Easy Crafts: Make your own Manchester Bee

This month we’ve been busy getting ready for Didsbury in Bloom. We’ve been sprucing up our front garden and helping to build a bug hotel on our road. This year Didsbury in Bloom celebrates our connection to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) which was founded in the village and we’ve been learning about how we can help encourage birds and bugs into our gardens.

We have plans to build our own bug hotel and we are collecting the materials we will need to put it together. We’ve also been searching in our garden to see what bugs we could find, with all the rain lately we’ve seen a lot of slugs and snails!

Rather fittingly, this month Craft Merrily have challenged the Bostik Bloggers to create a creepy crawlies craft. I wanted to do something simple, and knowing I had some kids to entertain on a play date, I sketched up these templates, one of a Manchester Bee and the other, a butterfly. I then printed them out and set the boys to work.

To make and decorate your butterfly and Manchester Bee you will need –

Templates printed out – they’re sturdier if printed on card
Colouring pens
Glitter or other embellishments
Bostik fine & wide glu pen
String or ribbon
A hole punch
Scissors

Download these templates for FREE here.

Easy Crafts: Make your own Manchester Bee decorations

Method –

This is a ridiculously easy craft. Just set the kids to work decorating the butterflies and bees however they like given the colouring in materials you have, then get the kids to embellish them however they like.

Easy Crafts: Make your own Manchester Bee decorations

I encouraged the boys to colour them in first, then to scatter glitter and stick on the paper flowers however they liked best. They came up with some lovely creative ideas, but my favourite was the yellow and black Manchester Bee.

Once they’re decorated how you want them to be, I’d leave them to dry for a few hours before cutting them out, or getting a grown up to cut them out for you.

Easy Crafts: Make your own Manchester Bee decorations

To turn them into tree decorations; using the hole punch, make a hole in one of the wings and thread through some string, tying a knot in the string to form a loop. I think these would make really great bunting too, just punch two holes in and thread the string though each hole to hang it on the bunting.

Easy Crafts: Make your own Manchester Bee decorations

As you can see, they look really effective and several of the neighbours have commented how lovely they are. They’re not rain-proof, but they are quite fun to hang out on sunny days, especially when the Didsbury in Bloom judges are walking past.

Easy Crafts: Make your own Manchester Bee decorations

What other crafts can you think of to make with these Manchester Bee and butterfly templates?

Easy Crafts: Make your own Manchester Bee decorations

Note: I am a Bostik craft blogger and I was sent the materials to create this craft from Craft Merrily.

Check out my other craft tutorials here!

Craft Tutorial: Make your own Uranus (other planets are available)

It’s rare a craft tutorial comes with a soundtrack, but I’ve had this earworm the whole time I’ve been making this planet, so it’s only fair to pass it on. My son has a space themed bedroom and I fancied that I could add to its charm by making Uranus and hanging it from his ceiling, ready to be admired by his fellow 6 year olds.

We decided to create a planet and I wanted to make one with rings because they’re prettier right? I didn’t want to do Saturn as that was too obvious, so my space savvy friend suggested Uranus as it does have rings.

Craft Tutorial: Recreating Uranus (other planets are available) — For more information about Uranus, visit https://www.nasa.gov/uranus

How to make your own Uranus

You will need:
1 polystyrene ball
Half a sheet of tissue paper
A “ring” of cardboard cut to fit the ball
Glue
Blue and silver paint
PVA glue
A length of fishing line

Craft Tutorial: Recreating Uranus (other planets are available)

How to make Uranus:

Using an egg cup to balance your polystyrene ball on, carefully tear up the tissue paper into pieces a few centimetres square and stick onto the ball using the glue. Once covered, leave it to dry for an hour or so.

Once dry, carefully put the cardboard ring around your planet. The ring should be cut to fit the ball snuggly.

When the ring is in place, paint over your planet and its ring in blue (or whichever colour you choose, your planet, your rules). You might need to give it a few coats, but remember to leave it to try in between. If you’re in a hurry, a hairdryer can be used to gently speed up the drying process.

Craft Tutorial: Recreating Uranus (other planets are available)

Once the blue base coat is dry and you are happy it doesn’t need more coats, paint over with silver paint. I wanted the silver paint to seem a bit like gases, so I dabbed it all over the planet and the rings so you could still see the blue underneath. Leave this to dry (again, carefully use a hairdryer if you’re in a rush).

Craft Tutorial: Recreating Uranus (other planets are available)

When Uranus is dry, take a length of clear fishing line and cut it to the required length. Tie a knot in the middle and thread the pin through the knot and tie it tight. Stick the pin in Uranus, thinking about how you want the planet to hang. I thought it would look pretty at a slightly jaunty angle, so I went with that.

I was going to embellish my planet with sequins and shiny stars, but it was so pretty as it was that I thought I would leave it as it is. If you decide to make your own Uranus, or another planet of your choosing; then you can paint it or embellish it however you’d like.

I’m really pleased with how my Uranus has turned out. I know my son will enjoy adding it to his bedroom planetarium.

Craft Tutorial: Make your own Uranus

Check out my other craft tutorials here!

Craft Tutorial: Kusudama origami flowers

I’ve been part of a local craft club for a little over a year now. We meet once a month for an evening of crafts and each month we try something different. At the first craft club meeting I went to we learned how to make kusudama origami flowers. They are pretty simple to make and once you get into the rhythm, making them becomes addictive.

Craft Tutorial: Make your own kusudama origami flowers

All you need are some squares of paper and some Bostik glue dots. I added a button and a pipe-cleaner stem, but a lot of kusudama origami flowers don’t have these. It’s easier to make them with thinner paper rather than card. They’d work well with nice wrapping paper cut into squares for example.

Craft Tutorial: Make your own kusudama origami flowers

You can use squares of paper of any size depending on the size of flower you want to make. You will need to make the petal segments in odd numbers. You’ll need to make a minimum of 5 segments, but 7 is a good number to make. I’ve seen them with 15 petal segments and more. Once you’ve got the knack you can really get creative with your kusudama origami flowers.

There are lots of design ideas on Pinterest if you want to take a look. My friend made 20 kusudama origami flowers and attached them to a string of fairy lights with the light shining through the centre of the flower. I have a bouquet of them in a small vase on my dining table.

It’s much easier to show you how to fold the petal segments and put the flower together than it is to try and explain. I’ve made a video tutorial to walk you through it.

Making kusudama origami flowers is a lovely little craft to know how to make. It’s a good entry level origami craft and one which you can do with the kids too. A bouquet of colourful kusudama origami flowers would make a lovely gift for flower loving friends, relatives or teachers. Say it with paper flowers?

Craft Tutorial: Make your own kusudama origami flowers

Note: I am a Bostik craft blogger and I was sent the materials to create this craft from Craft Merrily.

Check out my other craft tutorials here!

Craft Tutorial: Pom Pom Bird in a brown paper nest

This month I’ve been tinkering about with Easter crafts. I loved making my Easter Bunny Bunting, but after consulting with my son, he suggested making a birds nest with some birds in it. He loves topping up the bird feeders and watching the birds in the garden, so making a little next for him to enjoy indoors seemed a nice idea.

I explored a few different options for making the nest, but eventually decided on making one out of brown paper. Like all of my crafts, this is really easy and I think it looks pretty cute. My son is pretty happy with the result too.

Craft Tutorial: Pom Pom Bird in a brown paper nest

Making a brown paper nest

You will need:
An empty takeaway soup container or similar
Brown paper
A stapler
Bostik Glu Dots
Scissors Craft Tutorial: Pom Pom Bird in a brown paper nest

Method:
Take your takeaway soup container and cut it down to a height you like, mine was about 4cm deep.

Take the brown paper (my brown paper was leftover packing from a parcel I’d received) and fold it roughly over the container and staple into place. It doesn’t matter if it’s not neat as you want it to look a bit rough, like a birds nest.

With another piece of brown paper, cut it into a circle which is approx 10cm wider than your container. Using the Bostik Glu Dots, stick the paper inside the container, pressing it into the inside edges and over the side. Cut a fringe into the overlapping paper so it looks like twigs sticking out from the nest.

Shred with some scissors some more brown paper to make a comfy nest base for your birds.

Craft Tutorial: Pom Pom Bird in a brown paper nest

Making a Pom Pom Bird

You will need:
Wool
A pom pom maker, or your own homemade cardboard pom pom maker
Googly eyes
Orange paper for the beak
Scissors
Some felt for the wings
Bostik Glu Dots

Craft Tutorial: Pom Pom Bird in a brown paper nest

Method:
Make your pom pom bird as big or as small as you want (if you’re not sure how to make pom poms, there’s a video you can watch here).

Using the Bostik Glu Dots, glue a pair of googly eyes on your bird. Cut out a small beak shape of your orange or yellow card and glue the beak on too.

Cut out two wing shapes out of your felt material. I cut two curvy triangular shapes and stuck those to the side of the pom pom bird to give it its wings.

Once you’re happy with your pom pom bird, pop it in the nest and you’ve finished. I added a few mini eggs to keep it company, but I doubt they’ll last for long.

Craft Tutorial: Pom Pom Bird in a brown paper nest

Note: I am a Bostik craft blogger and I was sent the materials to create this craft from Craft Merrily.

Craft Tutorial: How to make Easter Bunny Bunting

This month I’ve been thinking about Easter crafts. Now that Lent is in full swing, a few Easter craft items have started to steadily make their way home from school. We’re not adverse to a bit of egg painting ourselves, but when my box of Bostik Bloggers Easter craft goodies arrived from Craft Merrily, I took one look and decided to make some Easter Bunny Bunting.

Easter Craft – Easy Easter Bunny Bunting

To make the bunting you will need:

A length of pretty ribbon
Some patterned craft paper
A piece of cardboard to make the stencil
A Bostik fine & wide glu pen
Some little paper flowers or small buttons
Scissors

Easter Craft Tutorial: Easy Easter Bunny Bunting

Using the downloadable template (click here to download as a pdf), draw a rabbit shape onto a piece of cardboard, cut it out and use it as a stencil.

On your colourful craft paper, draw around your stencil. I managed three bunnies on this piece of paper.

Easter Craft Tutorial: Easy Easter Bunny Bunting

Cut our your bunny shapes. I was using a piece of ribbon about a metre long for my bunting, so I estimated I’d need around six bunny shapes, evenly spaced along the ribbon.

Easter Craft Tutorial: Easy Easter Bunny Bunting

Using small paper flower shapes, or little buttons if you prefer, glue them onto the bunnies bum to look like a little tail.

Easter Craft Tutorial: Easy Easter Bunny Bunting

Then glue the bunnies onto the ribbon, space them equally and leave them to dry overnight if possible.

Easter Craft Tutorial: Easy Easter Bunny Bunting

Hang your Easter bunny bunting wherever you like. I chose a bright and sunny spot in my kitchen. Where would you hang yours?

Easter Craft Tutorial: Easy Easter Bunny Bunting

I’m really pleased with how my Easter bunny bunting has turned out. Now I’ve got my bunny template, I can make all kinds of bunny themed crafts with it. What Easter craft will you be creating this year?

If you enjoyed this, you might also like these other Easter Crafts:

Craft Tutorial: How to make Easy Easter Bunny Bunting

Note: I am a Bostik craft blogger and I was sent the materials to create this craft from Craft Merrily.

Valentine’s Crafts: How to make a Découpage Lantern

I am part of a craft group who meet monthly. Each month we try something different and last month we did a spot of découpage. It was really simple, given that it’s essentially sticking pieces of paper onto something. This month I’ve been thinking about crafts for Valentine’s Day and I thought I’d make a découpage lantern, and it turned out pretty well. Here’s what I did.

How to make a Découpage Lantern for Valentine’s Day

You will need:
Two sheets of tissue paper
One clean jam jar
Some PVA glue (I used Bostik White Glue)
Some ribbon or coloured rafia craft twine

Crafting: Making a Découpage Lantern for Valentine's Day

Tear up one sheet of the tissue paper, choose the paler colour. Paint the jam jar with the PVA glue and cover in the ripped up pieces of tissue paper. If you layer it up so that all of the jar is covered, but some parts have several layers it will create a nice effect when the candle is lit.

Crafting: Making a Découpage Lantern for Valentine's Day

Once the jar is covered with tissue paper, take your darker paper and cut heart shapes in varying sizes.

Crafting: Making a Découpage Lantern for Valentine's Day

Glue the hearts over the jar however you like. I covered some of the sides of my jar with big hearts and others with little hearts. Leave the jar to dry for a few hours or overnight.

Crafting: Making a Découpage Lantern for Valentine's Day

Once the jar is dry you can tie a ribbon around the top which finishes it off nicely and makes a really pretty little centrepiece for your Valentine’s Day dinner table, or just some lovely mood lighting for a romantic night in front of the TV.

Crafting: Making a Découpage Lantern for Valentine's Day

Découpage is really easy and so great for decorating lanterns and votives with. You can découpage almost anything. At my craft club we decorated little boxes which were quite pretty when they dried, but I think it really lends itself to glass and especially glass jars.

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Valentine's Crafts: Make a Découpage Lantern