Will this rain ever stop?  If you’re in England you’ll know what I mean but if you’re elsewhere… lucky you!  With the heavens opening nearly everyday for the last month, I’ve been on the hunt for some fun and eye-catching craft projects.  With so much time at home, the little ones need some entertainment and with that in mind, I’ve found 3 colourful little projects that are not too difficult and look really good when completed.  So here they are:

These DIY fruit balloons look so bold, bright and fun and are easy to make too.  Once made you can hang them up on a garland and adorn your kiddies play space or they’d make great party decorations that don’t cost much at all.  You’ll find all the info you need to make them over at Oh Happy Day.

I love these DIY wool/ yarn letters and words that are very easy to make so even the little ones can get involved.  Make your bambinos name or initial or just make words that can be displayed on bookshelves, mantlepieces or anywhere you fancy.  This could be a fun thing to get kids to do at a party or when you have a play date.  You’ll find all the details over at Giddy Giddy.

These DIY dip dyed pencils would bring sunshine on the rainiest of days.  They’re so vibrant and cheerful and look like fun to make too.  Make a whole batch and you could even give them out as party favours.  Go as crazy as you like with the colour combos… the brighter, the better in my opinion.  Head to Modern Parents, Messy Kids where you’ll find all the details on making them.

London themed decorative woven ribbons… so, so cool!  These are the latest offerings by Sandra Monat of Herzensart.  When I spotted them I couldn’t wait to share, so I didn’t.  Mama’s just think of the decorative possibilities.  Clothes, pencil cases, cot bumpers, bags, cushions, bed linen… these are just a few of the things these delightful ribbons can adorn.   Made using 100 year old weaving looms, these London themed ribbons are just a joy.  I’ve long been a fan of Herzensart goodies and this may be the best yet.  Being limited edition they’re only available from Sandra’s own store so hot foot it to Herzensart to get your share.  On offer are these guard ones, a red London bus one and a telephone box one.  They cost from €3 a metre and shipping to the EU is from €1.50. 

Wanna make your Christmas gifts look uber-pretty?  Then don’t miss these.  And, you can still get them in time if you order soon.  From etsy, these paper flowers are a super-sweet alternative to bows on gifts.  Or if you’re using paper bags, just stick a flower or two on to jazz it up loads.  They cost $3.50 for 12 flowers.  You get a PDF emailed to you and just print and cut… of course if your bambino’s old enough for scissors, delegate!  It’ll keep them busy doing something fun and they’ll probably imagine 100 other creative ways to use these paper flowers.  Made by a store called Paper Glitter, I’m thinking of using them as some sort of table decor and not just for Christmas.  The possibilities are endless…

Being snowed in (well that’s my excuse anyway), I’ve spent lots of time surfing and discovering fabby new stuff to bring you.  On one of my surfs, I discovered Alice Melvin who makes the most amazing paper stuff.  Amongst the lovelies on offer is this make your own bird mobile.  Just cut out the birds and follow the included instructions.  The 5 birdies in bright colours and super stylish prints would look just lovely fluttering above a babies cot.  And if you’ve got a pre-schooler too, get them to help make the mobile.  The Alice Melvin bird mobile costs £6.95 plus £3.60 delivery.  If not for your own, then gift it to another newbie and you can be sure you’ll be giving a super unique pressie that’ll stand out from the crowd.

Don’t forget to check out our little baby auction site.

I’m biting the bullet and going for it… my first Christmas post is here!  And I’ve picked these crafty Christmas Creatures spotted in the Sunday Times.  They’re a set of 5 make your own cut-out paper animals all given the festive treatment.  Make them up and hang them from your tree or use to adorn your Christmas day table.  If you’re extra crafty then string them together and garland your kiddies room door.  Or simply sit them on the mantle.  There’s lots you can do with them, just don your creative hat and get crafty!  They’re from a sweet little store called Pookie and Peach and cost £8.75 with free delivery.

P.S. Loving little Rudolph with his red nose and all!

Related posts: Make your own paper angels

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When I spotted these Hello Hanna Hello Books, I thought what a fantabulous idea.  Being a robot fan too, I just had to share these make your own sticker story books.  In each pack, you get an accordian style foldable book and 5 sheets of buildable stickers.  Then add a 4 year old with with a huge imagination and and see what they create.  The robot mission hello book costs £6 plus £3.50 delivery.  A  fab little mission for rainy days or the perfect little stocking filler, you decide.

Don’t forget to checkout our baby auction site, the home of baby bargains.

MoMA, the museum of Modern Art has designed a kids play house so hip, you’re gonna want one.  The house is open plan and comes with 6 moveable walls, 8 bits of furniture and 12 vinyl clings to jazz-up the walls and floors.  Gather the bits and create the house of your dreams (or your toddlers even).   This uber-mod dwelling is just the ticket to encourage imaginative play for 3 year olds and over.  The MoMA Modern Play House costs £8.45 with free delivery.  Oh, and if you find the house is feeling a bit empty, get the Moma Modern Play Family and stick them in there.  There’s 5 of them plus a cat and a canine and their wardrobe contains a whopping 150 different options.  The ‘Moderns’ cost £5.24 and will be delivered free too.  Don’t miss dadee Moderns’ hairdo!

Checkout our little auction site where there are baby bargains to be had.  (Shhh… you never know when one of these might appear there.  Find out more next week).

I maybe a teeny, tiny bit early talking about Halloween but I spotted these on Etsy and wanted to share as they have to be ordered from the U.S. of A. so may take a while.

These  little 3D discs will jazz up plain white or brown paper bags.  Just paste them on and you’ve got some cool ‘trick or treat’ bags.  They’d also make fun and festive cupcake toppers.  They come as a set of 6 for $5 plus $3 postage, measure 6.35cms and can be ordered from Old Lady Bern’s Etsy shop.

I often talk about daddee no.1 but today I speak of another daddee.  Joel is the name and super creativity is his game!

He’s an artist and daddee of twins.  The man is seriously creative and makes the most amazing craft projects with his little ones which he then shares on his blog. Checkout his vintage wood figures.  You can do exactly the same with coloured wooden blocks which I’m sure are aplenty in most toddler households.  I love the blackfish cafe colouring sheets which are printable so you can colour away at home. There are loads of cool craft projects on his blog which are do-able by us mere mortals.  Have a dig around and send us some pictures of your projects.  And the best news of all – he’s bringing out a toy/craft making book.  Rest assured, we’ll tell you when it’s here.

When he’s being an artist he creates some extremely cool and colourful paintings. Here’s a few for you to admire:

Last but not least – Thanks Joel for sharing!

Checkout our baby auction website ebabee.