Art Activities Delivered to Your Door with toucanBox

If you are looking for an original idea for a Christmas gift for a child aged between 3 and 8 years old, how about a subscription to toucanBox?

toucanBox is a company that provides boxes of arts and crafts materials to make exciting art projects based on a theme, directly to your door.  Each box includes two to four project ideas complete with full instructions and all the materials needed.  The activities support the National Curriculum and parent's notes allow grown ups to support their child's learning.  A fabulous book is also included in each box so children can continue the fun after the craft materials have been tidied away.

You can buy individual boxes starting at £9.95 for a 2 project pack, or you can subscribe to receive a monthly delivery of a toucanBox.  Both options can be sent as gifts and would make a great Christmas present for a child.

Freddy received an Arctic themed toucanBox containing two project ideas and all the materials needed to make them, as well as a Polar Animals sticker book and a Toucan badge.  The box itself is designed to be fun in its own right, and features challenges to find certain objects in the illustrations as well as having places to doodle, bits to cut out or things to count.  It was a lovely touch to have Freddy's name written on the box when it arrived. Opening the box revealed two smaller boxes, each containing everything needed to make an igloo model and hanging snowflake decorations.

Freddy was totally absorbed in the activities and enthusiastically glued, glittered, stuck, coloured and painted. He chatted about what he was doing and stretched his imagination through carrying out the activities.  While he was busy having fun he was developing several key skills such as speaking and listening, following instructions, dexterity, hand eye co-ordination and number skills.  He got to use a variety of different art mediums as he busied himself with the activities. He learned facts about the Arctic, a topic which was extended through reading the Polar Animals book together.

I thoroughly enjoyed spending an afternoon doing crafts with my little boy.  Having the tried and tested projects and all the materials needed to hand took all the stress out of having to come up with an idea and the materials myself. The instructions are good and the end results are impressive.  The Toucan Box allowed me to spend some quality time with Freddy enjoying a well structured craft activity.  We had a lovely time and I am very impressed with the toucanBox and think the two project box is good value for money.


                         

Find out more at toucanbox.com

Easter Crafts with Hobbycraft #cbias

Although the current weather is more Christmas than Easter, the season of chocolate eggs, Easter chicks and bunnies is nevertheless fast approaching.  We have been taking part in an exciting 'shoppertunity' with Social Fabric to create some homemade Easter themed crafts using products purchased from Hobbycraft.  We have a brand new Hobbycraft store that has just opened in a retail park near to where we live, so I was really keen to pay it a visit and check out all the products on offer.  I love browsing through all the different aisles: the bakeware; the children's craft sets; the jewellery making; the papercrafts and of course the seasonal aisles!

To find out what we got up to on the very snowy day that we visited Hobbycraft to buy the items we needed to get crafty, take a look at my Hobbycraft Shopping Experience G+ Album.

I felt really inspired after reading this poem, which is printed on the wall behind the tills, and ready to help the kids make some Easter craft gifts!  I love doing craft activities with my family but I am no expert when it comes to doing complicated projects. So the crafts that we chose to do are all simple and perfect for children to carry out with some adult supervision.   The range of Easter themed stickers, ribbons and decorations makes it easy to add a seasonal twist to any craft project.  We loved all the cute designs featuring cartoon bunnies, fluffy chicks and colourful eggs.  I bought loads of stuff that will keep us going throughout the Easter holidays, and if the weather doesn't improve we will appreciate the joys of a nice indoor activity such as arts and crafts.

How to Make Decorative Easter Sweetie Jars

1 Kilner Jar (£2.79)

Decorative Paper (£2.00)

Easter Ribbon (£1.00)

Easter Foam Stickers (£1.00/£1.50)

Edging Scissors (£2.00)

Sweets to fill the jar

Cut out a circle of decorative paper using the edging scissors to fit the top of the jar.

Stick on with glue.

Using decorative Easter stickers decorate the lid.

Fill the jar with sweets and shut lid.

Add stickers to body of jar.

Tie a length of ribbon around the top of the jar and add a label.

It makes a great Easter present and an alternative to a chocolate egg.

Kizzy did a great job and enjoyed creating a bespoke jar to give to a friend this Easter.

We are going to expand on this idea to make jars containing the dry mix to make Easter cookies and decorating them for gifts for the grandparents.  It's such a nice idea for a present and would work for any season or occasion.

How to Make Hand Painted Egg Cups

White Ceramic Egg Cups (69p each)

Rainbow Markers for ceramics (£3.99)

This is such a simple and lovely craft idea whatever the age of your children.

The Rainbow Markers are quick drying and smudge proof.

Simply draw your design onto the egg cup and leave to dry.

For a great Easter gift, pop in a small chocolate egg.

All three children enjoyed this activity together.  Designs can be as simple or elaborate as the ability of the child allows, so anyone at any age can enjoy decorating their own ceramic egg cup.  

Ella, Kezia and Freddy had real fun.  I love how hard Freddy was concentrating on his 'modern art' design.  (I hear scribbling is all the rage in the art scene this year!!)

Craft Kits for Kids

Hobbycraft sell a range of great value kids' activity packs from just £1.00.

We bought a kit to make an Easter Chick in a nest, which included everything needed to make it including double sided tape and a felt pen (£1.00).

With a bit of help, Freddy made a chick that he was very proud of!  It is such a great value kit and something that would make a lovely gift to give to crafty kids this Easter.  It would also be a lovely going home present  for children if you have an Easter party.

So if you want to 'hop' along to your local Hobbycraft to stock up on some 'egg-citing' Easter arts and crafts bits (I love a good pun!) you can find your nearest store, discover some ideas for projects and look at the extensive range of products on the website at  www.hobbycraft.co.uk.

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® #CBias #SocialFabric.

My Talented Little Artist

This year my girls came up with a plan together to do more art. They are all very creative and I was really pleased to hear them discussing ideas for projects. I love it when they get enthusiastic about something and spur each other on.   As a result they decided to spend a chunk of their Christmas money on some art supplies; water colours, brushes and canvases.

Last night Kizzy disappeared into her bedroom  and came down with her first finished work of art.  I was so impressed by her style and the fact that she did this completely independently.  I look forward to watching her paintings develop over the course of the year. I know her sisters will be equally impressed!  Ever since we took her to the Lowry art gallery in Salford Quays she has felt really inspired and has been sketching away, so now to see her using new art media is an exciting progression for her.

I am so proud of my little artist and her commitment to take on a new activity and learn new skills.  I hope I can turn my hand to some new things this year...but sadly I'm not as talented as my kids!

By Kizzy Aged 10

Get Creative Paper FX

The Upcycling Craft Set for Young Fashionistas

Paper FX from Flair is a fun set that is perfect for tweens who are into fashion and crafts.  Paper can be woven and crafted to create accessories, handbags, pencil cases and belts.  It is a great way of upcycling old magazines, wrapping paper and glossy paper into a unique and fashionable accessory to glam up an outfit or spruce up a bedroom shelf.

The look created depends on the paper used.  You can go for glitzy and glam, soothing pastels or paintbox bright, to create items that match your personality and your mood.  New accessories can always be made from old mags so a new handbag is only a weave away!

Kizzy received one to try out.  The idea was really appealing to her and she was keen to grab her back catalogue of Girl Talk magazines to upcycle into something funky!

The set included a weaving machine, some tools and an instruction booklet plus a tube of paper glue.  All you need is an old magazine to get started.  A special device allows you to easily tear pages into strips which are then put into a scoring machine which makes it easy to fold and glue the strips ready for weaving.

The weaving machine itself allows you to fix the vertical strips to hold them securely under a plastic cover.  A dial allows you to lift alternate strips to feed in the horizontal strips.  A dab of glue secures the strips in place. The process is repeated to create the woven rectangle.

Kizzy enjoyed weaving the strips to create a colourful woven rectangle made from her magazine.  The effect was quite good with all the bits of the magazine worked together into an artistic creation that we decided would be a coaster.  With the edges trimmed, tucked in and glued it looked quite good.

The Paper FX set certainly kept Kizzy very entertained.  It wasn't overly complicated to make the woven rectangles.  There are instructions for creating all manner of fancy items such as pencil cases and purses, but to be honest I cannot imagine being able to make them out of the paper strips using paper glue.  I'm sure that if you put your mind to it and used PVA glue to stick and strengthen the structure it would be possible, but it would take a lot of skill and dedication.

Kizzy is more than happy making these coasters for everyone and she is loving getting creative with her old magazines. It's proving a good way to keep her busy.  She said  "It is really fun but a bit tricky and fiddly at times.  On the whole though I think it is really good to make things from my old magazines!"

Paper FX is available from good retailers with an RRP of £19.99.  It is suitable for girls aged 8 and up.

Aquarelle…Painting By Numbers has been Re-Invented

I am always interested in arts and crafts products as I have some very creative children who enjoy getting crafty.  I was offered an Aquarelle set by Ravensburger to try out for UK Mums.tv and was impressed with the fact that it had just won the Best New Toy at the London Toy Fair 2012 in the creative category.

We received a mini set in a cute cat design to try out.  It comprises of a pre-printed mini canvas 8.5 x 12cm, a palette, paint brush, dropper and three primary coloured bottles of watercolour paint.  A colour chart in the instruction leaflet tells you how to use the paint plus water to make any colour you like to use on the picture. 

The design on the canvas looks a lot like a painting by numbers, except there are no numbers!  Young artists can be as creative as they like making the picture using whatever colours they wish.  They can experiment and personalize the picture however they choose, which gives them much more freedom in their creativity.  The watercolour  technique is easy to pick up and children can start painting straight away.

The most ingenious thing about the Aquarelle is the fact that the design on the canvas is created using colour repellent lines.  They stay visible even when painted over retaining the detail of the picture even if you go over the line.  The super fine paint brush makes fine detail quite easy to achieve, and the special lines really do help achieve an impressive finish.  The paint is very thin and ink-like and goes on the canvas really well.  It mixes well to make a whole range of shades to get the desired result.  Sometimes, the more complicated painting kits can lead to frustration as young children attempt to recreate the intricate design as per the instructions.  Aquarelle avoids this problem.  The cute picture is brought to life with the colours and looks really impressive from the start with each finished piece being a unique work of art.

Aquarelle is aimed at children aged 8-13 and is definitely one of the best sets of this kind we have ever used for ease of use, creativity and end result. The kits are available as Mini, Midi and Maxi sizes with themes such as cats, dolphins or world cities.  The watercolour paints are much more user friendly than the heavier oil based paints and give a much nicer finish.  Move over Painting By Numbers, Aquarelle is here!