Bottle top hyacinths

I'm really loving all the little signs of spring which are appearing around The Heathers at the moment. When every new season comes around, I'm always convinced it's my favourite. I think it's important to embrace everything, rather than complain about how cold or hot it is or that you've got to de-ice the car or you can't so much as step out of the back door without lathering on your sun-cream. I love winter as much as I love Summer for completely different reasons. What I love about Spring is the way everything seems to be waking up, its beauty and its colours.

We've been a little slow in starting our Easter/Spring crafts this year. No sooner do you seem to be doing Christmassy things, than you're whipping out the plastic Easter eggs and the pastel bunting. It all happens rather too quickly for my liking. Where does the time go? Our first Spring-themed crafting attempt was this cute little hyacinth craft using bottle-tops.

We started by cutting out some paper stems and leaves and then mixed some pastel-coloured paint to make our hyacinths. Tommy then dipped a bottle-top into the paint and pressed it on the paper in a vertical arrangement, creating the shape of the flower. I was really impressed with the overall effect of using a bottle-top. It was really effective!

 

 Even Isla had fun making some bottle-top prints!

 

 

Our Summer Bucket List - bubble painting

I have absolutely NO idea why we haven't done bubble painting at home before. It's been an activity I've had 'pinned' for years but just completely forgotten about until Tommy came home from nursery the other day. He isn't usually very forthcoming when it comes to sharing what he has been doing at nursery. So on the occasions when he does start to tell me about his day, I know he'll have done something really exciting. Tommy was so excited to tell me all about his bubble painting activity and went into giving me a detailed set of instructions as to how it is done. As it was something I've wanted to do for ages and something Tommy really enjoyed, we decided to add it to our Summer bucket list.

We had a lovely warm, sunny day the other day so we took the opportunity to do this. Ideally, bubble painting does need to be done outside or, at the very least, in an area of your house that isn't carpeted. It isn't hugely messy but there is the temptation to go really crazy with the bubbles (as Tommy did!) and it absolutely has to be done!

I set up a table with paints, paper and the ingredients needed to make the bubble mixture. I used plastic cups to make each colour, as it saved on having to clear up later. I love messy activities, but I like to keep any preparation and cleaning-up to an absolute minimum.

To make the bubble mixture, I poured poster paint into a cup to a depth of about 1cm. Using enough paint is key to the process and impact of the finished piece of artwork. If you don't use enough paint, the colour will be too diluted and end up not making a print on the paper. I added some washing up liquid to the cup and topped it up with water and then mixed the ingredients together with a spoon. I tried a test print at this point to make sure the mixture was frothy enough to bubble up and I had used enough paint to make a bright print.

To make your artwork, you simply put a straw in your cup and continue to blow through it until the bubbles reach over the top of the cup. You then place your paper gently over the bubbles to make your print and then repeat with lots of different colours.

We did this activity twice in one day and did it again a few days later using the same bubble paints. Bubble painting is so quick and easy to do, sooooooo much fun and the resulting piece of artwork is really beautiful too. We were really delighted with ours.

Shark and turtle paper plate crafts

We are really trying to make headway with our Summer bucket list we wrote earlier this week. You can find it here, if you haven't seen it already. One of our most special days out was a trip t the local aquarium. We've never really had a local aquarium as such - the nearest used to be over an hour's drive away, which is pretty poor considering we live just five miles away from the coast. This summer however, we were delighted to discover a new aquarium was opening in Skegness, not far form where we live. As it wasn't a particularly great day weather-wise yesterday, coupled with the fact Skegness isn't especially busy yet, we decided to visit for the afternoon. I'll be writing a post about our trip there soon, so look out for it, particularly if you live nearby.

Anyway, our trip to the aquarium renewed Tommy's interest in sea creatures. He's always loved learning about them and when he was about two he loved nothing more than watching David Attenborough documentaries. He's DEFINITELY my child! Today was a particularly grim day, so we couldn't do much in the way of outdoor play so we decided to do some crafting instead. Using the ocean as our theme, I asked Tommy what creatures he'd like to try and create and eventually, after much deliberating, we decided on sharks, turtles, jellyfish and octopuses.

I was quite confident that we could make one of each in one afternoon but that was never going to happen, so we just got round to making the shark and turtle. To make the shark, we used paper plates, paint, card, glue and cellotape.

We started by painting the top half of the paper plate grey and then cut fins out and painted those before leaving them to dry. We then cut a semi-circle out of red card and glued it onto the white half of the paper plate. Google eyes were then added and we used white card to make the teeth.

To make the turtles, I cut squares of corrugated cardboard, tissue paper, foam, crepe paper and card and then we glued these on to the paper plate We cut out a head and fins and cellotaped them onto the back before adding google eyes and some glitter on the fins and head. 

Both crafts were super easy to make, requiring us only to use a few materials and super cute!!! 

Foil Painting

As a child, I loved nothing more than to sit down with a colouring book and some pencils or a pad of paper and just draw/colour away for hours on end. Whilst Tommy definitely looks like me, he certainly isn't like me in terms of the things he enjoys doing the most. He is just an outdoorsy kind of boy; he loves nothing more than running around the garden, playing football, chasing Daddy or the dog and just generally being active. Although he enjoys anything and everything, painting and drawing are probably his least favourite activities. Some people say it's a gender thing, others an age thing but I tend to see it as a personal thing - he's just not really as interested in doing it as he is other things. I am fine with this to an extent, but whilst I want to obviously try and do activities with him I know he will enjoy and not try and force him into doing them, it is important for him to draw and paint regularly to help with his fine motor skills and creative development. Therefore I do build regular opportunities for doing artwork into his time at home.

Whilst Tommy can read a huge number of high frequency words, 'read' numbers up to 100 and knows all of his sounds, he is more reluctant to write and it always feels like I'm pushing him to do it rather than encouraging him. We're trying lots of fun ways of getting him to write at the moment, most of which have been successful, so I really think that I multi-sensory/more practical approach is going to be the route to go down. With this in mind, I've been looking for lots of different ways we can incorporate mark/making and emerging writing into our play. 

We found the idea of foil-painting on Pinterest and thought it would be a good one to try with Tommy. To set it up, we placed long lengths of tin foil in a tuff tray and stuck them down using cellotape. I then drew lots of different patterns on individual coloured cards so that Tommy could practise drawing a range of different shapes. This provided him with a starting point and gave him a little inspiration as to the kinds of patterns he might create. Tommy is getting really good at copying shapes and patterns without having to trace. We used ordinary poster paint for this activity. I was a little worried about how quickly it would dry but it actually surprised me how little time it took. 

I pretty much expected this activity to last for just a few minutes - I always prepare myself for this when we paint or draw, knowing how little Tommy enjoys it. However, we managed to continue this activity for ages. It even warranted me to remove our piece of artwork and replace it with another blank foil canvas and there was a request to do it another day! 

We really enjoyed this activity and it would be lovely to do with a younger child too - the tin foil makes a lovely noise when it's painted on and it's a lovely surface to swirl the paint around on. Here is one of our masterpieces:

2D Spring Flower Suncatcher

I recently shared with you our 3D Spring Flower suncatcher we made together. We had some flowers left over from doing this, so I decided we'd make a few 2D versions. To make them, you'll need some sticky-back plastic, some coloured card or foam and some Spring flowers/leaves/petals.

I started by cutting out some 2D shape outlines out of foam. You could use card for this but I felt foam was a bit thicker and less flimsy. I then cut out sections of sticky-backed plastic big enough to fit the outlines onto and then stuck them on.

Tommy then set about arranging his flowers and leaves on top, pressing them down firmly to ensure they stuck to the plastic. I then sealed the pieces of artwork by adding a layer of sticky-backed plastic on the top and cut off any excess.

Again, I'm really pleased with how these have turned out. They've really brightened up our window and I'm hoping because they're sealed they'll last a little longer than our 3D version. I'd kind of like them to be up on the window for a while!

3D Spring Flower Suncatchers

I have soooooo much love for the Spring season. Everything just seems to be bursting into life and so bright and colourful at the moment. It really is one of my favourite times of the year. We've been taking some time out from what we normally do over the last few weeks, after a difficult time we've had recently and we've been trying to take our mind off things by going out and enjoying the nicer weather. So I've been quite quiet and not posted much on here in the way of craft/play activities because we haven't really done much at all since Easter.

I've always seen it as really important for children to see beauty in what is around them and to appreciate nature. It's something I always try to instill in Tommy and I will aim to do the same with Isla. Life is usually ridiculously busy, with little time to stop and look at what is around where you live or work. Children are constantly surrounded by toys and technology and it's nice to get away from this now and again, to experience some quiet time, to appreciate the environment and reflect on how lucky we are to live where we live. I definitely want our children to value and appreciate everything, particularly the things in life that are 'free' rather than commodities. I want them to get as much (or perhaps more) out of a walk on the beach or in the woods as they would do if we were to take them to Alton Towers. If we 'sell' these things as exciting, they will see them as such.

With this in mind, I wanted to create something that was a reflection of everything that was going on in the environment around us, something that would draw attention to the changes that had been happening as we had entered the season of Spring. We decided on a walk to collect 'evidence' of Spring - buds, blooms, different colours, blossom, leaves, greenery, anything really that suggested growth or new life. We found a large bucket and took it on a local walk around the village, through the park and the woods to collect our materials. There were no rules as to what went in the bucket, as long as it wasn't picked or pulled off a plant/tree. It's been extremely windy here over the last few weeks, so it just wasn't necessary to resort to picking flowers. We did take a few petals or flowers off the plants in our own garden though.

I didn't imagine this walk would be quite the hit it turned out to be. I encouraged Tommy to find as many different colours as he possibly could because our aim was to create a beautiful, colourful piece of art, and it was a challenge he couldn't resist. I also encouraged him to try and find a range of different kinds of materials, from spiky ones to smooth ones, from large-flowered ones to small-flowered ones, from fern-like leaves to broad ones and this really motivated him. We talked about the different plant names as we came across them and I was surprised to learn how much Tommy knew already.

Once we had collected a variety of leaves, flowers, blossom and petals, we returned home and then looked for ideas as to what to do with them. On Pinterest, I stumbled upon the idea of producing a 3D suncatcher. It was the perfect idea for making a piece of art out of our natural materials so we set about making it immediately.

To make it, you need a small cardboard box, some sticky-backed plastic, a collection of natural materials and some paint (optional). The box needs to be quite strong if you intend to paint it like we did.

First of all, we cut an aperture out of each side of our suncatcher, leaving a centimetre border around the edges. We cut the top off the box and then painted it white to make it look a little more attractive. The next step was to stick the sticky-backed plastic, with the sticky side facing outwards, onto the inside of the box's sides. Then Tommy carefully placed his leaves and flowers onto the sticky-backed plastic. Some of the leaves/flowers stuck better than others. The best tip I can offer is that the smaller they are, the better they will stick to the plastic. Try to create interest by sticking a variety of plants onto each side. To finish the suncatcher off, you could then cover each side with a further piece of sticky-backed plastic, to sandwich in your flowers/plants and stop them from dropping off. We didn't bother with this step, as I felt it looked just right as it was.

I'm so pleased with how this project turned out. The suncatcher is just so beautiful - it captures the sunlight so wonderfully and looks as though every single tiny piece was carefully and perfectly-placed, even though in reality it was just whacked on! I love how very different it looks from each side.

 

 I know it won't last very long unfortunately, as the flowers will die quickly; I don't know if you could get around this by drying and pressing the flowers beforehand. But I shall enjoy having it on our windowsill in the meantime!

 

Blossom Tree Printing

We haven't been doing an awful lot craft-wise lately, as the weather's been so nice and we've been taking the opportunity to have some lovely days out instead. I've had all kinds of ideas for Spring-related projects but we're only just getting round to doing some of them. We made these beautiful blossom trees the other day and I was thrilled with how they turned out so I thought I'd share them with you all.

To make them, we cut a large piece of scrap wallpaper and then I painted a tree outline that filled the paper. We then pressed a 2 litre bottle into some pink and blue paint and pressed it onto the paper lots of times to make it look like blossom. Tommy really enjoyed doing this activity and it's so easy it could be done by a really young toddler.

We'll continue sharing our Spring projects with you. I'd love to hear your ideas for Spring crafts too. It really is such a lovely time of year - I'm enjoying all the beautiful colours and general prettiness it brings.

Minion Eggs

So, I got ridiculously into Easter this year. So much so that I went completely overboard when it came to buying Eastery paraphernalia for the house, Easter gifts for the children's Easter baskets, Easter eggs/chocolate (even though I was adamant the children would NOT be getting eggs from us this year) and Easter egg hunt-related things. At the last count, I think I bought a total of 60 plastic eggs and, looking back on this now in hindsight, this was a completely ridiculous overestimation of the number I needed, particularly considering the fact we weren't intending on hosting an Easter egg hunt with lots of children and our youngest child wasn't old enough to 'hunt' eggs or eat/enjoy the treasures inside. So, let me repeat - 60, yes that's 60 plastic eggs for a one-person treasure hunt. Major miscalculation. Big. Fat. Oops. Oh well. At least they're both cheap, re-usable and useful for a variety of purposes. I do love these little plastic eggs - they're so bright and colourful and I'll be sure to use them regularly in our play and learning.

We had a particularly wet bank holiday weekend (aren't they all?!) so I searched Pinterest for a craft activity we could do that wouldn't involve a trip to the shops to buy craft supplies and I stumbled upon this.

These are so quick and easy to make and a must for any Minion/Despicable Me fan. All you need to make them is black tape, googly eyes, yellow and blue plastic eggs and a sharpie/thin permanent marker.

Start by pushing together half a yellow egg with half a blue egg (it works best if the blue part is the smaller part). Then cut a stripe of tape in half lengthways and carefully wind it halfway up on the yellow part of the egg. Stick googly eyes onto the tape (we used self-adhesive eyes to make it easer). Then add detail (mouths, dungarees, hair, eyebrows etc.) with the sharpie. You could find pictures of various Minions to draw inspiration from or just create your own as we did.

Playdough Easter eggs

So I've got a little behind in terms of blogging lately. Firstly, because I've been faaaaaaar too busy enjoying the Easter holidays with the children (and rightly so!) and secondly, because I've had some pretty terrible news over the last couple of weeks so I've either preoccupied or not in the right frame of mind to blog. Anyway, enough about that. I thought I'd share with you another of our Easter activities (yes, I know Easter's happened, it's all over, despite there still being a mountain of leftover Easter eggs yet to be eaten). It might just give you an idea of something you could do NEXT year though - I know we'll be doing this one again, that's for sure.

We made these playdough Easter eggs using playdough (obviously), sequins and beads, buttons, coloured matchsticks, lollipop sticks and pipe cleaners. You could use anything really that will stick into or make an indentation in the playdough - bits of pasta would even work.

Despite us only using a few items, Tommy managed to create some really interesting, creative and varied designs.