07 January 2013

Flower Pot Fairies


Hello! I thought I would drop on by again to share with you these little flower pot fairies I made my youngest. She received them for her second birthday, and now, almost 6 months later, they are still a favourite of hers, and her big sister. They were so easy to make with a little time!


I picked up jumbo sized wooden peg doll bodies and wooden candle cups to use as pots at the craft store, I found both in the woodworking section.


When I tested the peg dolls in the pots, most of them fit easily, but a couple stuck. Aside from wanting them to fit nicely, I didn't want them to have their paint scraped off, so I rolled up a piece of sandpaper and gave the inside of each pot a light sanding. It didn't take much for all the dolls to have plenty of room.


I painted the dolls with non-toxic outdoor acrylic paint, (Deco Art's Patio Paint, for example, although we have a variety of brands and they work just fine, too.) I have found its "weatherproof" qualities to be fairly "child-proof" as well. The faces are also painted, and when putting faces on gnomes and other small things such as these, I use a toothpick. Really. It makes life so much easier. It gives me more precision and control than the finest of my most teeny tiny paintbrushes, it's terrific. To make things easier on myself, though, I outlined the rest with a fine tip Sharpie. The Sharpie works well when used on top of the paint, but will bleed all over the place when used directly on the wood, so if you go that route, watch the edges. I wasn't sure it would hold up, but after half a year of hard use, it still looks great.


I painted the rims and insides of the pots using the same acrylic paint, on the outside I used a watercolour wash. I then sealed the cups and dolls by rubbing vegetable oil into the wood.


I gave each fairy a little cap that I cut out of craft felt and hot glued in place. I added the dots in the middles of the flowers with more acrylic paint.


This toy set has been adored by both my two year old and my four year old. They love sorting them, stacking them, matching colours, mixing colours, playing with the fairy dolls, using the pots as cups for their tea parties, and more. I gave them to her in a pretty little green bag, and they are a great take-along toy. It turns out that I spent less than $5.00 to make one of their all time favourite toys. This makes me very happy, as well as them. :)



(I am sharing this project over at Frontier Dreams, and The Magic Onions, go for a visit and see what else others have shared!)

28 September 2012

Homemade Bubble Wands


We made some homemade bubble wands the kids have been smitten with for awhile now. I'd been meaning to make the classic metal hanger version, but then I decided to get out my metals box and try to make something a little more magical.


The kids had fun going through my stuff, picking out ribbon and pretty little things.


Using a pair of needle nose pliers, I twisted wire into star shaped wands, then threaded the beads and such they had chosen onto the stems. Beads that were too small for the wand wire, I put on smaller gauge wire and looped it loosely onto the wand so that they dangle freely like tassels.


I went over the stars with a hammer, forging them gives them strength so they will hold their shape. 


I tied ribbon on the handles, and gave them a couple jars of bubbles for some super magical bubble blowing.


Kaia particularly likes running with her wand, trailing bubbles... I had a hard time getting a picture of her even relatively in focus. :)


The wands are bigger than any they have had before, and they love the larger bubbles. Next time I will have to make some great big ones to dip in a dish!


Katalin concentrates so hard when she blows bubbles, it is really amusing to watch. She is so proud every time she produced a bubble!



They have had bubbles, but these little wands hold a whole new level of appeal for them, they have been bubbling constantly!

07 September 2012

{this moment}


Joining Soulemama's {this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.