Tips and Tricks: Tablecloth clips

Do you remember those cheapo tablecloth clips that hold your tablecloth down on a picnic table? I remember them vividly from my childhood summers eating outside (usually holding down a vinyl checkered tablecloth). I found a set a few years ago for $1 at Joanns with their retro picnic supplies. The silly nostalgic in me picked up a set and thought I'd use them someday.

Well, I've found a use for them!!

Instead of holding a tablecloth to a table, I use them to hold down a large sheet of newsprint (you can buy end rolls at our newspaper for just a couple bucks). The paper completely covers the top of a card table and Ellie can color to her heart's content without me worrying that she's going to color on the dining room table. She loves it. Here she is coloring with a friend last week:

Ellie really likes to color on the BIG paper!

Product Review: Color Wonder Markers

Crayola makes Color Wonder markers that only color on their special Color Wonder paper. I was slightly skeptical as to how they would work when I first bought them, but I also didn't want Ellie to color on herself, her clothes, the furniture, etc. The markers and paper are a little more expensive than regular markers and paper but, in my opinion, are worth the extra for the time it takes to train your kids how to color with markers appropriately.

Color Wonder markers really do color only on the special paper. It takes a few seconds for the color to appear on the paper, but that didn't seem to deter Ellie any. The color is not archival, so it fades with time, especially in direct sunlight.

If you have a toddler who is likely to make a mess while coloring, I recommend Color Wonder markers and a paper. The markers are regularly sized, so they are easy to hold and help kids get ready for coloring with "real" markers. The Color Wonder markers we bought came in a little mesh zipper pouch, so we folded up a sheet of color wonder paper and put it in the zipper pouch to take to restaurants with us. The paper tears along folds easily, so there's no need to pre-cut the paper into smaller sections.

These have been beneficial for us while we have worked on teaching Ellie the "rules" of coloring. Only color on the paper, not your skin, clothes, or the table; keep the markers and caps out of your mouth at all times; never throw markers or caps onto the floor; etc. She is learning more and more about proper marker etiquette, and we have been able to train her without being frustrated or fearful that she would ruin her clothes, the furniture, or the carpet with marker ink. We will definitely keep using the Color Wonder markers for a while until she is old enough to color with "real" markers responsibly.

When I don't have time to make a birthday gift, I have given Color Wonder markers or finger paints and paper (they also have Color Wonder coloring books) for 2nd birthday presents.

For more information on Color Wonder products, go to Crayola's website.

Great ambitions....

I had great ambitions of doing sidewalk chalk with Ellie today since it's been so nice outside the last few days. And wouldn't you know we woke up to a full-blown blizzard and a few inches of snow this morning. So Ellie is sitting at the table coloring with her Color Wonder markers instead.

I think I'm going to make cards with some of these pieces of artwork she colors. She's all about coloring right now and covers the entire paper with little colorful scribbles. We only give her a half sheet of paper each time, so I could get two cards out of each one. I love her artwork, and I will scan some of it for posterity, but I don't think the Color Wonder markers and paper will last forever (the color changes over time and in response to the sunlight, so whatever the chemical reaction is that makes the Color Wonder markers and paper work together fades with time), so I'd like to use her drawings for something instead of just throwing them away. I will keep some of the crayon drawings for sure, and scan in some of the Color Wonder drawings so I can see how her coloring has changed with time, but you just can't keep everything. If I think of how much artwork she creates now, how will I handle it when she goes to school?? We'd have to get a storage unit just for her creations! So I'll start the process now... keep some of the best drawings (I will probably scrapbook them), scan some of the others, and then use them to make birthday and thank you cards for her friends and family. This could be a good thing.