#Project 207: Marbled place card holders

Bloesem kids craft | Marbled place card holder

Make your own marbled place card holders by Anouk van der El from Make History

These simple marbled place card holders make for pretty table decor and will make every guest feel that much more special!

What you will need:
* black and white polymer clay
* ruler
* optional: paint brushes
* optional: gold paint (or any colour you like)

Bloesem kids craft | Marbled place card holder

Let's begin!

Bloesem kids craft | Marbled place card holder

Step 1: Mix the black and white clay together to create one mixed marbled block of clay.
Step 2: Using the ruler create cut half way through the block of clay, at an angle so the place card will lean back closer to the table instead of vertically upright.
Step 3(Optional): Cut off the edges of the block to create a clean edge.
Step 4: Bake at 275 °F (130 °C) for 15 minutes per 1/4 in (6 mm) thickness.
Step 5(Optional): Add gold/ copper accents with paint brushes. You can paint on stripes or create paint splatter patterns by flicking the brush filled with gold paint at the block of clay.

Bloesem kids craft | Marbled place card holder

Create different coloured marbled place card holders with different colours of polymer clay to suit different end of the year theme parties!  

.. Make History! with a Timecapsule
.. Make History! with a Little Quote Jar

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#Project 205: Pinwheel party decor

Bloesem kids | DIY craft project: Pinwheel party decoration

You can make these pinwheels as big as you like. Today I will show you how to make the small ones, they are the perfect decoration for cupcakes. When you make them bigger you can use them as party decoration as well. - Wimke

Bloesem kids | DIY craft project: Pinwheel party decoration

What you'll need:
* Scrapbook paper
* Scissors
* Glue or double-sided tape
* Ruler
* Toothpicks

Bloesem kids | DIY craft project: Pinwheel party decoration

Bloesem kids | DIY craft project: Pinwheel party decoration

Steps: 

Cut 3 sheets of paper 10 cm x 6 cm. Fold them in an accordion style. When you have your paper folded into an accordion, fold it length-wise in half. Cut the end of the paper (the non-folded end) anyway if you’d like. I rounded the sharp edges mine. And make a pattern in the middle of the pinwheel by cutting a small triangle in the middle of the paper. Then, glue at the fold. One side to the other. Repeat this on the other two papers and then glue them together. When you glue the last side together, stick the toothpick in the middle. 

Pinwheels8

Your pinwheels are ready to be stuck into the cupcakes! - Wimke

Thank you Wimke! These would be a fun and simple way to make an impressive dessert table!

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#Project 204: Paper flower gifts

Bloesem kids | Kids craft: Paper flower gifts

Very often when it's the birthday of a teacher, a neighbour is ill, or I attend a wedding, I find myself not knowing what to give. Flowers are alway a good idea, but when you have such little time to go to the flowershop. You can easily make them yourself along with the kids. Give instant flowers with a small giftag written by the kids. A perfect little present for everyone! Plus it will last for much longer than real flowers.

Bloesem kids | Kids craft: Paper flower gifts

What you'll need:
* Crepe paper
* skewers
* scissors
* yarn
* glue or double-sided tape

Bloesem kids | Kids craft: Paper flower gifts

How to make your flower: Cut strips from the crepe paper (approximately 5 cm x 30 cm). Take two different coloured strips and put them together and start to roll gradually (take a look at the picture). Hold the flower in your hand. When your flower is ready, grap the yarn and bind this tidy around the bottom of the flower. Put the skewer in the bottom of the flower.

Bloesem kids | Kids craft: Paper flower gifts

How to make your stalk: To make the flowerstalk, cut a strip that measures 2 cm x 20 cm from the green crepe paper. Put some glue or double sided tape around the flower and the skewer. Wrap the green crepe paper around the bottom of the flower and the skewer and your flower is ready.

Add a sweet giftcard and off you go with a great little present! - Wimke

Bloesem kids | Kids craft: Paper flower gifts

Thank you Wimke! Flowers are great for any occasion, this DIY will definitely come in very handy!

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#Project 203: Shrink Art Animal Necklaces

Bloesem kids craft | Shrink art animal necklace DIY

DIY Nature-insprired flower wristlet by Bonnie Scorer

With the arrival of Spring, many animals have emerged from their winter homes, inspiring us to make animal necklaces!  

Bloesem kids craft | Shrink art animal necklace DIY

What you'll need - for Shrink Art:
* Plastic shrink art paper (you can purchase this at a craft store)
* Sand Paper
* Pencil Crayons
* Cookie sheet
* Hole Punch
* Paper
* Pencil/eraser

Bloesem kids craft | Shrink art animal necklace DIY

What you'll need - for Shrink Art:
* Wooden beads
* Acrylic paint
* Floral foam
* BBQ skewers
* Pony beads

OR

* Purchase pre-painted wooden beads!

Bloesem kids craft | Shrink art animal necklace DIY

What you'll need - for lacing:
* Elastic cord, embroidery floss, yarn or child-safe/breakaway cord
* Pony beads
* Scissors

With any project we always find these items helpful:
* Craft tray
* Apron

Bloesem kids craft | Shrink art animal necklace DIY

Here we go:

Step 1: Painting your beads

* Have an adult cut off the sharp points off of the BBQ skewers.
* Put a pony bead at the bottom of your skewer. This will hold your beads in place and prevent them from sliding down when you paint them.
* "String" your beads onto your skewer.
* Insert your skewer into your craft foam.
* Don your smock.
* Paint your beads. We find it helpful to hold the skewer with one hand at the top while you paint with the other.
* Paint as many colours as you would like for your jewellery.
* Allow to dry overnight.

Bloesem kids craft | Shrink art animal necklace DIY

Step 2: Making Shrink Art

* Draw out your animal onto your paper.  Remember that when you put your shrink art in the oven it will shrink to about 3 times the size.
* Cut out a piece of shrink art paper that is bigger than your drawing.
* Scuff it with a piece of sand paper. (You may want to wear a mask for this process or have an adult do it.)
* Place your plastic shrink art paper over your drawing. (You may want to tape it down with clear tape to hold it in place.) Trace over it with a dark colour such as black.
*Colour in your animal with your pencil crayons.
*Cut around your animal, leaving a border.
*Punch 1 or 2 holes into your animal or outside of your animal so you can lace it once it has shrank.
*With an adult, follow the directions included with the product as to baking your creations! (Oh what fun it was to watch our animals shrink through oven door!)

Bloesem kids craft | Shrink art animal necklace DIY

Step 3: Lacing it together

* Lace your beads and your shrink art onto either embroidery floss, elastic cord or a child safe release cord to make a bracelet or necklace.  We like going through the bead and then coming back and going through again.
* Wear your creations or give them to a friend!

Bloesem kids craft | Shrink art animal necklace DIY

Bloesem kids craft | Shrink art animal necklace DIY

Thank you Bonnie and Make it your own! Now let's make some fun animal accessories!

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#Project 202: Nature-inspired flower wristlets

Bloesem kids craft | Nature inspired flower wristlet

DIY Nature-insprired flower wristlet by Bonnie Scorer

We are always looking at ways to incorporate technology into our lives in meaningful, active and engaging ways.  We we went out for nature walk, took some photos of flowers and then used them as an inspiration for a crafty project.  We would love to hear the ways that you and your children have used technology! 
Wouldn't these wristlets be perfect for a wedding or special event?  Wear them and then save them as a keepsake.

Purpose of this craft:
* Getting out into nature.
* Extending digital experiences
* Developing fine motor skills: cutting, pasting etc.

Safety Notes:
* Exercise care when using needles and scissors. Do so with direct adult supervision.
* Beads can be choking hazard, therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths.

Bloesem kids craft | Nature inspired flower wristlet

What you'll need:
* Camera (you can use your cell phone's camera)
* Felt
* Fabric scissors
* Fabric glue
* Sewing materials
* Ribbon
* Beads
* Paper/pencil/pencil crayons (*Optional: to sketch out your ideas)

With any project we always find these items helpful:
* Craft tray
* Apron

Step 1: Go out for a walk with an adult and take pictures of flowers and other foliage you might see.  

Bloesem kids craft | Nature inspired flower wristlet

Step 2: Use your photos as an inspiration for making a wristlet or a boutonniere.  We sketched out our ideas first before making them out of felt. 

Bloesem kids craft | Nature inspired flower wristlet

Step 3: Using fabric scissors, cut out your designs from felt.  You could use your sketches as patterns if you like, cutting them out and taping or pinning them to your felt to cut around.

Bloesem kids craft | Nature inspired flower wristlet

Step 4:We then sewed on a few details using a sewing machine.  (You could do this by hand or skip this step if you like.) Add little beads to create your stamen.

Bloesem kids craft | Nature inspired flower wristlet

Step 5: Glue your pieces together with fabric glue.

Bloesem kids craft | Nature inspired flower wristlet

Step 6: We then created a little base for our flowers which you will also slide the ribbon through on the back.  Make this by taking a felt rectangle and sewing or gluing another on at the ends (as seen in the photograph).  Make sure it is just a little bit wider then the width of your ribbon! Before you glue your flowers onto the other side, be sure to slide out your ribbon and tuck in a piece of paper etc. so your fabric glue doesn't glue your loop shut.  Glue on your flowers and leaves. Allow to dry overnight.

Bloesem kids craft | Nature inspired flower wristlet

Step 7: Slide your paper out of the base, measure and cut your lengths of ribbon (so you would be able to go around the wearer's wrist and tie a bow) and then insert the ribbon as seen below.

Bloesem kids craft | Nature inspired flower wristlet

Step 8: Have an adult assist you in tying on your wristlet to wear somewhere special!

Bloesem kids craft | Nature inspired flower wristlet

Bloesem kids craft | Nature inspired flower wristlet

Thank you Bonnie and Make it your own! Welcome to the Bloesem craft family! We're so glad to have you :)

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#Project 201: Confetti poppers DIY craft project

Bloesem kids craft project | DIY confetti poppers

DIY Confetti Poppers by Wimke

We are in a big partymood! My sister is getting married and asked me to think about the party decorations. I am a big fan of party decorations! You can do so much with stuff you already have in your house. With my girls we made confetti poppers out of toilet rolls. So easy and the party effect is big!

What you'll need:
* Toilet rolls
* wrapping paper (mine had gold glitter on it)
* tape
* balloons
* glue
* scissors
* hole puncher (with different shapes would be nice!)
* coloured paper to make confetti with

Bloesem kids craft project | DIY confetti poppers

Step 1: Wrap the wrapping paper around the toilet roll.
Step 2: Cut the top of a balloon. Tie a knot at the end of the balloon and put the balloon at the top of the toilet roll. 
Step 3: Secure the balloon to the top of the toilet roll with coloured tape. 
Step 4: Punch confetti. If you have hole punchers with shapes, create a mixture of different shapes with different colours. The more the merrier.
Step 5: Fill the open end of the toilet roll popper with confetti and pull the knot of the balloon and release to pop! Watch the confetti fly!

How-to-poppers-POP
Bloesem kids craft project | DIY confetti poppers

For my sister's wedding we will be filling up the poppers with glitter and confetti! Definitely try them out for your summer time party decor. - Wimke

Thank you Wimke

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#Project 200: Learning to marble

Bloesem kids crafts | Learning to marble

Hi guys! It's Mei Kwee & Zara S. We thought we'd try our hands at marbling today and here's how it turned out. If you like mixing colours and creating patterns (and getting a bit messy) this is the project for you..

Bloesem kids crafts | Learning to marble

What you'll need:
* Nail polish colours of your choice
* Paper / card stock (thicker paper will wrinkle less)
* Chop stick 
* A tray or basin
* Water

Step-to-marble

Step 1: Pour water into the tray. The paper will float at the top so put in water about half the depth of the tray.

Step 2: Add the nail colours in. You can add as many as you want. We chose to mix 2 of our favourite colours for this combination but we always tried out some with 3 and another pattern with just 1 colour. Go wild, you'll never know what you come up with, that's the beauty of marbling.

Step 3: Use the chopstick or toothpick to swirl the colours around. We used a zig zag motion upwards and downwards to mix the colours together to create the marble effect.

Step 4: Almost done... place the paper quickly onto the surface of the water. It is best to do this in a place with little wind so the nail polish does not dry before you place the paper onto it.

Bloesem kids crafts | Learning to marble

3 outcomes of our marbling tests! The first and second were made using 2 polish colours and in the last one we added a slightly darker pink colour to the original mixture of colours. We love how they turned out but definitely want to try more colour combinations! It's kind of addictive because every try creates such a different effect.

.. Mei KweeZara S.

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#project 199: Sweet tie reversible frock

Bloesem kids | Sweet tie reversible dress DIY from Bloesem Gazette 4 kids issue

DIY Sweet tie reversible frock by Rubyellen Bratcher

Over at the Bloesem Team, we've all been long time fans of Rubyellen's blog and her craft work! When we met her last year in Singapore when she came to teach a Bloesem class here, we wanted to get her to teach us how she made all those beautiful dresses we saw on her blog and on her girls. Finally, for the latest issue of the Bloesem Gazette, we managed to get her as a lovely contributor for this DIY that we can't wait to try!

What you'll need- materials and tools:
* Download Dress template with measurements
*Fabric for outer dress:
- Size 12 - 24 months: 1 1/4 yards (1.1m)
- Size 4 - 6 : 1 1/2 yards (1.4m)
- Size 8 - 10: 1 3/4 yards (1.8m)
*Contrasting fabric for reversible dress:
- Size 12 - 24 months: 1 1/4 yards (1.1m)
- Size 4 - 6 : 1 1/2 yards (1.4m)
- Size 8 - 10: 1 3/4 yards (1.8m)
*Coordinating thread
*Sewing machine
*Scissors
*Iron & Ironing board

Notes: 

*Seam allowance: 1/2" (13mm) unless otherwise noted
*Since the dress is reversible, it is best to use a lightweight cotton fabric to prevent making the dress too heavy. 
* The dress can easily be changed into a shirt by shortening the length. 

Bloesem kids | Sweet tie reversible dress DIY from Bloesem Gazette 4 kids issue

 

Step 1: Cut out all the pattern pieces. There are 6 total: outer dress front, outer dress back, reversible dress front, reversible dress back, and two 5 ½” x 7” pieces for the pockets. Feel free to make the pockets larger or smaller, use only one pocket, or omit it from the dress completely. 

Bloesem kids | Sweet tie reversible dress DIY from Bloesem Gazette 4 kids issue

Step 2: To create the pockets, fold the top edge in 1/2" (13mm), press, fold another 1/2" (13mm), press, pin in place and topstitch. Fold the remaining 3 sides in 1/4" (6mm) and press in place. Place the pockets on the dress front of your choosing, pin in place, and edge stitch around the 3 sides, leaving the top open. 

Bloesem kids | Sweet tie reversible dress DIY from Bloesem Gazette 4 kids issue

Step 3: Pin the outer dress front and outer dress back with their right sides together and sew down the entire length of both sides. Press the seams open.

Step 4: Pin the reversible dress front and reversible dress back right sides together and sew down the entire length of both sides. Press the seams open.

Step 5: Place the reversible dress inside the outer dress with their right sides together, carefully lining up the neckline and straps, pin them in place. With a 1/4" (6mm) seam allowance, sew around the straps, arms, and neckline.  Clip around all the curves, turn right side out, and press. 

Step 6: Make sure the length is the right for your child; feel free to cut off more of the length if you desire something a bit shorter. Fold the outer dress and reversible dress hemline in 1/2" (13mm) around the entire length, press, and pin in place. Topstitch 1/4" (6mm) from the folded edge to finish off the hem. Press the entire dress. 

Bloesem kids | Sweet tie reversible dress DIY from Bloesem Gazette 4 kids issue

Thank you Rubyellen! Finally we have all the tools to try our hand at our very own Cakies creation!

.. Cakies
.. All BKids Craft Projects
.. Read the entire Bloesem Gazette Kids edition

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#Project 198: Seashell art

Bloesem kids craft | Beach DIY: Seashell art

DIY Seashell art by Wimke

There is no summer without going to the beach. Building castles, playing volleyball, soccer, swimming and looking for seashells. 

Last year we spent our holiday at the beach in France, Il d'Oleron. There is no better place to look for seashells. We brought a basket full of the prettiest shells home. We cleaned them and kept them in a box. Last week we found the box with the holiday memories. We thought about what we would do with the shells and settled on some nail polish art to decorate the beautiful shells.

What you'll need:
* Nail polish in your favourite colours

Bloesem kids craft | Beach DIY: Seashell art

Steps: Clean the shells. I boiled the shells for five minutes in salt water. When the shells are dry, you can paint them with nailpolish. Let your kids do the job for the best results! 

Bloesem kids craft | Beach DIY: Seashell art

Have a lovely summer! - Wimke

Thank you Wimke! We "shell" try out this DIY too (;

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#Project 197: Make your own surf necklace

Bloesem kids craft | How to make a surf board necklace

Make your own surf necklace by Anouk van der El from Make History.

I don't know about you but I'm madly in love with these eye candy marble necklaces (my #1 favourites are these beauties by Zara), handmade from filo clay. On a rainy day, my sons and I started different shapes and ended up making these surf necklaces for cool dudes and equally cool dudettes. Super easy, great for gifts and you can even customise them by stamping a small message or a name on them. Here's how..

Bloesem kids craft | How to make a surf board necklace

What you will need:
* Polymer clay (as many colours as you like)
* Stamps
* ruler or something hard with a straight edge to cut the clay e.g. edge of a file, blunt plastic knife

* satay stick/sushi stick/skewer

  Bloesem kids craft | How to make a surf board necklace

Step 1. Pick your favourite colours and mix them as you like. To get the ‘marble effect’ don’t mix them too well as it will become one color again.
Step 2. Roll out the clay until 2-3mm thick.

Step 3. Print out the surf board shapes we prepared for you here and cut out the shape of the surfboard you like. Put it on top of your rolled out clay and cut along the sides to get the preferred shape.

Step 4. Use mini alphabet stamps to stamp a name or little message on the back.

Step 5. Puncture a hole in the top. We used a sushi stick, but you can also use a satay skewer.

Step 6. Bake the clay, pick a nice color thread et voilà!  

Bloesem kids craft | How to make a surf board necklace

Thank you Anouk for keeping us cool even in the summer time.

.. Make History! with a Timecapsule
.. Make History! with a Little Quote Jar

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