Paper Star Craft Tutorial

We just got blasted by another winter storm, and won't be going anywhere for a while. So i started looking around for some projects to 'brighten up' the grayness of winter. These lovely tissue paper stars are just the thing! We hung them in our windows and when the light shines through them they just explode with color. As the colors overlap, it creates a second row of new colors. These are especially striking when you use primary and secondary colors and arrange them like a rainbow. We just used what we had on hand, which were pastel tissue papers.

The kids were excited to make these, and they are easy enough that they were both able to participate.

i started by cutting our tissue paper into 6x6 squares. You can really use any size you want, 4x4, 8x8...to make different sized stars. Once i had several different colored 6x6 squares cut out, i folded each one in half horizontally, and then again vertically. Now cut along the creases you just made so you now have 4 3x3 squares. Do this for each piece.

It takes 8 3x3 pieces to make a star. We used 4 different colors in each star, you can use more colors or less colors. However you want to make them.

Now take your 3x3 square and fold it diagonally.

Now fold one side over so the edge lines up perfectly with the crease in the center. i used a glue stick, and put a dab of glue down to hold it in place.

Do the same with the other side. It should look like this. Now repeat these steps with each of your 3x3 squares.

My boy helped fold the points. It was a little tricky for him to start, but after a couple he was able to fold them himself. Once you have a good pile of them folded you can start putting your stars together.

My 4 year was able to help with the putting them together. Using a glue stick, we applied a small amount of glue and then lined up the next piece so the points touch and the edge of the second piece lines up perfectly with the center fold of the first. Do this will all 8 star points. When you get back to the beginning, the very last point will tuck underneath the first. Add a little glue to hold it's place.

i used a dab of glue from the glue stick to stick these in the windows. It's washable glue, so it will wash off easily.

Most tutorials i have found for these call for Kite paper. Since we didn't have any on hand we just used regular tissue paper. The tissue paper worked fine, but is a little tricky to crease and i'm guessing the sun will fade them quickly. It was still a fun project to brighten up our dark winter days. i would love to try these again with rainbow colors.

You can really play around with these, and add more points or different folds to change the look of your stars. Here's some tutorials for slightly more complicated folds, something fun to try once you've mastered the basic star
http://www.arwenart.com/tutorials/windowstars/




Have fun!

Sage's New (to us) Play Kitchen DIY

A few years ago i found Sage her first play kitchen on freecycle. It was big, plastic and it was supposed to light up and make noise, but didn't. i thought it would be fine for a first kitchen. i really like the idea of getting one used, rather than purchasing one new. Especially if it wasn't something she was going to really play with. i figured that if she did play with it a lot, i could always find something a little better later on.

Well Sage definitely loved playing with her kitchen, and after a while it started to fall apart. So last year i started looking around for something different. i really wanted to get away from cheap plastic crap, so i began to look for some alternatives.
Now if money wasn't issue, i would have loved to have gotten this one from Hip Mountain Mama. i spent a lot of time drooling over this one.

i love the simplicity, and that it's natural and made in the USA!

i also came across this one from Guidecraft. Although it's a bit too pink. i love the whimsical feel, and i knew it was something Sage would love. However, it was still not something we could really afford. i was feeling a bit discouraged and then started looking up plans for building her a home made kitchen.
A few years ago i made Sequoia a Farmer's Market from a used bookcase we found at a thrift store for $3. So i knew it was totally possibly to make something awesome. So i started checking the thrift stores and looking around Craigslist for the perfect piece of furniture to transform into an adorable little play kitchen.

As luck has it, i found a used wooden play kitchen.

i scored this beautiful solid wood play kitchen for $30. It was pretty much exactly what i was looking for! i love that it's small, study and compact.
As, much as i love the simplicity, i also wanted to embellish it just a bit.

While moving around some misc. stuff on my craft table i came across these wall stickers i had purchased ages ago. i'd found them at the dollar store, with the intention of using them in Sage's room (once she has a room).
They were absolutely perfect!!

The little banner across the top says, " Light fades... stars appear...fairy dust is sprinkled here"

i am so thrilled with how it turned out! Even though part of me loves the natural kitchens, the colors and fairies on this are just perfect for her.


She loves it! Before finding this one, i had bookmarked a few sites that had tutorials for making play kitchens.

This DIY play kitchen came from Crafster.org. They show you how to make a play kitchen from an old entertainment system! Pretty cool eh? Way too big for our house, but still pretty neat.

This one i found on the Wee Gallery Blog is pretty fancy, and made from an unfinished wood 2-cube shelf from Joanne's. i think you'd need a bit of skill to pull this one off. It's an awesome kitchen though.

The last one is is very nice and simple. i think just about anyone could make this. It's a small play kitchen made from a used nightstand, and you can find the complete tutorial on Flicker.

We totally lucked out by finding this one. It really is just perfect. Even if you are not able to find your perfect kitchen used, you can make it yourself!

Reflecting on 2010

Reflecting back on 2010. i have spent the last few days sorting through pictures, and reflecting back on some of the highlights of our year. Here are a few of the things that stood out for me.

January.

Our January was full of cold and snow. My boy missed almost the entire month of school due to the weather. The winter of 2010 was truly one of the longest winters i can remember. We spent a lot of time reading, crocheting, watching movies and playing board games. i kept my bird feeders full, and this little opossum became a regular visitor. My boy turned 8 years old this month.

February.
February brought us more snow. We read the books Eragon, and The Dragonrider and built our very own snow dragon. We grew crystals, and did lots of other fun crafts and science projects. On the few days that we saw the sun, we played outside and hiked in the woods. Kenan built a small goat shed next to the chicken coop, and finished the goat fencing.
At the end of the month, our kitty Kali lost her fight with an unknown illness and crossed the rainbow bridge. :(

March.

In the first days of March, Sookie, a short haired border collie found her way into our hearts. A day or so later we lost our Sati kitty, only a week after loosing Kali. :( We went hiking at Pandapas Pond, and added another goat to our herd. Delilah is a Dwarf Nigerian/pygmy cross and our first doe. Our goat Casper developed Pneumonia after we moved him out of the chicken coop and into the goat shed. i learned quite a bit about treating pneumonia and developing a healthy rumens.:) Later that month, we bartered with a neighbor to castrate Casper, turning him into a wether. We traded a 6 pack of beer and jar of blackberry jam. :)

April.

We went hiking often, and played in the creek. We had company almost non-stop. Aunt Tabitha came to visit for a week and we took her hiking at the Cascades. Grandma and Grandpa T. brought her down and stayed for a weekend, and we all went to Mabry Mill and took a drive down the Blue Ridge Parkway. Around this same time, Kenan's Grandfather passed away, and he flew down to Florida for the funeral. My parents arrived a day or so before he left, and my mom stayed for a couple weeks.
Kenan bought himself a farm truck for hauling manure, firewood and livestock. He put it too good use when he got a hook up for free fire wood. He spent several days cutting, made several trips and made sure we have more than enough wood to last us through the winter.
Yay, for free heat!

May.

In May, we bartered classes with a glass student from NJ for help with electrical work in our addition. While he was here, we were all surprised by this bear that stopped by to check out our chickens and goats. The bear sighting made it into the local paper, and we haven't seen him since. We got a good start on the electrical set up, but didn't get it completed. We went to the Natural Science Center in Greensboro, NC. We worked in the garden, took a lot of butterfly pictures and hatched out lots of new peeps.

June.
We adopted a beagle puppy and named him Rufus Von Bigglesworth. We spent lots of time outside playing, chasing chickens, swimming at the creek and blowing bubbles. My baby girl turned 4! We had a surprise visit from Nana, Pap and Aunty Kris. We had not seen Aunty Kris in about 3 years, so it was very special.






July.
We took a weekend trip to Raleigh NC. We went to the Lego Games Tour downtown, and to the Raleigh Science Museum. We also went to the Durham life and Science Museum, where they have a huge butterfly house. We made Fairy houses and Woodland Elf crowns. i milked a goat for the very first time.

August.
We raised and released over 20 Monarch butterflies! We spent much of the month harvesting and canning our garden bounty. We were also blessed with an abundance of organic pears and grapes from a generous neighbor. We played outside a lot, and made giant bubbles! We went hiking along the New River trail and crossed the Hiawassee Trestle Bridge. We went swimming/hiking at Fairy Stone Park. Sequoia started the 3rd grade!

September.
We picked and processed over 100lbs of free local organic apples. i canned apple sauce, apple butter and pie filling. i made my first batch of Chevre' from fresh goats milk, from a goat i milked by hand :) We had two sweet little stray kittens appear, that are now a part of our family. This is Tellulah and Tom-tom kitty. Nana and Pa came for a visit, and Nana stayed with us for a few weeks. Kenan got the swine flu and was unable to work for almost 3 weeks.
We cleared around an acre of land, and planted lots of clover. i got a year of my life back, when on my birthday i turned 37. i had actually spent the entire year already thinking i was 37, so it was pretty awesome to realize i had actually only been 36. Bwahaha!!

October.
We visited Sinkland Farms Pumpkin patch, which will now be an annual Oct. tradition. We went trick or treating twice and went hiking on Buffalo Mountain. We also dug our potatoes, and sweet potatoes and harvested winter squash. i volunteered to chaperon Sequoia's field trips to Mabry mill and the Floyd Agricultural Fair. We read the City of Ember and People of Sparks.




November.
November was cold. We spent a lot of time inside. i jumped back into my crafting, and started selling a few things online. i got an early start on my Yule gifts. Kenan worked on a play fort for the kids. It's not finished, but still fun. Nana and Pap came to visit again for Thanksgiving, and we enjoyed good food and company.

December.

We got our first snow the first week of December. It stayed the entire month. For some reason this month went extremely fast, and i can't seem to remember what we actually did. We had been planning a trip to Florida to spend the holiday with family. i think the impending trip, and the need to get all of my projects finished cause the month to just fly by. We ended up canceling/postponing our trip and enjoyed a quiet holiday at home.
~*~

Reflecting back on the year, we really had a pretty good year despite a bit of a rough beginning. Although we didn't accomplish everything we had hoped, we took more steps forward, than we did back...and that is saying something.

i am really looking forward to 2011, and feel very optimistic. Sage will be starting Kindergarten in the fall and i will be able to jump back into my crafting full time. i am already feeling motivated and inspired and as a way to commit myself this, i registered for an Artfire Shop on Jan. 1st. i don't have any thing listed yet, but i will be working on listing a few items this week. i also plan to put more into this blog, so i hope to be posting more of my work, more tutorials, more family photos, and more artist features, reviews and giveaways.

i came across this quote the other day and thought it was too perfect not to share.

჻☆჻“May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art ::: write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can."჻☆჻
~Neil Gaimen