Luke is one of those kids that gets into mischief very easily.  If he's the least bit bored, he seeks out things to get into.  Add to that fact that he's a skilled climber, and you can only imagine the things he gets into.  He also isn't one of those kids who will sit quietly and read books or play with toys for very long.  SO I have to get really creative.  Thankfully, he LOVES art projects and crafts.  So I've been searching my new favorite website, pinterest, for ideas to keep him busy, happy, and out of trouble!

I took pictures of him so I could remember the things we did together and do them with Cate when she's older. 

 This is Luke's new favorite thing to do--paint the bathtub!  I just mix shaving cream with a drop of food coloring in a muffin tin, give him a paintbrush and let him go.  He loves it!  And he's really good about cleaning up all the 'paint' with a washcloth.  We drain the water when he's done painting and take a real bath so this activity doubles bathtime, but that's not always a bad thing!

 Painting.

 Luke has always loved play-doh, but I saw a new idea that he surprisingly thinks is the best thing ever.  We take his Mickey Mouse toys and hide them in the play-doh, and then he stands them up in the play-doh to see their "paw prints".  He will literally do this activity for an hour! 

And this is another favorite art project.

He uses markers to color on coffee filters, and then sprays them with water and watches all the colors mix together.  It combines his two favorite things--markers and the spray bottle!  Oh and getting messy!

 Cate loves watching him work!

 Spraying the coffee filter. 

If you try this at home, be sure to put the filter on a baking sheet with a lip--it gets super messy.

 The finished product!

We used these as turkey feathers and made little turkeys to decorate the house.

We switched it up this week and I wrote his name, drew shapes, etc... on a paper towel and let him spray it.  He loved watching the colors run on the paper towel.

 And then Luke decided it was easier to spray the water into his mouth....

 and spit it on the paper towel. 

 He's definitely very inventive and creative in how he accomplishes things!  And ALL boy!

And he wouldn't be Luke if he didn't get completely messy.  Check out those arms!  Luckily I'm not afraid of a mess...and these markers wash off very easily!

I'm loving finding new projects to do with Luke.  And he loves it too!  We usually try to do one project in the morning and one in the afternoon.  And since we started these new things, he hasn't been as mischievious.  So thank you, pinterest, for all the new ideas!  Ha!