Adding your Children’s Books to the Bookshelf

We have been going through a make a book stage at our house. My toddler loves to staple, glue and stick anything and everything. He also loves to paint and print (like most toddlers). Our house however is getting to the stage where we have no more room to display artwork and we would like to have some areas free for toddler art.

I also don’t want to throw out this artwork as I’m sure one day I will want to look back and be reminded of what his hand looked like when he was two or how great a job he did when using a Gelli pad for the first time (New post on Gelli pad are coming soon). So I have started to compile his work into books. Almost like a scrap book (I don’t really like what this term refers to now) more like a visual diary collection.

As well add this we have been using some very cute concertina sketch books to make our own stories. We have used pencils, markers and watercolours so far. I get them out when I know he needs a rest but still is being active. I assist with the use of the tools and then add the words to represent the images. He uses the equipment in his art trolly to create masterpiece after masterpiece.

Since putting together a small collection of personal books we have spend many hours reading them and looking at the words and pictures.

Give it a go and you will be surprised with the love and joy shown when reading or showing off the special book.

Any activity that can help to install a love of reading and learning is a winner in my book!

 

 

Making an Outdoors Play Space

My toddler has decide he just wants to stay home and play. When asked if he wants to go swimming, go to the shops, even playgroup he replies with ‘no mummy, play outside’. This is fine by me as we all love our backyard and working in the veggie patch or garden is a supper fun hobby of mine.

So over the weekend we decided to have yet another working bee and add some features to the toddlers cubby house he got for christmas to make him a proper outdoor play area.

We had been given some fake turf in a rang of colours as well as having some free left over from another project so decided this would be the basis for our design.

After a trip to the hardware shop and a sausage in bread for the meat eaters we headed home in some wood and screws in tow.

We didn’t really know how this project would turn out but I did have an idea in my head for what i envisaged. Many hours spent playing dinosaurs with leaves, twigs and building caves with rocks and old opts. The image seemed so fun. So we started the build. Lucky the toddler headed off for his nap leaving the adults to work away at an alarming rate to get the area ready for the spurs reveal after the afternoon snooze.

The end result was pretty similar to what I had planned. But as aways as we worked away more and more ideas come to our minds on what the areas needs, so we will be spending a few more weekends out on the tools turning the back corner into a toddlers paradise.

Weaving on a Loom

I recently purchased a loom from the other side of the country. I wanted a loom that was made of wood, looked cute and had some fun accessories to accompany it. It is lucky that we have so many great online shopping sites that allow us to purchase items from anywhere we like.

This item came handmade from Russia. There was something that drew me in when I read the ‘handmade in Russia’ label and saw the whimsical photos that accompanied. Photo’s of a youngish girl wearing a long dress, sitting in a field of wildflowers weaving with pastel wool. She had such lovely long wavy hair. You couldn’t see her face but just new she was a natural beauty. Straight away i pictured myself sitting in this field, enjoying the sunshine, smelling the flowers and weaving until my heart was content. What a craft girls fairytale.

The packaged arrived on a sunny afternoon. wrapped in old fashion brown paper that was ripped open in an instant to reveal my wooden loom in three pieces. My heart sank. What had happened during the shipping process. All of a sudden my image of sunshine, wild flowers and pastels faded to broken wood splinters.

I just stood and looked at the loom. I really didn’t know what to do. Where to start. Lucky for me the hand guy I live with (My husband) took the many pieces of the loom to the man cave and returned with it an hour later all fixed with a bit of love (liquid nails and tiny screws).

The fairy tales returned. I headed outdoors for a tad of plein air weaving.

My weaving aim thus far is to use only wool that has been discarded, thrown away or purchased at a thrift shop. Some projects have been on hold during the course of wool finding. Others are waiting with their matching wool groups for the perfect fit. It is a slow process but there is something challenging and exciting about finding the right fit and using something that has been discarded. Also the wool I buy is only about $3.00 and not $20 plus. A Bargain. Working with natural fibres is also very enchanting, the feel and the process excites me.

The next step is to hand dye some natural wool I bought at a country market.

Here are a few of my weaving projects so far, as well as the one waiting on the loom for my next wooly find.