Picnesday - I Make, Therefore I Sew

I've been bitten by Pinterestus Sewingitus. It's a sewing bug that lives in Pinterest. People, I've been sewing like there's no tomorrow! Part of the reason why I haven't been blogging much. I've heard the only cure for a Pinterestus Sewingitus bite is to close your Pinterest account and get rid of your sewing machine.

Yes, yes, I can sew....I think. But I have also been guilty of many a "sewing crime"....

Have you ever seen stitches that messy before?

If you're too lazy to snip those loose threads, just leave them be - they'd add to the effect.

Yes, some fabrics do look good frayed.

I don't really enjoy sewing but I LOVE what I can make when I sew. I know, what a predicament right? And, don't get me started on thread tension - it drives me crazy trying to get it right! Anyway, here's one of my sewing projects lately, inspired by this site.

Something to go into my kids' dress-up box.

Well, at least this little girl doesn't mind my sewing crimes :)

Photo Popsicle Stick Puzzles

I've been busy lately. Busy making busy bags for my kids to keep them busy during times they need to be kept busy. I know, an iPad or an iPhone would do the trick anytime but I'm out to prove to...to....to myself that kids do not need to be entertained by electronic devices!

So, here's an easy and fun craft to make for your busy bag or activity pack or whatever you want to call it. I first chanced upon this idea on Pinterest. I'd give credit to the site if I can remember which one it was. But anyway, these puzzles are easy to carry around and comes in handy when the kids need a little something to do.

Here are the things you need...

I used photos because I had a stack of photographs I didn't know what to do with. You can actually use any printed material or even have your child draw something on the popsicles.

1. Arrange your popsicle sticks and cut your photo down to size.

2. Apply glue on the back of your photo and stick the sticks on. The stoopid me applied glue to every stick instead.

3. Before the glue sets, use a blade and cut in-between the sticks. That way the sticks are still a little movable and easier to cut through.

And voila! Your very own Personalized Photo Popsicle Stick Puzzle or pPPSP!

The clever me decided to stamp them for easier identification.

 Consider the advantages of pPPSPs over iPads
1. More parent-child interaction.
2. More parent-child eye contact.
3. More fingers involved.

Now, wouldn't you like your child playing with pPPSPs instead?

What To Do With Your Milk Bottles

When I had my boy, I bought a few milk bottles thinking that my baby will have no problems taking to the bottle. Boy, was I wrong! We decided to train him on the bottle when he was 2 months old, so that others could babysit for me if I needed them to. At just 2 months old he was one stubborn baby who just wouldn't take the bottle. He would rather go 6-8 hours without feeding. My mother can attest to that because she was helping me train him. She gave up after 10 days. I also got all these other milk bottles from hampers given by friends and family. So, what did I do with them? Make toys!

1. Fill the bottles up with water and liquid soap. Add different coloured food dye and use them to teach your kid about colours. Amuse them with bubbles when you shake the bottles.

2. Put different types of grains (rice, lentils, red beans, barley) inside your bottles and make milk bottle maracas for your kid. Teach them about the different types of grains and different sounds they make when shaken. Make music together!

Playdough Recipe

Making playdough is easy and fun. Get your kids to help mix the ingredients together, they'll love the experience. Here's a great recipe I've tried

Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup fine salt
2 tbsp cream of tartar
1/2 tbsp cooking oil
1 cup water
food colouring

Method
1. Mix all ingredients in a non-stick saucepan.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until it thickens and clumps up; and you can no longer stir.
3. Put the dough on a counter top to cool.
4. Knead the dough until it's smooth.
5. Colour the dough with food colouring or leave it in it's natural colour (the kids don't mind)
6. Store in an airtight container.
7. Add in a drop of aromatherapy oil if you want some fragance to it.

Happy playdough-ing!

Texture Art

My son found a new activity to occupy his time - tracing textures. And he can't get enough of it. This is really easy, accessible fun for the kiddos. What you need for this activity:

Paper

Crayons (here's your chance to use up those broken pieces)

Anything that has texture (eg. baskets, coins, nets, the bottom of your house slippers)

Put your paper over the texture. Lay the crayon flat over the paper. Rub the crayon to see what patterns the texture produces. Let your child look around the house and find his own texture to trace and experiment with, himself.

Building a rocket ship...

.......out of a cardboard box, that is. My son's 4th birthday is coming up this March and he'd asked for a rocket. This came about after reading "Too Many Toys" by David Shannon, about a little boy who had so many toys, his mother made him put some of them in a box to be donated. At the end of the story, he made himself a rocket out of that box and said that it was the best toy ever for him. I'm sure many parents would agree with me that kids can turn anything into a toy. We've experienced buying expensive toys for our son which he only played with for a week and was ready to give up. We were certainly not happy about that! So we thought, for his 4th birthday, we'd make him this homemade rocket that costs less than RM15. I have to admit I'm a bit of a hoarder when it comes to boxes, ribbons, used wrappers or anything I see potential in creating something out of. We bought our son a Little Tikes car for his 2nd birthday and I had kept the box it came in, ever since. I saved it up to make him a puppet theatre actually but I guess it's destined to turn into a rocket instead!

 

It's been a blast making this rocket!



 



A closer look at the 'control panel'. We recycled anything we could find; an old switch, a sink hole cover to attach the steering wheel, and my hubby's old car CD player

My hubby has big ideas to 'upgrade' it later on with a periscope and a 'power booster'!