Last minute Christmas decorations

Here are a few last Christmas decorations we made at our home. We made a garland with cookie cutter critters made from glittery saltdough.

For the saltdough you need:

1 cup fine table salt
2 cups cornstarch
1 cup water
1 teaspoon oil

Mix all the ingredients and knead well. You can add some glitter if you like. Then roll out and cut cookies out of it. Let them dry for a day or two (or dry in the oven at 50 degrees for 1-2 hours).


Another project involved Origami cranes. We used this tutorial to make them:

Origami crane tutorial

We put five cranes on a string and hung them from a lampshade.

The last project is very popular with the kids. It's Christmas trees made from popsicle sticks. Cut the sticks into several sizes and glue them onto one stick that serves as the foot. Then let the kids decorate the trees with paint, glitter, pom poms etc.

DIY IKEA hack: Upcycle kids' chairs with felt stickers

 All you need for this little DIY project is a kid's chair and a large felt sticker. Mine were actually too large for the back rest so that I was a bit disappointed at first. But then I just came up with the idea to cut them and use them on the front and back of the chair. Voila you can see the result on the pictures. The chairs look so cute now and in addition the felt makes them more comfy.

DIY: Toilet paper tube crowns

Here comes another little DIY project for the kids. Collect a couple of toilet tubes and then paint them or stick nice paper on them. Then take a pair of cissors and cut about 1/3 away. Then do some more cutting to bring it into a crown shape. Punch a hole into each side and thread elastic string through them. That's all you have to do for your little crown hat. You could also decorate them with glitter glue and false gemstones, or stickers, or washi tape etc. 

Back from Down Under

Hello there, we just came back from a trip to Australia. And like always it was great but also a bit stressful at times. But even if you get stressed you take home so many nice moments and ideas that it's still worth it. I wouldn't want to miss any of the trips we have done with the lot.

This time we went to feed kangaroos and pat koala bears. But the highlight was the whale watching trip on a relatively small boat (smaller than the whales that is). Our daughter was fearless and always the first to spot them. We have taken home this amazing memory and many more smaller.
We did a lot of family time but we also had date nights out when the kids were sleeping and enjoyed spending time together far from work and internet.

DIY: Make your own koinobori fish

Have you ever seen the colourful Japanese carp called KOINOBORI? They are like little kites floating in the wind:

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koinobori

We have made our own little carps from coloured paper and toilet tubes. Just add twinkling eyes and a string and hang it from a pole.

DIY: Bandana dresses

Last month I made these little bandana dresses. I was strolling over the market and came back with a heap of these colourful and cheap bandana scarves. We played dress-up with some but there were still some left over. So came the idea of making little dresses for my little girl (who is no longer that little to be correct). I copied one of her simple sun dresses for the pattern and used bias tape for the neckline, the arm holes and the straps. You can find a similar pattern here.
I made one simple black one with smocking and a green and yellow patchwork dress (which needed a tiny bit of smocking in the middle, too because it was too wide). Those dresses are made in no time and can be worn over a tee or if the weather allows just like that.

DIY: Fabric doll / Rag doll

This is Linda the new best friend of my daughter. I made Linda from a linen fabric that was still lying around from another project. You don't need much fabric to make such a little rag doll. The hair is probably the worst part. I tried to sew it onto the head with my sewing machine before I put the doll together. But then you have all the hair inside the body while you are closing the seams and it makes the sewing a bit difficult. So maybe it's better to stitch the hair onto the doll by hand. Or you can use a nice fabric that looks like hair...

Here is a free pattern if you want to make your own:

Source: http://www.pinterest.com

Egg carton owl craft

This is a little craft project for a rainy day (or a boring morning). All you need is an empty egg carton some paint and maybe a feather or two.

Here is a very good instruction on how to make your own:

Source: http://repurposedplayground.blogspot.hk

We had a lot of fun making our little owl and it turned out really cool I think!

DIY Teatime

We just made this cute little teaset craft. The inspiration came from a picture I had seen on Pinterest. Bonpoint - the French fashion label - had one for sale. Here is what it looks like:

Source: http://pinterest.com/

First I thought we could do this from paper mache but then I came up with the idea to use party cups and plates. I found small cups for nuts that I used for the cups and to match the plates I just cut circles out of bigger ones. Then we sticked small origami paper circles inside the cups and in the middle of the plates. We also made little spoons from cardboard paper. We just lay spoons on the paper and draw along the outline and then cut them. It was a nice little craft and my daughter is playing a lot with the tea set now.

DIY: Washing machine

We have been busy with crafting lately. Here is another summer fun project. A washing machine made of a cardboard box. First I taped the open side of the box. Then I painted it white with wall paint. Next I used a plate to draw the door and then cut it open with a carpet knife. I also cut a rectangular hole for the washing powder loader which is made of a rectangular tin. I also added a program wheel made of a jar lid. I just punched a hole in the middle and used a brad to fix it to the box. Then came decorations with stickers, tape and colour pens. My daughter was watching every step and took hold of the new toy as soon as I put the last sticker on it. Since then we had quite a few wash days in our living room...