Craft: How to make a Haloween Basket

Halloween Basket

This post should have been done before Halloween, but I didn't have the time then. Anyway, the idea can be used for any other types of baskets, for example, Easter baskets or flower baskets. I'm planning to make a flower basket for Mary's wedding this way. I'll post up the picture when I make it next year.

Materials:
Crepe papers, plastic container, scotch tape, double sided tapes, anything soft for padding, scissors, color papers, ribbon.

Instructions:
1. Cut crepe paper according to the size of the plastic container you are using. Cut enough so that it can be folded in. Stick padding around the side of the container to make it look chubbier.
2. Gather the crepe paper on a strip of scotch tape to make it crinkled. Make sure you leave sone tape un-covered by the crepe paper.
3. Stick the crinkled crepe paper all around the inside of the plastic container.
4. Cut a round piece of crepe paper and stick to the inner bottom of the container with double sided tape.
5. Fold over the crinkled crepe paper and stick the rest on the outer base of the container.
6. Stick the ribbon handle with double sided tape.
7. Cut leaves from green crepe paper. Line the inside of the container with double sided tape and paste the leaves neatly.

Other decorations:
Face:
Cut little triangles for eyes and nose, and a smile from black paper. Stick with glue or double sided tape.

Bat:
Draw a bat on hard black paper. Stick on green circles for eyes and draw 2 dots for eyes. Cut it out and stick on the ribbon.

Witch:
Cut the witch face from green paper, witch hat fro black paper. Cut a small piece of red crepe paper and cut tiny strips, leaving the top uncut. Crinkle the red paper to make hair and stick on the head. Stick the hat on top. Draw the face and mouth.

The instructions are not that detailed but I hope the pictures help. Click on the picture to get a clearer image. =D
Happy Crafting!

Craft: Home-made Play dough

I made some play dough last week. It was so easy and fun to make. The result is so satisfying, not only it's better than the "Playdough" you buy at the stores, it smells better too. =D

I even managed to salvage the drying bought ones and revived them by kneading the old and new together. The almost dried play dough took a lot of work to knead together though. I had to crumble bits of them into the new play dough and knead longer. But the result was like brand new ones. Now Sean can play as much and waste as much as he wants because I can make more whenever he runs out.

Recipe:
1/2 cup fine salt
1 cup flour
1 tbsp cream of tartar
1 tbsp oil
1 cup warm water
food coloring and essences

Revised instruction:
Dissolve the salt in the water in a saucepan. Add cream of tartar, oil and essence. Put the saucepan over a small fire and add the flour a little at a time. Stir continuously until it clumps into a ball. Remove from heat and knead. Use a little flour while kneading to lessen the stickiness.

If you're making one color, you can add the food coloring in the saucepan. Otherwise, take a batch and add the food coloring a little at a time, and knead the color into the dough.

Be careful with the coloring if you don't want to have colorful hands. I had colors all over my hand because I wasn't careful while mixing the colors. It took 2 days to wash away. So if you have disposable gloves, use them. Just make the primary colors: red, blue and yellow. you can knead other colors from these. It's a great color teaching tools for older toddlers.

I used vanilla and banana essences. They smell really good. =D

Additional Note:

Leave the new dough in air for a while and re-knead once in a while. If you keep them inside containers too soon, they get too soft and soggy.

Use flour to knead until you reach the consistency that you like. If you keep inside closed container for too long, it gets too soft. So open the container once in a while.

Just to add:
The reason my previous playdough was so soft is because I forgot to add the oil!!!!. So remember to add the spoonful of oil. If you forget, just take a bit of oil and knead into your dough. It should work as well.

2nd Wall Done!

The second wall of the cardboard house was actually done 2 weeks ago, but I forgot to take a picture or blog about it. The dinosaurs are taken from Sean's book "Harry & the dinosaurs says Raah", which used to be his favourite book.

Below the bucket of dinosaurs is Lightning McQueen on a race track with animals as the spectators. It's supposed to be many cars but I just couldn't make myself squat and draw many tiny cars, so I cut out teddy bears and animal heads from wrapping papers as spectators. Good enough! =P

I realized the track line isn't correct but after I was done with it, I loathed to do anymore work on it. Maybe the next time when I'm inspired to work on it, Ill correct the track line. But that may never happen.... ha ha ha.