Make: Girl's Butterfly Headband!

Over the weekend, Fern and I did a little craft we thought we'd share with you...

Fern's handmade headband!

We made girlie headbands! So super-duper easy-peasy that YOU can make some too! We made one for Fern and one for a friend. Want to know how to make one too?

We visited the $2 shop to start with and chose the following materials at a total cost of $7.50

You need:

Headbands (obviously!)

Embellishments: flowers, butterflies, beads, birdies, ribbons, crochet bits -- anything goes!

Hot glue gun (or strong craft glue)

Fabric scraps

The first thing we did was tear a thin strip of fabric and wrap it tightly around the whole headband, fastening at each end with the hot-glue gun.

Then, I glued a piece of vintage crochet I found lying around and one of the butterflies from the $2 shop onto the side. (ooops no pic of this step!)

We then started twisting the fabric flowers around the side and top of the headband:

And truly, the whole thing took <30 mins and this is the finished product:

As mentioned previously, we made two -- one for Fern and one for a friend at preschool who will be getting a little surprise in her cubicle this week! We hope she likes it!

Give it a go with your little girl one rainy day... you can't get this project wrong and you can go to creative town! Enjoy! xx

Rainy Day Activity: Make Playdough!

Today was decidedly... well... Autumnal. Cool, blustery, wet... what to do with two rambunctious children on such a day? After dragging them to the shops to buy new ugg boots and a quick detour to watch (and dance to) the free stage show, a spot of lunch and a wee little afternoon kip, I knew the house was in trouble. On such days, my children quite literally tear the place apart. Can't seem to help themselves.

But then! I remembered a trinket I'd bought 12 months ago and stored away as an emergency 'gift' that might just just rescue me from my impending sense of doom...

... a children's pizza making kit, if you will!

Excitedly, Fern and I donned our aprons and (in Fern's case) chef's hat and I brought the little wooden step over to the counter so Fern could help me make pizza for dinner. From scratch, peeps!

But before I could channel my inner Nigella with my eldest offspring I remembered boy-o. Or rather, he remembered me. His toy tractors apparently were not going to distract him from pizza making, or indeed any other endeavour. He shoved my daughter aside and climbed the little step, reaching out with little paws to grab the pizza cutter... rolling pin... bag of flour...

Fern was in tears and Elliott made it clear if there was any action to be had, he wanted a part of it.

trouble brewing......

What to do?

But my husband's iPad was nearby and an idea struck. Typing 'make play dough' into Google came up trumps and I sighed with relief.

Strapping Elliott into his high chair and Fern into her seat I quickly threw the following ingredients from this decadently simple recipe into a bowl and stirred and kneaded madly for about 4.5 minutes, then foraged in the pantry for idle play dough plastic bits and pieces and threw them, along with two balls of gloriously handmade play dough onto the table for the kids.

I prayed.

And then I made pizza.

Elliott sat in that highchair for TWO HOURS and. didn't. whine. once.

Playdough.

Do it.

Thank me later. ;)

xx

Make a "broom broom" Nursery Wall Hanging for your baby BOY!

Today I'd like to share with you a little project I have been working on for Elli-Boo's bedroom. Following on from the original embroidery-hoop fabric wall hangings I designed before I knew he was a he, I've been wanting to update them a little - make them a little more 'boyish,' playful and fun. A bit like my sonny boy.

I've been playing with an idea in my head for a few weeks and over the weekend, I made this:

... and I'm a little chuffed at how it's come up! I don't know if you can see from my image, but those are actual toy cars stuck onto chalkcloth, upon which I've drawn a 'road.' Mine is on the wall, but it would be equally cute leaning on a bookshelf or somesuch. 

Want to know how I did it? It's pretty easy folks!

You need:

- An embroidery hoop 

- Some fabric (I chose a natural linen)

- Some chalkcloth or other fabric for the lettering

- Glue (preferably a hot glue gun)

- Scissors

- Toy cars (Matchbox or whatever you can grab from the $2 shop!)

Method:

1. First, stretch the linen over the hoop and secure into place.

2. Draw your child's initial onto your chosen fabric (I've used chalkcloth, and drawn on the back of mine). Print it out first onto paper and cut around if this is easier. 

3. Cut initial out.

4. Glue (or sew) onto embroidery hoop.

5. Draw your "road" on the initial using a ruler and chalk.

6. Finally, attach your cars onto the "road" using a hot glue gun. Cut excess fabric away from the back of the hoop.

7. Hang with pride!!

 I'd love to know what you think of this idea and if you do decide to give it a go yourself do DO send me pics! x

In Which I Sew a Kids TeePee!

Hello folks! Way way waaaaay too long ago, I made reference on my blog to making my own teepee. Back then -- I'd only ever seen them in the shops for about $250 each and when I found a how-to in one my favy kid decorating books, Cool Spaces for Kids, I knew I must one day attempt one myself. I set myself an end-of-year deadline.

End of LAST year, that is. Truth is, I was more than a little intimidated. And so I put it off. And off. And off. My deadline came and went and I was no closer to dedicating myself to the task.

Until suddenly there were teepees and teepee-making instructionals making funny faces at me everywhere. And I decided enough was enough.

I made my way to the fabric store and purchased about 200 metres (ok, slight exaggeration) of calico for the body of the teepee. You can use whatever funky fabric you like for this project of course, but I wanted calico because it was plain and therefore ripe for decorating, plus it was inexpensive and perfect for manouvering about outdoors. Oh -- and if I stuffed up, it would be cheap enough to start again! (such confidence in my own ability ;)

I engaged Dan-the-bike-man (husband and part-time bm3 pattern cutting assistant) to cut out the pieces and really it is pretty much as easy as tacking it all together and whipping it up on your trusty sewing machine! Granted, you need about 10 rolls of cotton (ok, another slight exaggeration) to get through the sewing part. And there is an awful lot of hemming and so on. But really -- a beginner sewer could do it; PROMISE!!

The fun was in the decorating, of course!

I kept mine pretty simple; I chose a fabric colour palette of red, white and navy blue and contrasting patterns. Although my teepee is for both my kiddies, I really made it for little Elliott -- for his birthday party (which was on the weekend and which will need its own seperate post once I get the pictures; sooooo much to share!) and later for his bedroom, to read or frolick about in or to hide from his sister).

I made a simple string of bunting, cut out a little window, sewed some triangles along the bottom, some trim along the entrance and ta-daaaaaaa:

A teepee!!

The hardest part I reckon was getting all those damn bamboo sticks in the right way -- took us FOREVER! We decided to sew little loops to keep our teepee attached to the bamboo and there is also string tying the whole thing together at the top.

It took a little while to pull together but I reckon it was worth all the effort and was a hit at Elliott's party!

I'm going to set it up in Elliott's bedroom once I ditch the feeding chair with some comfy cushions and books and whatnot. His own little indoor cubby-house!

Have you made a teepee? Have you been inspired? Go on -- have a go!!! x

Our "BusyBag" Swap!

Sorry folks, I did mean to share our busybag swap with you earlier this week but I've been a tiny bit busy planning sonny-boy's birthday party (a teddy bear's picnic) which is this weekend... as usual I've bitten off a tad more than I can otherwise chew but I'm sure it'll all work out on the day!! AND I have no doubt it will be fodder for a billion blog posts next week as I debrief on all the gory details, friends!

Last week, I posted about the concept of the busy-bags and a how-to on making your own mini-chalkboards; my own creative contribution to the project!

Well, on Monday night I visited the lovely Emma from Storehouse Project's home with bag of mini-chalkboards in tow. They'd been quite labour intensive, but something told me it would be worth it. And I wasn't disappointed:

Aside from being a great way to meet new people and get involved in something crafty (even if you don't believe you are v artistically inclined) -- there is something self satisfying about having a little box filled to the brim with crafty activities to entertain your young-un's at a moment's notice... I'm hiding mine and bringing them out one-by-one -- yesterday I pulled out the coloured noodles and Fern had a blast for half an hour while I was madly tearing about tidying up the house creating "noo-noo" necklaces! And the best bit is that each activity is designed to be packed away and used again... how handy is that?!

Seriously folks, have a think about doing this in your area -- I can't rave about it enough!

Anyway -- there is a Teddy Bear's picnic in two days... and I havn't quite got around to planning a menu yet. Best get onto that. 

Have a great weekend... pray for good weather for me? A Teddy Bear picnic is not quite so glam hosted in the garage!!

x

Make a Mini-Chalkboard!

Following on from Friday's post about my caper into "busy bag" making , I thought I'd share what I got up to over the weekend with you.

I'm not sure how or why I came up with the idea of making mini chalkboards; it certainly wasn't an activity highlighted on any busy-bag website I came across. For this reason, I really had no idea how I was going to do it! A google search produced several how-to sites suggesting making the boards from plywood which was a good idea... if I knew how to cut such a thing!

Amanda came up with a great suggestion to paint the inner cardboard of those cheap and cheery Ikea frames you get in little packs of two -- another great solution which would have worked a treat except I live an hour away from Ikea.

So I hit the $2 store. As you do in desperate situations!

And as always, I came up trumps.

I came away with a packet of mounting boards and some art canvas paper which I decided was the quickest and easiest way of making my mini-chalkboards. I already had a tin of chalkboard paint at home.

Want the how-to? It's so easy:

You need:
- Some mounting boards (from craft stores or $2 store)
- Chalkboard paint
- Thick cardboard or a picture frame (optional)
- Coloured paint (optional)
- Chalk
- Makeup remover pads or a chalkboard duster
- Glue
- Scissors

How to:
1. Paint dry-mount with 2-3 coats of chalkboard paint. Leave to dry. (sorry, forgot to photograph!)
2. Cut drymount using sharp knife into smaller "chalkboards" (or leave as-is for one large chalkboard)
3. Get your darling child to "decorate" your chalkboard "frames" (ie the cardboard sheets). We used brightly coloured paint:

4. Once paint is dry, glue your chalkboards onto the cardboard. Using your scissors, cut around the chalkboards so you create a little "frame". I used a zig-zag but you can use whatever decorative scissors you like!

4. Place into zip-lock bag with a few sticks of white/ coloured chalk and "duster" (I used a Swisper -- works a treat!) and

5. T-daaaaa! Instant arty MOBILE fun at your fingertips whenever you need it! Great for the car... on a plane... at a cafe... and so on.

Our busy-bag "swap" is this evening -- tra-la-la-la!

"Busy Bags"... the instant, mobile BOREDOM BUSTER!

Completely by chance while playing about on Facebook, I stumbled upon a local photography business called The Storehouse Project. I liked what I saw and probed further, visiting Emma's blog. Turned out I visited at just the right time, because Emma was seeking volunteers for a "busy bag" swap. Until then, I'd never heard of a "busy bag" but five seconds later I decided it was the world's best initiative and signed myself up!

What is a busy bag, you ask? Why, it is a little zip-lock bag of creative goodness stowed away in your handbag/ car/ anywhere in fact... that you can pull out and entertain your dear small offspring at a moment's notice!

The bags contain a simple activity - something your young child can create or do that afterward, you can simply zip-lock back again for future emergencies!

You're liking this already aren't you?

The swap I have held my own hand up for involves 12 volunteers -- each of us constructing 12 little busy-bags of our own choice. Each person chose a unique activity so that next week -- on swap night -- we bring our activities along and swap with one another so that we each end up with not one but 12 delightful busy-bags to hide smugly away, knowing that at a moment's notice, we can pull one out and get a half-hour or so of reprieve!

You can imagine just how useful these would be at the doctors surgery... on an airplane (oh gawd I wish I'd had one of these last week for Elliott on the plane to NZ!)... in a restaurant... and in any number of other situations!

A little stumped on what to make for my own busy-bag, I did a web search and unveiled some of the following ideas:

from here

from here

Button Snake from here

If you love this idea and want to host your own local busy-bag swap, I found this link with a bunch of really great activity ideas to get you started. Another good one, complete with a linky-thingamy is this one, with tons of pages of cool and creative activities for kids!

Wondering what I'm going to make for my bag?

Well I'll share with you... I plan to make some mini-chalkboards! I am somewhat chalk obsessed at the mo so it seemed kinda obvious... Not entirely sure how I'm going to do it yet but I will need to sort it out quick-smart, because the swap is on Monday night! I'll post pics of my masterpieces over the weekend once I've made them, if you are interested.

Aside from having a tiny bit of stage fright about rocking up to somebody's house that I don't know and meeting a bunch of girl's that I also don't know to exchange these bags, I am quite excited about it, and isn't it a great way to meet new people! 

I'll report on how I fare next week - should I be brave enough to bring my camera along to the swap?

x

Paper and Scissors = makebelieve FUN!

I saw this on Etsy today and got excited. Very excited. Because as a parent, you are on a constant and often fruitless hunt for activities for kids that are:

- stimulating
- creative
- fun
- inexpensive and (perhaps most importantly)
- able to keep 'em entertained for more than 4 seconds.

Printable play clip-art. Need I say more? I think I am as excited about this as I am certain Fern and (one day -- when he stops thinking paper as a snack before lunch --) Elliott will be! Oh, the glorious afternoon that would be had printing and cutting these little beauties over banana milkshakes... and the hours of make believe fun to be had after!

And have I mentioned these sets are $7 each?

The only question I have is -- which one to choose? Buy them here. I'm pretty sure that tea-set will be in Fern's Xmas stocking!