#Silent Sunday

Easter Crafts – Cute Bunny Ears

Happy Easter Everyone

Here’s how to make yourselves or your children some rather cute bunny ears.

You’ll need
1 Alice Band
9 Pink Pipe Cleaners
4 Purple Pipe Cleaners
1 Sheet Pink Felt
1 Sheet White Felt
Piece of Self Adhesive foam

Ok… First…

Then…

And Finally… Pop them on your head and look super cute.

Enjoy. X

Kids Craft – Easter Egg Pendants

With it being Easter I’ve got even more Easter inspiration to share with you all, with the addition of these cute little glittered egg pendants each on its own beaded necklace.

You will need…

Packet of mini polystrene eggs
Various shades of glitter
Section of necklace threads
Selection of beads (big and chunky for little hands)
Mod Podge Gloss
Tiger wire
Self adhesive gems
Tacky glue

Tools…
Wire clippers or scissors
Glue brush (4 mod podge)
Plastic bags or jars
Tooth pick

Step 1 Take your mini polystrene eggs (however many you wish to make) and one by one cover in a coat of tacky glue.

Step 2 Place your different coloured glitters into different sandwich bags, jars or other clean clear containers. Place each egg in a bag (one egg to one bag) tie and then Vicariously shake to completely cover the eggs in the glitter.

Step 3 Use a tooth pic to remove the eggs from their bags and leave them to dry for at least a few hours before covering each in a layer of mod podge gloss.

Step 4 After a further 30 minutes or so drying time, use a needle to pierce a hole at the top of your egg from one end to the other. Now thread the tiger wire through the egg and tread on a couple of beads, twist and make a hanging loop by twisting again.

Step 5 Now thread the egg through your necklace thread.

Step 6 Now, stick a self adhesive gem to the centre of your egg.

Step 7 Now thread some big metallic beads onto the thread and tie.

Step 8 Now wear and watch as others admire your bling!

The Possibilities are endless….

Easter Crafts – Mini Easter Treats

With a few moulds, melted chocolate and lashings of hundreds and thousands… You can create your very own yummy Easter Treats.

You will need
Chocolate (I got Tesco own brand)
Hundreds and thousands (large tub from Iceland)

Tools
Small Easter Egg Mounds (Sainsburys)
Microwave
Mixing bowl
Spoons

Optional…
Tin foil or sweet wrappers
Ribbons

First melt your chocolate in the microwave (30 seconds to 1 minute is usually long enough).

Now take your egg moulds and sprinkle with a thin layer of hundreds and thousands covering the surfaces of the mould.

Now pour the melted chocolate into the moulds over the top of the hundreds and thousands.

Now add a thicker coat of hundreds and thousands over the top of the chocolate.

Pop in the fridge for a couple of hours (to speed things up you can put these in the freezer for a bit).

Once set gently remove treats from the moulds and use tin foil and ribbons to wrap if desired.

Simple but yummy

Oh… These started off being lollypops only the sticks won’t lay flat in the moulds so my advice would be… Don’t even go there with the lolly sticks!

Kids Easter Crafts – Pom-Pom Eggs

Just a quick one to share a cute little Easter craft the children have been engaging in.

What you’ll need..

Various Size Pom-Poms
Egg Template (or make your own from card)
Card
Tacky Glue
Hole Punch
Thick & Thin Ribbon
Scissors
Pencil
Eraser/Rubber

The children loved this activity. Both Alice who is 10 and the toddler of 3 enjoyed the craft equally. Yes, it can get a little messy, especially when your a toddler, but nothing a little soapy water cannot fix.

Its simple, take a pencil and some card and draw around your egg template. Do this for how ever many egg decorations you want to make. Now cut this out and then rub away any visible pencil marks with an eraser (you may have to create the egg shapes for smaller children as I did for the toddler).

Next step is to use a hole punch to make a hole at the top of each egg.

Now take some really sloppy tacky white glue and begin to work section by section. Spread glue and then layer Pom-Poms on top side by side.

Push the Pom-Poms as close together as you can, filling any gaps with smaller Pom-Poms. Once completely covered, leave to dry.

Once the egg has dried, tread through your thick ribbon and tie into a knot ready for hanging.

You can turn the egg over on the reverse side and decorate in the same way so both sides are completely covered. Completely optional, it may depend on how patient the children are being and their overall level of engagement by this stage.

If your not doing both sides then now is the time to place your thin ribbon around the centre of your egg, finishing off with a pretty bow.

These can also be decorated with other materials such as sequins and gems, felt or paint… Let their imaginations run wild.

All thats left to do is to hang and proudly display… These look great hung from natural tree brunches that have been placed in a soiled pot. They even look great hanging at the window so passers by can admire. I have a bus stop outside my window so the children’s decorations have been admired by many (even the bus drivers lol).

Easter Crafts – 3D Quilled Egg Canvas

This is a real lovely little craft project that mainly involves quilling paper strips and if like me you don’t have yourselves a little quilling tool, then you will require a little patience.

Regardless of the fact I quilled my paper by hand, I later discovered while working on another project, that a pair of tweezers do the job rather well.

For this project you will require…

Quilling strips – 2 colours (I used gold and silver glitter)
Small canvas block
1 Half of a medium size plastic egg (I used one of those alien eggs)
Tacky glue
Black acrylic paint
Medium paint pad or paint brush
Mod podge gloss
Super Glue

Optional…
Quilling tool or tweezers to quill paper
Gem stones or beads

First quill some paper strips. If you have a quilling tool use this or as mentioned tweezers work well. To quill you basically roll the paper really tightly and press it into different shapes. You then secure your chosen shapes with a little glue. You can also roll the ends in the opposite direction for added effect. This is easily done by hand but does take a little longer. Remember when quilling your paper use two different colours quilling an equal number of both (I did about 12 of each colour).

Once your paper quills are ready take your half of plastic egg shell and working in small sections apply a good amount of tacky glue then position the paper quills on top. You can really experiment at this stage! Add the quills to the egg making various patterns or glue together really tightly for that classic quilled look. At this stage you can also add beads or gems to random quills if desired. I’ve done this on various other projects and it looks really good.

Once your design is complete add a very thin layer of mod podge over the top of the egg to give it a glossy finish.

While your egg is drying (20 minutes – 1 hour depending on environment) bring forward your canvas block and black acrylic paint. I find that using a paint pad makes it super quick to cover the block with paint, plus you won’t be left with any brush marks. You can still use a paint brush if you don’t have a pad. I gave my block two coats of paint letting each dry for at least 20 minutes between coats.

Once dry I gave my block one very thin layer of mod podge gloss which I applied with a clean pad.

Once my block was fully dried I brought forward my quilled egg and applied some super glue around the eggs edging before finally securing it to the centre of the canvas block.

And that’s it… Finished.

I think the glittery quills are very pretty and the colour choice really sets it apart from the usual “Easter Colours” of pastel yellows and pinks. The addition of the black canvas block applied as a back drop really works well and together they make the most striking combination.

If you enjoyed this paper quilling project, subscribe to the blog and receive regular updates and posting alerts as I have more paper quilling projects on the way including a really pretty mirror I can’t wait to share.

Cool stuff I discovered over at Gembobs crafts (awesome leaf bowl) check it out.

Gembobs Inspiration

DIY AUTUMN LEAF BOWLS

 

From the blog-http://www.hellolucky.com

Below are instructions for your very own leaf bowl, perfect for holding your favourite scented pot-pourri.

 

 

Materials:

Craft store leaf garland, Mod Podge (matte finish), Foam Brush, Balloon, Scissors, Mixing bowl

*Tip: try to find thin, paper-like leaves for your garland. The thinner the leaves, the better they will mold to the shape of your balloon. Also, avoid any plastic-coated leaves.

How To:

1. Begin by snipping the leaves off the strand of garland. Leave about 1/8″ at the base.

2. Carefully rip the entire plastic stem (and all the veins!) off of the faux leaves (See image above). This will help the leaves mold to the shape of the balloon.

3. Fill up your balloon to size. We stuck ours inside a mixing bowl to keep it in place.

4. With your mod podge in a cup near by, gently apply a…

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Bath Time Fun With Finding Nemo (Review)

In celebration of the pending release of Disney Pixar’s Finding Nemo due to hit cinemas this Easter (29th March 2013), the toddler got busy testing some of the finding Nemo bath time range from the leading children’s toiletries specialist, H&A.

With a delightful selection of products on offer bath time can be even more fun, as My toddler proves. We were sent a lovely selection of items that included Nemo themed bath and shower gel, a fun water squirting Nemo and a couple of magical Nemo face clothes.

The little one loves both baths and Disney animations so the combination of the two was bound to result in a happy 3 year old. The bubble bath which Harley insists he dispenses himself, produced lots of bubbles with only a small squirt added to running water. Not only did he now have a huge tub of bubbles to happily sit and play in but a gorgeously scented one at that.

As for the Nemo bath toy, well as expected Harley had great fun transporting it around the tub at speed. As soon as we heard about the range coming our way, I thought it would be a good idea to dig out the original DVD from my daughters growing collection in order for little brother Harley to discover where Nemo came from and the story behind him. Having engaged in some serious viewing time you can just imagine the excitement when the postman delivered his little package of Nemo bath time goodies. Nemo has since accompanied Harley for every bath and he absolutely loves the range.

The face clothes are that of the magical kind. Once they are placed in water they expand into a full face flannel. For a 3 year old this is a very magical experience and I can see myself having to buy some more so he can experience the magic all over again. Once these face cloths have expanded they reveal a vibrant & fun design featuring two of the films much loved Characters including Nemo himself.

The range is perfect for little ones and with an element of fun behind it, the range actively encourages good hygiene for 2-6 year olds.

What’s more the range is really reasonably priced
with prices ranging from £2.00 to £4.00

Finding Nemo Magic Facecloth
shaped Nemo and Squirt designs and priced at only £2.00

Finding Nemo Bath and Shower Gel
hypoallergenic and suitable for all ages. Priced at only £2.00

Finding Nemo Squashy Bath Squirter
£4.00

Products are available in all good supermarkets.

Tutorial – Glow Stick Eggs For Magical Night Time Hunts

How about an Easter egg hunt with a difference this year? How about a hunt in the dark?

With some clear pearlescent plastic eggs and a tube of glue sticks, you can do just that.

Important: Please Note, because the glow sticks need to be broken down this needs to be preformed by an adult. The eggs should be probably sealed to stop any leakage before children are able to participate in the decorating or hunting of these eggs.

Here is what you’ll need…

Packet of Pearlescent Eggs
Tube of Small Thin Glow Sticks
Self Adhesive Foam Pieces
Self Adhesive Gems
Super Glue
Sticky Eyes
Black Permeant Marker
Feathers in Colours to Suit Eggs

Tools
Scissors
Protective gloves
Apron
Protective Eyewear

Step 1: You will need to open your plastic eggs (number dependent on how many your making) and seal the tiny holes at the top and bottom of the inner shell. I only had self adhesive sticky taps but these seemed to do the job well.

Step 2: I discovered how easily glow sticks are to break as I desperately tried to squash these down to size to allow them to fit within the shell of my eggs. Yes, it exploded and my entire bedroom and face were glowing a fluorescents pink. So instead I put on an Apron and some protective gloves. I also but on some protective eyewear… If you don’t have any then be sure to break these up behind some sort of barrier to protect eyes. I then very quickly cut the glow sticks into small pieces and placed in the plastic egg. The holes are sealed and therefore no leakage should occur.

Step 3: Use super glue around the the inner edge of the egg before closing it.

Step 4: Wipe off any excess glue and then leave to dry.

Step 5: leave for 30 minutes, then check your egg is probably sealed with no leakage or chance of it being prised open by little hands of any kind.

Step 6: Lastly, decorate as desired. For our pink eggs we added some sticky eyes and feathered pink hair. We also used a black marker pen for the detailing. For the green egg we simply used self adhesive gems. The green egg was much brighter than that of the pink. I’m gussing this is because it was my second attempt so I got more glow stick in the egg rather than my face.

The pictures are not all that brilliant, I do apologise. I didn’t have my camera, just my iPhone and these were somewhat hard to capture in the dark.

So there you have it… Glow stick eggs for a magical night time hunt. You don’t even need to decorate the eggs. Simply load them with glow sticks and then hide them. A really fun activity, however old you may be!

Disclaimer: I am not recommending the craft, I’m merely sharing it. It is up to yourselves to decided if this is a suitable activity for yourselves and your children to partake in.

#Win 2 Tickets To The Dambuster Taking Place At The Peak District

Are you an avid walker, or do you fancy trying your foot at it?

Maybe your looking for a way to raise money for a charity in need of funding… A sponsored hike could well be the way to do it.

Why not set yourselves a real change, let’s just say a 25 mile one?

Today I’m running a fantastic competition here on the blog. I’m offering one of our lucky readers the chance to win a Free registration package for 2 for the following event

Date: Sunday 28th April 2013

Location: Peak District, starting at Hope Sports Field

Time: 7.30 am

A little more about this exciting challenge. The Dambuster (25 mile* walk):

The Dambuster is a magnificent 25-mile* walk in the Peak District and forms the perfect backdrop for walkers looking for a challenge in one of the most beautiful areas of the country. Incorporating a varied terrain and breath-taking views over the valleys, Ladybower Reservoir, Edale and Win Hill, you will be walking over stunning Jacob’s Ladder before returning along Mam Tor and Lose Hill. What more could you ask for from a charity event?

*Please note, distances are currently approximate and are subject to change. Walkers will need to complete the walk within a maximum of 11 hours although we estimate the vast majority of people will complete the walk between 6.5 and 9 hours.

It is recommended that walkers in this event are aged 16 and over (all participants under 18 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian over 18 at all times).

The prize includes

Registration from 6.30am
Personal walker number
Downloadable guide book containing detailed route information
Emergency pack including a whistle and foil blanket
Great send off at the official start at 7.30 am
Well marshalled course
Regular checkpoints including water points, first aid and toilet provision
Warm welcome back to the finish where you will receive a finisher’s souvenir and well deserved congratulations

This is a fantastic opportunity and by winning this prize it would mean that you won’t need to worry about covering the registration fees before raising funds for your chosen charity.

So… How about it? A challenge of a lifetime set amongst an amazing backdrop of beauty.

To win just comment telling me why you want to win the prize? Are you planning to raise money for a specific charity or do you just love a good old hike.

For extra entries tweet…

“I want to win tickets to the Peak District’s The Dambuster walk with @Clairelouise82” adding the link to this post. Provide the link in a comment or your twitter handle.

Please leave an additional comment for both entries.

An email for contact reasons must be supplied.

Competition will close on the 10th April 2012 at 11.59pm

Please visit the event website for more information on this walk and others.

T&C apply: Open to those in the UK only, competition will close on the 10/04/2013 at 11.59pm, winner has 48hrs to confirm their prize or risk a redraw.