A Plate or Tray
Glue or Epoxy
Scissors
Old CD's
I have not got round to grouting mine yet but I think even without it is a beautiful try.
I had a lovely stainless steel serving tray that was severely scratched and a little chipped. The edges were surprisingly intact so I realised it would be perfect for a mosaic. Lacking in tiles (or brightly coloured ones) and refusing to make a paper mosaic I found myself staring at the old stack of CDs. You Will Need: A Plate or Tray Glue or Epoxy Scissors Old CD's The hardest part of this, is cutting the CD's. The damn things just crack and shatter constantly so you have to be very careful. If you have newer CD's and DVD's you can fold them in half and they will separate into a clear plastic layer and a shiny layer. This shiny layer is 100x easier to cut so I did this with a few of the newer ones. Try to use a range of CD's, some are silvery, others purpley or blue. This will give the mosaic more depth. Make sure you cut plenty of shapes, thin triangles, squat triangles, small and large squares and rectangles. You will probably end up trimming some pieces just to make them fit anyway. After you have a large pile of CD trimmings (and probably sore fingers and lots of rage) the fun part begins! Take your first piece and glue it to the centre. Then start to arrange other pieces around it, leaving a small gap between them. Take care not to use too much glue as you want to leave space for grout. Try to randomize the colours and shapes.
I have not got round to grouting mine yet but I think even without it is a beautiful try.
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I like having parties for no excuse, and yet with the 20 month mark fast approaching I had not had a single kids party! Can you imagine? Partly it was fear that I couldn't keep a hoarde of children entertained (we've already established that D is a strange child, what is all the other kids find me boring??) Needless to say my worries were not grounded, kids love me and my silly games. So here we have a simple game guaranteed to keep kids (tested on 1-6 year olds) amused for 30-60 mins. And even better, made with objects around the house - recycling at its best. You Will Need: Cardboard Box Scissors / Scalpel Glue Paint Fabric Scraps Rice Optional: Ribbon Marker Pen Paper
I have to offer a big thank you to Asia over at Fun At Home With The Kids. She invented this recipe in her endless quest for easy, fun, creative activities for parents to do with kids - which is preaching to my choir!
I love nothing more than getting messy with my little monster, watching him learn and experiment with paints really inspires me and I hope he gets as much pleasure embracing his creative side as I do. So, No Bake, Edible, Gluten Free Playdough. Playdough is awkward at the best of times, and D shares my problem of wanting to shove everything he sees in his mouth (even if its only once). This recipe is sooo much easier to make and tastes nice compared to the salty home made playdough we're used to. 1 cup Baby Rice Cereal (ground rice) 3 tbs Vegetable oil 1 cup Cornflour (gluten free if you need it) 1/2 cup Fruit Purée or Juice Food Colouring Asia's recipe called for apple juice or water, but ive found that any fruit purée works, and a juice works better than water in that it tastes nicer. I use the little pots of baby fruit mush if I'm feeling lazy. Combine the dry ingredients, making sure they are well mixed. Then add the vegetable oil and purée / juice. Mix enthusiastically for several minutes. If mixture appears too sticky add a sprinkle of Baby Rice and mix again. If mix is crumbly, lightly wet hands under the tap and continue working dough, this will lightly moisten it. Repeat until dough is that typically playdough texture. This mix will keep for approx 3 days in a sealed container in the fridge, although please bin if it gets all yucky from a trip rolling round the floor or is mouthed (you dont know what germy things you could accidentally grow!) I've always loved wreaths and coveted them. Unfortunately having a pininterest account means you are bombarded by beautiful objects 24/7 so after seeing some of the non-typical wreaths on there I decided to wing it and make my own. Rather than waste valuable wool, I recycled old Christmas baubles by covering them in PVA and wrapping them in wool and thread. I also covered some in green tissue paper for a lush texture contrast. I decided to leave some baubles uncovered partially because I'm lazy and partially because I like shiny things. The pile of baubles was then arranged and hot glued onto a wire loop that was once part of a lampshade that got sat on. TAH DAH!
I am champion at reduce, reuse, recycle! I was sat on my couch aimlessly staring into the depths of the internet, and suddenly it hit my. What I needed was a decorative deer head. Now, I am not necessarily against hunting (for population control its great) but I don't think a real life taxidermy deer would suit my décor. So I grabbed some cardboard and made the "skeleton" of the deer and sat there wondering,. What next? What was the finish going to be? Soft? . . . . Knitted? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Purple?!! Yes. So here is Fenton the partially fabulous. At this point he still has 3 coats of purple dye, a decorative mount and antlers to go. And a jaunty scarf of course. And as for why he is called Fenton? UPDATE: WE HAVE ANTLERS!!When I was pregnant I didn't know the gender of our little terror. LSP thought it would be amazing as a surprise. I did not. But I went along with it, even though my mother was practically clutching at my clothes shouting she needed to know. And offering me a free, secret, gender scan. I remained resolute, this gender neutral couldn't be so hard could it? So I chose green as a nice neutral colour and from there decided that my nursery just had to be woodland theme. I pilfered some gorgeous thin cut disks of wood from grandads wood store (he was supposed to be using them as plant pot stands ooops)
The woodlands animals was composed and painted in gouache within an hour. The split log was more of a problem, I wanted the picture to interact with it and finally settled on squirrels because 1) they are underrepresented as I have a predisposition for foxes and owls and 2) they are notoriously mischievous. A small indent was later drilled in the back to allow them to sit on a nail. |
Daily QuailQuailpower has worked as a Chef, Baker, Manager and is a classically trained Fine Artist. Currently battling with disability which has left her with reduced mobility. Unperturbed she carries on turning her hand to every skill she can get hold of, juggling being a new mum and soon to be attempting a degree in microbiology. Categories
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