papier-mache hot air balloon decoration

we used this pinata tutorial, only ours is a decorative and healthier version.....no candy ;)

 

p.s. this tutorial uses the flour-water "glue" - great for smaller kids!

 

a craft for both of the boys :)..... i love it when they work together!

a play-hole in our coffee table

you can't see them on the photos, but there are A LOT of holes/dents in our wooden coffee table!...we bought it 4 yrs ago, and it's basically it's the boys' play table, so a lot of damage has been done(...luckily it was really cheap)!
so i decided to contribute with a hole also, but this one is not from play but FOR play! and it's not going to be just for marbles!

i used a forstner drill bit so i could cover it up with a faux wood knot

 

...St just loves to just drop the marbles into the hole

(we put a bowl underneath the hole to catch the marbles)

 

 

p.s. i plan on making some interchangable wood knots

for other activities...and maybe some more holes ;)

 

twine fish

 just twine and glue :

 

i dipped my fingers in glue and applied it to the twine until it was soaked with glue,

then layed it flat onto non-stick baking paper and formed it into a fish shape :)

 

tips:

- if yor twine is really thin, braid it first.

- if you use alot of twine, it will be heavy and the shape

could deform after being hung for a while.....but you

could glue it onto paper and have it as a picture instead :)

- it's fun to play with the shadows!

 

...picking up some trout at the local fish market :)

zlaté návrší - golden hilltops

from home, drove half an hour to the bus stop, 15 mins up with the bus.....

 

 

and here we are!...it was such a beautiful autumn afternoon!

bike :)

Ji test-riding St's new bike....inside :)

simple bias tape holder

i love the new pretty "stripes" of color on my sewing-corner of my desk :)...instead of being in a stacking container on a shelf!


need:
- piece of wood
(mine was a piece of scrap wood i had lying around :)
- wooden dowels
- drill + bit(dowel size)
- empty paper spools
or
- make little paper rolls

tips:
- i cut the paper spools using a saw
- when you run out of spools like i did :), you can make little paper rolls - cut strips of paper and twirl around a dowel (or something that has a little larger circumference than your dowel holders), applying glue to the outside "beginning" end(before twirling) and the inside "end" end

 

....and if you don't have one yet, make a holder for your spools of thread too :)!

fun at the fair :)

Jičín město pohádek

 

crabapples

bottoms-up-cup!

turn your cup upside down and draw on the bottom!

 

 

i used:

- dishware-safe and dishwasher-safe PEBEO markers (these require "baking" )

- and these really(!!!) cheap IKEA cups

important!: you need to make sure that your cup/dishware has a raised rim, otherwise when in use, you will end up scraping off the drawing. the ikea cups have a raised ring, but warning! - they also have their labeling on it, but it didn't bother me and i worked around it :)

 

 

it's fun to drink out of and completely food/liquid safe, since the paint is on the outside.

 

tips:

- if you are using these markers for the first time, it's good to try it out on what i call a "doodle jar" (which is now my paint water jar)

- this is not much of a craft for small children (like my Ji) - it requires some patience, especially if you are also drawing on the circumference of the cup

- if you mess up, don't worry!...if it's still wet, wipe it off, if dry scrape it off - i use my glass-stove-top-scraper.

 

p.s. this is a general decorating tip/trick - i used dots here because i love dots, but they can also be helpful when it's hard to draw a straight line/outines. i came up with this trick when i was decorating christmas cookies....i was having a hard time to draw straight lines with the unruly frosting. so i came up with "dotting" - it made nice, unmessy outlines and looked cute too!