Did you catch my post on how I press flowers? If not, you can head over via this link: Pressing Flowers
Today, I want to show you one of the lovely gift ideas we made from them. This gift cost us nothing, but if you want to frame your gift it will only cost you the frame. However, you could use old frames you already have and make this a totally FREE gift/ craft.
What you will need:
A piece of card
PVA glue
Pressed flowers
Print with a quote (this is optional, but we made one on canva.com)
Method:
If using a print to start, print it and cut it to size if necessary.
Position your flowers on the card until you are happy with your design.
Glue each flower down using PVA glue.
Allow to dry.
Pop your pressed flower art into your frame and it’s ready to gift.
My kids and I have been having great fun making crafts outs of pressed flowers. I will be sharing these crafts with you in the very near future, but first, I wanted to share the actual pressing process we use. It is so simple, you don’t need to order any fancy equipment. I just used items around my house to do this. My daughter had great fun learning this process and seeing the results.
What you will need:
A stack of thick/heavy books
Newspaper
An assortment of flowers (that you have permission to pick)
Method:
Pick your flowers when they are dry. You don’t want to do it a day after rain or first thing in the morning if they have dew on them. Wait for a dry couple of days.
Open a book and lay a piece of newspaper over the open pages.
Place your flowers on one side of the newspaper. Try and get them as flat as possible.
Fold the other side of the newspaper sheet over on top of the flowers by closing the book.
Keep the book in a warm, dry place, and stack other heavy books on top it.
We left ours for a week, but the longer you leave them, the flatter and drier they will be.
Carefully open the book and remove the flowers for use in crafts.
It is Easter weekend, and I wanted to do a big, impressive craft with the kids. Easter won’t be the same this year for any of us due to social distancing, and as we usually have a family trip out on the Easter weekend, I am trying to think up lots of fun ways for us to get in the spirit this year.
A big craft idea for this year is to make an Easter tree. This is basically a painted branch to hold lots of fun crafts such as paper eggs etc. We were fortunate to have lots of old branches and sticks in the bottom of our garden, but there is no reason why you can’t make your Easter tree out of pipe cleaners or craft wire etc.
We first spray painted our branch. We only had purple spray paint, so that is what we used. I stuck ours into a plant pot of soil and compacted it around the trunk of the branch to keep it steady. Smaller trees can be placed in vases etc. Just use what you have to hand.
The fun part is decorating the tree. We coloured in some spring themed cut outs we already had lying about, but you can design eggs or even bunting to hang on your tree.
The kids enjoyed this project as we could all sit out in the sun and get crafty as a family. No matter how big or small your tree, you can have good fun decorating for Easter.
I promised I would share everything and anything that has entertained my children during this lockdown, and we have found a winner. My 9 year old has spent hours doing stop motion photography on my phone. All you have to do is download the FREE app called Stop Motion Studio to your phone from your app store. There is a pro version for £4.99, but we didn’t need that, as it was only my child playing around and making mini movies.
Rules of stop motion:
Set up your camera and DO NOT move it. A tripod is ideal, but we didn’t have one, so we propped it up using books and an ornament to keep the camera straight.
Keep all your camera settings, zoom, and lighting etc exactly the same.
Set up your image and take a picture every time you make a movement within the image. Every movement should be small, so when the footage is played together the movements look fluid.
You can create any story line you want. My daughter acted out a scene using her toy figurines. You could even do something using paper, or even get family member to act it out. As long as you remember to take a picture after every tiny movement, you’ll be good. Once you are finished, there are some limited editing features to use if you would like to.
I hope you or your little ones have good fun making stop motion. Let your imaginations run wild.
If you want a little inspiration for ways to encourage your children to play by themselves or with their siblings, or to use their imaginations, then this is the post for you. I have compiled a list of some imaginative play ideas to entertain the kids during lockdown.
Blanket Fort
A blanket fort is a tried and tested activity by many generations. I for one remember my blanket forts being castles one day, and then secret dens the next. All you need are some light weight blankets or sheets, and drape them over a table or the back of a few chairs etc.
Design a Box
As we all know, kids love a good box. If you have a big box at home, why not give it to your child with some pens and tell them to create whatever they want. Kids flourish when given the reins. Who knows what you will end up with- a spaceship or a pirate boat?
Teddy Bear’s Picnic
A teddy bear’s picnic or tea party is a great way of encouraging younger children to use their imaginations. This is a great outside activity too. Just lay out a picnic blanket for your child. The child can set up their teddy bears and play host/hostess.
Write and Perform a Play
This can also be used as a homeschool activity. This encourages storytelling and script writing, especially in older children. They could create a storyboard or script, and once they have written their play, the whole family can get involved in acting it out.
Car Wash or Doll Salon
Depending what your child prefers to play with, you can set up a car wash or doll salon with just a bucket of soapy water and a towel. This is another great outside activity for dry days. Line up your cars like you would at a car wash, or have the dolls sit around a blanket ready for their appointment.
This post is part of a three part series. Yesterday’s post, part 1, was all about frugal crafts. Today’s is all about fun games to keep your kids entertained during lockdown. Tomorrow’s will feature ideas for imaginative play.
My 9 year old loves playing code breakers. It is simple to create a code and write a letter to each other. All you do is write down the alphabet and draw a symbol underneath each letter. Both players need a copy of the code. Write your letter or secret message in the code, and the recipient has to decipher it. Make sure you leave space under your sentences for the recipient to write the word.
Ball/ Marble Run
I say ball or marble run as what you use is dependant on the age of your child. We made a ball out of scrunched paper and sticky tape as I have a toddler who is much to small for marbles. This game is simply made from toilet roll tubes cut in half and stuck onto a surface such as a door to make a run. I did a tutorial post you can check out: Marble Run.
Memory Game
Fill a tray with small objects of your choice. and cover it with a piece of fabric. Add more objects for older children. whip off the fabric and give your child ten second to memorise as may objects as possible, then cover it back over with a piece of fabric. Make your child turn around as you remove one object and put it out of sight. They then have ten seconds to guess what object is missing.
Treasure Hunt
Anything that involves a map is a hit with most kids. You can do a map of you garden or your house, and lead your child on a hunt. Perhaps at each point of your map there can be a riddle for them to work out? This is a great idea for an Easter egg hunt too.
Colour Match Game
This game is for younger children who are learning their colours. I have a free printable of the sheet I use for my toddler in a previous post. You can find that post here: Colour Learning Game for Preschoolers.
Scavenger Hunt
I have previously posted free outdoor and indoor scavenger hunt printables that encourage your child to explore their surroundings. You can find the printables in via these links:
If you are a parent, you may be in desperate need of some boredom busters right about now. I am dedicating my next 3 posts to frugal boredom busters to keep your kids entertained. There will be three posts in this series: crafts, games, and imaginative play,
Today, I am going to share some craft ideas that you can do using items around your home.
Bug Hotel
This is an adaptable craft that is great for getting outdoors in the dry weather. All you need is a pot or tub and fill it with sticks, grass, moss etc. It really works with anything you can find in your garden. You could make a science project out of it, and keep track of any bugs you see taking up residency.
Easter Egg Colouring
Design and colour an Easter egg. My daughter had great fun making the patterns (with a little help from me), and colouring them in. Another idea would be to make a bunch more and string them all together to make an Easter banner for decoration.
Toilet Roll Desk Tidy
These are very simple to make and you probably have everything you need to make them around your house. I did a tutorial on this before: DIY Desk Tidy
Money Box
A money box is a simple, but creative craft for your child. Not only can you make this with just a tub with a plastic lid, but your kids can decorate it anyway they like. There is no right or wrong.
Simply get a decent sized tub that has a plastic lid (a crisp tube is perfect). An adult should cut a slit (large enough to fit coins through) in the centre of the lid. The child can then decorate the tub. We wrapped the pot in paper, and then added stickers. It really is that simple.
Toilet Roll Binoculars
This craft is exactly what it says on the tin: toilet roll tubes stuck together like binoculars. They are perfectly fine just like that, but you can get your child to decorate them and add string for a strap or a paper straw for a handle. These are fab for younger children to explore the garden or look for birds.
Time Capsule
You can make a time capsule of anything, but we made one specifically for the current Covid-19 situation. My daughter will have a keepsake of pictures, articles, and her own journals of her time in lockdown to show her kids in the future. You can check out my post here: Time Capsule 2020.
Nature Picture
Head out into the garden, or hunt for some sticks and leaves etc when you go on your daily walk if possible. Use what you gather to create a picture. All you need for this is paper or card, glue, and whatever you can gather. You can create a picture solely using your nature items, or use certain pieces to add texture to a drawing like my daughter did.
Now we are spending a lot of time in our own homes, you will no doubt notice a spike in certain household costs such as electricity and groceries etc. A bit of careful adjustment and forward planning is a great way to keep these costs down as much as possibly, especially during this uncertain financial time. Every little helps in the long run. Here are some of my tips for trying to reduce costs:
Meal plan: Sort through your pantry and freezer and write meals based on what you have. That way, you only need to buy additional items for each meal etc. This also stops food waste as it ensures you eat up food that you may have forgotten you had etc. It will also stop you heading to the shops unnecessarily and putting yourself at risk.
Minimise water usage: Don’t water you flowers with fresh water unless absolutely necessary. You can use grey water for flowers- dishwater is fine. Also, switch out baths for showers. A great way to stop family members spending ages in the shower is to set a time limit and put an egg timer in the bathroom for everyone to use.
Turn off/ down your heating: As we are now in April, we have turned off our heating. Adjust your thermostats or heating devices accordingly if you are not ready to turn off your heating. You only need it to take the edge off, not be a sauna.
Turn off any electricity drainers: Electricity is a big expense when you are at home a lot. Making sure things like lights and appliances are turned off when you leave a room is a great way to lower costs. Limit technology time, so you don’t have a television or PC running all day.
Batch cook: Batch cooking is useful for lowering costs because not only is cooking from scratch cheaper and you can usually make more for less, you use your cooking appliances less, saving on electricity.
Use a slow cooker: If you have a slow cooker, now is the time to make use of it. Slow cookers are more energy efficient than a conventional oven, despite being on for longer. Slow cookers are also great for batch cooking.
Air dry clothes: If the weather is nice, get your clothes on the line outside. A clothes horse/airer is also a good idea. Just make sure you dry clothes on an airer in a ventilated room to prevent condensation and damp. Don’t forget, an airer can also go outside, even if you have a small yard/ balcony.
Use your washing machine less: If you are inside a lot, you are not getting overly dirty- wear your trousers or pyjamas for an extra day etc. A pyjamas day or two might be just the self care you need and will spare your day clothes a little longer.
Freeze leftover food: Of course, this is a great way to keep the extra portions you batch cooked, but it is also good for keeping vegetables and fruit from going bad etc. You can blanch and freeze most vegetables, freeze fruit for smoothies, and you can even freeze bread. Just google what you want to freeze to research any preparation techniques.
Don’t use the car: Unless you are doing a big shop (or still working etc), why not try and keep the car on the driveway. Walk to the local store for essential groceries etc. It can be your exercise outing for the day too. Even though fuel may be cheaper right now, it’s only cheap if you are going to use it, and it helps you avoid handling fuel pumps etc.
The last few days, my 9 year old daughter has been a little down in the dumps. The social distancing has really started to dawn on her and she is missing friends and family, and just the little things we usually take for granted.
She told me she wishes a friend could come for tea and knows that could be months down the line, but just me saying that we will definitely invite a friend over for tea when all of this craziness is over made her feel much better. So, we decided to create a ‘box of wishes’ for when we can finally get back to some sort of normality. For her, it is a little jar of positivity, hope, and looking to the future.
I wanted to share this idea, as it has helped us keep the end in sight, and if your little ones are struggling, then maybe give this a try to buoy them up.
Method:
Pick a box or jar to decorate or label.
Keep some small scraps of paper and pen beside the jar.
Anytime a family member starts to miss something i.e. a trip to the beach or picnic at the park, write it down and pop it in the box.
When we are finally able to return to some sort of normality, empty the box and start to work your way through them. You can treat it like a bucket list.
________________________
Do you have nay good tips for helping kids keep positive and get through these uncertain times?
This is a time of uncertainty for our little ones, so keeping them occupied and positive is a must. Not only will creating a bucket list of things to do during the lockdown minimise boredom, it is a fun way to get to all of those tasks/ ideas you have been putting off.
Use this time to make memories with your child. Always try to see a positive where possible.
Remember to make your list achievable. If you need to go out to buy stuff or spend loads to order materials, then it’s kind of defeating the purpose. Suggest crafts that use materials that can be found around your house or in the recycling. Take this time to finish tasks that your kids have been asking about. Our task that my daughter is happy to crack on with is scrapbooking, We have holiday snaps that have needed to be scrapbooked since last year.
Sensibly Frugal Living 