Jelly Fish

At a recent trip to the beach we came across some gorgeous Jelly Fish which proved to be very inspiring for a craft activity. This activity took a little bit of preparation, but I am sure you could make modifications so it wasn't as time consuming. The craft itself is simple.


We used:
Empty Yoghurt Containers ~ Large ones which I pre drilled holes in
Glue Sticks
Tissue Paper ~ Cut into squares
Curling Ribbon
Cellophane ~ Cut into long strips
Sticker Dots

The gorgeous Jelly Fish that inspired our craft.

I started by drilling four holes into a plastic yoghurt container. These holes were to thread the cellophane through to have lots of hanging tentacles.

I also drilled a hole in the top of the container and tied some curling ribbon through so that there was a handle to carry or hang the Jelly Fish with.

We then used tissue paper to cover the yoghurt container, threaded the cellophane through the holes and embellished with some sticker dots.

Jelly Fish hanging up and decorating our kitchen!

Fabulous Fish

Another weekend spent at the beach so another beach inspired craft. These fish are super easy, require minimal preparation and are very toddler friendly.

We used:
Paper Plates ~ smallish ones which were great as they didn't take long and the kids didn't loose interest
Patty Pans ~ I cut these into halves or the larger ones into quarters
Glue Sticks
Sticker Dots ~ We added these for eyes but you could add googly eyes or just draw the eye on
Stapler
Scissors

I cut approx a quarter out of the plates to make a mouth opening and used the left over piece to form the tail.

Attach the left over quarter to the opposite side of the mouth using staples.

We then used glue sticks to paste the cut up patty pans all over our fish, they made brilliant scales as they didn't sit completely flat.

One of our very cute fish.

The variations of fish created, many scales verses minimalist.

Our completed school of fish up at Playgroup.

Easy Peasy Christmas Cards

It is soooo hot here today and I was looking for something easy to entertain the Toddler Timers instead of going outside. I am a bit of a Pinterist addict and while have a 'quick' browse I came across this super cute post to make Christmas Cards by Learn With Play at home . Com. So we had a go at making some ourselves.

We started with some pre made blank cards, green card, glue and sequins.

I cut the green paper into triangle Christmas Tree shapes and we stuck them to the cards. 

We then added 'Decorations' to our trees by pasting on assorted shape and sized sequins.

This was great for Fine Motor development as the sequins are quite small and rather slippery.

Some of our finished cards.

We had lots of fun making these and using up as much of a glue stick in one go as we could. I love how simple this activity is and yet how effective the cards look. Am looking forward to giving these ones to some very special recipients.

Colour Sorting using Car Pictures

Master E is car mad and loves pasting so we decided to combine the two and do pasting with car pictures and threw in some colour sorting just for fun.
We started with six different coloured pieces of paper, a glue stick and a pile of car pictures I had cut out of magazines (got to love the op shop!)

Ready to get started.

Getting the hang of matching the colour of the cars to the colour of the paper. 

Being very industrious!

The finished pages, since we didn't come across any green cars in our pile we made the pages into a book with a green cover. Master E has been very keen to read his car book regularly!

Master E and I had a great time working on the car sorting together. He got the hang of matching the colours very quickly and needed less of my help than I thought.

We will be trying this one again soon, however with motor bikes next time!

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!

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!