Air Drying Clay Christmas Decor. with your kids

Hello my lovers,

Well I wasn't feeling very well, so I decided to stay home and try to have some rest, you may be thinking " you had all weekend for that"... well that's actually not the case... with this 2 little pretend to be monsters and all the house work one has to do, cause it can't possibly be tackled during the week for work reasons has you may well know... I'm already knackered even before the working week starts ... oh well...

 So it got me thinking well I may not be able to walk due to a pain in my leg buuuuttt I can sit down, I may not be able to right or read a book due to my headache but I can still craft...hummmmm

 So I grabbed the air drying clay, my fimo moulds called my little one (she's nearly 3, if you do it with your kids be very careful, not to let them touch their face or swallow any bit) to help me as well, she sat on my side and looked eager to start "What are you doing mommy she asked" - "we're going to make some Christmas tree decorations" I told her; Yeihhh she said with the chickiest smile you could ever see on a child...

 So the material you'll need and that we used is:

- air drying clay
- moulds or cookie cutters
- rubber stamps for patterns or designs
- plastic bags to cover the table
- 1 toothpick ( to make the hanging holes)
- some ribbon or cord
- gloves (optional - if you don't want your hands to get all mucky)
- an hard surface covered with foil or plastic bags to let them dry
- acrylic paints ( spray, etc. - your choice really)
- PVA glue + Glitter ( you choose the colours)

NOTE: it obviously only gets decorated after completely dry which may take around 24h depending on how deep it is; Let it dry away from any windows or sun exposure or it may crack.


How to:

1- take some clay and shape it into a ball or several balls that's up to you, with a pvc roller or one you would only use for crafts roll the clay out into about 0.3mm thickness;

2- place it on your moulds, or use the cookie cutters at this stage, and demold or stamp with the designs you want them to have;

 3- Place it on the hard surface covered with a plastic bag or foil and let it dry;

 4- when completely dried, paint it and decorate it;

 5- attach the ribbon when the paint is dry, and finally hang it up, and enjoy your and your kids work of art.

Hope you enjoy doing it has much has I did.

Go on have some fun and quality time with your little ones, there's nothing like creating memories with them :)



xxxxx

St. Mary's Cathedral Christmas Raffle DIY Prizes

Hello my lovers,

Sunday seems to go by really fast... in fact faster now then ever before, Christmas is nearly here, Kids are going crazy asking for this, that and all the rest and to top it off school holidays are upon us :) yes yes I know we all love it...

 So, St. Marys Cathedral is holding a raffle after the show that the kids will present before the holidays start, parents friends and family were asked to help out with some prizzies to get people interested and then raise funds that would then go towards the school; SO you ask?! - well, I decided to get crafty and make some prizies...

I made a list of things that I could do, and this is what I came up with:
* a x-mas saying canvas
* a blue soft toy
* a box of x-mas tree decorations
* 1 set of Gift boxes
* 1 stationery set
* 1 mini album set

I already made one of the prizies " Christmas saying canvas", I used the sizzix eclips machine some vinyl , a canvas board, some modge podge and some glitter .
Here's a video off some of the steps.

I apologise in advance for my english has its not my native language :) hope you like it, it was my first video ever so hopefully the following ones will be better ;) .

My baby Girl is 6

Hello everyone how have you lot been?!!

Busy yeah, I can believe that more than you think this day to day shores, Christmas run, and in eventuality b-days or other party's do take the better of you every now and then, the secret is "FOCUS" yes you heard me.. "Focus " is the key ingredient in any recipe, any shore or any project, don't loose hope it will all get better or done soon, and then a wonderful thing happens you "will" be able to relax in the knowing that all you had to do is now done... so start it early so that you can finish it early and then  RELAX...

Anyway, with all I had to do this week I also had to prepare two birthday cakes, yeahp not one not 3 2. I cant believe that six years and 3 days ago I had the most traumatic, intense, amazing moment of my life or any women's life GAVE BIRTH... there is no words to describe it really at one point we just want it out, and another we just feel so much love when we see and hold that  little sprout for the first time; it is magical.

 We didn't make any party per say because it was a school day, instead my lovely sprout :D asked me to make her a cake so that she could celebrate with her school friends and colleagues, and another one so that we could sing happy b-day with her, that was her day and she decided what she wanted to do, so we ended up going to Macdonalds as well.

Here's some pictures of the cakes:

 

She is an Hello Kitty fanatic, so I designed the topper and then e-mailed it to a lady on e-bay that printed it onto icing "paper"

 

This one was my first ever done with Icing I think it came out quite alright don't you?!

Now, If I were to buy this from a shop it would cost me at least £15 to £20 each and making it myself I spent £15 including the boards and cake box to take it all the way to school ( inc. the hello kitty topper) 1 kg of flour costing at around £0.80 the same on sugar and eggs plus butter it all brings me to less than £20, so there you go 2 cakes for the price of 1 :) I'm one happy mommy, and whats best is that she loved it .

See you soon my lovers and remember sometimes it pays off to do things yourself, and it has a whole different meaning to it obviously :)

xxxx

Letters for Santa

Hello my wackys,

 How has everyone been lately?! Yeahp that time of the year is arriving once again, and there's only 6 weeks until Christmas the most busy time of the year in any shop, everyone is rushing around buying this that and all the rest, many people I know have all the Christmas shopping sorted, me however is a whole different story, I haven't done a thing yet the work, my girls, housework and this pregnancy... yes yes I know... its true Pregnancy are leaving me drained;

 However in the hope of changing this little fact I'm making this letters to Santa Template for my little ones, I saw some in the shops but I believe they are charging way to much for what it  is £2.00 to £3.50 for a couple of A4 cute letters with 2 envelopes and 2 pretend Santa stamps seem a bit of a highway robbery :), so little old me thought, if they can do it why couldn't I?!

So here they are, I used a software called craftartist:

 

Now , all we need is a red or green envelope and a pretend stamp, and voila your own letter to santa, you can ask your child to make the stamps themselves, and that way it will be much more magical, and santa will get it way faster.

 

If you don't have the software I used you can always do it with word and some google images :)

 

Go on, you have a try I'm sure the kids will love whatever you do.

 

*****

Halloween Holidays, Keeping Kids Busy

Hello my wackys,

 Now, we all know how demanding motherhood is, now I'm not saying it cant also be rewarding... we never forget the first smiles, when they first started to eat the first time they started to talk and walk, the first day of school and so on...

 Now what about the bit that drives us crazy, the tantrums, the winning, the moaning, the arguing with the parents, the mess, etc. you know where I'm coming from.
 
Most of us work, and at school holidays we would then leave them at the nursery or take the same amount of time of so that we can take care of them and not spend tons of money in childcare.

 Now, speaking for myself, I would love to spend more time with my kids but it is granted that they drive me completely nuts, they cry they moan they fight over the smallest things ever and on top of it all they never stop, it is definitely draining; so I thought I cant possibly be the only one feeling this way, what can WE do together so that they don't drive me nuts here's some ideas:

 * Take them to the kitchen and make some cookies for when daddy comes home from work;
 * Make time for art, like finger painting, drawing, colouring, etc.
 * Have some home cinema time, prepare some popcorn and drinks in advance and darken the room for a more truthful experience;
 * Ask them for help to tidy up and them give them a reward;
 * Have a treasure hunt
 * Have a picnic, if the weather allows, if not why not a tea party

This are just a few ideas, and you could always go to websites like www.bakerross.co.uk ; or www.craftycrocodiles.co.uk; which have craft kits available and many other things that would help keep your kids busy, why don't you have a look I bet you'll be surprised.

Hope I helped you some how.

See you soon my wackys ***

Cancer Support Event Ideas

Hello my wackys how have you lot been?!

Here at the Lilis handmade Crafts household we've been busier than ever, Christmas orders are already coming through, and having only weekends to craft is definitely a bit tight, but we'll manage ;); anyway that's not the reason for this post is it?! Nope definitely not...

 So here it goes, on the coming 26th of October there is currently a campaign here in the UK called Cancer Support Wear it pink, many of us have been affected by this illness or know someone who may or may not be with us that has been affected by it, My hunt for example died with it she had a bowel cancer and unfortunately it spread to fast and she is no longer among us in presence but still in our hearts and minds.

 SO?! You might be asking, right... I would like to propose to everyone and I mean everyone, to make a small gesture to help in funding the researchers to find a way to cure this (I mean a more efficient way), and in order to help with the funding why not make a coffee morning at your work place, or  a Tea party for example.... at the place where I work everyone is going to wear pink and have pink ribbons and I'm thinking about making a cake ( with a pink ribbon topper obviously) and some sweets gift bags or boxes with the ribbon design as well, every penny earned by it will be directly sent to the fund.

Here's some images taken from the Internet to give you some ideas if you're interested, or would actually like to do something that could help so many people that are currently affected by this reality in their lives...

 

 

 

See you soon my lovelies, hope you have a wonderful weekend.

 

****

Its been too long...

Hello everyone,

 My God it has definitely been ages since the last time I posted, not for option I might say, but you know how it goes, we all are busy bees in our busy life's... plus I've been on Holidays back home (Portugal) it was a lovely lovely time  bearing in mind that I drove there, yes yes I k now you might be asking yourself, DRIVE/ CAR/ ACROSS THE ATLANTIC and Yes will I reply again....

 I must say it was the most 2 and 1/2 painful days of my life 30h drive yeah you heard me alright 30h on a Dam car sorry for cursing there but by the end of the trip I couldn't even look at the car (sigh)... Geeee ... On the way we stopped several times to eat and freshen up a little bit my oldest princess manged to fall asleep 3 times and wake up and we were still in France .... I was going mental about it so tirening, but it was definitely worth it to see my Nana and my mommy again, plus friends and the rest of the family obviously.

 The weather over there was and still is great, 35 degrees yeahp 35 degrees of pure heat hardly any breeze at all, perfect for the beach, bbq, and going to the pool Yeahp Sure did miss that, I hadn't been there in ages.... MY girls absolutely loved it....

 And because I'm so proud of my little and unfortunately in crises here's some pics of Portugal.

 

Sao Jorge Castel

 

Bairro Alto, Lisbon

 

The Tower of Belem Lisbon

 

Expo 98, Lisbon

 

Sintra Castel

 

Hope that you liked the Photos we are a small country but we are full of happy and friendly people.

Thanks for looking and see you soon with loads of alloween ideas :)

****