Quiet Book

My youngest is 18 months old this Christmas.  The transformation from adorable baby to total monkey is complete!

I wanted to make her a gift, so she receives something that she hasn't inherited and something she would actually play with.  I have planned to make a Quiet Book in the past but haven't found the time -or the good ideas - to do so.  With the help of Pinterest (as usual) I have come across some great ideas.  Sorry I don't have links to the ideas I found. Some of them I have just made up myself.

In my mind, a Quiet Book is something that I can fling in my bag and have to hand to keep her entertained and possibly, but not probably, quiet!

I wanted the Quiet Book to be quite quiet - so no velcro - and also no bits to get lost.  Many of the lovely ideas on Pinterest seemed to have lots of pieces, but I can't be doing with that as they would be behind the sofa / left in the car before I knew it!

I also wanted to be able to throw it in the washing machine and am not worried about the scruffy, unfinished edges.  The simplicity appeals to me (and as I am not great on my sewing machine that is a bonus!).  Also I want to be able to separate the 'pages' or have it as a book so there are loops on the side to attach to a ring.

Most of the fabric I used is 'upcycled' denim from old jeans.  I had to buy a few of the bits to add on, but really didn't spend much on this at all.  Each page has two extra pieces of material in the middle just to make it feel thick and soft.

The front cover.  This page has her name on one side and this pretty fabric on the reverse.  I also added loops of ribbon to turn it into a 'taggy'.

Number beads.  A simple string of coloured beads to count next to the corresponding number.

Marble maze.  This is a great idea (alas, not mine).  There is a marble inside the fabric.  The idea is to squeeze the marble along the path to the other end.

Glove.  A simple glove to pop a little hand in and out of.

Ladybird zip.  A sweet way of adding a zip to fiddle with.

Shape matching.  Using poppers to match the shapes and colours.  Top shapes are attached with ribbon so they don't get lost.

Sewing.  I wanted to make holes in the fabric to thread in and out of, but I failed to achieve what I wanted.  So I simply attached little plastic rings on the top and a shoelace is also attached to be passed though the rings.

Buckle and Button. I think the buckle might be a bit tricky as it is quite soft.  The button is nice and big and the pocket will flap down when open which is quite fun.

Clip and Slider.  I like this one.  The slider is like one you use on elastic show laces.  The idea is to squeeze the clip and it will slide up and down the ribbon.  The buckle simply snaps into place. I am a bit worried about her catching her little fingers in this one, so I will keep an eye on she how she manages.

I am hoping she enjoys this gift as much as I have enjoyed making it for her.

It will be taken out in my bag ready to use for entertainment emergencies, along with her little travel chalkboard which we do sell at MOMD -
http://www.madeonmydoorstep.co.uk/category-34/005013.html

Go on, give it a whirl.  It is cheap and easy and can be quite personal too.  But, obviously, please be careful about what you give your baby to play with!

Science Box - Blowing Up a Balloon with Gas

What you need:

Bicarbonate of Soda
Vinegar
Plastic Bottle (just a small one)
Balloon
Funnel (ideally have 2)

Step 1

Using a funnel (or just a steady hand) fill the bottle to 1/3 with vinegar.

Step 2

Using a dry funnel, half fill the balloon with bicarb of soda, so this is only about a teaspoon. 

Step 3

Pop the end of the balloon over the neck of the bottle with the balloon hanging down. Be careful not to tip the bicarb in quite yet.

Step 4

Lift the balloon and release the bicarb of soda into the bottle.  Now I struggled here and had to hold the balloon onto the bottle to  stop gas escaping.

Step 5

Watch as the mixtures fizzes and the balloon fills with gas.

What is happening?

Well this is an acid base reaction.  The mixture creates carbon dioxide and the gas needs space thereby inflating the balloon

This was fun and easy (apart from holding the balloon in place).  The inflated balloon felt a little heavier than a normal balloon because it contained carbon dioxide. 

Here is the link when I found this one: http://blogs.babble.com/family-style/2012/04/30/8-recipes-for-disaster/?pid=19534#blow-it-up

Science Box - Spy Girl Writing

Sorry, but I can't find where I got this one from originally.  Also please forgive the annoying purple mark that has made its way into all my pics!

What you need:

A lemon
An earbud
Iodine
Spray bottle
Paper

I bought 'iodine tincture' from a high street chemist.  A word of warning, this iodine stained my hands so be careful not to stain anything with it.

Step 1

Cut the end of the earbud to make a writing nib.

Step 2

Dip the nib into the lemon and writing a message on the paper.  You will be able to see what you have written but once it has dried it will be hard to read, although not completely invisible.

Step 3

Add a couple of drops of iodine into some water.  Be careful not to stain anything with the iodine.  I made mine up into a little spray bottle.  You could 'paint' the solution but you risk drenching the paper.

Step 4

Lightly spray the paper with the solution.  Hey presto!  The secret message is now revealed.

I am sure my daughter will love this and will be able to send secret messages time and again.  It is simple but fun.

Science Box - The Naked Egg

Here is the link to the original experiment I found online: http://www.imaginationstationtoledo.org/content/2011/04/how-to-make-a-naked-egg/

What you need:
An egg - just a normal raw egg
A cup/bowl/jug
Vinegar
Water
Golden syrup

Step 1

Pop the egg into a cup or similar.   Preferably one that you can see through.  Then cover the egg with vinegar.  Set to one side.

Step 2

After a few hours you ill see a sort of fizzy/scummy layer floating at the top.  However, leave the egg along for approx 24 hours.

Step 3

After leaving it for a day or so.  Tip the egg carefully into your hand over the sink. You may choose to replace the vinegar and leave it for another day.

Step 4

Pour the egg gently into your hand again.  You will notice that the shell has been broken down by the vinegar and the egg feel like a bouncy ball.  You will also be able to see the yolk floating around inside.  Be careful whilst you play with it.....Or see how many times you can bounce it before making a mess!

Step 5

If you put the egg back into the cup and fill it with water, you will see that the egg absorbs some of the water and gets even bigger.

Step 6

Drain the water, and this time cover the egg with golden syrup.  After a few hours you will see that the water has started moving back through the membrane.  If you tilt the cup, you can pour the water at the top away so the egg is still surrounded by the syrup.  Leave it for another day and drain the egg, you will see that it is all saggy! It is much easier to see the yolk now too.

Step 7

Now if you put the saggy egg back into water, it will return to its bouncy state again.

Step 8

You could repeat the above steps as many times as you want, but eventually the temptation to break the egg is too much!  I squeezed the egg over a bowl until it popped!

I really enjoyed this one!  I found it fascinating.  I just wonder how long the egg will last in the hands of my six year old. 

A little bit about how it all began....

Like many other parents, I gave up my first career when I started a family. I want to be at home whilst my children are young and so I now work for myself from home.

I have always been quite crafty and like to give arty things a go, but often with limited success.  I also dabbled in some development work and picked up some good digital art experience.  This is the basis for many of my products that are available today. I bought myself a big wide format print that allows me to produce excellent quality print work with ink that is guaranteed to last.

Here is a photo of a mixed media owl that I painted for one of my children's bedrooms a few years ago.

As you can see, this was the inspiration for my first personalised canvas which is available to buy:

I think this is still my favourite canvas as I love the depth of colour!  It is available to purchase at

http://www.madeonmydoorstep.co.uk/category-17/001003.html

Science Box - Hovercraft

First things first - here is where I found the instructions for this experiment:

http://scribbit.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/summer-kid-crafts-make-hovercraft.html




What you need:

An old CD/DVD
A sports cap from a plastic bottle
A balloon
Superglue

Step 1

Stick the bottle cap over the hole in the CD.  The instructions I read suggested that you use a 'pull up' cap, but I didn't have one of those. You want to seal around the base of the lid to the CD.

Step 2

Once the glue has set, blow up the balloon and place it over the cap.  This is where it might be easier if you did have a 'pull up' cap, as you could have the cap closed until you were ready.

I just pinched the base of the balloon to stop air escaping until I was ready to let go.


Step 3

Place the hovercraft onto a flat, solid surface - this isn't go to work on carpet.   Let go of the balloon, or open the cap.

Step 4

Watch as the escaping air pushes the CD around the floor.  

It is all over pretty quickly as you would expect and whilst amusing, the results may be a little disappointing.  My 6 year old will expect it to really fly around.  Perhaps I should buy a bigger balloon if this is going to make it into the Christmas Science Box - it will be on the 'maybe' list for now.

Science Box!

Ok, so here goes.  My eldest is six.  I was thinking of buying her a science kit for Christmas, but then thought I should have a go at putting one together myself.  That way, if any of the 'experiments' are a bit rubbish I can exclude them from the final gift.  My focus is for fun - she is only young.  If she wants to find out about more about the science behind the fun that is great, we can do that together, but I am not going to bombard her with it.

So with the help of the internet and sites such as Pinterest, I have made a short list of experiments to trial.  I will go through them each individually so you can see how I get on.  I will also link to the original source as don't want to steal anyone's thunder.

Here is my shopping list of things I need to buy or acquire.  Go on, join me - this could be fun.  But I take absolutely no responsibility for your actions or singed eyebrows!  


What I need:
(Most of the blogs I found were from America so I don't even know what some of these things are yet!)

earbud
lemon juice
iodine
teabag
baking soda (bicarb?)
vinegar
plastic bottle x 2
balloon x 2
funnel
CD
push up cap from drinks bottle
superglue
egg x 2
jam jar
washing up liquid
elmers white glue (??)
food colouring 
borax powder (??)
corn starch
water
sandwich bag
square toilet paper
packet of skittles
6% hydrogen peroxide
yeast
tray

Wish me luck!

Hello blog

Ok, so after a previous blogging false start, I promise that I am going to try to keep it up this time.  I am not a big writer, and don't really like the sound of my own voice so my entries are likely to be short!

I am blogging to support my start-up enterprise of selling stuff that I have printed.  I sell through www.madeonmydoorstep.co.uk. 

My seller's page is here: http://www.madeonmydoorstep.co.uk/category-17.html

I don't want this blog to be all about what I make and sell, although I guess this is my chance to showcase it. 

I am a mum, and have made a commitment (albeit only to myself) to make at least one present for each of my children at Christmas this year.  So  keep your eyes peeled and you might witness my successes and failures over the coming weeks!

I tweet on behalf of www.madeonmydoorstep.co.uk so find me @justnicestuff.