Tissue Paper Butterflies

While we were playing around with the tissue paper flowers James decided that he wanted to have a butterfly. Every time we go outside to look at our flowers there seem to be butterflies flitting  around, so I could see the connection.

I was rather dubious about whether we could make the same process work for a butterfly, but there would be no harm in trying. These butterflies look like a cross between a flower and a butterfly. They are wonderful for the kids to fly around the room and still look good after chunks of paper tear off. Next time I'll use a few less sheets of paper.

Tissue Paper Flowers

I am enjoying the spring flowers all around the garden. The children decided to make me some paper ones for inside the house. Here we have some A4 pieces of tissue paper layered on top of each other. The children made little cuts all along the edges.

Then we wrapped a pipe cleaner around the middle of the flower and twisted it tightly together.

The tricky part was trying to gently separate the layers of tissue paper to create the flower. We ended up with a few little rips, but it is hardly noticeable once we put it in a vase with a few other flowers.

This vase is going to brighten up my white kitchen.

Stick Christmas Tree Card

We're getting started on card making early. I think that now I have one child at school we need to have A LOT of cards. This one is very easy if you have paddle pop sticks. Simply paint some green and some brown and leave them to dry.

When the paddle pop sticks are dry we used one brown one and 3 green ones per tree.

Put 5 dots of glue on the brown stick and attach cut pieces of the green stick in order of size. The bottom green stick only has the ends trimmed. Once again we left it to dry before attaching it to a card. I like my trees plain, but the boys wanted to glue decorations on their ones.

Clay Ornaments

At Majura Womens Group last year we had a session on making clay beads for necklaces. At the end of the session we took home the left over pieces of clay to finish making beads with. It just so happens that that day I was in a rush and my small packet of clay squares were hastily shoved into the cupboard when I came home and forgotten about until this week.

I wondered if it would be possible to roll out the clay and make little Christmas ornaments with them. So I set the boys to work rolling out the clay and cutting out shapes. Once the shapes were cut out the boys decorated them, using a toothpick to scratch drawings on to the clay. Then we simply popped them in the oven to cook for 20 minutes.

These ornaments are destined to decorate Christmas cards.

Rainbows

Did anyone see the rainbow earlier in the week? Just before the thunder storm hit we saw a beautiful rainbow.

So when we came home, we painted our own rainbow with water colour paints.

I quite like our version of the rainbow. This is Imogen's one. We have a peculiar water colour set that we used big sponges with to create the rainbow in one big sweeping stroke, so it is especially good for small hands! Next time I will remember not to use shiny paper as it makes the colours slide a little on the paper.

This is the water colour set we have for the children to use. (I need to remember to hold my camera strap out of the way!!)

Cubby House

I watched an episode of Better Homes and Gardens a while ago and Tara made a cubby house by cutting a piece of material slightly larger than the top of her dining table. Then she measured the height of the table and cut two pieces that were the height and length of the table, and two pieces that were the width of the table. She quickly sewed it together, cut a door and glued on decorations.

This is our version of it with scraps of material from my sewing cupboard. We wanted the doorway on one of the shorter sides because of the way our table is placed in the dining room this gives the best access. I love the way that the children can play with the cubby house and when they are done, I can fold it up to put in a cupboard. It is easier to store than most toys.

A Bottled Boat

I am in awe of people who have the patience to make model boats in glass bottles. The skill, time and patience needed for such an undertaking is something beyond my ability. Can you imagine my horror when Christopher announced that he wanted to make a ship in a bottle? 

It turns out he had seen an episode of Mister Maker with a boat in a bottle project. It was simply a case of using food dye to colour some dry rice to make the water. The boat was made from plasticine and slipped into the bottle. The sails were cardboard triangles stuck onto sticks and then attached to the boat inside the bottle (the tricky part of the process)

Here is our finished project

Under the Sea Painting

I have a drawer full of paintings like this. Today I decided that we needed to do something with them. When I asked the children what they thought we could make with the picture, they told me it looked like water. Further discussion concluded that there are fish, jellyfish, rocks and seaweed in the water.

I found some material for rocks, glitter for seaweed  and a bottle top for a jellyfish body. We printed out some pictures to colour in and stick on. Now we have refurbished the painting and have to find somewhere to hang it up.

Glass Tile Pendants

I went along to the craft fair last month and was determined to find a project to make with the kids that could then be given as gifts. Sounds easy? Well, I discovered to my chagrin that the craft fair mostly caters to adults. After circling the stalls once I had to make my way around a second time scouring the stalls for something I could bring home for the boys to make. In the end I came up with a glass tile pendant kit. The lady on the stall assured me that it was extremely simple, suitable for all ages and hard to make a mistake with. It ticked all the boxes, and I was sold when she told me that each kit contained enough to make 9 items. 

On arriving home I inspected the kit closely and discovered that there were a variety of beautiful papers to chose from to decorate my jewellery.

To make the pendants there are only a few steps.

1. Pick a paper that you like and is larger than the pendant you want to attach it to.

2. Cover the back of the pendant with diamond glaze and press it onto the paper then leave it to dry

Waiting for the diamond glaze to dry

 3. Once the glaze has dried, take a sharp pair of scissors or sharp knife and trim the excess paper from the pendant. It is best to do this at an angle so that there is no paper left overhanging the edge
4. Coat the paper with 2 coats of clear nail varnish or diamond glaze and leave it to dry again

the trimmed pendants waiting to have a bail attached

5. Super glue a bail to the back of the pendant (or glue to something else!)

The only part I wouldn't let the children do was use the super glue. I told them it was strong enough to glue their fingers together and only adults were allowed to use super glue safely. It was then rather mortifying when I did accidentally glue my fingers together while finishing the tiles.

Here are two of the finished tiles.

Peg Ants

 We are back to insects again. This time using buttons and pegs. First we take a peg...

and paint it brown. Then we have to wait for it to dry.

The we find some black or brown buttons from my button collection and glue three of them on to the peg.

2 Googly eyes and 3 pipe cleaner legs later and we have our ant. Christopher wanted green legs and James liked the red fluffy ones. I think the fluffy ones look like they should belong to a nasty spider so I have to keep counting the legs to reassure myself!

Painting Gnomes

Floriade has a gnome knoll and every year I buy a gnome for the children to decorate. Just a warning - this is something I haven't done with the kids yet

This year Majura Womens Group decided to have a gnome painting session. I wasn't sure if I wanted to paint a gnome, but in the end joined in so I could spend the morning chatting to friends over paint and coffee (I had to keep reminding myself that my coffee was not the water for washing paintbrushes). The morning flew by and having such creative people around me inspired me to a more ambitious gnome - well, more ambitious than a plain coloured dress.

Did you know that this flesh colour on my gnome is pink and yellow? Thanks Kristen. I had to write it down so that I don't forget for when the boys make their ones.

I like to call this one my chameleon gnome. Okay, she does stand out a little on bare rocks, but put her near some flowers and grass, and she will disappear! She came out of a discussion on fashions through the ages. I thought that the early 2000s was iconic for the transparent dresses worn on the catwalk. Not everyone agreed with me, and perhaps it would be a little too risqué, so the chameleon gnome is the see-through G rated version of this.

Button Picture Frame

Imogen decided she wanted to make Dad a picture frame for Fathers Day. We raided my box of buttons for decorations after she coloured in the frame green. 

Painting with Marbles

 I think the photos say it all. This is so much fun with toddlers and not quite as messy as letting them loose with paint brushes.

We need marbles to paint with. Now which ones should we choose?

We prepared the paper in a tray so that the marbles would be contained

We put a few squirts of paint on the paper and then added a few marbles

Imogen shook the tray to move the marbles through the paint and make her picture.

We thought the painting was a little wet so thought we would try making a mirror image

                                                  Now we have two paintings to show Dad when he comes home

Aboriginal Inspired Painting

Christopher had a session at school earlier this year where they discussed Aboriginal Art and the teacher explained the meaning behind the different symbols. When Christopher came home he sketched out a painting he would like to do. I thought it sounded like a great idea and this is the finished painting.

Well, as finishes as we have been able to get. We ran out of yellow paint so I need to buy some more next time I am at the shops to make the final pathway. Each circle is a camp fire representing a member of our family and we are all connected by the yellow paths. The two circles in the middle are Mum and Dad. The little green horseshoes are people sitting around the camp fire. The animal tracks are kangaroo tracks.

Thumb Print Christmas Tree Cards

James loves finger painting, so while we were making the caterpillar cards we decided to make a few Christmas tree cards at the same time. 

The Hungry Little Caterpillar Card

We're going to a birthday party this afternoon and need to make a birthday card. I am not very good at remembering to write cards, make them or even turn up with a card. Usually it is not until the time comes to give someone the present we have lovingly wrapped up that I realise this lack.

So when I discovered this week that there is a theme of the Hungry Little Caterpillar I was determined not to forget again! We decided to make a card to match and started to prepare it early.

James has two thumbs. Just the right amount when we have two colours to use for the caterpillar. The left thumb had red paint and after he stamped the head we quickly wrapped it up in paper towel so that nothing else was turned red. The right thumb was dipped in the green paint and he had a lovely time making squelching sounds in time to his stamping of the caterpillars' body. I have to confess that this was our second attempt as the first time I forgot to show him what a caterpillar looked like and we had a trail of green dots all over the car.

Imogen wanted to join in, so I found a small round sponge for her to use as I couldn't bear the thought of finger painting in the house with a 2 year old. We had help from her big brother with the details after the paint dried. 

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The Rainbow Fish

Christopher's lovely artwork from school. The background is a crayon drawing covered with a blue paint wash. The fish is a colouring in picture that he has cut out and glued colourful scales onto it.

The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister is a classic story about sharing, and a favourite book in our house. I quite like the glittering scale down the bottom. 

I must try this with the younger children and see what they make with it.