crafts – Page 7 – KidsChaos.com

crafts, create

Natural Hammered Leaf Printing

So Autumn is upon us, and the garden is full of colour – gorgeous burgundy reds, and green and white variegated leaves.

The boys love making cards for Grandma, and Granny, so we got picking – we had a cunning plan! 10yo enjoyed the leaf-collecting, particularly as I LET him climb on to the shed roof to reach the red leaves hanging over into the garden from our neighbour’s tree!

Hammered Leaf Printing – you will need:

A selection of leaves
Kitchen paper
Water colour paper
A hammer
Chopping board

Working on your chopping board, position your leaf on the water colour paper, covering with two sheets of kitchen paper towels. Start hammering! (oh yes, the small blonde boys liked this bit, but MIND your fingers!). You’ll know when it’s working as the natural pigment from the leaves will start to show through on the kitchen paper… Gently remove the kitchen roll, and peel back the leaf – it should leave a beautiful print on the water colour paper – some leaves work better than others, experiment, it’s fun!

Want to see me talking about this project? Click the link and photo left, to watch via youtube…. Maggy Woodley from Red Ted Art hosted a fabulous “Nature Crafts for Autumn’ on Google+, (and in fact was the inspiration for the tie-dye experiment!).

Maggy talked us through some lovely nature crafts for Fall (love the acorn bracelet and pinecone fairies) more links to follow from Anthea at zingzingtree, Kelly at domesticgoddesque, and Liz from missielizzie-meandmyshadow.blogspot.

Oh, by the way, I’m also on twitter.com/MoreKidsChaos too… Erm, and funnily enough on Google+, Facebook and Pinterest! Pop over to say hello x LIKE IT? Pin it!

cooking with kids, crafts, gardening with kids

Blackberry Tie Dye cobwebs

We love this time of year. Sad that the arrival of the brambles is a sure sign that Summer is on its way out, and Autumn is just around the corner….

If you are like us, and have picked a LOAD of blackberries already this year, we have a non-edible way of using them this Fall!

We picked a bucket-load before a weekend away, which meant we didn’t have time to eat them…so we froze them on a tray – using half for a smoothie, and the other half went into a pot of boiling water this week, deep enough for the old hemp carrier bag we had decided to tie-dye as a pressie for Granny’s birthday later in the year.

Whilst the pan of blackberry-dye was simmering away on the stove, we got busy with elastic bands, pulling up sections of the hemp bag, (this works really well on old T-shirts or pillow cases) securing them tightly to create two ‘horns’ (as my son called them)….

We let the dye cool a little before adding the organic hemp bag, and rubber bands, which went into the pot with some chopped up rhubarb leaves – I read somewhere that this works as a fixative, helping to make the colour more ‘fast’…this bubbled away on the stove for about 45 minutes.

We then let this stand cooling for about an hour.

We then rinsed the bag and the boys were SO excited to pull the rubber bands away to reveal our spider cobwebs – we hung it up on the line to dry!

Much excitement that natural blackberries can make such a pretty colour – we plan to try some more natural dyes soon, our youngest loves brewing up nettle tea – and it also creates a lovely khaki green dye –

something to try next!

Want to see me talking about this project? Click the link and photo left, to watch now…. Maggy Woodley from Red Ted Art hosted a fabulous “Fall Craft Ideas” hangout on Google+, (and in fact was the inspiration for the tie-dye experiment!).

Maggy talked us through some lovely owl crafts (how simple was the loo-roll owl?! and loved the walnut shell owls twittwoo) more links to follow from – Adele from playfullearners, and Anthea from bluebearwood. Also our anonymous blogger thefairyandthefrog and Rebecca from herecomethegirlsblog.

Oh, by the way, I’m also on twitter.com/MoreKidsChaos too… Erm, and funnily enough on Google+, Facebook and Pinterest! Pop over to say hello x LIKE IT? Pin it!

Ali also writes over on AGreenerLifeforus.com. This is a commissioned story.

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

Flowers and Leaves and Andy Goldsworthy

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This week my darling boys got busy with some Andy Goldsworthy style flower arranging! Well, they made some gloopy papier mache glue (recipe here: two parts water, one part flour, nuked in the microwave for 50 seconds…stir stir stir the lumps out as best you can).

Then they painted the patio and started building up their pattern of summer leaves and petals. It has to be said, 10yo particularly LIKES working with colour patterns, you only have to look at his gogo crazy bones collection which he has displayed by colour, and he LOVED David T Waller’s amazing Toy Atlas Rainbow – the hundreds of toy cars… oh, click here to see it…

This is a fabulous way to explore the science of plant decomposition too – watching as the petals’ colour changes over a period of days – and the release of carbon dioxide…

If you’d like to see how our own patio art works with Autumn / Winter leaves – take a look at the ‘sculpture’ we made with the neighbour’s children – read more here, taking inspiration again from the fabulous Andy Goldsworthy and RedTedArt of course.

10yo boy was really excited to tell his Dad all about this, and has decided that he will cover the entire patio for his birthday, in November, so watch this space!

Anyway, as you know, I’m on a weekly panel of crafty So-and-So-s invited to ‘hang-out’ on Google+ by the every lovely Maggy Woodley at Red Ted Art.

I’m hanging out on Google+ for a bit of a vlog…(click the screengrab to watch) with some craft buddies to share these flowers and leaves ideas, hosted by the aforementioned ever lovely Maggy from Red Ted Art. who made flower crowns and showed us how to press flowers and cute woodland people. Also present are Anna, Crystal, Anthea’s wild grass seed head art, Kelly‘s amazing helicopter seed thank you cards for teachers, Liz was featured with her diy flower-petal paints, The fairy and the frog’s discovery bottle Pop back later for more links soon.

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

Ali also writes over on AGreenerLifeforus.com

crafts

Let’s play Kick the Can

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So, with the school holidays fast approaching, we are all looking for something fun to do, that we haven’t done before…I had a flashback to a game we used to play in the park when we were small, who remembers ‘KICK THE CAN’ or ‘pom-pom-free-all’? (well, that’s we called it back in our day if you didn’t have a can!)

How to play – the basics

Someone is ‘it’, there is a ‘jail’ – and the ‘it’ person has to catch everyone and put them in the jail, and if any one of the players who has not been caught yet, can get to a designated spot (ie, a tree, or in this case a ‘can’) and shout ‘pom-pom-free-all’ as they KICK THE CAN, all of the captors are FREE!!

So, you see, you can play it WITHOUT the bean tin, or can, but I know you like to extend the fun so I’ve made you some FREE printables with a TARGET to kick, which you can, ummm, print off, and glue to your can! Oh, word of advice, the sharp edges of the cans, are, errr, sharp, (I won’t show you the photo of my cut finger) so using my trusty hot-glue gun, I whizzed round the edges to make them a bit more kid-friendly… You could also spray paint the tin, and cover with stickers for smaller children to join in the decoration fun, this ‘spins it out’ a bit, so that you have an inside activity you can do together, before you take it outside to play!

For more FREE Printables, try our Monster Truck card and Jigsaw Puzzle Cards.

And other uses for bean tins, and soup cans can be seen over on A Greener Life For Us, using up old paint to make plant and pencil pots click here.

So, as you know, I’m on a weekly panel of crafty So-and-So-s invited to ‘hang-out’ on Google+ by the every lovely Maggy Woodley at Red Ted Art. This week this was hosted by Maggy AND Netmums.

I hung out on Google+ for a bit of a vlog…with some craft buddies to share these holiday fun ideas, hosted by the aforementioned ever lovely Maggy from Red Ted Art who has pulled all of these together in a *Boredom Buster* post. Also present were Anthea with her Kids’ storage shelves and fabulous bird masks, Kelly‘s amazing paper plate dreamcatcher, Liz and her corks, and newbie to crafting, Rosie! Pop back later for more links soon.

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

Ali also writes over on AGreenerLifeforus.com

crafts, create, google+ hangouts, kids, monster

How to make a Despicable Me Minion keyring or badge

You can’t miss the posters – Despicable Me is back (and I can’t help amusing myself by calling it ‘This Pic about me’ – as that’s what my small children thought it was called….)

So, as you know, I’m on a weekly panel of crafty So-and-So-s invited to ‘hang-out’ on Google+ by the every lovely Maggy Woodley at Red Ted Art.

Like Maggy, Hama Beads (or Perler Beads as I’ve heard them referred to) were always a bit of a mystery to me when my kids were really small, and them I realised what a great thing they were – appealing to both genders on play-dates, and across a wide age range too… When 10yo was sitting down making his Despicable Me Minion (the larger of the two in the photo) Maggy’s 5yo son was working away with a furrowed brow (glancing occasionally over at my 10yo’s) – great team work, delight all round as they were revealed from the greaseproof paper and hot iron – love them!

Ours were meant to be made into badges, however, it now transpires that they are destined to adorn their book-bags!

I hung out on Google+ for a bit of a vlog… with some craft buddies to share these melty beads crafts, hosted by the aforementioned ever lovely Maggy from Red Ted Art who showed us several ideas for the Hama Beads, some fab little bowls and sweet greetings cards. Kelly made some EPIC jewellery! and pop back later for more links to Anthea, Kelly, Liz, Aly’s Tardis and Rebecca.

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

Ali also writes over on AGreenerLifeforus.com

crafts, kids

Yarn Bombing in Wargrave

Well, imagine my delight, receiving these images on an email last week… Usually emails from the OH over at Wargrave Auto Centre are quite ‘dry’ to say the least… reminding me to artwork up some new business cards, or design an Ad for the Carnival brochure.

So I was beside myself that he clearly knows me so well that he went on a walk around the village taking photos of the amazing #yarnbombing which appears to have popped up on every street corner, bench, and lamp post in Wargrave, near Henley – how delightful are these?

Both me and the children are positively enchanted by this wonderful Yarn Bombing! It made our afternoon, so thank you to the locals of Wargrave for all of their hard work and creativity!

(We particularly love the shot of the bench, and the ‘lost cat, reward’ poster sellotaped to the lamp post, we hope this helps to find him!)

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

crafts, create, google+ hangouts, kids

Lolly Stick Bi-Planes

A nice quick and easy craft for you today… you need five recycled ice lolly sticks for each plane (that’s a lot of lolly-licking – you CAN buy popsicle sticks in bulk though!) This post has now moved to http://incredibusy.com/clothes-peg-bi-plane/

I hung out on Google+ for a bit of a vlog… with some craft buddies to share these peg planes, hosted by the ever lovely Maggy from Red Ted Art who showed us four crafts including her Lollipop traffic light biscuits which are featured in her book. Another great lolly stick craft here from Craftulate – popsicle sticks and magnets! Pop back later for more links to Aly Hodge, Anthea, Kelly, Liz‘s lolly stick boats, and Rebecca. Maggy’s other feature crafts were superhero-puppets and spiderwebs.
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/Incredibusy too… Erm, and funnily enough on Facebook and Pinterest! Pop over to say hello x
Ali also writes over on FunCraftsKids.com

crafts, google+ hangouts, kids, monster

Fun Felt Finger Puppets

So – the challenge was on… several scraps of felt, and half an hour to kill… the boys wanted a Baby Yoda, so we got to work.

Ingredients:
Felt
Googly Eyes
Scissors
Glue Gun (or PVA)

We each of us drew the Star Wars character Yoda from memory on a piece of paper, to establish a 2D representation, Baby Yoda’s ears and BIG eyes seemed to be the main recognisable features. We cut him out, glued him together and built up some fiddly layers to create his creased face and ears.

We had a bit of a debate about which eyes to use, as I was super keen to use the googly eyes with eyelashes. Funny how that got knocked on the head by the two boys… I was desperate to use them, so 10yo allowed me to add them to his Jar Jar Binks – you like?! Not perfect, but you can see a resemblance!
I hung out on Google+ with some craft buddies to share these finger puppets – Anthea from Zing Zing Tree made some lovely hair pinwheels. And some beautiful rings (we’ve put our orders in! Lizzie’s little felt mice were adorable, and our host Maggy from Red Ted Art showed us my favourite felt doughnuts and strawberries.

Ali, KidsChaos. x

Also on incredibusy.com – and if you like Star Wars you’ll like the PORG paperchains here kidschaos.com/make-porg-paper-chains

And if it’s puppets you are looking for, check out these sweet stick puppets here

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

crafts, create, father's day, google+ hangouts, monster

Jigsaw Puzzle Piece crafts – Greetings Cards

Chaos writes:
So – the challenge to MAKE something with spare jigsaw puzzle pieces… And I think we’ve cracked it with these greetings cards. The shape of the puzzle piece with the ‘sticky out bits’ inspired us to think of Frankenstein’s monster, with the bolts in his neck, so we drew his body attached his head, with some googly eyes and requisite ‘scars’ and away you go! Ideal for a Father’s Day card, or a MONSTER Birthday card .
A second idea is a nod to the two parts of the puzzle making ONE, so it’s great for an anniversary, or wedding card. And equally adding a third piece for a new baby card!
And I’ve created FREE printables here for you:

FATHER’S DAY CARD
MONSTER BIRTHDAY CARD
ANNIVERSARY CARD
WEDDING CARD
VALENTINE’S DAY CARD

A few crafty types came together on Google+ to discuss our jigsaw puzzle craft idea – watch it here. You’ll also be able to see our host Maggy Woodley’s Coasters, Fridge magnets, trees, snowflakes and trees; Crystal’s Brooches, Kelly’s bird puppets, Lizzie’s Family photo keyrings, Anthea’s puzzle resin crafts. If you’d like to see MORE ideas for Father’s Day click here. And more MONSTER crafts 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!

crafts, google+ hangouts

Beer Bottle Lids Castanets

Chaos writes:

We love the whole idea of upcycling our ‘junk’ here at Kids Chaos, and wanted to share this fab idea for making some clacky castanets…

You will need:

Beer bottle lids (Liz asked where these Spitfire bottle caps came from, they are much coveted Shepherd Neame caps!)
Cardboard
Glue

Draw around your beer bottle tops, on a piece of card. Cut out the ‘skate-board-shape’ (as 8yo refers to it!)

Fold the card in half, and glue the beer bottle lids to each end so they touch, and ‘clack’ like a castanet.

We tried a simple design, using blue-tack, and they yellow lids (shown) however, they blue-tack ‘dulled’ the sound. So we switched on the glue gun!

Before we completed the second castanet, we glued on some decoupage paper we’d picked up from HobbyCraft, and added some googly-eyes. The beer bottle lids which were glued on with the hot glue gun, make a MUCH better sound – you can hear them on the google+ hangout below, kindly hosted by Maggy Woodley from Red Ted Art.

You’ll also be able to see Maggy’s Maraccas and Guitar; Crystal’s Jingle Bell wrist bands. George’s tambourine, Lizzie’s Bluebell fairy shaker, Anthea’s bottle blowing music and further links to follow from Adele. If you’d like to see what other uses we have for bottle lids, click 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 andPinterest! Pop over to say hello x Like it? Pin it!