Crafty Moms Share: Search results for Minnie Mouse

Showing posts sorted by date for query Minnie Mouse. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Asian Kites

Hazel has been asking to fly a kite for awhile. Somehow whenever we are at my parents, it does not happen. They live near a beach and usually have more wind (and less trees and power lines) than us. Plus my father has some kites or at least he thinks he does. Well I bought her a cheap Disney Princesses kite and we are taking it to my parents' house this weekend. She is so excited. I told her by having her making paper kites in Asian styles with me first. I was really excited to find Asian Kites by Wayne Hosking at our local library.

All of the styles of kites we made came from this book. The book explains how to make real kites with Silkspan, however I was not looking to make kites to fly, but kites to show Hazel different styles from the Asian countries. We made them with paper and streamers. In fact we used leftover black streamers from Oriental Trading that we reviewed in our Minnie Mouse Pinata post. We also substituted drinking straws for the balsa wood to strengthen the kites.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

The book has a bit of the history of the kite in the Introduction. Although many places say the first kite was flown in China, Asian Kites says it is actually unknown. It is believed that kites date back to two and a half to three thousand years ago. Kites also once carried messages based on their shapes, pictures or other cultural symbols. Eventually every day people began to fly them without a religious significance. There are many theories to how a kite came to be including leaves, trying to emulate birds, the wind blowing a farmer's hat and a tent or sail becoming airborne in the wind. Stories of Chinese kite flying spread through Europe thanks to Marco Polo. In the 15th and 16th centuries examples of kites were brought back from China and the East Indies. In the 18th and 19th centuries Europeans and Americans were using kites for scientific studies of natural elements including developing the flying machine. Asians were still flying kites to celebrate nature and human spirit. Many Asian cultures share their past with kite festivals as well as kite tours.

China gets to boast the first written record of a kite flying dating back to 196 B.C.E. The description tells how the Chinese general Han Hsin flew a kite to help calculate the distance his army would have to tunnel to escape. There are many legends of how the Chinese attempted to use kites in battle. The Chinese also used them for cultural and religious significances. With the invention of paper by Tsai Lun, kites became a universal folk art and possible for all people to enjoy flying. From a Kite Day Festival to scaring away evil spirits at grave sites, the Chinese have a rich history of kite flying. Today China has six main kite regions. Each region uses a unique kite style. October is the traditional month for kite flying, but due to favorable winds kite flying season usually runs from the Chinese New Year through Qingming, the day for mourning the dead on April 5.

We chose to make the Butterfly kite. The book describes it as a fair to good flier in light to gentle breezes. The Chinese often make and fly Butterfly kites because they represent beauty and a free spirit. There is also an old saying: "Only the greatest artists go to heaven to paint butterfly wings.

Kites have a long history in Malaysia as well. In fact some scholars believe Malaysia may have been the birthplace of kites. In Malaysia kites are called wau. A legend from the state of Kedah say the knowledge of how to build a kite is an effort to appease the heavens. If you visit northern Malaysia any time from April to June you will most likely see colorful kites flying. During this time they have monsoon winds which are strong enough to fly large kites and also it is after the rice harvest and is a time when farmers and fishermen celebrate life.

We chose to make the Mini Wau. The Mini Wau is a child's kite that is often flown from a stick. Since they believe the wau is a gift from the gods, they fly them in hopes of good fortune. This one I made out of tissue paper which the book said could be used instead of lightweight Silkspan.

Kite flying is very popular in Thailand as well. Oral tradition puts kite flying back in the 13th century when Thailand became a country. The earliest recording of kite flying was a ritual priests performed. They were also part of fighting war as well as just a love of the entire country. Kites often were entangled with the roofs of the royal palace. Eventually there was an edict forbidding flying kites over the palace. Based on a challenge of King Rammi II, a traditional kite game is established and is now a national sport held each March in front of the royal palace.

We chose to make the Thai Fish kite. It is said to be a fair to good flier in gentle to moderate breezes. The fish is a major source of food in Thailand. It is second only to rice and since both are associated with water they are said to belong together. The fish often represents abundance.

Korea may have gotten kites from China during the period of the Three Kingdoms. Kites are called Yeon in Korea. Kites have not changed much in Korea over the centuries. Kite flying is part of many ceremonies and once again there are many stories of how kites were used. The kite flying season closely relates to the agricultural cycle. Koreans begin flying kites on the first day of the lunar calendar and the kite season lasts for fifteen days. There is also an annual custom of kite fighting. Kite fighting involves trying to cut the other kites' strings. They do not attach blades of any kind, but use skill of the flier and the specially prepared string to do this. Once cut, the freed kite belong to whomever can capture it. They have special kites for kite fighting called a bangpae-yeon or shield kite. There are also special kites to fly on the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar to fight off evil. Traditionally the flier of these kites releases the line after all of the line is out. These special kites include the aeg-mag-i-yon and song-aeg-yon.

We chose to make the Ga-o-ri-yon or ray fish kite. It is fair to good flier in light to gentle breezes. It is a rhombus shape and resembles a sting ray in the sky. It is typical of children's kites all over Asia.

During the seventh century Japanese civil servants brought the knowledge of kites and paper from China. Kites held a special importance in Japan and only the privileged class and monks could fly them. The monks used them to keep evil spirits away and invoke a rich harvest. The Japanese considered kites a way to carry petitions to the spirit gods. It is also a traditional Japanese belief that a destroyed kite's soul is released and is free to be reborn in another kite. There are many Japanese folk stories involving kites. There are approximately 340 different traditional kites made in forty-two districts of Japan. Families share their heritage today through kites on special days like New Year's Day and Children's Day. There are also kite battles in May and June.

We decided to make a kao-no-tako or octopus kite. It is a fair to good flier in gentle to moderate breezes. It comes from Sanjo in Niigato (Japan's west coast). Tako means both octopus and kite. During the Edo Period, kite makers often hung these octopus-shaped kites in front of their stores as a sign of their occupation.

Those are our Asian kites and some of the things we discovered about kites in Asia thanks to Asian Kites. Over the weekend I hope to share what we have learned about Children's Day in Japan as well as our craft of a carp wind sock (often mistaken for a kite).

We are sharing this at the Multicultural Kids Blog Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month Blog Hop. If you missed our post co-hosting this blog hop, we shared some Asian-Pacific Island crafts and stories we have done and read to learn more about the cultures in that part of the world.

For more Asian-Pacific Island crafts and stories, check out:

Sharing Saturday 14-21

It was another amazing party last week!! If you have not checked out all the great ideas shared, you should!! As always, they are so inspiring. Thank you to everyone who shared with us and to all who visited and commented on others ideas. We had a most clicked from In the Playroom: Sponge Painting: Van Gogh Starry Night.

http://intheplayroom.co.uk/2014/05/15/sponge-painting-van-gogh-starry-night/

Since a Van Gogh Starry Night project was most clicked, I thought I should share the other Van Gogh Starry Night project in case some of you missed it, so it is with some of my favorites below. But first here are a few Memorial Day and Outdoor Features. Monday is Memorial Day here in the United States.

Memorial Day and Outdoor Activities

1) From Some of the Best Things in Life Are Mistakes: Free Patriotic Printables Round-Up
2) From Every Star Is Different: Memorial Day Unit 2 With Free Printables
3) From Mothers Madness: Woodland Animal Hunt
4) From Left Brain Craft Brain: How Bubbles Work & 20 Things to Do with Them

A Few of My Favorites

1) From Mini Monets and Mommies: Van Gogh Art Activity: Kids' Clay Famous Artist Project
2) From Wesens Art: Bird Cage Made Of Newspaper
3) From Prettily: DIY Toy Drum Set
4) From Little Bins for Little Hands: Moon Sand Sensory Play Recipe
5) From All Done Monkey: Cloth Diapering Tips and Resources to Get Started!
6) From 3 Dinosaurs: Green Yarn Sheep -- Where is the Green Sheep?

Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! I hope you will join us and share again!! If you are featured here, please feel free to grab a featured button to display proudly on your blog.

Featured Button Code:

From Your Hostess: This week we shared a Middle Eastern Cinderella tale for Fairy Tales in Different Cultures, an Asian Pacific Island Book Round Up and Link Party for Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, Painted Mickey and Minnie Mouse Tote Bags for our upcoming party, DIY Minnie Mouse Pinata with activity signs for the party, and a Zoo Scavenger Hunt.

Now for This Week's Party
A Few Simple Guidelines:
1) Please follow Crafty Moms Share via GFC (or one of the other ways that work for you).

2) Link any kid-friendly, child-centered post. Please no etsy shops or giveaways, etc. Remember to link to your actual post.

3) Post the Sharing Saturday button on your sidebar or somewhere on your blog to help spread the word.

4) I would love it if you would follow me on Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest

5) If you do not have a blog, but want to share an idea you can leave it in the comments or e-mail it to me with a picture (if possible).

Disclaimer: By sharing here, you are giving Crafty Moms Share permission to use your photos for features and to pin your craft at Pinterest.

DIY Minnie Mouse Pinata & Free Party Activty Sign Printables

Disclosure: I was sent the black jumbo streamers to review free of charge from Oriental Trading. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.

So for Hazel's actual birthday party we had received these wonderful yellow tote bags from Oriental Trading for us to review. Our plan had been for guests to make handprint flamingos on them, however the guests did not want to, so we still had many of the bags. I thought they would be great favors and we could paint Mickey and Minnie Mouse heads on them. My original idea was to get a large sponge and cut it in the shape of a Mickey Mouse head, however I could not find a sponge large enough. Then I thought of the bottom of cups or plates or jars. I tried a few and asked Hazel which size she liked best.

Our next craft for the Minnie Mouse themed upcoming party is ears of course. I tried to make ears last year before we went to Disney World. However they came out floppy. I decided to go back and figure out what I did wrong. I followed the tutorial at The Suburban Mom: How to Make Mickey Minnie Mouse Ears for a Party. She provides a free downloadable pattern. I used this pattern with some adjustments. I found the space between the two circles was too big for the size headband I used. I folded my pattern a bit to shrink it. This definitely helped in getting them to stand up. I also used the foam this time. I used two pieces of sticky foam and I used my 3-inch punch to make the circles instead of her pattern (which is a 3-inch circle).

Wow, what great ideas were shared last week!! If you have not checked them all out, you should!! There was not one most clicked, so I picked a few favorites in two categories for you. The first being spring and Mother's Day themed and the second being painting.

1) From Tot Schooling: Easy Mother's Day Pop-Up Card
2) From JDaniel4's Mom: Mother's Day Pictures for Homemade Cards
3) From Toddling in the Fast Lane: Magazine Flowers
4) From Sparkling Buds: Making Yarn Flowers Using Building Blocks
5) From Sparkling Buds: Easy Paper Flower
6) From Crystal's Tiny Treasures: Paper Plate Sunshine Craft

1) From Parenting Chaos: Paint With Flowers
2) From Mini Monets and Mommies: Kids' Nature Art Activity: Painting with Plants!
3) From Where Imagination Grows: Train Painting
4) From My Nearest and Dearest: 13 Fun Ways to Play and Create with Paint

Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! I hope you will join us and share again!! If you are featured here, please feel free to grab a featured button to display proudly on your blog.

Featured Button Code:

From Your Hostess: This week we shared our easy Minnie Mouse napkin rings for a birthday party, Hazel's garden/meadow to go with On Meadowview Street, our outdoor play and explorations, our needle felted acorn capped strawberry craft, and an easy pressed flower vases for gifts for teachers or moms made with a recycled jar.

Now for This Week's Party
A Few Simple Guidelines:
1) Please follow Crafty Moms Share via GFC (or one of the other ways that work for you).

Disclaimer: By sharing here, you are giving Crafty Moms Share permission to use your photos for features and to pin your craft at Pinterest.

DIY Minnie Mouse Napkin Rings for Party

Well, Hazel's half birthday is at the end of June. Because of school ending mid-June and some of her friends take off for the entire summer the day school is out, we are having her half birthday party in the beginning of June. (We decided to have a half birthday party for her since her birthday is in the middle of December holiday season.) She decided ages ago that the theme for this party will be Minnie Mouse. (Unfortunately there many more boys in her class than girls, but they will have to deal with lots of pink.) When she made the decision last summer, it happened to be when they were changing the Minnie Mouse theme party supplies and I was able to buy a bunch on clearance. We got the invitations and thank you notes, dinner plates, plastic cups, and a banner as well as treat bags. As we were looking at what we have and do not have, we decided we could use some of the other supplies we have and do some do-it-yourself projects. Today's is a simple one. I did not buy any of the napkins and decided not to buy special napkins. I did however have some bright pink napkins left over from her flamingo party (well actually I bought them for either party). Since this is her first child-focused birthday party, it is a lot of fun to plan.

As I was looking at ideas on line, I thought of making individual silverwear settings with a Minnie Mouse head on a napkin ring. I bought one of those Mickey Mouse head punches ages ago with a coupon and when I opened it yesterday, it did not work. Ugh!! Then the idea came to me to use pom poms. I searched for black pom poms last night and found three. I found some pinkish polka dot scrapbook paper and cut some strips. Then I glued the two smaller pom poms onto the bigger one and got a Mickey head. Then I glued the whole thing to the paper. (This was my first one and of course I had the head spinned in the wrong direction, but it was actually easy to spin after it dried.) I left it out to show Hazel and of course she asked if we could add a bow to make it a Minnie head. I explained I just didn't have the ribbon yet. Today I went to Michaels and bought two pacakges of black pom poms (small and the next size), some skinny pink ribbon and I found some cell phone charms shaped as bows in a clearance bin. I showed Hazel how to make the Mickey heads and she glued most of them for me though she did say it was boring. I poked the plastic charms through the paper to add the cell phone bows.

Then I wrapped a spoon and a fork in a napkin and wrapped the holder around it and sealed it with a piece of scotch tape. Didn't they come out cute?

If you do not have the cute bow cell phone charms, a small ribbon bow works great as well. The hardest part is tying the bow. Then you just glue them on. This is actually easier than the others since the others are a pain to poke through and get to stay in (I didn't want to glue them in case anyone actually wants a bow cell phone charm) and they break rather easily. I made a few of these as well since I only found ten of the charms (five packages of two at forty cents each).

Now we are set to have the tables set for the kids and possibly for the parents though I probably will need to make a few more. Since she wanted a Minnie and Daisy theme, I used lavender plasticware.

I think they look great with the Minnie plates. What do you think?

Looking for more Minnie Mouse ideas? There will be more coming between now and the party and you can also check out:

A New Skirt for Hazel's First Day of School

Since September is National Sewing Month, I have been doing a lot of sewing. Ok, maybe not because it is National Sewing Month, but they are happening at the same time. Hazel started school last week. Since she has been very anxious about starting at a new school, I thought I would make her something special to wear the first day. I had this beautiful pink little girl fabric that I had bought ages ago to make something for her. It has wonderful little sayings like "Mommy's Little Helper" and "Fairy Princess in Training" on it as well as pictures of girls playing. I used a simple pattern that I have used before. I found it in Little Girls, Big Style by Mary Abreu. I also let her wear my gold cross that I wear every day. My grandparents brought it back from Jerusalem when they visited the Holy Lands.

Now I figured if the skirt made her this happy just trying it on, it had to work for the first day.

And she had a great first day. She was brave and her teacher was wonderful with her. She went in and had a great day. Then we went to the bookstore and did our first day tradition of letting her pick a book. Although I was not thrilled with her selection, she did choose a cheaper one, so I bought her a few.

Ready to go

The novelty of the Minnie Mouse backpack and lunch box ran out after the first day. The second morning she cried and screamed for an hour and a half, but then once I got her there had a great day. This morning it was only 20 minutes of crying with some great "reasons" to stay home--"I'm too young for school" and "I'm too tired today." However after school she thanked me for making her go. She had another good day. Hopefully it will get better each day.

What are your strategies and traditions for the first day of school?

Donald Crews Part 2: Ten Black Dots

We have a winner!! Congratulations to Doreen W. for winning the Room on the Broom DVD!

Today I am going to share our second book for this month's author in the Virtual Book Club for Kids. This month's author is Donald Crews. Last week we shared Carousel. This week we are going to share Ten Black Dots. If you do not know anything about the Virtual Book Club for Kids, you can check out my post last week or click the button on the left which will take you to the Book Club's Facebook page.

Disclosure: I was given a gift certificate to purchase the items I share here. All opinions are my own.

Now those of you who have been following know how excited I get for Hazel's birthday. I tend to go overboard with the party. I jumped at the opportunity from Shindigz Party Supplies to be given a gift certificate to review some of their DIY Supplies. Now Hazel's birthday is not until December and we often have the party in January--well New Year's Day. This year we are planning on the big family and family friend party then and doing a half birthday party for her school friends (and friends her own age).

I am so excited to be participating in part of the Sewing School 2 blog tour! I have been eying Sewing School by Amie Petronis Plumley and Andria Lisle for several years, but I kept reminding myself, that Hazel was too young for it still. Then I was asked to review their second book for kids which includes machine sewing. I of course jumped on the offer and they are also willing to give me a copy for a giveaway!

This book is written for the child who has not sewn on a machine. It goes through thirteen lessons from how to use the book, choosing a sewing machine and fabric and much more! Then there are some great projects that include something every child will love. Finally it has a review of hand sewing and more! Since Hazel cannot read, I could not have her go through the lessons, so we went straight to the projects. I looked through them first and picked some I thought she might like and gave her those to choose from. She chose a couple to try with me and I made a few without much help from her. Hazel was so excited to get to use the sewing machine for the first time!

The first project Hazel wanted to do was make the felt microphone. I took her to the craft store so she could choose the colors she wanted for her microphone. Then we found the pattern pieces. Now one of the things I love about this book is how the pattern pieces are clearly marked and have a picture of the finished project on each one. The pattern pieces are also well organized and in the project instructions it tells you on which pattern sheet (a total of four) you will find the pattern. Hazel helped trace the pattern, and she helped cut it out. Then we did a practice sewing machine run on one of the scraps. Then we tried it with the real piece. Next I showed her how to turn it the right way. She got a bit frustrated and had me finish it. Then she helped me stuff it, and she got one of her rhythm sticks to help with it. She even helped with the start of the hand sewing, but she got bored and had me finish it. I added a button so she would have an on-off switch or volume control. Needless to say she loves it! She is such a little diva.

Extra Pocket Belts

Next we looked at the zipper pouch, but since she had lost interest we did not make one right away. I started to make her the extra pocket belt. Now my daughter loves clothes that have pockets and always wants something special in them. Since so many girl clothes do not have pockets, I thought this would be great. I used wool felt for the project and then embellished it with a wool felt flower I had bought on clearance. I also put a piece of Velcro in it so it could close. We tried it on one of the belts I made her ages ago, but she never uses since she had trouble with the D-rings. The book suggested D-rings as well, but Hazel suggested making one with Velcro, so we went to the store and bought some webbing and Velcro. Then she got her belt. I also made an extra pocket belt with the other half of the square of wool felt and another embellishment for one of her friends from the Waldorf School. We went to her birthday party this weekend. I made her a peg doll to keep in her extra pocket as well.

I also looked at the snack packs. I thought this would be a nice easy one for Hazel. I had some Disney Princesses fabric scraps, and I made her a lined one with a ribbon so it could be a purse or a snack pack on the go. I also added a ribbon to the front of it. Then I made her two of the basic snack packs from the same fabric. I used my serger just so the edges of the fabric would be finished, but it is not necessary. Then I used the sticky back Velcro the book suggested. I am not sure how that will hold up, but I figured I can always replace it with the sew in kind later.

Our final project is the zipper pouch. Since going to Disney World, Minnie Mouse is Hazel's favorite character. I had bought this fabric before our trip in hopes of making her a dress, but never quite got to it. (She still wants me to.) We made the zipper pouch into a Minnie Mouse purse. My mother gave me a bag full of zippers awhile ago, so I looked in it for a 7-inch zipper and we found a lavender one. The book suggested hand sewing the zipper in, but we used the machine with my zipper foot. I can understand why the book would suggest to kids sewing on their own to hand sew it though. We added the Minnie Mouse head and the ribbon so it would be a purse. Hazel was dressing up as Minnie this afternoon. Since I have not made her a costume yet she wore her polka dot dress with her homemade mouse ears and her purse. Needless to say she loves it!

So those are the amazing projects we have attempted from this great book. Hazel is really wanting to make the guitar, but I keep saying when she is a little older. I guess I may have to break down and try that one next. She also is asking why she cannot have her own sewing machine. Hmm, I think she needs to master mine first and be able to actually do it on her own.

Make sure you stop by all the blog tour stops to check out the other great projects that are made (and more chances for winning your own copy). Here is the schedule!!

July 7 – Our Busy Homeschool

July 8 – scrumdilly-do!

July 9 – Crafty Moms Share

July 10 – Jane of All Trades

July 11 – Windy Lou

July 12 – Adventures of a DIY Mom

July 13 – Improv Diary

July 16 – He Sewed She Sewed

July 17 – Teach Beside Me

July 18 – All Things with Purpose

July 19 – The Crafty Crow

July 20 – Family Style School

July 21 – Such Designs

July 22 – Red Bird Crafts

July 23 – The Long Thread

July 25 - mayamade

Also if you want more information on the book or project ideas, stop by Sewing School's blog and their Facebook Page.Or of course you can go purchase it or if you can wait, enter to win it below!

Now for the fun part. The Giveaway!! I now am happy to say that one of you can have a copy of this great book. You do NOT need to know how to sew for your child to be able to learn from this book or for you to learn together. The giveaway is open only to residents of the United States. (My apologies all of my international readers.) Please also follow all of my regular Giveaway Rules.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For this post I received a copy of the book. All opinions and photos (except the book cover) are my own. Linked this post to CashNet Sweepstakes.

Asian Kites

Sharing Saturday 14-21

DIY Minnie Mouse Pinata & Free Party Activty Sign Printables

Mickey and Minnie Mouse Tote Bag Craft

DIY Mickey and Minnie Mouse Ears and Free Printable Party Signs

Sharing Saturday 14-19

DIY Minnie Mouse Napkin Rings for Party

A New Skirt for Hazel's First Day of School

Donald Crews Part 2: Ten Black Dots

Shindigz Party Supplies & DYI Ideas Review

Sewing School 2 Book Review and Giveaway

Google Analytics

Total Pageviews