Visual Designs by Chris

Chris Durnan

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Archives for June 2013

Fun Summer Ideas – Cone Delish Dessert

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We made these with our den at camp this year. I saw the idea in many places so wrapped them all up into a “did it” activity. Yeah. LOVE when I actually do these things I see.
This may be the perfect addition to 4th of July. 

Cone Delish Dessert
Basically we took some waffle cones. Filled them with marshmallows and mini candy bars we had leftovers of. Then wrapped them in tinfoil and sharpied the name on the side. Then we threw all 36 of them on the grill after we were done grilling lunch. We let them just heat through. My hubby said when they felt soft he pulled them off. And the kids ate them and enjoyed. 
They were all oooey and gooey yum. 
So you need: sugar waffle cones, tin foil, and your choice of sugary treats, marshmallows. etc.
Some tips were to make sure there were marshmallows on top to seal in the chocolate. Don’t leave them on to long because they will burn. Use the cones that are waffle sugar and not the light colored square ones.

Hope that makes some sense.

Also a parent put marshmallows, pineapple, cherry, and mounds candy bar in one. She said it was yummmm!
Have any other combination ideas?
What sweets do you grill?
My son and I worked on these Fun Summer Ideas together so we would love love to see what you put in your Cone Delish Dessert. 
Enjoy!
Chris

Summer Fun Idea – Paper Masks

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Have you ever seen the books.. Guardians of Ga’hoole or how about Legends of the Guardian?
My son jumped in with his own ideas for this Summer Fun Idea. How to make your own masks and talons similar to the characters in the books.


He created the mask on his own and then found a how-to online for the talons. They were origami claws I think. Here is the link.  Folded them all up on his own.

This kid never ceases to amaze me. He cut all the mask and paper and showed it to my hubby and I guess they chatted and the decision to make the headband piece around the back to hold it in place was made. So with a little ingenuity, Dad’s help, paper, scissors and some inspiration, my son was creating one of his favorite book characters masks. Pretty cool. However, I might be biased. 

So if you can think of a character in your favorite book and create a mask it can be lots and lots of fun. And there are tons and tons of origami folding tricks out there on google. 
Enjoy!

Chris

**Disclaimer: the image above and the series of books mentioned are not mine. nor do I have any affiliation with. my son just loves them. loves them. I have no representation of it in anyways. Other then my son thinks they rock! and I can’t buy enough of the series for him. 

Fun Summer Day – Photo Booth

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Some days are meant for fun and giggles and photos. If you have a cutter you can cut out all kinds of fun disguise pieces.

Then put together a photo booth. How about a sheet hung over the back of two chairs. A tall footstool to set the camera on and props.

You can cut out some props and put them on straws if you have a digital cutter.
Or you can dig through what you have. hats, glasses, scarfs and silly. Maybe some Halloween costumes that you have random pieces for.

I think the best part is making the photo black and white just because. Might give you some fun photos to scrap or put in a frame.

And don’t forget some fun happy music in the background. One person can be the photographer and shoot pictures. Don’t forget to get in the photo with your kids. Later in life when looking through photos they will gladly tell their kids. “That is your Grandma and we had so much fun that day just being silly. ” They won’t care that you don’t like your wrinkle or your eyes or your smile or your blah blah. They will care that they can share the memory.

If you create any, we would love to see!! My son and I worked on these Fun Summer Ideas together so we would love love to see what you come up with props!

Enjoy!
Chris

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My files in the store can be located here. Thank you for stopping by!

CAD – Thinking of you Owl.

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Today is my day on Card A Day Blog… I chose to highlight one of my long time Creative Team members project. Enjoy! Chris

Sussann, from the VDBC Creative Team, recently had some bumps with her computer and digital cutter. I am super happy to see she has it back in gear and working again.

This was her most recent card and it fits well with the Just Because theme of this week.

This is what Sussann had to say about her project.

“How cute is this owl?! This is part of a cutter file that was included in Chris Durnan’s Quarterly Membership Club. I cut him out, pin-stitched and chalked the edges. I layered him on a torn and inked piece of patterned paper. I stamped the Thinkin’ of you! sentiment on a torn, inked piece of cardstock and pop-dotted it on the card.”

I really could never make it all happen without the VDBC creative team and awesome forum members.

Thank you Sussann !!

They are just awesome. I hope you enjoy the cute card.

Enjoy! Chris, Visual Designs by Chris

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My files in the store can be located here. Thank you for stopping by!

Fun Summer Ideas – Diorama

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Recently my son created this Diorama built with the landscape of the “Warriors” series. To include, caves for them, a barrier wall, cats out of pipecleaners, and fallen tree in the back corner.

My son came up with this idea on his own. he showed up with a pile of rocks, the toothpicks from one of my other projects, and some pipecleaner. He asked me how to make cats. Well we cut and twisted the pipe cleaner. He twisted some more to make a fallen tree. Really he just kept at it. And it made me smile.

Basically I think the diorama is a miniature 3 dimensional scene. I think typical it is supposed to have a backdrop so maybe we will add that. I think we will save this little scene and keep adding to it and enter it in the Fair next year. See how it does.

Here are some other diorama’s I saw on Pinterest. If you make something, we’d love to see it.

  My Son and I spent some time looking through ideas and coming up with things we have loved to do recently to post for you to see. So we will be checking out all the comments and posts to see what everyone is coming up with. My son will be super excited to see everyone’s ideas with his. So please share if you get the chance.
 
Enjoy!
Chris

This is a popular character. You can find the link to it HERE. 

If you are going to participate in the creating, which I think is an awesome idea. This might be your style. Very pretty and puffy made from different materials. you can find the link HERE. 

This one below is a habitat diorama so you can do some research and is made from paper mostly. A good backdrop may also be a pizza box which opens flat.
You can find it here.

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My files in the store can be located here. Thank you for stopping by!

Fun Summer Series : Dice Games

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Learn a new game. One that is easily done while waiting for a summer activity. I love Dice. I hate that you have to throw them across the table to get a “good read”

Traveling while playing a dice game. Especially in an airplane could be so nerve wracking.
I saw this idea and actually said. YES out to the computer monitor. I probably would have done a fist pump of woohoo if I hadn’t been typing.

Small clear dice container. I found this on pinterest here.

And here is a list of family dice games and instructions. Have fun!

Let me know which one is your favorite dice game. 

And my son was not enthused about this idea because he likes to throw the dice across the room. So I am not sure he will be checking in for a picture on this post or comment, but I will. 🙂
Enjoy!
Chris

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My files in the store can be located here. Thank you for stopping by!

Friday giggle – Barr Rock

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Here is Friday Giggle.
My Dad sent me this picture after I sent him photos of my chickens. He said look he got one to.
I replied with. “Yeah!! I have a Barr Rock Also.  Maybe you’ll get plastic easter eggs!”
Ha! There was no response. Maybe I am not as funny as I think I am .
Love that my Dad sends photos all the time on his phone.

If you think it was cute, or funny.. please comment, like something. I am losing my audience here. Maybe Friday Giggle is not a good idea and more of a groan idea. hmmm.. maybe. But I will keep trying. Cause I love to giggle. I better go tickle that kid of mine for some instant giggles. Yeah!Love My Life.

Enjoy!
Chris

To get quick fun updates of things going on, you can join my facebook page.

My files in the store can be located here. Thank you for stopping by!

Summer fun idea – Out of the food rut..

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Kids are so awesome at knowing what they want for dinner.
Pizza, mac and cheese, PB & J
I call these rut foods. Just the usuals.

 Encourage them to think of something they’ve never tried before.

How about making your own pizza with something they have never had a pizza. My son tried a Hawaiin Pizza the other day and the pineapple made him uber happy. A total step away from the usual cheese. We also like to make our own at home often. 
Instead of pasta with cheese, how about toppings out in little bowls. And let them put some toppings on their noodles that are a little less processed.. Some ideas are halved cherry tomatoes, fresh peas, red peppers, chopped up left over grilled chicken. Toss it all with a little bit of olive oil.
And of course freshly grated parmesan and not parmesan dust on the shelf. The little bit of fresh can make all the difference. 
Berries Frozen and whirled in the food processor with a little whip cream on top yum. Forget the ice cream. all that flavor goodness without the additives. Yum!
I have to ask how many of you have this book, Betty Crocker New Cook Book,  on your shelf? or how about your Mom did? I found it at a book sale for 50 cents. my copy is all torn and beat to pieces. So I grabbed this one. My son was thumbing through it. We will see what we can come up with. I’d love if you shared what you come up with!
Enjoy and Bon Apetit!
Chris

Fun Summer Ideas – Flip Books

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This project was my idea and not my kiddos. I didn’t show it to him yet because I didn’t want him to use up all my little post-it note pads before we traveled. If you create one with your sweets, I’d love to see it so I can show him. 🙂

So Flip books… Do you remember these? There are times when we are waiting in line, making those pesky doc appts during summer to get them out of the way, or taking a travel trip.

A flip book is a great way fill some time. And requires minimal supplies and just a creative idea. And they can be quite addictive. This is on my list of put in the bag for a long airplane flight we have coming up.

Still don’t know what I am talking about? Here is a youtube video that might show you what I mean. They don’t have to be animated works of crazy art and they can be a cheap to do if you look at a few resources.


And things you could use for flip books….

I saw little post it note pads at the dollar store. 3 for $1.00. Remember little is better because you just need a pencil in your bag and a little post it note.

Or if you visit conventions, community events where they have those freebie pads of paper, post its, with their business name on it. great resource. also  for a teeny tiny adventure on the flip note those little flag it post it notes work to. I like the post it notes because you can pull it apart and pull out the “bad flip” and stick it back together.

Plus I think that only about 2 brands of the “post it notes” only seem to work for me. The rest stick for two seconds fall off.

Or you could cut up that random funky green paper in your collection of scrap paper. The one with all the dust on it and you can’t seem to find the right project for it.

If you need better instructions.. I found this.. http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/do/flipbook.html on PBS kids.

If you or your child create one or both. I’d love to see what you come up with. Please share with me here a link so I can see or tag me on pinterest. Something. 🙂

Enjoy your Summer!
Chris

To get quick fun updates of things going on, you can join my facebook page.

My files in the store can be located here. Thank you for stopping by!

Fun Summer Idea – Friendship Card – CAD

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This weeks Card a Day blog topic has been friendship. I have found some awesome friends through my creativity at VDBC. so I tend to peruse that gallery like crazy to see what everyone is doing.

This card just popped out. Thank you Caz for posting such a beautiful and friendship filled card.
Very nice indeed.

Don’t forget to come back the rest of the month for some Summer Fun Ideas. We have already started with some.

So today’s Summer Fun Idea. Find one friend. Create something and mail them a card. This is great for kids to be creative and also to address an envelope and mail it. I wonder how long the post office will be running sometimes with the world of text and email. I definitely love to get mail myself. So I hope you take the time to help a child, grandchild crafting something to drop in the mail. 

Don’t forget to get a picture first and post it somewhere I will see! And so I can show my son who has helped me come up with some of these ideas. 
Thank you again Caz for the awesome inspiration!

Enjoy!
Chris

To get quick fun updates of things going on, you can join my facebook page.

My files in the store can be located here. Thank you for stopping by!