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The girls and I have found a new game to play after school.
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Pinterest: A Morning Ritual (and a little party)
After the girls are off to school and the cats have started their morning nap, there is a place I like to go. Just me and my coffee. We sit in my big comfy chair and stay a while. It is quiet yet social. It is beautiful and inspiring. It is Pinterest. Do you know the place well?
Continue reading "Pinterest: A Morning Ritual (and a little party)" »
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Lunch Made Fun: Placemat
I've been wanting to do this project for a while, so when Jessica of The Sewing Rabbit asked me to join her in Kid's Inspiration and Design Series, I knew exactly what to make... a placemat and lunch based on my daughters' drawings.
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Guest Post: Molly Moo Makes Twin Frogs
Well today is a special day... I'm delighted that my favorite bloggy friend, Michelle from Molly Moo, is guest posting on Curly Birds. And if you head over to her blog, you will find a Curly Birds tutorial!
Michelle is a wonferfully talented Irish blogger whose work is colorful, fun, quirky, and always beautifully presented. Enjoy...
May the light always find you on a dreary day,
When you need to be home may you find your way,
May you always have courage to take a chance,
and never find frogs in your underpants.
Bighearted, sensitive, loving, with a delicate touch and natural eye for detail and all things sweet is how I think of Helen. She was one of the first creative moms I found and followed just over 2.5yrs ago, when I joined the ranks of mommy bloggers. Over that time Helen has become my friend, a dear friend and confident, a fellow mom and kindred spirit, both overwhelmed by the love for our daughters. This July we meet for the first time, in Ireland - there will be much hugging for sure :) We will sit and natter and watch my 7yo Molly and Helen's gorgeous curly birds, Nola and Kira, play together amongst the dunes and hedgerows in the south west corner of my native Ireland.
I am all kinds of delighted to be blog swapping with Helen today and sharing one of my crafts with you. What drives me in what I do is creating unique crafts that inspire play, accessible crafts for children to make on their own and with their moms. I love colour, character and humour. My favourite medium is papier mache but I've recently learned how to make a felted bead.... so lets see where that goes :) I hope you can join me on my journey…
Even frogs come in pairs
Materials Needed: paper craft cones, newspaper, cellotape (Scotch tape), paint, wall paper paste, and PVA (white craft glue).
You can, of course, make the cones by curling semi-circles of cardboard.
Where to begin: roll newspaper into a ball and secure the balls with cellotape to prevent them unraveling. Place the ball atop the pointed end of the cone and use plenty of cellotape to secure the ball of newspaper to the cone.
Roll three smaller balls of newspaper for the eyes and the nose and again tape well to the head as shown.
Repeat this for the froggy feet, taping four small balls to the base.
Time for the messy part…
Tear strips of newspaper along the grain, to give you full length even strips, then tear these strips again into three and leave aside.
Make up your papier mache paste. My preferred paste is made from a few spoons of wallpaper paste with some added PVA, mixed into a really smooth flowing consistency.
Roll up your sleeves and add the papier mache layers (two layers was all I needed to apply for my frogs as the craft cones are really very strong, you might need to add a third layer depending on the weight of board you use if making the cone yourself.) One by one let each layer dry completely before adding the next.
Tip: Getting the paper into the little spaces around the eyes, nose and feet is a little fiddly but if you really seal in the paper and massage out any air bubbles with your finger tips you will have one really tight and secure frog, one whose ‘bits’ don’t fall off when launched across the room to see how high frogs can really jump!!
Leave your frog aside to dry – tick tock, tick tock…
While the frogs are drying, why not get the kids thinking about painting? What colors are they going to use – and what about patterns? Polka dot frogs, stripy frogs, splatter paint frogs or just simple green frogs called Kermit…… let their imagination guide them.
Ribbit!
Remember to visit Molly Moo and see the craft I made for Michelle's daughter Molly.
You can also find and follow Michelle here:
MollyMoo on Facebook
MollyMoo on Pinterest
Thank you Michelle, see you soon!
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Curly Birds on Spoonful.com
Happy Friday! Do you have big plans for the weekend? We are off to my sister-in-law's house for the weekend to attend a fancy party celebrating their retirement, move, and wedding. I've been helping Michelle plan this event for a long time and now I'm ready to party!
If you need a little crafty-inspiration for your weekend making... here are 50 craft ideas that I put together for Spoonful...
25 Outside Art Projects for Kids
And a few more...
How to Create Words from Nature Finds
Documenting Cherished Childhood Memories
See you next week! xoxo
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Picture Perfect: School Picture Day
Hi Friends,
I have a very special post for you… today is the girls' school picture day and I asked my bloggy friend, Celina of Petit à Petit and family, to help me to find perfect outfits for the occasion.
Not only is Celina half British and super-nice, she also has years of experience as a kid’s fashion designer and has incredible taste. Celina’s Pinterest boards are phenomenal (I really just want to pin everything she pins), and her blog Petit à Petit and family documents kid’s fashion...
Hello! My name is Celina and I blog over at Petit à Petit and family, where I talk about children's design in shapes and form. I was so excited when Helen asked me if I could write up a post to help her choose her daughters outfit for Picture Day at school.
I remember growing up and picture day was a big day- I would wear my prettiest outfit, my mom would take extra time to make my hair pretty and as I got older I would think about what I was going to wear weeks before. Now that I have kids of my own, I like to continue and perpetuate this tradition, I also happen to like children's fashion and every occasion I get to dress my kids a little extra special, I jump on it! I don't go overboard, but I like to pay attention to a few details and add a special touch. So for this post I decided I would put together 3 different outfits and give you a few tips on how to make it your own and perhaps find things you could already use from your kids wardrobe.
Here are a few rules you should keep in mind...
Rule 1: choose something your kids are used to wearing and will be comfortable in. It's already awkward posing in front of the camera, don't add more stress my making them wear something they don't feel good in.
Rule 2: Keep it simple- you can still have fun with colors and patterns and try not to accessorize too much.
Rule 3: Focus on the top part mostly- the photos are usually portraits so don't worry too much about what's on the bottom.
Rule 4: Don't make your kids wear new shoes. This goes with rule 1, 2 and 3!
And now for some styling tips...
Outfit #1 ( images 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.)- keep it traditional.
I like dresses a lot and so does my daughter, so whenever we dress up for a special occasion we usually end-up choosing one, actually that is what my daughter wore for her picture. When choosing a dress, you can have fun with patterns and colors but limit it to a few colors. If it's still a little cold pair it with some tights or even some leggings. I added a bright cardigan- but that was more for the the walk to and from school! Actually try to avoid to many layers- they can make your kid look bulky and stuffy. Have fun with your kids hair, add some nice barrettes or even just some ribbon. Once again avoid anything to out of the ordinary- unless your child requests it.
Outfit #2 (images 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.)- keep it cool.
Your girl isn't into dresses, how about a skirt? Blouses and tunics are very fashionable item these days, pair them with a skirt or even some jeans to dress it down. Once again, have fun with colors and prints- choose something that suits your daughters complexion. I avoid yellow with my daughter, she looks much better in purple and red, so I keep that in mind, especially photo day! You can also choose to go for a solid color on top and a fun printed skirt- especially if you like the photo to be a little more conservative. When choosing the colors for your accessories, such as the shoes and hair clips, find an accent color in your tops that isn't necessarily in your bottoms- this will add some whimsy to your outfit. Don't be afraid to mix a bright colors with it's pastel, such as green and mint- it’s the biggest trend at the moment.
Outift #3 (images 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)- make it funky.
Do you have a little fashionista? So why not dress her in the latest trends! You might be laughing when looking back at the photos- honestly those are my favorite, they are fun and show the times we where living in! I also made this outfit a comfortable one with a t-shirt and a pair of skinny jeans, but to make it extra special I added a funky blazer which dresses it up. You don't need to go with a floral blazer, any jacket would be a nice touch. If you want to add some jewelry, opt for something small, just like the hair clips- after all you want your daughters to be the center of attention.
The Golden Rule: What ever you do, make sure your kids like it too!
Oh and I haven't forgotten about the boys! Just head on over to my blog for the 3 little boys outfit as well.
Thank you so much for having me Helen, I had such fun preparing this post, I only wish I had done it before my kids had their pictures taken!
Thank you so much Celina! Be sure to visit Petit à Petit and family for 3 picture perfect boy outfits.
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A Wordless Picture Book: Inspired by Tea
I was quite delighted when the folks at Tea Collection asked me to create a craft inspired by the dresses in their new Spring 2013 South African Style catalog.
I was so taken by the vibrant colors and beautiful flowers in the dresses, and I loved the descriptions of the clothes that included 'blazes of color' and 'twirl factor.'
As I thought about the clothes, I could imagine Nola and Kira twirling in the dresses. I created a little story book for my girls. I really want to wrap the dresses up and top the packages with my book as the gift card.
It is a wordless picture book with endless story ideas. Our version goes a little like this:
Nola and Kira put on their new spring dresses and thought that something was missing.
The girls looked around to see how they could make their
dresses more colorful.
Nola took her paint brush and dipped it in the dazzling yellow sun.
Kira found pretty wildflowers and used the purples, blues, yellows and greens to make her dress feel more like spring.
The girls were so happy in their beautiful dresses that they
danced and twirled all day long.
The End!
Nola's dress was inspired by the Woodstock Twirl dress.
Kira's dress was inspired by the Strandveld Wrap-Neck dress.
Visit the Tea Collection blog to see the latest in spring fashion, South African culture, and children's global incentives.
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Feed the Birds: One Blue Jay and Two Peanuts
Easiest way to feed the birds? Sprinkle some peanuts on a picnic table and watch the Blue Jays have a feast!
Can you believe this little bird figured out how carry two peanuts!?
Continue reading "Feed the Birds: One Blue Jay and Two Peanuts" »
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Gift Wrap Perfect for Ripping Open
Image: Spencer Combs Photography
Would you rip these pretty packages open?
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Flower Fairy Wand and Other Enchanted Accessories
Over on Spoonful this week, I made a flower fairy wand, super sparkly fairy wings, and a gallery of 20 fairy crafts. Are all 6 year old girls as loony for fairies as Nola and Kira? I hope so!
Oh, and I used this tutorial to learn how to make an animated gif! My sweet kira twirling with her new wand...
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