Cowboy Fun {Part 1}

Earlier this year, Little One was into cowboys, so I created some fun activities around the theme. Here are some of the things we got up to. 

Cowboy paper doll via MakingFriends.com.

 

Cowboy memory match game via Homeschool Creations.

A sequencing game. Spot the sequence and then continue it. 

A memory game. Show the items for 15/20 seconds, then cover. What can he remember?

Another fun idea with these little plastic toys is to hide duplicates around the room and send the kiddos to find them. This is a fun way to teach new words like wigwam/cactus/camp fire etc. 

And we made a WANTED poster-  although little one doesn't like being a baddie :)

Books we read:

Cowboy Small - Lois Lenski

The Big Golden Book of the Wild West - Gene Biggs

The Lone Ranger (Little Golden Book) - Steffi Fletcher 

B is for Buckaroo: A Cowboy Alphabet - Louise Doak Whitney

(This last one we haven't read ourselves, but it comes highly recommended.)

Part 2, coming soon.

Puzzle Superhero Craft

I have been rather absent here on the blog and to my regular readers, I do apologise. Life happens and honestly when you stop posting regularly, it's easy to just put it off longer and longer. So in the hope of getting back into the swing of things, this is a post of few words. 

Don't throw away old puzzles (especially those with missing pieces) - make some puzzle people or superheroes, like Big One did. :)

Chat soon...

Star Wars Birthday Party

We very recently celebrated Little One's 5th birthday! The party was discussed for months ahead of time and I must tell you, turning 5 was a really big deal for my little guy.

When Little One told me that he wanted a Star Wars party, I must be honest, I wasn't too thrilled. For most of the year he had been talking about an army party and I was quite excited and inspired by that theme. But then one day, out of the blue, he changed his mind. Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti Star Wars, but somehow this theme just didn't get me very excited. But what's a Momma to do?

So I spent many hours (tooo many hours) searching and pinning Star Wars and lego ideas. Do you follow me on Pinterest? - well then, you may have noticed :). I was looking for inspiration and finally I found it in some of the coolest retro Star Wars posters. (Google "Retro Star Wars Posters Images" and you will see what I mean)

So here are the details: 

I was told that this had to be a "Human Star Wars Party", not a lego one, but I couldn't resist these from Kiki's Craft Corner, and so used them to decorate the party boxes.

For the cupcake toppers, I used some awesome scrapbooking freebies from Laura Kate and combined it with free scrapbooking paper from Free Vintage Digital Stamps.

The banner was made by printing out colouring-in pages and painting them with a sponge roller and craft paint.

The venue was Party Playhouse. I was able to do my own decor for the party room, which suited me well, and I also booked the party on a week day, so that we could possibly be the only party at the time in the venue. As a party venue, I can highly recommend Party Playhouse  - they were very professional and helpful and the party guests all had a blast.

A sherbet stick made to look like a light saber was a small party favour.

I also wanted to share with you the T-Shirt I made. Using a template of Yoda's face, I cut out the face in green felt and glued it to a rectangular piece of black felt. I used my glue gun, so am not sure how many washes it will survive, but Little One loved wearing it on the day.

Shame the birthday boy was quite ill on his party day, but he made it through the day with lots of prayer and Panado.

And last, but certainly not least, the cake was baked by my cake lady, the very talented Marleen. I call her my cake lady, because she has baked so many lovely cakes for me over the years.  If you live close by and want her number, just drop me a line.  

As Yoda would say,  "Great readers you are; Happy you be till next time we meet" - or something like that :).

making soup

Jenga Block Play

 I apologise in advance for this photo heavy post...

 

On a recent Friday afternoon I took out the two boxes of jenga and added a jumbo sized pack of playing cards. I opened the boxes and said to the boys: "How about creating some structures using the cards and blocks". Well, that pretty much set the tone for the next 24 hours. Did I say 24 hours? - 48 easily.

 

I really love blocks. I love that they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and that they are so open-ended, leaving much to the imaginations of young and old alike.

Big One built his first few structures with the cards, but thereafter simply created beautiful "architectural structures" (if I may call them that) with the blocks. Little One seemed to enjoy the block and card combo and continued to create designs using both. Little One was a bit envious of the fact that his brother could make "much cooler" (as he put it) creations. 

Eying his brother's creation...

Little One made these - I think they are super :) 

 

   

And of course, these blocks lend themselves to making tracks...

and to writing your name...

and to making domino effects...

and to making these.

  

It gave me so much joy watching them play and even I was taken by surprise at how this "simple play" held their attention for so long.

Do your children play with blocks? Do you ever add something to the blocks to extend or expand their play? I'd love to hear about it. 

For more fun block ideas and inspiration, check out my Pinterest Blocks Board.

Till next time, happy playing :) 

PS. Sharing our fun at The Weekly Kids Co-Op. 

Green Point Park Outing

 

It's the wonderful three week Winter break in South Africa at the moment and of course parents all over are wondering where to go and what to do with their young folk. Well last Sunday we took our first visit to the Green Point Park, right next to the Cape Town Stadium, which was built for the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup. 

I can't believe it's taken us so long to visit - the park is great. It has space, loads of it, and there's lots to explore - the gardens, the play park, an exercise park, a labyrinth, the Biodiversity garden and more. Big One took his skateboard and Little One his bike and they had freedom to safely skate and ride around. The park also has beautiful views of the Stadium, Signal Hill and surrounds and at the one corner, the Mouille Point lighthouse.

Entrance is free and you can take a picnic along and spend the day if you like. If you haven't been, it's a super outing that definitely won't break the bank.

Peacocks, Puppies and some Bears {Glove Craft}

 

To make you need:
gloves (any kind)
batting 
small round containers (mine were recycled cheese containers)
colour cardboard
googly eyes
felt, feathers, ribbon, etc to decorate
craft glue/glue gun (if you have one)
sellotape

 

For the gloves I used wool gloves that I purchased at The Crazy Store and Jet - these were the cheapest I could find. Start the project by pushing the batting into the fingers of the glove. Very little batting is required in the body of the glove, as this is pushed into your container. 

Once the fingers are as fat as you would like them to be, decorate the fingers. This will depend on which animals or creatures you have chosen to make. I decided to make peacocks and Dalmatian puppies and Big One made a family of bears. I used normal craft glue to stick on the eyes and felt and a glue gun to stick the feathers onto the peacocks. Once the glue has dried and your creatures are complete, glue the glove into the container. Lastly, cut some coloured cardboard into a strip to fit around the container and stick it on with sellotape.

I am so thrilled that we finally made these - it's been on my to-do list forever. If you make some, please let me know; I'd love to come and see. 

I was just thinking about my American readers - using this idea, you could make some turkeys instead of peacocks as a nice Thanksgiving craft.

Till next time then, happy crafting. 

PS. I do realise that my peacocks are not the right colour - I used some artistic license ;).

PPS. Linking up to The Weekly KIDS Co-Op and Link and Learn.

being Real

my best presents ever. 

I turned 42 yesterday and must admit there are many days when I think - surely I should have it all together by now?  Somehow I got it into my head that someday it would all be perfect. Me in the kitchen cooking healthy food; the kids happily playing around me; the dog obediently lying on his mat watching us (like in the movies). I would look good (definitely not harassed or tired) and my home would have that lived in, but somehow still neat and ordered and pretty look about it.

It's really not like that - at all!

What I do have is lots of messy moods, a messy kitchen, a very energetic messy dog, and two (very normal) children who don't always get along, or listen or have good manners. And me - well self-control often flies right out the window.

This grown-up stuff can be hard.

There are many days when I have to remind myself of how it's so very normal, very okay, very real and that GOD is the one I should look to for calm, for help, for peace in my home. And He does help. The best part is the forgiveness part - I can ask him for forgiveness, and forgive myself for all the "imperfect" and start the day new and try to do it better - whether it's the first five minutes of the day, or the last.

So I am afraid I have a bit of bad news for you...whether you are 22, 32 or 42, it's never perfect. Never. But stay focussed on our Saviour and there is always love, often joy, always G R A C E in these messy, imperfect moments. :)

PS. Cute kiddie craft coming up tomorrow using a glove. Hope I have your interest piqued. See you then.

Tea Bag Craft and Gift

 

  

Boy, I know I have been rather slow in posting, but not because I haven't wanted to. Some family/life changes have simply meant more responsibility for me and a little less time (and energy) for fun things (the best things) like blogging. But Love and Lollipops is never far from my mind. This space is like a great old friend - always welcoming, always happy to see me, always fun! I hope that when you do see a new post, you feel the same way :).

Today I'm sharing our Mother's day gift that we made for the super Grannies in our lives. I saw this idea over at Rebeccas DIY blog and knew we had to try it. If you love art, simple crafts and tea, then this one is for you. I absolutely love Rebecca's version and the special box she made, so do go have a look. 

First off, you need to purchase some tagged tea bags and cut small white cards to overlap the tag. Then get arty and decorate the tags, which you must staple onto the tea bag tags. Wrap up the tea bags neatly and put them back into the box (decorated if you like) or a petty flat packet. Now you have a special gift for a tea-loving lady.

Till next time...

PS. Our homemade Mother's Day gifts from previous years:
Cards to use made from children's art
Serviette holder
Mosaic fridge magnets