Tissue paper sun catchers

These Islamic sun catchers look stunning stuck on the window which the sunlight streaming through. I got the idea for the mosque sun catcher from here. All you will need to make these is some black card, scissors, glue and tissue paper.



First I cut some shapes in a piece of black card to make a mosque shape.



I got another piece of card and cut a moon and star out. I have a star-shaped hole punch which I used to cut the stars round the outside.


 

Here is R showing off his handiwork.



D shows off her artwork half way through the process.

Turkey

As I mentioned in my last post, we have just returned from our holiday to Turkey. These days, most of our holidays are to Turkey because we have family over there. My husband was born in a village near Siverek, a town in the South East of Turkey. He is Zaza, a Kurdish group whose native language is Zazaki. His family, however, have now moved to Izmir on the west coast of Turkey and this is where we go when we visit.

                      

He grew up in the village and his upbringing could not be more different from my own. They did not have electricity nor running water. I cannot imagine a life without these conveniences. They cooked on fires, kept animals and farmed the land. He fondly remembers how his mother even hand-knitted all of their socks. He reminisces about how soft and comfortable they were. Furthermore, he never saw a TV until he was 10 years old! With such starkly different backgrounds it is a wonder how we ever met, fell in love and married. But we did and the rest is history.

                     

I first went to Turkey 6 years ago soon after we married. It was an exciting time, I'd heard much about the place, the family and was keen to see everything for myself. However, I don't think I was quite prepared for it, it was just so different, but over the years I have grown to love it in a way I didn't think I would.

The touristic areas of Turkey are not hard to like. They are buzzing with people, bazaars and entertainment but the town my in laws live, it is a different story. It is quieter, more traditional and above all, boring. Well, at least for someone like me who is used to rushing around filling the day with work and activities.

                       

This year we arrived at the height of summer and I spent months beforehand worrying if I had anything cool enough to wear. I managed to purchase some cotton skirts and blouses and these were the perfect attire for the hot weather, along with salwar, baggy trousers people like to wear in the village. Salwar are actually now one of my favourite items of clothing, especially when visiting the in laws when I spend my time sitting on cushions on the floor. Nothing could be more comfortable.

The first few days were difficult, the children had to get used to the lack of toys and activities, however, they soon learnt how to play without them. They had their cousins to play with and they thoroughly enjoyed that. I watched as, without all their usual toys and distractions, their imaginations blossomed. A stick became a fairy wand or a bat for hitting a ball. They seemed more interested in the world around them and spent more time in conversation. It made me realise, modern living isn't all it's cracked up to be.

I began to relax. I read a book for the first time in what seems like ages. I had all this time and I didn't know what to do with it. So, I just sat and watched and listened and took in all in. There was so much to take in. Their culture is so different to my own but it is wonderful to learn about the way they live and their ancient customs.

                         

One thing I love to see is their way of food preservation. One day kilos upon kilos of tomatoes arrived and we all sat their on little stools in the garden peeling them and chopping them up. It was laborious but once you get into the rhythm of it something takes over you and you feel like you can't stop until it's finished. 

                     

Some of the tomatoes they cooked on the fire in their outdoor kitchen (they do have a modern indoor one too!) and then bottled it up for the winter. The rest they turned into tomato puree. To do this the tomatoes are placed in large plastic bags and left in the sun for a few days, then they are crushed up and placed on trays. These trays are left on the roof in the sun until the tomatoes turn into tomato puree.

                     

Another thing I love to see is how they dry out vegetables in the sun. The insides are scooped out of aubergines and peppers and these are strung up on the roof until they go all crinkly and dry. These can then be rehydrated during winter months when the vegetable supply is not as plentiful.

Apart from spending time at home with family, we also managed to go out into the town and look round the bazaar and shops. We went to the park one evening and I was surprised to see how busy it was late into the night! People tend to go out in the evenings as it is too hot during the day. This is something I would never do in England. Although the way of life in a traditional Turkish town is so different to life in the UK, I feel there are positives and negatives to both and both are great in their own way.

Glitter heart stamp cards

                         

When a special occassion arises,  the children like to give cards to special people in their lives. We always have lots of fun deciding how to make the cards; which colours, how to decorate and what to write inside. 

I have seen many posts all over the internet using toilet paper rolls bent into various shapes to act as stamps. Normally paint is used but today I decided to let the kids loose with the glitter! D was in her element; she loves sparkles!

These are super easy to make. Take a toilet paper roll and bend it into the required shape.

                     

                                  Next, dip it into some glue.

              

                              Then stamp it over your card.



                 

                          Finally, shake glitter all over!

                 

                  Two glittery heart cards perfect for someone special!

Watermelon shop!

                

Watermelons are loved by everyone in our family. There is nothing better than biting into a juicy piece of watermelon on a hot summer's day; so refreshing! They definitely remind me of summer, so what better craft to make in the summertime.

These watermelons are very simple to make. First, I got some paper plates and cut the rim off around the outside (the rim I used for another craft which I will write about shortly). Next, I cut the plates in half to make the semi-circular watermelon shapes. Then, the children got stuck in painting them.

                         

These are the 3 colours we used to make the watermelon colours. 

                         

We don't have pink so D had great fun mixing white and red together to make the right shade of pink.


                

The children painted a green line along the edge of the plate and pink in the middle.



               

When it was dry, the children used the wrong end of the brush dipped in black paint to make the watermelon seeds.

               

Next, we had to find something to do with all our watermelons! I thought it would be a good idea to use them for a bit of counting practice so I set up a little shop for the children to practice buying and selling. 

                

I made some money from circles of white paper. I drew the amount each coin was worth on the paper coins and D had a go at trying to recognise the numbers.

                

R is D's first customer! He sure looks excited to be purchasing some watermelon!

Spinach and feta pasties

                 

Spinach and feta is a winning combination in my opinion and I love to use these ingredients as a filling for pastries or flat bread. Normally I make spinach and feta pastries with filo pastry but I didn't have any in the fridge so I decided to make some shortcrust pastry and make little pasties instead. The result was delicious and I definitely think I will be making these again!

Ingredients

For the pastry:

250g flour

125g butter

a few tablespoons of water

For the filling:

Bag of spinach

block of feta cheese

onion

salt

pepper

nutmeg (optional)

1) Make the pastry by rubbing the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.

2) Add a few tablespoons of cold water and mix until the mixture forms a dough.

3) Make the filling. Fry the onion in a frying pan.

4) Add the spinach and cook for a few minutes until it has wilted.

5) Take the pan off the heat and stir in the feta and seasonings.

6) Roll the dough, cut out circles and place on a baking tray.

7) Spoon the filling onto half the circle.

                   

8) Fold the pastry in half to cover the filling and pinch the edge together.

9) Brush over some milk and put in the oven to bake for 20-30 minutes.

                    

This is what they looked like when I took them out of the oven...

                    

This is what they look like inside. Yum!

                    

Straw bracelets

                 

R's favourite activity at the moment is cutting. He just adores it. He will ask for the scissors constantly and is not content with only having paper to cut, so I decided to give him some straws. I set up the activity on a tray, placing some straws, the scissors and a bowl to put the cut pieces of straw into (though as can see from the pictures below, the pieces bypassed the bowl and ended up all over the floor!).

                 

He picked one up eagerly and began to cut. He found it difficult at first and wasn't sure of the right way to hold the scissors or straw but soon got the hang of it. Using scissors is a fine motor skill that develops around the age of 3 to 4 years old but can take up to the age of 6 to be fully developed. At almost 26 months of age R is quite young to be doing this I guess, but it's what he wants to do so I'm going with it! 

                         

"Look Mummy, cutting!" says R as he happily cuts up the straws. 

                

                       He has a look of concentration on his face!

                

                          

                                Cutting straws is so much fun!

                          

                                 "Look Mummy, on the floor!"

                  

We picked up all the pieces of straws and put them in a bowl ready for the next activity; making bracelets!

               

I put the straw beads and some pipe cleaners on a tray and invited the children to make some bracelets. 

               

D was very excited about this activity but R got bored after only a few minutes, afterall, he'd already been engaged for quite a while doing the cutting exercise. He'd probably had enough of the straws. However, he was still keen to wear the bracelet I made him and show it off!

                       

                           D got stuck in making her bracelet.

                

                            The bracelet I made R.

                

                     R was keen to show off his new bracelet.

                

                  D was very proud of her bracelet and wore it all day.

Handprint paint resist art cards

                        

Handprints in any form always make for a lovely keepsake. I admit I am a little sentimental about such things. It's wonderful to be able to look back at these in years to come and reminisce about days gone by and wonder at the thought of how hands that were once so small have grown into ones so big.

Handprint painting is always a good, fun activity. Children giggle as the paintbrush flicks over their fingers and squeal with delight at the sight of their hands imprinted on the paper. We have done this activity many, many times so I thought it was time to try something new. And here it is; handprint resist art.

                       

First, the children placed their hands on some card and I drew around them. Then I cut out the handprints and stuck them down on another piece of card which I'd folded in two.

                

Next, the children painted all over the card ensuring to paint all around the handprints.


                       

R used orange and green paint which mixed together to make brown. He used a a small sponge brush and made lots of dots all over the card. D used yellow and blue which I think gave a lovely effect and made long brushstrokes over the card with a normal paint brush.

                        

Here are the results...