KidsChaos.com

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

create, key stage 2, kids

In awe of David T Waller’s rainbow Car Atlas

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There is colour and pattern everywhere in our lives… 10yo is obsessed with putting collections of ‘things’ in colour order, creating patterns and art – For example, all of his gogo crazy bones are placed into colour specific piles, and taking inspiration from artist David T Waller, he then experimented with moving the camera to create blurred rainbow patternations…now to start collecting toy cars! (see below)

We love this wonderful installation of 2,500 old toy cars by UK artist David T. Waller. And one for the car love Pinterest Board eh @WoodleyAutos?! To enter our competition to WIN #Turbo goodies (the film about a little garden snail who thinks he is a racing car!) click here.

If you’d like to see more on colour and pattern, check out our Andy Goldsworthy inspired leaves and flowers on the patio here!

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

Uncategorized

PINspired by PINTEREST

Many moons ago I ran the creative department of a large UK department store. We all loved our ‘MOOD BOARDS’ – we used them in the studio, and we used them at home…folders stuffed with images of how we wanted our kitchen to look; notepads full of magazine ‘tears’ of inspirational ideas our new bathroom…

SO you can imagine my delight when I discovered Pinterest, an online version, of just that – your own mood boards, and more importantly, access to OTHER people’s mood boards – and if you don’t have a Pinterest account of your own, it’s simple to create an account!

So, I’m delighted to be part of Pinterest’s #PinItForwardUK campaign. Through this selection of excellent ‘pinners’ I’ve found some amazing blogs, and campaigners, and it’s really made me think more about my own photography, and composition too…

Read on to discover my top boards for all things ethical and creative, with upcycled crafts and DIY ideas such as A Greener Life for Us.

I recently planned a wedding (well, MY wedding, it seven weeks!) using Pinterest, I created a board called Party Time taking inspiration for the most amazing wedding cake which I just wouldn’t have had if it weren’t for Pinterest I’m sure!

Share your own Pinterest favourites

Are you already on Pinterest and have you discovered a fabulous board you’d like to tell us about? Please share a link to your best board in the comments here so we can all take a look. And pop on over to visit Chris at Thinly Spread tomorrow for even more pinspiration as she shares her Pinterest gems.

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, AS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, on Pinterest too! 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

kids, life

We had a day out! Thorpe Park

The boys had been behaving well all week, homework done, on time, thumbs up from their teachers, they’d got dressed and to school on time EVERY day for the week (without me losing my voice ‘reminding’ to clean teeth, pack sports kits etc), so it was time to break it to them…. carry on like this for another five days, and next weekend we’ll take you to Thorpe Park!

The boys pored over the Thorpe Park website, planning which rides they would be going on, and in which order… this took quite some planning as 8yo is not quite tall enough for some of the scarier rides (he’s just under the 1.4m limit at 1.3m – however, there are LOTS of rides he CAN go on at that height, equally scary if you ask me!)

So we packed some snacks, and waterproofs, and set off for a day of fun.

My personal highlights were all fairly ‘water-based’ so I’d say if you CAN take waterproof trousers too, do! I hung out with 8yo, and started with Depth Charge, (picured below, a couple of times!) followed by Flying Fish, Loggers Leap (damp), Rumba Rapids(soggy), and the SOAKING WET Tidal Wave.

Another favourite of mine, which took some doing to get me on there… was the Detonator. 8yo said it was more fun going on there with me, than with Daddy, as I actually enjoyed it and queued up straight away to go back on! Gut wrenching, but a GREAT view from the top! 8yo and I LOVED RUSH too, so make sure you ask for a blue wristband for your child as you enter the park, this denotes that he is tall enough for a 1.3m ride, and speeds things up.

Meanwhile 10yo and his Dad went on ALL of the ‘extreme thrills’ rollercoaster rides that he listed as his PLAN for the day, so he had the best day EVER apparently!

(and yes, they both braved it backwards on the Swarm!)

So a great day all round, we’ll definitely be going again, and 8yo will be pestering me on a weekly basis to see if he’s 1.4m yet!

There are a few offers on at the mo, to help families to make savings when visiting: Pick up a Frijj to take advantage of a 2-for-1 coupon offer when booking tickets. Check out more information on their Facebook page.

We were lucky enough to be given our tickets by Thorpe Park, however if you book tickets seven days or more in advance you can save 30% – adults from £30.24, children from £23.52 (under 12)

We drove, as we’re only half an hour away, however, if travelling by train, South West Trains website offer online discounts on entry too.

We heartily recommend it for a day out, take waterproofs, and plan your day, would be a great day out for half term – see you there!

Ali, KidsChaos.

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 Facebookand Pinterest! Pop over to say hello x Like it? Pin it!
Ali also writes over on AGreenerLifeforus.com

Check out interesting facts on some of THORPE PARK’s top rides!

book reviews, competitions

Why we love Laura Dockrill

Had to share this one with you, following our little prize draw to win a signed copy of Laura Dockrill’s Darcy Burdock, we were delighted that the winner had such an amazing name – Tiffany-Lee Rainbow, and even more delighted to receive this fab photo on the left, which we flipped/mirrored so that you can see what Laura wrote in Tiffany-Lee’s book!

@TLrainbow Tiffany-lee wrote:

Thank You @MoreKidsChaos & @LauraDockrill you are welcome to use my name as a character in your nextbook #justanidea pic.twitter.com/FKbmM3Ur81

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 Facebookand Pinterest! Pop over to say hello x Like it? Pin it!
Ali also writes over on AGreenerLifeforus.com