by Brie We have been doing a lot of painting at our house. It is one of my kids' favorite indoor activities on cold winter afternoons. The result is that there are piles of 8.5x11 painted pieces of printer paper, construction paper and card stock. And I never know what to do with them.

One day I decided that I had had enough of the kids quickly tearing through a stack of paper. I needed to get more creative. So I introduced them to murals.

Using the roll of paper I bought from IKEA for the easel they no longer have any interest in, I covered the rectangular dining room table in paper. One long strip of paper for each kid on either side of the table. I brought out some washable kids' paint and let them go at it.

I love the paintings that have resulted. I have taken some of my favorite paintings and cut them down to fit into large frames.

The long strips of paper make great murals when taped to the walls. On a particularly snowy and slushy day the four year old girl and I collaborated on a spring-is-almost-here mural. I helped with some of the drawing but she let her imagination and paint brush soar with all her ideas for spring.