These sweet little pipe cleaner flowers are Just adorable! Once you’re used to the process they’re super easy to make and are such a cute little project for older children to make and gift or keep and display!
Here’s what we used
Pipe cleaners
How to make these cute pipe cleaner flowers
Start by taking two of the same colored pipe cleaner and twisting them together to make one large stem.
Fold a small loop near the center of the pipe cleaner and then twist it secure at the point where the two pipe cleaners were joined.
Create a second loop next to the first and twist it at the same center point to secure it.
Repeat this step to create a total of 5 or 6 loops and then twist the loose end around the center of the flower to secure it.
Take the pipe cleaner that you will be using for the center of the flower and wrap it around the center of the flower going in and out of each petal as you do. Secure it in place by tucking the end in under the center piece you just wrapped.
Next take the green pipe cleaner and push it up under the back of the center pipe cleaner. Bend the top of it down over the centre to secure. Finally add a leaf by folding a small piece of pipe cleaner into a loop and then twisting in onto the stem. The flower is finished and ready to gift or display; Why not repeat this process until you have a whole bunch of flowers!
This adorable tp roll snail craft is so simple to make and is a great way to keep the kids entertained. Each snail turns out cool and unique which makes this a fun craft idea for at home and for groups too!
Here’s what we used
Cardboard Tp roll
Coloured Card
Pipe cleaner
Googly eyes
Scissors
Glue
How to make our tp roll snail craft.
Cut out a strip of coloured card the same height as the tp roll and long enough to cover it. Glue the card around the roll.
Cut out 5 strips of paper, they should be roughly equal in width but varying length. We initially cut ours to them same length and then dropped them by Two cm each time to give us strips that were 20cm, 18cm,16cm,14cm and 12cm.
Line up and glue all of the strips together at one end.
then line up and glue together the other end of the strips.
Stick the two ends of strips together to make the circular snail’s shell. then attach the shell at one end of the tp roll.
Finally take a pipe cleaner and fold it in half to make a v shape. Glue the folded end of the pipe cleaner into the top inside of the tp roll and then add a Googly eye onto each end of the pipe cleaner. Add some glue around the inside of the head end of the roll and then pinch it together to seal it. Once dry your cute tp roll snail craft is finished!
With lockdown #2 well under way we’ve been busy trying to find plenty of activities to keep the little ones entertained and with the festive season right around the corner we’ve started to focus on some fun Christmas activities. Seeing as we have so much extra time on our hands right now we’re making as many gifts and decorations from scratch as possible. Both because it’s a fun way to spend our time and because handmade is just cuter! We had loads of fun coming up with different designs for these cute fingerprint Christmas gift tags and can’t wait to attach them to some pressies for loved ones!
You can download our free gift tag templates here:
This cute little snowman is super simple to make! Print little ones fingers in a row of three and then use markers to add on the details.
2) Easy thumbprint snowflake
To make this adorable little snowflake, simply spot a large thumbprint in the centre of your tag and use a marker to add on the arms.
3) Thumprint reindeer
This cute little thumbprint Rudolph is probably my favorite of the bunch! Once my little one had placed his thumbprint we drew on the two antlers and then glued on two googly eyes and a pom pom nose.
4) Fingerprint Christmas tree
This little Christmas tree is made up of a triangle of green fingerprints, a yellow fingerprint star and a brown fingerprint stump.
5) Fingerprint candy cane
Sweet and simple, this cute little candy cane is made up of alternating red and white fingerprints.
6) Fingerprint holly wreath
For this holly wreath tag, simply print little ones fingers around in a circle and then print on a little fingerprint bow.
7) Fingerprint Christmas present
Print four fingerprints in a square and then once dry, use your markers to draw on the ribbon and bow.
8) Fingerprint Christmas tree decorations
This Christmas tree tag is super sweet and easy! Simply spot colourful dots all over to make the decorations.
9) Thumbprint reindeer
Here’s another cute little Rudolph tag idea! Print a thumbprint as the body and a fingerprint as a head. Add two marker antlers, some legs and a tail then glue on two googly eyes and a pom pom nose.
10) Fingerprinted Christmas tree
This simple little tag is one that my toddler made, she used green fingerprints to color in the little Christmas tree. Easy, simple and so much fun!
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A few weeks back, my son asked me if we could buy a puppet theatre to play with. I have to say I was shocked at the prices of some of the puppets that we looked at! I know too well what my son is like, he’ll desperately want something and when he finally gets it he’ll play with it for a couple of days before it disappears to the back of the cupboard for goodness knows how long. It was then that I had the idea that maybe we could make our own DIY cardboard puppet theatre. That way we wouldn’t just spend time together playing with it but also building it too.
My little guy loved the idea and said that he wanted to make a red puppet show. So, when our big craft order arrived we instantly got to work on the box. It’s been so lovely spending so much time together over the last few days. I wasn’t sure how he was going to get on with no school but having him home has been such a pleasure. The best thing about this project is that it’s one we can keep adding to over time by adding new puppets to our collection!
To start with, take your cardboard box and open the ends. Cut off the Back of the box to give you three equal sections as you can see above. Our box was a little bit small so rather than cutting the ends off we glued them together at the corners to make it taller.
Draw your window onto your puppet theatre before cutting it out. Then, cut the top of your theatre into a slight arch.
*just an after thought. If you want to easily add working curtains make sure the sides pieces are a couple of cm higher than the top of your window. We didn’t do this and had to fiddle with our curtains to get them to hang properly.
Now for the fun part! Cover your puppet theatre in your chosen paint. You may want to paint the front and back, we only did the front as we’re running low on red paint!
To hang the curtains you’ll need to make a hole at the top of each of your two sides. They’ll need to be 2-3cm higher than your window. Thread a length of string through one hole, across the middle and out the other hole. Pull the string tightly before knotting the ends securely on the outside of your theatre. My son cut up an old pillowcase to make his curtains and folded them over his string before securing the loose end in place with double sided tape (I had originally planned on tidying the curtains up and sewing them together for him. To be honest though, his double sided tape has held up perfectly).
*If like ours, your curtains a little bit low use some tape or glue in the centre to lift them slightly.
To make your changeable scenery, cut out some different floors (such as grass and sea). Attach magnets to each side. You’ll also need to line up two magnets just beneath your window so you can switch your scenery.
To finish add some decoration to the front of your show. We wanted to keep it as simple as possible so we just glued on some white paper stripes and some yellow stars. once dry you puppet theatre is finished! Doesn’t it look fab? My son is so pleased with his!
