Home Craft Projects

We have been embarking on a number of projects simultaneously these few weeks. Firstly, I was ecstatic to find printable magnetic paper. I had something in mind and looked high and low for this special inkjet magnetic paper which we can actually print on. Initially found a shop around Jalan Perak selling them. One piece was priced at RM16.50! Was at the verge of giving up when to my surprise, I found Jusco at Queensbay Mall selling them at half the price! So I grabbed them. Can't wait to use them!

Second project has to do with these...

I have cleaned and dried these milk cartons since months ago so it's about time to do something with them. First phase completed. Not sure when is the next phase...

Project no. 3: While trying to get Baby O to use up her energy one of those days at the mall, I stumbled upon this little family. They were only RM2.50 each and I couldn't resist bringing them home. Now I am wondering if I should give them a little make over and build them a house... 

Finally, this baby... Bought it eons ago. Amount of time used: zero. Brought it up to Penang not too long ago and have a little refashion project that I would really love to embark on. Saw so many of these sites making pretty dresses for their little girls out of old t-shirts and thinking I might just be able to do that too! The big question is, when????

Children Toys in Malaysia

No wonder they say raising kids are expensive! Look at the price of children toys and clothes here in Malaysia and you will know why. For a good quality toy here, you will easily need to fork out hundreds (maybe even thousands! I'm not kidding and we are not even talking about the iPads and Wii!). Comparing dollar to dollar, you can easily get three toys for £20 in the UK and £50 can go a loooooong way! Second hand items still in very good condition sell at merely just a few pounds!

One example is the Leapfrog activity table. In the UK, a new one is selling for £35.75 while in Malaysia, it is selling for RM238.00! Dollar for dollar, can you imagine paying only RM35.75 for this item?? Even after converting, it is still shockingly more expensive in Malaysia!

Comparing second hand ones, one was recently sold for RM69 in Malaysia while it is common to see one sold for less than £5 on eBay! Some were even sold at their original list price of only £0.99!

Some solution to this:
1. Extend life of toys by buying second hand or hand over toys to younger children or donate to a charity. Only problem is second hand toy shops are a rare sight in Malaysia and we don't have many relatives to hand us down items while most friends are still keeping theirs for their third, fourth and fifth child  :(  Those willing to sell me second hand items, I'm willing to have a look! Those wanting to have more space at home, send your unused children toys and clothes this way please!

2.  Home made. Sure bought toys come with lots of sounds and lights but when a toy is crafted together at home, there is a sense of pride and achievement not to mention the special bonding session while sparks of creativity fly all over the place! Besides, it is fun, easy, doesn't hurt the pocket as much and green! Check out lots of ideas online or some of our little projects: play dough, five little freckled frogs, marble run and others which I will continue to post here.

3. Exchange. If you can find people who are willing to exchange toys with you for a few weeks or so, this is a great way to save and try 'new' toys on both sides. Just need to place your trust in each other to keep the toys clean and return them in one piece but don't have high expectations when dealing with curious toddlers. Though it is not easy to break the mental barrier of parents here regarding hygiene etc. it may be worth a try! Start with some small inexpensive ones first and if it doesn't work out, you can always scrap the idea.

4. Review. If you really need to purchase toys, spend some time reading reviews online before your next purchase to know what toys are suitable at what age to get the best mileage and have your money well spent. Hopefully I can help by putting some review posts up if I get a chance.

Any other suggestions out there??

MOMMade: 'Marble' Run [Homemade Children Craft]

Saw this marble run toy on a friend's Facebook photos and thought we can do something similar to this at home! Spent a few minutes brainstorming for a homemade version and then off to scavenge for the parts in the recycling bin!!

This is what I used:
1 empty cereal box
3 toilet rolls
Marker pen
Super glue/ glue gun
Craft knife
Scissors



This is what I did:

1. Draw an outline on the cereal box with the marker and cut it out with the craft knife.

2. Cut a hole on the top of the cereal box using the craft knife to insert marble through.

3. Cut the toilet rolls in half. Place and mark where to place the toilet rolls on the cereal box.

4. Make a crease on one side of the toilet rolls using the side of the table so they hold better.

5. Put glue on the creased side and paste them on the markings. Use as it is or decorate with paints or stickers etc.

After testing it a few rounds, I extended the last roll so it goes right to the end.

 I also cut a little opening at the exit so it is easier to remove the 'marbles'.

 I tried looking for some marbles in the supermarket to use this new toy but couldn't find any. The crystal beads I have were kind of hazardous as they are small. Our plastic bottle cap collection worked but doesn't provide the same feel as a round item. So I made some using aluminium foil! Just tear some pieces up and squash them into a ball! Doesn't have to be perfectly round. The aluminium 'marbles' can be of different sizes and you can make as many or as little as you want whenever you want them!






This is what I encountered:
I placed the rolls too near initially and the 'marbles' just jumped right off the first roll so I had to remove and place the rolls further apart.

This is what I will do next time:
1. Use either blue tack or not-so-sticky tape to put the toilet rolls in place and do a trial run first before actually pasting them on permanently with glue.

The best part about this toy is:
Promotes creativity and helps develop child's motor skills!
It took us only half an hour to construct!!
The parts are easily replaceable!!!
Cost is extremely low!!!!
It is green!!!!!



Caution:
We were so excited with our new toy that we played with it past Baby O's nap time window which was a disaster as she completely did not want to nap after that resulting in an overactive and cranky little toddler!!

Now this simple and easy one is done, time to brainstorm a more complicated one like this:

Countdown to Christmas - 19 Days

There. Final touches added. Since we are on a budget, it'll be a rustic Christmas tree this year. Basically bought some this and that and put a few things together. Nothing fancy.

First was the corrugated paper hearts inspired by one of the stalls I visited recently at the Malaysian-German Society Christmas Bazaar.

Next, cinnamon stick ornaments inspired by the decorations on a Christmas tree at one of the popular restaurants we were invited to for a wedding lunch just last weekend. Oh, the aroma!

Finally, simple but bright bows to add a punch of colour to our tree.

I thank God for blessing me with this little talent of being able to put a few cinnamon sticks together. Although it is just tying two strands of ribbon on some sticks, this task may seem easier for some than others. So I am thankful that though not as fantastic as some of my other family members and friends,  I am able to put my hands to work and give our home a sweet, cinnamon-smelling, pleasant looking Christmas tree without burning a hole in our pockets!

MOMMade: Five Little Freckled Frogs

We have designated Tuesdays our craft day. This Tuesday, we worked on an idea that has been stored in the back of my mind for some time now. So off to gather some scraps and have some fun with Baby O:

Materials
empty card board boxes
kitchen towel roll
colour markers/ crayons/ pencils
scissors
craft knife
pencil





1. Sketch five little frogs (about 3 inches high) on a piece of card board. Don’t forget to add little freckles and a little tab at the bottom of your frogs to insert onto the speckled log later. Colour them in and cut them out. Alternatively, if you don't mind my frogs, you can print them out, paste them on a card board and cut them out.

2. Cut open the kitchen towel roll from top to bottom. Fold back about an inch of the roll from the opening to allow the log to stand on its own. Colour the top of the roll in as the speckled log. Colour the folded part of the log as water.

3. Mark on the speckled log where you want your freckled frogs to be and make a slit the size of your tabs with a craft knife.

4. Insert tabs of freckled frogs into slits on speckled log. Ta daa!

5. Remove freckled frogs one by one while singing:



 
Five Little Freckled Frogs
Sat on a speckled log
Eating the most delicious bugs. Yum! Yum!
One jumped into the pool
Where it was nice and cool
Then there were Four green freckled frogs. Glug! Glug!

Four Little Freckled Frogs
Sat on a speckled log
Eating the most delicious bugs. Yum! Yum!
One jumped into the pool
Where it was nice and cool
Then there were Three green freckled frogs. Glug! Glug!

Three Little Freckled Frogs
Sat on a speckled log
Eating the most delicious bugs. Yum! Yum!
One jumped into the pool
Where it was nice and cool
Then there were Two green freckled frogs. Glug! Glug!

Two Little Freckled Frogs
Sat on a speckled log
Eating the most delicious bugs. Yum! Yum!
One jumped into the pool
Where it was nice and cool
Then there were One green freckled frog. Glug! Glug!

One Little Freckled Frogs
Sat on a speckled log
Eating the most delicious bugs. Yum! Yum!
He jumped into the pool
Where it was nice and cool
Then there were no green freckled frogs. Glug! Glug!

Note: There are many versions of the lyrics but they all sound the same like this:


Caution: Don't forget to supervise the curious little ones and use all sharp tools from a safe distance.