Korean Paper Hat Craft

Recently we went to a Korean Cultural Celebration at our local college. They had several craft stations set up...calligraphy, book marks, and this, paper hat making. This was the girls favorite activity. They had the hats folded and ready for the kids to decorate with dot paints and tissue flowers.

I dissected the hat to show you how simple it is to make one. Take one large piece of paper.

Fold top edge down about an inch.

Fold paper in half.

Fold bottom edge about 1/4 - 1/2 inch.

Tape along edge.

Tape strings for ties by the corners with the wide fold. The wide fold is the front of the hat.

Let children decorate with paints, markers and tissue flowers.

Have fun crafting with your kids!

Dragon Crown Craft

Sorry, it is a bit late to be posting a Lunar New Year Craft.

Fortunately, dragon crafts are fun year round.

I volunteered in Em's class this week. I read a book and provided this craft.

I started with 4 packages of bulletin board border paper in red, silver and gold. 2 packs were wide and 2 were thin.  I was able to make 23 crowns with lots of paper left over.

Fold the thin border paper in half. Cut. This will be your dragon's body.

The top of the paper is already wavy. Mimic the wave on the body along the bottom. Notice the tail narrows. It was very quick to do. Don't worry about making them identical or perfect.

I stapled the body onto the premeasured (hold up to your child's head and wrap around their head allowing for overlap to accommodate kids with larger heads) wide border paper. Line up the end of the tail to the end of the wide paper and staple.

I used white coffee filters to give the dragon some flair. You can cut them to make them fancier or just fold them in half and glue them on. The head is made from the wider border paper scraps. Fold in half the long way. Cut out 8 shaped head adding as much or as little detail as you want. I glued all the heads onto the crowns since Em's preschool class was going to be making them. Older kids could do this step.

I also added curling ribbon for the whiskers.

Cut out and accordion fold strips for legs. Make sure you cut out extras. Several kids in Em's class glued on 8-10 legs on their dragons.

Make sure you have lots of gems, google eyes, pom poms, feathers, stickers, sequins and paper scraps for the kids to glue on.

Once dry staple crowns closed.

Have fun crafting with your kids! Mama King



Hello! I wanted to share with my readers a new blog and group I started, Adult Adoptee Connecticut. I am very excited to offer a group and resources for adult adoptees living in CT. I came from a very active adult adoptee in NJ and was disappointed to find there was no group or resources in place in CT. I finally settled in to our new home and town and felt ready to embark on this venture. I  know the majority of my readers are here for the crafts, but for the handful came to 4 Crazy Kings because their lives have been touched by adoption and represent one facet of the adoption triad, please pass the word on. Right now I am the sole member! So, if you know of any international adult adoptees in CT looking to meet other adult adoptees let them know about AACT. You also do not have to be a CT Adult Adoptee to become a follower of the AACT blog. I will be posting the majority of my adoption related material on the AACT blog. Be sure to LIKE the Adult Adoptee Connecticut page on Facebook!

I have some other exciting adoption related news...



Gulp! My artwork made the cover and a short essay are included in the new publication, More Voices: A Collection of Works from Asian Adoptees, Edited by Susan Soonkeum Cox. More Voices is followup to Voices From Another Place: A Collection of Works from A Generation Born in Korea and Adopted to Other Countries.

Asian New Year Craft: Year of the Rabbit

I've got bunnies on the brain! 

The Lunar (also called Sol Nal, Tet, Asian or Chinese) New Year is approaching. 

February 3rd begins the year of the Rabbit.

 We will be participating in a potluck New Year party. Each family is bringing a different dish from their or their child's native country. We will be doing crafts, playing traditional games, wearing traditional clothes... I am really looking forward to it. 

I have to think up the perfect craft. This one above is cute but not the one we will be doing. Even though it is simple it required a glue gun...so automatically it was disqualified. 

If you have older children or are inclined to try this yourself (maybe save it for Easter) here is how I made it.

Supplies: paper tube, string, google eyes and glue gun

Flatten a paper tube.

Cut 3 identical width strips from tube.

Cut string for hanging.

Glue string between the base of two of the paper tubes. See photo.

Glue ears to the last section of tube.

Run a bead of glu on the top inside edge of the head.

Carefully place eyes to glue. Hold until dry.

Add a bit more glue behind eyes to ensure they stay in place.

Simple! Would make a cute ornament on an Easter-themed indoor twig tree. 

Stayed tuned for more bunny-centric crafts.

The Battle Over the Hanbok or Sharing Our Korean Culture

I had a great time talking about Korea and the New Year to the kids in Lu's Preschool Class, last week. I brought a Hanbok and a boys Jeogori (jacket) for the kids to try on. I read to the class,  New Clothes for New Year's Day by Hyun-joo Bae and  The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi. I also taught the kids how to say hello and friend in Korean.

Last year Lu wore her Hanbok to school and was very proud of "looking different." This year she did not want to wear her Hanbok. I respected her wishes, only after trying to talk her into it unsuccessfully. I did recognized her desire to blend in having been there myself. I just wasn't expecting it to come so quickly.

I brought the Hanbok with me to the talk. When I pulled it out of the bag, all the kids oohed and ahhed over it. I asked who wanted to try it on. By the time every hand shot up Lu had officially changed her mind. 

It is ironic that it took the classes unanimous acceptance for Lu to be free to be different.

She left school feeling very proud of her Korean roots. 

Somehow, I felt that I had accomplished much more than I intended.

Traditional Korean Sam Taeguk Fan

The Sam Taeguk symbol is found on tradional Korean fans. It is a variation of the Taeguk symbol found on the Korean National flag. The Taeguk is comprised of two colors, red and blue. The red represents heaven and the blue represents earth. The symbol represents harmony similar to a Ying Yang symbol. The Sam Taeguk includes yellow to represent man.

To make your own Sam Taeguk Fan hop over to Grown In My Heart. Click here for the printout and the instructions. Be sure to leave me a comment over there so I know you stopped by!

While your there enter the Crayola Back To School Giveaway. Crayola is giving away one Back to School Gift Pack to a lucky winner.





SAMTAEGUKFAN

Freezer Paper T-Shirt Stencils

Hello! My post is up for real this time! Today I am one of the Craft Contributers at Grown In My Heart. Come on by and visit me there! I give you step by step instructions on how to make a cute Birthplace or Home State Freezer Paper Stencil T-Shirt. Be sure to leave a comment and let me know you stopped by! I loved all of your comments last week! Thanks! Below is a sneak peak!



The shirt I made for Emme, a silhouette of South Korea. The Red sequin shows where Emme was born.

Freezer Paper Stencils are great for any design. I also made this Tinkerbell for Lulu. Using an old party decoration.

It's Official!

Thank you for all your kind wishes! It was a wonderful day!

We arrived super early for our 8:30am court appearance. This is picture outside of the courtroom. We meant another wonderful family adopting a little boy the same age as Em.

Mommy & Em

Em & Lu

Emme walked around during the whole proceeding. Curious as usual! The Judge was so nice! He was quite taken with Em. Em on the other hand wasn't to sure about him!

In front of the Court House.

It is hard to believe we first contacted the adoption agency in October of 2006 to start up the adoption process. It has been an amazing journey and we feel so blessed to have Miss Emme in our lives. Being adopted myself, I know it is truly hard to know if your parents love you the "same" as if you were biologically theirs. I can say 110% YES! Emme was ours from the moment I held her in my arms.

I always find it funny when people say to me, "Oh I could never adopt...God Bless you for doing it! You never know what your going to get." First of all, that statement is wrong on so many levels. Do you ever know what your going to get? Ask any parent! Adopting a child doesn't make me a saint. I am not taking on a charity case or burden I am taking in a CHILD! A human! I get the privilege of raising another human being. Emme has brought so much joy into our lives! Finally and more importantly that statement implies -- I don't think I could love a child that wasn't biologically mine! That just blows my mind. The human heart is capable of so much love and does not have limits! Do not underestimate your capacity to love.

I know and understand adoption isn't for everyone. I apologize for standing on my soap box. But I feel it is important to say because someone might read this and consider adopting who never had before. Thank you for following us on our adoption journey! Mama King