Counting Down To Easter With Kids - Coffee Filter Bunnies

Over the last few years I have seen these coffee filter Easter bunnies made by our kindergarten kids and by the school children at our primary school too. I find them really cute and they are quite simple to make. 

When making these with small children, your best bet is to draw and cut out all the pieces first before getting the children involved. Thier patience probably won't stretch to watching you prepare the paper shapes.

For older children (4 years and upwards), let them draw their own rabbit ears, head and paws. They will probably need help with the eggs and the basket. 

What you'll need for this activity is:

Paper or card in various colours - brown, beige or grey for the rabbit fur, pink or white for inside the ears, brown for the basket and whatever colours you like for the eggs.

A pencil for drawing with

A black felt tip pen for drawing the face

A scissors for cutting out with

Glue for sticking 

A coffee filter (or some card or wallpaper cut to the right shape) for the body

Step 1: Draw the head, paws, feet and ears on the colour of card you will be using for the bunny's fur, as shown in the photo above. Then cut them out.

Step 2: Draw the inner pieces of the ears and a little heart shape for the nose onto another colour of card and cut them out.

Step 3: Draw the basket (a circle with a smaller semicircle cut out of it) and some eggs and cut them out. The eggs look very pretty is you cut them out of patterned paper.

Step 4: Assemble all the parts, as shown in the photo below.

Step 5: Before gluing the parts to the coffee filter, draw a face onto the bunny and draw two short strokes on each of the paws, as shown in the photos below.

Step 6: Draw a woven pattern onto the basket, as shown in the photo below. Then turn the basket over and stick the eggs in place.

Step 7: Glue all of the parts together. Now your bunny should look something like the one in this photo.

Step 8: Now you can decide what to do with your bunny. They look quite nice as a window display, attached to the window with tack or double-sided sticky tape. 

Alternatively you can stand your bunny up by cutting a toilet roll insert in half and placing the open coffee filter over it. 

Now your bunny is finished and ready for Easter to arrive. 

A Long Overdue Patchwork Quilt

I am a born hoarder. As I type I am wearing a skirt I bought in 1997. I am not stingy, I just have trouble parting with things I like. 

So it follows that I am not a natural de-clutterer. The January clear out bug has never hit me. That is until this year. It is probably because I am at home and I see the amount of, well stuff, for want of a better word, that is around the house. 

A few days ago I attacked my wardrobe. One big bin-bag got filled. Obiously a few older pieces survived. Next up was the guest room, which doubles as my hobby room. As I cleared and sorted and binned stuff, I came across one of my unfinished projects - a patchwork quilt.

This project has been around for three or four years. I am not quite sure why it didn't ever get finished but I am determinded to finish it, and soon.

Back when Number Two was still sleeping in a cot (he is now 5 1/2), I decided to sew him a quilt for when he would move into his own big boy bed. 

I thought up a colour scheme (greens and greys) and a theme (leaves) and I bought the fabric in Ikea. I even got as far as sewing all the patches together and got started on attaching the wadding and backing material. And there it ended. Why? Who knows.

In the meantime Number Two has not only moved from a cot to a bed but has moved from that bed to another bedroom and a set of bunk beds. The quilt no longer matches the colour scheme of his room.

Nevertheless I am determinded to finish this quilt. We'll find a place for it somewhere. Perhaps Number Three would like it given that he sleeps in Number Two's old room. It is more suited to the colour scheme there. And it is not really a hand-me-down if no-one has ever used it, is it?

Stuck In The Middle With You

Number Two hasn't had it easy this past year or so. In September last year, within the space of a week, he got a new baby brother and saw his older brother head off to big school, leaving him behind in kindergarten. He has mostly put on a brave face, kept a stiff upper lip and just gotten on with being the middle child. I owe him a huge debt of gratitude for that. 

My many plans to take time out to spend just with him have seldom come to fruition. Either he wants his brothers to come along or the plans fall through because of a lack of someone to look after the other two. Recently some cracks are beginning to show in his brave facade and I have been feeling more and more guilty for not being able to make time for him. 

Being a middle child myself, I know exactly how he feels. He knows that I am busy with the other two (keeping the toddler out of harm's way and helping the schoolboy at his homework) and that I am not ignoring him. But constantly being told "Not now", "in a minute" and "I'll get to you as soon as I can" isn't good for him.

I hate to admit it but the wheel that squeaks the loudest gets the oil, and he doesn't squeak. He has kept turning reliably. Until now. So I've begun a maintenance program for him. 

The best I have been able to do is to squeeze in some time in the evenings, when Number Three is asleep and Number One is entertaining himself. Even if it has only been helping Number Two get ready for bed and listening to his ideas and stories from the day, I notice it has helped. He's happier in himself. He thrives on the attention. The more we use the few minutes we have, the more we seem to find little more time just for us. 

Another thing I've found is that telling him we are going to do an activity which he suggested or which revolves around him lifts his spirits a lot. Last week, for example, we went to the kindergarten latern-making afternoon. We had to bring Number Three with us, but he stayed strapped into the buggy beside us while Number Two and I cut and glued and chatted. 

Yesterday we went to football practice for the first time. Both his older and younger brother had to come along. But he was so pleased that he was the main man. Every so often he would look up from training to smile and wave to me and his brothers where we stood and watched. 

This afternoon we had a bit of quiet time while Number One was visiting a friend and Number Three played by our feet. We browsed the toy cataolgues and he started his Santa list. 

After bedtime, as I was halfway down the stairs, he called me to come back. As I peered round the doorway he blew me a kiss. I think we're slowly finding our way out of the middle. 

Making an Owl Window or Wall Decoration

I've stolen a craft idea from kindergarten and I am going to share it with you today - paper owls with leaf wings.

              

My own darling children didn't feel like making these, but I thought they were very cute. Number Three pitched in a little, pinching the scissors and glue every now and again, just to keep me on my toes, and Number One and Two collected the leaves for the wings, but they left the actual craft bit up to me.

Here's what you will need:

Coloured card for the owl bodies

White and black card for the eyes

Orange card for the beaks

Leaves

Brown card for the tree (optional)

A black marker pen

Glue

Scissors

Sticky tape

Step 1: Using a saucer, draw circles on the coloured card. These will form the bodies of the owls, so you need one circle per owl. 

Step 2: Cut out the circles.

Step 3: Cut out circles of black and white card for the eyes. You need a small white circle and a slightly larger black circle per eye. 

Step 4: Cut out one triangle of orange card per owl for the beak. The diameter of the white of the eye should be the width of the widest part of the beak.

Step 5: Glue the white of the eyes to the black circles. Then use the black marker pen to draw a black dot in the white of each eye, as shown in the photo below.

Step 6: Glue the eyes and beak onto each body. 

Step 7: Glue a leaf on either side of each owl's body for the wings. 

Step 8: Per owl, cut out two small triangles of coloured card and tape these to the back of each owl's head as ears.

 Step 9: (Optional) Cut out a tree shape from the brown card. Tape it to a wall or window. Then arrange the owls on the branches and tape any remaining leaves to the tree and around the bottom of the trunk.

Sewing Machine Embroidery Projects - Handmade Cards

If you've ever tried sewing maching embroidery, you will know that it is fantastic fun, provides quick results, uses up the tiniest of fabric scraps and is one of the most satisfying crafts on the planet. 

Birdy Tea Cosy

Having had such a nice bit of feedback on my recent sew-your-own-card tutorial I thought I would share a few more of my sewing machine embroidery projects with you.

I have tried it out on tea cosies, t-shirts, aprons and cards and it has delivered great results. But so far, the cards have been my favourite. 

A thank you card my sister made and sent to me after I had shown her the basics

A Christening Card for a Little Girl

A housewarming card for friends

For me, the key to the cuteness of these pictures is the detail. Here is a close-up of smoke billowing out of the cottage chimney.

In this shot you can see how the creeper is created by using floral fabric and a leafy setting on the sewing machine.

Throughout this picture I used floral and leaf patternd fabric as much as possible.

Here is a close-up of the cottage window and door. They have been highlighted against the pale background of the house and window by using red thread.

I am certainly no expert on this, but if you want to give it a go and have any questions, just leave me a comment or use the contact form on my blog. I'm happy to share the knowledge I've gained through trial and error over the past three or four years.

50 Things That Make Me Happy

In one of my very eary posts on this blog, I mentioned that I was never one for soul-searching. That said, it doesn't hurt now and again to take a step back and look at your life. But, be warned, it can go either way, depending on the mood you are in or the day you've had. You can end up slumped on the sofa, tissues in one hand and a drink in the other wondering how you managed to get into this mess. Or you can find yourself brimming over with enthusiasm for life, wondering how you got to be so lucky. 

When Lisa from the beautiful blog Into The Glade tagged me for the 50 Things That Make Me Happy list, I was honoured that she thought of me. But I had my doubts about finding 50 things that really make me happy. To be honest, I had visions of reaching no. 31 and then having to resort to cliches, really scraping the bottom of the barrel to make the list up to 50. 

When I sat down during a spare five minutes to put a few thoughts on a page recently, I was surprised to make it to 37 absolutely effortlessly. I only stopped writing because my brief window of peace and quiet ended (see no. 38. Brief windows of peace and quite in which to do my own thing, guilt-free). In the end, I didn't have to resort to my bottom-of-barrel, generic, greeting-card-happiness list at all. For the ultra-curious among you, this list would include:
Rainbows
Sunsets
Sunrise
Babies' feet (incredibly cute, I admit, but not top 50 material for me)
Chocolate
The smell of cut grass on a sunny day (the preceeding drone of a lawnmower kind of ruins it for me).

So here, in all its glory and in no particular order, is my list of 50 things that make me happy.

1. My husband, The Bavarian, (most of the time)
2. My children, by their very existence
3. Cherry blossom, apple blossom or any other blossom apprearing in Spring.

4. Removing the teatowel from a mixing bowl and seeing that my yeast dough has risen nicely
5. Being in France
6. Being in Holland
7. Enjoying a beer with The Bavarian on the patio on a sunny evening
8. Going to the outdoor pool after work with the kids
9. Chatting to my mother
10. Having a pint of Guinness with my dad in Bennets Pub, Ardcath, Ireland
11. Being in the Alps on a sunny day
12. Being home in Ireland

13. Turkish delight
14. Walking into the bathroom and seeing all three laundry baskets empty (a rare ocurrence, but not unheard of during a bout of good weather)
15. How my windows look after they have been cleaned. (The actual cleaning of said windows is  not one of my favourite activities)
16. Waking up feeling rested and ready to get up (again, this seldom happens but I love it when it does)
17. Easter


18. Bookshops
19. Salvaging furniture from skips or rubbish collections

20. Reading books on social history
21. The fact that my children eat most fruits and a good selection of vegetables by choice
22. Cheese (buying, eating and cooking with)
23. Snowdrops, bluebells and tulips appearing
24. Crisp autumn leaves in the sunlight 


25. Hearing son number 2 say "skoo-il" (school) and "fil-im" (film) as if he was born and raised in Ireland.
26. The fact that son number 1 picks up on Irish turns of phrase and uses them in the right context, for example "left, right and centre", "that yoke" or "I'm only after...".
27. Arriving in Dublin airport to be greeted by my father and hearing the boys ask "Grandad, will you buy us some Tayto?"
28. Marzipan fruits and animals
29. People being nice when there is nothing to be gained from it for them, like someone offering you their day pass for the tram when you are in the queue for the ticket machine and they are not using their ticket any more
30. Windy walks on the beach in Ireland

31. Watching The Bavarian pet and play with every dog he meets
32. The fact that my parents get on as well as many a married couple despite being separated for the past 16 years
33. Spending time with my nieces and nephew
34. Spending time with my siblings
35. Going to the theatre, especially The Gate in Dublin
36. Pre-theatre drinks
37. Sparkling wine
38. Brief windows of peace and quite in which to do my own thing, guilt-free
39. The Smiths (my wonderful extended family, not the band)
40. Having a garden full  of herbs, fruit trees and a small supply of summer vegetables 
41. Sincere praise for something done well
42. Weekends away with The Bavarian, my sister or my friends
43. Cooking and baking
44. The fact that certain school and uni friendships that have stood the test of time and survived my living in a different country
45. Hearing that someone I know is engaged, pregnant or has just had a baby
46. Shopping in foreign supermarkets while on holiday or a business trip

47. Learning a new craft or discovering one I used to know well (current favourites are crochet and sewing machine embroidery)

48. Being comforted by The Bavarian when things go wrong
49. Planning holidays and short trips
50. Writing, even if it is just a to do list





What would feature on your list? Would you have trouble making it to fifty? Now that I've started, I feel I could go on and on. 

Easter Crafts with Kids #1 - Mini Easter Garden

The Bavarian picked up this idea somewhere and made these boxes with the kids for me one Easter a couple of years ago. I was flabergasted and absolutely delighted to be brought coffee in bed and a cute box of dyed eggs on Easter Sunday morning. 

Given that there are only a few steps to making these, they are a perfect craft idea for toddlers. You will need:
Enough eggs to fill one egg carton (optional: hardboiled and painted)
2 egg cartons, preferably green
1 toilet roll insert
Coloured paper (for grass and for flowers)
Glue and sticky tape

Begin by cutting the toilet roll insert in half. The two halves will become the petals of the tulips. 

 Glue the coloured paper around the toilet roll halves. Leave to dry for a moment and then cut a zig-zag pattern into the top of each half, as in the photo on the left.

 Per tulip cut one upright from one of your egg cartons and stuff the wide end into the bottom of your tulip. Add some glue to the narrow end and stick it to one of the uprights in the other egg carton. 

Repeat the steps above to make as many tulips as you want.

Fold an A4 piece of green paper in half lengthways. Cut an irregular zig-zag along the fold to create two lenths of paper with blades of grass. Stick the grass all along the outer edges of the egg carton. The fill the carton with eggs to complete your mini Easter garden.