One of the perils of browsing through blogdom is the sheer number of amazing, inspiring, interesting activities that call out to the jack of all (craft) trades that is me.
I find myself suddenly unhappy with my kitchen ceiling or the nakedness of my flip flops for the beach.
Even the recipes are enticing (and I am *so* not a cook!).
And cake pops... oh, the cake pops.
(I think I need to make cake pops!)

On the whole, the reality of my time constraints~ family, work, business... keep me in check.
But I am keeping a running list of projects to incorporate into the long summer days for Rowan and I.
Some require a bit of planning, others are quick and easily prepared for a restless, creative almost 6 year old.
A few are underway and I hope to share, soon!

Yesterday afternoon I had hoped to let Ro & a friend play at the beach.
Living by a lake makes for the laziest summer parenting.
(Last year, in August, Rowan actually asked "do we have to go to the beach, again?!")

Sand and water are good for many, many, many hours of entertainment while a watchful mom felts, stitches or otherwise makes hay while the sun shines.

The girls did pass a giggly hour with an inflatable dolphin but a change in the weather made us retreat to the porch. Once there we experimented with Sandpaper Art as suggested by Laura at Come Together Kids.

We cut our sandpaper (100 grit) into two sizes of rectangle and the girls had fun covering it completely in crayon (heavy cover was encouraged).

Once they finished coloring, I pressed the sandpaper onto construction paper with a dry iron.
You could see the wax come through the paper to indicate how thoroughly you had made contact.

The results on paper were interesting but a little too subtle~ the girls were much happier with their sandpaper as the finished creation.
What interesting ideas have you taken up this summer? ♥♥