Tag Archives: Christmas craft

Valentine Egg Carton Lucky Dip Game

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Valentine Egg Carton Lucky Dip Game with Mudpies and Sunshine

Here we are at the third installment of Mudpies and Sunshine’s world famous Valentine’s Egg Carton Craft Series. We painted the egg cartons in the first post; in the second we tested our brain power with the memory game and now we will be playing a game of chance (with many giggles) called the Lucky Dip Game.

Here’s how I set up the game:

  • 12 different stickers x 2 (you could use laminated numbers in hearts, anything flat that can fit into one of the egg cavities)
  • 12 envelopes and note paper to fit inside
  • 12 felt balls (which happen to fit perfectly into the egg carton cavities)


How to Play Valentine's Egg Carton Lucky Dip Game with Mudpies and Sunshine

Once I was all set up I invited the girls to sit on the rug and get started. There are no rules with how far away from the egg carton you need to be (however you may wish to shake things up a bit and have a throwing line).

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Sit down.

2. Choose a felt ball.

3. Throw the felt ball into any cavity in the egg carton.

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4. Ascertain the sticker colour and style your felt ball landed on.

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5. Find the matching sticker on one of the 12 envelopes.

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6. Open the envelope, read the note and have fun. The notes are self-explanatory.

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The one Zoe is reading says “Ring the Garden Bells“.

Playing the Lucky Dip Game with Mudpies and Sunshine

I wrote the activities for the envelopes and placed all the stickers on the envelopes and the egg carton in around 15 minutes.  It is a simple game and it is SO FUN. The best part is you can tailor the activities/questions to suit the personality of your children.

The girls loved the game and we have played it multiple times already. When the game gets a bit ‘stale’ I will change the notes inside the envelopes. The beauty is the game can be adapted over and over again.

Now let me share some of the other notes inside the envelopes :

Time for a Tickle 

Time for a Tickle during the Lucky Dip Game with Mudpies and Sunshine

Walk Around the Kitchen With Your Eyes Closed

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Do a Crazy Dance for 60 Seconds

(Zoe added a crazy song as well, 2 for the price of 1)

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Receive a Surprise Sweet Treat (both players benefit..and Mums)

Get a surprise sweet treat during the Lucky Dip Game with Mudpies and Sunshine

I added a token educational question…

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Do Ten Star Jumps

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Stand on One Leg as Long as You Can

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Give Everyone a Big Hug

Big Hugs with the Lucky Dip Game with Mudpies and Sunshine

I also had one called “Take Another Turn” which Zoe got and was thrilled with (go figure because, in hindsight, I am of the opinion that one is a bit boring!).

Ebony was lucky to get “Say the Peter Piper Tongue Twister 10 times as fast as You Can” and “Put a Toy Away” (she chose a book to place back on the shelf).

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Does your family love playing games together? If you give this game a go I would love to hear about (or even see it if you are able to send a snapshot!).

For little ones I suggest using one word prompts for early readers or pictures of the activity the child needs to do for the pre-reader or toddler.

We’re not finished with the pink and red egg cartons yet! Oh no no no. There are more crafty ideas to come in this egg carton series and they will be coming to you soon! Just in time for you to play some lovely games and spend some quality time with your little cherubs this Valentine’s Day.

Have (lots of) fun!

Thanks so much for dropping by :)

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6 Fun Ways to Recycle Christmas Cards

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Recycling beautiful christmas cards into beautiful craft is a great way to be frugal, fun and environmentally responsible all at the same time.  All the christmas cards we received are going to be used for christmas craft next year. I can hardly wait ;)

I decided on 6 fun crafts that the girls might like to do next year and printed out these labels:-

Recycling Christmas Cards with Mudpies and Sunshine

The 6 fun ways to recycle christmas cards we chose are:

  1. Make gift tags
  2. Make a bauble garland
  3. Make a christmas card jigsaw (I am putting six cards in cut into 5 or 6 pieces each. Suitable for a quiet night time activity. )
  4. Make christmas tree cards
  5. Make a christmas garland
  6. Make miniature christmas boxes (I also printed off a page of instructions so I wouldn’t have to find it next year. Here is the link to the instructions we will be using from Kinderart). Activity Village has a huge list of recycling ideas. They are very clever people!

I stuck the labels onto plain brown lunch bags and then sorted through the christmas cards and decided which cards suited which task best. 6 Fun Ways to Recycle Christmas Cards - setup - Mudpies and Sunshine

I decided the christmas mobile would be Santa themed so most of the lovely Santa cards went into that bag. I also chose green themed cards for the christmas tree card craft.

6 Fun Ways to Recycle Christmas Cards - Mudpies and Sunshine - Christmas tree card craftI ran out of cards to place in the bauble garland bag and recycled some strong christmas paper instead: 6 Fun Ways to Recycle Christmas Cards - Mudpies and Sunshine 019

So here are the craft bags – all complete and ready to go for christmas 2013. And the contents we were gifted! Yay :)  6 Fun Ways to Recycle Christmas Cards - Mudpies and Sunshine

If you are interested in the labels and the recycled card crafts, please feel free to copy and print my free printable:-

FREE PRINTABLE - Recycling Christmas Cards Labels - MUDPIES AND SUNSHINE

Enjoy your recycling and thanks so much for dropping by!

If you have any more ideas for recycling christmas cards or christmas wrapping paper I would love to hear about them :)

Foam Christmas Tree Bath Activity

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Christmas Tree Title

This a really cute activity that I have seen in numerous places on pinterest. The colours against the gloss white of a bath make it visually inviting and decorating a christmas tree is always fun. So we just had to do it.

I found a pack of 10 pieces of foam at Kmart so it must be widely available in larger department stores and craft stores. I made sure it included a nice green piece:)

I spent a little time tracing around christmas cookie cutters and cutting the shapes out. Then all was ready for my oldest princess to take a dip in the bath and get decorating.Snowman & Foam Tree Dec 2012 044

Ebony is 9 years old, nearly 10 and she could not wait to get started on this activity. Simple, creative play for big girls after a long day at school can be a panacea. It doesn’t need to be complicated. Easy art and craft can be soothing and calming in the right circumstances. At other times this craft could have been crazy and silly. It all depends.
Foam Tree

Letting kids be the boss of their own craft also works wonders. Choice of position, place etc. You say ‘you choose’ = they hear ‘you have confidence in my choices’. You say ‘you can use a paint brush’ = they hear ‘life couldn’t be more awesome’.
Foam Tree 1

Lots of tweaking…
Foam Tree tweaking

But that’s not all. Ebony saw the left over foam and asked if she could make something. So out of the bath and onto the rug for some traditional Australian snowman craft (I say in jest – if only *sigh about the lack of snow*). Quite ironically Ebony’s top says “Dream”.Snowman Foam Bath Fun

Cute foam snow man is getting a nice green hat :)
Foam Snowman Mudpies and Sunshine

Ebony was so keen to play with the snowman that she was prepared to play with him over the full bath. What balance, what poise! What a crazy 9 year old :) Foam craft

There was NO WAY little sister was missing out on all this creating and oohing and aahing (my spell checker wanted to change that sentence to “oozing and aching” – that’s a bit rough for a craft blog methinks). Zoe got to work too. Meet Rudolph the red nosed reindeer. Extra points for making Rudolph’s nose look like a carrot – two birds with one stone there.Foam Rudolph

And here they are all in a row – Mama Bear’s Tree, Little Bear’s Snowman and Baby Bear’s Rudolph. Lots of happy bath times ahead. Three Foam Christmas Decorations

This foam shape business has to be one of my favourite crafts of the Christmas variety. Mainly due to the novelty of it – it sticks to tiles and loves getting wet! Also the colour and it’s ability to be played with over and over again rate it highly in my book.

What do you think? Do you love a foam craft?

Thanks so much for dropping by!

Decorating Playdoh Christmas Trees

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Playdoh is so wonderfully tactile, kids of all ages just love it. Therefore I was delighted to see playdoh and christmas come together in so many different ways on pinterest. I knew my girls would love making a christmas tree the most so that is what I prepared.
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You can get a really good perspective on this craft when you are near spotty christmas paper lanterns!

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Zoe was totally absorbed doing all the 2D trees. I forgot to tell her that this was a sharing craft. My bad. Ebony solved her own problem and turned the left over lump of green playdoh into her own 3D tree.

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3D Playdoh Tree

I love the sparkling decorations around the base of the tree. Ebony also made a green snowman :)  Playdoh 006

We might as well make our snowmen out of playdoh since we will never see snow at Christmas time in this neck of the woods!

This was such a cute and easy craft to do. Highly recommend it :)

Thanks so much for dropping by!

Popstick Christmas Tree

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Welcome to the newest addition to our Christmas tree. This is a very simple and sweet craft and would fit in well between school, sport and errands. It is the perfect sit down, get creative and get results fast type craft.
Pop stick Xmas Tree 3

I used velcro dots for this craft – I’ve had them for a while and this was the perfect craft to try them out on. Wood or craft glue would work just as well of course. Here is how I got the tree ready…

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To decorate the tree Zoe chose our office star stickers and self adhesive gems.Image

I love how quiet the house gets when the girls are concentrating on their crafting.Image

Zoe decided on a symmetrical design. She didn’t say it like that though :) Readers might expect that this would be a good opportunity for a parent (ie.me) to engage their child in learning about symmetrical design. I decided to disagree with that view and keep quiet ;) Image

I love how simple this is. Craft really does help children explore the world laterally. What can you make with three popsticks and some sparkly stickers for example?

Xmas Tree

Finally we attached a longer, wider pop stick to the back of the tree to keep it steady and give the tree a trunk. Zoe said it was like a puppet Christmas tree because you could hold it at the bottom. Once it was on the tree it looked like it had always belonged there.
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I do get sentimental about the Christmas tree. What’s not to love I say?

I was thinking pre-glued pop stick triangles in a kit with stickers would be great for waiting rooms during December. They would also be great as little kits to give other children as gifts or to drop off at the local hospital for kids waiting in emergency or who are in the children’s ward. I see a project forming!

Thanks so much for dropping by :)

DIY Sparkly Christmas Wrapping Paper

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Xmas paper 1

Welcome to another DIY wrapping paper post in our series. This is the 6th one!

For this post, we needed more wrapping paper for our little salt dough ornaments we made recently to give to teachers and family. Preparing for this craft is quick and easy, just how I like it :) We needed a lot of wrapping paper so I had both girls set up at the table. Ebony with red paint and a star cookie cutter and Zoe with green paint and a Christmas tree cutter.

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Ebony enjoyed the look of the bright red star against the soft brown paper. Zoe unfortunately discovered her christmas tree cutter was slightly bent and wouldn’t make a good impression when stamped. We swapped it for an angel and then she used the star as well. It’s good to know I am teaching her about adapting to change (and disappointment!).Christmas paper & playdoh Dec 2012 014

We raided our glitter box in order to add some christmas sparkle to the paper. Paste on some glue…
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And shake it, shake it, shake it…
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Zoe used the multi-coloured glitter on quite a few of her shapes. I love how big the glitter pieces are.

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Here is the paper before the excess glitter has been shaken off. Christmas paper & playdoh Dec 2012 059

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And here they are after:- Christmas paper & playdoh Dec 2012 064

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And here are our salt dough ornaments all wrapped up ready to be gifted with our handmade cork stamped christmas cards and our pom pom cards.

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Are the 25 days in December really enough to get all the crafting done you want to do? Of course not! But we must try :)

If you are interested in more Christmas themed wrapping paper (understandable with only 15 days to go, or so I was told at 6.30am this morning) you might like our DIY reindeer wrapping paper. Zoe had lots of fun stamping the reindeer antlers.

Thanks so much for dropping by!

Easy Christmas Paper Lanterns

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I have seen a few paper lantern craft ideas lately and decided the ceiling in our dining area (where we have placed our Christmas tree) could do with a little more decoration. In order to keep the craft simple and quick – office dot stickers were the obvious solution.

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Ebony wanted to do the first lantern. The plan was for three lanterns – one with red stickers, one with green and one with both. The plan was also for Zoe to the green one. That was the plan.Paper Lanterns 2012 032

Paper Lanterns 3

Putting the stickers on is so relaxing and instantly rewarding. Ebony and I had fun kidding around during her turn. While the girls were at school I couldn’t help but get started on the green lantern…and then do a bit more…and then OOPS – finish the green lantern.Paper Lanterns 2012 070

Confession time – and then I finished the green and red combination lantern as well! Boy, was I going to be in trouble with Zoe!Lanterns 1

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I hung the lanterns using transparent elastic thread often used in bead craft.

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Christmas Paper Lanterns

Lucky for me Zoe was happy with the replacement Christmas tree craft I prepared for her. I did have to promise she has first dibs on the next lantern craft though.

We all loved the spotty lantern look. There is a lot of love in this house for round office stickers. And in other households too. Just check out this adorable Christmas tree craft from Inner Child Fun and recently Red Ted Art used office stickers to make some fun wrapping paper. We love making our own wrapping paper too so we will have to try using office dot stickers one day.

More Christmas card craft to come very soon.

Thanks so much for dropping by!

Patty Pan Wreath – Toddler Friendly

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Patty Pan Wreath 1

I saw some lovely Christmas themed patty pans at the supermarket and I instantly thought ‘wreath’ and then ‘Zoe’. Sometimes a Mum just knows:)

We did this craft in an open-ended way which would be perfect for toddlers – and by open-ended I mean no rules or design limitations. I did want to mention filling the gaps once but I bit my tongue instead!

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Zoe could not wait to get started. Sitting there for this pic was torture. And she’s off!

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Choose a patty pan, glue the bottom onto cardboard, choose a good spot, rinse and repeat.

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Wreath 2

We wanted to add some sparkle so Zoe picked out some red and gold shiny star stickers. And she also used the shiny wrappers from gold chocolate coins :)

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Zoe did it all herself, from start to finish, and she is so pleased with her finished product.Wreath Dec 2012 079

Oh the joy:) This craft really felt like a memory maker. I can imagine in years to come ‘remember that patty pan wreath I made when I was in Grade 1?’.

I have seen some wonderful homemade wreaths online recently. There are endless ways of creating your own perfect wreath. Are you making a wreath this year or have one completed? I would love to hear about it.

Thanks for dropping by!

Christmas Card Craft – Shop Brochures

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I was surprised by how much the girls really enjoyed this craft. Like ALOT.

We’ve been busy with Christmas card craft around here. We’ve used corks and paint and pipe cleaners and pom poms.

I think the free-range nature of this craft appealed to their need to make things their own way from start to finish. With no design parameters. No tree shape or snowman etc.

We start with our free brochures (junk mail) that are delivered straight to our door.

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Junk mail full of Christmas pictures and motifs. In your mail box free, every day for weeks! We might as well find a good use for them.

After a minute’s preparation (aka grab some card, a pair of scissors, glue and junk mail) the girls quickly got busy creating Christmas cards.

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At 6 years of age cutting practice is still very important. And this craft provides that in bucketloads.

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It was interesting to see who chose what picture from the brochures.

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Both girls spent a long time on this craft. Kids love choice!

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Free-range craft is doing your own thing, your way. Result = lots of concentrating.

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Zoe pulled out the sticker box in order to add some stars to her Christmas tree.

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Ebony spent some time planning hers.

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Ebony got into the stickers as well. Little sisters do have good ideas sometimes ya know.

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And the final reveal:

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My girls were seriously proud of their cards. And I loved seeing their deep involvement in their activity.

I think getting pictures from brochures made them feel a teensy weensy grown up too.

I hope you are enjoying the Christmas season with your crafty kids :)

Thanks so much for dropping by!

DIY Rudolph Christmas Wrapping Paper

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Oh how I love Christmas. Christmas craft can not come early enough for me. So I am delighted to add another Christmas craft post to the blog. We have been busy with Christmas card craft, using cork stamps and pipe cleaners and pom poms (which I am planning to post about very soon!). Sign up to the blog and you won’t miss a thing :)

This time we are making our own Christmas themed wrapping paper – Rudolph takes centre stage in this craft.

We needed these items to get started:-

Other items you will need:

  • cake fork or small fork
  • large piece of plain paper
  • black, red and brown paint
  • small child who loves paint
  • (we used the bottom of a lipstick pen (love secret santas) for the eye stamping)

Once we had all of the above assembled, our small child started having lots of fun stamping:

What is going on with those reindeer antlers? Yup – fork stamping. Sounds illegal but it isn’t. Anybody who loves Christmas can give it a go.

With three different actions required for this craft it gives little ones lots to concentrate on. They also need to think spatially because Rudolph needs adequate space for the antlers. Especially if they want to start with the nose and eyes like Zoe did.

This requirement can also lead to some interesting problem solving. Didn’t leave enough room for big antlers? Not a problem when you’re creating baby reindeer – ta da!

Zoe stamped away happily for quite some time.

Lots of reindeer here with very cute big red noses. Is it Rudolph and his extended family? Zoe said “it is the school where reindeers with noses go”. All eyes to the front!

Zoe also thought this paper says “boy present” more than it says “girl present”. I agreed.

So we wrapped up a Christmas present for our nearly 5-year-old nephew and cousin.

What could be inside?

So that is one present wrapped and ready to go. Thanks for dropping by and catching up on our Christmas preparations.

How are your Christmas preparations going?