A Magic Wand anyone?

[BLUSH]…. where have I been!!! Sorry for blatantly ignoring my blog these last few weeks, truth is I’m feeling a little overwhelmed with what has to be done in the next 4.5 weeks before baby 2 arrives, and kind of feel like I need a magic wand (or a kick up the butt) to get through my to do list… Here’s what I found in the magic wand department, so might go with one of these…

This one from Dear Lizzy is made with pretty yarn, cookie cutters and glue…. kind of magic itself

 

Love this idea from Can’t Stop Making Things– comes with wishes attached even!

 

 

Here’s another tutorial from Natural Kids to make these pretty wands from felt and other bits and pieces

 

 

Who says you can’t cut your cake and eat it… when it comes to magic wands there’s just no limits

 

(Image from Sugarcraft.com)

Or follow this tutorial to make your own magic wand biscuit with sparkles and all.

 

or these from Princess Sharon events

 

So here goes….

Hope you all have a magical day today 🙂

 

Pretty bows… rainbows included

I came across this gorgeous tutorial, you know me and rainbows, or rather bright colours! I couldn’t resist trying out making the little bows with some scrap felt I have in my craft cupboard, and seriously – they’re sooo easy to make!  I’ve made two sitting next to my monkey while she has her supper!

So – if you pop over to My Sisters Suitcase you’ll get your hands on the free printable to make a very cool handmade gift like the picture, and then over to

Free Time Frolics for the tutorial and pattern (trust me it’s too easy)

I also saw this tutorial for a very pretty pinwheel hair clip over at The Mother Huddle. I haven’t tried it yet, but Heat n Bond is on my shopping list for the week…

Cute huh..

Colourful kitchen utensils

Sorry, not a long post today, but couldn’t resist sharing this quick and easy DIY project with you! How much would these brighten up your kitchen, and soo easy to do as well. You can see how they were done over at Little Bit Funky

The perfect gift for Dad!

I’m in love with this idea for the Dad in our family – he loves nothing more than his back tickled and I’m quite frankly not the worlds best back tickler… Our little pink monkey isn’t that into her cars and trucks at the moment (I’m giving her time cause I remember growing up one of my favourite toys was my brown suitcase full of cars and trucks that I played in the sand / mud with). I’m thinking she’s going to be seriously encouraged to start playing with some cars though, either that or pressure to produce a boy baby next time 🙂

You can find the full post on how this is made (together with a template to copy if you’re artistically challenged like me) over at The Blue Basket 

Cool pressie idea though, don’t you agree?

Seriously, this is my kind of tree!

So I know I posted just a few days ago on Christmas trees, but seriously, that was before I came across this tree!!! And you know how much this gal loves a rainbows… so

And if you’ve got some felt to use… how cute is tis rainbow Christmas tree?

 

And then here’s some ideas for some rainbow decorations!

I’m a little bit head over heels in love with these, not sure how easy to make, but they look easy enough… And perfect for our very  Christmas tree. See how  to do it here…

 

You can dye some pasta to make pasta chains for the tree (or pretty necklaces) – see how they do it here

Teacher Gifts

My mom was a teacher, my sister is a pre-primary teacher, and quite honestly, I don’t know how they do it.. Honestly, I can spend  10 minutes in her class and I’m exhausted, like, have to go home and take a nap exhausted. But day in and day out she teaches these little monkeys, she loves them, guides them, she helps mould these little people into the people they are.

Teachers, I think you are all amazing and I think you don’t get nearly as much recognition as you deserve. Thank you for investing so much into the little ones that are growing into our worlds next leaders!

For the mamma’s who are looking for some gifts as the end of our school year fast approaches, here are some ideas. I do personally think a heart felt thank you note from both the parent and kid would be number 1, but then again, I’m sure gifts never go unappreciated – especially considering what the teachers do for the kids throughout the year..

Here’s one of my favourite ideas for a teachers gift… I just think they look sooo pretty! (I saw this over at Skip To My Lou where you can see how they did this.)

You can find the tutorial and free templates over at Design Mom

Or here’s a different take (from Givers Log) on the same idea, but rather using your child’s own artwork. Love it.

I also like this idea for revamping a note book – check out Little Birdie Secrets for how they did it

I saw a quote the other day that I thought pretty much sums teachers up

Or here’s a simple idea – just download the free printable here from eighteen25 and put it on a clipboard for them to hang in their classroom (or frame it if you want)

Or… use these free, editable downloads that you can use to accompany a pot plant for the special teacher.

“Teachers – not doing it for the income, doing it for the outcome

Baby Shower Gifts

Anyone want to invite me to their baby shower cause I don’t have any coming up that I can think of, and seriously want to make one of these as a gift… (and with the step by step tutorial available from Sweet Aprils I’m hoping it’ll be a success!)

AND….. then I came across this cake for a baby shower from Chef Sam! How real does this look… (and did I mention that what makes it even more fabulous is that this talent is 100% local (Cape Town)… just love home grown)

So many ways to use a Pin Wheel

For some reason pin wheels remind me of ‘childhood’ – I’m not exactly sure why this is, because if I’m honest I don’t think I’ve actually ever even made a pinwheel – don’t judge me :). Anyway, they do remind me of childhood, maybe it’s the simplistic pleasure they can give you (she says not having much experience with them!). Needless to say I’m going to add this to my list of things to make… and when you see some of the pictures and ideas below I’m sure you’ll also be giving it a bash.

For starters, how stunning are these gift boxes (seen on zsazsabellagio) with a simple pin wheel on top!

And then as soon as you’ve stopped thinking “what a good idea”, pop on over to Chic Cheap Nursery for some true inspiration for the most stunning nursery where they’ve made a pinwheel mobile (amongst a stunning nursery!)

Love this idea for that special day (from Oh Lovely Day)

Or to be used for a table number (pic from wedding chicks)?

Teacher gift idea from The Twinery Blog

And how lovely is this bunting available on Etsy

Follow this link to The Crafty Chicks on how to actually make a pin wheel!

Cute party packs from Ko Jo Designs

And how cute are these hair clips from The Mother Huddle

And lastly a pin wheel path from this Curious George Party on The Hostess Blog

 

Hot Air Balloons

I’ve never been in a hot air balloon, but do think it’s something I’d like to do! And if I don’t get to go in a real one any time soon, these will be a more than good enough start for now!

How adorable are these ‘hot air balloons’ made by the lovely Helen from Curly Birds for her two precious daughters… Visit her blog for the link on how she did it!

Quite like this idea for a cute photo shoot! (Image from Shannon Sewell)

And love the colours in this hot air balloon (Image from Smatch)

And here’s a tutorial if you want to make some of your own paper hot air balloons, very similar to the image above –  from Brown Accents

Cute 3D wall art from Etsy if you’re thinking of a hot air balloon theme for your little one.

And then there’s always this idea for a fancy dress party – ever thought of dressing the kids up as a hot air balloon!!  You can see how this little guy’s costume was made over here

Cardboard box crafting

One blog award and it all goes to my head – 3 days later and my next post! Apologies for not posting since Wednesday, but I was hit with some germs out of no where and so have been spending as much of my free time in bed sleeping. I’m back, and I think the germs are retreating!

Back to blogging! And it seems that I’m not the only one that’s in love with the idea of using cardboard boxes as toys. Check out these amazing ideas for cardboard box playing!

Love this playhouse from Sweet Paul (with instructions)

How grand is this castle from Parents.com!

Make your own guitar out of cardboard – you can view the full tutorial here at Minieco

And how cool is this aeroplane from Mini Mocha

This is one of my favourites, might have something to do with the colours they’ve used! This little kitchen set was found in Declutter Organize Repurpose  but originally from www.parents.com

Here’s a close up of the oven…

And lastly – here’s a useful post on how to work with cardboard from I Kat Bag which also includes a truckload of links to some amazing projects all made from cardboard… seriously, go and have a look!

That’s all for today folks, I’m off to find those boxes lying around this house!!