Pasting without the Paste!

My kids are super keen crafters and if I let them would happily craft the day away. I too love a craft, but sometimes can't be bothered with the mess. This is where pasting without paste comes into play.  Instead of paste, which tends to end up everywhere we will often use sticky tape. I collect lots of bits and pieces for pasting and cut up all sorts of things from old birthday cards, catalogues, wrapping paper, bits and pieces of cardboard and anything textured that I can find. Then I stick lots of pieces of tape around the edge of my kids play table and let them at it. They love using the tape and come up with some wonderful creations all while practising their fine motor skills!

The craft table all ready with tape around the edges and lots of bits and pieces for sticking.

Practising our fine motor skills by picking up and pushing down the tape.

The is easy enough for Miss M to do at age 20 months.

Master E's paste free pasting creation.

Miss M's artwork!

Coloured Pasta and Pipecleaner Necklaces

Yesterday Master E and I dyed some pasta. Today we were lucky enough to have a group of product testers and we set to making some necklaces. A great fine motor activity.

 We started with the dyed pasta and pipecleaners. The pipecleaners we had weren't long enough for necklaces so I twisted two together to make longer lengths.

The children chose their own coloured pipecleaner and started threading.

The rigatoni was a great size for little hands and the kids soon got the hang of it. 

Master T busy threading.

 Miss O happily showing off her finished necklace. To finish them off we just twisted the ends of the pipecleaners together.

 Master E very proud of his work.

 Master J sporting his handy work!

Once all the necklaces were finished Master E and Master S did some sorting and pattern making. I always love seeing what else the kids come up with other than what was intended!

So there you have it, simple and very effective pasta necklaces. One thing to note, Miss M was keen on sucking on her pasta which did cause the dye to run. This didn't matter as we dyed the pasta with food colouring and vinegar, but did leave an attractive stain around her mouth!

Do it yourself Coloured Pasta

Making coloured pasta is simple. Here is how Master E and I made up ours.

You will need
Pasta ~ We used Rigatoni as we are planning on using it for threading and it's nice and chunky
White Vinegar
Assorted Food Colouring

Zip Lock Bags

Paper Towel or Baking Paper

All our bits and pieces ready to go!

Pop the pasta (I used about a cup) into the zip lock bag with 2 tablespoons of vinegar and as much food colouring as you like.

Zip up the bag and shake, shake, shake! Leave in the bag for about half an hour.

Pop onto some paper towel to dry and absorb and extra liquid.  

And there you have it, coloured pasta ready for threading, crafting or whatever you like!!!! 

Reuse your Art

We have collected so many paintings, far more than we have room to display. So we have started to re-purpose some of them. Here is a cute way to reuse those extra paintings.

I cut up a whole lot of old paintings into heart shapes

Miss M and Master E pasted and pasted making beautiful collages of their works. 

Miss M's finished artwork.

Master E's finished artwork.

I framed both of these pieces and they were given to both Grandmother's as Mother's Day gifts. They looked amazing in simple black frames and made for a very cost effective one of a kind gift!

Cardboard Tube Sssssnakes!

So I am a bit of a collector. I had been hanging onto cardboard tubes from paper towel for awhile trying to think of something cool to make. When I came across this great post from NurtureStore on how to make a Junk Model Snake. Here is our interpretation!

What we started with: Poster Paints and Cardboard Tubes cut into smaller sections. (we used ones from paper towel, I don't like to use ones from toilet paper due to hygiene)

Master E had a great time painting all the tubes.

All of our tubes laid out to dry.

Once dried we chose a piece of tube to be the head. Of course Master E choose green. I then helped him to thread some ribbon through and flattened the tube and secured with staples.

It took awhile for Master E to get the idea of pushing the ribbon through the tubes, but when he did he was of and racing.

He then threaded until his heart was content!

Once he was finished threading I secured the end by threading the ribbon back around itself and tying it off.

Master E then used a permanent marker to draw on a face and I cut the ribbon to make a forked tongue. 

Salt Dough

Looking for a fun and easy cooking activity? Why not try salt dough. It is easy to make and the kids will love it. We made up a batch and turned them into decorations to add to presents. The looked fab, and the kids had a ball. This is how we did it.

Salt Dough Recipe:

• 1 cup salt
• 1 cup plain (all purpose) flour
• 3/4 cup water

Come on Mum we are ready to cook!

Add the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

Stir to combine.

Then add the water gradually.

 Knead the mixture until it becomes a dough-like consistency. It will feel very grainy because of the high salt content, but that's fine. If still too sticky add a touch more flour, if it won't hold together well then more water, a teaspoon at a time.

Before we got making Master E and Miss M had a play. They loved the springy texture of the raw dough.

The we rolled the dough out to approx 1cm thickness. 

And used star and heart cutters to cut out the shapes. We used straws to make holes to tie the ribbons though later. 

 Lay them on some greaseproof or baking paper and on a baking tray. We cooked them for about 3 hours at 100 degrees Celsius.

While the shapes were baking in the oven Master E and Miss M continued to play with the left over dough. This recipe made a lot more than we expected!

Cooking their dough on the stove.

We waited until the following day to paint our decorations. We used our favourte colours of the moment. Pink and Green!

Master E concentrating very hard on his painting.

Miss M showing off her handy work!

Our decorations drying on the baking tray.

This was lots of fun and went on for quite awhile. The kids loved cooking and then decorating their creations and the finished products looked fab tied to Mother's Day gifts.

Mother's Day Patty Pan Flower Craft

Yesterday was Mother's Day, so in the afternoon Master E and Miss M and I got busy making a lovely bouquet of patty pan flowers.

This is what we started with. Patty pans, mixed colours and sizes and some pipecleaners.

The patty pans were only coloured on the outside, so we turned them inside out and stacked them up according to size. Then simply pushed them onto the pipecleaner, turned the pipecleaner end over to make it double thickness so the patty pans would stay on.

Here are our finished flowers, in pride of place on the kitchen table. Master E and Miss M love looking at their handy work! 

These flowers are simple to make however, both Master E almost 3 and Miss M almost 2 needed help threading the patty pans onto the pipecleaners.

Simple Butterfly Fun!

Another wet day here, so here is a simple wet day craft.

Here is what we started with, a wooden peg, some pipe cleaners and tissue paper.

Master E decided on red wings, so I cut him a piece of tissue paper to use. He need help to twist it and pop inside the peg. We then added a pipe cleaner for antennae which we twisted through the peg.

Master E adding some colour to the body and some eyes and a mouth.

The finished butterfly off for a fly!

This is a really simple craft that takes no time. Master E did need quiet a bit of help, but enjoyed it all the same!