Book Week Costumes.

 

Onesies as costumes.

Yes I know I am very, very slack but this year it came down to onesies for the book parade. Judging by just how many I saw on parade day, I am not the only parent enjoying the simplicity.

10 year old , of course is Eeyore from the Winnie-the-Pooh series of books, and 7 year old is the ‘good’ pig from “The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig” by Eugene Trivizas. 

While at the parade a conversation was had about the difficulty getting a good photo during….and sometimes before ….. the book parade. I took some pretty bad ones. Did you?

Mmmmm…..

…this one is fabulous!…

If you took some equally awful pictures at the book parade, and you are happy to share them, please email them to me. … or comment below. I will share them if I get enough. I might even offer a prize!

 

 

Winners are grinners……

….and this giveaway winner is….. Sophie!

Congratulations.

Give Away: Dungeon Raiders.

Dungeon Raiders Card Game Cover.

Yes, to finish the year off I am having a giveaway!

The designer, who some of you will know, Phil Walker-Hardling, has been helping our 12 year old develop and game test some of her ideas for games this year. She’s had a great time. This has meant we are closer to the coal face of any new games he designs.

Some of you may remember me mentioning Sushi Go by Adventureland Games a couple of weeks ago and encouraging you to support it’s first print run….. well good news. They smashed their  target goal and the game is set for printing early next year. I will keep you posted and give one of those away when it arrives.

But in the meantime…….

This is a great little holiday game for the family….or for yourself.

Dungeon Raiders.

We have been playing it quite a bit and it’s great fun.

It has a potential co-operative element…..although with older children with a bit more playing experience ….well,  lets just say there is less co-operation.

Watch how the game is played here.

If you would like to be in with a chance to be randomly selected to win this game….. please leave a comment telling me your favourite card or board game….or your least favourite.

The comments will close at midnight the 23rd of December (AEST) and I will announce the winner on Christmas Eve…. to be posted anywhere in the world soon after that.

So, go ahead give me your ideas.

 

Scallyoop Scoop!

Tuxedo Sam (other characters available) USB sticks.

Today I want to tell you all about a fantastic online store.

It’s owned by my fabulous little sister Hayley and a friend… so I am a little bias in my recommendation…. but after I have shown you a small selection of an enormous range of products, I am sure you will agree with me.

Firstly, I will show you some of the items we have enjoyed from Scallyoop and a few reasons why I like them…. and then give you my recommendations for Christmas….. and leave you with a special offer!

Tuxedo Sam (and Friends) USB stick. 14 year old has one and loves it! Once the kids get to high school the USB becomes their best friend. These little guys wont be lost like the boring generic kind…. and are easily recognisable. Even Dad’s and nephew’s would enjoy these.

Djeco Art Nouveau Workshop.

Djeco make fabulous product. They provide great structured art projects which are vital for building skills. Over the years we have enjoyed many of these craft boxes. They are beautiful indeed.

Covering crafts from colouring, collage, puppet making, folding and knitting these sets ….made for boys as well as girls are highly recommended.

Made by the same company (and often included in the kits) are these felt painting textas and oil pastels. Be warned however….once you buy a child these beautiful textas they will never want normal ones. They make truly beautiful marks and last and last. Well worth the investment.

The oil pastels are also lovely to create art with. you will want to sit alongside your child and draw with them. I think they are better for older children ….. maybe 8+ as they can be a little messy (like oil pastels are)

Felt paint textas.

Oil Pastels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ni Hao Noodle Bowl. Now $19.95

The Ni Hao Noodle bowl is a fun way to introduce chopsticks to your children. The set comes with a noodle bowl, a patterned plate and a cute set of ‘kid friendly’ chopsticks. The little rubber man holds the chopsticks together making the pinching action that much easier! ….almost like holding a pencil and squeezing. A great gift for 6+ noodle lovers.

 

Roll-up chalk placemat.

We have enjoyed our chalk placement outside and inside. The girls use it to make signs on the cubby house and I sometimes use it to write a list of jobs for them to do…. It’s so much more fun to rub a job off with your hand after doing it!

Alice in Wonderland necklace or brooch.

What is not to love about this sweet Alice in Wonderland necklace (also available as a brooch)? Wood cut and light. Beautiful. You can also get other Alice in Wonderland characters.

Ride on Lady Bug.

The ride on bug.… yes, sadly we are past this, but have many fond memories of the girls zooming around on these. Stylistically so much more beautiful than the plastic ride on…and great for imaginary play.

Skwish classic.

Past this one too but loved it when the girls were very little. I loved the lightness of the elastic and wood….didn’t hurt when it inevitably hit them in the face! Skish Classic.

Throwing Game Klop.

I think my all time favourite gift from Scallyoop is Klop. A fantastic park game. It plays like a cross between bowls and boules with a twist or two.

Our family regularly take Klop to the park just with us or with friends and play across generations. The game is well weighted so adult or child can win….. but it’s not all luck. Brilliant!

Now….. my picks for this Christmas and beyond.

Ziggy Platter….. How groovy!

This one is for me! Yes there are gifts for adults too!

Balsam wood postcard…… can think of a few granddads who would like one of these.

Love this idea! …..and Balsam wood Plane Card just $7.95

Kokeshis Paper Dolls…. great holiday fun.

Another Djeco kit! Un-tricky origami Only $12.50

Beautiful wooden 3 layer puzzle.

How about this exquisite wooden puzzle? Lovely.

Make-a-do. Reusable connective pieces for creating straight from the recycling box.

I have loved these for a while. Such a great idea for the ‘construction kids’. Make-a-do kits.

There you have it!

Some of the best gifts you will find…. and you don’t need to go to the shops! Yay.

The site has soooo many more things to love….. and if you get in quick (before Dec 9) adding the code scallyoop10 will give you $10 off if you spend over $30 and put you into the draw for a $150 scallyoop shopping spree.

Why are you still here?

 

 

Facebook Friday

 

Sushi Go by Phil Walker-Harding

A new friend of our family has been designing games for a while now.

Here is a great opportunity for you to help get the next game up and going….and get some awesome Christmas gifts along the way.

My endorsement: We have played Archeology and Dungeon Raiders and are fabulous family games which take up very little space! The video for this one looks excellent. Ally

Click on the Sushi and go straight through to how you can help. Thanks…… and stay tuned. I think a giveaway of Dungeon Raiders would go down nicely very soon.

Kristen Doran fete inspiration.

Image from Kristen Doran’s blog.

Around Christmas time last year I was fortunate enough to win a giveaway on facebook of a bundle of Kristen Doran fabrics. I was so excited, as had for sometime admired this Aussie fabric designer. Kirsten makes beautiful handmade prints and puts simply gorgeous kits together which make you want to make them up RIGHT NOW!

I had great plans for the fabric, but have only realised some of them. This years has been like that! Many plans with only a small proportion of plans materialising. Great and fantastic other things have happened ….. but most of them unplanned….

Annnnnyyyyywwwaaaayyyy.

The Matryoshka Dolls in Red & Pink on White and Gold and Red on white fabric panel was part of my prize, and I decided to use it to make items for the upcoming school Spring Fair.

…. another image from Kristen Doran’s blog.

I think this is what is intended to be made with the panel, but I wanted to share the love around rather than make a larger multi-pieced item which would never get the value on the craft stall…..  and I had to make sure I used every last bit!

That said…. if I still had little girls I would have loved this on their beds and for imaginary play and for using with them when they go through the ‘how everyone in the family fits together’ stage.

Here is what we did with them. (yes I had some other crafty mummies helping me again this year)

Christmas decorations in 3 sizes.

A mother and her daughters.

Here you can see some of the pretty backs.

The tiny ones were made into Christmas decorations and the large Matryoshka Doll prints we made into rice bottomed (so they stand up) padded dolls. I’m so pleased with how they have turned out. What do you think?

Standing up dollies.

Playing in the grass…..

I’m going to find these hard to donate.

I also received some gorgeous fang monster fabric that Kirsten designed with one of her sons… which unfortunately seems no longer in print! I have a plan to make something for my littlest nephew. I will keep you posted.

2 Grandmas, 2 Mothers and 2 Daughters.

Operation Christmas Child.

…. and while you are planning your Christmas Advent Events and Treats for your family, please consider Operation Christmas Child.

The deadline for drop offs is 25th of October, in Australia. Yes! Next week.

Your local drop off can be found here.

This is a way our family has given in the past, and the girls derive so much joy from it. It stimulates conversations about children in other countries less fortunate (materially) and spiritually.

I think this is a great way to set the tone early in the Christmas schedule for our family.

Will you join us this year?

Art class …..please help.

This week I start art class after a very long break.

More out of convenience than anything else I have enrolled in ‘continuing projects’.

The problem is….. I am sort of starting a fresh rather than continuing so I need your help.

Over that last couple of months I have been collecting still life images (because I am fascinated by the comfortingness of them). I think I would like to recreate them as  drawings or paintings or collages …. or maybe even something all together different. I would love to experiment with stitching and fabric within works too.

I just don’t know where to start.

Please help me out by letting me know in the comments which images appeal to you and how you would like to see them recreated. I am not promising to obey your every visual wish but your feedback would help enormously. Thanks.

1. Latte and sunnies.Image from the bottom of my laundry basket.

2. Muffins on a board. Image from Modern Country.

3. Spilt coffee.Image credit decor8blog.

4. Extra strong cappacino. Image mine.

5. French press and small bites. Image from decor8blog.

6. Three pears and a pomegranate. Image from decor8blog

7. A vase, a painting and a deer. Image the lennoxx.

8. Napkin with sprig and duck egg.Image from the house of Turquoise.

9. Pink flowers in a lime vase. Image from the house of Turquoise.

10. Sweet peas and mini bird eggs. Image from the house of Turquoise.

Please give me some direction…. even if it’s just the number of the picture.

….and yes, I will do some updates as to how the classes and paintings are going.

May even have a give-away, but only if you help me know where to start.

The story behind the still life: winner

Yes, heavy enclosed shoes and protective eye wear needs to be worn at all times!

Ok, so the still life really didn’t give a lot away.

The flowers and bottle of ‘joker’ wine and an apple for the teacher were all waiting for me when I arrived home from my first day of work.

The story is…. I have a part-time sessional lecturing job at the Australian Catholic University.

This session I will be teaching first year students a subject called “Designing with Textiles”. So far, it is really a glorified sewing class, but will move more into the areas of design as the weeks progress.

Every student who wants to be a TAS (technology and applied science) teacher in the high school system has to cover textiles, so I have mostly non- textiles students in my classes (or labs as they are known). Yes, woodwork and metalwork boys as well as the food tech students.

It’s pretty scary as I am not a trained teacher and I haven’t worked for someone else for about 13 years….. and as you can see from the photos from the lab, it’s super dangerous!*

So far it has been really enjoyable and exhausting.

So, because all the readers who commented got part of it right, but no-one picked it, (I know it was quite obscure) I will be sending you all a little harrysdesk love.

Thanks for commenting, or thinking if you didn’t get to commenting.

Dyeing and printing is even more dangerous.... mask and gloves get added to the apparel.

* I don’t think the job is dangerous at all. I think the stay at home mothering was much more hazardous! Let’s hope OH&S doesn’t come and access our homes.

My Still Life

Welcome home still life.

Time for a giveaway. Haven’t had one in a while.

Yesterday when I arrived home I was greeted by this still life on my kitchen table…… ok, it didn’t look exactly like this but after a little artistic adjusting….it looked like this. I love a still life.

For a chance to win a harrysdesk surprise prize pack you need to answer this question by commenting below.

Why were these things waiting for me when I got home?

The most accurate answer….or the most creative answer….. will win the pack.

You have a week to come up with your answer. That’s 9:30 pm on the 1st of March 2012.

What’s in the pack?

It’s a surprise!