Oct2

DIY Wind Chime, Candelabra/Sun Catcher.

Posted on October 2, 2013 by thestick81

I dragged the kids to the $2 shop to stock up on some supplies for other projects, and came across these cute little glass bottles. I had to have them. And I had to use them right now! So much for Halloween craft this week! lol.

I didn’t have a small enough pre made wreath wring to use as the frame, so I just used some gardening wire and platted it loosely along with a piece of twine. I like the rough look it gave and thought it fit well with the theme. The little glass balls were another score from the junk shop, they are actually part of a floating candle set, but I had bigger ideas. I love those old glass buoys as decorations so I figured these could be made into mini ones. I slightly filled the little jars with some crushed crystal beads I bought off eBay years ago, just to add some colour, then tied them all up. Originally I was going to position each one, stepping them down as I went, but as they were all different heights and widths, it just didn’t give a worthwhile effect. So I just tied them randomly, but so they would still hit each other to make a noise in the wind. The candle holder in the middle was a last minute decision, I just thought it was missing something, and that finished it off perfectly. To be honest, I wouldn’t leave the candle lit unattended, as those strings are flammable, maybe a battery operated tea-light would be a better idea.

What you need

Plated wire and twine

Some stone chips for colour, then secure with twine

Securing the glass balls.

Tying up the glass balls

Space out the items evenly

In the dark

With candle lit

The finished product

Anyway, I am pretty happy with it. I think I will do it again, after I collect some larger bottles to hold more candles. Create something a little different again, and probably use wire to hang them next time.

The finished product

If you would like to see more craft and DIY projects like this one, please follow my blog and Pinterest.

Sep30

School Holiday Fun – Rainbow Spaghetti!

Posted on September 30, 2013 by thestick81

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I actually made this for the little 2, thinking it would keep them entertained for an hour while I got some work done. Turns out the older kids loved it too. Can’t really blame them, it feels cool and looks so pretty! I just used one standard pack of pasta, if you were doing this at a birthday party, you might want to use 2 or 3 for lots of kids. Separate into equal groups of as many colours as you have, then cook each pile at a time, rinsing the saucepan between colours. You don’t need a lot of water, so it heats up quick. The whole process only took about 30 minutes for 5 colours. More details if you run your mouse over the images. Enjoy.

Water, food colouring, pasta.

Add colouring, then pasta, cook as normal or a little less for firmer pasta

You don’t have to add oil, but it makes it extra slimy fun.

Ms4 having a play

Resisting the urge to eat it.

Sensory play,

School holiday entertainment.

Sep29

Halloween Craft For Kids, Finger Print Gift Tags

Posted on September 29, 2013 by thestick81

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Halloween Craft For Kids, Finger Print Gift Tags

I love finger print critters, and had never actually made them with my kids. So this seemed like the perfect opportunity. A bit of parent help is needed for the finishing touches, but there is plenty of steps the little kids can help with along the way. You can click on the pictures for more detailed instructions, but it is all pretty straight forward as you can see.

Cut up some coloured card. We used wiggly scissors.

Ms4 put holes in each piece of card

Getting into it.

Ms4 making some finger prints.

Finger printed cards

Adding the details,

Adding the eyes – because everything is better with googly eyes!

Mr3 adding some eyes #finemotorskills

Ms4 bundling up the lollies ready for string and tag.

Fastened with string and tag added

Halloween treats bags

Ready to give out.

All we used was some card, white paint, googly eyes (and some sequins) silver paint pen, ribbon, clear cellophane, and lollies to fill.

Sep22

Halloween Toddler Craft, DIY Treat Boxes

Posted on September 22, 2013 by thestick81

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Halloween Toddler Craft, DIY Treat Boxes

I know many Australians still have not accepted Halloween, ‘it’s a silly American tradition’, even though it is not American, but anyway, they really should, because it is heaps of harmless fun and the kids love it. Our new neighbourhood really gets into it, I think I enjoy it more than Christmas!

But of course, it’s not just about the dressing up and lollies, halloween craft is lots of fun too. Maybe it’s because I am new to it, but it seems so much more fun than Easter and Christmas craft. Today I just did a simple project with the little kids as the older 2 were not home. I had another idea in my head, but have decided to keep that for later in the school holidays. I am hoping to get quite a few Halloween themed projects in over the next 2 weeks while the kids are off.

I cut out some Halloween shapes in the potatoes while Ms4 gathered the paint and plastic plates. The boxes were just from the grocery store, but they are available at many places, $2 shops etc. We had to allow each side to dry before doing the other side, as you need to apply pressure for best results, rather than trying to stamp the assembled boxes. Once both sides were dry we applied another coat of glitter paint, and some embellishments, again, one side at a time. The weather was nice today so the whole project only took a couple of hours even while waiting for things to dry.

Cut in your shape with a sharp knife, around 5mm deep.

then cut in from the sides until you hit the cut out,

Paint, boxes (or what ever you want really) potatoes.

Ms4 stamping away.

Ms4 adds some glitter paint.

Allow first side to dry.

Everything is better with googly eyes!

Add extra detail with a marker if desired.

I am pretty happy with the results. Would have liked some different coloured boxes for variety, and was disappointed we are out of black paint for the bats, but over all, not bad for an afternoons work.

Sep13

Mexican Fiesta Kids Birthday Party.

Posted on September 13, 2013 by thestick81

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As kids get older, it becomes harder and harder to think of party ideas. But my darling niece, a girl after my own heart, decided she wanted a Mexican theme for her 10th birthday party. Now that is my kind of party! I couldn’t wait to help out!

Due to not getting the guests approval to post their photos, I have left out the games. There was however,

Best dressed senorita
Pin the moustache on the donkey
Donut eating competition
Dance off
Limbo

And that was plenty of entertainment for 2 hours. The make your own taco bar was a hit, with everyone going back for seconds.

The bold colours associated with the theme made it really easy to decorate. Reds, yellows and green for plates and cutlery, and of course colour coded jelly cups! They always last about 10 seconds. My sister managed to pick up heaps of cool sombrero, cactus, donkey etc, cut outs from $2 shops which finished off the decorating nicely. The ‘jumping bean juice’ are just cheap soft drinks, I created the labels in word, printed and covered with some cheap contact while they were still warm (so the contact actually stuck). Slow cooking the meat over night also meant less prepping before the party in the morning. I can take no credit for the cake though, that was the work of the birthday girls mother, who really needs to update her blog.

Piñata and cake.

Salsa, guacamole, refried beans and a variety of things to dip in them.

Shredded beef, chicken, guac, sour cream, cheese, soft and hard tacos.

Mexican themed decorations.

So, in conclusion, heaps of fun, pretty easy to put together, and appropriate for all ages. Hope my kids want to do the same, mmmmmm, guacamole…

Aug20

Ten Tin Bowling! Recycled Cans – Toddler Activity.

Posted on August 20, 2013 by thestick81

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Ten Tin Bowling! Recycled Cans – Toddler Activity.

The hardest part of this project was collecting the cans! To make stacking easier, make sure all 10 cans are the same height. Obviously you don’t need to cover the cans with paper, but I think it made it a bit more fun. I just cut some scrap booking paper to size, fixed with tape, and they’re done.

Coloured paper cut to size

Secure with tape

Pretty cans.

Ready to bowl

Miss 4 setting up.

Mr2 having a go

Ms4 having a bowl.

Ten Tin Bowling

Recycled can

toddler activity

Gross motor skills

Easy toddler activity.

This activity develops hand eye coordination, cognitive and gross motor skills. Once you’ve had enough, the cans can just go into the recycling! The kids loved the noise they make as they smashed to the ground. Older kids could keep score and make a more competitive game out of it.

Jul28

Kids in the Kitchen, Egg Bread (French Toast)

Posted on July 28, 2013 by thestick81

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Kids in the Kitchen, Egg Bread (French Toast)

Here is another super simple meal idea that the kids can cook themselves. Most people would consider it a breakfast dish, but we have had it as dinner on busy nights or when we don’t feel like a huge meal.

All you need is fresh bread, lots of eggs (roughly 2 per person) dash of milk, butter or oil for the fry pan and what ever your desired sauce might be. BBQ, tomato, maple syrup and bacon!

Flat bowl, fry pan, eggs, oil or butter, eggs and some milk/

Crack a few eggs into a bowl and whisk with a dash of milk.

Kids love whisking!

Place one piece of bread at a time in the bowl, turning so you cover both sides

Place in a hot fry pan (med=high) until slightly brown, then flip.

Ready to eat.

Eggy Bread

French toast

In a flat bottom bowl, whisk the eggs with a dash of milk, soak the bread for a few seconds each side, then place into a hot oiled pan. Flip once the underside has started to brown and repeat. Easy as that!

* You don’t actually need to use milk, but I find it helps the egg soak into the bread quicker.

Jul27

Autumn Theme Mobile, Using Oven Bake Clay

Posted on July 27, 2013 by thestick81

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Autumn Theme Mobile, Using Oven Bake Clay

I have had this idea in my head for a while, but wasn’t sure what medium to use. This product is really fun and easy to work with, however, it sets more like a hard rubber than a ceramic clay, so it did not achieve the wind chime noise I had in mind. Oh well, its still pretty!

Nature theme mobile / sun catcher.

Sculpey Oven Bake Clay. It is quite firm out of the packet, but softens up quickly with some kneading.

Ms 4 Rolling out the clay.

Cut just like a cookie or play dough

Reshape to make leaf like

Press in between the backs of 2 leaves

Leaf print

Ready for the oven, bake at 130c for approximately 15 minutes

After baking

Ms4 threading the fishing line and adding some beads.

Some things we collected on our bush walk

Drilling some extra holes in the piece of bark.

Autumn mobile,

Nature theme mobile / sun catcher.

Autumn and bush influenced mobile.

Jul27

Kids in the Kitchen, Home Made Fish and Chips.

Posted on July 27, 2013 by thestick81

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Kids in the Kitchen, Home Made Fish and Chips.

My kids love fish and chips. But gone are the days you could feed the family from the local fish and chip shop for under $20. So we always make our own now. I am sure its not just me, but I hate crumbing things, fingers getting all caked up with goo. So, outsourcing it is! Even my 4 year old can do the whole process herself. So while it may not be the healthiest meal (we deep fry the fish) it could certainly be a lot worse, and their sense of achievement and the skill building is totally worth the mess!

Mr9 is cooking some pinking fillets here. He just cut them into small even sized pieces, so they should all take roughly the same time to cook through. Flour each piece so it is dry, then dip in an egg/milk mixture before rolling in the crumbs. You could also get the kids to make bread crumbs if you have a food processor. We don’t, so we are just using store crumbs.

Mr9 is actually mature and coordinated enough to use the deep fry, but I am particularly paranoid about hot oil, so I took over that part of the process.

Pink ling fillets cut to size.

Drying in plain flour,

Dipping in milk and egg mixture

Coating with breadcrumbs

Ready to cook

Keep them separate so they don’t stick together while cooking

Frying

Drain on paper towel.

Home made fish and chips.

And yes, we used frozen chips, shhh, don’t tell anyone.

Jul27

Upcycled CDs. Sun Catcher.

Posted on July 27, 2013 by thestick81

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We were having a clean out of old computer stuff and were about to throw away a pile of old discs, but I decided those shinny little things must be good for something else? So after a bit of thinking, I came up with yet another sun catcher idea. Anyone would think I like sparkly things? It took me ages to work out what to cover, a sphere didn’t seem practical as the CD pieces are flat obviously, so after some uhmming and arrring, I decided wooden cubes were the best solution. The lovely man at the local hardware was kind enough to give me some 3″ x 3″ off cuts for free. The rest of the instructions are on the pictures. I just used clear drying craft glue to attach the CD chips to the wood and the grout is standard bathroom tile grout mixed according to instructions, available from any hardware (we had some left over from the laundry renovation).

Recycled DVD / CD Sun catcher

Gather your old CDs, DVDs the more different colours the better.

Cut ’em up! Tin snips, side cutters, or seceteurs as I have.

Munched up CDs!

Drill hooks into each corner of the wood, placing a fishing swivel between, so they can spin freely in the wind.

Some white paint to enhance the colour of the glass tiles

Stick on the pieces covering as much area as you can.

Make some grout, following instructions on pack.

Dollop on the grout

Smooth over with a spatula (instructions for tiles suggest a squeegee)

Remove as much excess as you can, then allow to set for an hour or more (weather conditions will vary this time)

Use a dry or every so slightly damp sponge, remove more of the excess once it has set to a powdery consistency.

Let set over night. Then wash off any excess dust.

Finished product.

Sun Catcher. CD / DVD

Recycled DVD / CD Sun catcher

Upcycled CDs.

Sun catcher / Disco Cube!

Hang on display

Sun Catcher. CD / DVD

Jul18

What exactly is going on here?

Posted on July 18, 2013 by thestick81

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I often buy a pack of lollies for the kids to have 2 each night as a treat after eating all their dinner. I bought a multi pack with mixed items from Aldi recently. Mr2 handed me one of these to help him open, I couldn’t help but notice the very odd images on the packets! What is that lime doing to that lemon? It certainly doesn’t look G rated! The raspberry is not much better!

Jul17

Teaching Kids To Sew – Make a Hair Scrunchie!

Posted on July 17, 2013 by thestick81

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Teaching Kids To Sew – Make a Hair Scrunchie!

I was just saying to my other half, I find it odd how many people think the ability to use a sewing machine is something rare or difficult. He agreed that it is very simple, no harder than driving a car. 2 minutes later as I was taking up Miss 4s curtains, I managed to catch the middle of the curtain in the seam, creating a huge unpicking job, and of course my quick-un-pick has grown legs and run off, so I had to do it the hard way. Murphy and his law are cruel, and now I see why many people choose not to sew!

That aside, I still think we should all learn the basics of sewing, even if the days of making your own clothes to save money are long gone (fabric is SO expensive!). So when my boys showed interest in sewing after my last little project, I jumped at the opportunity to teach them some basics on the machine. The easiest thing to sew has to be a scrunchie!

The process is very straight forward, so I am sure I don’t need to go into much more detail than what is in the caption on the pictures. Apart from a pretty wonky seam by Mr9 (which you can’t notice once finished), they were a success and Ms4 was happy to model their efforts to the world. We used fabric with lines on it as I figured that would be easier to follow for beginners, but you can use just about anything, make them any size and thickness.

Ironing the fabric flat

Cutting the strip of fabric

Ironing the fold,

Mr9 sewing his first seam

Mr8 sewing his scrunchie

attach safety pin and elastic

push safety pin through the middle

then turn scrunchie in the right way as you pull the elastic through

Tie elastic at desired size

Fold in edges and sew together

Ms4 Modelling

Finished scrunchies

Hair scrunchies.

Gotta love a bit of 90s hair fashion! Where’s the crimper!

Jun9

Owl Family Craft Project

Posted on June 9, 2013 by thestick81

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To be honest, craft is the last thing I was in the mood for this weekend. After some tragic news on Saturday morning, the tone of what was planned to be a fun 3 day weekend, soon turned into a very sombre one indeed. All I really wanted to do was hug my pillow and cry. But my children don’t really understand grief, so after 24 hours of my moping around, they were climbing the walls. I was inspired by this project from an activity I saw at school a few weeks ago, of individual owls as they related to the letter O (letter of the week). I thought a little owl family with the kids prints would look very cute.

The concept is quite simple like most of my projects, and as you can see in the photos below, so I wont go into too much detail. I let the kids choose from my scrapbooking paper a pattern they liked, but you could just as easily use plain colours. The background is just 2 school scrap books centre pages sticky taped together, then washed with blue water colour as demonstrated by Mr 8. Once dry, I ironed the paper to make it flat again. I drew the owl body and Mr 8 and I cut them out. The eyes were traced from a circular cookie cutter and cut out. The black dots made with a hole punch. I just drew one foot, then used it as a stencil for the rest of the feet, so they are all similar.

The kids then chose their wing colour. I placed the body on the background and had the children do their hand prints one at a time, starting in the middle. This way I didn’t have to worry too much about working out the spacing. Once they were all done, I sketched in a branch and Mr 8 painted it in. Then it was just a case of glueing eyes, pupils, beaks and feet. We added some leaves cut out from green paper to the branch and there you have it. A little owl family hand print keepsake.

Mr 8 painting the sky.

The sky backdrop.

Use one foot as a stencil for the rest of the feet.

Choosing the paper.

Glue owl body.

Paint hands.

Mr 8 placing the first print.

Mr 2’s hand prints

Mr 8 painting the branch

Glueing on the feet

Cutting out the leaves

Adding the leaves.

Girly owl.

Baby owl and big brother owl

Girl and Boy owl.

Owl hand print family.

Owl family wall hanging.

Close up.

From a distance.

Materials:

Paper, Scissors, hole punch, water colour, coloured card and paper, glue stick, craft paint.

If you have got this far, thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed the post and it inspires you to do something just as fun and rewarding with your young family. But if I can just ask one small thing of you, next time the opportunity arises, please donate to childhood cancer research in your country. Currently only 5% of research funds go towards childhood cancer research, so please pinpoint your donations to this very important cause. This beast needs to be stopped.

May26

DIY Dog Coats.

Posted on May 26, 2013 by thestick81

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My puppies are classed as a Giant breed, so buying coats for them is never easy. XXL in doggy sizes still doesn’t fit around their necks. I bought Willow a custom made coat from the markets a few years ago, but it was $55, so I decided I needed to learn to make them myself! It really is quite easy, I can make one start to finish in about an hour now. The beauty of making them yourself is you don’t have to worry about them being adjustable to suit different sized dogs, which makes it a lot easier too.

Pampered pooches

Measure the dog from the centre of its chest to near its bum. Then measure from the collar at the top to to the top of their tail (along spine). Then measure over the shoulders, from how ever low you want it to sit on each side. If you are doing this for the first time you may want to try it out on some paper, then try it on the dog to see if you are happy with the shape. So, all you really need is some fabric. I use polar fleece, or husky fleece on the inside, and something a bit more durable on the outside. I have made some with a fur outer, but the 2 I made today are almost a cordroy fabric. I picked them up in the remnants bin for $5 each. I also buy the strap for the waist. You could make your own from the fabric, but I find the bag strapping stuff more durable, and clips easier to use. Many dog coats use velcro to fasten, but velcro gets full of dog hair and loses it effectiveness pretty quickly.

Fold the fabric in half so that each side will be the same. Notice I have 33″+ for the full length that will wrap around the neck area, I make this extra long at the start and it can just be cut down at the end when you finish it off and try it on the dog for the perfect fit. Pin together to avoid the fabric slipping then cut out. i have left at least 1″ for seems, because I am a very sloppy sewer, this allows plenty of room for error!

Mr 8 helping cut out the outer layer

First cut out (still doubled over)

Use the first one as the template for the inner layer

Cut out inner layer.

Pin both pieces together, colour side in.

Ready to sew.

Use this cut out as the stencil for the next layer. Just trace around – easy peasy. Now, I add an extra square of the warm fabric in the middle of mine, but it’s really not necessary. So ignore that part if you are trying to follow these instructions to make your own. Its much easier just working with 2 pieces of fabric for a beginner. Once you have your two sections cut out, open them up and place together colour side in. Pin together to avoid movement and sew around the outside. I make the bottom section of mine a bit curved as you can see in the photos, this hides my dodgy sewing skills better, but if you can sew straight lines, make it straight! Leave one end of the neck section not sewn, so you can pull the coat in the right way. If you are making a coat for a little dog, I would actually leave a section in the middle of the side open to turn it through there, as you wont be able to fit your hand in the neck section. It really doesn’t matter where you leave it, but by doing it at the neck you can hide the messy bit when you fix the neck together to complete the coat. At this point you can cut off any excess seems. You don’t need to though if you’re lazy like me. Just make sure you cut away any excess around the neck part, or you wont be able to achieve nice sharp corners when you turn it in the right way. Speaking of which, its now time to do that….

Once pulled through, flatten out as best you can. I like to run another stitch right around the edge, about 1cm in. It just finishes it off nicer and give it a better more sturdy shape. You can skip this step though if you like. Then put it over doggy and get the neck fitting. Mark with a pen. Then simply sew it together. I cross them over and sew a square shape, then an X through the middle. You could just do a centre seam though if you like. If your dogs weight fluctuates, you may like to just add velcro here so its adjustable.

Lastly, add the waist strap. The strapping was $1.79 a meter, and I cut the clips off an old back pack of the kids (they were only decorative anyway?). Attach to the middle on each side. I just used the machine and went back and forth about 10 times. If you were making a small dog coat and had left the opening to turn it through at the side, you could neatly tuck the strap in there. You don’t see the inside part when its on, so it doesn’t matter how it looks anyway. Its best to allow the strap to wrap right around the dog, rather than just under the belly, it secures the coat much better. And thats really it. I have probably made this sound so much more complicated than it is, it really is a very straight forward sewing project.

The essentials. Approximately 1.5 meters each of your chosen fabric, sewing machine and sewing kit

Fold fabric over, measure out required dimensions and draw in seam.

My very generous seams

Mr 8 helping cut out the outer layer

First cut out (still doubled over)

Check you’re happy with the rough size

Use the first one as the template for the inner layer

Cut out inner layer.

The extra layer i add for warmth, roughly stitched in to keep in position

Pin both pieces together, colour side in.

Ready to sew.

Once sewn, pull in the right way.

Cut off excess fabric from tight corners to create nice edges

like this!

Sew back around, I use the foot as a guide from the edge

which creates a finish like this!

SIze up the neck on pooch so its just right, mark with a pen.

Sew the front together.

Sew your straps into each side, add buckles

Done!

Dougues in Coats (dog coats)

Pampered pooches

Is it a cow, or is it a dog?

Ready for winter.

DIY dog coats.

Apr21

DIY Sun catcher/Wind chime.

Posted on April 21, 2013 by thestick81

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This project was inspired by another bloggers post, which I can’t find again on Pinterest, so will have to edit it back in later when I can find it. Anyway, I ended up doing something completely different to hers, because I couldn’t get my hands on the right kind of cups. The original mobile was created with plastic (recycling number 6) disposable drinking cups. I hunted high and low however, the only ones of them here were solid colours, so I had to settle for these shot glasses. The shot glasses are a lot thicker though, so the entire method required adjusting. As you can see in the gallery images, melting these at a low heat basically make little plastic globs that would only be good for playing jacks with. Eventually I worked out that by turning the heat up enough, I could get them to melt flat. However, they did emit a nasty smell at this temp, so I took the project out to the BBQ.

Adding the next colour

After melting the first cups, I added another cup, so there was enough plastic to cover the base of each muffin hole. I was not too worried about thickness, some ended up with 3 cups, I broke a few cups up to splash some other colour around. The BBQ was set to 220C with the lid down. After cooling, this is what you get;

The finished disks

They actually set really hard and when clicked together sound like glass rather than plastic. Makes them perfect for a wind chime. Just like with my previous sun catcher, I drilled holes in the sides of each piece using a normal drill bit. None of them broke this time, which was an extra win. Then we threaded some fishing line through, held each end together and threaded random shiny and transparent beads along the 2 lines. Admittedly I do have a ridiculously huge stash of beads and stones accumulated from over the years, but you can pick up cheap beads at $2 shops that will still make the project inexpensive if you were starting from scratch. The first line was 11cm, then I continued along making each one 1cm longer, there is 17 in total. My darling partner tied them on to the pre made metal loop (from spotlight – and much to his disappointment, he is not a crafty person). Once they were all tied on, I just slid them around until they were spaced evenly. And done!

Close up

** Please note, breathing in the fumes from melting plastic is probably not a very good idea. So if you do try this at home, try to use the BBQ or make sure the room is well ventilated, and preferably don’t be near the oven while its all happening. It not like burning tyres or anything, but it sure doesn’t smell like something you should be breathing in!

Ready to melt

Fail

Thats more like it.

Adding the next colour

Use the BBQ, so you don’t fill the has with toxic burnt plastic smell.

The finished disks

Ms 4 helping bead the strings

Beading the strings ready to hang

Finished product

Wind chime

Sun catcher

DIY sun catcher

Close up

Wind Chime

In bright light

Sun catcher

Mar13

Home Made Chalk with an Easter Twist.

Posted on March 13, 2013 by thestick81

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I have been going to try out this home made chalk method for a while. When I picked up some new silicone moulds from Aldi last week, I figured it was the perfect opportunity to try them both out!

Ingredients and utensils.

Ideally disposable plastic cups would be the best thing to mix the plaster in, but I didn’t have any, so we just used some plastic cups we are not very attached to (IE, not Tupperware, lol). You can buy plaster of paris from any large hardware or craft shop for around $10 for a 3kg (which is heeeaaaaps, 1kg is more than enough for this project). Silicone or rubber ice cube trays, food colouring and something to stir with. Again, paddle pop sticks would have been better, but these skewers will do the trick.

: Mix the water and the colour, then add the plaster powder

: Stir thoroughly, don’t let the mix get too thick so you can still pour it into moulds.

: Ms 4 mixing in the plaster

Mix the food colouring in the water first, then add the plaster. Stir rapidly until its fully mixed, then poor into the moulds. The plaster will set in roughly half an hour, some water may rise to the top, you can just dab this away with some paper towel or tip the moulds after this time for it to run away. Then allow to fully cure in the moulds over night. We also experimented with some glitter in the chalk, for something a bit different. It actually worked quite well, although its really hard to capture the results with the camera.

Pour into the moulds

Moulds ready to set.

One of the glitter chalks.

Then simply turn out of the moulds and get drawing!

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Mar10

Decorated Eggs, Easter Egg Dying and Decorating.

Posted on March 10, 2013 by thestick81

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Decorated Eggs, Easter Egg Dying and Decorating.

While we did the Tie Dying, I also started experimenting with a few other methods of colouring eggs using a home made dye using ingredients that almost everyone has already in their kitchen. These were some of the results;

These are obviously pretty straight forward. Dyed in a food colouring/vinegar/warm water mixture. Then a scrap booking embelishment stuck on. Would have preferred embellishments without the clear plastic behind them, but the craft shop didn’t have any like that and you can’t really tell from a distance anyway.

I love how these turned out. Just use leaves from the garden, lay over the eggs then cover with a stocking or pantyhose. I actually used some stocking I had on hand and didn’t even need to ruin them in the process. Dip dye for a few minutes and you’re done.

Crepe paper results

We actually discovered this dying method accidentally. After we had finished the Tie Dying from a previous post, we placed the eggs on this pre shredded crepe paper. Some of the eggs still had a bit of water in them from the boiling process, so when that ran out and wet the paper, the colour transferred onto the eggs! So I took it a step further, wet a hand full and covered them in it. The results are pretty cool I think!

The dying solution we used was 3 parts hot tap water to one part vinegar, with as much food colouring as you wanted, we only used about a teaspoon per large cup.

Some of the other patterns we created can be seen below.

Boiling in water, food colouring and vinegar (later discovered boiling is not actually necessary)

Some foam stickers to create patterns where the dye cant reach.

Trying to keep the eggs afloat to only colour one side – not very successful!

The leaf wrapped around egg within stocking prior to dipping in the dye solution

Leaf patterns

covering in crepe paper.

Wet crepe paper

Crepe paper results

Cant have a craft project without glitter? Yes, actually you can and you should

Egg decorating

Samples of some of the eggs we created

Egg Craft

Eggsperimenting with dying EGGS!

Mar3

Easter Craft, Cute Little Chicks.

Posted on March 3, 2013 by thestick81

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Another very wet weekend has resulted in craft overload in this house. Today we made some little chickens. We will call them Easter Chicks, but they could really just be birds and would still be just as cute! All we used was some small styrofoam balls, paint, google eyes a pack of feathers and a few different glues and double sided tape. Oh, and some of those pre stuck felt shapes. First we put the balls on a skewer to hold them up to paint. The paint, like everything at the moment, took forever to dry, even under the ceiling fan. Then we added the eyes and beaks. It was a bit of trial and error with the glue, as some glue dissolves the styrofoam. But we got there eventually, with some scrap booking glue.

Glue on eyes.

For the beak, we just cut off petals from a foam flower sticker (which you will see further on). We used several different methods to make the wings. For thicker wings I folded over a feather from the centre, and secured both sides together with some double sided tape. This worked well, but was a lot of fiddling around and you could see the tape through some, which I was not happy with. Others I just cut away one side of the feather, to make it more a wing shape. Then for the crazy birds I just stick the feathers straight in the side, to make them look like they were running. Way cute! Twisted some pipe cleaners to make legs and we were done.

Ms 4 wanted to make a nest for them, so I grabbed some sugar cane mulch and let her build one outside, she then sprinkled a few flowers around which I thought was a great idea, so told her to get more.

The coloured eggs are from another project we did this weekend, I will post more on them tomorrow. They finished it off nicely though I think.

Mr 8 making the stand ready to paint

First step, painting.

All the painted balls

Ms 4 putting glue on for the eyes.

Ms 4 positioning the eyes

Glue on eyes.

Let the eyes dry.

The feather sections as used on each bird, (wing wing tail)

double sided tape method

once folded

tape wing stuck to chick

Make some legs from pipe cleaners.

Bird on a stick

Hey there chubby legs

Mummy Hen

Running Chick!

Easter Chicks

The nest

Pink Chick

Little hatchling

Peek-a-boo

Easter Chickens

Easter Chicken craft

Mr 2 and Ms 4 playing with the chicken family.

Mar2

Bubble Painting Easter Garland, Toddler Craft Activity

Posted on March 2, 2013 by thestick81

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Bubble Painting Easter Garland, Toddler Craft Activity

Bubble painting is nothing new for toddlers and preschoolers, but we have never done it at home and I thought it would create a cute finish for some paper eggs.

Most people will have all this stuff lying around the house, so its a cheap activity too. Dish washing liquid, food colouring, drinking straws, paper (in this case egg shapes) a bowl and a splash of water. I just Google Image searched ‘easter eggs’ and found some egg shapes, copied into Word, adjusted the size and printed. Could have drawn them myself, but I was being lazy. The bigger 2 kids helped cut some out and I cut out the rest. The mixture is equal parts water, food colouring and detergent, you can use more water, but the less you use the more vibrant colours are achieved. Then the fun begins!

Yellow bubbles.

Simply blow the bubbles so they rise well above the sides of the bowl then place the paper flat on top. You may need to tip your bowl slightly to keep the straw submerged. Be sure to place the paper as quickly as possible. The bubbles will actually last quite a while if untouched, but the colour drops to the bottom quickly, so the longer you wait the less colour will transfer to the paper.

Samples of our creations.

Once dried (on a dry day they would only take a few minutes to dry, but due to never ending rain in Sunny Queensland, they took a lot longer) we attempted to punch holes in the top to string them up with, but due to the moisture in the air, the paper just can’t get crisp enough to punch as such, so we stuck small sections of straw to the back with sticky tape. This actually worked out really well, as it meant they face forwards rather than side ways all the time. We used some more coloured straws (cut into 3rds) to space the eggs out then alternated sizes along the way.

And there you have it. Its hard to take a photo of, but its really pretty. Currently hanging in the hallway. If the sun ever comes out again, I will take a photo of it in natural light to bring out the colours better.

What you need.

Mr 9 cutting out some eggs.

Yellow bubbles.

Blue bubble mixture

Miss 4 making red bubbles

Mr 8 getting his bubble painting on.

Mr 2 doesn’t quite have the fine motor skills required to keep the paper out of the liquid, so I let him play with a paint brush and the mixture to keep him happy.

Samples of our creations.

Each one is painted on both sides so you can use the garland in a walk way.

Attach straw to one side of eggs

Ready to thread on the string.

Ms 4 threading the straw spacers

Ms 4 threading the eggs on.

Easter Garland

Easter Craft

Easter Eggs

Bubble painting

Easter Toddler and Preschool activity

Easter Egg Craft

Mar2

Tie Die Eggs – Easter Craft, Egg Decorating

Posted on March 2, 2013 by thestick81

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Tie Die Eggs – Easter Craft, Egg Decorating

In Australia, Easter in my experience at least, is all about chocolate eggs. The only time I decorated an egg was in grade 3, for a decorating competition. But apparently in other parts of the world its just what you do at Easter time. A friend showed me this idea and I just had to give it a go! I rushed out to the local Op shops that afternoon and fumbled through a rack of ties trying to find any that were 100% silk (they must be 100% silk, polyester will not work). One shop charged $1 each and the other wanted up to $5 each, I told them they were dreaming and talked them down to $2.

$20 worth of Op shop pure silk ties

You can do this with boiled eggs, but I wanted to be able to keep them for future years or at least future craft projects. So rather than using whole eggs, we blew the eggs. That was a challenge in its self, but once I got the hang of it, I cleared out a dozen eggs and away we went. Cut the stitching at the back of the tie so you can open it up, remove any lining and cut a piece big enough to cover your egg. Making sure the dark side (what was once the outside of the tie) is against the egg. Secure with a twist tie or as I did, rubber bands as tight as possible without breaking the egg. You want as much surface contact as you can get. I then removed the excess fabric to make putting on the second layer easier.

All wrapped up tight in the first layer (print facing egg)

Then wrap a layer of plain fabric (I used some flannel and calico I had in the scrap fabric bag) and secure again with another band. Fill a saucepan with water and half a cup of vinegar (I didn’t measure, but would have used more than half a cup of white vinegar) and bring to the boil. Different directions state different cooking times, from 5 minutes to 20, I went with closer to 20 minutes. Then the exciting part!

Love the colours and patterns in this one.

Remove from the water and allow to cool. Remove fabric and discover what you have created! Don’t forget to blow out the water that may have ended up inside again if you used hollow eggs. Out of the 11 we made, 3 didn’t work at all. I can’t say for sure, but I think they were ‘fake 100% silk’ ties those ones!