Omega Francis

Throughout L’s time in preschool we have had project after project to do, so much that we felt as if we were back at school ourselves! Added to the school projects, L would give his father his own projects to do (he would just decide he wanted something and he absolutely needed daddy to do it.)  These special ‘daddy projects’ made his father known as the ‘model’ guy, and L’s teacher started making special requests of him. 

Of course, for his son he went all out!

Let’s check out the ‘daddy projects’ first.

Models

Here are the models that L’s dad did for him and the school: In order of appearance (Dragon for Double Ten, Christmas Tree and accordion bus (both requested by L), Porcupine, Easter Basket and Jelly fish.

 

The Budget:

All of the models and the Easter basket were made at home with items we always have on hand (bristol board, kite paper, straws and nylon string etc. The bus was a big hit and it took L’s dad many weeks to finish. He worked pretty hard on it. The porcupine is a car sponge and straws, the basket is an old shoebox and the jelly fish is a plastic bowl wrapped in a shower cap with plastic bag tentacles. Talk about a serious budget right? 

Carnival Costume (Porcupine)

You can visit my Instagram page and check out the porcupine costume I made for him for Carnival here. (Feel free to follow).

That costume took me a good while to make because I did it in stages. The quills are made of straws and L and I wrapped black electrical tape in different patterns on them to give that mottled appearance. I used the brown hoodie that was the ‘body’ of his Tortoise costume from last year and hot-glued the straws up and down the back and arms, then I spray painted it lightly with gold spray paint. I finished the costume off with a simple porcupine face mask.

The Budget:

Cost of costume: $0

How? Here is the breakdown:

• We had purchased a pack of like 1000 straws some years ago (probably more like 100, but it was never ending)
• The hoodie was reused from last year’s costume.
• We always have a number of assorted tapes around (from Scotch to Duct and everything in between).
• We also own our own glue gun and keep our glue supply stocked up.
• Spray paint was also purchased a while before for another project.

 

Easter Hat

The budget:

Cost of Easter hat: $12-$15

How? Here is the breakdown:

• This time I had to purchase some glue sticks so I decided two should be fine for now.
• I also had to purchase blue and yellow kite paper (we did not have the colours).
• One sheet of yellow bristol board (we did not have the colour).
• The rest of the hat was a mix of bristol board and the brim and top was cut from an old box. L and I crumpled up the kite paper and stuck it around the brim and top and I drew on the face, he helped paint the ears (as well as the glitter), and the body of the hat.

So all in all, all these crafts were done inexpensively and L was the happiest preschooler ever!

So yes! You can make miracles on a budget!