The Magic 🪄 In Play
Week 37 - Like Mother Like Daughter and passing it on to my sons
For the past few days, I have been trying to figure out what to write as I have felt nothing has inspired me this week to share. Then, yesterday, I remembered a creative activity I have wanted to do with Phoenix for ages.
Like Mother Like Daughter
Art and crafts have always been part of my life growing up with my mother, who has sewed most of my clothes. She has taught us how to draw, paint, knit, crochet, and DIY everything in our house, so naturally, both my brother and I are also very artsy. You become a product of your environment, and arts and crafts were always available to us. If you go to my mother’s house today, she will have about 5-10 art projects, some of which are for my sons.
As you can imagine, as Phoenix has gotten older, I have been waiting to share all my lifelong lessons of doing arts and crafts with him. It’s been two years of waiting, and he has become more interested in painting and this little creative activity.
The best part about arts and crafts is the PLAY aspect of it… there are endless ideas that you can do. So when this idea popped into my head, I went to my now small box of art supplies and found everything I needed.
I minimalist all my stuff and gave away a lot of it as I wasn’t using stuff, and it needed a decluttering, but I kept what I thought was essential.
Glitter was essential and the one main item I required to turn this activity into MAGIC ✨
But before we get to the Magic In Play … the weather has been fantastic and sunny ☀️these past couple of days, so we decided to move the mud kitchen off the deck and into the fresh air.
DIY mud kitchen
I have also wanted to share how we have turned this secondhand table into the kids’ mud kitchen for a while… but I have never felt like it was finished how I wanted it to be until now.
I know I still want to do more by adding hooks 🪝 putting signs up, etc, but it’s an ongoing project. As the boys play with it more and more, it swaps and changes to their needs.
I love a good DIY project, and this one was something I have wanted to do for a while. My design was to have two kitchens on one table so the boys could play opposite each other and not get into each other’s space if they wanted to do something independently.
Memphis turns 11 months today 🥺 always wanted to play next to Phoenix, so we have to keep encouraging him to stay on his side, but it’s Phoenix's setup, and he loves to take over both sinks. All the materials used from the sink bowls, the vintage knobs and spice racks were unused items lying around the house that were going to be donated.
I made time last night to make decorations and set up the mud kitchen and make it extra special for both of them today. I made wands by wrapping twine around sticks we had collected on walks we usually take daily.
How To Make Magic Potions Station
Magic Potion Items:
Jars
Glitter ✨
Bicarb
Vinegar
Leaves 🍃
Herbs 🌿 (rosemary)
Lavender Flowers
I know that I didn’t have a mud kitchen growing up as a kid, but I know that my mother had created some of the best Halloween costumes and allowed me to play with art in any form I wanted.
I may not have had a mud kitchen like this growing up, but my mother allowed me to play with art in any form I wanted. She let my imagination be fulfilled with any desire I wanted. My mother’s favourite way of allowing me to shine was through dress up, as I had some of the best costumes a kid could ever have on Halloween, but it went beyond costumes with my mom as she dressed me for every occasion I could ever dream.
She allowed my mind to run wild through my imagination to PLAY as a kid, and for that, I am grateful for it. I have always believed in the power of MAGIC because I know that MAGIC, at the end of the day, is just another word for LOVE!
So now, being in her role creating this magic of play for my children is truly a blessing because the gift I receive seeing the smile on his face is PRICELESS!
It was worth staying up late to create each potion and watch him pour it into each bowl. Asking me to refill the water repeatedly was the best few hours I have spent in weeks. I can’t wait to transform the mud kitchen into the next activity…
I hope this inspires you to do something creative for someone special in your life.
Lots of love
Kim
Love the magic