CRAFTS AND DIY
A tassel toothpick, or: a tooth fairy wand :)
Ever since my first daughter Tila lost her first tooth I do something silly when she leaves her tooth for the 'tooth fairy'. In Slovenia, where my husband and I come from, we have a tooth mouse instead of a fairy. So every time Tila leaves her tooth under her pillow I replace it with ...
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SUMMER CRAFTS
Become a Mermaid -- jewellery made from beach and nature finds
A great summer pastime is strolling on the beach and collecting shells, stones, and seagrass. But after a month last summer of filling buckets and pockets, the sweet little Irish cottage we were staying in was bursting at the seams with our beach treasures. We had to either secretly save the best and transport the ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
Shibori invitations for Ava's 8th birthday party, so pretty and so easy to make!
I shared my crazy idea for a shibori party for Ava's 8th birthday yesterday. Beforehand, Ava made these pretty shibori invitations. They are super easy to make. The only things needed are an indigo coloured watercolour paint (or any dark blue), a thin round brush and a bigger flat square brush, and watercolour paper postcards ...
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BIRTHDAY PARTIES
A shibori party for Ava's 8th birthday party, so magical!
Did you ever try tie-dye when you were a child? I remember doing it at primary school and loving it! So for Ava's 8th birthday party, I thought it would be fun to make Shibori style tie-dye t-shirts with the girls. I had done tie-dye before with my children years ago (look at Casper in this ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
Thoughtful Teacher's Gifts -- Personalised Portraits
It is nearly the end of school in the UK, which reminded me of the last-minute gift panic we experienced last year! And as the end of the year quickly approached with a non-stop list of activities : sports days, parties, picnics, summer shows (!) we thought we had nearly run out of time to ...
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DIY FOR MUMS
Reusable Food Wraps DIY
Did you try the Beeswax Food Wraps already? For the ones that don’t know them already, they are cotton pieces of fabric coated with a mixture of natural ingredients like beeswax, oil and tree resin and they are meant to store food just like plastic wrap minus the bad. You use the warmth of your ...
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BIRTHDAY PARTIES
An ice-cream birthday party for Ava's 7th -- fun, sweet and easy!
Ava turned 8 last weekend and as I'm planning the birthday party for her friends, I realised that I never shared the photos of the super sweet ice-cream birthday party we organised for her last year. It was a really fun day, full of ice-creams (obviously!) and with a bit of creativity too. It was ...
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BIRTHDAY PARTIES
A bee-themed 5th birthday tea party
Our little Queen Bee, Beatrice, just turned five and we had a very small party in our little hive to celebrate. We asked a few of her closest honeybees to join us, and splashed out on homemade fun for the event. I started the preparations the week before the party, sending little personal invites out. ...
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EASTER CRAFTS
Dyeing, Hiding, and Decorating -- a day of Easter Egg Fun
Growing up we would spend at least one full day dyeing Easter eggs. We would start with dozens of eggs, and my mother used to hard boil some and let us make blown eggs with the others, and inevitably we always ran out of eggs because the fun in dyeing dozens of eggs was endless! ...
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EASTER CRAFTS
Natural Egg Dyeing for Easter
Dyeing eggs with natural ingredients creates a beautiful result -- sometimes a bit unexpected, but with tones that are truly stunning! This is a really fun activity to do before Easter. I will warn you in advance thou, since it was my first time, we called it our eggy experiment but the children were excited ...
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SPRING CRAFTS
Spring Daffodil Bouquets -- a paper craft to celebrate the new season
Could it be that Spring is on its way? The snow has melted (for us!) and sunny yellow daffodils are beginning to appear in our local park, trumpeting the arrival of a new season. Hurray! It is such a joyful sight. And to celebrate and welcome this new season, I recently made these daffodils at my ...
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EDUCATION
A multiplication chatterbox -- a simple, fun and educational craft
Ava is now seven and this is the year she learns the multiplication tables at school. We already have the chart on the toilet door (which I think must be a universal trick), but the other day she came home with a 'multiplication chatterbox'. You know, that paper folding game we played as a kid? ...
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CELEBRATIONS
DIY Paper Lanterns -- Perfect for a Chinese New Year Celebration!
We love bringing small celebrations to life with homemade decorations, which add a special and festive touch! Chinese New Year is today, and we've spent the week making these super simple DIY paper lanterns. We're hoping to hang them up while we feast on Chinese food (yum for Dim Sum), eating our dinner with chopsticks (which ...
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VALENTINE'S DAY CRAFTS
Valentines Love Heart Bunting with Potato Printing
There is lots of love in the air, with Valentine's Day here, so I wanted to create a craft with simple items we had on hand. Naturally, a classic potato print project came to mind. After all aren't potato prints a right of passage? This craft entertained my nearly two year old and almost five ...
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VALENTINE'S DAY CRAFTS
Last Minute Valentine's DIY: Heart Shaped Seed Paper and Origami Envelope
I don’t give a lot on Valentine’s Day, usually. But I try to create something sweet for my husband and the kids just so they know it exists. Does this even make any sense? :) So this year I decided to craft a last minute Valentine's DIY: tiny seed paper hearts and easy envelopes to ...
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VALENTINE'S DAY CRAFTS
My Funny Valentines -- Cute last-minute Valentine card idea!
These are the easiest (and super last-minute friendly) Valentine cards. Very handmade, perhaps even a bit homespun, which I think adds a bit of character... quite endearing! In addition they are funny and fast to make! You can use collage materials and a bit of clever wording, and presto! We used pieces of wrapping paper ...
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AUTUMN CRAFTS
Walnut Shell Animals, such a sweet craft to do with the kids!
My daughter is going to Steiner (Waldorf) School and every year in November there is Martinsmarkt, which is a special 2-day event with different kinds of activities held in almost all the classrooms. And all families participate. Last year we had to either buy or create little treasures for the Fishing Game. They had to ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
The Secret Society of Letter Writers, by Master Boddington
The Secret Society of Letter Writers (S.S.L.W.)... If something sparks the imagination of a ten-year-old, it is Secrets and Societies! A while ago, I brought home a little card from the ShopUp in New York, inviting the reader (in this case Pim) to join the S.S.L.W. The Secret Society of Letter Writers strives 'to honour and protect ...
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TEAM FAVOURITES
Team Favourites: 25 of the Best Colouring Materials
We spent everyday of our Christmas holiday colouring and painting. Two weeks! Experimenting with mark making, drawing our favourite memories, making imaginary worlds, and just having fun... creating art is wonderful for all ages. And beautiful materials create beautiful art. Our twenty five art and colouring materials will provide you with a lot to choose ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
Regal Crowns -- easy to make, fun to wear
This year I helped organise the making of crowns for my daughter's school Nativity play. The theme was the Three Kings, with not three but in fact ninety kings (!). We needed to create some instant drama, and these paper and jewel crowns did the trick. Making these en masse for the whole class was ...
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CHRISTMAS CRAFTS
Christmas Craft: Scandanavian Nisse from simple materials
I visited a friend's house recently and loved their festive decorations. These sweet, small, little elves stood out on their brunch table. I asked for more information on the origin, and found out that she made them as a young child. She was quite nostalgic about them, and now her children look forward to putting ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
Colourful Papier-Mâché Fruits & Vegetables
I haven't made papier-mâché for years, and almost forgot how much fun it is! You start with such simple and basic materials and end up with an impressive sculpture. Papier-mâché is a great excuse to put on an art smock, and have a bit of messy fun with your children. There are severals steps and a ...
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BIRTHDAY PARTIES
An autumn birthday party for Casper's 5th birthday
An autumn birthday party Casper recently turned five, and since he is an October baby we decided to do something seasonal for his 'friends party'. According to family tradition, he invited 5 friends (since he turned 5 years old), and he did so by handing out his invites, which we decorated with a cute painted ...
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