whimsy

whimsy

Saturday 20 July 2013

dress ups

Our kids ( like many) love to dress up and act out things. Their favourite role plays are 'camping' or going on holiday.  Here's what we consider to be great additions for dressing up/ role playing.

scarves can we wrapped around themselves, capes, veils, skirts or other things ie blankets for baby or laid on the ground for rivers, oceans or gardens.
beads worn around the neck or ingredients in a pot or bowl
hats and masks
bags an old cellphone, wallets & purses with pretend credit cards
wings bird, butterfly, plane even!
belts
fast face changes ski goggles,  sunglasses, silly glasses
bowls and utensils for budding chefs
music
a camera to take photos to share at their 21st birthday : )
a mirror lots of giggles

What do you have in your dress ups?







he he

Monday 15 July 2013

cotton ball/ marshmellow shooters for inside on loooong rainy days

2 empty and clean yoghurt pottles, 2 balloons, 2 marshmellows/ cotton balls
cut the bottom out of the yoghurt pottle
tie a knot in a balloon
cut the end of the balloon off and stretch it over the the squarer end of the pottle
put the marshmellow inside, pull the knot back and let go of it to shoot!

Sunday 14 July 2013

an origami whale

The boy came home from pre school and said he wanted to show us how to make an 'irigami' whale- so sweet. I was pretty impressed that he managed it step by step from memory.

Click here to see instructions of how to make your own.




a whale family x



Wednesday 10 July 2013

home made stamps

There's a great place in Christchurch called Creative Junk:

Creative Junk has a large range of recycled art supplies such as fabric, cardboard boxes, tubes & all kinds of odds and ends with unlimited creative potential! Fill a bag for just $5 (members) or $8 (non-members), and feel free to bring in your own reusable shopping bag and fill it with creative junk for the same price. 


When I was there last I picked up a pile of sticky backed foam squares... thinking they'd be good for something one day. I grabbed a big handful but there was a bin chest height full of them. 

I was inspired by this post by Mer Mag to use some to make some stamps with M and T. Mer Mag uses craft foam that she glues on with a glue gun.

My ink pads are packed away so I had to buy a stamp pad from Typo ( love that shop). You could also use paint for this.

Materials needed:

bottle tops, corks or wooden blocks
sticky backed foam stickers or craft foam and a glue gun
scissors
pen for drawing shapes first if you wish
ink
paper








T made me a little piece of wrapping paper for a friend's present


Saturday 6 July 2013

arghhhh 'me treasure map

The boy loves pirates and maps so knew he'd be into making a treasure map. We hid ( and ate) some fruit burst lollies and drew the map for M and two of her friends to follow after school.

1. Draw the map on paper using a black permanent marker and a black ball point pen.


2. Cut or tear the map out  around the edges.

3. Screw the map up int a ball to create crease.


 4. Dip, soak and swoosh it around a bit in a a tray of instant coffee and water.


 4. Sprinkle some extra bits of coffee onto the map for 'age stains' : )

5. Dry it in the oven on bake at 100C until it's dry- making sure you're watching it the whole time. You can also microwave it for 40 seconds or lie it outside in the sun).

6. Add excited kids!



I hope the girls don't find the lollies straight away...

Can you see on the map that there's a row of trees up both sides of the backyard. There's two garages, a deck, some wheelie bins and a table and chairs on the deck. On the table T found a pottery container with a lid- that's where he's hidden the 'treasure' and put an X : )

When we do it again we'll use thicker paper as we got a few rips- adding to the authenticity I guess.

Other ideas:
You could burn some edges of the map- we did  but only just as I was a bit worried it would get away on us! Do it when it's still a bit damp is my advice.
Use textured/ recycled paper
Make pirate party invitations this way or use it as a party game.
Would take some planning but you could hide an individual/  family picnic lunch and make a treasure map to read to find it.
For pirate fans, give them a map on their birthday morning to use to find their presents.




Wednesday 3 July 2013

banana pops

I made the kids some of these today as a treat for after Rippa practise tomorrow.

bananas, wooden sticks, chocolate and smarties

cut the bananas in half and freeze them.

Dip them in chocolate and press on smarties, put them back in the freezer.

yum!