sock-pea-bags

i've had a bunch of boys' socks in need of toe-repair in my "repair basket" for a couple of months(!!!) and had been contemplating, if i should repair them or just up/down cycle them as cleaning rags, when the other day i got the idea of making quick and easy play pea-bags out of them...didn't have beans at home ;)

Ji had fun filling them.....and chasing all the run-away peas :)

we had fun throwing them into a basket and cardboard-box-lion's-mouth (easy!). and even dad joined us on this one!

1.sew the bottom seam with sewing machine

2. fill with peas ;)                         

3.pin the top part(to hold the peas in place)

4. sew the top seam

5. cut off excess fabric

(6. ...now use the scraps as cleaning rags :)

snack-sac

cotton is better than plastic :)!

antipasta salad :))!

it's asparagus season here now and i loooove asparagus! this is a wonderful recipe i learned from a highschool friend - it's easy, refreshing and very yummy!

serves 4:
- cooked pasta  500g
- steamed asparagus  500g
- cherry tomato 300-400g
- eidam or cheddar cubes 200g
- sliced ham (the real kind!)  150g
- homemade italian dressing - here (i use fresh basil and don't add peppers)


p.s. it's a cold (room temp.) salad - mix the "warm" ingredients together after cooled to room temp...the cheese is not supposed to melt!

dobrou chuť!!!

shoe box pull toy

Ji loves pulling and pushing things around our house all of the time, and i always save shoe boxes, so we decided to make a pull toy. we made our Mates :). a bus would be cute too!                                       

Ji puts all kinds of things in it: wooden blocks, stuffed animals, even his cars :) 

tip: we glued 4 feet on to the bottom - 3 squares of thicker cardboard glued together, so he would be a little elevated and wouldn't drag his stomach on the ground, plus a piece of felt on each to make it less :) noisy!

we also made a bowl of water and some paper dog food and 

Mates even came to see if it was real - it was so funny!:)) 

tiny glass cars :)

aren't these glass cars cute ? ! ! ! they were made as a custom

order for me by a czech glass artist David Johanes - his shop.

...two weeks ago when we were on a mini vacation with my mom and the boys at the Karlova Studanka spa(which was by the way super!) we came across a shop that sold the cutest tiny glass animals made by a local artist. we bought a couple of them - Ji picked out some fish, a snail for St a ladybug for me and some others as presents for upcoming friends' birthdays. and right then i knew that if the animals were so cute, that tiny cars would be also! so i contacted the artist and he was so willing and upon my request made these - they're a cross bug-citroen :) 

simple paper daffodils

tools:

- color paper

- glue stick

- scissors - straight and zig-zag

- cylinder of some sort - pencils

   or markers work well

- wooden skewers (optional)

directions:

- cut out yellow flower leaves - the easiest is to cut out circles and then cut triangle wedges :)

- cut strips of orange paper (one edge zig-zaged) long enough to wrap around your marker, having the short edges overlap a little. apply a "stripe" of glue to one short edge, wrap paper around the marker (zig-zag end to the center of the tube) and press overlapping edges firmly to let the glue set. then move your paper roll so that the end sticks out and start folding the end inward as i started on the photo to create the bottom of the "cup" - start with the overlapping glued edges). before you fold the last part, apply glue to it and then press to a flat surface to set glue and have it as flat as possible. then apply glue to the bottom of the "cup" and glue to the flower :)...when you glue it on, it should slip off of the marker.

- then make stems and leaves of your choice! - cut strips of green paper and tape daffodils to your windows and walls, or glue onto skewers and put them in a vase or for areas with low chance of rain (this is especially for my sis ;)!) "plant" them into your lawn :)....careful if you have sprinklers ;)

for green skewer stems:

- cut a strip of green paper, apply glue to the top end and start rolling it onto the skewer - use an angel similar to the one on the photo. tip - i use my bottom hand to hold the paper in place and the top hand to roll it.

- before you get to the end, apply glue to the end and roll the end on.

- cut up little yellow squares, and with the skewer in the center of it¨, glue it on to the flower.

confetti balloon play

what you need: 

- balloon - at least somewhat see-through

- paper
- hole-punch or scissors

- funnel or tube of some sort

- string

- make some confetti - using a hole-punch or just cut up some tiny strips of paper

- insert a funnel or tube into the mouth of your balloon

(i used a thread bobbin tube) and pour your confetti into the balloon

- blow up balloon and tie a string on and tape/tie to your ceiling/ceiling beam

- play time!

both Ji and St had fun with it....well, i did too! Ji and i ping-ponged it to each other which amused St, then St played with it which amused us :) - i put him within hand's reach of the balloon (...he had the most fun, when he was in his bouncer) and he waved his little hands and feet trying to hit it. and when he succeeded he started screeching with joy - it was so cute :)

when the primroses bloom...

this is a drawing Ji drew for my mom’s birthday a couple of day ago - on her last visit in the winter, she promised him that she would come to visit again "in the spring, when the primroses bloom"……he remembers the wild primroses, because he and grandma picked them together last spring on the meadow behind our house. so every time we talked about her upcoming visit, since “spring” doesn’t have much of a meaning to him, he would say that she is coming when the primroses bloom. yesterday she arrived :)

snowdrop        wild primrose       snowflake

mail/garbage carrier

all you need:

recommendation for cutting the box - i find it the best to take apart the glued top/bottom and lay the box flat and cut in one line, instead of having to cut all around and ending up a bit off the start point, and then re-glue the  closure again.

when we finished making the mail-carrier and i attached it to Ji's vehicle(JD tractor, that is way to small for him now, but he still loves it!), he announced that he will be a garbage man instead and that he wants to collect garbage....luckily after we made some pretend mail with our stamps i persuaded him back to the mail man gig!!! garbage...maybe next time ;)

fun postage stamps!

fun to play with or use as "additional" postage ;) on your real mail!

all you need is:
- brown paper tape (found at office supply stores)
- stamps and stamp pads
...you can find a great tutorial for making your own stamps here!
- zigzag scissors