Pet Rocks - Ladybirds

This was a fun afternoon project which my girls took to quite enthusiastically. We collected the stones while on a beach holiday, and I already had the paint and the varnish, so this project cost me nothing. This is how we did it.

What we used:

* Round stones

* Acrylic craft paint

* Paintbrush

* Black permanent marker

* Crafter's varnish

How we did it:

* Paint the stones in a colour of your choice. You may need several layers to create a smooth surface. Allow to dry.

* Using the permanent marker, draw a face, as well as wing markings and "spots".

* Paint the face and spots in the colours of your choice. Allow to dry.

* Apply a couple of layers of varnish.

All done!

Balloon Buddies

Another very simple project! And one that inflates your inspiration to new heights!

What you will need:

Balloons.

Scraps of firm cardstock.

Scissors.

Permanent marker.

Pencils, crayons, kokis.

How to do it:

Draw two large ovals on the cardstock, slightly overlapping one another.

Detail and colour the ovals to resemble shoes - any kind you can think of: pumps, sneakers, boots, slippers, lace-ups, mary-janes.

Carefully cut out your prepared "shoes".

At the point where the ovals overlap, punch a small round hole.

Blow up the balloons and knot to close.

Using a permanent marker, draw faces on the balloons - human or animal, realistic or fantasy.

Slip the knot of the balloon through the hole in the cardstock from the detailed side.

Go on, create an entire Balloon Buddy Clan today!

Happy Banner

Ok, so this was a wild grab at something that turned out to be a greatly satisfying activity after all. The resulting effect was so gratifying, in fact, that we repeated this activity for a birthday party held later in the week, and had the same great results with the birthday girl's name. Try it over your kids' bedroom doors for fun.

The girls' dad had been away on business for a few days, and to welcome him home, they made him a happy banner.

They chose the word "DAD" for this banner. Each letter was traced onto an A4 page. The girls coloured and cut out each letter.

They cut strips of gift wrap ribbon and

attached the letters to the ribbon with tape.

A couple of extra strips of ribbon were twirled to add to the banner. (Run the blade of your scissors at an angle along gift wrap ribbon to make it really twirly).

Ribbons and letters were pasted up over the doorway that their daddy would come through.

Popcorn Threading

Ok, so this is an easy one. What's really great about it is that the kids get to polish off a healthy treat once it's done too.

All you need to do is pop up a whopping big bowl of popcorn (which the kids can do if you have an air popper, but you'll need to supervise if it's on the stove). HINT: Make more than you think you'll need - there's a lot of snacking that goes on while the creative juices are flowing!

Thread a nice long cotton onto a sewing needle - it mustn't be too sharp (for pokey little finger pricks) but it mustn't be too thick either (thick needles split the popcorn pieces into bits).

Set the kids to threading the popcorn. When they're through, tie the edges together and you'll have stylish popcorn jewelry - fit for any vacation!

*Including the actual popcorn making, this activity will probably take about an hour*

And what's popcorn without a movie, anyway? When it's all done, set them up in front of a good ol' Disney classic, and let them eat their jewelry!