Easter craft for kids: Eggshell homes

oooh Easter craft is my favourite type of craft.... mainly because of the easter chicks (you can see more about my easter chick obsession here and here).

I bought a new batch of Easter chicks and we decided to make them some little eggshell homes. I don't have any specific quantities or instructional information for you because we didn't measure anything. It was all a bit experimental!

We carefully broke three eggs – dividing them in half as neatly as we could. We cleaned out all the eggie bits inside. Once our colours were chosen we covered the eggs in warm water mixed with food colouring. We didn't want super dark coloured eggs so we didn't overdo it on the food colouring.

We let our eggs soak in the water, checking them now and again. Once they had soaked up pale shades of colour we took them out of the water and let them dry on paper towel.

Our eggs were brown chicken eggs so the colour isn't fabulous on the outside but the insides look awesome... beautiful pale, blue, green and yellow. Our little chicks are very happy in their eggshell homes.

Rainy Day Fort

A quick little post for a quick and easy activity.... the rainy day fort. My kids love making an umbrella fort when it is raining. They grab every umbrella we own and construct a fort that they can sit under in the rain. It does work best for that lovely light summer rain. They do get wet while they are trying to construct the fort and fill in any of the gaps. If the rain is heavier I throw a tarp over the whole thing which keeps it nice and dry. Enjoy the rain!!!!

We love forts of all shapes and sizes. For more fort inspiration check out my Forts, hidey holes and garden nooks Pinterest board.

If this is your first visit to At home with Ali – welcome. If you like it, you can follow along via email, RSS, google+ or facebook. You can also find me on Pinterest and Instagram.

2 Easter Hat Ideas

Cakey needs an Easter hat for her school Easter hat parade. Boo wants one because Cakey wants one. I tried really hard to make a hat from paper card but it was beyond me.... instead I bought a super cheap hat and we stuck stuff to it..... much, much easier. The idea was inspired by the gorgeous Easter hat created by Heather Designs.

Now to get all that lovely Easter stuff on the hat I used cotton and thread and my hot glue gun. I began by sewing the artificial flowers on where Cakey wanted them. I had planned to sew on everything but that was way too slow. Bring on the hot glue gun.... now here's the thing... I know that crafty people own hot glue guns because they are awesome BUT every single person who has to make stuff for kids should own one. You can get them in the supermarket! Seriously, they glue stuff on really well, really fast. You will burn your fingers but that is a small price to pay in my opinion.

Cakey showed me exactly where she wanted her little chicks, pink bunnies and glittery eggs and I stuck them on the hat for her. She is very happy with the hat and I only burned myself once!

Now Boo's hat is technically a paper crown. I wanted something easy that she could help make herself.  The base of the crown was created from a piece of A3 yellow paper card – it was cut in two pieces, which we stapled together to make one long flat crown.

This crown was inspired by this delightful version from Sun Hats and Wellie Boots. We made the crown very tall so there was plenty of surface to cover with foam easter egg stickers which I found in a local store. You don't need stickers though – you could easily cut out coloured paper easter eggs and glue them on.

We added some paper eggs on pipecleaners – they look very cute bobbing away on Boo's head! To make these I stapled the end of a pipecleaner to paper card cut in the shape of an Easter egg. I also stuck a foam egg sticker on top of each paper egg which covered up one side of the staple.

We then stapled the pipecleaners to the yellow paper card base of the crown in two places – you need two anchor points otherwise the pipecleaners do not stand up very well.

We stuck down a pink edging around the top of the crown – mainly to hide all the staples! I then wrapped the crown around Boo's head and stapled the two ends together to fit.

Some more Easter ideas:

I love those little yellow Easter chicks and you can see what we have done with them in the past here and here and here. We also had a lot of fun making glitter eggs.

I think this little pink felt bunny by Michael Ann is gorgeous if you can sew and I love these leaf print eggs. These treats by Living Locurto look delicious. And, I have created some Easter printables for the kids to give to friends, they are available on Childhood 101.

Cheers, Ali

If this is your first visit to At home with Ali – welcome. If you like it, you can follow along via email, RSS, google+ or facebook. You can also find me on Pinterest and Instagram.

Winter Olympics Playdough Fun

The kids and I have been watching the Winter Olympics. And now..... we have been re-enacting skiing and snowboarding with playdough for the last few days. This has been so popular we ended up making two batches of playdough – one of the batches was a special super-white playdough.

Super-White Winter Wonderland Playdough Recipe

• 2 cups of corn flour
• Half cup of salt
• 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 1 cup of boiling water
• Silver glitter (optional)
• Mix together, tip out onto a floured surface and knead until you get a smooth consistency. Add more water if it is too dry. Add more flour if it is too wet.

Boo made some silvery, winter wonderland rocks to go with her winter wonderland scene. To make these – squeeze a dollop of white pva glue on the top of some garden stones. Cover with silver glitter and let them dry. Pretty simple and very sparkly!!!

Paddle pop sticks played a huge role in our winter wonderland play. They were skis, snowboards, poles and the walls and roof of Cakey's snow cave. We also used them to hold up flags, bells and our mini bunting. I made some mini paper bunting by cutting out triangles from folded paper and gluing each triangle on a string. We attached the string to paddle pop sticks and stuck them up in the playdough.

The kids played all sorts of games with these little Winter Olympic scenes... Cakey enjoyed the sensory play aspect and Boo enjoyed letting her imagination do all the work in pretend play.

If this is your first visit to At home with Ali – welcome. If you like it, you can follow along via email, RSS, google+ or facebook. You can also find me on Pinterest and Instagram. Cheers Ali

Zero to Two: the Book of Play

When I had my first baby I had no idea what to do. I had spent so long thinking about just getting to the birth I had forgotten about the 'actually having a baby in the house 24/7' thing. It was a shock, particularly as I do not come from a big extended family and had not spent much time with babies at all. Once my bub started being awake during increasing portions of the day I wondered what I was supposed to do with her. I turned to books, blogs and the internet and slowly collected a few ideas and activities that meant that my little one and I started to fill our day with little bits of fun.

And now there is no need to scour the internet because you can get a bucket-load of fun activities for babies and toddlers all in one ebook...  Zero to Two: the Book of Play. I am very proud to have contributed an activity to this book – a DIY post box that I made for my super-cute 15 month old nephew.

Zero to Two showcases 25 different activities for babies and toddlers from kid bloggers across the world. These activities are easy to do at home. PLUS the book also includes more than 50 links to additional activities. There are also two free printables – fun stroller cards and lovely finger puppets.

This ebook is available to download right NOW right here at the special price of $6.99 (USD). This launch price is only being offered for one week (until Sunday February the 16th). It will then revert to the full price of $8.99 USD. Purchase this ebook now for immediate download of a pdf file which you can view on your screen or print out in full. Payment is via paypal.

Get a sneak peek of the ebook here.....

Soooo, get your copy now and take advantage of the introductory price and start playing. Cheers Ali If this is your first visit to At home with Ali – welcome. If you like it, you can follow along via email, RSS, google+ or facebook. You can also find me on Pinterest and Instagram.

DIY Toy Camera

I have been having some crafty, make it yourself fun. That's what happens when there is nothing worth watching on tv! Anyway the kids own toy cameras and real cameras but that did not stop me from making cardboard cameras.... and the kids like them. They are big and colourful but the best bit is the squishy sponge button they press down to take an imaginary picture. And yes.... they always check the back of the camera to have a look at their shot!

Materials:

• Empty rectangular cardboard box – approximate camera size give or take
• 2 sheets of A4 coloured paper
• 2 bottle tops (one big, one small) – I used a vegemite lid and a milk bottle lid
• String and 2 large buttons
• A family photo
• Toilet roll
• Squishy sponge circle/cylinder – I found one in a package of kids' painting sponges but you can always cut a larger sponge down to size.

Tools:

• Holepunch
• Scissors
• PVA glue or a hot glue gun
• Sticky tape

Step 1: Cover your box in coloured paper while still leaving the top of the box open.

Step 2: Punch holes on either side of your box and thread through the string. Anchor the string on the inside of the box by tying large buttons to each end of your string.

Step 3: Tape the lid closed and cover it with a piece of coloured paper cut to fit.

Step 4: Make the lens – glue the largest bottle top to one of the large sides of the box (the face of your camera). Glue the smaller lid inside the larger one. If you use PVA glue you will need to let the glue completely dry (overnight preferably) before you can move onto the next step.

Step 5: Make the view finder – cut approximately one third off a cardboard toilet roll. Cover it with coloured paper. Sticky tape the toilet roll to one side of the top of your camera.

Step 6: Make the 'take a photo' button – glue the circular sponge onto the other side of the top of you camera. If you use PVA glue you will need to wait until the glue dries before giving it to a kid.

Step 7: Draw on some extra features using a coloured marker or a white-out pen. I drew a flash and some extra buttons just for fun.

Step 8: Stick on a happy snap on the back of your camera.

Step 9: Snap away!

If this is your first visit to At home with Ali – welcome. If you like it, you can follow along via email, RSS, google+ or facebook. You can also find me on Pinterest and Instagram. Cheers Ali

Building ships with boxes

A cool little competition flew into my inbox. A cruise ship building competition with no restrictions on what materials you can use.... awesome! And you know what, we haven't had a great big crafting session in ages. When I uttered the words 'wanna make a cruise ship' the kids jumped at the chance.... their poor little neglected crafty souls screaming for tape and paint!

Cakey took on the challenge of making a cruise ship with cardboard boxes. We always have a stack of boxes in our tub of stuff that would normally hit the recycling bin. Having a tub of empty boxes as well as various ephemera is soooooo useful  for crafting and even, dare I say it, independent crafting.

Cakey decided stacking boxes was the way to go, securing them with sticky tape. She cut a door for the people and made a chimney with a massive plume of smoke, made from white tissue paper. Boo copied Cakey, as a little sister will, stacking two small boxes and adding a figurine person to sail her ship. Cakey added a life boat to her cruise ship. Sail boats are her speciality. She makes them using a styrofoam tray as the base and attachs a sail made from a straw and a piece of paper.

This project deserved paint. Cakey chose red, black and gold, Boo chose 'every colour paint'. I added some pva glue to the paint so that they could stick on some sparkles.

Cakey also got to try my new drawing tool - the white out pen. I have seen Alisa Burke use a white-out pen in her work and I have been intrigued to try it. Cakey got to it first and drew on the name of her ship and some windows. It worked a treat.

If this is your first visit to At home with Ali – welcome. If you like it, you can follow along via email, RSS, google+ or facebook. You can also find me on Pinterest and Instagram. Cheers Ali

4 apps for kids

Do you do the app thing with your kids or not? Is playing with an app on an ipad better than watching television... worse.... or pretty much the same thing? I don't really know but what I do know is that our kids want to use our ipad.... it makes sense – I want to use it too! Everything in moderation, eh?

There seems to be about a trillion apps available for kids – and it can be hard to sort the good from the bad... and that is where word of mouth can come in handy. I would love to know what apps your kids love to use. And, in turn here are the popular ones in our house. (Now would be the time to apologise to android users... the apps below are all available from the itunes store for ipad.)

1. SquiggleFish

Available in the itunes store here (£1.99)

This app combines good old fashioned drawing on paper with the technical fun of an app. The kids draw sea creatures on white paper with a black outline and whatever colour they like. Once the drawing is complete you can take a picture of the sea create within the app. Then watch as your mermaid or fish or submarine comes to life and swims in the sea. When I first tried to get this app to work I got frustrated until I read the instructions. There might be a lesson in that.

2. The Human Body

Available in the itunes store here ($2.99)
This is an amazingly detailed app of - you guessed it - the human body. You can watch blood pumping, analyse bone structure and record your own sounds. But what the kids love best is making their avatar eat and then poop. On a sidenote this app is illustrated by the amazing designer and illustrator Kelli Anderson.

3. Mystery Math Town

Available in the itunes store here ($2.99)
This is one is for my 5 year old. It is part adventure, part spooky house and part mathematics. It involves searching for fireflies and releasing them from their glass jar prisons. To get through any door or window you have to solve a maths equation – you can set the difficulty level. Try touching some of the furniture in the houses, there are some cute extras.

4. Paper by 53

Available in the itunes store here (Free but then all extra bits to make it good cost $2.99 each)
I downloaded this app for myself but the kids have taken to it. It is a simple drawing app, it works well for us as we can each have our own separate journals within the app. It is a little annoying that you end up spending a lot to add the extra functionalities. Make sure you like it before you hand over the cash. If you and your kids like this drawing app I recommend the paintbrush and the color mixer tools.

What apps do your kids like?

If this is your first visit to At home with Ali – welcome. If you like it, you can follow along via email, RSS, google+ or facebook. You can also find me on Pinterest and Instagram. Cheers Ali

Christmas Pudding Decorations

Oh golly gosh these Christmas plum pudding decorations are so cute. Cakey and I had a great time making them and they look fab hanging on our Christmas tree.  I love a tree filled with homemade and kid-made Christmas ornaments.... don't you? Check out some of our other homemade tree decorations here and here. And keep reading to find out how to make these little puddings! 

Materials needed:

Small polystyrene balls (40mm)

Wooden skewers

Brown paint

White air drying clay

Red beads and green leaves

String and an anchor bead

Step 1: Skewer your polystyrene balls onto a wooden skewer and paint them a pudding brown. The kids made their own brown paint.... after all, they have had many years of practice making brown paint (they used a mix of red, purple and yellow). Leave the painted puddings to dry completely. 

Step 2: Once the paint is dry remove the skewers. Mould some white air drying clay over the top of each pudding ball – try to make the clay look like custard dripping over the pudding. Before the clay is dry make sure you re-open the hole created by the skewer - otherwise you won't be able to thread a string through the pudding.

Step 3: To decorate the puddings, push red beads and green decorative leaves into the clay before it dries. Sometimes the beads fall off once the clay has dried – glue them back on with superglue.

Step 4: Once the clay is completely dry, grab a needle and thread. Tie a bead onto the string to act as an anchor and thread the needle through the hole left by the skewer. Tie the string at the top to make a loop and hang it on your Christmas tree.

And there you have it! For more Christmas goodness have a look at my Christmas Pinterest board. 

You may also like to check out some of these kid-friendly Christmas crafts:

15 Christmas Decorations for Kids to Make by Picklebums

Icicle Ornaments by Happy Hooligans

Popstick Wreath by Childhood 101

Chenille Candy Canes

Toilet Roll Reindeer by The Craft Train

If this is your first visit to At home with Ali – welcome. If you like it, you can follow along via email, RSS, google+ or facebook. You can also find me on Pinterest and Instagram. Cheers Ali

Printable Christmas Gift Tags

Christmas is speeding towards us like a freight train! The kids are already full of Christmas excitement. At this time of year I tend to be excited about Christmas too. It isn't until closer to the big date that I falter in Christmas spirit.... brought down by the weight of endless to-do lists!

Anyway... before I get to the bah-humbug stage I created some cute Christmas tag printables for you. I didn't feel like going with the traditional red and green Christmas themes. Instead I chose the partridge and a the pear tree and a deliciously plump Christmas pudding.

You can DOWNLOAD them free for your personal use here (partridge) and here (pudding). I hope you and your friends and families like them.

For loads of Christmas craft ideas check out my Christmas Pinterest board. You also might want to have a look at last year's homemade snowflake Christmas cards and tags.

And if you want more free Christmas printables, check out these:
Printable Christmas Gift Tags by Caroline Johansson
Holiday Greeting Tags by Eat Drink Chic
Vintage Pink Santa tags by Shabby Blogs
Lovely type base and funny Christmas labels by Emily McDowell

If this is your first visit to At home with Ali – welcome. If you like it, you can follow along via email, RSS, google+ or facebook. You can also find me on Pinterest and Instagram. Cheers Ali

Travel Activity... Journalling

We recently spent some time travelling around New Zealand in a campervan. It was great fun and I would love to do it again. I thought our holiday would be a perfect time to introduce the kids to journalling so before we left I bought:

• Acid-free spiral bound A5 diaries
• Some fabulous bright watercolours that were perfect for travelling (this is not a paid link I just LOVED them). 
• Small paintbrushes
• A variety of artline fine felt tip markers 

Every second day we all sat down and did some drawing and painting in our diaries. It was a combined family effort, Cakey and I often worked together on the same page. There was no right or wrong way to do this, we just painted what most appealed to us from the day. The best thing about this is now we have a lovely keepsake of our holiday.

If this is your first visit to At home with Ali – welcome. If you like it, you can follow along via email, RSS, google+ or facebook. You can also find me on Pinterest and Instagram. Cheers Ali

Halloween Witches Brew

Halloween produces mixed reactions from the grown-ups here in Australia. There are those you who love a chance to dress up and then there are the others who turn off all the lights and pretend they are not home. I am yet to meet a kid who is not excited by the prospect of Halloween.

Having spent some of my childhood in Canada where I experienced the full North American Halloween extravaganza I have a soft spot for the holiday.

Plastic Halloween stuff has been in the shops for a few weeks and Cakey has been running an intensive campaign to buy buy buy. With a week and a bit to go I finally succumbed and bought a pile of creepies – spiders, skulls, eyeballs, rats and a severed hand. Awesome! These will probably be handed to friends in a game of spooky lucky dip.

In the meantime, I thought we should have a little fun with them so I set up a witches brew activity. It was simple. I supplied a cauldron (my casserole pot), jugs of water, blood (bowls of water mixed with red food colouring), eye droppers, spoons and assorted creepy crawlies and gross things.

The kids mixed up the brew, adding everything but the severed hand. The brew was well mixed and then ladled out into bowls. And then I sent them both to school with red stained hands... I am really hoping they don't call the stains 'blood'.

I hope you all have a super-fun Halloween. I have been busy with an exciting side-project but I hope to be back blogging with a little more regularity soon. Cheers Ali

If this is your first visit to At home with Ali – welcome. If you like it, you can follow along via email, RSS, google+ or facebook. You can also find me on Pinterest and Instagram. Cheers Ali