Reader pics: Worldwide. 'I'd Like to Teach the World to String'.

Libby's awesome twin Jane has just made some of our circle bunting. Instead of using maps, she has used patterned paper for her bunting.

This is such a simple technique, but has such spectacular results. You could experiment with using different patterns in the same colour, or maybe some pages from an old book or some sheet music.

Autumn leaf garland

We celebrated the first day of Spring here in Australia yesterday, which means that it's the first day of Autumn on the other side of the world!

If you have lovely piles of fallen leaves where you live, why not sew up a super fast Autumn leaf garland? If you don't have a sewing machine, you can hand sew the leaves together or even glue them to a thin piece of ribbon.

Great review from Pinaddicts!

Thanks Jenny for this great review. We reckon between these 3 books you could keep the kids amused for hours...

Original post at http://pinaddictschallenge.com/2013/08/27/new-books-for-autumnal-crafting/comment-page-1/#comment-1684

New books for autumnal crafting

Posted on August 27, 2013 by gingerbread mum

      

As we near the end of the school holidays and the days are getting noticeably shorter my thoughts are beginning to turn to some autumnal crafting. I’ve recently received new craft books so I thought I would share some of these with you today.

 

 

Origami Farm by Mario Ono shows you how to make 35 farmyard favourites in an instant. Make a barn full of amazing animals with this fun collection of projects based around farmyard animals and crops. There’s a sheep dog, chicken, lamb, pig and rabbit to fold from the animals section, then apples, corn, pumpkins and tomatoes that are grown in the fields. Also included is a scarecrow to keep your crops safe, plus a farmhouse for the farmer to live in. This book also includes 50 specially designed pieces of origami paper which make the projects really come to life.

 

 

Craft it Up Around the World brings the great wide world into the home with 35 travel-inspired craft projects! The book aims to inspire children to look at the world around them in a new way. Discover the Americas by bagging yourselves a potato print tote from Argentina and painted pebbles with Colombian rainforest designs. Celebrate the wonder of Asia with a Japanese sushi brooch and create African art by making a Ghanaian clay bead necklace.

 

 

In this fun and quirky book, complete with step-by-step photos, Smita Srivastava shares her innovative and highly effective way of making food far more enjoyable for reluctant little gourmets. Featuring easy-to-make breakfasts, snacks and lunchboxes comprised of healthy ingredients such as fresh fruit, vegetables, cheese and wholemeal bread, these fun food presentations drive home the message that healthy meals don’t have to be boring.

 

 

Father's Day manly moustache cake!

In Australia it's Father's Day this weekend. And we reckon the kids will love helping out with this moustache cake project.

Instead of making the cake from scratch, we've cheated and used all store bought ingredients. This makes the project accessible to the littlest of hands or the laziest of teens!

Why not use our cupcake case rosette tutorial and make Dad a special '# 1 Dad' rosette to go on top?

http://craftitupsydney.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/cupcake-case-rosette-tutorial.html

 

 

A sneak peak at our Cuba project!

Did you know that one of the best times to visit Cuba is right now, in August? This is because the weather is starting to cool down a bit and that means less tourists!

If a trip to Cuba is just out of your reach right now, then why not have a look at the Cars of Cuba Collection project in our book Craft It Up Around The World? We've used paint cards to make a cool framed picture. And since paint cards are free, we reckon it's probably cheaper than a trip to Cuba too!

 

Need a copy of our book? Visit your local bookstore and order a copy or go online. One of our suppliers is Book Depository, who offer free post worldwide.

 

http://www.bookdepository.com/Craft-it-Up-Around-World-Libby-Abadee/9781782490388

 



Gorgeous review from Jenny from The Gingerbread House

reposted from http://www.rylandpeters.com/blog/craft-your-way-around-the-globe/

Craft your way around the globe

A few weeks ago, we sent out a review copy of the forthcoming 'Craft it Up Around the World' to one of our favourite bloggers, Jenny Kearney (aka The Gingerbread Mum). Here's what she made of the book:
The cold wet weather has kept us indoors the last few days. Fortunately we were sent a really fun craft book which has kept us busy and helped us explore new things. Craft It Up Around The World brings the great wide world into the home with 35 travel-inspired craft projects! The toddler and I enjoyed sitting down and looking through it together, we’ve already chosen a couple of fun projects to do.

The authors, Libby Abadee and Cath Armstrong have created Craft It Up Around The World to inspire children to look at the world around them in a new way. They can discover the Americas by bagging themselves a potato print tote from Argentina and painted pebbles with Colombian rainforest designs. Other projects include making a bouquet of Dutch felt tulips and creating salt dough coins fit for the Trevi Fountain in Rome. Children can celebrate the wonder of Asia with a Japanese sushi brooch and make their own Vietnamese juice box boat like the boats in Ha Long Bay. They will love creating African art by making a Ghanaian clay bead necklace, and will remember Sydney, Australia forever with their very own memory jar.
We tried “The Mounties Always Get Their (Gingerbread) Man. I think you can probably guess that they didn’t last long enough to be iced.

Next we made Howard’s Treasure Hunt Bottle with the treasures we picked up from the beach last weekend.

Today we’ve been working on the Yarn Bombed “Baaaaaaa” Stool but I have to admit that both children have been looking at me like I’m mad! My toddler doesn’t quite understand about other countries but I’d like to think he’s beginning to grasp the concept of different people and cultures and this book will definitely help.
This is such a lovely craft book. Well illustrated with clear instructions, makes it accessible for many ages. Most of the crafts can be completed with items you already have around the home which makes this a great book for all ages and abilities. It’s brilliant to have such an unusual craft book on our craft shelves, who wouldn’t want to craft their way around the globe and learn some fun facts about other cultures and countries along the way!?

Craft It Up Around the World by Libby Abadee and Cath Armstrong is published by CICO Kidz and is available from all good bookshops or online outlets.

About our guest blogger:

My name is Jenny and I’ve been blogging here since 2005 about London life, crafts, baking (we love gingerbread!) and life with two children. I’m a mother of two small terrors who never sleep – Big Brother the toddler and Little Sis his baby sister. You can find me here on twitter. I love to blog and also write a parenting photoblog, a family history blog and baking blog called flour sugar eggs and butter.

Great review from http://craftymomsshare.blogspot.com

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Craft It Up Around the World book review

Today I have the pleasure of review a wonderful book called Craft It Up

Around the World by Libby Abadee and Cath Armstrong.  Craft it Up Around the World by Libby Abadee and Cath Armstrong is published by CICO Books at £9.99 and is available from www.rylandpeters.com. This book was sent to me by CICO Books to review here, and I have to say I am so pleased to do so. The book contains 35 craft projects from different places throughout the world. The crafts are meant for children to do, and if they are older than Hazel, they will not need much help from an adult. The authors are currently based in Sydney, Australia, but between the two of them they have lived in many parts of the world and are trying to inspire children to look at the world around them and learn more about other places. I have to say it is the perfect book to go along with our multicultural adventures between our Fairy Tales in Different Cultures, Virtual Flat Stanley and Around the World in 12 Dishes.

One of the things I really like about this book is several of the crafts use recycled materials. The first craft I want to share is this wonderful map bunting. You could focus your circles to be spots you have lived, visited or want to visit, or you can do what we did and just take any place to be included. Hazel enjoyed helping me sew these circles together into the bunting. As we did this I thought it would be neat for a birthday party with a world travel theme. Really this book would be perfect for it. Now to convince Hazel of this idea.

To make this bunting I used one of Steve's outdated Atlas books. I had planned on going to AAA for a free world map, but didn't make it there, so I asked Steve to see what he had. I figured it was even better to use a book he didn't need or want anymore. I did not have a big enough circle punch, so I traced a glass and cut the circle myself. It really took no time at all to make a pretty long bunting. Now we are going to hang it on Hazel's tree in her room.

After that we made some of the crafts to go with the countries we have already "visited" this year. We made the Easy Peasy Felt Tulips for the Netherlands. Hazel is using them as the centerpiece on her play kitchen table. Great craft for springtime.

We made the Saving for a Snowy Day for Finland. He is made from a recycled smoothie container. We will be saving him for the winter. This is a great craft for the winter.

For Spain we made Click Clack Button Castanets. Hazel hasn't tried them since the glue was drying, but I did. She will love them, and she got to pick out the scrapbook paper we used. I made them a bit smaller than the instructions called for, but I thought this would help Hazel use them. This would be a great craft for any Spanish themed lesson or party.

For France I made the "Ooh La La" Pretty Parisian Embroidery. We will hang it in Hazel's room. She probably could have helped with some of the sewing, but I made it while she was in bed. She did however help me cut the fabric for the project. Again, wouldn't this be a perfect decoration for a world travel themed party.

The final craft idea I will share is for Egypt (this month's destination for Around the World in 12 Dishes) and it is Howard's Treasure Hunt Bottle. It is a recycled jar filled with some Egyptian objects and sand. I added on it a print out of the Egyptian flag and map. We used objects from Safari Ltd. Miniature Replica Toobs. Some we had and we picked up the Ancient Egypt one the other day at Michaels with our 40% off coupon.

We also included a bird amulet and a cat statue.

So Craft It Up Around the World is a great book full of ideas for kids who are exploring the world. The book includes a picture of the country's flag and shape of the country as well as some interesting facts about the countries. There are a variety of crafts calling on different skills, so they will appeal to both boys and girls of different ages. Again Craft it Up Around the World by Libby Abadee and Cath Armstrong is published by CICO Books at £9.99 and is available from www.rylandpeters.com. You can look for more great crafts from this book as we explore the world through all of our fun adventures as well!!