Science for kids
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.
Magic potion #2
This fizzy magic potion is pretty fabulous and simply worth doing just to see the look on your kids face!
My son was gobsmacked and kept shouting…”Mummy look..it’s getting bigger and fatter”!…
…which it does…
…and it made my son a very happy chap which is cool!
Click on the link below to see more!
Valentine craft for LMNOP blog
Did you know you can make great invisible ink from lemon juice? Armed with this new bit of knowledge I put my thinking cap on and came up with the idea that invisible ink + message in bottle = cool valentines day gift!
The invisible ink bit is easy…simply squeeze a lemon and use the juice to write a message on a piece of white paper. I don’t have a dip pen so just ended up using a q-tip (cotton bud).
Then you need to find a bottle to put the message in. I used an old vanilla extract bottle. I also stuffed in lots of multi-coloured hearts as you can see!
To reveal the message all you have to do is hold it up to a heat source (you can see the results in the image below). You can use a lightbulb, iron (no steam) or candle for example. PLEASE PLEASE be careful and don’t let the kids do this bit. I nearly flambéed a few pieces of paper on the stove top.
I love these coloured hearts almost as much as I love my hubby and took a zillion pictures!!
Check out the LMNOP blog for lots more goodies….
Update: A lot of people have asked me where the hearts come from….I have a little heart punch and bought a lovely rainbow pad from paperchase.
Magic potion #1
My 3½ year old son is into magic at the moment and wants a (working) wand for his birthday! In our ‘boredom busters‘ post one of my readers, Jo, came up with the fabulous idea of making magic potions – naturally I thought my son would love it.
So here’s the lowdown on magic potion #1: Get a handful of red cabbage, chop it up and pour boiling water over it to produce a blue dye.
Get some lemon juice and add a few drops to the cabbage juice.
Watch it turn the most AMAZING pink! (I have not enhanced the colours in these pictures at all).
Here’s the science: Red cabbage juice contains a natural pH indicator that changes colours according to the acidity of the solution. Read more about it in this great article at chemistry.about.com.
Anyway, it’s a really cool little experiment and my son wants to do it every day at the moment. We’ve already waded through a whole cabbage in the name of scientific research. I still can’t get him to eat any though! Incidentally cabbage juice makes the most amazing pink playdough!
I’m going to do a whole series of posts on magic potions so keep your eyes peeled.
I’ve also got some valentine craft coming up in the next few days. I’ll get the boredom busters page up by the end of the week – it’s taking a little while to put together, simply down to the amount of brilliant suggestions I’ve had.
- All I need… (my mum's blog x)
- Arvindgupta Toys
- Beci Orpin
- Chez Beeper Bebe
- Colossal
- Craftgawker
- Crow roosters crow
- Curly Birds
- diy or die
- Fine Little Day
- Handmade Charlotte
- Hello Kiddo
- IDN Magazine
- Kickcan & Conkers
- Kireei
- le dans la
- LMNOP
- Lullatone home orchestra
- misako mimoko
- Officers (my cousins band)
- Papercrave
- Piles of washing
- Poppytalk
- Red Ted Art
- Sausage Jar
- Swiss Miss
- Tattly
- Wabi-sabi wanderings
- What I Made
- Whipup
