Being a Mum of two boys I always pleased when I think of something that I can make for them. Yesterday my youngest son was wearing a Ben 10 watch that he had made from playdough. It was very sweet how much he loved this watch...but slightly annoying as it kept falling off and I know it sounds a bit OCD but wearing playdough and carpets and sofas...So no...I said I would make him one when I got home that he could wear all the time and so I did. Here it is.
I found a picture on the web (see below) and used it to design this felt version. I measured the boys wrists and went for 18cm. I cut out the shapes by hand and then sewed them together through all the layers finally adding some velcro. The boys loved them. So a happy household this morning.
Thanks, Nix x
I finally got to make some decorated stones with Gabe today...it was great fun. Makes a nice change from colouring and stickers and less messy than painting (honestly!). I did the cutting, he did the gluing and placed some of the fabric, he also decided what we were making. I think little girls could especially get into this!
The site that the idea and the instructions came from is here but you don't have to use Mod Podge (it's not widely available in the UK so will end up costing you around £10). I just used watered down PVA. I will need to put another layer on once this layer has dried as some of my fabrics were quite thick...a good idea to soak thicker fabrics in the glue mix if you can, or at least paint some glue on the back of the fabric, as well as the front and on the stone.
Happy rainy August days! Nix!
The Mum's at a local primary school, Compton All Saints, got together to create this brilliant book. A must have handbook for school holidays all year round but especially the summer ...which has arrived at last!!! Woo hoo!
You can get hold of a copy for £5 here...50fabdays.com
It's full of days out and also shorter trips that the children will love, all them inexpensive or free. Most are outdoors and they include beach days out, new forest adventures, paddling spots, best bike rides for children. It's great if, like me, you didn't grow up in the area and don't have the benefit of local knowledge.
It's really well laid out with sections for parents tips and kids tips. It also helpfully reminds you what not to forget, e.g. swimming stuff / wellies for paddling. Lastly, all profits from the book go to the school.
Thanks, Nix!
I was clearing out our garage the other day and I found a box of some of my favourite childhood trinkets, or as my lovely Granny used to call them, nic nacs. Sometimes she used to take me to a little shop in Maidenhead to get a new nic nac. Often it was some sort of box or tin as I loved those and had loads, each with some tiny, different, thing inside. I also collected tiny china animals, shiny buttons, semi precious stones, bits of rejected jewellery. I expect most girls did that kind of thing...right?
Anyhoo, the point of all this reminiscing is that this box of old nic nacs gave me an idea for a good game that could fit in your handbag, bottom of pushchair, car glove box etc and could make those 'waiting' moments (waiting for lunch, waiting at the Doctors surgery, waiting for the bus) much more pleasant.
I didn't realise, this game has a name. Kim's Game. You probably all know that, but I didn't. I was a brownie but apparently not a very good one.
So, if you don't know the game, it goes like this. You lay a number of items out in front of you. Study them for a minute and then someone removes one and the other player or players have to guess which one. You can make it easier for children by having less to start with and you can also take away more than one item which makes it a bit easier to guess. It's harder than it looks but that's good as it means the children can play against adults and really enjoy making them guess. You can change the items around as everyone starts to remember them and you don't need to have a giant box of nic nacs to delve into. Anything small will do. A paperclip, a stone, a badge etc...
I also made this little bag to hold it all in.
There are many patterns for lined drawstring pouches on the web but I used this one from Martha Stewart's book, which is also available for free on her site...here!
What would be really good, which I thought of afterwards, would be a pouch that opens out into a flat circle so that you can use that to lay all the things on.
Thanks, Nix!
