Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Easter fun with paper dolls and

Welcome!
courtesy Indygo Junction


Let's start today's blog off with a paper cutting frenzied start!!

Paper Doll paper cutting frenzy that is!



You know I always have to fit in a Barbie or two...

:0)

This is a charming set of paper dolls, by month.
I chose February and March as they both seemed to have some 'Easter' type clothes and extras.

Be sure to print the pages with dolls and accessories onto card stock.





 Be sure to print the one above on cardstock!


These were all courtesy from a new web site I found:

www.bonecasdepapel.blogspot.com

WARNING
My anti-virus program seemed to find several things 
that it found threatening on the above blog site. 
Use with caution.
We have Kapersky.

courtesy Indygo Junction.
They have charming downloadables plus more.


Here is a set called "Ginny"
It is from www.origamibears.com - an outstanding site for paper dolls!





courtesy OrigamiBears



"Remember that your children
are not your own,
but are lent to you
by the Creator."

- Mohawk Proverb


vintage hand sewn baby bib, www.susaninpenna.etsy.com


porcelain Russian Easter Eggs, www.fanpop.com


Here are a couple of paper dolls from the Jack & Jill magazine:



and




"Children are a great comfort
in your old age -
and they help you reach it
faster, too."

- Lionel Kauffman



Next I have two Joan Walsh Anglund Easter pages:



I love the bunny in that one!!

Here is a little cut & play village. 
Wouldn't it be cute with some of the paper dolls?

Try re-sizing a few times to get it to just the right size!
Another page the kids can cut out... yeah!

Have you seen those safety scissors that will not cut kids? I couldn't believe they would work, until I tried some. They really do work on paper! There is no metal involved, another plus. Mine are hot pink!

Remember those old silver metal safety scissors with the blunt tips?
I would get so frustrated because they wouldn't cut well! Probably had cut too  many cardboard tubes and play dough...

courtesy OrigamiBears

Even though I have shared Gentle Julia before, I thought her dresses looked very 'old-time Easter'. Enjoy!

crochet bunnies with tails, www.HolidayMemories.etsy.com


Large size zip-lock baggies are perfect to carry around paper dolls and all their accessories and clothes. Also, they are quieter than a manila envelope.
Be sure to put in your paper doll 'goodie' bag: pages of paper dolls, appropriate to age, safety scissors, crayons, colored pencils, a pencil sharpener (manual only) and an extra baggie to hold crayon/pencil shavings.  Tailor this to the age of the kids that will be playing with them. I would also have a file folder with kids pages of activities and coloring pages.

If you're not including paper dolls, then have a coloring 'goodie' bag of:
coloring sheets and activity sheets, crayons, snack baggies if you will be giving crayons to children that are not sitting together, and a crayon sharpener with shavings baggie if needed. Usually for an hour or two service, I would not bother with a crayon sharpener at all.



Want to be a favorite aunt/uncle/friend?
Put in the goodie bags a small baggie of snacks for each child.

BE SURE TO CHECK WITH PARENTS FOR FOOD ALLERGIES!!!

Try things like: cheerios cereal, raisins, craisins (dried cranberries), plain unsalted almonds, M&Ms (just a few), Rice chex cereal, and pretzel sticks.
Remember:
You really don't want chocolate to muss up all those pretty Easter clothes!

Well, that pretty much winds up today.

Here is a poster/photo that I just love!

www.truthforlife.org

inkspired
www.inkspired.etsy.com
www.collagepaperpainting.etsy.com
and on pinterest: kkloberdans

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Easter eggs and decorating a pretty table

Welcome!

www.openwalls.com


Let's have some Easter fun today! Here are some simple decorating ideas for the holidays,
and for Spring!

www.marthastewart.com

Martha Stewart's web site  has loads of ideas. The one above couldn't be simpler -

Place fresh grass blades in an egg cup,
and then place hard boiled egg to hold in place.

No grass yet?
Use snippets of crepe paper, or even green paper!

This one uses hard boiled eggs and egg dye:

www.bigsislilsis.com

After hard boiling your eggs, get out your containers of dye.
Roll the egg so that the shell cracks in many places.
Place 'cracked' egg into dye. Let it sit longer for deeper colors.
Remove from dye, pat dry with paper towels. 
When ready to serve, peel eggs carefully and....voila!


Here is what I use for dye containers:


coffee containers, and custard cups and glass jars from dried beef!

I MUST have my morning cafe' - Hazelnut International Cafe' that is, from Maxwell House.
They changed their old containers from metal to plastic, so there is no interaction potential, just a great size. AND they have lids, so if you have to spread your egg dying over a couple of days, you just pop on the lid.

Extra bonus:  The coffee containers are the perfect size to give a special egg to someone! I use green paper shreds, nestle the egg in it, place the lid on and wrap with a bow. The containers are easily covered with a strip of fancy mulberry paper or wide ribbon to cover the logo graphics.

:0)

I also use the glass jars that dried beef comes in. Don't over-fill, or you will have dye squooshing out!



I guess I have to be messy to craft!!
How about you?!

When my son was at the Easter Egg Hunt age, we ended up with a LOT of empty plastic eggs. Some years there were 'drives' where our church wanted to recycle them, or the school wanted them. Still, we had plastic eggs here, plastic eggs there...
I LOVE this idea for a great way to use them for a centerpiece -

www.homedecor.sheknows.com

Now, she may have used real, blown eggs, strung on yarn.
I'm not sure how to do this but I would try:

using very fine string or flat yarn
perhaps even embroidery floss

lay yarn across the middle, long-ways of 1/2 of the egg.
Snap closed with the other 1/2 of the egg.

Leave a 1/2" or so of string before adding the next egg.
This will allow you to curve your line of eggs.

Do any of you have ideas about this?
Have you done this sort of decoration?
Share!


www.potlucksontheporch.com

I think these are sooooo adorable!!

Jordan almonds

several colors of stiff frosting
(you can stiffen with powdered sugar)

frosting in a bag with tips,
or in a baggie with a corner snipped out

Look at the picture.
Proceed!
Let air dry to harden frosting surface.
Display. Eat.

www.favecrafts.com

These are wooden candlesticks, and I suspect wood eggs., hand painted.

Using your own creativity, take the egg-on-the-candlestick idea and go with it.
Would crystal candlesticks work?
Would the eggs get tipsy? How about using those little wax dots that are available to prevent candles from tipping? For a more permanent display, can you hot glue eggs to...?

Use your creativity.


Yes, you are creative, no matter what you've been told, or what you think.
Truly!!

" Invent your world.
Surround yourself 
with
people, color, sounds and work 
that nourishes you."

 - SARK


www.MarthaStewart.com

Quite simply,
wet fabric doilies with fabric stiffener/starch.
Place over upside down bowl with slightly flat bottom.
Let dry, remove and add paper shred, eggs, Jordan almonds, etc.


What to do with that extra starch? Try these:

www.ippinedit.wordpress.com

My mother, sister and I made lots of these in the middle 1970's.
We used colored string and thin yarn. They can be quite pretty!

Bowl of liquid starch
lengths of yarn, or string, or...
balloons, blown up to desired size
pin

Put string in bowl of starch, wet thoroughly.
Start wrapping the string around the balloon, being sure to overlap,
but not too tight.
The more string you add, the 'heavier' looking your finished balls will be.
Less string, they will be more airy.
(er...airy-er?!)
Be sure to overlap!
Let dry on wax paper.
When the string is dry, pop the balloon with the pin.
Pull out the pieces of balloon
and display in a pretty bowl.

Alternate:
When starched string is still wet, try sprinkling on:
glitter
confetti
tiny flowers
hole-less micro-beads

No matter what, have fun!
:0)

I would like to end today with a few more pages of coloring for you.
Remember, take along a few to church with a baggie of crayons for restless little ones...


courtesy of Dover books


www.familycrafts.about.com





all above:
www.janbrett.com

Well, that's it for today!
I still have some Easter paper dolls to share, some child's activity pages and more beautiful Easter eggs with spring decorating.
'til then,

inkspired
www.inkspired.etsy.com
www.collagepaperpainting.etsy.com
and on pinterest - kkloberdans

Friday, March 22, 2013

Easy Easter pretties and activities

EASTER!!

the tradition of egg coloring, www.dailymail.co.uk

While we may not all do 'production' Easter activities, most of us like to do a little bit of something special.

Here are a few ideas!


Joan Walsh Anglund Easter paper doll

Here she is with no background. Have your kids color their own scene to have her play in front of.



For an afternoon craft, give them sequins, stickers, buttons, little silk flowers, glitter glue, fancy sparkle gel pens, ribbons, etc. to decorate her hats! Be sure they have extra plain paper to create their own hats for Polly.


pattern removed at the request of bergkaarten


Iris folding pattern by www.bergkaarten.nl

Please note - personal use only. That means you can make the design and send it to friends and family, but you may not make the design and sell the card!

Here are a couple more iris folding patterns for you -
these are all from various paper crafters, found on the irisfoldinggroup, yahoo.










Wouldn't these baskets and flower pot look pretty with handmade yoyo flowers glued in them, as flowers?
Or even punched paper flowers, with a little seed bead glued as the center?




vintage Strawberry Shortcake paper doll card for a grandchild




www.sheknows.com

I thought this was a great centerpiece idea for a holiday table, where you don't want to be craning necks to look over a tall floral arrangement!
It is a simple white ceramic relish dish. I bet you could find these at World Market, Pier 1, etc.

Nope, I don't know how she made her eggs. I suggest you check out her site and see if she has directions, or check out my previous blogs about decorating Easter eggs.




coloring pages courtesy Dover Books

Be a good 'neighbor' and bring along a few sheets of appropriate coloring pages and some crayons in a snack baggie when you go to church. Many churches do not have 'children's church' during special holidays, such as Easter. 
No matter how much of an 'angel' your young child (or someone else's child) is, they will get restless. That's the time to bring out the pages and crayons!

Pet peeve:
Don't hand out crayons and activities at the beginning of church. I firmly believe that all ages of children can participate in singing and prayer. Encourage them to listen to prayer requests so that they may learn how to pray for others.

It's when they need to be quiet, such as during a sermon or special music or offertory that having a quiet activity is the right thing to do! 

:0)




Setting a pretty holiday table?
Here are some ideas that  you can actually do, and not devote 8 days of prep!



VeraKratochvil, www.publicdomainpictures.net

I'm not sure what kind of flower is on this egg. It may be a candy egg using a chocolate mold. 
What I like is:
Put some sheet moss or fake green grass or green shreds - whatever you have, in a flower pot, or on a plate. A serving platter would be perfect. Nestle open silk flowers such as daisies or wide, open roses into the 'grass'. 
Take your hard boiled eggs - just plain white looks terrific - and hot glue on another silk flower. Have some extra punched paper flowers? They would look really pretty too. You don't need more than one flower per egg.
Place in larger silk flower. I would try to just nestle them in and skip the glue.
Simple.
Quick.
Easy.

Here's another:


www.herbsociety-stu.org

First, the simple part:
Take your dyed Easter eggs and put them on a deviled egg plate.
Done!

Fancy it up? 
Put a ceramic figurine in the center, as shown in the photo.
Don't have one? Have your kids make a paper bunny, or use pom poms, or chenille pipes - whatever you have. Keep it simple.

Have a bit more time?
Tuck in between the eggs little silk flowers to fill in the 'gaps'. If you live in an area where spring flowers are starting to peek, by all means send the kids out to pick violets or johnny-jump-ups, etc. right before the meal, when they are restless to EAT anyway!
Add some fresh blades of grass, or some tiny greenery. Fresh or fake, either will look terrific!

Super fast idea?
Skip the dyed eggs and just put in a mix of white and brown eggs, then do the flower/grass thing.




Another quick and easy, yet very pretty table decoration idea:


Here I have a pot of tulips that came from the grocery store in this pretty green paper, placed on a vintage doily that my grandmother made. Around it I placed some of my vintage tea cups that I collect. The bookmark is an all time favorite of a lion and a lamb. 

a Jan Brett coloring page, www.janbrett.com


Here is an idea from Martha Stewart. If you have never checked out her web site, you are missing out. The woman is bonzai crazy creative!


A simple arrangement of egg cups and seasonal fresh flowers. Place some marbles or buttons in the bottoms of the cups to hold flowers in place and help prevent 'tipping over'.

Well, that's it for today. I always have more ideas than I have time to share!
See you soon!


inkspired
www.inkspired.etsy.com
www.collagepaperpainting.etsy.com
and on pinterest - 
kkloberdans

"Going to Church Hat"
original Collage Art Doll by inkspired
www.collagepaperpainting.etsy.com