How To Archives - Page 4 of 7

Mother’s Day Gifts: Flower Photo Frames

It’s easy to take our Mums for granted; overlooking their selflessness and unconditional love for us. Although we should always be thankful and appreciative, this weekend we get to honour them for their patience and tireless work.

Flowers seem to be the ‘in thing’ to give and make for Mothers Day. This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise because who doesn’t love receiving a big bunch of flowers!

We took to the craft room this week to create a special gift for Mothers Day. Using flowers as the base of the gift, we decided to expand a little further and get super crafty to give Mum something she’ll really be able to treasure.

>>> How To Make Flower Picture Frames

Using an old cardboard box, we made a picture frame and combined 3 different artworks to decorate. A gift for mum this mother’s day.

Ages: 4+ (with adult supervision)
Time: lots (a solid afternoon activity)

Stage 1: the Bubble Flower

You’ll Need:

Water
Paint
Dishwashing liquid
Straws
White card stock

To Make:

Combine 2 parts water, to 1 part dishwashing liquid in a small bowl or container.
Add a drop of paint and mix well.
Using the straw, blow bubbles into the mixture and then place the cardstock on top. Repeat with all desired colours.

Stage 2: the Net Stamped Flower

You’ll Need:

Paint
Cotton balls
White card stock
Onion/fruit bag netting (or similar)

To Make:

Place a handful of cotton balls into a small square of netting and fasten.
Press the bags into a thin layer of paint and use as a stamp to create a pattern across your page.

Stage 3: the Paper towel Flower

You’ll Need:

Thick, absorbent paper towel
Water
Paint
Droppers

To Make:

Combine a small amount of water and a few drops of paint in a small bowl or container and mix well.
Use the droppers to disperse the colours over the paper towel watching as they mix, creating new colours. Tip: Avoiding picking up the towel while wet to prevent the paper tearing.

Stage 4: the Frame

You’ll Need:

Thick cardboard/card-stock
Scissors,
Clear dry glue
Optional; Gems

To Make:

Using thick cardboard or cardstock cut out two squares to the desired frame size.
Cut a smaller square out of the centre one of your pieces, creating a frame.
Once your artworks are dry, draw and cut out different size and shape flowers.
Using clear dry glue, paste your flowers around the frame.
Once dry, paste your favourite picture of you & your mum between the two pieces of cardboard.

*An adult should perform step’s 1 & 2.

Supervision and safe scissors are required for step 3. Remember to cut in a direction away from your body and always be seated whilst cutting.

We took to the craft room this week to create a special gift for #MothersDay #Nannylife

Click To Tweet

Whilst painting, we discussed why we love our mum and why we’re thankful for her. This activity was too advanced for my youngest charge, she joined in by decorating a large piece of butches paper to use as wrapping paper. So cute!

Happy Mothers Day to all the wonderful Mums, (and nannies) – you’re all doing an awesome job! Happy Crafting!

>>> Are you making Mother’s Day gifts with the kids for mum?

________

Olivia is a career nanny of 5 years and craft extraordinaire. Having travelled Australia working with many families, Olivia now resides in Sydney and cares for 7 children aged 15 months to 1o years old. Craft + diy activities feature prominently in their daily schedule. You can follow Olivia on instagram {@oliviasfoster} for crafty ideas and activities.

Recipe: Anzac Biscuits

With Anzac day fast approaching, we’ve taken some time with our nanny children to introduce more in-depth conversations. As I typed the words “we will remember them” earlier this week whilst putting together the Anzac Day Paper Poppy Wreath DIY, tears ran down my face.

The weight and significance of those words have real meaning to me. Because of this, I’m able to understand and acknowledge that these feelings can weigh down hard on our children. And if we’re not able to explain the events, the reasoning, and the emotions properly, our kids are at risk of feeling all kinds of emotion they don’t really know how to handle.

Conversations about events such as Anzac Day can be tough for most of us to have, but it’s a special reminder to broach these topics mindfully with our children. As superstar nanny Olivia demonstrated, she used first the Anzac Day paper craft and then the process of making Anzac Biscuits as activities to do with the kids to provide opportunity to discuss Anzac Day without it being too heavy for our children.

And then well, because we can’t go past a classic, we thought we’d share these yummy classic Anzac Biscuits with you. If the kids are pulling up stools to help (we highly recommend they do), just be careful when mixing the wet ingredients. The bi-card can fizzle and sizzle and splatter if little helping hands are mixing too fervently.

>>> Click Here To Download Your Anzac Biscuit Recipe Printable <<<

To Make: Anzac Biscuits

Makes 25

You’ll Need:

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup plain flour, sifted
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
½ cup coconut
125g butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup
1 tablespoon water
½ teaspoon bicarbonate soda

To Make:

1. Preheat oven to 180°, fan forced.

2. Combine oats, sifted flour, sugar and coconut in a bowl.

3. Combine butter, golden syrup and water in a small saucepan, stir constantly over medium heat until butter is melted.

4. Stir in soda.

5. Stir mixture into dry ingredients.

6. Place rounded tablespoons of mixture 5cm apart onto baking paper covered oven trays.

7. Bake in oven for 20 mins, cool on trays.

*Recipe from “The Australian Women’s Weekly Basic Cookbook”

A classic #AnzacBiscuit recipe out of the hands of the Womens Weekly. You can’t beat it! #AnzacDay

Click To Tweet

>>> Are you making Anzac biscuits with the kids this year?
See you on Saturday morning for the dawn service!

________

How To Make An Anzac Poppy Wreath

(Anzac Day Easy Kids Craft) On April 25^th, we remember all the brave men and women who sacrificed their lives to fight for our country. Talking about ANZAC Day with young children who won’t fully understand can be difficult. We focused more of our discussions on the sacrifices and heroism of the ANZACs so that we could live freely, rather than the focal point of the many who died or suffered.

We spoke about poppies and what they represent and decided to make a wreath to hang on the front door. We used all recyclable materials found around the house.

>>> How To Make A Paper Anzac Poppy Wreath

Ages: 3+ with assistance for cutting
Time: prep – 30 minutes, assembling – 15 minutes

You’ll Need:

Egg carton
Tissue paper
Red paint
Black buttons
Clear dry glue
Sheet of cardboard
Scissors

To Make:

1. Cut the egg carton into individual sections.

2. Paint the inside and outside of each section and allow to dry.

3. Draw and cut out a large ring from the sheet of cardboard and paint red.

4. To make the poppies look a bit ‘softer’ we lined & glued the cartons with tissue paper cut into small squares.

5. Place a black button with a drop of glue on the inside of each section of carton and leave to dry.

6. Glue each poppy around the cardboard ring, creating a wreath.

Talking about #ANZACDAY can be difficult with children. Focus on the teachable moments #nannylife

Click To Tweet

Notes:

This is a great activity to let the kids get some cutting practice and hand-eye coordination. Kids love cutting things and it helps children to develop their fine motor skills. In steps 1, 3, and 4, make sure the children use safe scissors and that you’re constantly supervising. Remember to cut in a direction away from your body and always be seated whilst cutting.

We will remember them.

>>> Do you talk about sensitive issues with young children?
See you on Sunday at the dawn service. #lestweforget

________

Earth Day Craft Projects

This week we started a new tradition; we’re annually celebrating Earth Day in the park! We enjoyed a picnic morning tea, followed by some messy fun craft as well as bird, insect, and animal spotting with our toilet-roll binoculars.

We talked about why we celebrate Earth Day while sketching in our nature journals. We spoke about the basics of recycling, compost, water and electricity wastage as well as keeping our earth clean by disposing our rubbish correctly. Today I’m sharing 2 of the crafts we enjoyed doing for Earth Day!

>>> Mud Painting In The Park

Ages: 3 years & under
Time: prep – a long time, assembling – as long as you like

This activity was a hit with my two little-ones. It’s not every day we head to the park with a backpack of paint and paper! It took a lot of prep and organisation but it was well worth it!

You’ll Need:

Card Stock
Paint
Paper plates
Dirt & water
Sticks, leaves, feathers, rocks etc
Wipes
Paper towel
Plastic bag (for rubbish)

To Make:

1. Collect sticks and leaves to mix and paint with.

2. On a paper plate, mix paint, dirt and water until smooth.

3. Paint away! Use your hands, sticks, leaves &/or feathers etc

4. Hold paper down with rocks in the sun & allow to dry.

Tips:

> Have water, wipes and paper towel ready as this did get super messy once hands were involved!

> Have a plastic bag close by to dispose of dirty wipes and paper plates.

> Kill drying time by having a morning tea/lunch picnic or sketch what you can see through homemade binoculars.

> Keep one clean paper plate to stack any damp pictures on for the walk home.

Encourage your kids to conserve and protect our environment #EarthDay #earthdaycrafts #kidsactivities

Click To Tweet

>>> Printing With Nature

Ages: 4 years & over
Time: prep – 20-45 mins, assembling – 15 mins

I encouraged my school age nanny-kids to join in on the Earth Day craft projects and celebrations with this fun printing activity using leaves & plants from the front & backyard. We went on a hunt, collecting different shaped, sized and textured leaves we thought would work well to print with.

You’ll Need:

Paper (White)
Poster paint (Black)
Sponge rollers
Leaves/flowers/sticks/feathers etc

To Make:

1. Using the sponge roller, roll paint over the leaves, applying pressure onto the paper. For best results, use both sides of the leaves.

To follow on from this, we plan on creating a Nature Book – laminating the leaves we used to print with to the back of each page.

For more fun crafts, check out these 3D Wall Art Letters and this DIY Baby Sensory Board.

It’s not every day we head to the park with a backpack of paint and paper! #EarthDay #nannylife

Click To Tweet

Lead by example and encourage your kids to conserve and protect our environment, because after all, they are the future. Happy Crafting!

>>> Have you experimented using nature as craft materials?

________

3D Wall Art Letters (School Holiday Craft)

School holidays have arrived, and for most of us, brought rainy wet days. But even though we’ve been cooped up inside, we’ve been enjoying slow-paced mornings and action packed days.

Without having to negotiate school runs and afterschool activities, I searched for a school holiday plan that minimised the TV time, because there are only so many movies you can watch before going stir-crazy.

So whilst still feeling the effects of our chocolate comas after the Easter long weekend, I invited our school age nanny kids to get creative!

The kids decorated these 3D wall art letters to place on the windowsills in their bedrooms. This craft requires 10 mins prep, which in return bought me 40 mins of disruption free (no guarantee) washing, ironing & folding time (#nannylife), and I’m keen to share it with you!

To Make: 3D Wall Art Letters (School Holiday Craft)

Time: prep – 10 minutes, assembling – 40 minutes
Ages: School age

You’ll Need:

3D letters (paper-mache or wooden) – found in all good crafting stores; eg Spotlight/Lincraft
PVA Glue
Paint
Cotton Tips
The possibilities are endless with how creative you get with your letters – raid your craft box for rhinestones, stickers, tissue-paper, confetti, crepe paper and sequins, or experiment with fabric off cuts, foil, beads, wool, magazines etc.