seligorscastle the home of diddily dee dots sleepy childrens bedtime stories Pastimes 4 U
PASTIMES 4 U
If the earth hatched from a giant egg, as the ancient Persians
believed, it might have resembled one of these in our dreamy dozen. We
used a simple dyeing technique to create the intricate swirls of color:
earthy brown twisting over baby blue, soft beige afloat on buttery
yellow. Every Easter egg made this way is one of a kind -- all are
enchanting.
Tools and Materials
Egg blower 12 eggs Several mixing bowls, shallow and deep Measuring spoons Liquid measuring cup White vinegar Food coloring Spoon and fork Olive oil Paper towels
How to Marbleizing
With
an egg blower, which is available at crafts stores, pierce the top and
bottom of each egg, puncturing the yolk; carefully expel the contents.
Rinse, and let dry.
1. In a small mixing bowl, combine 3 cups
warm water, 2 tablespoons vinegar, and 10 to 20 drops of food coloring.
Place egg in dye, and leave it submerged until it turns the desired
shade.
2. In a wide, shallow bowl, prepare a second batch of dye
-- which will provide the swirls -- in a darker shade or a different
color. Liquid should be no deeper than one half-inch. Add 1 tablespoon
olive oil. Run a fork through this mixture, creating curlicues of oil
on the surface.
3. As oil swirls, place dyed egg in mixture, and roll it once around the bowl to pick up oil streaks; remove the egg.
4. Gently pat egg with a paper towel.
5.
Let it dry. You can experiment with color combinations: Vary the base
tints and the swirls to achieve striking contrasts, subtle shadings, or
multihued richness.
I must thank the fantastic Martha Stewart for the use of her Expertees.
I like brown eggs far the best; Out of a brown old haystack nest, Under a brown hen, cosy, stout, With brown fowl hovering round about.
Long ago so I've been told, A goose laid eggs of purest gold. (Eggs of gold in a golden shell Mean none to eat, and all to sell!)
Eggs of gold would build a town, Eggs of gold would buy a crown, Buy a crown and make a king, And grant his lady anything!
I have brown eggs for my tea, Served in an egg-cup bought for me! So keep your gold and all the rest, I like brown eggs by far the best.
Revived on behalf of E. Fleming by Seligor. xxx
PASTIMES 4 U
PASTIMES 4 U
PASTIMES 4 U MAKE YOUR OWN STINK BOMBS
RIGHT SOMETHING ESPECIALLY FOR THE LADS, THOUGH SOME OF MY YOUNG GRAND DAUGHTERS WOULD WELL ENJOY MAKING THESE AS WELL.
Of course you can buy these already made from the "Joke Shop", but it's much more fun making your own. (Please don't tell Mum and Dad you got this recipe from me, it's our secret OK)
These are the ingredients, you will need. 1. One egg. A drop of milk. Half a teaspoon of sugar. And a tin that MUST have a lid that can be shut tight. (Cocoa tin, maybe) NOT GLASS OR RIGID PLASTIC, though bendy (supple) plastic can be used.
2. Next break the egg into the container, add the sugar and milk and shut the lid tight. Put it in a warm place, preferably outdoors where the sun can warm it up. Hidden behind the radiator if you have to hide it indoors.
3. After a couple of weeks, take the tin and puncture the top with about two dozen little holes. [You can use a compass point for this] BE CAREFUL
NOW ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS HIDE IT SOMEWHERE IN THE LIVING ROOM AND WATCH AS EVERYBODY SITS THERE SNIFFING, WONDERING WHO IT IS OR WHO IT MAY BE THAT HAS PASSED WIND.
Please don't take one into school though, for you will get into trouble with your teacher and may end up like poor old Bart Simpson below.
1. Make sure that your diary is made especially for you. Don't leave it plain, cover it with some material or photos, material is better I think otherwise it just might be mistaken for a photo album and you don't want your diary falling under the wrong eyes.
2. You don't need to buy a book with every date in it, much better to get a blank pad and add the days when you find you have something exciting to write about. It can get a bit boring writing. "Today I got up. Nothing much happened. Went to bed 8pm." Now I ask you how uncool is that. Instead focus on the main points of the day. Did you go anywhere special? Did you make any new friends? A special Bo maybe!! How did you feel, etc.
3. What ever you do don't moan about your day, who would want to remember that. Unless you fell out with your best friend , or lost you purse.
4. Make sure you write nice, no scribbling and make it tidy every day.
5. Do remember that someone just might get to see your diary so try not to use the real names of anyone you might talk about. It would be awful if you wrote something awful about your friend that was, only to make it up and her read your diary and see the dreadfull things you may have written.
6. Most peoples diaries are kept somewhere safe, away from prying eyes.... not under your pillow or even the bed. The best place is in your bookcase amongst all your other books. Give it a false title like... Diddily's Book of Welsh Literature... it wont get many second looks that's for sure... not in England or America anyway.
THERE YOU GO 6 RULES FOR MAKING A LOVELY DIARY. HAVE FUN. SELIGOR. XXX
PASTIMES 4 U SCRAP BOOKS GALORE
You will soon be needing somewhere to put all those fanastic holiday snaps and you don't want them to get scruffy when all your friends view you holiday romances and disasters. So here is a simple Scrape Book to make:
1. You will need a ring folder with plastic inlays, then some medium thickness paper, no
bigger than A4 so they fit in the plastic sleeves.
2. Mist the paper with a spray bottle filled with water very lightly and evenly on both sides.
3. Crumple the paper into a very tight ball.
The tighter the paper is crumpled, the more “waves” you will have. You
may have to re-crumple the page several times to get the desired
effect. Reopen paper, smooth it out with your hands, and lay it flat to
dry
4. When the paper has dried thoroughly, apply a drop of white stamp pad
refill ink onto a cottonwool ball and brush lightly across paper – just
enough to get the top edges of the wrinkles in the paper. The result
should look like rippling water.
5. Once the ink has dried thoroughly,
place the paper face down on an ironing board and place a cloth over
it. Turn the iron to a very low setting (I used the silk / rayon
setting) and iron the paper until it lays fairly flat. If you skip this
step, you will have a hard time getting the glue or photo squares to
hold your pictures to the crumpled paper.
6. Use an interesting lettering style or
a word processor to make a “Fun in the Sun” title block for the front page –
be creative! As most of us who use a PC have most of the materials to hand it is only the ring folder you need or one of those that is lying dormant. (mine are usually shoved under the bed)
7. Add photos from your favorite
summertime activity, playing on the beach, at the fun fare, for the young ones, going to the ball park or swimming centre– the
possibilities are endless!).
Ruby Glen used brightly colored paper to border
the pictures and make them stand out.
8. Don’t forget to leave plenty of room for comments!
And be sure to put the date of the pictures in small print somewhere on the page.
Then place each page in a plastic cover in the ring folder. Don't forget to make brilliant cover page for the front and back of the folder.
This is a wondeful site to link to "Rubyglen.com" 2003 - Thankyou Ruby. xx
If you have any ideas do leave a message for me at dottido@hotmail.co.uk
PASTIMES 4 U
A new page with a new idea. It is here that Seligor wants to put things that you can do and make in your spare times. All of them a little bit different from the modern electronic stuff you all have nowadays. {shush don't tell anyone, but Diddily loved her Nintendo, and I still like Pacman and Mario the best with Donkey Kong a close third. } I have lots of ideas that I'm hoping will interest you all and they are to be done with the help of your older brothers and sisters as well as Mum and Dad, so you can print off the page you want and then set to and get them done. If you would like to take a photo of the finished article and email it to me at dottido@hotmail.co.uk I will put it on the website so everyone can see. I do hope you enjoy the new page. xxx's and hugs Diddily.
* Potatoes * Water based Paint * Flat bottom container for paint * Paper
Instructions (ADULT Help required when cutting potatoes)
* Cut potato in half * Cut a design with a knife into the fresh cut part of potato * Dip potato in paint or lightly paint cut portion of potato * Stamp painted portion of potato onto paper * Repeat until desired pattern is created * Optional:
Repeat Cutting/Stamping with different colours
wrapping paper
Thanks Bethany for reminding me, Seligor xx
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Things you can do with a few sheets of paper, poster paint and brushes, some straws a mega load of paper, which I'm sure the local chip-shop or Chinese Restaurant will provide you with the printless type. News paper makes an awful mess of everything. Don't forget the kitchen Roll and wet wipes.
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And now for the straws, quite runny paint and more wetwipes and kitchen roll. It often makes sense to paint outside on a lovely summer day when the paper doesn't blow away and the clothes can be taken off befor painting begins. Jigsaws are excellent for winter :) :) :)
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Put a blob of paint on the paper and using the straw blow the paint around
the page. You will need fairly thin paint so that it moves well around
the page. Supervision will be required for younger children to make
sure they don't suck paint through the straw.
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Using
a shiny paper and a small brush, drop small blobs of paint onto the
surface. Tilt up the paper so that the paint runs down, with some being
absorbed on the way.
Above is a wonderful site that you can go to in Australia, It is excellent and has an awful lot of very good things to do.
PASTIMES 4 U
PASTIMES 4 U Pure Fun:
Ivory Projects: Soap Carving Instructions and Tips
Any family member who is old enough to work with a carving tool can enjoy carving soap. The shape and texture of Ivory Bar Soap make it ideal for creating fun, memorable soap sculptures, from the simple to the extraordinary. Here are a few suggestions to help make your soap sculpture its best.
What You’ll Need to Begin
Soap carving can be simple and inexpensive.
You’ll need:
• A large bar of Ivory soap – Ivory's shape and texture are ideal for carving • A paring knife • 1-2 orangewood sticks used for manicures • Pencil and paper for sketching • Optional – Large tray to hold soap chips from carving
Unwrap the soap and let it dry for a day. Scrape off the lettering and any raised edges before beginning.
1. Developing Your Design
Sample Patterns for Soap Carving Designs
These designs are ideal for beginners.
Simply:
• Place the design on your prepared bar of Ivory soap and trace it onto the soap using carbon paper or a sharp pencil. • With a little practice you’ll soon be ready to create designs of your own!
2. From Design to Soap Carving
• If you have a clear mental picture of your idea or have carved before, you can begin by carving directly on the soap. • Or, you can use the orangewood stick to outline a rough sketch on each surface before you carve. • Beginners may want to sketch or use a pre-existing pattern on paper and trace it onto the soap.
3. Begin with Rough Cuts
The actual carvings begin with rough cuts that remove the large parts of the soap not necessary for your design. • Place the soap on the table or tray. • If you are right-handed, hold the soap with your left hand and start cutting at the upper right-hard corner. (If left-handed, use the opposite hand.) • Leave about 1/4" margin beyond your outlined sketch to allow for mistakes and more detailed work later. • Cut clear through the bar, removing excess soap all the way around. • ALWAYS CUT AWAY ONLY SMALL PIECES OR SLICES. Soap often breaks if cut in big chunks.
4. Adding the Details • After the first cuts, you may find it more comfortable to use the knife as if peeling a potato. Continue to stay 1/8" to 1/4" away from your sketch guidelines to allow for finer work later. • As you work, keep turning the soap, always keeping the shape of the piece in mind. Step back from time to time to look at the entire piece. • Watch your high points -- those that jut out farthest from the surface -- and your low points -- those farthest in. • Carve gradually from the high points toward the deepest cuts. Your knife point is useful for this. • Don't try to finish any one part in detail before another. • When the piece is almost finished, smooth rough edges with the knife’s edge and mark in details like eyes or ears with the knife tip or an orangewood stick. 5. Polishing
• Allow your sculpture to dry for a day or two. • Then, rub it with a soft paper napkin, being careful not to break off corners or high points. • Finish by rubbing it gently with finger tops or palm.
Do pay a visit to this wonderful web site, it is fantastic and full of wonderful things for the kids to take up as hobbies.
PASTIMES 4 U
Bath Bombs
Hi, This is David Fisher for About.com.
He will tell you the way to make the bath bombs and save Seli copying everything out.
Though probably more people take showers every day than baths, your
bath times can be especially wonderful by adding one of these. Some
people call them bath fizzies, others call them bath seltzers, most
people call them bath bombs.
Bath Bomb Ingredients;
To make them you will need:
1 cup of cornstarch
1 cup of citric acid
2 cups of baking soda
1/2 cup of Epsom salt
1/2 cup of sea salt
2 tsp. of distilled water
1/2 tsp. of borax
1-2 tsp. of essential oil or fragrance oil
2 tbsp of light oil
You may also want to add a few drops of a soap safe dye colorant
Bath Bomb Supplies
You will also need:
a big mixing bowl
a whisk or mixer with a whisk attachment
several measuring cups and spoons
something to mix the wet phase in
a sieve or sifter
a spoon or two
a spray bottle with distilled water in it
a mold for the bath bombs
You will need a cookie sheet with paper towels for the bombs to dry on.
Mix the Bath Bomb Dry Ingredients
Sift all of your dry
ingredients into your mixing bowl and stir them well to make sure they
are blended well and no clumps remain.
Add the Bath Bomb Wet Ingredients
For the wet phase, put the water into your squirt bottle and add the
borax. Be sure to add the borax before you add the other ingredients.
If you are using a liquid colorant, add your colorant to the
water/borax mixture. Add the fragrance or essential oil and your light
vegetable oil. Shake well so that the whole mixture becomes emulsified.
With your whisk in hand, squirt a few drops of the
oil/water/borax mixture into the center of the dry ingredients. It is
going to immediately start to fizz. Start mixing right away with the
whisk. This stops the fizzing by incorporating the liquid into the rest
of the dry ingredients.
Test the Bath Bomb Consistency
It is now time to test the mixture. The desired consistency is kind of
like wet sand- just barely wet enough to stick together. Pick up a half
handful of the mix and squeeze it together. Does it clump into a ball?
Or more important, does it remain clumped? If so, great, you can begin
molding. If they are still too dry, use your spray bottle of water to
add just a bit more water.
Mould the Bath Bombs
The most popular mould seems to be ball-shape. I am using a clear,
plastic, two-piece Christmas ornament here. Overfill each half with the
mixture, and press them together firmly. You want the edges of the mould
to just barely come together while getting a really good pack on the
mixture inside. Let the moulded ball sit for a minute or two. Then tap
the side of the ball firmly with a tablespoon. The side of the mould
should gently lift off. You can use anything really to make the moulds, that will allow the escape easy when dry.
Repeat
on the other side. Even with your mixture perfectly balanced, you will
occasionally get a ball that will crumble or be flawed or broken. No
problem. Just crush it up, put it back into the bowl and remould it.
Dry the Bath Bombs
Gently lay the tablets or balls onto a paper towel lined cookie sheet
or plate. At this point, they will still be a little bit soft, but
after drying overnight they will be really hard and ready for the
bathtub!
Now you know how to make bath bombs! And when you drop one
into your bathtub, you will see just why they are called bath bombs.
Thanks for watching.
For more information visit us on the Web at
About.com.
this is also a very good sitewww.soapsdirect.co.uk
PASTIMES 4 U
A CRYSTAL GARDEN
Later on we shall make a garden on a tray or plate, but right now we shall try to make a crystal garden. This truely is one of the most beautiful gardens you can make. As a child Diddily used to make these in school. It was wonderful to watch the tiny crystals growing. We used to grow them in a large pickle jar , (thoroughly cleaned of course) but on looking through the internet, this now seems to be the way to do it.
Firstly you will need an ordinary house brick. Then :-
4tblsp. bluing (available from a good ironmongers, [Ms. Stewart’s Liquid Bluing].) 4tblsp. table salt, (make sure it has no iodine in it.) 1 tblsp. ammonia 4tblsp. water based food colouring 1 pretty dish or plate. (something with leaves on looks really nice.)
1. Firstly break the brick into small chunks and place on the dish, don't put them neatly, you want it to look kind of rough.
2. Secondly, mix together the bluing,salt, and ammonia. Pour the liquid onto the brick. Slowly to make sure the liquid is absorbed by the bricks.
3. Thirdly, drop the food colouring onto the bricks, you can use different colour ones, there are many colours for sale in the super markets. Don't put big blobs, you want the crystals to grow like a rainbow.
4. Fourthly, You will need patience for it takes time for the crystals to grow. Place on the window sill and wait. Other substances for growing crystals on are: Sponges' place the sponge in a glass containers, pour liquid over.
DON'T FORGET TO ASK A GROWN UP FOR HELP WHEN MIXING THE LIQUIDS, YOU MUST TAKE CARE AT ALL TIMES.
I am sure that if you go to the high street chemist or drug store they will advise you what crystals are the best for growing. I made a big one when I was a child, by using an old goldfish bowl, any shape just remember to take the goldfish out first though. Crystals can be very beautiful, and very expensive, think about diamonds! However most crystals are very small and very delicate. Think of a Snowflake. In this activity you have the opportunity to grow bigger crystals and look at their structure in more detail. There are crystals all around us and most crystals have a regular shape. This activity is an introduction into the science of crystal formation You will need; Petri dishes/ jam jar lids or similar, Epsom salts, warm water, stirrers, black paper or string, magnifying glass or microscope if available. for this other way to make crystals using Epson salts and food colouring. First, you must make a saturated solution of the Epsom Salts. Once have done this you will be able to start growing your crystals. This can take a little while, but it is worth being patient to grow a really exciting crystal garden. There are many ways to grow crystals and the two ways detailed below will start you off in the right direction Measure out 100ml of warm water. Hot tap water is fine. Add Epsom Salts slowly, teaspoon by teaspoon, and stir thoroughly after each addition until every single crystal has dissolved. This may take some time, but it is worth the effort as the more saturated the solution, the bigger crystals you will grow. A saturated solution is achieved when no more Epson Salts will dissolve in the liquid. Now you have a choice, you can either: 1. Cut a piece of black paper to the size of a Petri dish or jam jar lid and fit it inside. Then pour the saturated solution into the dish and leave in a warm place to evaporate. As the water evaporates, a crystal garden will begin to grow. Leave it for a few days at least and then use the hand lenses or microscope to observe the crystal structures formed. 2. Very carefully tie a small crystal onto a piece of string and suspend the crystal in the saturated solution. Leave for a few days and you will begin to grow a very large crystal. For me this is the best of the crystals, but it does take the longest to form. This is a super way of doing it, for it looks terrific when the crystal takes form but you must have loads of patience.
Your never going to believe this but I have put the one and only Mr Men on this video picture show now. I decided that whenever I am working, (she calls it playing,) with my youngest grand daughter that I end up covered in glue all over me, paint all over me, just like Mr Messy. Then after she has gone back home to her Mummy, I become Mr Tidy, and Mr Sleepy if there is one. So why not a thirty minute break to look at some of the Mr Men antic's.
It is
always wise to check through all the video clips in the Menu for
sometimes the odd strange one can get through and you mightn't want
your littlest ones to see it. The same applies to all video links
really. What amuses some cultures does not always amuse others. xxx
Of course we haven't mentioned how to make your own stalagmites, the ones that grow up, and stalactites the ones that grow down. The easiest way to make Crystal columns is to collect together 2 2lb glass jam jars. some washing soda and a spoon, 2 lengths of wool 35 cm. long. Use "arran wool" double thickness, twisted together to make a thick string. Some very hot water from the hot tap and a large plate. (Not your mothers best China one either.)
Make sure you do these in the place where they can stay for a few weeks, for they will not be able to be moved after they are ready. Place them in a safe place and put the plate inbetween the jars. This is to collect the drips that will make the stalagmites.
Fill the two jars with very hot water. Stir in loads of washing soda, go on stirring it in till no more will disappear in the water. Then drop one end of the wool into each jar, so the wool hangs over the plate. after a few days the water and soda climb up the wool and then when they meet in the middle it begins to drip, after a while your stalagmites and tites will start to appear.
PASTIMES 4 U
Chicago Deep Dish Pizza
Hi,
I'm Chef John Mitzewich for About.com, today I'm going to show you how
to put together the famous deep-dish, stuffed Chicago-style pizza.
Chicago Pizza Dough
All right, we're going to start with 1 1/2
pounds of pizza dough. You can buy that at the store or make it
yourself. Any recipe that makes enough for 2 pizzas will work. Divide
it not quite in half - like 55-45% because the bottom is going to be a
little bigger. So take the larger of the two pieces on a floured board
and roll it out about 1/8th inch thick.
Arrange the Pizza Dough in the Pan
I'm going to use a 10-inch
springform pan. So I want it about 4-5 inches larger than the pan.
Place it in and press it against the sides. Make sure it overlaps at
least an inch or so. Make sure its nice and form-fitting. A little
extra is fine because we are going to go around with scissors and trim
the extra. You can add that to the other dough.
Layer the Deep Dish Pizza Ingredients
We're going to throw in
1 cup of grated provolone cheese, 1 pound of cooked sausage, and I'm
going to put in a 10-oz can of artichoke hearts. The fillings are
really up to you. Top that with more cheese, 1/3 cup of grated
parmesan.
Add More Pizza Dough
Now to top that, roll the other piece of
dough to the same thickness and place that over the top. It's going to
overlap a bit. By the way, if that looks dark it's because I used whole
grain pizza dough. Trim again with the scissors. And then go around
with your finger tips and roll and press the top dough into the bottom
dough. Very simple. Don't worry too much about what it looks like
because when it bakes it will look beautiful.
Layer Chicago Pizza Ingredients on Top
Then take a parry knife
and poke some whole to release the steam. Top with 1 cup of pizza
sauce. Not to much, you don't want to weigh it down with sauce. Just
enough to cover it. Place 4-oz of fresh mozzarella cheese and about 1/4
cup of parmesan.
Bake the Chicago-Style Pizza
Bake at 375 degrees F., for 45
minutes. It has to cook for a while so all that dough can cook and it
won't be all soggy. If you notice it getting too brown put some foil
over for the last few minutes of cooking. As soon as you can handle it
snap off the springform ring and use a spatula to remove the pizza from
the bottom and let it cool for at least 10 - 15 minutes.
Serve the Chicago Deep Dish Pizza
Then of course the good
part; slice it, serve it…look at that. Unreal, its so delicious. I'm
from New York so I love thin crust, but there is nothing like a good
thick stuffed Chicago-style deep-dish pizza for a change of pace. Hey,
you get like a free loaf of Italian bread going around the outside.
Really nice. I hope you give it a try. Enjoy.
More Things to Make
Have you ever made yourself a necklace out of macaroni, or a collage out of all different types of pasta. You only need a picture frame with a strong back that you can glue all the different pieces to it. and a hook with some string, and voila a wonderful Christmas present, that costs hardly anything.
To make your necklace, you will need any macaroni with a hole in the middle, and a piece of wool or string. It is best to paint the pieces of macaroni different colours first give them a wash and make sure they are quite dry, then thread the piece of wool through to make the neckless. Tie off. Voila!! beautiful Always use a piece of wool that will snap easily if tugged, we don't want you strangling yourself do we.
Mummy and Daddy would be very upset. So get them to help you choose which wool to use. Take a look at all the different colour pasta there is in these pictures, you will find hundreds of different ways of arranging them. Here are the letters of the alphabet, you can even teach yourself how to make words.
Remember the Tray Garden, well instead of moss and soil, use sand and pasta. The names of the different pasta's are revealed if you click on the pictures. Now for a few more for you to choose from.
THIS I HAVE BORROWED FROM THE BLUE PETER WEB SITE. I AM SURE THEY WON'T MIND AS YOU CAN PRINT IT OUT, BUT I DO KNOW THAT QUITE A LOT OF YOU CAN'T GET THE BBC SITE SO HERE IS, HOW TO MAKE A CHRISTMAS CARD IF YOU HAVEN'T HAD THE TIME OR THE PENNIES TO BUY ONE.
TV Show:Blue Peter
Make your own Christmas Cards and don't forget, you can make cards for everything; birthdays, weddings, graduation, friendship, and many more but basically you will need:
Coloured card
Contrasting coloured card
Small amount ofpatterned fabric or wrapping paper
Christmasshapes; stars, trees, fairies, snowmen etc.
Glueand glitter of all all colours
Method:
Fold
a piece of card in half. Take some contrasting coloured card and cut
1cm smaller than the size of the folded card.
Cut this piece in half
lengthways
.
Glue
one half to the left-hand side of the front of the card keeping the
inner edge along the centre of the main card. This shows a 1cm border
around the top, bottom and folded edge.
Draw
a template of a Chistmassy design like a Xmas tree, bauble or star and
cut out.
Use this to cut out two designs in either fabric or wrapping
paper. Glue
one design to the front of the card so that the centre of the design is
in line with the centre of the card. Cut away the card around the
design on the right-hand side.
Glue the other contrast rectangle to the inside of the card on the far right-hand side to correspond with the front.
Decorate with glue and glitter around the edge of the card and on the tree. Stick a star on top of the Xmas tree. For designs like a crown or pudding you could cut the card diagonally.
A few more places for making things for last minute gifts
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/index.htm
this website has a lot of nice things you can do with your Christmas cards once Christmas is over.
DON'T FORGET TO ASK FOR HELP WITH THE KNIFE AND SCISSORS WHEN YOU CUT THINGS. ***** YOU MUST TAKE CARE AT ALL TIMES. *****
The most wonderful thing about vegetables is the fact that they come in so many shapes and sizes. I have been looking around many different websites for people who have done this kind of thing, and I have managed to put together a nice little group that you can copy, especially for "Harvest Thanksgiving" and many Jewish Festivals. We all know of the "Hanukkah" and the Jewish Menorah, well this is a wonderful way for a child to make his/her own Menorah.
And all you need is two large potato's, lots of gorgeous shiney things to decorate them with.
Nine candles and some stronge PVC glue, but NOT instant glue, we can't have you sticking your fingers together. Then copy the pictures, it's as easy as that. You can even cover the potato with tinfoil or silver paper, then stick little stickers on them. Santa for Xmas, Chicks for Easter, not forgetting Christmas . Mummy has often made a chocolate log. Well instead of a swiss roll, use any shape veg you like, so long it will stand up and not go off too quick and turn it into a wonderful table centrepiece, How's about a few decorated apples for on the bird tables and strings of peanuts to make a birdy mobile, with bits of fruit for the finches and the left over nuts, after shelling for the tits. Think of all the Little Birthday gifts you could make. Next we come to "Christingle." When I was a girl, we didn't have anything like these beautiful little lanterns that can be made in so many different ways, Very similar to the potato but use an orange instead 1. The large orange can be placed on a saucer or in a silver tray, (from the local supermarket) 2. then you will need four cocktail sticks, adorned with small pieces of fruit, unshelled peanuts, sweeties, piece of cheese. You can ask the vicar of your parish what he would think suitable, different countries have different ideas. The candle you use however must be white, and not too big, you can get these from your local Christian shop, maybe even the Salvation Army shops. The base of the candles you adorn with red ribbon and maybe some holly, ivy and mistletoe, like little Christmas wreaths. Remember to ask Mum or Dad to help with the hole for the candle. To make some little veggie creatures you will need some of those little eyes from the handcraft shops, different sizes, and of course the PVC glue. Here are six little penguins made out of aubergines, with those little eyes. Here are a few other vegetable animals. try to use your imagination, let me know how you get on.
You could take a photo and email it to me. I can set up a special gallery web page. Hey this little egg is completely edible , doesn't he look lovely? And here is a special kind of icecream, Take a look at the video above, it is amazing how people make up these flicks for you to watch. Diddily
AN INDOOR GARDEN THAT YOU CAN HAVE FOR ANY DAY OF THE YEAR
A Thinking Garden for Easter.
This is a garden, a garden made on a large meat or dinner plate. The children from one of the churches I used to go to, made this kind of plate garden every Easter. It is caller a "THINKING PLATE" and it is made so the children can express there idea's as to how Jesus must have felt that Easter long, long ago, when he knew he was going to have to be crucified on the cross, so that he could save us all.
The most common garden is a growing one where you find a tray or plate. It is important to get a tray with sides at least an inch deep, that way the compost wont fall out. Put a good covering of composte into the tray and level it out. Now you need to go out into the woods or park and collect some moss, it grows on the ground, on the bark of trees and sometimes in between the paving stones and garden walls. Take this home and lay it on the damp compost. Get a large coffee jar lid, cover it with tin foil, and bury it in the soil. This is now a pond, add pebbles, a few larger stones, a small shed from an old farm set etc.
Use your imagination, A Snow Scene for a snow garden ..... by changing the soil into cotton wool and setting the scene that
way. The supermarkets have little snowmen and things to decorate it with, try and make with your own hands as much as you can.
The rewards of seeing it day after day will be fantastic. You could even have a monthly theme for you and your friends. Monthly competitions that you all put 50p into a pot and each month a different parent will be the judge. Bits of wood and shells also look nice. Using sand instead of soil, plenty of shells and driftwood, and using the same pebbles, you can easily make a miniture beach garden. Don't forget to water the gardens occasionally if you have living things in it. There are so many types of gardens you can make. Christmas gardens, wow, what a lovely pressy for nanna and grandad. Buy some little figures with your pocket money or borrow the ones mum has if she is not making her own cake. Little sprigs of holly for trees, a small sheet of perspex then make it look like a frozen pond. The Snow Garden can become a Christmas Garden with a few added bits and pieces. with a base of crinkled crepe paper, dotted with glue and then sprinkled with silver tinsel. Use silver baubles as decoration arrange them as a mountain range. Then there is a Fairy Garden, make little toadstools by cutting the inner roll off a roll of tinfoil into three inch lengths, glue half egg shells on top of each piece. Leave to dry and then paint them with pretty colours. I am sure if you look through Diddilys stories and rhymes you will see many pictures that you can follow. Here are a few toadstools you might like to copy. Use feathers as ferns, if you can't find any coloured ones, get white ones and dip them in food colouring.
PASTIMES 4 U 
Playtimes 4 U
photo album and you don't want your diary falling under the wrong eyes.
you may have written.
sure... not in England or America anyway. 
PASTIMES 4 U 
Things you can do with a few sheets of paper, poster paint and brushes, some straws a mega load of paper, which I'm sure the local chip-shop or Chinese Restaurant will provide you with the printless type. News paper makes an awful mess of everything. Don't forget the kitchen Roll and wet wipes.
PASTIMES 4 U 
soap using carbon paper or a sharp pencil.
soap not necessary for your design.
crystals growing. We used to grow them in a large pickle jar , (thoroughly cleaned of course) but on looking through the internet, this now seems to be the way to do it. 
Other substances for growing crystals on are:; "Smile"){kind=small}
crystals are very small and very delicate. Think of a Snowflake.
In this activity you have the opportunity to grow bigger crystals and look at their structure in more detail.
Once have done this you will be able to start growing your crystals. 
inside. Then pour the saturated solution into the dish and leave in a warm place to evaporate. 
It is
always wise to check through all the video clips in the Menu for
sometimes the odd strange one can get through and you mightn't want
your littlest ones to see it. The same applies to all video links
really. What amuses some cultures does not always amuse others. xxx
Fill the two jars with very hot water. Stir in loads of washing soda, go on stirring it in till no more will disappear in the water. Then drop one end of the wool into each jar, so the wool hangs over the plate. after a few days the water and soda climb up the wool and then when they meet in the middle it begins to drip, after a while your stalagmites and tites will start to appear. 
PASTIMES 4 U
Arrange the Pizza Dough in the Pan
Add More Pizza Dough
Bake the Chicago-Style Pizza
Remember the Tray Garden, well instead of moss and soil, use sand
and pasta.
Now for a few more for you to choose from.
Fold
a piece of card in half.
like these beautiful little lanterns that can be made in so many different ways, 
The base of the candles you adorn with red ribbon and maybe some holly, ivy and mistletoe, like little Christmas wreaths. 
The Snow Garden can become a Christmas Garden with a few added bits and pieces. with a base of crinkled crepe paper, dotted with glue and then sprinkled with silver tinsel. Use silver baubles as decoration arrange them as a mountain range.