christmas orange pomanders!

December 14, 2013 by mama lola Leave a Comment

christmas pomanders are something i make every year. they are a wonderful gift for others and beautiful decorations in your own home.

they smell like christmas!

all you need to make these are oranges (or clementines) and cloves. i have made pomanders with different patterns; spirals or hearts, so pretty! adding a ribbon is a nice touch as well, just remember to add it first. some people suggest placing a rubber band around the orange to guide in making a straight line. just take a clove and poke it through the rind. it can get painful for your index finger after a bit, but it’ll be s worth it in the end… trust me!

i made a pomender three years ago and it tried beautifully and still smells yummy!

felted soaps!

December 8, 2013 by mama lola 12 Comments

most people don’t use bars of soap anymore, because of the icky mess they leave behind. why most bath sets i’ve seen like this Gruffalo gift set use liquid soap nowadays. it certainly makes bath time with the kids less messy. though if you were looking for a way to make bath time more fun and creative then a bar of soap is definitely the way to go. and if you want to avoid the mess then a felted bar of soap is a wonderful way to do so. they are so fun for kids to make and they feel great using them at bath time! please note that you can do these with most soap types, so if you have a special soap product that you only ever use, be sure to repeat the instructions using the bar of soap of your choice.

MATERIALS:

roving wool
bars of soap
cheese grater
a bowl
old pantyhose
hot water source.

INSTRUCTIONS:

cover your soap in roving wool. you will need to be quite generous with how much wool you need. make sure the entire bar of soap is covered well.
place your woolied bar of soap into a cut piece of pantyhose. you want the soap to be snug in the hose, so firmly tie knots at each eand.
place your bundle in hot water and start rubbing. the friction with the warm water is what gets the felting process going. keep wetting your felt soap bundle in warm water and rubbing. depending on the size of your soap and how much wool you used this can take as little as 10 minutes or as much as 20 minutes.
once you are satisfied with your felting, removed the pantyhose and place your soap to dry on a plate.
if you want to make felt soap stones, take a regular bar of soap and grate down the corners, collecting the soap shreds into a bowl. once you are satisfied with the general shape of your soap stone, wet your hands and gently add the soap shavings to your soap bar. use warm water and gently rub the shavings into shape.
then, go to step 1, by adding the roving wool and follow the rest of the directions as suggested.

roving wool comes in a rainbow of colours; i am working with black and white today.

when researching how to make felted soaps, i found the rhythm of the home shared a wonderful tutorial written by ginny. she shares wonderful pictures of her children making their won felted soaps! check it out HERE!

martha stewart was the one who inspired me to make the stone soaps. her tutorial is HERE.

have fun with this clean project!

make your own pom poms!

December 3, 2013 by mama lola 2 Comments

look at these adorable pom poms i made. i will be using them as part of my gift wrapping this year, that’s why there are strings coming out of them. i bought cheap, acrylic yarn, deciding lovely wool wasn’t worth it in the long run.

then i picked through pinterest and discovered several different ways of making pom poms. i tried out three.

FIRST METHOD: this is by far the fastest and most efficient way, in my opinion.

it’s from DIY queens

SECOND METHOD: this one is best for tiny pom poms and is not my fave. but, it’s fun nonetheless.

get yer forks out! found this tutorial from small good things.

THIRD METHOD: this is the way my mum taught years and years ago. tried, tested and true, but more time consuming than the first method.

this tutorial comes from lark & linen.

i didn’t find that one method made better pom poms over another. the key to a pretty pom pom is using lotsa yarn and making sure you trim it evenly at the end.

do you have a favourite method of making pom poms?

DIY rubber stamps!

November 28, 2013 by mama lola 9 Comments

i purchased some erasers on sale and decided to make some simple, festive stamps out of them. i’m hoping to make gift tags with them eventually.

aren’t they cute?

this is what i did…

with a pen i drew my design on the eraser. once i was satisfied, i used a small knife to cut out the design. *remember that whatever you cut away is permanently removed, and whatever is raised will show up in the print. in step 4 i kept testing the stamp to make sure i had cut away everything i wanted.

for the red prints in the above pics, is just used paint that i lightly brushed on. i didn’t want to buy a stamp pad! haha!

my kids want to try and make their own stamps as well, so i told them we’d make potato stamps!

did you see my inspirational post about making your own stamps… check it out HERE.

paper bag puppets!

November 21, 2013 by mama lola 2 Comments

this was a HIT as an after-school craft last week. i was watching a friends lovely ladies, so i had to come up with a craft that would interest kids from 3yrs to 7yrs. this was it!

before i picked up the big kids from school, lion and i got all the supplies ready.

* brown paper bags

* glue

* feathers

* markers, pens, pencils

* pipe cleaners

* pom-poms

* googly eyes

* construction paper

* cotton balls

each kid chose something different to make; we had an alien, a kitty, a frog, a bird. it was so much fun. the older kids made more detailed puppets, and my three year old made a pretty simple frog, but it was still fun!

look at these wonderful paper bag puppets! we used cotton balls and small pom poms for eye balls, which i think were quit effective! pipe cleaners make wonderful antennas, or whatever!

lion gifted his frog to his mummo for her birthday, so i didn’t get a picture of it.

below is a silly, green alien!

this is bear’s cat. it has a red collar and a curly tail! fancy!

what kind of puppet will you make?

this is my bird. it’s eating a fish!

fancy festive bow ties!

November 19, 2013 by mama lola 2 Comments

my boys have their own sense of style and love to look fancy.

they love to look handsome for birthday parties, weddings and christmas festivities are no different. so, this season i am again sewing new bow ties for my wee trend setters, which they will discover one december morning in their advent calender! see previous tutorial HERE.

this is such a quick n’ easy sewing project.

SUPPLIES:

* festive fabric of your choice

* scissors

* thread, needle

* iron

* elastic

INSTRUCTIONS:

* cut two rectangles, one bigger than the other.

* fold fabric in half with the patterns sides facing each other, sew around the edges, leaving an unstiched opening at the end.

* sew all the way around your rectangle, except for a small opening at the end. you need this opening to get your fabric right side out.

* cut the corners and then turn the rectangles right side out. mine look wrinkly, because it’s a tight squeeze through the small opening! a quick iron will that!

* sew up the openings by hand.

* this time i used a small scrap piece to cinch up the two rectangles to create the bow tie shape. before, i’ve sewn specific pieces for the centre for cinching. you can find those instructions HERE.

* cut and measure elastic band. loop through the back of the bow tie and then sew the wends together.

here are some examples of other bow ties i have sewn for the boys. the top one is from bear’s 4th birthday. instead of making loot bags all the guests received a bow tie! the one on the middles is another x-mas bow tie and the purple one at the bottom is from a wedding the kids were in. now, my kids wear bow ties all the time; school pictures, just because or for looking fancy!

and don’t forget, bow ties are not just for boys!

christmas crafts for kids!

November 12, 2013 by mama lola 9 Comments

christmas crafts, kids christmas crafts, paper crafts, reindeer crafts, santa claus crafts

tis the season again to make all sorts of adorable christmas crafts with the kids. i know my kids are ready to get their x-mas craft ON!!! they have both chosen their favourite crafts from this collection! There is a craft that has been recommended to me by other parents and that’s hand casting! They’ve had their children put their hands together in a casting pot and had a 3D (realistic) model of their hands come out, I think that sounds amazing, plus not only is it a craft, it’s also a great gift for a parent or grandparent, before you start though you’ve got to check out some casting tips first to make sure it goes off without a hitch, safety first! I’m seriously considering getting it done as a surpise for the other half.

kids christmas crafts, christmas tree crafts

paper christmas trees from ikat bag

christmas tree craft from our crafts n’ things

christmas crafts, kids crafts, santa claus crafts, paper plate crafts

kids craft paperplate santa from family ever after blog

santa mask, santa claus craft, kids christmas craft

santa mask from education.com

reindeer craft, reindeer crown craft, christmas crown

handprint reindeer hat from putti’s world

kids christmas craft, christmas toilet paper roll craft, reindeer craft

toilet roll reindeer from happy hooligans

winter craft, snowflake craft, christmas craft

button snowflakes from handmade beginnings

candy cane craft, christmas craft, button craft

button candy canes from ramblings of a crazy woman

time to go gather up some buttons, brown construction paper and cotton balls!

HAPPY CRAFTING!

holiday garlands!

November 10, 2013 by mama lola 1 Comment

i {LOVE} garlands.
i love how you can make them out of everything and anything. you can decorate a plain wall, a festive table, a banister or a window. i love the combinations of textures, colours and patterns garlands can hold, and i love the simplicity of the garlands included in this collection.

felt ball garland from oh happy day

snowflake garland from nifty thrifty things

christmas tree garland from crafted

red and green DIY paper garland from so i don’t forget

recycled paper origami garland from home workshop.com

DIY vintage christmas garland from bueno vida

holiday holly garland from library of thoughts

felt christmas light garland from oh brady

i love all of these garlands so much!

they are simple, but eye catching and fun to make!
which one is your favourite?

not your average burlap round up!

October 17, 2013 by mama lola 6 Comments

when dear hubby and i were married, we gave our guests little live spruce trees as favours, because we me at tree planting and it was so fitting! the trees had root pods, which we wrapped in burlap with a simple ribbon! they were perfect. but, when i purchased the burlap i bought WAY too much, and still have an enormous amount! so, i decided to scour the internet for some fun ideas on ways to use up some of it.

there are so many burlap round ups out there, so i decided to NOT include wreaths, christmas stocking or table runners. i love so many of those ideas, but i just wanted to find some other uses for the massive burlap stash in my basement!

BOO pillow from nap time is craft time

pencil case from factory direct craft

burlap ornaments from bliss bloom blog

burlap scrubber from maya*made

burlap stamp from chicken scratch NY

burlap peg bag from homedit

how to: a burlap sunglasses case from crafting a green world

i am in need of a holder for my clothes pegs, and that peg bag looks perfect!
which project caught your eye?

DIY stamps!

October 2, 2013 by mama lola 9 Comments

about 10 years ago i made some simple potato stamps and decorated tissue paper with hearts and x-mas trees. every christmas my mum and i still use the few sheets that are left for each others gifts. there is something sweet about the personal, creative touch, don’t you think?
so, now that my 5yo bear is a super-keen-artist-dude, i think he’s ready to make some fun stamps. after researching ideas for this blog post, i too am eager to roll up my sleeves and get creative. we’re going to stamp everything from gifts tags, wrapping paper, cards and whatever we else will find.

you can make stamps for any and all special occasions!

here is a round-up of ideas, how to’s and examples of what other creative types have made.