In the classroom, your kids learn about a range of academic subjects, and the basics like how to read and write. They gain the foundations for a fulfilling life through interactive classes at school and as you help with their homework. Children are also learning many soft skills, and you may not realise the many ways your child is developing to one day be a well-rounded adult.
What are ‘Soft Skills’?
This term refers to general traits that help individuals relate better to and get along better with one another. These interpersonal skills can help them professionally in the workplace, as they get along well with coworkers, and personally, as they form friendships more easily and appreciate others. Below are four soft skills they learn in a quality educational environment.
Great Teamwork
Along with learning about numbers and spelling in school, children also learn from teamwork. They can learn how to problem solve in classes with group projects, for example, to help them become strong at critical thinking. They also learn how to work together toward a goal, such as completing a cake recipe or developing a class presentation together. Kids can also develop friendships with classmates who teach them about respecting someone else and having empathy and compassion.
Strong Communication
There are many ways to communicate at any age. That includes verbal and written. A couple of other ways that you might not have readily thought of are drawing, reading and listening. Becoming good at communicating involves all of these areas, and it is important for students to excel in this area as it will help them form connections with others. That can prevent social isolation, sadness, hopelessness, and reduced self-esteem. Feeling more confident can help kids and teens do well in academic classes as they believe in themselves.
Leadership Skills
The beginnings of being a great leader can be seen in many children inside and outside the classroom. For example, they may try many sports and need to be resilient if they do not make the team or their team does not win every game. They may also want to volunteer from a young age and be great at managing their time. These skills are reinforced in quality state and boarding schools, where the focus is on personal growth and learning.
The Basics of Manners
Good manners are important in social life; developing them can happen in school. That could be the words “please” and “thank you”, as well as keeping the door open for the person behind them, these activities show respect and appreciation for other people. Youth can also practice sharing with their classmates to teach them positive interactions with others as part of healthy development.
Summary of School Skills
Kids learn more than just academics at school. They also build soft skills, from teamwork and communication to creativity and leadership, which can prepare them for future school years and adulthood afterward. Ask your children what they are learning in class, and their responses are likely to pleasantly surprise you.
There’s still time to make your CHRISTMAS cards, let’s get creative!
So we’ve gone all churchy and made these lovely stained glass window style cards…. cutting shapes from the card, and gluing coloured tissue paper behind the apertures.
Eek… I let the boys use a scalpel!
These look fab with a tea-light popped inside (battery operated for safety) or stuck to a window.
Tired of hearing “Are we there yet?” on every trip? Wish your kids could wait their turn at the slide, or not pounce on your fresh batch of cookies as soon as they leave the oven? You need to teach them patience, which is not as difficult as you might think…
1. Start Small
Don’t expect your little one to magically transform into a patience Jedi overnight. Begin by helping them endure tiny waits. For example, if your child demands apple juice this very second, calmly say, “You’ll have it in two minutes.” Then set a timer—something visible and fun, so the waiting feels like a game rather than punishment. Two minutes might not sound like much to you, but it’s an eternity in kid-years. Eventually, you can stretch it out to three minutes, then five, building their tolerance for that terrifying abyss known as “not right now.”
2. Model, Don’t Just Lecture
You can shout “BE PATIENT!” until your vocal cords give out, but if you fly into a rage because the internet takes seven extra seconds to load, guess what your kids are going to learn? Yup, impatience. Your own behaviour sets the stage. If you gripe incessantly at the slow cashier or honk your horn the instant a light turns green, your children will absorb that frustration like a parched sponge. Instead, show them how to handle delays gracefully. Sigh dramatically if you must (this is real life, after all), but try a calm comment like, “Looks like we have a wait—maybe we can think of a silly story while we’re standing here?” Lead by example, and your kids might just start copying your newfound Zen vibes.
3. Let Them Earn Their Rewards Over Time
Kids want everything now. Scratch that: kids want everything yesterday. To help them realise that not all gratification is instant, give them something to look forward to that requires patience. Create a simple rewards chart where they earn stickers or marks for each day they wait for something. Maybe they want a new toy, but instead of handing it over the moment they mention it, give them a timeframe—like a week—during which they can gather “patience points.” Each day they wait without nagging (too much) earns them a star. By the time they get their prize, they’ve learned that waiting actually pays off.
4. Tackle the Tough Task of Boredom
Patience and boredom are close cousins. If your child believes boredom is the worst fate imaginable, they’ll do anything to escape it, including losing their cool when forced to wait. But boredom can be a breeding ground for creativity. Introduce activities that encourage kids to entertain themselves when they’re stuck waiting—like those deadly dull car trips or the eternity between ordering food and it arriving at a restaurant.
Carry a “boredom kit” in your bag: crayons, a silly notepad, maybe a squishy toy or two. Challenge them to think up a short story, count all the blue cars they see, or guess how many French fries are on the plate before the waiter arrives. By giving them tools to deal with downtime, you subtly teach them that waiting is an opportunity rather than a nightmare.
5. Make Waiting Tangible: Timers and Visual Aids
Kids struggle with abstract concepts. “Later” might as well mean “never” in their world. Use timers, hourglasses, or even a phone app with a countdown to show them that time is moving, and the wait will indeed end. Watching the sand slip through an hourglass or the numbers tick down on a digital timer helps kids understand that waiting isn’t just an arbitrary punishment—it’s a measurable, finite thing. And when the buzzer finally rings, celebrate it like a victory parade.
6. Teach Them the Power of Distraction
Waiting doesn’t have to mean staring at the wall. Show your child how to occupy their mind productively. Suggest playing a quick round of “I Spy,” humming a favorite tune, or counting backwards from 20. You might be thinking, “Aren’t I just tricking them?” Yes, but in the best possible way. Distraction is a skill they’ll use for the rest of their lives. By finding ways to pass the time, kids learn they have the power to ease their own impatience.
7. Turn to Good Old-Fashioned Puzzles: Hello, Sudoku
Look, I know Sudoku doesn’t scream “kid fun” at first glance, but bear with me. Sudoku (or any puzzle, really) can teach patience indirectly. Start with a super-simple, kid-friendly Sudoku or a puzzle that’s more pictures than numbers. Show them how they can’t rush through it, they have to pause, think, and figure out the solution step-by-step. As they practice, they’ll realize that slow and steady can be both satisfying and rewarding. They’ll feel mighty proud when they finally solve that puzzle they wanted to give up on after the first 10 seconds.
Not a Sudoku family? Try jigsaw puzzles, mazes, or even building a model car together. Anything that requires sustained focus and can’t be bulldozed through at top speed becomes a mini patience workshop.
8. Praise the Patience You Do See
Kids respond to positive reinforcement like cats to catnip. If you notice your child handling a waiting situation calmly – even if it’s for 30 seconds – praise them. “Wow, I saw how you waited quietly without complaining. That was really grown-up of you!” Positive recognition cements the idea that patience is something to be proud of. Eventually, they’ll go looking for reasons to impress you with their calmness – because who doesn’t love a pat on the back?
9. Share Stories of People Who Waited for Greatness
Kids love stories. Use that to your advantage. Talk about famous individuals who had to wait for success: inventors who tried hundreds of times before getting it right, athletes who trained for years before winning a medal, or chefs who spent hours perfecting a recipe. Show them that waiting patiently often results in something amazing. This makes the concept more relatable than just nagging them to “be patient” because, well, you said so.
10. Keep Your Cool When They Can’t
Kids lose their patience partly because they pick up on the grown-ups’ stress. If your child starts whining, complaining, or demanding instant gratification, try responding calmly rather than snapping back. “I know it’s hard to wait, but it’ll be worth it,” said in a gentle tone, can work better than an eye roll or a sigh of exasperation. Of course, you’re human – you might slip and roll your eyes anyway. Just remember that each calm response you manage to muster is helping build their sense of security and trust in the waiting process.
11. Involve Them in Slow Activities
Consider incorporating some sloooow pastimes into your family’s routine. Think gardening: watching seeds grow requires more patience than waiting for paint to dry. Or baking bread from scratch: kneading, waiting for it to rise, waiting some more… all these steps show your child that good things (like warm, fresh bread) are worth the wait. Crafts like papier-mâché or painting a detailed picture also teach that patience can pay off in the form of something beautiful at the end.
12. Gamify Waiting Whenever Possible
If you’re out in the wild (i.e., the grocery store) and your kid’s fuse is running short, turn waiting into a game. Can they stand on one foot until the line moves forward one customer? Can they guess how many people in line are wearing hats? Gamifying waiting transforms the experience into a silly challenge rather than a grim endurance test. Your child might even start looking for small waiting periods as opportunities for a quick mental game. Now that’s progress!
13. Acknowledge Their Feelings, Even If They’re Impatient
Telling a child “Don’t be upset” when they’re already huffing and puffing is about as helpful as telling a tornado not to swirl. Instead, acknowledge their feelings: “I know you really want that ice cream right now. Waiting can be tough.” Validating their frustration shows that you understand and respect their emotions. Once they feel heard, they’re more likely to calm down and work through the waiting with you as an ally rather than an enemy blocking their path to dessert.
14. Celebrate the Journey, Not Just the Destination
Lastly, remind your kids that the waiting process itself can be fun, illuminating, or creative if they let it be. The car trip to Grandma’s can become a journey of spotting funny billboards, playing verbal games, and singing off-key duets. By highlighting the enjoyable parts of the wait itself, you teach them a valuable life skill: appreciating the experience rather than just the reward at the end.
Arts and crafts have long been a beloved pastime, offering a way to unleash creativity, create personalised decorations, and make heartfelt gifts. No matter the holiday, from Christmas to Halloween, Thanksgiving to Easter, crafting can elevate celebrations with handmade charm. In this article, we explore some of the best arts and crafts ideas that suit any holiday, along with tips to make your projects stand out.
1. Personalised Holiday Cards
There’s something special about receiving a handmade card. Personalised cards let you tailor designs to specific holidays, whether it’s Valentine’s hearts, spooky Halloween scenes, or festive Christmas trees. You can use:
Watercolors or Acrylic Paints: Create unique designs with vibrant colors.
Calligraphy or Hand Lettering: Add elegant, custom messages.
Stamps and Embossing Powders: Bring texture and dimension to your creations.
If you’re short on time or want professional-looking designs, using Christmas SVGs free templates can add flair without the effort of drawing from scratch. Simply cut the designs with a Cricut or Silhouette machine, and voila—your cards are holiday-ready!
2. Holiday-Themed Mason Jars
Mason jars are versatile and can be transformed into charming holiday décor. Here are some ideas:
Halloween Lanterns: Paint jars with spooky faces or wrap them with gauze for a “mummy” effect. Add a tealight candle inside to create a glowing lantern.
Christmas Snow Globes: Fill jars with faux snow, mini trees, and small figurines. Seal the lid and shake it for a magical effect.
Easter Treat Jars: Paint the jars in pastel colors, add bunny ears to the lid, and fill them with candy.
Mason jar crafts are not only decorative but also make great gifts, especially when filled with homemade goodies like hot cocoa mix or cookie ingredients.
3. DIY Wreaths for Every Season
Wreaths aren’t just for Christmas! With a little creativity, you can design a wreath for any holiday:
Spring/Easter Wreaths: Use pastel flowers, greenery, and egg-shaped decorations.
Fall/Thanksgiving Wreaths: Incorporate autumn leaves, mini pumpkins, and burlap ribbons.
Patriotic Wreaths: Use red, white, and blue elements for holidays like Independence Day.
Creating a wreath is simple with a basic grapevine or foam base. Add elements using a hot glue gun and hang it on your door to welcome guests in style.
4. Handmade Ornaments and Decorations
Making your own ornaments allows for a personal touch during the holidays. Here’s how you can customize them:
Christmas Ornaments: Use clear ornaments to fill with glitter, paint, or miniature scenes. For a rustic look, try wood slice ornaments with painted designs.
Valentine’s Day Décor: Create heart-shaped garlands with felt or paper. Hang them over doorways or windows for a festive touch.
Fourth of July Décor: Craft stars from paper or fabric and string them into garlands for a patriotic celebration.
These handmade items are perfect for adding a personal touch to your home or giving as gifts.
5. Holiday-Themed Candles
Candles are a timeless holiday craft, adding ambiance and warmth to any celebration. You can customize them in a variety of ways:
Scented Candles: Add holiday-inspired scents like cinnamon, pine, or peppermint.
Decorative Candles: Use stencils or decals to add festive designs to plain candles.
Layered Candles: Create multi-colored layers that reflect holiday themes, like red and green for Christmas or orange and black for Halloween.
Candle-making kits are widely available and make the process simple for beginners.
6. Painted Rocks for Every Occasion
Rock painting is a fun, budget-friendly craft that works for all ages. You can create:
Easter Egg Rocks: Paint rocks to look like Easter eggs and hide them for a unique egg hunt.
Spooky Rocks: Design rocks with ghost, witch, or pumpkin faces for Halloween.
Holiday Messages: Write inspirational or holiday-themed quotes on rocks and place them around your garden or give them as gifts.
Seal the painted rocks with a weather-resistant varnish to ensure they last.
7. DIY Table Centerpieces
A festive centerpiece can transform your holiday table. Consider these ideas:
Thanksgiving Cornucopia: Fill a woven basket with gourds, leaves, and seasonal fruits.
Christmas Candle Display: Arrange candles of varying heights with pinecones and holly.
Springtime Floral Arrangements: Use fresh flowers and pastel-colored candles for Easter or Mother’s Day.
Centerpieces can be as simple or elaborate as you like, making them a versatile option for any holiday.
8. Handmade Gift Wrap and Tags
Why buy gift wrap when you can make your own? Custom wrapping paper and tags add a special touch to any present:
Stamping: Use holiday-themed stamps and ink to decorate plain kraft paper.
Natural Elements: Incorporate sprigs of pine, dried orange slices, or cinnamon sticks into your wrapping for a rustic look.
For gift tags, cut shapes from cardstock and embellish them with stickers, ribbon, or calligraphy.
9. Holiday-Themed Tote Bags and T-Shirts
Personalized clothing and accessories are not only fun to make but also useful:
Fabric Painting: Use fabric paint to create holiday-themed designs on tote bags or t-shirts.
Iron-On Transfers: Print designs and apply them to fabric using a heat press or iron.
Embroidery: For a more advanced craft, add embroidered holiday motifs to clothing.
These items make fantastic gifts and can also be used to carry holiday essentials.
10. Baking and Decorating Cookies
While not a traditional craft, decorating cookies is a creative activity that doubles as a delicious treat. You can:
Use Royal Icing: Create intricate designs on sugar cookies shaped like holiday symbols.
Make Gingerbread Houses: Build and decorate miniature houses with candy and icing.
Themed Cupcakes: Decorate cupcakes with fondant or piped frosting in seasonal colors.
Hosting a cookie decorating party is a fun way to engage friends and family in holiday preparations.
There You Have It
No matter the time of year, crafting is a delightful way to celebrate the holidays and add a personal touch to your home and gifts. Whether you’re painting rocks, designing wreaths, or making personalized candles, these arts and crafts ideas will spark joy and creativity. With just a few materials and some imagination, you can create beautiful decorations and keepsakes that make every holiday memorable. And don’t forget to explorefree templates for added inspiration and ease in your crafting projects!
Making a Dream Catcher using natural, found objects and at the same time ticking the boxes of three STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths and the Arts) practices:
The Science (making dough with salt, water and flour for the beads)
The Arts (designing and sculpting the salt dough leaves, and assembling your dream catcher)
The Maths (geometry of weaving a pattern with a single length of twine)
dream catchers, with natural cotton yarn and handmade salt dough beads
This is such a fun project. And one that you could do either indoors or outside in the warmer weather – we really love a craft that all ages can enjoy – and this three sides dream catcher can be a bit of a challenge when it comes to the weaving, so we will link some YouTube tutorials at the foot of this article so that you can get acquainted with the dream catcher weaving geometry at your leisure.
Before you get started, make sure you have everything you need for your beautiful natural dream catcher – go on a nature hunt, look for feathers, acorns, pine cones, and lots of sticks!
You’ll need some cotton string, or strong yarn, and we also made some colourful salt dough beads and ‘leaves’ so that everything is biodegradable – this means you can eventually hang your dream catchers outside in the garden or the woods, for them to let nature decay them – hey, that may even be a bit of a science lesson right there too!
Salt dough leaves and beads recipe
1 part salt
2 parts plain flour
half to one part water
optional – some natural food colouring (if you are feeling ambitious – you could go as far as making your own dough dye with beetroot! hey – experiment, have some fun)
We mixed the dough into three bowls, and added three colours – subtle so that they would blend well with nature – and rolled small balls, pushing a skewer through to make a bead, we dried the beads by ‘stringing’ them onto metal skewers and propping up off the baking tray to harden in the oven on a very low 100 degrees temperature, checking on the beads after about fifteen minutes, and turning them on the skewers so that they didn’t stick.
The leaves we made by rolling the dough out to about 5mm thick, and used a leaf shaped cookie cutter and a knife to score the marks on the ‘leaves’ and push a hole at the top of the leaf to allow it to be attached to the dreamcatcher. Again, we allowed these leaves to harden, baking them at the bottom of the oven, for about half an hour to an hour, using a cooling rack from the kitchen. We made these beads and salt dough leaves in advance of our dream catcher construction to allow them to harden – word of warning – don’t let them get damp, they will go soggy!
The assembly of your dream catcher
Now you have everything you need, start to pull it all together. Make a triangle from three sticks of the same length, tying them tight in each of the three corners.
Make a ‘bobbin’ with one short stick, about 4cm long, wrap the yarn around and around until it’s full of yarn – (you’ll have to experiment, but you’ll need enough yarn to create the geometrical pattern on the dream catcher ‘web’).
Using the yarn on this bobbin, start by tying a knot next to one of the three corners of the triangle frame.
Get weaving that web
As you start to ‘weave’ your web the first row can be quite loose. Evenly spaced, start to work the yarn around the triangle:
Pass the end of your yarn around a stick.
Bring the end under the straight part of the yarn.
Bring the end up and pass it through the eye of the loop you just made.
Pull it tighter to complete a half hitch.
Tie the hitch the same at each intersection of the yarn.
Continue around the triangle, to ‘row two’ in the same way, see diagram (and the video links below)
The next hitch is made at the midpoint of the first loop in the first row.
As you tie these hitches you start to pull each stitch in the web a little tighter. Continue around the web tying a hitch and pulling tighter on each row until you are down to a small centre hole in your web. Tie it off in a knot.
Now tie three strands of yarn from the ‘bottom’ of the triangle and attach the beads, feathers, leaves – And tie a hanging loop at the top of the triangle and you are ready to decorate the trees by hanging your wonderful dream catchers in the forest – or, if you REALLY want to catch those dreams in your web, hang your natural dream catcher up in your bedroom for a real conversation starter!
Sleep well, and sweet dreams.
We would love to see what you create – do tag us on Instagram where you will find our new account https://www.instagram.com/kidschaos_blog/ use the hashtag #31DaysofLearning as we are joining in with KiddyCharts creative STEAM project this month.
When you are trying to ensure that your child will have a good start in life, it all comes down to their development, and ensuring that this is as strong as can be. There are actually quite a few elements to this that you will need to consider, and it’s important to make sure that you are going to think about early development. A strong early development is the kind of thing that can really help your child in many ways, so it’s definitely important to focus on this.
However, you might be wondering what the secret is to your child’s development working out as it should. As it happens, there are a number of ingredients to this that you will want to look out for and actively encourage if you are going to ensure this is going to work as well as possible. So let’s take a look at what those ingredients are and how you can help your child to build them.
Love and Acceptance
This is one of the main things that you will always want to make sure you are providing, as, if there is enough of this, it really will make a huge difference to your child’s life in quite a powerful way. It’s incredible actually, how well this can work, and you should definitely make sure that you are thinking about this if you want to try and encourage your child to develop as fully as possible. Love and acceptance are going to mean that pretty much everything else falls into place easily.
Of course, you don’t need to learn how to love your child, but you will find that the acceptance part can take a while. And what is most important is not only that you are feeling love and acceptance, but that you are actively expressing it to them. This is what will make the difference, and what they will notice, and you will find that it will help with their development more than pretty much anything else at all.
So be sure to express this as early as possible and frequently too. You will find that it’s going to make a world of difference to how effectively they develop.
Encouragement
At every stage of development, no matter what the specific skills are that are being developed, you will need to make sure that you try to encourage your children as best as you can. Encouragement is going to mean that you are much more likely to actively and effectively expect their development to go well. Put simply, children are always going to find that their own development is stronger and better when there is plenty of encouragement from the parent.
Strong encouragement from you means that they are going to feel that anything is possible. Of course, it can take a while to get this right and you might find that you need to figure out for yourself what kinds of encouragement work and what kinds don’t seem to work so well. But all in all, having a strong ability to encourage your child in whatever they are doing is one of the best things you can give them. You will notice the effects of this quickly, and it’s really amazing what it can do for your child in general.
Learning Types
It’s also a good idea to try and figure out the learning types of your child, as everyone has their own combination and this is something that you are going to find really useful to consider. For instance, some people tend to learn better through kinetic movement, and some people find it much easier to learn by rote. Those are just two examples, and perhaps something that you are going to want to help your child to discover for themselves, but the point is that you should be looking out for what their learning type is so that you can hopefully encourage them to make full use of this.
It’s also important to make sure your child has the best possible chance of learning well. So from making use of resources like those available from DoodleLearning to ensuring that you are doing all you can to encourage them, you’ll find that this makes a huge difference overall. It’s absolutely something that will help your child to develop.
The earlier you do this, the more of a positive impact it can have on their own overall development, and it’s really quite incredible how well this can work in the long run. So make sure that you are thinking about this if you want to keep your child’s development as strong as possible, as it’s the kind of thing that is going to be hugely important to them now and later on as well.
Play
People often forget this, but one of the most important ingredients to any development is play. Your child needs to have plenty of play in their life, and this is one of the main things that should be encouraged at every step of the journey. Play is so central, and vitally important to your child’s development that they are simply not going to get anywhere without it. Not only is it enjoyable and fun, it’s also one of the main early ways that children learn, and it’s a naturally powerful way to make use of one’s curiosity in trying to find out more about the world.
With that in mind, it’s really important to make sure that you are encouraging play as much as you can, and that your child is going to be able to make full use of it as a way of being. The more that this is the case, the better that it’s going to be for their development, and it really is incredible how much of a difference this can make.
As it happens, just as there are different learning styles, so too there are a range of play types, and you might want to try and figure out which type your child tends to enjoy the most. They might be able to get more out of that way of playing, as well as trying out some others, so a general awareness of both can be really useful all in all.
Building Blocks of Education
As well as those qualities, there are also a few building blocks to their education which you are going to want to encourage too and which can help a great deal. In fact, you would probably consider these to be absolutely essential if you are going to try and ensure your child’s development is as strong as possible. That’s the kind of thing that you should absolutely make sure you are not overlooking if you can help it.
These include basic numeracy skills as well as early literacy skills too. That is the kind of thing that you are going to want to think about, and it’s vital that you are going to try and do all you can to keep this as strong as possible. The building blocks of education are going to be really important for you to think about, so make sure that you are.
Those are the main ingredients to your child’s development you will want to encourage.
With Father’s Day looming, we decided to do something a bit different for Dad and as one of his foibles is collecting coins. *Saving* £2 coins in piles around the house, particularly on shelves… So we came up with a genius tidy-up plan…
We decided to tidy up the favourite shelf for Mr.KidsChaos, our bedroom mantle piece.To assist with the tidying, we made him some Savings Tins, and they look nice too don’t you think?
Can we call this photo a #Shelfie?
Our bedroom ‘Shelf’ is often very cluttered, with our favourite wedding pressie painting from Jill Barker & Jonathan at Middlewick, and the odd pair of his daft colourful sunglasses. His collection of coins tumble constantly, as they get knocked and fall to the floor and it makes me go a little crazy!!
The kids decided he needed somewhere to save his £2 coins, and told me what the text should read on the tin cans. They picked the colours, and I designed the graphics. Bonus is, you can print these off and do the same thing too, for FREE!
Simplyprint them off here, and trim them out, and glue them on to your clean tin cans.
Don’t tell him, but I often BORROW the odd coin when we’re dashing off to Martial Arts club, or Cubs…. Sssh, he never reads this anyway, he’ll NEVER know. Perhaps if he saves enough, I could BORROW some of it for a bit of Bathroom DIY…watch this space!
Fairy Tale crafts – taking inspiration from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves we decided to upcycle a charity shop mirror and create the famous Mirror Mirror on the Wall….
This was a fabulous team effort, and my son now proudly has this Fairy Tale Craft beauty hanging on the wall in his bedroom.
You will need:
Old sheets of newspaper
Cocktail stick
Glue stick
Stronger glue, (I recommend a glue gun!)
Instructions:
1) Roll the newspaper sheet diagonally from the corner, using the cocktail stick to get you started, so that the roll is nice and tight. When the cocktail stick starts to disappear inside the paper, gently pull it out, and continue to tightly roll the newspaper to create a long ‘stick’ – the first of MANY!
2) Flatten the ‘stick’ using a hard surface.
3) Taking your cocktail stick, start to roll the flattened ‘stick’ into a tight spiral, securing it with glue as you get to the end of the spiral.
4) When you have enough of these spirals, you can start to build up the pattern around the mirror – we found that the glue gun was the best tool for this!
You could also spray paint the spirals, however we like the newspaper spirals in their natural form!
Ali also blogs over on incredibusy.com and is a new lover of Instagram too… pop over and say hello! And I’ll be adding this to Lizzie’s#MagpieMonday as I love to salvage, upcycle and re-use stuff!
If you’d like to see more Fairy Tale crafts, firstly pop over to see our Jack and the Beanstalk Reward Chart, and then click the youtube link here, as I got together with Missie Lizzie who talked magic beans, Anthea with her elves’ shoes, Kelly talked Rapunzel, and Maggy at Red Ted Art (talking three little pigs) who hosted a Fairy Tale Craft google+ hangout.
With Spring almost here, and Easter around the corner, we thought we’d rustle up some rabbit cookies – or bunny biscuits as we’ve named them! It was a great introduction for 9yo to practice his royal icing piping, and ‘flooding in’ – we learnt a LOT about icing technique!
There are LOADS of bunny cookie cutters around at the moment, we had one which was my Mum’s and for the tail you could use a flower cutter, or a small circle…
We used up some royal icing which had been in the fridge for a couple of days, and we have some TOP TIPS for you about this…see below!
Heat the oven to 150 degrees C (300 F, Gas mark 2)
Cream the caster sugar and the butter together, slowly adding the flour, mixing together to form a dough, I find we need to add a couple of drops of water, knead together to form a ball.
Roll out the dough, on a floured surface, to about 4mm thick.
Using your bunny shaped cutter, cut the dough, and place your bunnies and tails on a lightly floured baking tray, and bake for about 20 minutes, until golden brown. (feel free to make some spare rabbit tails… to munch on whilst you’re icing the rabbit cookies!)
As they cool down, you can make your royal icing (recipe here). Or if you are using some icing which you have been keeping in the fridge, as we were, TOP TIP make sure you really really stir the royal icing to get ALL of the lumps out, otherwise it sticks in the piping bag – and clogs the nozzle so that when you are piping the outline it stutters out, and the line will be all wobbly… 9yo wanted a pale brown bunny, so we mixed in his favourite hot chocolate mix, into a portion of the white royal icing and some more Fairtrade icing sugar, so that it’s quite thick to pipe the outlines. When this outline is dry, you add a drop of water to the remaining brown mixture, so that you can spoon it into the outline, and using a cocktail stick, gently ‘flood’ the biscuit, and prick any little bubble that appear.
Pop the ‘tail’ into position whilst the ‘flood in’ icing on the rabbit cookie is still wet, and pipe on the remaining white royal icing to make a fluffy tail!