A Haunted Time

I love doing all kinds of crafts. It is good for me to do, keeps the brain working. You know that Alzheimer's is the devils playground. So, I think that I will try to avoid that as much as I can.

This weekend we headed to AC Moore, a craft store in Chattanooga that is going out of business. Since I already had to be there, I figured a stop there won't hurt anything. Yeah right!

I am trying to get the boys more involved in some crafts. I like them to work with their hands in things other than video games. It is good for Eric, it helps his motor skills, and hand eye coordination too. Plus, for him it makes the creative juices moving. And also, it helps with his lack of wanting to clean. If he makes a mess while making something, then he has to clean it up.

For PJ it is just for him to make something. He has wonderful motor skills and his coordination is just fine, so it is more of the fact that he is doing something. And if Eric is doing something, PJ wants to do it too. Fine with me, it just gives me a chance to help them, but it also gives them a chance to be creative.

At AC Moore, I found all kinds of stuff that, well, I just don't need. But I did need it in a way. And the stuff I bought will be fun for us to do. I am looking forward to another year of gingerbread houses and gingerbread Christmas tree. I can't wait.

I found a foam Haunted Halloween Castle. I thought that would be fun to do and have on the table in the kitchen. Yep, something that requires the glue gun, oh, I am in my element!

So the boys take it out of the box and we start having problems, once I sat and looked at it, I figured out an easier way. And it went better after that. We did originally try with Elmer's glue. The only thing Elmer's is good for is construction paper, not heavy foam at the top of a tower. The top kept sliding down. It really was a mess! But once we remembered the hot glue gun, we were moving along much better.

I think I served to take pictures. But I did have to sort all the stuff that came with it. "Ok, PJ you get 2 bats, 2 ghosts, 1 tree, 1 web, 1 pumpkin, and the "Velcome" sign. Eric you get the same thing, but you get the extra bat." That way all is fair.




PJ got started first, and he is so picky. He followed the picture on the box, with the exception of the pumpkin. He wanted it just right. And he worked that glue gun like a professional! He knew exactly what he wanted to do. He would sit there, look, examine, and then glue. I got a kick out of him.

I have to separate them when they work like this, it is a mess, and it is just too much trouble to keep everything straight, who has what. So, PJ gets done, and Eric takes over. Working the glue gun is a little tricky for him, but he gets the hang of it quickly. He decides that he wants to do his own stuff on there. And that just sets PJ off, he wants it perfect, Eric is more of a free spirit, where ever it lands is fine with him. He is the more creative one too.



In the end, we got done, had fun, had a mess, and ended up with a foam tower for the kitchen. PJ loves to decorate, he is happy decorating. He had to get signs for around the house for Halloween and pumpkins for the outside. It is fine; I would rather have them doing this, and staying out of trouble or even sitting playing video games.