This is the easiest handmade seed bombs tutorial I’ve come across so I wanted to share with you. They make the cutest gifts for flower lovers.
I wanted to make something for Valentine’s Day to give to a few family members and childminder handmade by my toddler (with maybe a little assistance!)
I have seen lots of seed bomb recipes with tricky ingredients or lots of steps. This one just required a few things and was easy to do with a 2 year old.
All you need is:
Flour
Compost
A packet of seeds (we chose wildflower seeds to create a meadow like effect)
A cup of water
What do you do:
1. Mix in a bowl, 3 cups of compost, 1 cup of flour and your packets of seeds.
2. Add a little water until you get a firm playdough sort of texture.
3. Using your hands mould small shaped handmade seed bombs, about the size of a ping pong ball. We created heart shapes for valentines day. Place them on a tray to dry for 24 hours. We used our airing cupboard.
I laughed coz they don’t look too great on the eye while they’re still wet! They look better once dried!
4. Once dry, pop in a little gift bag and add a tag with instructions. ‘Pop in a plant pot or the ground and water every so often.’
5. We made a heart stamped card to go with ours and popped in a gift bag.
These handmade seed bombs make a fab little gift for lots of occasions. Or why not favours for a party or wedding!
Looking for more handmade gift ideas? Check out a few more ideas here
We’ve collated a few of our favourite DIY Valentines makes out there at the moment all made by other inspiring crafters and makers.
Valentine’s is a lovely opportunity to tell anyone they love them. Mum, friend, brother, auntie or even your Amazon Prime delivery person – everyone loves hearing nice things about them!
So here’s a few DIY Valentines ideas you can make at home, with not toooo much preparation! There’s a few gift ideas, little message ideas and all round general fun to have with the family. All the instructions on how to make each one you’ll find in the comments below each photo.
Happy crafting!
Make your own chocolate bark by @Chloe_Louise_Aldous – This looks super simple to do and a lovely gift to give anyone if popped in a little gift bag with a tag!
3. 3D paper heart decorations by @Kirstiecrafts – Decorate a little area in the home or write little messages inside each one to surprise someone with. These look great to do with young crafters!
4. Salt dough love hearts by @our.playroom.diary – A fun thing to do with children could be making these hearts. Add a hole in them and they could be a tag that goes on a present or tied to the front of a gift card.
5. A Valentine’s platter by @utterly.organised.chaos – Such a beautiful way to arrange a plate of goodies! Easy to do with a few of your lover’s favourite treats, pop them in the shape of a heart and you look like you’ve made the biggest effort!
7. Valentine’s Bucket List by @_emily_thomas__ and @the.mama.project – This is more of a fun way to recognise Valentine’s as a family. A beautiful way to make memories and teaching your kids how to love people in different ways.
8. Watercolour hearts by @theartfulparent – These cute hearts are an easy way to make your own card for Valentine’s draw a heart or even write a secret message!
9. Valentine’s Rice Treats by @downhomedrake – A yummy treat for any loved one in your life. Pop them in your kids lunchboxes, gift them to your neighbour or send one in the post to your pal.
10. DIY seed paper hearts by @hellokidsstudio – A fun and eco friendly way to tell someone you love them, and give them something to enjoy in months to come. A fab DIY valentines idea.
If you’re looking for crafty gifts for someone this Valentine’s Day, check out our online store full of craft kits to give to anyone who loves spending time getting creative.
There are so many things you can decorate and personalise with block print stamps.
Block printing has been around for thousands of years, and is still providing so much joy for creatives today.
We provide block printing kits for people to create signature pattens onto tote and drawstring bags. These individually carved wooden block print stamps have been fair trade sourced from a family in Delhi
These stamps can be used to decorate so many more things than a fabric bag. If you’ve bought a kit, or have block print stamps at home, check out all the other things you could create with a bit of imagination.
Note – these are ideas I’ve found on Pinterest, they are all direct Pinterest pins which I have no affiliation with.
1. Handmade birthday cards
2. Hand stamped gift tags
3. Handprinted wrapping paper
4. Tea-towels
5. Lampshades
6. Imprinting soap patterns
7. Personalising clothes
8. Scarves
9. Notebook covers
10. Canvas for your home
There you have 10 things you can decorate with block print stamps.
If you would like to have a go at block printing yourself, check out our kits which can be delivered to your door or make thoughtful gifts for friends.
If you’re new to scrapbooking, here’s our simple guide on how to make a lockdown scrapbook, great to do with or without kids.
It’s currently May 2020 when writing this, 8 weeks into lockdown, and there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon. Shops are talking of re-opening, services potentially starting up again and workers are encouraged to go back to work. It’s definitely been a bizarre couple of months. But amongst the anxiety and sadness, there have been some moments I’m so grateful for, that I don’t want to forget. Spending time together, trying out new recipes, exploring alternative ways to keep busy.
If you’ve felt anyway similar, have you considered writing those memories down or printing those memorable photos out that just sit on our phones?
A lockdown memory book could be something we look at in the future reminding us of the things and feelings we felt. This period is something that will be marked in history books. It would be great to be able to show future generations how it impacted us, the lessons we learned and the important things we shouldn’t take for granted.
Got kids in your family? This is a great activity to do together as a family filling it with all the things you got up to during lockdown.
What is a scrapbook?
A scrapbook is a grander version of a photo album. The great thing about a scrapbook is that it’s a great way to remember moments as you can include more than just photos.
Scrapbooks are a collage version of a photo album. You fill them with photos, your thoughts, memories, feelings plus any physical documentation you wanna cherish, e.g receipts or tickets, or a leaflet or something the kids made.
There are some really talented scrapbookers out there that theme each page around the photo on the page. So if there’s a photo of someone at beach for example, they would create waves out of tissue paper for a border, or add seaside pictures and stickers, plus the plastic spoon they ate their icecream sundae with. That kinda thing.
Don’t worry though, your lockdown memory book can be as creative or as simple as you like!
Free scrapbook kit for you!
I’ve created a free printable scrapbook kit to help get you started. I designed this with kids in mind. But scrapbooking is something all ages can really enjoy. As well as the kit, you’ll also receive inspiration each month plus free tutorials of other projects to try, don’t worry you can unsubscribe any time if you just want the freebie.
Notebook or scrapbook – Hobbycraft sell scrapbooks from £4, with beautiful front covers (the 8×8’’ size is great for this project)
Glue-stick
Scissors
Photos printed
The scrapbook kit PDF printed
Side note – To print your photos either print on your printer at home or get them delivered to your door. I have always used the Freeprints App to print my photos. You get 45 free prints every month, and you just pay for p&p. Here’s a link where we both get 5 additional free prints a month. Use this link or enter the promo code ‘backerman2’ at sign up.
How to make your scrapbook
1.Cut
Once you’ve got everything in front of you, cut out anything from the free kit you would like to use in your scrapbook. You’ll see text boxes are there to go next to photos, banners are there to be used for tops of pages, and colourful tape which you could use to look like its sticking down the photos.
2. Anything else to add?
Do you have other things around the house that you want to include that reminds you of this time? It could be artwork your kids made during lockdown, a receipt from the day you queued 2 hours at Tescos, a clean serviette with the Nandos logo, from when they delivered to your door, or a sheet of clean toilet roll to remind you how precious this was!
If you have any magazines or newspapers around the home you could include words and pictures that relate to each page you’re working on. The top headlines that we’ve been reading. Anything to remind you, years to come of what these days are like and how you feel right now.
3. Organise
Plan out your scrapbook before sticking anything down. Put your photos into some sort of order. It could be in date order or themed into subjects like foods you ate during lockdown, games you played, new things you tried etc.
4. Start sticking
You can create your scrapbook how you wish, I tend to stick my photo first and build around it. I include a little bit of writing next to most of my photos. So feel free to do the same using the text boxes available, or leave space next to your photo to write straight onto the page.
5. Add to it and fill in
Glue down any additional bits to your pages, magazine clippings, newspaper headlines. If you have any stickers around the home add them in. Or doodles you want to fill pages with.
Then next to your photos write a little bit about each one, what you’re feeling, your favourite thing about the photo, what you will always remember, something someone said, that kind of thing.
There you have it, a great memory book. You can apply this technique for any memories you want to cherish. Holidays, summary of the year, things you’ve learned.
At the beginning of the year we hosted ‘How To Make A Vision Board’ Workshops helping people get intentional about the year ahead.
Writing this at the beginning of lockdown 2020, the sessions took place just over 10 weeks ago and in that time, the world has dramatically changed. I don’t think any of us imagined the year would go like this.
I knew had to do something to help focus on the things I can control and try and be mindful about letting go of the things I can’t.
So I thought about the concept of vision boards, why can’t the same practice work for seasons as well as years. Surely you can make a positive plan for any season in life. New school years, moving homes, transitioning jobs etc.
So here’s your ‘How To’ guide on how to make a vision board for any season of life.
How to make a vision board
Choose your vision board style
Choose a style that you’ll enjoy making, a list, collage, Pinterest board, illustrations. This one I did in the style of a big doodled brainstorm on an A2 piece of paper.
2. Decide the areas you wanna focus on
On a scrap bit of paper, write down the main areas of your life that you would love to focus on or improve. If you’re struggling to think, we’ve created this handy guide to help you think of potential areas and ideas to go on your board. For me I chose:
Friendships
Marriage
Reuben (my son)
The home
Faith
Community
Education
Health
3. Dream up the best for each one
Go through each area, still on your separate piece of paper, write down ideas that you’d love to try, learn, do, feel. Think of things that might bring you joy.
Think about your situation right now, how could you use your position or opportunity for the better? For example, as I’m writing in lockdown you might be one of the ones stuck at home, cut off from your normal routine. Are there things you’ve always wanted to do but never had the time? Are there things on your To Do list that just never get ticked off? What could this ‘time out’ offer you? A bigger appreciation for the simple things?
If useful, I’ll give you one of my own examples, under my child ‘Reuben’ I thought of all the things I could do will make the time with my 11 month old more special. Some things on my list:
Make things for him to play with
Create a fun photoshoot with him
Try new recipes for him to eat
Teach him a new word each week
Find an online baby group to stream into
Google sensory toy ideas from household objects
Find alternative educational tv shows
If you’re stuck for inspiration, I’d highly recommend checking out Pinterest and do a search for each area. E.g. ‘home improvement ideas’ or ‘fun activities to do with kids’ or ‘ways to have fun at home’. There really is so many resources out there that could inspire you on things you’d love to do.
Another example of thinking outside the box, you could be in a dead end job you don’t enjoy and are bored stiff. Are there moments of the day where you could explore other industries or roles? Are there people in your job, that you don’t know yet that could help you? Is anyone in job roles that you would love to be one day that you could shadow or learn from. Try and think out the box, and dream up new opportunities, building your roadmap on how to get there.
4. Prettify the vision
Once you’ve created your list, you can either leave it as it is, or turn it in into a beautiful illustration.
If you have magazines or newspapers at home, tear out images/words/colours that represent the things you’ve made on the list. E.g You want to start writing letters to your friends, find pictures of a postbox or envelopes, or a stamp.
If like me during lockdown you have no magazines or newspapers, turn your list into a colourful poster. If you’ve got kids, this could be an activity you could do together as a family. Write the areas of your life out in big, then write your ideas around them in different colours and font styles. You could doodle illustrations that match what you’d like to achieve. For example If you wanna use this time to learn French – you could draw a little French flag.
Et voila!
There you have it, an intentional plan, bringing you purpose and highlighting the things that could bring you more joy.
It’s only been a few days since making mine, but it’s already made a difference to me mentally. Knowing I have a rough plan for the next few months is comforting and if on a day, the only task I manage to complete is ‘defrost the freezer’ I weirdly still feel a sense of accomplishment!
If this has inspired you or encouraged you to make something similar I’d love to know. Drop me an email or a message me in the comments below.
Did you have a big party planned during this isolation period? A birthday? A family celebration? Please still recognise the day! It certainly won’t be as you imagined but you could still make some fun memories. It’s our 7th birthday next week, so here’s 7 ways to celebrate special occasions while stuck at home…
1. Create a virtual party with your nearest and dearest. Zoom video conferencing is WONDERFUL for large groups. You could still send out invites in the post to make it feel special. Set the date and time, include a BYOB reminder and have a few drinks and catch up with your pals.
2. Why not organise a dinner date on video with your loved ones. Everyone prepare a fancy meal at home and light a candle for a bit of atmosphere. Plan to eat and meet at a certain time and have dinner together on WhatsApp or Facetime.
3. And if you wanna play some party games, do it virtually. Headsup (charades style app), download a pub quiz, or play 2 truths and a lie. Read my lips (microphone off and guess what they say) is a goodie! Or a drawing challenge (describe something for people to draw and they have to guess what it is), and you can’t go wrong with a few rounds of Would You Rather.
4. If there’s a birthday in your household, decorate with the things you have around your home. You could make this a fun activity if you’ve got kids. Paper chains out of magazines, hand painted signs or why not dig those fairy lights out from your Christmas decor box. You could even have a clothes sort out and turn any old tshirts into bunting flags with scissors and a stapler!
5. Treat the birthday girl/boy and organise all your meals to be fun and a little less normal. Breakfast eggs fried in metal cookie cutter shapes, chocolate spread painted words on toast. Lunch could be sandwiches cut into heart shapes. Dinners could be arranged into a face with a fruit platter rainbow for dessert. Be creative and make your meals that little bit different.
6. Download free printables to create a few personalised touches around the home. Some of our favourite printables out there…
7. Finally host a ‘make it’ competition on video chat. Watermelon carving, flower arranging, lego robot building, baby grow decorating, T-shirt embroidering, cake decorating, canvas painting. Everyone make it together while on video chat, then present your creations and vote for the best one!
Hopefully an idea or two to help you make the most of a pooey situation.
Looking for handmade gift ideas? This prezzie idea is simple but a thoughtful one.
Find your favourite verse or quote that applies to the person you’re giving it to, then fill up a frame using alphabet stickers.
I found some decorative paper in the depths of my craft box, cut it to match the shape of the frame then used letter stickers which are available at Hobbycraft or online. I used different font stickers to make it a bit more colourful!
Hey presto you’ve got yourself a thoughtful handmade gift idea.
This ‘no sew‘ creative project will keep the children entertained for an hour at least! Plus if they’re old enough to help make it, even better!
Homemade hopscotch! Do you remember playing that game in the playground?! Well I recreated an inside version for my niece’s birthday – British weather is far too unreliable to play this game outside! Plus with lockdown, this makes the perfect indoor game.
I was inspired by the Tip Junkie Blog, which is full of too many amazing projects I also can’t wait to try out!)
This hopscotch mat is super easy to make as its a ‘no sew’ project.
All you need:
an old bed sheet or large piece of fabric
felt
scissors
glue gun or tube of fabric glue
All of these things can be purchased from a general craft store like Hobbycraft. I purchased some plain coloured canvas material to use as the main sheet. I then bought different coloured felt fabric and a few tubes of material glue. It’s pretty simple, just cut out the rectangles for the blocks and then the numbers.
Glue it all down et voila! If you’ve got any scraps of felt left over, why not make a border around the edge 🙂
If you have any other ideas on things to do with kids that are creative I’d love to hear about them. Send them over to me!
Take a look at our christmas card idea fo kids. Turn your Christmas cards into a bit of festive decor.
Why not mix it up a bit at Christmas and make Christmas card bunting for your family. It will be the prettiest card on the mantlepiece! I made one for my niece who is 2 who probably still doesn’t understand the concept of Christmas cards! This idea’s great for kids.
Cut out the letters of their name from coloured card, cover it with stickers then make little holes and thread some festive sparkly string. You could write a little message on the back for them to read in years to come! This Christmas card idea could even become a yearly Christmas decoration to put out next year!
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