making

getting organised, driftwood and beach dreaming (again)

It was the most beautiful day yesterday and I was feeling inspired to get on with my outdoor projects. But I needed supplies first.  So I headed off to the Bunnings tool shop to get stuff.

Namely staples for my staple gun and some drill bits for my favourite tool … the Bosch cordless with its lithium ion battery. It is THE BEST. Every girl should own one (and boy).  I think I have said this before …

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Then I got on with finishing off some things.   Including drilling that driftwood I collected.  I am making more driftwood mobiles so that I can sell some at the next makers market at school in December. I think they would make a lovely Christmas present, especially for people with a holiday house.  I’d like one (or two) if I owned a holiday house …

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It did get a bit boring drilling all the holes, but I kept myself on track by putting the driftwood in piles of about 10 peieces once it was drilled.  This was before school pick up.

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At school pick up I had a bit of an ‘awkward bike moment’ where I accidently got the scooter I was carrying to school for Scarlett to ride home on stuck between the spokes of the front wheel of my bike – while riding – and promptly fell off!  Luckily I was running super late and no one saw the indignity of it all … and I got out of it with just a bit of a bruise.

After school pick up I got on with making some more mobiles. So now I have 8 made.  And I have enough wood to make maybe 2 or 3 more.  I just need to make a few more beads …

And with the gorgeous weather, and being surrounded by driftwood I am now dreaming of the beach again …

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cardboard necklaces for crafty kids

Art4All. I become consumed with coordinating Fairfield Primary School’s art show from June to September each year. So you might see some related posts in the coming months.

Here’s the first.  It’s got a recycled shoe box in it (oh, and the pink string left over from my macrame the other week …).

We are currently looking into things to make and do in the kids ARTzone at Art4All this year.  And I get quite excited about crafty activities.  Another Mum, Trish, who is coordinating the kids activities on family day pinned a picture of cardboard bead necklaces on her ‘ideas for the ARTzone’ board on Pinterest.  I liked the look of this idea as well. So we did an after dinner test run at our house.

We had a great time making these cardboard bead necklaces, and I think this would be an excellent ARTzone activity. What I like about it is that:

1. The final product looks good
2. The cardboard beads are ‘child made’ and require minimal adult intervention
3. The necklace is constructed from every day things
4. This is an all ages activity
5. Kids can take 10 minutes or an hour to make each necklace, depending on what they draw and how much detail they put in

So … I used an old shoe box for the cardboard and used my large hole punch to cut the circles. Then I got out the sharpies and let the kids do their thing.

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I got them to choose 3 of the ‘cardboard beads’ that they had decorated that would look nice together.  And then threaded them on to some string. Older kids could do this for themselves but younger ones might need some help as the needle does poke through the cardboard some times at odd places.

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Tie some knots and … you have your very own wearable (and easily disposable) art in the form of a necklace!

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I think they could look even better with some different sized circles … But generally I conclude that it is a great idea.

The original version on Pinterest used black and white paint on brown cardboard.  That would be fun too!

And making these would be excellent for a kids craft party (and I can say this with confidence as we have hosted a few quite chaotic craft parties at our house already).

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