Click on the links below to read more...
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This year I wanted to try something a little with our fairy garden.
We found a lovely wooden wheelbarrow at the local garden center. We lined it so that it the compost we would be filling it with wouldn't rot the wood.
We planted some little violas plants around the edges, took a "cutting" from one of our conifers to plant as a tree. We also used a pine cone for a tree! We made a fairy sized washing line and placed some special stones and moss found on walks for a fairy path.
Finally we placed our fairy houses in their new home and scattered grass seed around them. Hopefully as the warm weather continues the grass will make a lovely, soft green carpet for a our fairies delicate littlefeet to tread upon :)
Here is how we made our clay fairy homes.
We warmed the clay between our hands, added a little warm water to soften it and rolled it into a log shape.
I began by cutting the log into aprroximatly 1 inch slices for the houses.
I rolled out one more log with the second block of clay and made 1/2 inch thick slices to make the thatched roofs.
The girls and I had fun decorating our houses by carving into them with different utensils. Sharp pencils and blunt table knives seemd to work well.
We attached the roofs with lots of warm water to help them to stick. Then we scored and cross-hatched them with our blunt table knives to create a thatched look.
The clay feels so nice and cool and wet :)
We put the m on a baking sheet in a very low oven for a couple of hours untill they were properly hardened and set.
After they cooled down we painted them using water colours.
If you are going to have an indoor fairy house these colours will last well, however obviously out in the garden the rain will white-wash them a little. Still the colour remains within the groves of the window frames, doorframes, anything you have carved out etc... and looks really pretty!
Here is the fade after about 2 months. I think it makes the houses look quaint!
Here are some pictures Emmy took yesterday. See the grass peeping through!!!
Fairy garden 2011
...and here
Fairy garden 2012
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First select some natural wool roving.
Tease out the pieces of felt you want to use for your design. Make sure that they are not too thick as they won't bind to the base so well.
Lay them over the base in the pattern you want.
{tip}... Choose a simple design as the colours will merge a little during the felt making process.
Cover the design with a piece of netting. Spray a generous amounts of soap over the netting. Rub and "mush" the felt for around ten minutes. {Really invest in this part of the project, it makes all the difference to the end result}
The littest kids loved this "soap mushing" part! It is so tactile!
Remove the netting carefully and lay your design in the sink. Carefully dribble boiling water over the design. This will help bind the fibres together. You will want to be careful at this stage as the pressure of the water can distort the design.
Allow your felt to cool before rolling it up in the sushi mat. Squeeze out the excess water and soap.
Roll, squeeze, rinse repeat...Continue to rinse your rolled up felt under a hot tap till the water runs clear. Carefully unwrap the felt and hang it over a radiator to dry.
Now trim the edges of the felt to neaten them up. Or leve them frayed if you like them more natural :)Once completly dry you can frame your felt, embroider it, embelish it with sequins, buttons and the like, cut it into place mats or coasters or cut it up to make garlands...
My daughter embellished her felt with a little embroidery.
Blanket stitch neatens up the edges nicely. The girls made simple three plied cords to hang them...
A pretty Spring decoration!
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j
j
h
This little tea light holder was inspired by the ever wonderful CHILDHOOD MAGICS beeswax lanterns. We didn't have any water balloons handy so undeterred, we tried to create the same effect with some simple supplies we found around the house :)
First we lined a small pudding bowl with clingfilm.
Then we carefully rolled the bowl as the wax cooled and hardened around the sides and bottom. Waiting for the wax to completely harden before adding another layer. We added around about 6 layers in the end to create a strong sturdy finish.
After the first layer of wax, we placed a few dried leaves to the side of the bowl to create a pretty effect.
As a final touch before placing to cool we sprinkled in a few petals from the sweet little wild flower posy Emmy brought home from her walk to the shops this morning.
Once completely set we peeled the clingfilm away from the candle holder, very carefully easing it out of the bowl.
The we placed a tea light in the centre. The light is so soothing and gentle, perfect for a quiet Summer evening.
Simple beauty.
We used the leftover wax to make these little mini jam jar candles:)
After washing out the jars with warm soapy water and drying thoroughly, we filled them with the melted wax using a metal funnel. (Be very careful when doing this as the wax gets super hot!) When the wax was semi cooled we placed the wick into the centre. Once the candles were completely cool we decorated the jars with tissue paper and dried flower petals.
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Clay. I love it!
It is just such a therapeutic medium to work with.
We warmed the clay in our hands, (the best part;) then rolled it out to about a quarter of an inch thick. We cut different shapes out of the rolled clay with cookie cutters.
We made impressions on the shapes using different tools...string, coins, forks, rubber stamps, leaves...
Finally I pushed a hole through each shape with the end of a paintbrush so we would be able to thread our wool through it for hanging.
We placed our shapes on a baking tray and baked them slowly on very low heat .
Firing clay in a kiln always produces the best results, if you know a friendly kilns person :)
But I've always found the sloooow baking method works fine as an alternative.
We painted and varnished.
I made a wreath from some flexible branches.
Willow works really well for this as it is so flexible.
I tied 4 long doubled over strands of alpaca wool in a natural shade of green around the wreath.
I threaded the shapes through the hanging strands at different lengths.
Then I secured three more doubled up strands of alpaca around the top of the wreathe to hang it by.
It looked pretty hanging over our dining room window.
But really it belonged outside in the garden :)
The kids love watching it dance beneath the Sycamore..
Fairy Garden and a tutorial on making clay fairy houses...
This year I wanted to try something a little with our fairy garden.
We found a lovely wooden wheelbarrow at the local garden center. We lined it so that it the compost we would be filling it with wouldn't rot the wood.
We planted some little violas plants around the edges, took a "cutting" from one of our conifers to plant as a tree. We also used a pine cone for a tree! We made a fairy sized washing line and placed some special stones and moss found on walks for a fairy path.
Finally we placed our fairy houses in their new home and scattered grass seed around them. Hopefully as the warm weather continues the grass will make a lovely, soft green carpet for a our fairies delicate littlefeet to tread upon :)
Here is how we made our clay fairy homes.
We warmed the clay between our hands, added a little warm water to soften it and rolled it into a log shape.
I began by cutting the log into aprroximatly 1 inch slices for the houses.
I rolled out one more log with the second block of clay and made 1/2 inch thick slices to make the thatched roofs.
The girls and I had fun decorating our houses by carving into them with different utensils. Sharp pencils and blunt table knives seemd to work well.
We attached the roofs with lots of warm water to help them to stick. Then we scored and cross-hatched them with our blunt table knives to create a thatched look.
The clay feels so nice and cool and wet :)
We put the m on a baking sheet in a very low oven for a couple of hours untill they were properly hardened and set.
After they cooled down we painted them using water colours.
If you are going to have an indoor fairy house these colours will last well, however obviously out in the garden the rain will white-wash them a little. Still the colour remains within the groves of the window frames, doorframes, anything you have carved out etc... and looks really pretty!
Here is the fade after about 2 months. I think it makes the houses look quaint!
Here are some pictures Emmy took yesterday. See the grass peeping through!!!
Fairy garden 2011
...and here
Fairy garden 2012
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Boo made this felt purse to keep all her Summer treasures in... She is always collecting things on our walks, feathers, shells, special shiny stones, leaves....
We started with a felt square. Yellow is a Summery colour we thought :)
We folded it in half and cut straight down the middle.
We folded one of the pieces over leaving about a 2" gap at the top to make the "envelope fold"
Starting at the bottom of the fold for neatness sake Boo began to blanket stitch both sides of the purse.
Once both sides were stitched. I penciled in a simple embroidery design for Boo to follow.
Boo chose a button.
And finger knitted a cord so that the purse could hang around her neck and not get lost when she goes on her big treasure hunting adventures.
And here is one Matilda made a little while back...
An Embroidered Felt Summer Treasure Purse {Saturday Artist}
Boo made this felt purse to keep all her Summer treasures in... She is always collecting things on our walks, feathers, shells, special shiny stones, leaves....
We started with a felt square. Yellow is a Summery colour we thought :)
We folded it in half and cut straight down the middle.
We folded one of the pieces over leaving about a 2" gap at the top to make the "envelope fold"
Starting at the bottom of the fold for neatness sake Boo began to blanket stitch both sides of the purse.
Once both sides were stitched. I penciled in a simple embroidery design for Boo to follow.
Boo chose a button.
And finger knitted a cord so that the purse could hang around her neck and not get lost when she goes on her big treasure hunting adventures.
And here is one Matilda made a little while back...
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Making A Wet Felted Flower Picture
This week, we had lots of soapy, mess making with a nice big stack of rainbow coloured roving!
Read on and you can make your very own :)
Read on and you can make your very own :)
First select some natural wool roving.
- Tease out some thinish strips of base colour roving onto a sushi mat.
- Place the first layer of wool roving in vertical strips to form a squareish shape.
- Place the second layer of roving horizontally over the first.
- Place the third layer vertically over the second.
Tease out the pieces of felt you want to use for your design. Make sure that they are not too thick as they won't bind to the base so well.
Lay them over the base in the pattern you want.
{tip}... Choose a simple design as the colours will merge a little during the felt making process.
Cover the design with a piece of netting. Spray a generous amounts of soap over the netting. Rub and "mush" the felt for around ten minutes. {Really invest in this part of the project, it makes all the difference to the end result}
The littest kids loved this "soap mushing" part! It is so tactile!
Remove the netting carefully and lay your design in the sink. Carefully dribble boiling water over the design. This will help bind the fibres together. You will want to be careful at this stage as the pressure of the water can distort the design.
Allow your felt to cool before rolling it up in the sushi mat. Squeeze out the excess water and soap.
Roll, squeeze, rinse repeat...Continue to rinse your rolled up felt under a hot tap till the water runs clear. Carefully unwrap the felt and hang it over a radiator to dry.
Now trim the edges of the felt to neaten them up. Or leve them frayed if you like them more natural :)Once completly dry you can frame your felt, embroider it, embelish it with sequins, buttons and the like, cut it into place mats or coasters or cut it up to make garlands...
My daughter embellished her felt with a little embroidery.
Blanket stitch neatens up the edges nicely. The girls made simple three plied cords to hang them...
A pretty Spring decoration!
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As the sun colors flowers, so does art color life. ~John Lubbock
We were busy making scaly, sparkly clay fish this week.j
j
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Saturday's Artist... Leather work for kids!
Some kind friends gave us the leather from an old sofa they were throwing out.
The girls and I spent a day getting inventive with ideas for using it.
Emmy and Bujana made Sioux medicine pouches, using these online instructions...
First they drew and cut out the pieces. Then they punched holes along the bottom edges using a hole punch.
They sewed the sides and bottom of the pouches right sides together using a denim sewing needle and a long basting stitch ( about 6 on a regular singer) and reinforced this with an over stitch through the holes.
After measuring equal spaces along the top of the pouch they punched holes for threading leather cord through to make a draw string.
The drawstring was held in place with some wooden beads...
Perfect for those long Summer hikes!
Seraphina, Matilda and I cut stripes of leather into cords and made some bracelets...
And lastly but not leastly :)... I helped the little ones make some leather bookmarks.
I traced around a tin pencil case to get the rectangular shape and helped them cut around the line.
They frayed the ends and punched holes along the edges using a hole puncher.
Lastly we wove some thin leather stripes that we had cut out earlier through the holes and secured them in place using some funky stitching patterns on our sewing machine!
The girls and I spent a day getting inventive with ideas for using it.
Emmy and Bujana made Sioux medicine pouches, using these online instructions...
First they drew and cut out the pieces. Then they punched holes along the bottom edges using a hole punch.
They sewed the sides and bottom of the pouches right sides together using a denim sewing needle and a long basting stitch ( about 6 on a regular singer) and reinforced this with an over stitch through the holes.
After measuring equal spaces along the top of the pouch they punched holes for threading leather cord through to make a draw string.
The drawstring was held in place with some wooden beads...
Perfect for those long Summer hikes!
Seraphina, Matilda and I cut stripes of leather into cords and made some bracelets...
And lastly but not leastly :)... I helped the little ones make some leather bookmarks.
I traced around a tin pencil case to get the rectangular shape and helped them cut around the line.
They frayed the ends and punched holes along the edges using a hole puncher.
Lastly we wove some thin leather stripes that we had cut out earlier through the holes and secured them in place using some funky stitching patterns on our sewing machine!
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This little tea light holder was inspired by the ever wonderful CHILDHOOD MAGICS beeswax lanterns. We didn't have any water balloons handy so undeterred, we tried to create the same effect with some simple supplies we found around the house :)
First we lined a small pudding bowl with clingfilm.
Then we carefully rolled the bowl as the wax cooled and hardened around the sides and bottom. Waiting for the wax to completely harden before adding another layer. We added around about 6 layers in the end to create a strong sturdy finish.After the first layer of wax, we placed a few dried leaves to the side of the bowl to create a pretty effect.
As a final touch before placing to cool we sprinkled in a few petals from the sweet little wild flower posy Emmy brought home from her walk to the shops this morning.
Once completely set we peeled the clingfilm away from the candle holder, very carefully easing it out of the bowl.
The we placed a tea light in the centre. The light is so soothing and gentle, perfect for a quiet Summer evening.
Simple beauty.
We used the leftover wax to make these little mini jam jar candles:)
After washing out the jars with warm soapy water and drying thoroughly, we filled them with the melted wax using a metal funnel. (Be very careful when doing this as the wax gets super hot!) When the wax was semi cooled we placed the wick into the centre. Once the candles were completely cool we decorated the jars with tissue paper and dried flower petals.
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Make a Clay Windchime
We've been making clay wind chimes this week.Clay. I love it!
It is just such a therapeutic medium to work with.
We warmed the clay in our hands, (the best part;) then rolled it out to about a quarter of an inch thick. We cut different shapes out of the rolled clay with cookie cutters.
We made impressions on the shapes using different tools...string, coins, forks, rubber stamps, leaves...
Finally I pushed a hole through each shape with the end of a paintbrush so we would be able to thread our wool through it for hanging.
We placed our shapes on a baking tray and baked them slowly on very low heat .
Firing clay in a kiln always produces the best results, if you know a friendly kilns person :)
But I've always found the sloooow baking method works fine as an alternative.
We painted and varnished.
I made a wreath from some flexible branches.
Willow works really well for this as it is so flexible.
I tied 4 long doubled over strands of alpaca wool in a natural shade of green around the wreath.
I threaded the shapes through the hanging strands at different lengths.
Then I secured three more doubled up strands of alpaca around the top of the wreathe to hang it by.
It looked pretty hanging over our dining room window.
But really it belonged outside in the garden :)
The kids love watching it dance beneath the Sycamore..
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Make a Summer Fairy Wreath
Bujana my very own Summer garden fairy, has had so much fun wearing this fairy wreath that we made together this afternoon! She still has it on... in peaceful slumber in the bunk bed fairy den the girls made today!I suggested to her that the theme could be Summer. Bujana chose the "summery" colours that she wanted the flowers, ribbon and buttons from her fabric scrap basket and button box.
First we measured around her head with a tape measure and cut a piece of florists wire to the same size adding on an extra inch or so for the wrapping.Then we twisted it into a circle, tying a long piece of ribbon to the part where the wire joined itself, wrapping it securely it all the way around.
Bujana really enjoyed twisting the ribbon around the wire frame!
I drew some flower and leaf shapes onto card and cut them out. Then I traced around the templates onto some pretty, summery coloured felt.
Then I carefully cut out the pieces.Bujana sewed the button onto the flowers first then I helped add the leaves underneath because that part was a little trickier.
Then she sewed the three oak leaves together with a button in the centre.
I sewed the finished flowers and leaves onto the top of the wreath using the long end of the thread still attached. Hooking through the wrapped ribbon and then back up through the button hole till secure.
Bujana couldn't wait to run outside to show the fairy garden fairies her new creation!
I think they were impressed :) 
Tissue paper, glue, chocolate foil, water colours and a few wooden pegs, equal a morning of colour and creativity for me and my "in the middle" girl who just. Loves. Fairies. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These were fun and super easy to make!
We simply pasted some torn pieces of pretty pink and lilac coloured tissue paper over the outer sides of two glass ramekins using PVA glue.
Then we covered the tissue paper with another coat of PVA glue before rolling the ramekins in a tray of colourful seed beads.
A little tea light is the final touch.
To add a gentle magical glow to a fairy gathering upon the bookshelf :)
These were fun and super easy to make!We simply pasted some torn pieces of pretty pink and lilac coloured tissue paper over the outer sides of two glass ramekins using PVA glue.
Then we covered the tissue paper with another coat of PVA glue before rolling the ramekins in a tray of colourful seed beads.
A little tea light is the final touch.
To add a gentle magical glow to a fairy gathering upon the bookshelf :)
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We have been having a lot of fun making our own recycled paper recently as part of our going green "one small change" project... So much so I thought I'd share a little of the *fun* here!What Ingredients will you need?
- We used some medium weight multi purpose paper for this project.(You can use almost any kind of paper)
- Some dried rose petals and lavender (optional but they do look pretty)
- A few drops of essential oil (optional, but it does smell nice)
- Liquid starch
- A large tray both deep and wide enough to immerse your frame and paper mulch in.
- A sponge
- An embroidery hoop
- Some netting (like the kind you find on fairy dresses)
- Some large squares of felt.
How to make the paper:
We began by tearing the paper into small pieces. Then we loaded it into a blender with some warm water (enough water to just cover the paper)
The thinner or more watery the solution the thinner the paper sheets will turn out to be.
Then we emptied the solution into a large tray before sprinkling in the essential oil and dried flower petals.
Once the solution had been well stirred we immersed an embroidery hoop that we had clamped over some netting into the solution.
Here is a picture of the embroidery hoop and netting we used...
Make sure that the netting is covered evenly with the paper mulch before lifting the hoop out of the solution.Once all the excess water had dripped away we covered the entire hoop with a large piece of felt and gently tipped the contents over (like turning a cake onto a cooling rack) dabbing away at the underside of the netting with a dry sponge to release the paper mulch from the netting.
Here is the paper mulch resting on the felt to dry.
We sprayed the top of the paper mulch with a little liquid starch and left it to dry (drying takes about 10 hours)
The finished result looks like beautiful rustic art paper.I'm hoping to get a rectangular frame soon so that we can make some writing sheets!
Watch this helpful video about making recycled paper. A great step by step guide!
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Making A Wet Felted Flower Picture {Saturday Artist}
This week, we had lots of soapy, mess making with a nice big stack of rainbow coloured roving!
Read on and you can make your very own :)
Read on and you can make your very own :)
First select some natural wool roving.
- Tease out some thinish strips of base colour roving onto a sushi mat.
- Place the first layer of wool roving in vertical strips to form a squareish shape.
- Place the second layer of roving horizontally over the first.
- Place the third layer vertically over the second.
Tease out the pieces of felt you want to use for your design. Make sure that they are not too thick as they won't bind to the base so well.
Lay them over the base in the pattern you want.
{tip}... Choose a simple design as the colours will merge a little during the felt making process.
Cover the design with a piece of netting. Spray a generous amounts of soap over the netting. Rub and "mush" the felt for around ten minutes. {Really invest in this part of the project, it makes all the difference to the end result}
The littest kids loved this "soap mushing" part! It is so tactile!
Remove the netting carefully and lay your design in the sink. Carefully dribble boiling water over the design. This will help bind the fibres together. You will want to be careful at this stage as the pressure of the water can distort the design.
Allow your felt to cool before rolling it up in the sushi mat. Squeeze out the excess water and soap.
Roll, squeeze, rinse repeat...Continue to rinse your rolled up felt under a hot tap till the water runs clear. Carefully unwrap the felt and hang it over a radiator to dry.
Now trim the edges of the felt to neaten them up. Or leve them frayed if you like them more natural :)Once completly dry you can frame your felt, embroider it, embelish it with sequins, buttons and the like, cut it into place mats or coasters or cut it up to make garlands...
My daughter embellished her felt with a little embroidery.
Blanket stitch neatens up the edges nicely. The girls made simple three plied cords to hang them...
A pretty Spring decoration!
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Mini Celtic Wattle and Daub Roundhouse (Bring the ancient Britons to your back garden)
It started with soaking coppiced branches in warm water.
(Willow branches are particularly good for this project.)
These will make the wattle structure.
For the daub mixture we used half mud half clay mixed with water.
Historically daub probably contained cow manure as well but we left that interesting ingredient out this time :)
For the roof we tied small bundles of hay together and attempted to loosely thatch them on.
Here is our finished house! We could have woven a little blanket to hang over the door space.
I think that might be a nice detail next time.
Our own Celtic wattle and daub round house.
The ancient Britons came to life in our back garden!
Through doing this project the children gained appreciation for lost skills.
And got are hands deliciously muddy in the process!
We staked some stronger pieces of willow in the ground first forming a circular shape.Then we simple wove the thinner pieces of willow around the skeleton starting from the ground up, leaving a small space for a door.The daub was added later and used to "cement" the structure in place and fill up the gaps in the woven branches.
We made a wigwam structure for the roof and thatched on top of it. Then the little house was ready to make itself at home in our fairy garden.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Make Paper Beads
We had lots of fun making these bright, colourful paper beads yesterday!
We found this lovely little craft in a wonderful book entitled "Jazzy Jewellery Eco Crafts"We have grown to totally love this set of books! The crafts encourage children to recycle materials they already have in the house, which makes the crafts frugal friendly as well as "eco" friendly! It also means you will probably already have most of the materials available in your home without having to make a pit stop to the craft shop first.
To make the beads you will need: Some old magazines or posters, some PVA glue and a brush, a pencil, a ruler, some scissors and a knitting needle.
Each triangle should ideally be measured 16 cm long and 2 cm wide before being cut out.
Boo was learning maths at this point without even realising it!
Then simply glue 3/4 of the way from the tip of the triangle, leaving 1/4 unglued so that it doesn't stick to the knitting needle!
Carefully wind the triangle from it's base around the knitting needle.
String on some cord or string or yarn and wear with a smile in the spring sunshine :)
A very "Springy" craft I think!
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Making simple little fairy dolls
And I spent a lovely couple of quiet hours making these fairies with my Bujana Grace who is becoming quite the little seamstress!They have their own little pocket sized purse to sleep in and be carried around in to special fairy places too!
Go here for the pattern to make one for/ with your little one.
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We made our Autumn collage this week.
We make a collage every season, and I have really begun to look forward to this little family art collaboration. We usually find our collage material and inspiration in old gardening and National Trust magazines that we have collected and stashed over the months.
This week the weather was so wonderfully warm. We took the project outside under the dappled light of the Sycamore...
We had spent some time finding pictures and words and cutting or tearing them out. Now came the fun part, figuring out the composition.
Matilda delighted in painting some of the Sycamore leaves and printing them along the edges of the collage.... and sometimes right in the middle :)
We ended up with a little piece of Autumn beauty pasted upon our kitchen door!
Picture poetry...
We make a collage every season, and I have really begun to look forward to this little family art collaboration. We usually find our collage material and inspiration in old gardening and National Trust magazines that we have collected and stashed over the months.
This week the weather was so wonderfully warm. We took the project outside under the dappled light of the Sycamore...
We had spent some time finding pictures and words and cutting or tearing them out. Now came the fun part, figuring out the composition.
Matilda delighted in painting some of the Sycamore leaves and printing them along the edges of the collage.... and sometimes right in the middle :)
We ended up with a little piece of Autumn beauty pasted upon our kitchen door!
Picture poetry...
...and from last year...
Every season we make a new seasonal collage to hang on our kitchen door. It is a beautiful and simple way to bring the whole family together creatively, which also helps the children grow in understanding of the natural rhythms of the year.
A small detail of our autumn collage...
Seasonal fruit and vegetables, birds and landscapes are a great way to bring the beauty and unique nature of the season alive for kids.
You could also include a snippet of seasonal poetry. We included a little of John Keat's "Ode to Autumn"
Fina's favourite part is cutting pretty little Mosaic pieces for all the in-between parts!
Working together.
And the finished collage!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Papier Mache Rainbow Bowl
First we lined a pudding bowl with clingfilm
Then we painted on layers of PVA glue and torn pieces of newspaper. We painted on about 6 layers in total.
On the last layer I tucked in all the edges to leave a neat finish. However, the edges could be left raw and whimsical if desired :)
After a final coat of PVA we left the bowl to dry for a day or two.Before painting it happy with a rainbow of colours. We used simple child's poster paints.
You could add another layer of PVA to seal and "varnish" if you want but I quite liked the matt finish.
A special place for your child to put their little treasures :)
Bujana's papier mache bowl made by lining a pudding bowl with cling film before adding layers of papier mache made with strips of old newspaper and pva glue. One the paper was completely dry we peeled it from the bowl and she painted a rainbow of colours using bright poster paints:)
A Lovely way to Keep your Children's Artwork
A beautiful rainbow of silk and satin inspiration.
Helped create...
The gift...
I made this embroidery by tracing a sweet picture that Matilda drew of her granny onto some cotton fabric.I have always loved embroidery since a child. I shall enjoy finding some more sweet drawings from our *very* full drawing cupboard to embroider onto cloth.
The embroidery sits quite beautifully in a simple wooden frame and both Matilda and Granny were "over the moon" with it which is what counts.
Making a Gratitude Journal With your Child
We have been collecting Scraps....Simple words of thanks, for simple joys. This is a child's way of communion. Pieced together into a Sunday afternoon scrapbook. Pages filled with the wonderment of details. Stitched together, little by little. From the details in nature, to the familiar ways of those dear and close, or the well worn pages of a well loved book sitting cheerily up top a pile of even more upon the table. Scraps woven together by strong, stitches. Stitches, hand sown with love and care. By His hand.
For this is a gift He gives. A gift that transcends circumstance. A simple gift for all who Hope in Him. A binding of thankfulness. A prayer that weaves in and out of the din and the clatter and the noise just in the same way as it does the peace, of silence and the glinting of icy sunlight between the branches of winter trees.
Scraps of fabric woven together to make a life. Piece by piece. A life for Him, with Him and through Him.Fragments of beauty, love, joy, memories, voices, dreams, green grass, laughter, songs, sunlight, quiet rain, falling leaves and budding blossoms.
With a thankful heart ready to embrace a love that can turn all things to grace.
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Making beautiful Homemade Snow ~ Shakers
Matilda's snow shaker made with an assortment of beads, glitter, wool, tin foil, fuzzy bobbles and coloured paper.
We saw how some objects float, others sink. We looked at texture and shape...
- learning:
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Making a Homemade Puzzle out of REcycled magazines!
Bujana made this puzzle for Seraphina's birthday on Saturday.We simply glued a poster from one of Matilda's princess comics to a piece of strong thick cardboard, making sure every bit was stuck down securely and pressed to get rid of bobbling.
Then I used a craft knife to cut the picture into puzzle sized pieces. We sealed the edges of the puzzle pieces with PVA glue and brush a thin layer of PVA glue over the top of the pieces and waited for them to dry!
Catching Cups... A Simple Homemade Toy for Little Ones...
I loved playing with these as a child.
They are so simple and fun to make with your children.
All you will need are some foam or paper cups, some string, tin foil, PVA glue, scissors, a darning needle, tissue paper and sticky tape.
First your child can decorate the cup with pieces of tissue paper stuck down with PVA glue.
Once they are dry snip a little piece of string and stick one end of it onto the inside of the cup using sticky tape. (The longer the string the hard the catching is! So use a nice short piece for the littlest of littles to save frustration :)
Then simply roll a ball from the tin foil and stitch it to the loose end of string using a strong darning needle.
Now your finished, have fun "catching"!
Catching cups....Simple homemade game for little ones. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Make Homemade Sensory Shakers from Recycled Baby Food Containers!
These simple shakers have been among my girls favourite toys for years now. I made them originally for Bujana. They are so simple yet fun for little ones to manipulate.As they are transparent little ones can identify how different objects create different sounds!
I interchanged the lids of the coloured food tubs to create different colour effects, then filled them with an array of different things..... rice, pasta, an avocado stone, some beads, beans, sand, marbles, coins etc....
(Caution... make sure that your child is always supervised while playing with these shakers as they obviously contain small parts)
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Make Sacrifice Beads
My daughter made these sacrifice beads over Christmas. She made a few and gave some away as presents. These are the ones she kept for herself though.
They are fun and easy to make.
The idea for them comes from Saint Therese "The little Flower"
In her book, Story of a Soul her mother talks of the decade of beads Therese used to count her little sacrifices on.
It is so sweet to see the children remembering to make little sacrifices for one another out of love.
Here you can Download the Book of Saint Therese "Story of a Soul"
"But it is more amusing still to see Thérèse put her hand in her pocket, time after time, to pull a bead along the string, whenever she makes a little sacrifice."
Click on the link below for instructions and kits.
http://thelittleways.com/how-to-make-sacrifice-beads/
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Make A Felt Fairyland
I was just playing around with some felt the other day making a few little animals when a little girl with brown tumbling curls came sat upon my knee and asked if she could make a magical forest for them to live in.
Well, how could I resist?
My Oldest girl Emmy helped out with making the little owl family and Bujana sewed a couple of the leaves.
It was a quiet and pleasant evening bringing this little world to life.
It has become a firm favourite already.
So much so that we are thinking of making a mermaid world next!
It is such an easy craft to do for (and with) little ones and a lovely engaging toy that stimulates their imaginations for hours.
To make a felt board simply glue some large pieces of felt onto a strong cardboard base.
Then have fun cutting out and stitching your own little animals, fairies and fairy homes.
Next week I should be adding a link to a PDF template of some fuzzy felt creatures on this page so check back soon...
