Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Crazy Incredibles Pumpkin Craft for Preschoolers


Like last year this year also we participated in the Pumpkin decoration activity for kids, organised by Michaels
My 3.5 yr old daughter was so excited for the event. She just could not wait for the event to begin. You have to buy the pumpkin and they will provide the supplies and parents or care taker has to help out kids.
This crazy pumpkin design is 100% her own creation. I guess she was actually inspired by the one they kept for demo purpose. But the color combination and the eyes are all her imagination.
She had a blast making this one. It took a long time but considering her age I guess that was expected.We were very happy to see her happy.

Supplies you will need:
-Faux pumpkin
-Self sticking Foam sheets-black and white
-Pom Poms different sizes, different colors
-Google eyes :Jumbo size
-Chennile stems or pipe cleaners
-Safety scissors
-Pinking scissors
-craft knife
-Tacky Glue
-Feathers various colors
-Pencil/marker

Step wise instructions on how to make this Incredibles inspired Crazy Pumpkin
1. On a self sticking black foam sheet draw the shape of the eye mask. Cut it.SHould be done by adults or may be Adult supervision if the child is used to cutting.

2. Similarly on a black self sticking foam sheet draw the smile of the pumpkin.Cut it.
3. On a self sticking White foam sheet draw pointed crazy teeth and cut with pinking scissors or normal scissors are also fine.
4. Use tacky glue to stick pompom. For the rest of it normal glue is also fine.
5.Stick the feathers, google eyes etc.
6. For the crazy curly hair, roll the chennile stems or pipe cleaners on a pencil or marker and take them out.Some kids need Adults help to do this till they get hang of it.
7. At the end of the curly hair, just insert a little pom pom of contrasting color.
8. To insert the chennile stem hair, use something pointed to make hole, like pointed scissors or craft knife. Adults should make the holes and let the kids insert the hair.

Use you imagination to make it more crazy or different crazy. The possibilities are endless.
Have fun. Happy Halloween!!.

Tips:

-Use tacky glue in moderation. Works really well with little amount and sticks pretty quickly.I loved this one as kids get frustrated when things take time to stick.If you take too much tacky glue it will take longer time to dry and hence does not serve the purpose.
-For making hair, little kids might get tired, Adults please help them. Little hands get tired pretty quickly.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Digital Journaling for New Parents and a Cool Giveaway Enter to win


In last couple of months few of our friends were blessed with babies and there are some more who are due in next few months. With the amount of lovely wishes pouring on facebook, while they wait for the baby and on the baby's arrival,it made me wonder whether there is a way to capture all these wonderful wishes.
Coincidentally, during the same time Caroline from TommeeTippee introduced us to their new website appropriately named The Day baby was born. It offers a free service that automatically gathers information about the day your child was born, based on your selections, to create a storybook that you can share with family and friends.

Digital journaling is getting very popular these days.Something as special as a new baby is a perfect time to do Digital Journaling. With a new born at home, parents are busy taking care of the new member. Definitely, everybody is excited and the messages keep coming from all the well wishers. With social networks getting so popular and facebook being the most popular one, many of them are on facebook. It would be great if those special moments are captured in an easy and quick way, without spending much time and energy. Digital Journaling comes handy in such situations.

A free web application like The day baby was born is a wonderful way to start the story telling.
I must say I was really touched by the sample storybook they have put together.

When my daughter was born I did make a small Digital storybook of a different kind but, it definitely didn’t capture the facebook messages etc. Like many of us, I still have piles of memories yet to be put in a proper scrapbook someday. And all the parents out there will agree that it gets busier with every passing day.

Take advantage of the technology and get going, do give this Digital Journaling a try. In this web application the information is captured from the facebook wall post, news sites and data feeds selected by you. You can choose to make it extra special and more personalized by adding pictures and stories from your pregnancy and delivery. You do have an option to write a letter to your baby which I think is a wonderful concept.When you are ready to share the news

- it creates a Personalised pregnancy and Birth Announcement on Facebook
- A storybook that you can share online.

The Day Baby was born digital story book is a wonderful keepsake for you as a parent and for your child. It is definitely something to kids would love to know - how the world was when they were born and how much they were loved.

Since,this is a web application with captures data from Facebook, they do require you to sign up and allow to access basic information from Facebook. They do have strict privacy policy. Before you sign up, make sure you understand that. As far as we could see, it is similar to those of other facebook web applications.

And here is the fun part.Caroline Trainor from Tommee Tippee
has generously offered to send the giveaway of Explora Sippie Cup to one lucky reader.
For participating in the GIVEAWAY
-comment on this post, make sure you include your email address within your comment if you don’t have a blog or website where your address is easy to find.
-You can earn one extra entry for liking our online shop Navanka Creations on facebook .
-One more entry can be earned by liking our blog on facebook
Tell us if you have done this within your comment or as a separate one.

This giveaway is for US resident only.
Giveaway will close at the end of dayMonday, October 31st.
Winner will be selected by Random.org Winner will be Announced on this post. The giveaway will be sent to the winner directly by Tommee Tippee
Please note: I have not received compensation in any form from Tommee Tippee for doing this review and Giveaway.