Colour yourself

If your child loves colouring-in they will love this.

I stumbled upon this website while I was looking for pages for my daughters upcoming birthday party. ( Nothing says 'settle down sugar filled, hyperactive toddlers' like a colouring-in table) 

Check it out http://www.coloringpagecreator.com/ 

They turn your own photos into colouring in pages.

My 11 year old, who insists she is to old for colouring-in now, LOVED them.

The quality isn't amazing, but it is free. (Love) The only cost to you is printing them out.

Your child will love a colouring book full of themselves. 

Messy Twister

The most fun you will ever have with your kids EVER!!!!!

Yes, I said 'ever' twice in that statement because it is just that much fun.

Remember Twister???  Of course you do.

Every household owns one, and if you don't own one you have surely played it with friends.

Here is a super fun, but messy, version of the twisting sensation.

Simple right?????
Just add colour to your mat, and get twisting!!!!

My tip???
Don't get precious about how messy the kids (or adults) get.
Half the fun is in not caring and letting loose!
Giving them a license to get grubby is the best gift you can give your child.

Oh and believe it or not, the paint hoses right off the mat. No scrubbing. Yay!!!!

Enjoy, have fun, get messy!!!!!

Melted Crayon Rainbow

This idea has been floating around the internet for a while now and a few months ago (in the 30 degree heat of summer) we gave it a go.

This is a super fun thing to try and relatively cheap.

We bought a cheap canvas from Chickenfeed and hot-glue gunned some crayons to the top. You can put them in any order you like. We put similar colours together but you might like a different method.

We did the next bit outside as it can get a little messy.

Heat the crayons with the hairdryer and they melt down the page looking sooooo pretty.

You can heat them for as long as you like.

If you want the crayons to melt further down you just heat them for a little longer. Most of the ones I have seen have been melted for longer but Big Sister liked to see the spattered pattern on the bottom. My suggestion is to stop whenever they are happy with how it looks. It is their artwork after all.

I was surprised at how quickly it works, which is great for younger kids. There is no wait for the crayons to start melting which makes it a great activity to do with most ages. My daughter is 11 but kids as young as 3 could try it (some help is needed to glue the crayons on though as it is crazy hot).

                                little sister preferred napping on Nanny's lap

Turns out great. Something that makes quite an impact but is simple enough for kids to create themselves.

I would recommend a cooler day to try it though!!!!!!

Barbie's first kayak

So this is not entirely her first kayak. I googled and found this amazing design, but there is no way on earth this crafty mum is even slightly capable of creating this masterpiece.

This version is made in 5 minutes from 2 or 3 plastic water bottles (points for recycling people!!!!), a sharp knife and some duct tape. That’s it!!!!

Begin by cutting a hole in the plastic drink bottle, big enough for Barbie to sit comfortably. We all know how high maintenance that girl is.

Then tape a drink bottle to either side and you're done!!

I kid you not. It’s that easy.

We tried out a version with just the two drink bottles so that she could take Snow White with her (you know how girls need to go everywhere together) and that floated well too.

It’s not a craft I recommend you do with littlies. Although once you have cut the holes they could certainly help tape them together. There is also no reason you couldn’t decorate them either.

It’s a cheap way to entertain kids in the bath.

Oh and please tell me other people have Barbies that look as disheveled as ours. If not…. What is your secret?????????

and off they sailed ..........

Yogurt Painting

Ok. First post!!!!

Here we go……..

My little Peanut, is busy! One of my best friends describes her as being “FULL NOISE”. She’s a go hard or go home kind of kid. So keeping her entertained is a full time job.

 I am constantly looking for ways to keep her busy and stimulated and myself SANE! Pinterest is my main source of inspiration, and I am always finding fun activities to do with the kids on the site.

I came across the idea of yogurt painting a week or so ago and thought it sounded perfect. So we gave it a try.

She loved it.

If you have little ones you should definitely try this idea.

First you need to get organised because once you start you can’t step away for a moment. Can I recommend you run a bath first. This way you can just throw baby/toddler in as soon as they have finished. You don’t want to be left holding a slippery child while waiting for the tub to fill, and a wipe down with wet ones just wont cut it.

Next you need to gather your supplies. I tried laying down a drop cloth first but didn’t need it in the end, some butchers paper or cardboard, food colouring and yogurt.

I used vanilla yogurt but think next time I will use natural. She just loved the taste too much and spent more time licking it off her fingers than painting.

I mixed 4 or 5 drops of each into the yogurt tubs to get the colours I wanted but it’s personal preference.

The before shot. Yes we got naked!

She was very tentative at first. Rubbing it through her fingers.

Then it got messy.

Yep. Having fun Mum!

Mmmm!

Her first painting.

The food colouring didn’t stain her skin and surprisingly the yogurt didn’t smell when it dried. Bonus!

We will definitely do this again.

Try it. Let me know how you go. I’d love to hear how your kids enjoyed it!