spring time grass heads!

March 22, 2015 by mama lola

spring has arrived.

the snow piles in our front yard have almost melted entirely and the sun shines warmly almost daily. there have been robin sightings, a change in bedtimes and a general excitement for warmer months can be felt in the air.

source: sandy toes and popsicles blog

to get our family excited for spring i decided to peruse pinterest for ideas. a lot of the crafts i found felt too young for my kids, but then i found this….

look at these hilarious and awesome seed heads i found on pinterest. they’re made by kindergarten students and you can find more details HERE at rainbows within reach.

i thought both boys would want to get planting, but bear was grumpy and decided to partake.

his loss.

lion and i each filled our mason jars with potting soil and then placed the seeds on top. put a little more soil, water and done!

i don’t have any pictures with the grass yet, as we only just planted these. the seeds are pretty old, but i’m hoping with lotsa tender, lovin’ care they will grow. i will print pictures of our happy faces and stick them on later!

fingers crossed this craft works out!

this moment.

April 25, 2014 by mama lola

as inspired by souleMama; one photo from our week, no words, only an image to sum up our time as a family. one that captures a moment in time and is a visual reminder of where we were at this time in our lives.

please feel free to leave a link to your this moment from this past week in the comments.

painting easter eggs!

April 20, 2014 by mama lola

my mum is an artist. she is the most creative person i know. everything she touches turns into art; paintings, cards, pottery, even the meals she prepares has some artistic flare in it. so amazing!

she has a stunning collection of hundreds of easter eggs she has decorated over the years. my kids know their mummo has special talents and love getting artsy with her. during easter we invite good friends over to my parents house and my mum lets the kids (all 5 of them) use her various art supplies. she patiently guides the budding artsists on how to get the paint to stay on brushes, how to colour blown eggs with markers or pencils. it’s amazing seeing them in action.

here are some of the beautiful eggs the kids created for easter. so lovely! my mum attaches the beads and ribbon, so the egss can be hung for decorations.

here are the kids with their art teacher. look at all of those adorable smiling faces! i feel like bursting when i look at this photo!

we are of to celebrate easter with family today. it’s a beautiful day outside, the kids have made their cards and dear hubby is doing some yummy easter baking! he’s trying out a finnish recipe, which is tricky as some of the ingredients are hard to find. anyhow, more to come on that later!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

naturally decorated easter eggs

March 13, 2014 by mama lola

easter feels like it’s late this year, but with this epic winter i think it’s kinda fitting.

although, i do love all of the pastels associated with easter, i wanted to collect a few crafts that were more natural. i just love all of the crafts below. they are all simple in colour, concept and look, which i think will make a bigger impression in the end. i am keen to get my kids to help with these project and once the snow melts we can go pick some lovely leaves and flowers of our own.

how to decorate easter eggs with seeds via diy enthusiasts

holiday wheatgrass eggs via momtastic life

decorated eggs via a daily something

decorate eggs with pressed flowers via the magic onions

which one of these projects will you make?

thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

easter sewing projects!

March 9, 2014 by mama lola

i love all of these easter sewing project ideas! they vary from quick n’ easy to more time consuming ones, but regardless of how much effort they require they are all super cute! i hope you are inspired by this mini round-up, and get your sewing machine loaded for action!

so, here we go…

egg tee from icandy handmade

fabric easter basket from V & co.

easter bunny masks from rosy posy

easy felt carrot garland from positively splendid

easter bunny treat bags from sew can she

i think my kids would love it if i made any of these for them!

i’m loving all of these bright colours!

cute pom pom crafts!

January 30, 2014 by mama lola

before christmas i shared a tutorial on how to make basic pom poms a few different ways; check it out HERE.

recently i’ve been trying to think projects that are slightly out of (my) box and then it hit me pom poms! these soft, plushy, cute things can be made of any funky colour or colours; can be made big or small or HUGE; and you can use them for a whole lotta fun activities (just check the list fox & owl shared, link below!)

pom poms are good for from fox & owl

look at these adorable little pom pom animals! so adorable! a must try! how to make animal pom poms from mr. printables

these sweet chicks are perfect for easter! easter pom pom chicks from chellsen clan

a pom pom garland like this colourful beauty could be used at parties or in a kids room or wherever! pom pom garland from everything etsy

how cute are these rings? perfect bling for anyone wanting to be fancy! pom pom rings (with video tutorial) from sew crafty kids

i think i may need some of these for myself! love! pom pom hairpins from sugar bee crafts

so, which of these pom pom projects are you going try? i just love the all!

hop-hop easter recap.

April 1, 2013 by mama lola

easter has come and gone. we had a fantastic weekend, with friends and family, and the sun decided to join us in all its glory, as well!

we started good friday at home with chocolate filled croissants and an easter table with all sorts fun, colourful things for the boys to look at.

then we we walked to the park. there is a super fun easter egg hunt that happens at the park up the road from us. we went and joined over a hundred other kids and their families. neighbourhood volunteers had about a thousand easter eggs hidden all over… plastic eggs with all sorts of wonderful treasures hidden inside.

the park is scattered with plastic eggs and the rule is only up to 8 eggs per kid. so, once you’ve collected your loot, then you need to empty your eggs and return them so they can be re-used next easter. check out the dudes below comparing their finds. it’s so funny watching the kids at this event!

we spent the rest of the weekend with my folks. the men and women separated on saturday. the guys went to a huge park in town, and saw llama’s out for a walk with their keepers! my mum and i went to the one of a kind craft sale in the city. it was such a nice time with just my mum, away from the kids and the chaos they bring.

the sun was so warm on the weekend. we spent hours and hours outside soaking up the rays and the warmth! the boys really loved it! my mum had a beautiful easter table set with delicious food, which we all enjoyed a lot!

our weekend was fun and spring like, filled with so much laughter and joy, that it’s hard to get back into the routine of things!

hope you enjoyed your long weekend!

easter garland.

March 12, 2013 by mama lola

well, easter is around the corner, so it’s time to get some pastel decorations going!

my kids had a small window of time in the day, so i pulled out some card stock, some cookie cutters, scissors, markers and some string and we got to work on our easter garland. this is so easy and simple, and a perfect craft for those small moments when the kids need a structured activity.

i traced the cookie cutters, cut out the easter themed shapes, then the kids decorated and coloured them and then i quickly sewed some thread through. we hung up our garland in front of a mirror, as the kids decorated both sides.

whatcha think?
pretty cute, eh?