Hot glue gun - yeah baby!

One night before bed* last month Dexter made this:

They're dogs, on a mission to the moon.  Complete with stretchy bodies, tails, legs and detailed faces.  Made from paper and sticky tape and little foil in the background attached to their space ship.  I have no idea where he gets these ideas from, and as for constructing it in 3D?!  I love this kids creativity.

It gave me an idea.  Mum gave me a hot glue gun for my birthday last year which was still sitting in its packet on my sewing shelf.  Time we put it to use!  I raided the craft stuff and found these chipboard wooden bases along with a pile of other stuff.   We made a trip to the art store for a few extras like that fake bush/foliage stuff folks use in miniature train sets.  I figured if Dex could be so creative with paper and sticky tape, he would enjoy the process of making scenes/sets/fairy homes with the ease and convenience of a hot glue gun.    

 Dexter carefully planned a fairy house, drawing his ideas first, measuring and counting out little wooden cubes for the mini dwelling...generally attacking it in his usual, thoughtful way.  I handled the glue gun at all times - it really isn't safe for little people - and the children gave me directions on where to dab the next glob of glue.  The details are hard to see in a photo but here is his little fairy house including bunk beds, a doily rug, a fridge with doors that open and close, an indoor vertical garden (someone has been looking at renovation ideas with me!) and an outside garden.

Hugo took to the project in an entirely different way, with less planning and more of an organic approach.  He calls this a Camping Area.  There is a little sleeping bag and pillow down the back and various strange 'rock' and natural formations.  A little box contains treasures for the scary diamonte-eyed camper (middle foreground) to discover.

Hot glue guns rock!  They stink like nothing else - we were doing this on a freezing rainy day so didn't have any doors or windows open which was probably a bad idea.  The tip gets incredibly hot as does the glue and I received a couple of little burns to prove it.  The glue begins to dry in seconds and is completely set within 1 minute.  So easy.  We will do this again soon.

*I mentioned in my last post his night owl nature.  He is definitely the personality type that gets his creative jiggy on in the later part of the evening.  Wonder where he gets that from?  Hugo and Will on the other hand are morning people through and through.