crafts, gardening, gardening with kids, google+ hangouts, kids

Toilet roll crafts – bird seed feeder

Chaos writes:

The one thing I really struggle to put into the recycling bin, is the toilet roll tubes, I can always think there is SOMETHING we can make with them, whether it’s planting seedlings in them, or making these lovely bird seed feeders. They are so easy to make, and the kids are tickled to be using peanut butter, to spread onto the loo roll tubes, cra-azy eh?!

KidsChaosToilet-Roll-craft

 

KidsChaosRedTedArt-screen-grab3So simple to do… basically, spread the peanut butter on the toilet roll tube, and sprinkle the bird seeds over the tube, pushing the seeds onto the peanut butter ‘glue’.

We do find some peanut butter a little dry, so – do as you do with toast! – paste a little layer of butter on to the tube before you spread the peanut butter onto the tube.KidsChaosToilet-Roll-craft-how-to



Then, slip the tube onto a thin branch, preferably in view of the window. We love eating our breakfast and watching the birds eat theirs – we have a favourite chubby blackbird in the garden, will try to get a photo of the bird seed feeder in action!

To see how our garden grows, follow our Gardening With Kids posts here.

and how to make an indoor watering can here!

To see me demonstrating the making of said bird seed feeder, click the youtube link, watch the video (also embedded below) and be inspired. – I joined the regular Google+ hangouts hosted by Maggy at Red Ted Art with some other fabulous creatives – Chris at Thinly Spread, Liz at Me and My Shadow Owls, Anthea’s Torus at ZingZing Tree, and Rebecca from herecomethegirlsblog. Cat in the Hat craft.

Are you on Google+ Follow me here, and say hello, and I’ll add you back to my circles.

Oh, and I’m on twitter.com/MoreKidsChaos too… Erm, and funnily enough on Facebook and Pinterest! Pop over to say hello x

crafts, create, gardening with kids, kids

We made a Birdhouse from a Juice Carton! We do have a lot of Tetra Pak Milk Cartons and Juice Cartons in our house. I drink soya milk, and we often buy orange juice as a special breakfast treat for the kids, and to try to reach our FIVE A DAY, or is it SEVEN a day these days?! You may have seen the video on Instagram, so now here’s the ‘how to’….

Ok…..so guess what we are making this afternoon….? Watch this little video for a clue!

Anyway, we don’t throw the juice cartons away…These naturally weather proof cartons stack up on the kitchen shelf waiting patiently to be made into something via the kids’ love of junk modelling, and had a big old milk carton crafting session this weekend with Red Ted Art and family – 11yo made a Blue Narwhal night light (more on that later) 9yo made a vase, and some seedling boxes (again, more on them later) and we all had a hand in making this Juice Carton Birdhouse!

We started by cutting off the pouring spout, and using it as a circular template on the front of the juice box, to make the hole for the birds to enter the juice carton birdhouse box.

cut off the pouring spoutThen started wrapping string around the juice box, adding a blob of glue occasionally. We wound the string all the way to the top of the box.

juice carton birdhouse
Stage-2-Juice-Carton-Birdhouse-KidsChaosUsing a section from a plastic milk carton, we covered the pouring spout hole. And glued pieces of broken twigs to the ‘roof’ of the juice carton to make an organic natural looking roof for the Birdhouse. Carefully cutting the string around the bird’s doorway, and gluing back the string inside to make a smooth entrance, and adding a lolly stick below finishes the juice carton Birdhouse off quite nicely! All we need now is one of Red Ted Art‘s juice carton bird feeders and we’re away!Stage-3-Juice-Carton-Birdhouse-KidsChaos

This is a really fun recycling craft to do with the kids at the weekend, and my sister has started collecting the Tetra pak’s and will be making these at Forest School next week too!

Stage-4-Juice-Carton-Birdhouse-KidsChaosIf you like this post, check out 11yo’s little blue narwhal lamp which he made from another milk carton here! Ali also blogs over on aGreenerLifeforus.com and is a new lover of Instagram too… pop over and say hello! And if you liked this Craft – you’ll be pleased to hear that we’ve been shortlisted in the Britmums Brilliance in Blogging Awards – whoohey!

BiB2014craftsVote

gardening, gardening with kids, kids, life

Chaos writes:

Out in the garden this morning before school, grabbing some compost for the little Papiermâché seedling pots pictured below.KidsChaosCompostTreasures

And look! (actually, look away now if you’re squeamish about worms… oh, too late…)

There was a potato growing deep at the bottom of the hotbin compost bin! I’ve pulled him out, and re-planted the little spud, how exciting – looking forward to harvesting them later in the year 🙂 #composttreasures

To read more on our gardening adventures click here to see where we got our delicious compost for our seedlings.
KidsChaosPAPERMACHETo see how our garden grows, follow our Gardening With Kids posts here.

and how to make an indoor watering can here!

Are you on Google+ Follow me here, and say hello, and I’ll add you back to my circles.

Oh, and I’m on twitter.com/MoreKidsChaos too… Erm, and funnily enough on Facebook and Pinterest! Pop over to say hello x Like it? Pin it!
Ali also writes over on AGreenerLifeforus.com