Saturday 27 August 2011

Clay, pixel blocks and bandages

 cool bandage huh? I did egg the nurse on a bit...

Whilst I wouldn't say that we had grand plans for this bank holiday weekend, there is so much going on in Brighton this weekend, I felt sure we could find something fun to do. But one ill-fated trip to the park, a foot vs slide mishap and a couple of hours in the wonderful Brighton A&E  finds me house bound with my beloved and bandaged girl.

a master craftsman at work

So, this would seem like and excellent excuse to get a bit of crafting done. I saw somewhere on the interweb a tutorial involving clay, cookie cutters and shells. And seeing as we have a lot of shells from our holiday and clay is brilliant fun I made a mental note to try it out. I picked up some no fire clay today and got out the cookie cutters which have definitely been used more for craft than cookies. Anyway, I don't need cookie cutters now that I have the best ever cookie recipe.

a doorbell maybe, she is a very creative crafter

This activity didn't pass as much time as I would have hoped. Maybe I should have tied one hand behind their backs to slow them down a bit. That seems a bit cruel for a child already bandaged though. I'm sure they looked rather more spectacular on that lost tutorial, but it was fun, and when they have air dried in 4 years time, we'll paint them.

somewhere under those shells is a star

Another thing I have been meaning to blog about for ages is Pixel Blocks. My husband brought some back from a trip to the US, I've struggled to find a link for the UK but they did have them on Firebox at one point. They are amazing, like 3D Lego blocks that you can connect in all directions, have a look at the link for an explanation. The kids love them as do I. They come with a book of ideas, but my daughter is old enough to make up her own stuff now.

This is not modelled on me, 
I have short hair and 4 fingers on each hand

Apparently they are popular amongst geeky designer types, and you can create amazing stuff out of them, 2D or 3D. Take a look at the Flickr group.


a dog, obviously

I'd recommend them for 4 years + my (4 year old) son loves them, great for fine motor skills and general concentration. When it rained last week we made zoo animals. (Don't get me wrong, we also watched telly and bickered).

 a panda, and next, a honey badger (this is a joke)

Here's a close up...

you want them don't you?

So, my bank holiday weekend so far, I'm hoping the remainder is less eventful.


6 comments:

  1. Oops - hope the bandaged one heals soon!

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  2. Poor lad - he won't be able to chase me when I come and pinch those blocks!!

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  3. I want them, you're right.

    Hope the foot gets better soon. Oh & I love the clay makes - fantastic.

    x

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  4. Hope your son is better soon and you have lots more crafty ideas up your sleeves. Those blocks look great - perhaps my son is a little young still but in a few months...in the meantime, I can play!

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  5. I'm not quite so keen on the pixel blocks, but my girls are only 3.5 and 2 years old. I think I have enough tiny pieces of things to be getting on with from all their Playmobil!
    I do love the air drying clay idea with the shells though. We have some white clay somewhere, and a load of shells from our beach trips and holidays recently. I think they'd love to have a go at that! And the painting afterwards too!
    Hopefully the foot will be better before school!

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  6. I LOVE the square one - did I do it?!

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