry.

Maybe next time we can try acrylic paint on bubble wraps.

Here is our 21st paper (bubble wrap) dress made together - The Sea Star Bubbles!

Paper Dress: Black and Foil

Black origami paper and foil.

Right after I saw this pair of beauty online, Little E and I wrapped this up in 5 minutes.

She re-purposed the foil gem from the dress as her hair piece - a much more brilliant idea!

Here is our 20th paper dress made together - The Black and Foil.

Paper Dress: Summer Popsicles

Two months of summer break is almost coming to the end. Big E and Little E have had so much fun doing different activities, playing with friends and visiting grandparents in L.A.

And of course in the summer heat, the kids have a lot of chances to enjoy frozen treats - shaved ice, frozen yogurt, ice cream cones, milk shakes, popsicles...and so on. I'm always amazed by how fast they can chow down the sweet icy treats in a blink of an eye (compared to the long dragging 45 minutes at regular meal time) .

After our trip to Legoland, the kids still remembered the rainbow popsicle they had there.

When we came home, Little E and I decided to make some popsicles on paper by ourselves.

We cut out popsicle shapes using white printing paper. 

I drew some different designs and Little E colored them using markers.

I use brown poster paper to cut out two pieces of skirt patterns out. 

Little E glued most popsicles on one piece of skirt.

Here is the 19th colorful and vibrant paper dress we made together - the summer popsicles!

I thought Little E looks like a girl scout selling popsicles : )

Paper Dress: The Angel Wings

I love shoes. Sandals, pumps, heels, flats, boots, loafers, flip-flops, sneaker...You name it, I have it.

I am not the Carrie Bradshaw type to go for Manolo Blahnik or Christian Louboutin though. My wallet, my wide feet, and the reality of having two little kids won't allow me to have this kind of luxury.

However, I do know how to appreciate a pair of beauty when I spot them online or in the magazine.

This pair of colorful wings caught my eye when I saw it for the first time. I can't think of an excuse for me to buy it or an occasion for me to wear it. Therefore, I'm making a paper dress version of it for my Little E to enjoy.

I drew 3 pairs of angel wings. Little E and I cut them out. 

Then she colored them in two different shades of pink.

I used two pieces of orange tissue paper to make the dress and drew a simple maze on white paper. 

Slide the maze under the tissue paper as a pattern. 

Little E cut and glued the purple origami paper strips to recreate the maze.

Then Little E glued the 3 pairs of wings on the dress. 

I made her a pair of bigger angel wings using fuchsia and blue construction paper.

 For the straps on the dress, I taped 3 long strips of white paper to make braids. 

Little E was a great little helper when I was braiding the paper together.

If the maze is too hard to get out, Mama gives you wings to fly over, my little girl!

Here is our 18th paper dress made together - The Angel Wings.

Paper Dress: The Glass Window

I have always admired the work of architect and interior designer Frank Lloyd Wright. His belief in organic architecture brings human habitation and the nature into an interrelated harmony. 

His skill to conceive a simple and yet artistic design for stained glass inspired me to let Little E play with the colors and shapes.

Little E picked 5 markers to randomly color the stained glass window pattern.

Then I cut another piece of black construction paper into 6 pieces as below.

We glued the stained glass window on the biggest piece of paper.

I cut out more shapes using origami paper for Little E to glue on the other three pieces of black paper.

When she was done, I glued all three decorated pieces on the skinny piece of black paper to make a skirt.

I also used a piece of white printing paper to finish the skirt and made a belt.

Here is our 17th paper dress made together - The Glass Window!

Paper Dress: Chasing Butterfly

Playing in the park is probably one of Little E's favorite things to do. Although she is still not a fan of the swings at age 4, she really likes the slides,  bike riding, observing insects and birds, or just running around on the grass for no reason.

Recently she has discovered a new activity to do - chasing butterflies! There are some monarch butterflies flying in the neighborhood park. Every time Little E spotted them, she would just took off running excitedly after them, trying to see how beautiful they are and how high they can fly!

I thought it would be a great idea for make a butterfly paper dress during this season. 

I glued 2 pieces of violet tissue paper to make the dress. 

I found a butterfly pattern on line. Little E traced it on colorful origami paper.

She used glitter glue to to decorate the biggest butterfly. 

It's her first time using glitter glue at home - sticky but sparkly!

We let the glitter butterfly dry overnight. 

The next day, we cut out all 7 butterflies from the origami paper.

 Glue them randomly on the violet tissue paper.

Voila! Here is our 16th paper dress made together - Chasing Butterfly!