Monday, June 21, 2010

Make your own Paper Cups for snacks



This summer, the craft that I found the most interesting, cute and useful is the origami paper cups. They are great for mini snacks like pop corn, god fish crackers, chips or even grapes. The size of the paper cup is perfect for little hands. Best part is you can make it quickly and it takes less space too. Also, if you forgot to bring bowls it comes handy too and kids have great fun eating from sothing different and colorful.
With its success in few of the get togethers I had during last few outdoor gatherings and on popular demand I am finally posting the instructions of creating these cute paper cups or paper pockets here.

Supplies:

-Square origami paper 6 inch or 8 inch or A4 sheet paper preferably colored for added attraction

Following these simple instructions you can create these wonderful paper cups.
1. Take the square paper and fold it in half diagonally. You will get a triangle as a result. Crease or score using your finger or a bone tool.See step 1,1a in the picture above.

2. Hold the left corner and try to bring it to the mid-point of the edge of the right side of the triangle. Crease or score using your finger or a bone tool.See step 2 in the picture above.

3. Now hold the right corner and try to bring it to the mid-point of the edge of the left side of the triangle.Crease or score using your finger or a bone tool. See step 3 in the picture above.

4. At the top you will get a open flap with two traingles. Hold the upper triangle and fold it towards you. Crease. Repeat on the other side. Refer steps 4 and 5.

Your Paper cup is ready to be used. Put some snacks and have fun. Little bigger kids can make these themselves too.It will be even more fun in that way. Simply take some square papers with you in your next barbeque party or beach party and let kids make their own paper cups. Of course you will have to show to make one.


Tips:

-Make multiples and in different colors and keep it in diaper bag of your kid.
You will have a clean surface and your kid will have so much fun everytime.
-To make it recyclable craft use old magazines.
-You can make them little larger for adults too. Use Parchment paper or Aluminium foil whichever comes handy.
- Personalise by writing kids names with a marker.
-Can use in birthday parties too.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Easy Gift wrapping for non-rectangular objects


With Father's Day approaching you are getting one more opportunity of wrapping gifts. Gift wrapping usually seems simple if the gift is a regular rectangle shape and comes in a box.It definitely becomes little tricky if it is any other shape than a rectangle and a square and little more challenging if it does not come in a box.

Gift wrapping is an art and is not such a big deal for some of us but believe me, it is a nightmare for many of us.Looking at our library of gifts we have wrapped overtime we are enclosing some pictures and ideas for gifts which are not rectangular.

Wrapping a fragile round shape object is best done in a cylindrical box. For father's day if you plan to give a golf ball or any other round or cylindrical small object for which you do not have any box visit a craft store and get a paper mache box. I was a dilemma when I had to gift the Pomander Ball shown in one of our earlier posts to my sister at her baby shower. To my surprise the idea came from my hubby.
He got a paper mache box which comes in brown color and is easily available in craft stores like Michaels and Hobby Lobby.

I decorated the box as shown in the picture. Supplies I used are blue wrapping paper, matching blue and white ribbon, doily. Since that is little fragile and I wanted to keep it a surprise till she opens the box I used box.
You can use cellophane paper if there is not much travel involved.

Something that really comes handy in wrapping something irregular in shape is cellophane or glassine paper and ribbon. With only these two supplies you can achieve a really presentable gift wrapping if it is something beautiful if visible partially. If there is something you do not want to show and still want to wrap in cellopane, using a colorful tissue paper first as a liner inside is also a good idea

This candle in a mosaic glass container is better off being shown through the cellophane paper with a matching ribbon tied as a bow.

Supplies and tools that come handy for gift wrapping irregular shapes.
Cellophane paper or Glassine Paper, Ribbon, Scotch Tape, Tissue Paper,Paper Mache boxes, Gift wrapping paper, Doily, Acrylic Paint.

Tip:You can use your imagination and instead of lining the box with paper you can also use acrylic paint. You might have to use multiple coat of paints if the box is brown and you are using light color.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Tissue paper flowers

Flowers are in full bloom around us. I go out for walk with my five month old son everyday. Its a visual feast to go out and enjoy the beautiful colors. It has been ages since I have attempted any craft project(with a baby at home crafting is kind if a fantasy) but could not resist today. So when my little baby was napping I made these tissue paper flowers. Kids can make these with little supervision. This is a great handmade gift idea for kids to take to their grandparents house this summer or just decorate their desk or a corner in their room.

With Father's day approaching, this can be a good gift for a Dad or Grandpa who loves gardening.

Here are the supplies you need for the project:

- Tissue paper ( Any two contrasting colors, I used violet and yellow)
- Scissors
- Binder clip
- Glue stick
- Paper bamboo for the stick ( you can use chenille stem or wooden stem too)

I made a set of six flowers. You can make as many as you want depending on the size of vase you are going to use.

Step by step instructions :
- Cut four 3" x 5" tissue paper strips of each color.

- Fold individual strips in half along the width.

- To create the fringes , follow the illustration below. I have used binder clip as a guide to help cut the fringes. Since tissue paper is quite thin, you can cut multiple layers at once to reduce fringing time.


- Use glue stick and spread glue at the uncut end of the fringed tissue paper strip.

- Take the paper bamboo stem and wrap the yellow fringed tissue paper strip around it. Using the same process glue all four yellow strips around the stem to create center of the flower.

- Now , glue the violet strips around the yellow strips to get the beautiful tissue paper flower.

- Flare the paper fringes using your fingers and you have the tissue paper flower ready.

These flowers can be used in multiple ways.I used mine to create this vibrant flower arrangement.You can use these as gift box toppers too. Here is another picture:

Hope you have fun making these and bringing some of the outside color inside your home.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Card Making for Toddlers



Card making is a craft that everyone enjoys no matter what age or skill level they are. Also, card making is one of those craft which most of us do more than any other craft. Recently we visited one of our family friends after a long time. They have three kids and my 28 month old toddler is a great fan of them. She wanted to make something for her and she herself said she wants to make a card. Thanks to all those creations she watches me do every now and then. I handed over her lot of stickers and three mini card stocks. With very minimal supervision this is what she came up with. I was so happy with the result. She and the card receivers were happier.
I really felt that my toddler is growing and it is reflecting in her little creations.

Supplies: Foam stickers, card stock or any colorful paper for card



Tip: When a toddler is making a card, instead of writing the names of those whom you want to give the card you can give a foam sticker of their initial. That way they learn which alphabet the names of the recipients start.

Involving toddler in making the card gives a personal touch to the gift giving and it adds confidence and a sense of achievement to the toddler (and her mom too :) ).

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Featured on Totally Tots. Yay!

It gives us immense pleasure to announce that creations from our blog were featured on the highly successful and popular blog Totally Tots .
It is a privilege that not one but four of our entries made it to their Jungle Theme feature for this month.
Click here to see those featured creations.
Thanks a lot Totally Tots, all our readers and followers for the appreciation and the encouragement we keep receiving from you. Our kids are our inspiration. Thanks to them too. All the tots creations are inspired by them and are for them.

We hope to create even better and interesting projects in future. Happy crafting!