Tag: crafts

6 Creative Ways to Use Pom-Poms in Crafts and Home Decor

Pom-poms, those fluffy balls of fun, are not just for cheerleaders! They are a versatile crafting material that can add colour, texture, and a touch of whimsy to various projects around the home. Whether you buy them ready-made or create them yourself with yarn, pom-poms are a fantastic way to brighten up your crafts and decor. Here are six creative ways to incorporate pom-poms into your next project.

Introduction

Pom-poms, those fluffy balls of fun, are not just for cheerleaders! They are a versatile crafting material that can add colour, texture, and a touch of whimsy to various projects around the home. Whether you buy them ready-made or create them yourself with yarn, pom-poms are a fantastic way to brighten up your crafts and decor. Here are six creative ways to incorporate pom-poms into your next project.

1. Pom-Pom Garlands

Create a vibrant garland by stringing together colorful pom-poms. This can be draped around doorways, windows, or used as a festive decoration for parties. It’s a simple project that even kids can help with, making it a fun family activity.

2. Pom-Pom Rugs

A pom-pom rug is a cosy addition to any room, providing soft, plush texture underfoot. Use a non-slip rug mat as a base, and attach pom-poms close together until the surface is completely covered. Mix colours for a vibrant effect or use one color for a more unified look.

3. Decorative Throw Pillows

Sew or glue pom-poms around the edges of throw pillows to add a playful border that pops against more traditional fabrics. This can invigorate an older pillow and is an easy way to match your decor to seasonal themes or current colour trends.

4. Bookmark Accents

For the book lovers, pom-poms can make delightful bookmarks. Attach a single pom-pom to a strip of cardstock or a thin ribbon to help keep your place in style. This is a great craft for gift-giving or as a small project to introduce children to crafting.

5. Gift Wrapping Embellishments

Elevate your gift wrapping by attaching a cluster of small pom-poms to the top of a gift for a chic and unique look. This works particularly well for special occasions like birthdays, weddings, or Christmas, adding a personal touch to your presents.

6. Pom-Pom Jewelry

Create unique jewelry pieces like necklaces or earrings with pom-poms. They make lightweight and eye-catching accessories that can range from playful to elegant, depending on the colors and sizes you choose.

Conclusion

Pom-poms are a fantastic, low-cost way to add a burst of fun and creativity to your craft projects and home decor. Whether you’re decorating for a party, sprucing up your home, or making unique gifts, pom-poms provide a versatile and attractive option that’s sure to brighten up any item.

101 fun ideas for half term

If you’re running out of inspiration then have a look at our 101 ideas!

Inside
1. Read stories
2. Make a den under a table
3. Give dolls a bath
4. Wash the dolls clothes
5. Have a teddy tea party
6. Have a tickle fight
7. Play dressing up
8. Dance to the radio
9. Have a film screening
10. Transform a cardboard box
Outside
1. Run races
2. Have a sack race
3. Skip
4. Draw on the drive/patio with chalk
5. Have a water fight, even if it’s raining
6. Play football
7. Go for a scoot or bike ride
8. Eat a picnic
9. Make a daisy chain
10. Jump in puddles
Days out
1. Go on a train to a different town
2. Take a bus to a different park
3. Go to the zoo
4. Take a long walk in the country
5. Visit a ruined castle
6. Go to a museum
7. Visit a farm park
8. Go to soft play
9. Have fun at the seaside
10. Go to a planetarium
 In the kitchen
1. Make bread
2. Bake and decorate a cake
3. Build a gingerbread structure
4. Master meringues (egg white + sugar = magic)
5. Make your own butter in a jam jar by shaking whole milk
6. Make jam
7. Ice biscuits
8. Create fruity cocktails
9. Freeze (and eat) your own ice lollies
10. Invent a herb or spice mix or a marinade
Constructing and modelling
1. Make a skyscraper from toothpicks or cocktail sticks and marshmallows
2. Create a Lego or Duplo town
3. Get the railway track out and take over the floor
4. Junk model
5. Create and paint figurines or jewellery from Plaster of Paris
6. Make a marble run
7. Build an outside den
8. Make and sail paper boats
9. Have a competition to build to the tallest tower from a newspaper and roll of sellotape
10. Challenge yourselves with a 3D jigsaw
 Messy play
1. Cook rainbow spaghetti
2. Make playdough
3. Play with gloop (cornflour and water)
4. Mix mud pies
5. Blow bubbles
6. Play with jelly
7. Fill a box with shredded paper
8. Make potions, from anything!
9. Play with diggers in a tray of compost
10. Make glittery cloud dough
 Painting and drawing
1. Fill eggshells with paint and throw them
2. Paints with forks, spoons and other kitchen utensils
3. Cut fruit and vegetables to make prints
4. Roll cars through paint on paper
5. Be inventive with hand and foot prints
6. Make your own natural paint from spices
7. Make self-portraits
8. Make a cartoon in a flip notebook
9. Play Pictionary
10. Draw blindfolded

Science
1. Put an egg into vinegar and watch the eggshell dissolve
2. Now see what happens when you put an egg into Coca-Cola
3. Experiment with chromatography
4. Grow cress-heads
5. Inflate a balloon by mixing bicarbonate of soda and vinegar in a bottle
6. Go on a nature hunt and identify the plants and bugs you see
7. ‘Rescue’ playmobile figures from a block of ice
8. Grow salt crystals
9. Make a rainbow on a sunny day
10. Experiment with shadows
 Crafts
1. Sew a dress for a doll or a quilt for a teddy
2. Weave a table mat on a home made loom
3. Make candles
4. Create a bowl from papier maché
5. Make pom-poms
6. Mix up some bath bombs 
7. Learn to knit
8. Make a drop spindle
9. Decorate sock puppets
10. Make a necklace or bracelet by threading beads on ribbon
 Around town
1. Have a grown up ‘coffee’ in a café
2. Visit the library
3. Draw a sketch map of the town
4. Go on a treasure hunt
5. Learn about architecture
6. Research your area’s history
7. Learn to read an OS map
8. Take a different route every day
9. Search the town archives or the internet for old photographs and drawings of the town and talk about how it has changed
10. Take photographs and make a guidebook showing all your favourite places

Friendship Day

It’s National Friendship Day on Sunday, taking time to show our friends how important they are to us is a good lesson to teach our little ones, recognising and appreciating good friendships is critical in this current world and knowing who you can love, and trust is a great skill to learn from an early age.

It’s National Friendship Day on Sunday, taking time to show our friends how important they are to us is a good lesson to teach our little ones, recognising and appreciating good friendships is critical in this current world and knowing who you can love, and trust is a great skill to learn from an early age.

National Friendship Day offers a special opportunity to go beyond the normal, everyday appreciation of friends.

So, what can we do to show our appreciation and what can out little ones do for their friends?

Spend Time with a Friend

Beyond cards or gifts, truly the best way to show a person how much their friendship means is by spending quality time with them. Offer to take them for a cup of coffee, have a chat over an ice cream cone, or even just go for a walk in the park. Practice being a good listener and be an encouragement for whatever is going on in your friend’s life.

Create and Send a Card to a Friend

You don’t have to spend a lot on a card, handmade, personal cards will show how much you care even more and so will the words you put inside. Your little ones will love making cards for their friends too!

Get creative with drawing, stamping, painting, or cutting out pictures to make a collage. It might even be fun to get super crafty and make handmade paper to write the note on. Grab an envelope, put it in the mail, and let that friend know how much they are appreciated on National Friendship Day!

Friendship Bracelets.

How about making a friendship bracelet with your older children? For over 50 years friendship bracelets have been given as a sign of love and affection between friends. These handmade tokens can be large or small, intricate, or simple, but what is most important is that they are made with love! A quick search of the internet will soon show you how to make them!

Bake Friendship Bread

Your little ones will love doing this and what a super gift to give to those special people in their lives!

A tradition started by Amish people; friendship bread is made from a sourdough starter that is often given by a friend. Each time a loaf is made, a small portion of the starter is kept aside for the next loaf, which is perfect for National Friendship Day.

Because it contains yeast, the friendship bread starter is placed in a warm area where it is stirred daily and can “grow.” Keeping the starter alive means adding a few ingredients on certain days, like flour, sugar, and milk. It usually takes about ten days for the starter to be ready to make another loaf.

Once a person has the starter (or has patiently made one from scratch), this is a delicious bread that is easy to make, including ingredients like flour, eggs, baking soda and cinnamon. Because it uses a lot of sugar to make the yeast grow, Amish Friendship bread has a delightfully sweet flavour to it, suitable for toasting or simply eating slathered with butter.

Valentine’s Day Activity Ideas for Young Children

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and it’s the perfect time for young children to unleash their creativity.

Choose from our top 5 valentine’s activities for young children and have a great day with arts and crafts making gifts for friends, family and nanny!

Continue reading “Valentine’s Day Activity Ideas for Young Children”

Valentine’s Day Crafts for Kids

The day of love is right around the corner and Valentine’s Day is the perfect excuse to bring out those craft supplies and start making gifts for all.

Try these fun Valentine’s Day inspired crafts for kids of all ages:

Continue reading “Valentine’s Day Crafts for Kids”

Quick Mother’s Day Crafts

Need an idea for Mother’s Day idea in a hurry?

We’ve got you covered! Here are our 5 top picks:

 

Lollipop stick flowers

 

Butterfly Cupcakes

 

Handprint, footprint flowers

 

Button decorated flowerpot

 

Handprint, footprint ‘love’

 

 

REMEMBER: Families come in all shapes and sizes, and this includes families with two fathers or who sadly don’t have a mother or father because they have passed away or are no longer in contact. Mother’s Day can be a very sensitive time and if you are working with a child who, for whatever reason, doesn’t have a mother then help them to find a ‘motherly figure’ so they can join in.

9 nifty Easter activities

Welcome to our #9nifty series. We’re starting with 9 Easter activities for kids of all ages…

 

1. Eggs inside eggs

This was tricky for the 2 year old!

How to : Put little foil wrapped chocolate eggs into a ballon and blow it up, cover with the outside of the balloon with glue then wrap string/wool/embroidery thread around it (leaving enough space to take the balloon pieces out but not so much that the eggs can escape) and glue again. Hang them up to dry and when they’re ready pop the balloon and take the pieces out carefully ! Experiment with blowing the balloon up to different sizes or different types of string.

Focus on : Fine motor skills

 

2. Chocolate easter nests

How to : Melt chocolate, mix with shredded wheat, shape into nests and allow to cool!

Focus on : Numeracy/science – pouring and measuring, melting and solidifying

 

Simple yet effective...

3. Silhouette bunnies

How to : trace around the bunny, or make a stencil to paint over and make a fluffy cotton tail to stick on!

Focus on : Understanding the world/The World and Traditions in other countries. Talk about the Easter bunny who bring the eggs. Some other countries have the same tradition although in Sweden, Austria and Germany it’s a hare and in France it’s the bells who bring the chocolate ! What’s the tradition in their family ?

 

4. Easter egg scavenger hunt

How to : Hide your Easter eggs around the house or the garden and write clues. Read the clues together and find where the eggs have been hidden !

Focus on : Problem solving and memory skills

Upcycled junk mail makes a pretty egg!

5. Collage Easter egg cards

How to : Fold A4 paper/card into half and then half again. With a craft knife cut out a shape of an egg from one qurter, this will be the front of your card. Make a collage onto thenow exposed quarter (you might want to mark it while it’s folded) and wait for it to dry. Refold and admire the colourful egg !

Focus on : Colour recognition and decision making.

6. Hand and footprint bunny

How to : Make handprints and footprints in pink paint and cut them out, leaving a reasonable margin. Take 2 paper plates and cover them in cotton wool. Join them together to create the head and body of the bunny. Stick on some googly eyes, black pipe cleaner or strips of felt for whiskers , a pink heart for a nose, the hand prints for ears and the foot prints for feet.

Focus on : Talking about textures. This is a sensory rich activity with sloppy, sticky paint and fluffy cotton wool.

7. Easter bonnet

How to : Buy a cheap wide brimmed hat, or improvise ! Decorate the hat by painting it or covering it with fabric, cut egg cartons open and paint them to make flowers, attach ribbons and feathers, let your imagination run wild !

Focus on : Understanding the World/ People and communities.Talk about the tradition of Easter bonnets. In the past people put flowers on a hat to celebrate spring and wore new clothes at Easter. In America there were big Easter bonnet parades. In the past, people used to wear hats to church.

Peek-a-chick

8. Peekaboo chicks

How to : Cut a small egg shape out of card and then cut it in half horizontally (or if you’ve made collage cards just use your pre-cut egg shapes). Attach the two halves one side of a clothes peg, one at the top and one at the bottom. Draw a small chick and cut it out. Attach it to the other side of the clothes peg behind the egg top so when you pinch the peg together to the open it you’ll see the chick!

Focus on : Object permanence for babies and Knowledge of the World (eggs hatching)

9. Bunny whiskers mask

How to : Take some pipe cleaners and attach them to a lollipop stick (or two or three taped together for stability). Add a pompom for a nose and create some adorable bunny whiskers

Focus on : Role play – make bunny faces and hop like bunnies !