Under construction

We are in the process of building our own grottoes. Small ones. With cardboard, popsicle sticks and aquarium gravel. I wanted to do something for Our Lady of Lourdes' feast day on Sunday but there wasn't enough time to order some of these. So...we made our own. Here is the prototype I made first. I tried to make it an exact duplicate of the original.Then I tweaked it a little for the kids. I used a picture I printed off rather than having them color one. The Professor really doesn't enjoy coloring but the girls could color all. day. long. Since I wanted this project finished in one nap time, not two...we ditched the coloring. I also chose to use aquarium gravel instead of semi-precious gemstones. Since we don't have a fish tank, I assumed I would find only the natural colored rocks. I was pleasantly surprised to find green, purple and blue as well.

Here are the materials I used. You don't see any glue pictured because I was still testing them when I took this picture.I used hot glue to make mine. It is faster drying and my fingers are so calloused they don't burn anymore. I tested Fast Grab Tacky Glue and plain old Elmer's. The Elmer's said it would dry clear, but I think it might take overnight since I used a big glob. (That is the technical term for it, by the way!)I think I am going to let the children try the Tacky Glue first. We only have one bottle, so if we run out, we will have to switch to Elmer's.

I hope posts like these don't come off as bragging. They are mostly for the benefit of my memory. Yes, that is my brain next to the definition of "sieve". Next year, when my kids say, "Hey Mom, can we make those things again?" I won't feel so bad when the usual, "Huh? What things?" escapes my lips.