Crafting by not a very crafty mum - tie dye baby wipes

I need to stop describing Little E as a "reluctant artist". He isn't - he just doesn't want to draw things.

Been pondering this a lot since we did this project. As with other things we have done, Little E just lit up when he saw all the colours we were going to work with. He loves mixing colours together and setting them next to each other. He says things like, "No, that's perfect as it is...Isn't it beautiful, mummy? No, we need one more colour..." I am not sure how common it is, but Little E tells me if my clothes are beautiful or if he likes the colour someone is wearing. He has very strong feelings over what he wears and is passionate about certain colours.

I am glad Little E has opened me up to all the different ways you can express yourself and I enjoy finding things that I think will appeal to him. We just currently appear to be more Rothko than Rembrant!

Anyway, this was something I had seen ages ago on Pinterest and came up when I was thinking of Easter thank you cards.

I really enjoyed making a tie-dye t-shirt for Big E last year and I really enjoyed doing this with Little E. It was so simple and he found it so satisfying to choose the colours and apply them.

Essentially, take a baby wipe and fold or twist as you desire and then place as many rubber bands along the length of the wipe as you want. Then add colour. As we found, the more the better! Go for it!

The original article I saw suggested using washable markers, but we couldn't get much colour transfer, so we used food colouring (which worked well) and our set of beautiful watercolour paints from Stockmar (which were perfect).

Leave them rolled up to dry and then you can do the "big reveal" later and see what you have created. It was then easy to cut them up for some Easter cards.

I am now enjoying "wasting" my time looking up Shibori techniques. I think we could make some amazing patterns next time.

Wrapping paper

This has been a year long project - creating my own wrapping paper.

It started after I heard a show on the radio about how much wrapping paper can't be recycled - too much glue, glitter, plastic... I hadn't realised how much just went straight to landfill.

So, what about good old brown paper and string? Well first I needed the string... So I've been collecting ribbons, string, tissue paper, stickers, etc from gifts we've received and repurposed them. I know plenty still can't be recycled, but I feel at least it's staying in circulation a bit longer.

I also saw lots of ideas of how to decorate your own paper. Little E is still not that into mark making, so this has been something I do myself.

I've enjoyed the "mini art" buzz this has given me. Like a lot of people I think about joining an art class, learning to play an instrument, etc, but I am time poor at the moment and can't seem to squeeze it in. However, quickly splashing some paint or decorating a paper bag takes a couple of minutes, feels "useful" and taps into my creative side. It makes me happy.

As always, lots of inspiration on Pinterest.

This is some of what I've done so far. 

I did find something creative Little E enjoyed - flicking paint in the garden! As my friend said, I tricked him into doing "art" by doing it outside!

Little E's resistance has made me think a lot about being creative. He might not like drawing, but he loves mixing colours. He bought a huge sheet of paper home from nursery that looked like something by Rothko. I read up on Rothko. Little E's flicked paint reminded me of Pollock, so I read up on Pollock. I think I still get stuck with the idea that "art" is sitting quietly and drawing from life, but these painters were about ideas, feelings, using your whole body to express yourself... I will keep trying to help Little E express himself in the way he chooses.

I also now have a huge roll of decorated paper on standby. It's so pretty and I'm hoping to use it for Christmas.

Crafting by not a very crafty mum - textile recycling

Big E goes through clothes cycles. In the past he has tended to do a bulk shopping trip to replace his disintegrating clothes, but of course they then all seem to bite the dust at the same time. He has recently had to have a purge. Beloved t-shirts he has had since we were students, etc.

I've been thinking a lot about textile waste and I wanted to try something creative with ours. If something isn't fit for a charity shop, it's tough to do much but chuck it in the bin!

I kept looking for inspiration, but I don't want a rag rug, I don't need anymore cushions, I don't need a dress for a little girl...

Finally two very simple ideas came up. A non sew tote bag from a t-shirt and making myself a hankie.

Just search how to do this. It took minutes with no sewing. You just cut the bottom of the t-shirt into ribbons and tie together. This does mean there are small holes, but I use this now as a "sandpit grab bag" for going to the park and all the sand falls out the bottom as we head home. If anymore t-shirts head my way, I'm planning to make more bags to hang Little E's toys up in.

I'd like to reduce my waste in other ways and it had occured to me recently that hankies instead of tissues would be ideal for this. I always need one to hand for a quick wipe of a snotty nose. I was going to ask for one for a present, but then I thought surely they are just a square of fabric?

I thought these tutorials were great.

https://byhandlondon.com/blogs/by-hand-london/16666540-diy-handmade-hankies-napkins

This was a great little project for me. Got to practice different hand stitches (I could only do running stitches basically) and I even tried mitred corners. I didn't know what those were! They do look smart, but I need more practice to get mine perfect.

I now have a hanky that reminds me of Big E every time I wipe one of our babies' noses! Made me realise I could make a selection of hankies and napkins instead of disposable ones. Looking forward to it.

Crafting by not a very crafty mum - tie dye

Finally got to do something I've always wanted to do - dye a t-shirt.

Little E was bought a tie dye t-shirt as a gift. I was amazed at how great he looked in it. I've always be a bit dubious about tie dye, but this t-shirt opened my eyes to the amazing colours and patterns you could achieve.

As always, I like to make Big E a t-shirt for father's day and I thought maybe he'd look great in tie dye too. I did a quick search and it was easy to buy tie dye kits and there were loads of YouTube tutorials and ideas on Pinterest.

I kept wondering what it was about dyeing something that was so appealing to me. I think it's something about having a go at something so permanent, about taking the risk it will go wrong. I lean towards perfectionism and I am often very self critical. Maybe I always wanted to do this as a child to have a chance to "fail" at something. I think it also feels a bit destructive. Scribbling on a t-shirt! Maybe I wanted a chance to do something that felt rebellious.

Definitely bit off more than I could chew with my first tie dye. It "went wrong", but guess what? The world didn't end and I actually like the finished product.

I liked the idea of a heart motif. The video tutorials made it look a doddle! Just fold the t-shirt in half, draw half a heart, fold and dye.

Turns out that folding the pleats nicely took practice. I also should have pre-washed the t-shirt, as that helps the dye be absorbed. The dye kept running off mine! When I opened up the t-shirt, I didn't quite get a full heart.

Darn! If I were younger, I know what I would have done - hidden the evidence! Once when I was a student I tried to make a surprise cake for my parents. It was inedible! I didn't show them. I quickly disposed of the cake, tidied up and never mentioned it.  I was so ashamed about it! I'm better now, but it was tempting to bin the t-shirt.

Instead, I "fixed it". I used a fabric pen to draw in the rest of the heart. I then completed the project with Little E's handprint and Little A's footprint. They came out well, but I've had practice with the fabric paint. That's the only way I'll get better with the tie dye - practice. Fortunately there is a little left, so I might try a onesie for Little A. Then all my boys can be in tie dye!

Crafting by not a very crafty mum - melted crayons

Happy (post) Easter! Time to think about new thank you cards.

Despite Little E being pretty disinterested in drawing of any kind, I can't believe how many crayons we have in the house. This appears to be an universal moan among parents. But whatever you do, don't dare throw them out or the kids will notice and complain!

I kept seeing melted crayon art things on Pinterest and, considering we don't use the crayons much, especially not the broken ones, it seemed a nice way to use them up. I was a bit concerned how you melted them, but turns out you can do it with a hairdryer. Amazing.

I thought melting crayons with a hairdryer would be good for Little E, as it didn't involve holding a pen/pencil/crayon of any kind. I thought he'd like the mess, etc. Could I get him interested? No. Oh well, I had fun instead!

I read quite a few posts about melting crayons before I tried this. I'm glad someone mentioned taping the crayons down, because even on the lowest setting, the crayon pieces would have been blown away. I just used normal sticky tape and individually taped each crayon down and then used duct tape to hold the paper down. I just used normal paper and it worked out great. I was worried it would get too wet and tear, but I layered a few sheets up and it was completely fine.

This was so fun. Watching the crayons begin to dribble and then run away from the hot air. I could have made the colours all mix more, but I was going for a rainbow effect for the thank you cards. It was easy and mostly easy to tidy up, so I will certainly see if Little E wants to have a go in future. Maybe brand new brother, Little A, will be more amenable!

Do make sure you have the table covered and wear an apron. There was more splatter than I expected there would be. The crayon 'art' dried quickly.

I added a little Thank You and then used PhotoBox to print them on postcards. They looked lovely and bright when they arrived.

Crafting by not a very crafty mum - disco box

Ahh... cardboard boxes. Where would I be without you?

The Finns stick their baby in a box, so I did too.

Saw this idea ages ago, but was mainly inspired by the children's centres in Oxford. They had home made light sensory toys at their stay and play sessions. It's such a shame many of these sessions have now gone due to funding cuts. They were amazing sources of support and inspiration.

This took a few minutes to set up and both my boys like it!

First step, is to poke holes in your box. I've been reading a book about bringing up boys and it inspired me to let Little E loose with some scissors! He likes demolition, so I thought this would be great for him.

Watching Little E stab at the box was tough for me. Instinctively I just want to keep telling him to be careful, but instead we chatted before about being safe with scissors and I let him go. My book said how much boys value being trusted and I wanted to show him I trusted him.

And we both survived intact. He loved making all the holes and he was a lot more careful than I thought he would be.

Then I stuck our LED fairy lights in the top.

Little E had wandered off, but when he came back he said "wow!". He stuck his head in the box and played around with the light settings. "I want it fast, mummy!" I also put my head in to make sure the lights weren't too bright. Little E was so proud when I told him we'd made it for Little A and gleeful when I showed him photos of him inside.

Little E won't let me turn the lights off now! Good thing Little A is enjoying it!

Crafting by not a very crafty mum - rainbow sensory bottle

I enjoyed my first glitter sensory bottle, or "disco slime" as one friend described it.

I have a large collection of buttons. I saw a "rainbow button" bottle idea. Seemed a great idea to use up some of my buttons.

I had lots of fun sorting the colours out. If you have an inclined child, I'm sure they'd enjoy searching for the colours.

I also had some rainbow beads from a broken necklace and some blue glitter.

I used baby oil the last time. It didn't mix with the water at all, which wasn't the effect I was looking for. This time I tried glycerin, which was suggested by several  Pinterest posts.

I didn't know how much to add, so I tried a little at a time. The more glycerin in the water, the more turbulent things were, so I used the whole bottle and would have liked more. However, I was still pleased with the result. The glitter swirls around beautifully, but I wish the buttons floated more. They make a delicious clicking sound as they fall, which I didn't expect.

Little E spotted these in the bathroom and sat mesmerised for several minutes, which was amazing for him. He liked the buttons best.

I'm still experimenting different methods of making sensory bottles, so I'm planning at least two more.

Crafting by not a very crafty mum - sensory bottle

Ooh...shiny

Sensory bottles or calm down bottles was something that kept appearing on my Pinterest. I wasn't sure how easy they would be, so kept pinning, but not doing.

Then, I received a lovely Christmas card from my parents. It was decorated with a bauble filled with glitter. I thought what a shame that the glitter would go in the bin, but then kept the card in case I could reuse the glitter.

When inspiration suddenly arrived - a galaxy themed sensory bottle with star glitter. Perfect!

I looked up a few tutorials and had a go.

I used a bottle of baby oil, a Voss water bottle, tap water, star glitter from the card and some leftover blue glitter I had. I tried to buy blue food colouring too, but it didn't arrive in time.

Bung them all in and hey presto. I wished the oil mixed better. Any scientists out there with suggestions? Other blogs suggest hair oil or corn syrup, so might try that in future.

Sadly, I can't seem to post any pictures to my blog. I'll keep trying!

New baby, new me?

I'm not one for new year's resolutions. If I want to make a change, I try to do it in the here and now. Why wait?

But I've been thinking of sharing my ideas and the surprise arrival of baby number 2 (our Little A came 5 weeks early) has prompted me to write.

Basically, I want to try to live more sustainably. I do all the usual things - recycle, careful with water and energy use, check out charity shops/secondhand for clothes/toys/books, etc. I get irritated with articles that tell me to only boil the water I need each time. I know! Tell me something new!

But suddenly, there is something new. Zero plastic and zero waste blogs keep crossing my way. They can be pretty intimidating lifestyle changes, but there are some good ideas.

I'm not going zero waste! Many of these people are devoting all their time to this  challenge. One blogger spends 4 hours a day writing about her experiences. 4 hours a day! I now have two kids and a job! Ain't nobody got time for that!

Of course many of these bloggers are doing it as a job - writing books, getting advertising, etc. They devote a whole year to it and make huge personal sacrifices.

I much prefer incremental changes and the idea of "minimal gains" - slowly change enough small things and they add up to big wins. I hope the changes I make can be maintained much more easily. I can also then keep stepping it up as I gain in confidence and try new things.

So, some of my changes:

Less plastic
I actually began looking at this when Little E was born. We had a lovely book called "Your baby week by week" and it mentioned the environmental impact of having a baby. I never got my head around reusable nappies (so many types!), but our book suggested they were other things we could do, like look out for biodegradable nappy bags. I didn't realise there was such a thing. We started using Ocado when Little E was born and amazingly they stocked all sorts of products that were just what I was looking for.

Nappy bags by Naty - biodegradable nappy bags. Used them since Little E born. They are amazing. No difference in performance from plastic ones that I can tell.

Naty also do sanitary towels, which again I have used and don't notice any dip in quality. However, they only seem to do quite light towels. For maternity pads I found Natracare. Soft, absorbent, biodegradable.

Less waste

1) Reduce your wet wipes. Cutting back on baby wipes is something I did with Little E. I use muslins for everything - as a bib, mopping hands/faces, etc. I dunk in some water if necessary, then take home for a wash. It amazes me how so many people keep using wet wipes for wiping little hands, etc, long after nappies are out the window or they are old enough to wash their hands in the bathroom.

2) Washable breast pads. With a lot of support I breastfed Little E until he was about 19 months and things are going well with Little A. I'd heard ladies might leak a bit while breastfeeding, so bought some disposable pads to get me through the early stages. Word up people... With Little E I leaked until I finished feeding. Not a little, a lot! I've seen fertility statues where rivers of milk are depicted flowing from their breasts. I know what that feels like! It got better, but I ended up wearing disposable pads for over a year. I'd heard of washable ones, but was so tired I never got round to investigating.

This time I have bamboo washable breast pads from Cheeky Wipes. Absolutely chuffed! Really comfortable, absorbent, stick them in the wash and dry quickly on a radiator. Fab.

Might think about their washable sanitary pads...

I'm sure there are other things, but those are my marginal gains. Hope it gives people ideas and feel free to share your ideas with me.

Staying sane - "gratitude diaries"

When Little E started nursery, they asked us to keep a little journal of his day. He was only 10 months old, so it was to help maintain a routine that worked at home and nursery. They filled in what he got up to at their end - when he slept, what he ate, what activities he enjoyed - and we did the same when he was home.

It was really useful and more than 2 years on, we all still fill in "his book" every day.

I've kept it up, because it makes me happy and I wondered if others would like to share in the idea.

Why do I like it?

1) It's a lovely memento. I just got back his old journal from nursery. They keep his old ones to help fill in his progress reports. The first entry is from 4/11/15, so over a year ago. Little E was obviously beginning to become confident with his colours and counting 1,2,3. It names the children he played with most at nursery. Our entries over the next few days talk about puddle hunting and his first nasal flu vaccine! It's all the little details there on every page. I can flick through and it triggers lots of happy memories.

2) It helps me to reflect on my day in a positive light. This is of course something that I started for nursery. I didn't want them to think I was a bad mummy, so I documented the "good stuff". However, it also meant that I began to see all the good stuff I did. Big E would come home from work and I would feel defeated   - Little E hadn't eaten, he'd watched too much CBeebies, he'd had a tantrum, etc. But then, while they had bath time, I would write in Little E's book and I'd remember we'd  had a cuddle on the sofa, that he'd sung me a song, that we'd done some water play at the sink, that I had handled the tantrum and that he'd at least eaten an apple. Big E often writes in the journal at weekends and he finds the same thing - you suddenly realise how much you have done for this little person and we're not doing too badly after all.

I think it works like a mindfulness and a gratitude diary all in one. I take time to reflect on my day and try to focus on the positive things. I'm intending to start one when no. 2 comes along.

We think we plan to keep this up until Little E starts school. We just won't be as lucky to have staff who have time to write such a detailed description of our child's life. We shall see.

Crafting by not a very crafty mum - Quality Street wrappers

If you are anything like my family at Christmas, you're about to get through a lot of Quality Street (other sweets are available).

I got a large tin free with my shopping this November. We could have saved them for Christmas, but me and Big E couldn't resist them and have started tucking in.

As always, there is then a huge pile of colourful cellophane left over. I thought there must be something we could do with these.

So me and Little E made "stained glass" sun-catchers. They worked out so much better than I thought they would.

First step: eat chocolate! Collect wrappers

Second step: Get out your sticky backed plastic. The blog that inspired me to do this suggested decorating half a piece and then you fold the undecorated half over the top at the end. This worked well for us. Little E liked chopping up the wrappers best.

Third step: fold over the plastic to seal your creation in. I then used a biscuit cutter to draw around and cut out star shapes. I was sure they would fall apart or curl up, but they stuck togetherness brilliantly. I used a hole punch to make a hole and threaded some ribbon through. Little E said "wow" when I showed him the result.

Even on a dreary, rainy day, they look nice in the window. I've got all sorts of ideas now of what's we could make. Definitely think we need to make a few for the tree. Plus, we might just HAVE to buy more chocolates. Win.

Crafting by nota very crafty mum - keepsake

Little E is three today and I thought it might be time to share a keepsake I am hoping to make for him.

When Eric was born there were so many ideas for capturing his first year - baby books, hand prints, etc, but it made me a bit sad that it all seemed to stop after this.

Then I started seeing long term projects - grown ups being given lamps filled with everything their mums had emptied from their pockets for years, journals full of letters from every teacher they had ever  had, etc. I have friends who have made lovely shadow boxes filled with memories or personalised art.

This is sounded a bit complicated! I am not sure when I thought of it, but at some point before Little E was one, I decided to try and collect a birthday badge for every year of his life.

My collection so far! Every year I've tried to choose a badge with something Little E loves. It was hard when he was one, as we weren't sure what he really liked. He did seem to like the colour orange, so I went for an orange badge and that has turned out to be his favourite colour (along with green). Diggers for his second birthday and it is all about super-heroes now he is three! He doesn't really know who Spider-man is, but he knows super-heroes run around going zap and say "To the rescue!" He spends hours at nursery playing super-heroes with the other children.

My plan is to try and do this until he is 18 and then have them mounted for a wall hanging. Time will tell if I manage this. I don't want to hide them in a drawer until that time, so I pin them to this cardigan remnant and they live in his room. I hope he will at least enjoy them even if I don't manage to finish my project.

Hope this inspires some of your own ideas.

Cake decorating - Person of Interest

My life has changed. There are pens for cake! After years of rubbish icing, I won't ever look back!

I've been planning a Person of Interest cake for months for Big E. He loves Lego and I saw the computer programmer minifig at a craft fair. I couldn't help but think he looked like Finch from POI. We love POI, so I had my TV theme this year for Big E's birthday cake.

I looked out for Lego figurines that I thought might work on the cake. I got a police officer body and a dog that looks Like Bear from eBay. I completed what else I needed from https://minifigs.me

 I found out about cake pens from a lady at work who, unlike me, is amazing at decorating cakes. Seriously, why did no one tell me before? I got a red one from Hobby Craft.

Exciting times!

Crafting by not a very crafty mum - Ruby Wedding Anniversary card

Big E's parents just had their 40th wedding anniversary. It was another nice excuse for me to try something new.

I saw lots of lovely ideas, but I did like the idea of a family tree. I got my in-laws to put their finger prints on a piece of card months before the event, in the hope they would forget what I was up to. I thought I would make them a pair of love birds at the top of their tree with their children, partners and grandchild as the leaves. I found a lovely sentiment to write on the card: "From strong roots grow beautiful leaves".

You'd probably need a bigger card if you have a bigger family!

Crafting by not a very crafty mum - peacock first anniversary card

My sister got married last year. She and her now husband chose a peacock theme for their big day. I was honoured to be asked to make the button holes, which I wrote about last year.

I was sure I could make them a card for their paper anniversary. I saw some nice children's crafts using coffee filters to make peacocks, but I couldn't easily get hold of coffee filter papers and Little E is still not that keen on painting.

However, when he does feel inspired, I keep it in a drawer to use for a later project. One of these became this:

As if by luck, we were messing about with paint in the garden a few weeks earlier. Little E was having fun mixing paints together and it was lovely watching him discover how blue and yellow become green.

I realised the blues and greens might work for a peacock tail and so cut out a circle from his painting. I had some nice shiny blue card to make a peacock body. Stick it all together and add some detail with a gold pen and I was done.

I also used this painting to make thank you cards for Little E's birthday. I have to make his artwork stretch when it is so limited!

30 days wild - wild cards for Father's Day

30 Days Wild takes place in June. It is run by The Wildlife Trust and encourages people to perform "a random act of wildness" every day in June. This can be something as simple as taking a moment to have a cup of tea outside in your garden. They hope by reconnecting with nature we will feel happier and healthier.

With Fathers' Day coming up, I was inspired to do some "wild art" cards.

I really enjoyed making these. I wandered around our garden collecting petals, grasses, etc. I grouped them into colours. It was very relaxing noticing all the wonderful things that grow in my garden...no thanks to me! I remembered doing it as a child - collecting fallen blossom, rose petals, grasses. What a shame that grown up life seems too busy to have a few minutes to yourself just mucking about.

I had cards ready set up with sticky backed plastic to stick the petals to. I started one for my dad, so little E could see what the idea was.

Little E was very excited when he saw all the colours. Then, as I expected, poured all the bowls onto his card and smashed them down! "I'm done, mummy!" It was very funny and demonstrated my son's usual method of handling things!

I then put a layer of sticky backed plastic over the top to seal it.

Sadly, although I had experimented and thought they would survive, the petals really faded and the cards were looking a bit sorry for themselves on the actual day. If you do this, I suggest you make them as fresh as possible. Big E still thought it was a lovely idea. :)