giddygiddy

monster piñata bags

With all the piñata pieces we had left over, we were able to make these  piñata "trick or treat" bags.

Here is the link to:  original PINATA tutorial. 

The basic idea is the same, but instead of cardboard for the structure, we used 2 layers of paper bags that were cut to shape and then glued and taped together for strength. (candy is heavy!) 

I'm trying to jerry-rig a secret hole that sucks out all the candy, before my little sugar monsters get a chance to eat them. I'll tell you how that plan goes....

D.I.Y. PIÑATA!!

Holy Piñatas! These are the piñata variety that you do NOT dare pummel! They were made with so much love and care that it's simply sacrilege to even think about taking a stick to it. 

This monster piñata is the creation of my 7 year old:

This "birthday party girl" piñata is the pride and joy of my girl who just turned 6:

Oh...  and this bird has ME written all over it.

THE D.I.Y.

1. Collect your materials.

Recycled corrugated cardboard boxes and cereal boxes, colored tissue paper, glue, masking tape and scissors. 

2. Cut cardboard into desired size and shape.

The basic construction is comprised of 3 parts. 2 identical sides and a long band that connects both sides together to transform the shape into a 3-dimensional structure. The band should be made of a bendable material or lighter weight board paper - ideally cereal box. Tape together with masking tape.

3. Prepare strips of vertical fringes.

I cut colored tissue paper into 2" wide strips.  As I stacked them together, I made vertical cuts at about 1 cm apart. 

4. Glue tissue fringes.

Start at the bottom and always work your way up!!

5.  Final Touches.

Once the fringes have been glued down, you can embellish with colored paper to make elements such as eyes, mouth, ears, bowtie, belt, etc...

IT'S MESSY FUN!!

Here are some good kiddie action shots:

MORE DIY TUTORIALS HERE: GIDDY GIDDY D.I.Y. PROJECTS

DIY - home made kites

We didn't know we could do it, until we did it!  That's right...this weekend, we designed, constructed and flew our own homemade kites. 

Kids most definitely need some help and some patience. But the results are spectacular and give you a perfect reason to go outside and run like the wind. What's a better reward than this?  This project makes it on my top 3 favorite craft DIY ideas for sure! 

By the way, on a difficulty scale from 1-10 it is "officially" a 7.33. (This number is comprised of 3 votes: mine (3 difficulty level) a 7 year old (9.5 difficulty level) and a 5 1/2 year old (9.5 difficulty level).

THE DIY TUTORIAL:

1. Supplies: a spool of basketweaving reed that measure 2-3.5 millimeter in diameter, large colored wax paper and/or colored tissue paper (wax paper is best as it is more durable), quilting thread or heavy duty thread, scissors, and glue stick  

(Please scroll down below for suggested supply sources. )

2. Now devise your plan. Just think about the overall kite construction as a series of OVALS, CIRCLES, TEAR DROPS and HALF CIRCLES. These shapes can then be assembled and then tied together. By keeping this simple guideline in mind, we were able to create a flower, a fish/bug, and a butterfly kite.

3. Take a reed, cut it to size and securely tie ends together by looping quilting thread very tightly around and over a dozen times. Tie a good end knot that cannot easily come undone.

This picture illustrates how a butterfly shaped kite is merely a series of 4 tear drop shapes tied together:

Cut wax paper/tissue paper in the same shape as the frame except that it should be 1 inch bigger all around. Cut notches about 1/2 inch apart around the circumference of the wax paper shape.

Now you can apply glue stick on the edges and then fold over so as to cover the bamboo frame.

We tied an extra reed across the entire flower shape to keep this kite frame stable and straight. This extra support might be necessary for other complex shaped kites as well.

As far as the design, layers of shapes and colors can then be glued on the base layer. Here I debated on either a fish or a bug kite and ended up with a BUG FISH.

This butterfly kite is the result of layers and layers of tissue paper and wax paper on top of each other.

Now you can attach kite string onto the decorated face of the kite. We did this by using a sewing needle and looping it through the paper and the reed, which is underneath the paper. Placement depends on the kite design itself but rule of thumb is to find 2-3 areas to string and then those strings can then be joined together at a point about 12 inches from the kite. Think "pyramid". Then a longer kite string can then be tied to the center point. Truly, this part requires experimentation and is based on the shape of the kite itself.

If you try this project, I would love to see pictures or links of your results!

Have fun.

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WHERE TO BUY:

lightweight reeds can be found at basketweaving.com

and colored wax kite paper can be found at: imaginechildhood.com

poor man's letterpress

We made some simple little stationary that mimics letterpress, although admittedly the effect is quite simple and also a little crude. Still, I think it's quite a charming look!

All that requires is an inexpensive punch letter set from a hardware store, hammer, quality art paper and a scrap plywood surface to hammer on. The paper should have some thickness to it; ideally art paper or watercolor paper. The softness of the plywood surface allows the impression to be easily hammered onto the paper.

This DIY project is so easy and incredibly fun! It's pretty easy for kids too. My daughter spent an afternoon hammering out an entire letter.

 A letter punch kit can be found HERE and HERE.

Enjoy!

paper shoes

These girls woke up this morning and decided that they were going to make shoes out of paper. 

They proceeded swiftly.  The task at hand was so urgent, there would be no time to change out of pajamas and night gowns. Paper shoes MUST BE MADE NOW!

 

Simple red strappies for one, and ornate closed toe slippers for the other.  Funny enough, each one had a vastly different construction process compared to the other and their style reflected their own distinct personality. My youngest constructed her shoes in an organic and intuitive process; basically shaping her sandals directly on her feet. The older sister sketched out her design first, then made careful measurements for her slippers. The completion required several more steps: multiple layers of paper, then paint, lace trim, and tissue paper flowers. This is so typical of the cerebral first child.

Isn't there a saying about shoes? Was it, don't judge paper shoes by its cover? Or don't judge a girl unless you've walked in their paper shoes for a mile?