Chin up Buttercup

It's no secret that we all get down from time to time, have a bad day, or fall ill occasionally... and when we do, there's nothing nicer than knowing that someone is thinking of us.  One way to show you care, perhaps the 'old fashioned way' is to write a card.  There's someone I know, only a little bit, who is going through a rough patch at the moment, and my heart really goes out to her.  I haven't given her a card - but I want to.

I even made her one - you can see it; it says 'chin up buttercup' and it's made of a round circle of paper, a doily, two cupcake liners and some googly eyes... I felt better making it for her... but I chickened out when it came time to give it to her.

Sometimes it's hard to know whether you'll make things worse.

If you have the flu and someone gave you a 'get well' card, it would be pretty hard to be offended.  If you had a  haircut and you mentioned to that same someone that you weren't sure if you liked it and then they gave you a 'cheer up' card, it might be easy to read into it that they think the haircut's dodgy too.  Okay, that might not be the right example... but do you know what I mean?  By giving someone a card it might exaggerate that you think they have a problem...

As I'm typing I've decided not to give her the card.  I'll give her a brief hug instead.  It's a universal sign of care, easier for me to walk away from if it's taken the wrong way, easier for her to ignore too if it's not welcome.

Sometimes sympathy is easier said than done... chin up buttercups, and welcome to the first day of a new season - whichever season that happens to be! x

Sticky Dot Art Installation

It's no secret that every now and then you stumble across something simple yet breathtaking.  In a wonderful site about art called Colossal, was an article about the 'Obliteration Room', where a studio in the museum is filled with furniture and everything is painted white.  Visitors to the gallery are given a sheet of sticky dots and are allowed to put them wherever they want.  The results are at first simple, perhaps predictable, but as time goes on, people become more inventive, more imaginative, random, and ingenious.  You see lines appear, initials, flowers, then swirls they would take masses of sheets, such that this truly becomes a group art installation, and the artist (Yayoi Kusama) suddenly becomes the curator.

If you have a spare few moments, I highly recommend watching the video clip which I've uploaded onto facebook for you.   It shows the fast-forwarded version of the room filling up with coloured dots, with a narration of the artistic ideologies of the project.

Sadly, we don't have a spare room in our house to convert to an art project, but watching the video did remind me of a project that the girls made earlier this year when we were learning about Chinese New Year.  They made 'cherry-blossoms' out of cupcake liners and sticky dots, and then placed them on sticks, and then somehow... the wall... when I look back, I remember that the initial um-ah moment of watching them pull the flowers (held on with temporary-tack) off the sticks and spin to put them on the wall was short lived, because the girls intuitively made shapes and patterns with the flowers.  Little Lotti made a 'halo' of sorts to stand under, then, after accidentally standing on her cherry blossom stick, she snapped it apart further and put the little sticks in behind each flower, again, arranging them in a pattern, where every flower read 'three o'clock'!

Finding the article reminded me about the importance of self-expression; that it is never too early or too late to let people experiment, rearrange, break the rules, reinvent... and that it is through this playful experimentation that the most spectacular things are made... so go on... find some sticky dots and something (other than the wall!) to stick them on; you might just amaze yourself at what you create!

Paper Quilts

It’s no secret, to those that know me, that long before I was a stay-at-home mum I was dabbling in paper craft.  One experiment that has survived is a paper ‘sampler’.  Onto a piece of A4 black card I used masking tape triangles to stick down several snippets of favourite paper.  In this way, each one is framed and allowed to speak for itself, so to say, and at the same time, all the pieces work well together.  From a distance, the two pieces look almost like paper quilts.  

It’s a shame that not much survives from my ‘younger days’ as a crafter; I often did things quickly, was impatient, and if I didn’t like it, tossed it.  Now, I have children, I’m more forgiving of my failures, partly because I can blog about it, partly because I can give it to my girls and they can use it in their dolls house, and partly because I’ve come to realise that I can set a good example by emphasising the process not the product... afterall, look at what they bring home from preschool each day!  LOL!

When you get a moment to yourself, why don’t you go through your old craft boxes, journals, diaries or memory bank, and see if you can recall any old craft experiments; what worked, what didn’t, what could you try again with the new skills and tools you have today, and what old ideas would your children enjoy?

Go on... get nostalgic. x

Bling's the Thing

It's no secret that in your crockery cupboard you have many beautiful things.  You may be so used to looking in there that you've forgotten how good your cupboards are.  Go back and really look.  Take out those glasses with the faded gilding.   Reconsider the beauty of an old white plate with its lacy surrounds.  Don't fret that there's an odd number of glasses left of a once-grand set of six.  Why leave pretty ivy-covered cups hidden in the dark until the next time Santa comes calling.  Pull them all out.  Dress them up.  Use them.

If you can't think of an easy way to turn sad into spectacular; add a gem sticker.

You read right.  Nothing ore, nothing less.  Simply stick a gem on it; because bling makes everything better.

Now that you've glammed them up; turn the glasses into a vase and pop in a flower, real or fabric.  Turn an old platter into a picture frame or a birthday display (such as Lotti's 3rd ballet birthday).  Team up an old cup and a mismatched cup for a quirky centerpiece.  Experiment with one of those interesting pinterest ideas, and make a mug into a candle... the possibilities are endless... so go on... go explore your crockery cupboard and go get crafty!

Ransom Note Generator

It's no secret that there's more than one way to teach children how to do things... and of course I'm not a teacher, so I'm not going to pretend I know what the 'right' way to teach is... I prefer to look for the fun way, the crafty way.

Like helping my eldest daughter get the idea of spelling by making ransom letters out of old magazines with her!

Mimi is four and a half, and in Australia, that means she's gearing up to start kindergarten at the beginning of the next calender year.  Her preschool is starting to introduce 'school-readiness' programmes to prepare her.  Many of the key skills involve social aspects, such as anti-bullying, sharing, patience, resilience, respect and so on.  Hygiene, self-help (not the sort parents are seeking), independence, and even safe-scissor-use fall under the heading of 'readiness'.  Common sense goes a long way here to get preschoolers prepare for 'big school'.

Then there's the alphabet; reading it and writing it.  This is where parents start to get a bit wobbly at the knees, red of cheek and loud of voice.  Of course it's important.  Of course I want my daughters to succeed.  Of course I don't want them to get left behind.  But I'm trained to be an Architect not a teacher, so I'm putting my home-time energies into inspiring them to be curious, express themselves, stretch their imaginations, and introduce them to the idea of the alphabet and putting letters together in fun ways.

I cut letters (and pictures) out of old magazines while watching the television the night before.  Mimi's first poster was a bit of a free-for-all, the main objective was to try to get the letters the right way up.  The second one I helped her to find some letters and then together we started to spell out the names of people we knew.  Little Lotti meanwhile was happy to make a 'family' (mum, dad, two girls and a dog (interesting since we have none - guess that's a hint-hint to me!)) and then she tucked that away and only let me photograph her crazy-collage.

Learning is a marathon not a sprint... and it should be fun... that's why I'd happily advocate you sacrifice an old magazine and an hour of your time, for the sake of some poster-rific alphabet fun!

Party Craft Table Ideas

It's no secret that I love the idea of crafting at parties, and that I believe that there's nothing faster, funner, and more fullfilling than seeing children make something all for themselves... okay, so funner is not a real word... but it fits.

If you're not convinced, here's a few ideas on how to introduce craft into your next party:

• create a 'zone' - this is a messy area where you can expect a little chaos, so consider a spot outside.
• have a craft table - cover it with a plastic cover if the table is precious... cover it anyway; it's going to get messy.
• decide on one or two craft projects that suit the theme and age of your guests - crowns & masks are easy and obvious and there are plenty or ready made templates you can buy.  Cruise your local dollar-store and craft-store for other templates.  Decorating paper cone party hats is another idea that can suit most ages and themes.  Read this blog for even more inspiration.
• On the table lay out enough templates for one project per guest with a couple spare.
• Also lay out plenty of items for embellishments; glue, glitter, stickers, crayons and so on.  Stay away from scissors and other items that could be dangerous for little ones, as a craft table will never be 100% supervised, no matter how well intended you are.
• Let the kids at it!

Remember:

• try to be age appropriate in your expectations; both in terms of the projects you are proposing and the tools and items you leave out.
• If in doubt; buy more rather than less; your children can always use teh extras later.
• Make sure your guests take their craft home as keepsakes.

Go on - get crafty at your next party! Have a look through all the party craft ebooks  available on the net for lots more printpable projects and ideas to get you inspired!

Is there such a thing as too much chocolate?

It's no secret that there is always a risk that the difference between what you read in a menu and what you will be served will be too big a divide to conquer... especially when you’re little.  We’ve all read a product description that is ever so tantalising, only to be served up something that’s not even close, or conversely, you go for the ‘big breakfast’ only to be reduced to near-tears when the waitress staggers to the table with a plate load of food that could feed a family, knowing even before you pink up your fork that you’re not even going to make it to the half way point of a ‘respectable attempt’ on the plate.

Recently while having a special morning tea with my parents, up from the farm, Mimi was very excited to hear that there was such a thing as chocolate-chip pancakes.  When Grandma revealed that they came with ice cream and chocolate syrup the deal was sealed.  I was of course a little reticent; “Mummy’s going to share the lemon pancake with Lotti, would you like to just share something with Grandma?”  “No,” she said, “I’m a big girl, I’ll eat it all by myself.”

To her credit, she did a pretty good job, and she probably would have eaten it all if I didn’t say ‘enough already!’  Even the waitress raised her eyebrows and nodded in appreciation when she came back to the table.  (The photograph is taken as she was nearing the end of her eat-a-thon, and doesn't really do her justice, because it focuses on what's left to go, not on the big blank space on the other side, of all that she's already finished off!)

“I’m worried about the car trip home,” I whispered to the waitress as we left.  “You should be,” the waitress whispered back.

Thankfully, there was no choc-chip vomit on the car seat, but she did moan and groan on and off all afternoon and told me she didn't think she’d ever eat chocolate again... needless to say that idea lasted as long as her stomach ache!  Like mother like daughter... here’s cheers to chocolate... too much and all!

Making Paper Plate Pizzas

It’s no secret that sometimes the idea of making pizzas is more appealing than eating them... especially if you’re a preschooler.  I can’t count the number of times my daughters have literally leapt up onto their chairs at the chance of helping Happy Husband or I assemble pizzas on the kitchen bench only to have them served up and promptly pick them to pieces again.  ‘I thought you said you wanted that on there,’ we say.  ‘I did,’ they reply; ‘to look at, to cook, but not to eat!’

Enough’s enough I decided one day when I had a handful of paper scraps – make a pizza you’ll never have to eat!

I gave the girls a paper plate each, a handful of pink and yellow paper and plenty of sticky dots (I aimed to get colours that looked like the sorts of things you’d find on a pizza, but I didn’t take it too seriously – it was their pizza after all!)

The girls took great pleasure in lathering their pizza pies with texta and pen ‘sauce’ or a variety I thankfully never had to taste (I don’t even know how to print the way my 3 year old tried to say mayonnaise, nor do I know why she would want to bake it on a pizza.).  They then glued on their toppings, and added their sticker seasoning.

I found it highly amusing, although I have no idea what it means, that one daughter applied stickers around the edge and glued paper in the middle, and the other daughter did the exact opposite.

After they had finished creating, they took their paper pizza pies to to the (crockery cupboard) ‘oven’ where they gently pushed it onto a plate and shut the door to bake, and then a few minutes later took them back to the dinner table to eat.

For more craft-food, real and not so edible, take a tour around some of the themed craft ebooks, you’re sure to find one with an idea to suit...!