Pinecones are just amazing. Autumn has such beautiful bounty and one of our favorite crafts of the past was our pinecone owls and when we got them out recently Mini commented that pinecones look a little like hedgehogs, which is what inspired our pinecone hedgehogs.
We are going through a real phase of yarn craft at the moment. It is a great way of improving fine motor skills and using up scraps of wool. Cup weaving is a great fun craft and perfect for using paper cups.
I am delighted to be sharing with you an introduction to Nurturestore’s new book Super Sensory Invitations to Play. I have known Cathy pretty much since I started blogging and she is a fabulous educator, creative mama and also a real inspiration. We are sharing with you today just one of the 52 activities in the book – DIY Puffy Paint
Sticks, when is a stick not a stick? Well a stick can be and often is everything in this house. You can find a pile of sticks at the front door as my boys pick up sticks wherever we go and this “treasure” is part of childhood and I love it! But I also love doing something with these sticks and we decided to practice some fine motor skills and make some yarn wrapped sticks.
When you are a child, you see everything differently. A stick isn’t just a stick – it’s a wand, it’s a pair of skis, it’s a light saber. So we are using our sprinkles of imagination to turn sticks in to God’s Eyes and if you house is anything like The Mad House then you will have a lot of sticks by the door!
The summer is a great time to encourage your kids to scrapbook. Each year we record the holidays and our adventures in our own summer scrapbook. The new craze is smash booking. So here is how to smash book with kids.
There is nothing better than receiving a kids made card and Father’s Day is no exception. I love getting creative with the MiniMads and coming up with ideas for this years card for MadDad. The boys love their father and there is something about watching the Husbeast with his boys that makes me go weak at the knees.
I think that the significance of Father’s day and Mother’s Day only come to us once we are parents. I know that on Mother’s Day there is nothing better than getting a homemade card of little something from my boys. So with the help of the boys and Braun I have put together a free Father’s Day printable.
In our hall we have a basket which is filled with hats and other things depending on the season and this week I took all the winter hats, gloves and scarfs and swapped them for the summer caps and hats and I was left with two odd gloves, that were missing their mates. So I decided to upcycle them and make some glove monsters. And yes, I know that it is June and I am only putting away the winter stuff, but it has been a really odd Spring in the UK this year and we have had hail in May!
Do your kids decorate eggs for easter? It is one of the things the boys love and they have egg decorating competitions at school, cubs and also the Easter Party we attend annually. We are one of those families that believe in the kids decorating their own eggs, so I sit on my hands and provide encouragement only! These Teenage Mutant Ninja decorated eggs won Maxi the cubs competition this year and even better they are simple and all his own work!
I love real flowers, I really do, but there is nothing that makes me smile more than than the handmade ones that grace my desk which have over time been made by my boys. They are often so simple to make, but they last forever and these cake case daffodils are so simple to make, but look amazing. Even better this is a mess free craft.
We love pom poms. They are fantastic for using up scraps of yarn and making them is great fine motor skills for the boys. With 2015 being the Chinese year of the Sheep and the new Shaun the sheep movie die out anytime, we decided to try our hands at making pompom sheep.
Christmas is a great time for encouraging kids to get creative and a great way to do this is to present them with an #invitation to create. These Christmas trees decorated with cak cases are so easy to make and can be adapted for kids of all ages. How to make Cake case Christmas trees
We love making decorations as a family for our Christmas tree and this year we are joining in again with 10 days of kid made ornaments and this year they are inspired by a book. So ours are tree decorations inspired by The Fir Tree by Hans Christian Anderson. Each year we buy new christmas books for our Advent basket. This year I bought a book for me. It is a beautifully illustrated edition of The Fir Tree by Hans Christian Anderson.
One of our family traditions is homemade christmas crackers. Since as long as I can remember we had small cracker presents on the dining table usually made by my mum. They were precious things that were small and once I got older we each took a turn year on year to make the crackers and full them with cracker presents. When Wrap.me sent me a couple of sheets of their amazing personalised instagram wrapping paper I knew just what I wanted to make with them……. Christmas Crackers. How to make Christmas Crackers
We love advent and one of the ways we celebrate is to have an advent wreath or ring that we light each sunday to help celebrate the lead up to Christmas. The first Sunday of advent for 2014 in November 30th. Me and the boys have spend the last few days making this years advent ring, even though it is more of a plinth! People light one candle on the first Sunday of Advent, two on the second Sunday, three on the third Sunday and all four on the fourth Sunday. Some people then continue to light all four candles during the Christmas period. Traditionally an advent ring has three purple and more »
We are all about the Christmas cards at the moment and today I want to share with you a really simple Santa Hat Christmas card that is perfect for toddlers and preschoolers to make. It is also the perfect 5 minute craft. How to make Santa Hat Christmas Cards
Both my boys take part in the annual remembrance parade as Cubs and this year it is the 100 anniversary of the start of World War One. This has really captured the boys imagination, so we made Poppy Pinwheels. Remembrance Day, Armistice Day or Veteran’s Day as it is sometimes called is November 11th. Materials: Red paper Brass Paper Fasteners Black Sharpie Green Paper straws Hole punch 1/8 inch How to make a pinwheel poppy
Here’s an easy poppy craft, which is a great Remembrance Day activity for children. We have made a display of poppies and a paper plate poppy wreath, but you can use the same technique to make a poppy brooch by added a pin on the rear or a display of poppies for your home, church or school. The mini mad’s will be taking the poppies to my mum’s grave in remembrance of her. These poppies were inspired by the fab wax paper flowers at Homegrown Friends. How to make melted wax poppies with Kids
Rocket Bingo are hosting a competition where you have to make a Loo Roll Rocket to be in with a chance to win an iPod 7th Generation. Now loo rolls are something that I have a lot of in our junk modeling box otherwise known as the recycling bin and as it isn’t bin day till next week, we thought we would spend the afternoon making our own loo roll rocket. But my boys do love to challenge me and they insisted that our rocket actually move! Don’t worry your rockets don’t have to work the competition, in fact you can find out all the details of the competition here. How more »
