My children both attend a school with a fairly rigorous uniform list. The colours are specified right down to what the children wear in their hair. This was challenging enough in their last school, whose colours were yellow and grey- not colours that could be bought off the shelf from all good uniform retailers, it would seem- but from September their colours are purple and grey or black. I do not know a single five-year-old girl who considers … [Read more...]
Royal Baby Cookie Pops
Hot on the heels of our sweet little Royal Baby Welcome Cards, and whilst we await the arrival of the #royalbaby, come the Royal Baby Cookie Pops. The Girls suggested that I make them "some cookies that are babies too." They wanted Royal Ones But frankly I didn't have any yellow fondant icing, so instead I made Baby Cookie Pops as a tribute to the imminent arrival of the World's Most Famous Baby*. They are fairly simple. Honestly. I used my … [Read more...]
How to make a Chinese Pellet Drum
If you are of my generation you will remember the scene in Karate Kid II where a Chinese Drum is used to great effect in the climax of the story. Actually I've just checked Wikipedia and seen that the one in the movie is a Den-Den Daiko, which is Japanese, but pellet drums exist across vast swathes of Eastern culture, so I'm guessing I can call this a Chinese Drum. Anyway, the Karate Kid inspired my father to make my brothers and I some pellet … [Read more...]
Crafts to make for Fathers Day
The thing that I cherish more than anything on Mother's Day are the cards and handmade gifts that The Girls give me. On the same basis, I work hard with our Girls to make something that DH will cherish for Father's Day. It's an important lesson for them to learn: that a gift that is thoughtful, that comes from the heart, that you put yourself into, is far more special and precious than anything you can buy. A couple of years ago, when they … [Read more...]
Papier-mâché Hen Challenge
A while ago Molly Moo published a picture of the most fabulous Papier-mâché Chicken/Hen that she had made at her Papier-mâché course. This precipitated a Hen Craft Challenge which I agreed to take part in, although frankly I was never going to match up to Her Craftyness's high standards. I used a cereal packet to do most of the work for me. Firstly, I took off the top third, and put to one side for the 'bits' < that's a tchnical term, by … [Read more...]
Paper Plate Easter Bonnet
Last year I was really pleased with how the Paper Plate Easter Bonnet, inspired by Philip Treacy, turned out, so I turned to paper plates- one of my favourite kid's crafting tools- when I needed to make one for this year's parade. And all you need is glue, a large paper plate, some doilies and some ribbon. It really was a very simple craft: so much so that Dimples- just 3- did almost all the work by herself. The first step is to cover both … [Read more...]
How to make a shamrock from a pipecleaner
Pipecleaners are such great crafting tools when what you need is a simple outline shape. Take how to make a shamrock from a pipecleaner. Although this post seems lengthy, in reality each shamrock takes seconds to make once you've perfected the technique so is ideal for last minute St Patrick's Day crafting, such as this Rainbow Door Wreath. 1. First take your pipecleaner and bend over. Twist the two ends together until they are about an … [Read more...]
