Bottle Top Art, Pinterest Boards, and a Winner!

Getting tired of all these bottle top posts :)? I hope not, because I just can't help myself. When I see bottle tops...I see possibilities!

Here in South Africa we have many schools with very limited resources and every time I pick up a bottle top, I see all the potential that this little throw away plastic top has :). So to better collect and organise ideas, I have created Bottle Top Teaching and Bottle Top Fun Pinterest Boards. The first board will focus on using bottle tops to teach and the second board will be anything creative one can get up to with a bottle top. I hope you will drop me a line if you have been doing some bottle top activities. I will be right over to check it out :).

So this sweet bit of art (see above) was really easy to make.
All you need is :

bottle tops

two chubby little hands (yes, chubby ones required)

gloopy glue (you know...gloopy white runny glue)

pretty paper sprinkle/confetti

I wish I had a picture of those two chubby hands squee-eezing the glue into the bottle tops, but we did this fun activity at night and the photos came out rather yucky. I can assure you though, that Little One loved this. After all the squeezing, came the sprinkling of the paper confetti. When he was done, I arranged the tops nicely onto a page and stuck them down to make some super easy wall art. Easy and fun!

One last thing before I go...
I have a winner for the makedo giveaway. 

Congratulations Lizanne from Clay Jar People! 

I'll be in touch shortly to get your postal details.

Thanks also to all of you who took part and left such kind comments. I'll definitely be having some more giveaways, so stay tuned.

Till next time, be good...

Georgia :)

makedo {A Giveaway}

I was so excited when I recently discovered a new product, called makedo. I immediately went and checked out the website and after seeing all the wonderful possibilities, I couldn't resist getting it for the boys. 

What is it? Essentially, as they so aptly put it, it is "a set of connectors for creating things from the stuff around you". 

I particularly like that they offer both free-play kits, as well as find-and-make kits. In the free-play kit, you have a set of connectors and using the recycled objects you have at your disposal, as well as your imagination, you can make anything you want to. The find-and-make kit is a project-based kit, in which you make a specific thing, for example, flowers. These kits tell you which recycled objects you need for the project and it gives you the required connectors and instructions - cool hey?

In the Easter holidays we had some friends over and I gave the kids some recycled items as well as our free-play kit. Here's what they came up with...can you spot the tiny toilet roll character?

According to the website, this product is suitable for ages 5 and over. I think this depends on the child's fine motor dexterity and finger strength. The children who made these items in the picture were aged 10 and 12.

I really knew I had made a smart purchase when shortly after getting our kit, Big One had to go dressed up to school for "Crazy Day". He created a mask from a box and using the connectors, he attached items to the box to make it interesting. I was so thrilled, because it was far easier and quicker than using glue - no drying time required!

And now for the best part, Annelize, our local agent for this super product, has very kindly given me a 33 piece free-play kit to give away to you! 

How do you enter? It's really easy. 

• For one entry, leave a comment and tell me what one of your favourite posts has been here at Love and Lollipops.
• For a second entry, tell a friend about this competition. 
• And, for a third entry, "like" my Love and Lollipops Facebook page. 
• You need to leave separate comments for each entry and please make sure that I have your contact (email) info.
• The competition closes on Sunday the 13th of May and is open world wide.

:)

Can't wait and want to buy some in the mean time? If you are local, you can contact Annelize via her Facebook page or send her an email at preta(at)mweb(dot)co(dot)za

Annelize will also be exhibiting at the next My Favourite Things market, being held in Paarl on the 12th of May. 

Good Luck! 

Blog Hop

There's this fun blog hop hosted by Happy Go Lucky, I Heart Crafty Things, Joy in the Jumble and Keeping Up With Kristi and this week I'm so lucky, I'm being spotlighted. So if you're visiting from the hop, WELCOME! I hope you will grab a cup of tea and enjoy the playfulness and creativity I (try to) share here.

I thought I would share some quick links to some fun posts here at Love and Lollipops: 

Recycled Robot Craft 

The Little Yellow Bus Teacher Gift 

A Mommy-made Doctor's Kit 

No-Sew Sock Kitty 

Our Batman Lego Party 

Thanks again for hopping by :). Happy reading!

Seussville {Bottle Top and Pom Pom Town}

Big Brother went off to camp for a few days this morning, so I thought it would be nice to have a few distractions for little brother. Truthfully, Little One will probably be fine - it's Mommy (that would be me) that might not be.

Anyhow, this project started off a few days ago with me encouraging the boys to make some "buildings" from bottle tops. Big One wasn't in the mood, but Little One loved the idea of using the gloopy glue again and he made some nice creations. I, of course, got completely carried away and created a whole town of buildings :). Right at the end, I decided to added some pom poms for a kind of "Dr Seuss effect".

Little One's creations...

The little buildings needed a place to go, so I took a large piece of cardboard and glued some colourful cardboard roads on to it and added the street markings with a correction pen. "Seussville" awaited Little One when he got home today. He really liked it and played and played...makes a Mommy's heart glad...and not having Big One around, just a little bit easier.

Until next time, happy playing!

PS. Sharing this at
Too Cute Tuesday @ Funky Polkadot Giraffe

For the Kids Friday @ Sun Scholars 

Kids Co-op
Show and Tell @ ABC and 123 

Earth Day Craft

I am an honest gal! And honestly, I had never heard of Earth Day until I started blogging. This year when I noticed all the Earth Day crafts, I decided to put on one of my favourite caps...the research one...and find out a little more about it. So here's what I found out:

Earth Day is a day on which events are held worldwide to increase awareness and appreciation of the earth's natural environment. Many communities around the world celebrate Earth Week, an entire week of activities focused on environmental issues. Earth Day is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network, and is celebrated in more than 175 countries every year. The origin of this day is credited to Gaylord Nelson, a former U.S. Senator, who after witnessing the devastation of the 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, California, called for an environmental  teach-in  on 22 April 1970. In 2009, the United Nations designated April 22 International Mother Earth Day and it is planned for this date in all years through till 2015.(Reference: Wikipedia)

If you have been reading for awhile, you will know that I like, no make that love bottle tops, and have shared quite a few bottle top crafts here at Love and Lollipops. So to celebrate Earth Day and in the spirit of recycling and looking after our beautiful planet, here's another bottle top craft for you :).

Till next time...happy recycling!

PS. Sharing this at:

Show and Tell @ ABC and 123
^{Too Cute Tuesday @ Funky Polkadot Giraffe}

Easy Chicken Craft

I found my inspiration for this sweet chicken craft in an old copy of the your family magazine. The template I used was actually meant for a hen beanbag, which I would have loved to have made, but wasn't brave enough to attempt. I enjoyed making a paper version though (far easier too!)

Did you know that the frilly part on top of the chicken's head is called a "comb" and the wobbly bit below it's beak, a "wattle"? Aren't those just the perfect names for those body parts :)? For a nice labeled photograph of the parts of a chicken, peck your way over to Farming Friends and there's lots of interesting information and print-outs about chickens at Enchanted Learning.

Till next time. 

PS. Sharing at:
 Show and Tell @ ABC and 123

The sweetest smelling Garbage Truck

At Christmas my hubby and I received some Lindt chocolate...mmm, don't you just love Lindt? I thought the papers were too pretty to throw away and they smell so good too.

If you have a little guy in your house, I'm willing to bet he loves the garbage truck. Ours comes on a Tuesday and I always say a small prayer that it will arrive before Little One has to go off to school. So when I suggested that we make a garbage truck, he was really keen. 

I cut out the truck beforehand and with the craft glue in hand and a little help on my part, Little One glued the pieces down to make the truck. Then the really fun part began - smelling and rolling the chocolate papers into balls and sticking them into the truck. All in all he enjoyed the activity and our sweet smelling garbage truck has claimed a spot on the fridge. :)

Till next time.

Sharing at: Show and Tell @ ABC and 123

Georgie's Picks {Sorta famous} and a Give Away Challenge update

I've overheard Big One say to some of his friends: "Do you want to be famous? My Mom can put you on her blog. "


That makes me smile.


So Big One thinks he's sorta famous :). This is one of his friends who kinda liked that idea...

:)

And now...did you join me in the Give Away Challenge? How are you doing? Yesterday was Day 20 for me and I have managed to part with 65 things so far.  Things like linen, towels, jewelry, cutlery, crockery, toys and clothes. Tonight I tackle my clothing cupboard, so I know that I'll have lots more to add. If you have also been giving stuff away, please do let me know about your progress.


Till next time. 

Bunny and Tail Colour Match

I wasn't going to post again this weekend, but I couldn't resist sharing these bunnies that we made this morning and also linking it up to a fun Easter Linky Party (see below).

I used this sweet bunny template from Punkin Patterns to cut out a number of coloured bunnies. I then set up a little bunny tail station. Little One loved sticking the matching tails (pom poms) onto the bunnies and it was a good recap of all his colours. We also spoke a bit about the missing colours. His best part was squeezing out the glue - I had to pry the tube from his little hands :).

I love how these turned out. I think that there is so much you could do with them. I am going to use them as Easter gift tags and if there's time I might make some bunting for our Easter table tomorrow.

I'm sharing these at the Hippity Hop Easter Project Hop. To see lots more fun Easter ideas, just click on the button below.

PS. Also sharing at Show and Tell @ ABC and 123.

Easter garden Sensory box

 I whipped up this Easter garden sensory box for Little One yesterday. I added some coloured rice, Easter eggs, pom poms, some mini garden tools, planters, paper flowers and butterflies. I would have liked to have had a little watering can, but I couldn't find one, so we used our imagination :).

Little One first gobbled up some of the Easter eggs (of course!) and then got down to some playing.

To colour the rice, put it in a deep bowl and add food colouring and a little bit of water. Stir in well and keep adding until you are happy with the colour. Then spread it out to dry on a big tray. I put mine outside for a few hours and it dried easily. 

Wishing you and yours a very Blessed Easter weekend! 

PS. Sharing this at Spring Link Up @ Rust and Sunshine.