giddygiddy

mini quilt

This old thing is a mini quilt made a few years ago. Since rediscovering it, I am dreaming up more projects in this vein. 

Newniness

Lots of newniness going on over here. Here's a preview of some new designs for GIDDY GIDDY. 

A TIGER pouch! RAWRRR!!!!!

THEY WILL BE AVAILABLE HERE:  GIDDY GIDDY SHOP

And here's an OCTOPUS pouch.  (The work in progress pics I showed a few weeks ago HERE.)

But now it's time to think of names: Ten-tickles? Octo-pouch? Mr. Inky? HELP ME!

These (and a few others) should be available in a month! Please stay tuned as I'll be updating this space with more previews and new GIDDY GIDDY product announcements.

DIY: Twirly Toy

I have a new DIY and this one can be set in motion. Its a paper/wire toy that is simple to make and might even impress your kiddos. Mine were plenty amazed, making me the coolest mom for about 45 minutes. (These phases don't last too long.)

A 18 second video clip is below.  Give it a Twirl:

 

TWIRLY TOY DIY:

The materials you need are:
*wire (18 gauge is best but 19 gauge is easier for kids to work with because it is easier to bend)
*pencil
*wire cutter/plyers
*cork
*paper
(nail and hammer)

Step 1
Wrap wire around a pencil. Two inches around the pencil is sufficient.

Step 2
After you remove the spiral wire from the pencil, you can start to pull and stretch the wire so that each coil is about 1 cm apart. Although it is necessary to experiment with the distance in order to make it work for you.

Step 3
Cut  a piece of wire (approximately 3 1/2 inches long) and loop ends into small circles, then bend wire into a semicircle.

Step 4
Insert the spiral into the looped ends of the newly formed semi-circle.
Step 5
Insert one end of the spiral into a cork base. Tip: Create a pilot hole in cork with hammer and nail first.

Step 6

Now you can create a little character out of paper to twirl around the spiral. I also thought of monkeys, acrobats or spacemen for this project.  And then you use a glue gun to sandwich the semi-circle with your paper character.

Step 7
Bring the character to the very top, give it a little nudge and watch it twirl down!
Final tip: If character does not twirl down, slightly spread coils apart. If character slips down without twirling, slightly squeeze coils together 

I do hope you try it. ENJOY!

You can also check out this DIY as my craft contribution on BKIDS!  (Thank you so very much, Irene!)

kiva

Photos below are of entrepreneurs from Mali, Rwanda, Paraguay, Philippines and Kyrgyzstan.   Giddy Giddy has recently helped support them and their business goals through a Kiva microloan. We wish them the best of luck on their ventures!

If you haven't checked out KIVA yet, please take a look!

Artist: Sabine Timm

Have you ever seen a piece of art and just needed to tell its creator how happy it made you, or perhaps how it moved you in some way? Well recently I felt compelled to get in touch with an artist whose work I so admire. Her images inspire me to see art as my own PLAYGROUND. As you will see, she clearly approaches her art with a sense of play! 

This artist is Sabine Timm from Germany.  For several years now she has been generously sharing photographs of her artwork on her FLICKR stream.

Wish I could meet her in person; she must have a wicked sense of humor! These pics are a tip of the iceberg and you will want to see more of what she does over here: HONEY VIRGIN.

Her work studio! I love getting a glimpse of where and how people work.

Thank you, Sabine for permission to share your photographs!