CRAFTS AND DIY
Walnut Boat Races -- an easy craft with hours of play
We love cracking walnuts in our home, but those beautiful walnut shells seem wasted in the rubbish bin. So on a lazy Saturday morning, I did a quick google and came up with an easy and instant craft project -- Walnut Boats. These are very simple to make and use a lot of leftovers -- ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
Tissue Paper Flowers
The flowers in California are absolutely stunning. Never before have I lived somewhere that has such an amazing variety of plants and flowers - all of which feel very exotic to a city dweller like myself. Every time we take a walk, we come across new blooms and it's all I can do to keep the ...
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BOOKS
Secret Garden, an intricate colouring book
My mom bought this Secret Garden colouring book for my kids last year and it was recently rediscovered when we went through our crafts cupboard last week during the move. My kids (especially Quin) have enjoyed colouring in the intricate colouring pages, and the end result is so pretty I've started hanging up all of their ...
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BOOKS
Craft A Day
I guess we are all really into crafting these days here at Babyccino Kids, as here is another recommendation for a craft book. I reckon the truly terrible weather we have been having is keeping us cooped up inside and crafting is the only way we are keeping our children (and ourselves) sane. I do think ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
Craft ideas found on Pinterest
Looking for some summer craft inspiration? I always browse our Ideas and Crafts boards on Pinterest when I need some good ideas. There are so many great ideas out there, and so many of them are so simple and do-able. Here are some of our recent Pinterest finds: 1. I love this idea of decorating ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
Big fish eats little fish
This is another art project inspired by an image I saw on Pinterest! I knew the minute I saw it that my kids would love this one. Plus, it's so easy! All you need are some clothespins, some card stock or thicker paper, some crayons or paint to decorate your fish, and scissors and glue. ...
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BOOKS
Do-it-yourself nativity scene
How cool is this DIY cardboard nativity set? What a fun craft project to do with the kids... and a really sweet way to explain the story of Christmas and the nativity. The kit comes with 20 punch-out figures on thick cardboard sheets, plus all the golden haloes, crowns and pre-cut stars. You and your ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
Paper Necklaces
After two months of beautiful, sunny weather here in London, it started to pour down rain yesterday and it's still pretty wet today. Boo hoo! Thankfully I found this sweet, and seemingly simple, craft project on the Sisters Guild blog. What a great idea and with such a pretty result. Even I would wear that ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
Make your own Snow Globe
My little daughter Coco did this very simple project at school and I thought it was sweet, especially as she was so proud of it (why do kids love snow globes so much?). If you are anything like me, you have stockpiled loads of empty jars, as they might come in useful some day. Up ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
Paper Snowflakes
The weather is miserable here in Paris. It snowed all weekend, and it never settled down, so we didn't even have the advantage of being able to make snowmen or partake in a snowball fight. Time for craft projects! One of the things we made this weekend are these simple paper snowflakes. They are so ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
Bunny Finger Puppets
Aren't these bunny finger puppets just darling? Cute for your kids' Easter basket, or just for a bit of creative springtime play. And easy to make too... even for sewing novices like myself (no sewing machine required). Molly at The Purl Bee gives a step-by-step tutorial on how to make these little felt bunnies, including ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
Valentine's Cards
I sat down to talk to my 3-year-old son about Valentine's Day this weekend. I'm big on grabbing any opportunity for a celebration, and a day that celebrates love -- I'm in! So I explained that Valentine's Day is the day when you tell the people that you love that they are special to you ...
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LONDON
Benjamin Pollocks
I grew up in a little farming village about 100 miles north of London and only made very rare trips to the 'big smoke' as a child. I remember one very special trip when my Godmother (literally one of the coolest people on the planet) brought me down for a WHOLE weekend in London for ...
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BIRTHDAY PARTIES
Rustic fairy wands
These were a last minute improvisation the day before our fairy tea-party. Two days before the party I suddenly realised the Fairy Queen did not have a wand - OH NO! I had a quick look online but no one could guarantee delivery because we've had 2cm of snow here in South London (to be ...
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BIRTHDAY PARTIES
The Toadstool Tea
I can't believe my daughter has just turned one -- time has flown. Now I know a one-year-old might not appreciate a proper birthday party, but I can't resist one. And in the spirit of being 'girly' there was nothing for it but a fairy tea-party, to be more specific The Toadstool Tea (for those ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
Egg carton caterpillars
Googly eyes are certainly one of our favorite craft supplies; we use them for everything! Seriously, if you stick a pair of googly eyes on anything it will look like a little creature of some sort. And pipe cleaner is another fun thing we use a lot -- it's easy to bend and form, and ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
Make jellyfish!
Now, it might be a bit of a stretch, but if you squint your eyes slightly those creatures pictured on the right look like slippery little jellyfish. Or at least my boys are quite content to think they are! We made them yesterday and it was a really easy and fun project. And of course ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
Reuse your rubbish
Last week, when I posted about the fish art project, we received a comment from Molly who suggested reusing your garbage to create fun art for kids, all in an attempt to limit your impact on the earth. I thought this was such a great idea so I tried it out with my boys today. ...
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BOOKS
Seedling
This is quite possibly the best children’s product (at least in the ‘creative’ gift department) that I have ever seen! Dissatisfied with the array of uninspiring, mass produced toys on the market (which, many parents will attest, often fail to offer more than temporary interest) the very clever team at Seedling wanted to create a ...
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BABY
Handmade heroes
With everyone getting back to the simple things in life, the craft movement is hugely popular again. I’m even thinking of making a patchwork curtain for Little C’s room – and I can’t even sew! Perhaps I should leave such tasks to the talents of Melbourne’s Madeleine Sargent, who makes a whole host of beautiful ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
Crocodile clothespin
I have a little boy who, for some reason or other, has a thing for crocodiles (or 'diles' as he calls them). So we chose to make crocodiles the theme of his 2nd birthday party. Crocodile-themed partyware isn't exactly easy to come by, however, so we decided to create our own. We made these crocodile ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
Easy decorating idea
One of the great things about being back at work is being in contact with creative and inspiring people again. I’m always bowled over by the depth of talent in Australia. Carli Jeffrey is one such woman I have recently been in correspondence with. She wrote into the magazine where I work to share one ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
Hand puppets
This past weekend was cold and wet, which is probably the worst weather combo ever! It made for a weekend spent mostly inside, which meant my husband and I were forced to be creative to keep our boys entertained. Making hand puppets turned out to be a brilliant idea, because we spent about an hour ...
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