Category: DIY and Crafts

Make your own play petrol pump

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Wednesday is craft day!!! I made this fun little toy for Aidan’s trucks and cars and thought I’d share 🙂
A little petrol pump!

I made this simple printable myself and if you want it (without the Aidy part)
I will gladly modify and send it your way, just comment at the bottom 🙂
He had a blast
See that little man fainted at sight of the petrol prices
You will need
a box
 the print out which is pretty easy to make
coloured paper
 a peg
contact plastic
a split pin (those pins with the legs)
The top of a bottle that has pump (I used a shampoo bottle)
string
cover the box in coloured paper
poke a hole on the side of the box
stick on the print out and cover the box with contact plastic
Leave the top open, it serves as a way to fill the box with something heavy ( I use a bunch of blocks) to let it stand
You can then take it out for easier storage.
poke through the hole you made in paper
put your string through
Glue on a peg (this will hold the pump nozzle)
Attach pump nozzle to string or rope or whatever
cut an arrow out of card (this is from a flap on top of the box)
Use your split pin to attach arrow 
like so
almost forgot, I tied the string to a toothpick inside the box to keep it from coming out
THERE YOU GO!

Story Book Crafts: Peter pan canvas

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For the final project in our Story Book DIY series I chose the book Peter Pan…We have also done Charlie and the Chocolate factory, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland and I must say the women doing the challenge with me are AWESOME at thinking outside the box.

For today’s challenge  I thought of a way I could preserve Aidan and keep him forever young (Like Peter Pan) but then I thought CHILD ABUSE and opted to preserve one of his drawings instead by decoupaging it onto a canvas along with my favourite Peter Pan Quote

LAUGHTER is timeless IMAGINATION has no age DREAMS are forever…

This is how it turned out and I am quite pleased

First step is to get your budding artist to do a picture for you
Choose your favourite (shameless look at my cute kid, inclusion pic)
Get a small canvas (mine was R29 at CNA) your picture, mod podge and note book paper pretty pen and scissors (not shown because quote was an after thought, quite honestly)
TIP: If you do not have modge podge you can make your own by mixing 3 parts white glue to 1 part water. You can then put clear varnish on after for shine (I don’t because I quite like the vintage look). Buying modge podge is not expensive though and you will find many uses for it but when you run out when you want to start a craft this works well 🙂
Cut picture to size, you might want to date it as a reference
Write down your quote and cut out
assemble and then take a blurry picture (The blurry picture part is super optional)
glue down picture with modge podge leave it to dry, put a layer over, let this dry and repeat
It should end up like this 🙂 preferably in an upward position , but my computer thinks it’s funny
you get the jist though 🙂

 
 

Don’t forget to head on over to my fellow crafters
Also let us know if you want us to do something like this again 🙂

Suddenly a mom
RuthAbercrombie
 My Spreadsheet brain

Story book crafts: Mad hats, a kid could make

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Today’s story book craft is Alice in Wonderland and it follows on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Cinderella, I decided to turn it into a “mom and me” activity so Aidan and I made hats for a mad hatter party… It is a super easy craft, perfect for a craft party or school project, Aidan did his with minimal help and he is only two… it’s THAT easy

The final product; mine is super girly and Aidan’s used to have have eyes, because I’m told it’s a monster hat

What you need… a paper plate, a paper glass, paper and things to decorate with
 (that is Aidan’s craft box)

Cut the paper plate smaller to act as a brim

Stick cup onto plate…Aidan is using press stick to do it, tape is easier, but he can’t handle that yet

You will have this,

Cover cup and plate with coloured paper
(you can use material if you need this hat to be seen at a adult party or so)

Tie paper down until you end up with this
(For a kids craft party you can do all the steps until here yourself 
Our pre-decorated hats

DECORATE! Aidan used crayons and stickers,  I used paper doilies and washi tape
Final product, how adorable 🙂 

This is a super easy craft to do with your kids pop over to see what the other bloggers did…

SUDDENLY A MOM
MY SPREADSHEET BRAIN
RUTHABERCROMBIE

Chicken pie for the soul

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You know how I like to do calorie conscious good for you meals on a Friday? Ja, this is not one of those, it’s hearty and delicious and much better for your mental well being than for your thighs, But every now and again we need to say, Banting for what? Calorie Counting for who? Steamed Broccoli for when? hehehe YUMMMM for me thanks…

The recipe is brought to you by a great girl I know (since way back in my student days) who is never in a bad mood, as in ever! Mandy Abrahams…here’s hoping I can twist your arm for more recipes…. You can even order from her if you are this side of the world on a Friday as she’s into PR but really into cooking.




MANDY SAYS:

The plan is to serve  a“Winter Warmer”  to assist with keeping the chills at bay J
 Homemade Chicken Pie (A creamy chicken stew loaded with carrots and mushrooms, baked inside a flaky crust… it’s comfort in a bowl)

Homemade chicken  pie:
Ingredients:
2 x onions (finely chopped)
4 x chicken breasts (steamed and shredded)
1 x punnet mushrooms
4 x large carrots (chopped up chunky)
500 g frozen peas
1 pckt chicken or mushroom soup
2 tblsp mrs balls chutney
2 tsp Robertsons Chicken Spice
250ml fresh cream
2pckt todays or pennywise puff pastry
Method:
1.       Steam chicken breasts in 500ml water and 2tsp Robertsons chicken spice
2.       Preheat oven to 180 degrees
3.       Roll out 1 x pastry (not too thin) and layer over the bottom of a greased, oven proof dish.
4.       In a pot, fry your onions in 1 tblsp olive oil until the onion starts getting translucent.
5.       Add carrots and let it cook for 3 – 4 mins.
6.       Add your already steamed and shredded chicken breasts.
7.       Add salt and pepper to taste (you could also use Robertsons chicken spice instead of salt) and 125ml water and simmer until it forms a nice gravy
8.       Add mushrooms and simmer 1 -2 mins
9.       Add Mrs Balls Chutney and simmer 1 -2 mins
10.   Mix chicken or mushroom soup together with cream, add to stew and let simmer until thick gravy forms.
11.   Let cool then pour into pastry covered dish.
12.   Roll out the other pastry (again not too thin), cut off overlap of pastry and press together top and bottom pastry with your fingers or you could use a fork.
13.   Brush top of pie with some egg and pop into the oven and bake for 30 mins or until brown.
14.   Serve with a green salad  

Story Book DIY: Adjustable drawstring shoe bag for Cinderella

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Today is the second in our Story Book DIY series. Myself and 3 other book loving bloggers are doing a colab to bring you story inspired DIY’s over four weeks. It started with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory last week and this week we move on to Cinderella…

Cinderella for those of you who don’t know (never assume) is about a girl who lives with her stepmom and step sisters and is forced to do all their chores and then she goes to a ball with the help of her fairy godmother/woodland creatures (depending on version) she loses a shoe and as she is magically the only person in a village with that shoe size the prince tracks her down using said shoe (I’m a size 3, I feel like I always feel like I’m the only one with such tiny feet, but seeing as there are never shoes in my size, I’m clearly wrong)
Any who something that always bothered the over thinker in me is that this poor woman had to return home with only one shoe on… I mean when the carriage turned into a pumpkin she must have been left in the middle of the forest shoe-less, surely… so I came up with my DIY to help a sister out… a shoe bag to stash a extra pair of shoes…
It’s great for taking pumps to work because you need to pop into the shops after work with the toddler you just picked up from day care and running in heels is not a option (oddly specific, I know), or if you are take public transport you can carry your heels in it and swop from your “comfies” at work, or you like to wear different shoes during the day (I’m not judging, I don’t know your life story,hehe)
Adjustable Drawstring bag, similar to the little diy busy bags I made, but with velcro to accommodate both pumps and heels…

WHAT YOU NEED

A old t-shirt, velcro, scissors, something to lace through as drawstring and either a sewing machine or needlework kit

WHAT YOU DO

depending on your shoe size cut off the bottom of your t-shirt 

turn material inside out and sew where you just cut

attach velcro to each side by sewing or using fabric glue

on the open side, which is where seam would have been originally,
cut a little hole for drawstring to go through

I use a paperclip to help me string the lace/ribbon/rope through

you should be left with this

perfect for carrying around your pumps while in heels
or undo the velcro and pop your heels in there 🙂
TADAH!!!
please head on over to see what the others have come up with


Storybook DIY: home based chocolate factory

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Morning all, you know the song …WHO RUNS THIS MOTHER?…. the answer right now, the flu virus, sheesh, can’t we get sick one at a time maybe?

Any who I am involved in a really cool blog challenge where me and three other book/DIY loving bloggers each chose a book and over the next four weeks will be doing crafts based on these:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Suddenly a Mom)
Cinderella (Ruth Abercrombie)
Alice in Wonderland (My Spreadsheet Brain)
Peter Pan (Me,JustEllaBella)

Today is Charlie and Chocolate Factory , the book (and the movie, lets be honest) makes me think CHOCOLATE!!! but as a grown person aware of the calorific and sugar loaded truths of a chocolate lake I decide to make something a little more, “big person” but just as chocolaty…

Ginger choc popcorn 

Yummy ginger choc popcorn at 118 calories per serving if you share…
Three cups of air popped popcorn
candied ginger slices
dark chocolate (I went all fancy with Frey’s Dark Crunchy Almond)

chop up about 15g of the ginger
mix in 20g melted choc with the ginger 
Enjoy the deliciousness!!!

It can get a little messy, I know because Aidan saw me eating, ran to his room, returned with a wet wipe and told me to clean my “choccy face”…he is getting quite a mouth on him that one, his dad was playfully chasing him around to “catch his nose” when he stopped mid run, turned around and said “here, just take my nose” hmmmmmmmmmmm

The other bloggers came up with super cool Charlie and the Chocolate Factory inspired Crafts:
SEE HERE:

SUDDENLY A MOM
MY SPREADSHEET BRAIN
RUTHABERCROMBIE