Homemade Magnetic Paper Dolls

So our Summer Break is really here now, and as much as we play outside, or go somewhere outside of our

house, my kids always end up bored at home, at some point, and want either the TV or computer/tablet play.

Sometimes I can get them to read books, or play creatively, but we are just beginning our Summer, so I

need new creative ideas for them now!

One idea I had, was to make some simple magnetic paper dolls. I know my kids, and this is just the sort of thing they love. The magnetic paper is even better, than trying to fold pieces of paper onto paper.

But, this idea turned out even better than I had expected, once my kids saw me drawing, they wanted to do the same. So my 5 year old son, drew buildings, and my 7 year old daughter made her own little character and clothes along with me.

So this activity was great, we spent a good hour drawing. But it doesn't end there! I had to scan the images

into photoshop, and change some of the sizes, so her clothes fit her little cat lady she made.

But soon enough the image was ready. I made sure I could fit all of her images and mine on an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper, then I ran to the office supply store and bought some "Inkjet Gloss White Magnet Sheets". I was able to print everything right onto the magnetic paper. (I realized a little to late our ink was low on ink -it seems to ALWAYS be low on ink- so the colors are less vibrant than I was hoping.)

Then we grabbed a tin lid and the characters and clothes stuck right on.

So this led to another hour of creative play, and they thought it was so cool to see there images turned

into a real toy.