Minieco tutorials
Butterfly sun-catchers
After the wettest April in a hundred years the sun has finally made an appearance in my part of the world! Yay!!!
In order to celebrate we have been making sun-catchers. I remember making them when I was a kid but had honestly forgotten just how brilliant they look with the sun streaming through them.
To make your butterfly sun-catcher you will need:
• Black paper
• Tissue paper
• Pencil crayon
• Scissors
• Craft knife (optional)
• Glue-stick
Step 1
Cut a butterfly shape out of a black sheet of paper. If you are not that confident with drawing you can download a template here. (You should be able to print this on black paper and still see the lines.)
Step 2
Using a light coloured pencil-crayon draw shapes onto the wings of the butterfly (if you use the printable template you can skip this bit). Then using a pair of scissors, or a craft, knife cut out the shapes. Most kids will probably need a hand with this step.
Step 3
Get your squares of tissue paper and tear them into strips. You can choose any colours you want but bright colours work best!
Step 4
Get your glue-stick and apply some glue to the wing of the butterfly and then stick the strips across the wing. Don’t worry if the tissue paper overlaps, you can actually create some really interesting effects by layering it in this way. Make sure you lift the butterfly up every now and again, just to make sure it isn’t stuck to your work-surface!
Step 5
Turn your butterfly over and trim the paper strips so that they are level with the outside edge.
Ta-da…
Stick your butterfly to a window…
Top Tip:
To get kids more involved with the cutting stage let them make the holes in the wings using craft punches, or even a hole-punch.
8-bit popup cards
Hello! Remember that pixel heart card I made a while back? Well it has been one of my most popular tutorials to date so I thought I would add another few designs to the collection. Meet ‘space-invader popup’ and ‘skull popup’:
Like the heart card, they are really minimal (which I just love) and easy to make once you have got the hang of it.
You definitely need a craft knife (and a steady hand) to make these cards this project is only really suitable for adults or teenagers.
If you want to have a go at making them you will find full instructions and downloadable templates after the jump.
popcorn + sprinkles = ♥
Hello folks. Hope you have all had a nice week. Before I begin I just wanted to mention that Maggy from Red Ted Art’s is doing a giveaway of my book today so head over there if you want to try and win a copy. (Maggy’s site is full to the brim of kids crafting ideas so good it’s a good place to hang out anyway).
I first saw this party popcorn recipe at shewearsmanyhats.com and was instantly a fan. I adore popcorn and sprinkles so combining the two seemed like a fine idea to me!
The recipe at shewearsmanyhats.com uses white chocolate as the ‘glue’. I am not actually a huge fan of chocolate so made mine with sugar syrup instead.
You will need:
♥ Popcorn
♥ caster sugar
♥ water
♥ sprinkles
1. Make your popcorn.
2. Cut out a piece of greaseproof paper and lay it flat on a chopping board. Then lay your popcorn on the top of the greaseproof paper in a thin layer.
3. To make your sugar syrup combine 1/4 cup of water in a saucepan with 1/8 cup of sugar and cook on a medium to high heat. You should avoid stirring as sugar crystals can form (I did stir mine gently at the beginning and end though). When the mixture starts to take on colour (see image above) remove from the heat. It can turn very quickly at the end so keep a close eye on it.
Please remember: this mixture is extremely hot so please take care! I wouldn’t recommend making it with little ones around
4. Drizzle your sugar syrup over the popcorn then add your sprinkles. The sugar syrup mixture will cool very quickly so make sure you add your sprinkles right away.
Yum ^_^ If you have any other ‘popcorn glue’ ideas then do leave a comment below!
3D paper diamonds
Hello there. Hope you all had a great Easter! We had a lovely relaxing holiday (….well as relaxing as it gets with kids). It would have been great to have another week off ^_^
Before I forget I just want to say a big thank you for all the kind messages you have send me regarding my book (you really are a nice bunch!)…and huge thanks to all the people who have bought it so far…
I’ve been meaning to get this paper diamond up for weeks now…but it’s taken ages to figure the template out (and I’ve been having breaks between each failed attempt). I really hate crafty disasters (I seems to be having a few just recently) so I’m happy that this one came good in the end!!
It’s based on simplified version of Satoshi Kamiya’s origami diamond. I did make the origami diamond to begin with but I found it impossible to keep the model closed (and really tricky to make as I couldn’t find full instructions anywhere). In the end I just made a less complictated ‘cut, score & glue’ version which was much easier to assemble!
These paper diamonds are tricky to make (& require a fair bit of patience) so definitely adults only! If you enjoyed making my paper gems then this project is definitely for you.
When you have made your diamonds you can attach thread and hang them up. You could also use them as a gift box…perfect for jewellery (or diamond rings!!). If any of you do succeed in making some please let me know (if you send me a link to your pictures I’ll pop it up on my facebook page).
How-to
1. Print out the template onto a sheet of paper. Cut around solid line.
2. Using a needle (or compass point) and ruler score along all the dotted lines.
3. Turn over and lightly bend along scored lines.
4. Using a glue-stick glue each flap into place. (I would recommend that you glue one flap and stick in place and then glue the next flap etc).
Happy Monday all!
Edited to add: A few people have had problems printing the templates (the dotted lines do not print). If you too are having problems you can download a ‘dotted-line-free’ template here!
My book ^_^
Yey! My book has finally been released. The whole process has taken over a year and, at times, I really didn’t think I would get there! It’s wonderful to finally be able to show you some pictures, and also to feel a bit more relaxed about the whole thing.
The book is called “eco-friendly crafting with kids” and contains 35 step-by-step projects for preschool kids and adults to create together. (Even though the book is aimed at preschoolers the projects would also be suitable for 5, 6 & 7 year olds).
I picked a fairly random set of images to show you…I was finding it hard to choose. The book really does look stunning, largely due to the efforts of photographer Carloyn Barber, stylist Liz Belton and Designer Sonya Nathoo.
The book is split into eight sections; homemade materials, music, nature, recycling bin, paper and card, sewing and threading, science and boredom busters.
I would love for you to buy a copy if you like the look of it *^_^*. You can purchase one at amazon.co.uk, amazon.com, amazon.ca, barnes & noble (and many other places). You can also order it from the book depository (which does free worldwide delivery) and lots of other websites! (btw my Australian pals and I use the book depository to send presents to one another and we’ve always been really happy with the service!)
Images excerpted from “eco-friendly crafting with kids” by Kate Lilley. Photography Copyright © Ryland Peters & Small Ltd. Reprinted with permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.
Easter garland
This is my first ever Easter craft! A ‘miffy’ inspired rabbit garland. It’s very sweet and would look cute in a babies room too!
All you have to do it print, cut and attach to cotton.
I printed the template onto pastel coloured card (175 gsm).
You can download a template here if you want to try!
Eye-bombing (the new yarn-bombing)!
I saw this great post at flutterflutter last week which was all about ‘eye-bombing’ and ever since reading it I have had an overwhelming desire to stick googly eyes to absolutely everything. It’s a great activity for the kids too!
Sugar-sprinkle monster. Sadly he is no longer with us.
Sheepish venus fly trap.
Sad string.
Cute cactus
Hungry holepunch
Prudish door handle!
Do join in! It’s lots of fun. If you want more inspiration then there is a whole website dedicated to the art of eye-bombing here! Thanks flutterflutter.
Happy Friday all! x
Space crayons
Hello! We’ve been struck down by some nasty bugs in the last few weeks so sorry (once again!) for the lack of updates.
Last night, I finally managed to peel myself off the sofa(!) and made these galaxy crayons for son #1 (he is currently fascinated with stars and planets).
If you, too, are interested in the night sky then did you know you can download high-res images from the hubble site? {Thanks Oh Happy Day for the heads up}. (I can feel a project coming on!)
Anyway, the crayons are really easy to make and fun to draw with. If you wanna have a go then see the tutorial after the jump.
If your little ones (or you) prefer bright colours then you can also make regular glitter crayons! Yay!
More starry links:
Galaxy playdough here!
Amazing ‘Stardust’ fashion photography by Ignacio Torres.
(I do still regularly pin my favorite crafts at Pinterest by the way…so if you wanna pop over then that would be cool!)
DIY string-tie envelopes
Hello! Sorry about the little break. My son has been off on his half-term holidays so I had a blog-free week!
Now I am back, I just want to give a big shout out (and a big thank you) to my new sponsors, pi’ikea street and paper glitter….do check their sites out!
I also wanted to say a massive thanks to all the people who have left comments lately (and to those who have sent me lovely emails). It’s been especially great to hear from people who have been making the projects…and ace seeing all your pictures…hurray!
I do confess that I have always had a ‘thing’ about string-tie envelopes. They seem impossible to get hold of though so I thought it would be fun to make my own. They are very easy to do!
These dinky little envelopes are great for all-sorts of things (storing paper ephemera, housing invitations/gift cards, storing seeds). I have also been making some for my sons to play with (as they are obsessed with letters/post offices at the moment). I reckon they would also make a cute gift.
By the way, now my kids are getting better at using scissors they have been really enjoying making their own envelopes using the template from my previous post.
You will find a full tutorial and templates below! Happy Monday all 
You will need:
Paper
Card
String
Glue stick
Scissors
Tiny brads/split pins (the heads of the brads I used were 3mm in diameter)
How-to
1. Print out the template onto paper. Cut score and fold.
Template one (tiny envelope, print out on A5 paper)
Template two (C7 envelope, print on A4 paper)
2. Cut out some small, card disks. Paper will work just as well but card will be a bit more hard-wearing.
3. Using a needle, pierce two holes in the envelope and a hole in each disk (marked on template).
4. Attach card disks to envelope using brads. (If you don’t have any brads then you can sew them on. See this tutorial at simplymodernmom.com).
5. Fold the three edges of the envelope up and glue.
6. Attach a piece of string to the top disk and tie off. Wrap round disks to fasten.
If you are not keen on the rainbow brights then I think pastel/neon would be a great combination. For example, make a pale pink envelope with neon pink disk and string. (Note to self: must buy neon card/paper!)
Job done!
{Valentines day} pixelated popup card
I‘ve been scratching my head trying to come up with a card for my hubby {AKA the non-romantic type}. I finally decided to make this pixely popup heart card!
They are really minimal (which I love) and take about 20 minutes to make (that includes the card, insert and envelope).
You can even make some pixely confetti to put inside the card (if you are a big kid like me!).
Full instructions and printable templates below!
(BTW I remember seeing something similar in a popup book years ago. If anyone knows of the book then do let me know!).
How to
1. Download the popup insert template and print out. I used paper but a thin card would probably be OK too. Using some scissors trim around the edge of the template.
2. Using a craft knife and ruler cut and score your card. See diagram below for more detail.
(If you have a cutting machine then see note at end of post!)
Cut along the black lines and score the grey lines.
3. Make the four valley folds as show below (thin yellow lines shown in fig. 3).
4. Slowly fold the top of the card inwards and the bottom half of the heart should begin to push out. (You don’t need to tape it to the table…I did because I was taking pictures at the same time!)
5. Fold card completely in half and smooth down
6. Make outer card and glue/tape popup insert inside. I just used a plain piece of paper which measured 9.5cm x 19cm and then folded it in half.
7. Print out the envelope template. Cut, score and fold.
8. Pop card inside and tape envelope shut (I added some pixely confetti too)!
Edited to add: The lovely Kayla from saynotsweetanne has send me a .dfx file of the card which you can use if you have a cutting machine. I have never even heard of a cutting machine…let alone used one so this is all a bit of a revelation (for me, anyway)!! You can download the file here. Thanks Kayla! You’re a star! (Please leave a comment to let me know if you find this file useful…if you do then I’ll try to find out how to generate them for all my print/cut posts).
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