• Dyeing eggs for Easter
    crafts - Easter - handmade - Kids crafts - Spring - STEM activity - tutorial

    Dyeing eggs for Easter

    April 16, 2014 - By 

    I know my children don’t have a clue about Easter but that hasn’t stopped us enjoying some Easter crafting. Yesterday we tried our hands at decorating and dyeing hard boiled eggs. This was actually quite quick so the children were able to follow the whole process. I thought I’d share it here as my two really enjoyed it. You will need: eggs Scotch Magic Tape scissors vinegar food colouring {STEM activity} Dyeing eggs for Easter First hard boil the eggs. I boiled them for 10 minutes then placed them in a sieve and ran cold water over them for a…

  • Printing flowers with a bottle
    crafts - Crafts for kids - handmade - Recycled crafts

    Printing flowers with a bottle

    April 14, 2014 - By 

    Our recycling box was overflowing so we had a look through it to see if we could use anything for crafting. There were lots of bottles of all shapes and sizes and I knew they would be perfect for printing our own flowers. Printing flowers with a bottle We love any craft which has instant results and this was great for my 4 year old. He chose his favourite paint colour, covered the base of the bottle with paint then pressed it on to a sheet of paper. It’s a lovely way to create flowers although the bottle we chose…

  • book review - crafts - handmade - London

    {book review} Hello! London

    February 18, 2014 - By 

    We love living in London and the next best thing to being out and about is reading books about London. Hello! London, illustrated by Marion Billet, is a beautiful new book from Campbell Books. Aimed at 1 year+ my children have been enjoying looking at this book together. Turn the London Eye, open and close Tower Bridge, take a ride on the Tube and more! Push, pull and slide the scene to explore the sights of the busy city. Hello! London is a fantastic book as there’s so much to look at and talk about. Perfect for Londoners or those just…

  • red wool wrapped heart in window
    crafts - handmade - toddler

    Toddler-friendly Valentine craft

    January 19, 2014 - By 

    A while ago I pinned a pretty picture of wool hearts. I wanted to try them with my son but the metal heart (made from floral wire) was too fiddly for him to hold and wrap at the same time. Instead we tried using some chunky heart-shaped cookie cutters which were much easier for him to hold. Toddler-friendly Valentine craft – wrapped wool hearts I covered the outside of the cookie cutter in double-sided sticky tape, then he had fun wrapping each one with red wool. When he had finished I tied a knot in the wool at the top…

  • crafts - Kids crafts - nursery - tutorial

    Hickory Dickory Dock craft

    January 17, 2014 - By 

    My son is really enjoying being a part of his new nursery. I’m enjoying the routine (and a 3 hour break from my son every day, what’s not to love?) and he’s learning more than I could have imagined. This term has been all about nursery rhymes and he came home with a booklet for me which listed all the nursery rhymes they would be learning and some home learning suggestions. I was more than happy to receive the suggestions as, despite my Pinterest addiction, I do occasionally run short on ideas. He’s a busy little soul who’s constantly asking…

  • fingerprint Chinese lanterns
    Chinese New Year crafts - crafts - handmade - Kids crafts - tutorial

    Finger print Chinese lanterns

    January 15, 2014 - By 

    Before I bombard you with Valentine crafts (and there’s a lot!) I wanted to share one last Chinese New Year craft. 2014 is the Chinese New Year of the Horse and although Chinese New Year is celebrated on Friday January 31st, celebrations will take place on Sunday 2nd February across venues including Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Shaftesbury Avenue and of course Chinatown itself. I’m not sure I’m ready to take the children to the celebrations just yet so instead we’ve been having fun at home. We’ve already tried our hand at Chinese New Year lanterns and our latest activity involved paint. Like…

  • Chinese new year tea light
    Chinese New Year crafts - crafts - handmade - Kids crafts - tutorial

    Chinese New Year tea light holder

    January 9, 2014 - By 

    We’ve been thinking about Chinese New Year lately. 2014 is all about the Chinese New Year of the Horse but animal crafts don’t seem to be our speciality, so far. Instead we opted for some simple Chinese New Year tea light holders. We collected some old (clean!) glass jars from the recycling bin, a bottle of PVA glue, paint brush and red tissue paper which I cut into small squares. I had to google why red is associated with Chinese New Year, apparently the colour red, which corresponds with fire, symbolizes good fortune and joy. Then my son got to…

  • handmade

    Make a little birdhouse in your soul

    July 24, 2013 - By 

    We’ve been struggling a little with the weather lately. We go out early in the day and then come home and play in the shade. Our craft box has received a beating as we’ve been working our way through it to keep as busy as we can. Fortunately the toddler was sent a brilliant kit from Cre8ive Kidz to make and decorate a birdhouse. He loves the garden so this was a great craft activity for him. The kit contained everything we needed, a seven piece birdhouse, 2 comics, plastic sheet, 2 paint brushes, glue, varnish and instructions, so we got to…

  • sweet wrapper papers for decorations
    Crafts for kids - handmade - Kids crafts - tutorial

    Recycled sweet wrapper decorations

    November 19, 2012 - By 

    If you are looking for a fun craft for toddlers, look no further. We’ve been busy making festive baubles from sweetie wrappers! I’m sad to say I’ve been saving colourful sweetie wrappers for a rainy day and then I thought of a great activity for the toddler. Equipment you will need to make recycled sweet wrapper decorations: card scissors double sided sticky tape ribbon I cut 6 circles from black card and then cut smaller circles out of them (using baby food jars as a template). The toddler adores sticky tape so I gave him small pieces of tape and…