Growing Up Creative

My fairytale

Even though this is not Cinderella, and I am not the evil stepmother, it is my fairytale and miracles do happen - I have started cleaning for Passover.
 
My house is in such neglect and Passover is just a great excuse for cleaning it. This is not the miracle thought…wait….here it is: Zoe and Ori both voluntarily (no bribery involved) helped me with the cleaning. They were scrubbing every surface they could reach, stretching on their tiptoes, having a great time. 

Then the clock struck 12:00, I think it was the neighbor who knocked on the door… and my sweet princes were gone, off to play…and I was left to clean the rest of the house all by my self.

...cleaning ever after...happily!

tali

Note:
For non toxic cleaning solution, I have used, more or less, a ratio of 1 water and 2 vinaigrette in a spray bottle.

Egg & Nest and cake update

Egg &Nest

I wanted to share a book recommendation to compliment the nest craft tutorial I have recently posted. It was sent to me by Blue from  the Harvard Museum of Natural History in Cambridge:
Egg & Nest

I haven't purchased it...yet...but you can read some of the reviews on amazon.

Cake update
I am not sure if you have been following or not, but Anat my friend who was sure I am having a boy after 2 girls lost on her bet. and so, a couple of weeks ago I was very much enjoying a delicious strawberry cake that she made (answering cravings of a prego women...). I would love to share the recipe with you, but she made it up. Talk about creativity.

before

and after

I did share...some.

tali

My kitchen counter

I came home late today after  a     l   o   n  g    meeting at a kitchen and bath place helping some clients with choosing materials and fixtures for their dream house. I was greeted with hugs and kisses (not just from the dog) and a big cry for baking cookies (our house specialty).
There was no way in the world I could say ‘NO’…so, I set Ori down on my not so dreamy kitchen counter, next to my tiny sink, and not so user friendly faucet. I was thinking of the kitchen I have just finished accessorizing. And you know what, I wasn’t wishing to have their kitchen not for even a second.
The cookies came out great as usual.
You can find the recipe here.
 






tali

#5 Eco kids craft - How-to make a bird's nest

This project is one of my favorites. It was inspired by a poem - a Bird’s Nest, written by the Israeli national author Hayyim Nahman Bialik. This could be a fabulous project to celebrate spring.

In the process of deciding how to make a nest Zoe and I were trying to think of the nature of building one. We have decided that just like the birds we needed to make our nest from bits and pieces of materials we have gathered about. Materials such as lint, leaves, rags, strings etc. And so we did.

Nests are incredible Eco structures. There is a very nice collection of nests at the Harvard Natural History Museum, in Cambridge MA. If you are in the area you should pay a visit. Its right next to the MUST SEE glass flowers exhibit.

This project has 2 parts, the first is making the nest and the second is decorating the eggs to fit within the nest. The nest takes a couple of days to dry depending on the weather, so plan accordingly.
WARNING: This is a messy project, but it is a mess well worth cleaning

Part one:
MAKING THE NEST

You will need:
Gather bits and pieces of material that is around you such as: old t shirts (ripped into strings), leaves, Small branches, lint (could be some from the drier), strings, left over yarn, etc.
1 Balloon per nest
1 Bowl per nest
Scissors
Newspaper to protect your working area
Craft glue (white glue)

Note: you may use cornstarch glue instead of the craft glue, it is Eco friendly and  biodegrade. I have never used it before therefore I cannot tell you much more about it but send you to this link.


How to:

Start by covering your work area
Collect all your bits and pieces for the nest.

Blow the balloon, and place it in the bowl with the knot facing down (the size of the balloon will determine the size of your nest

Pour some glue into a paper cup/ bowl
Start with the longer strings and t shirt strips you have, dip them into the glue and place on the balloon. You may squeeze some of the glue access off the strings but don’t get rid of too much, this project needs a fair amount of glue.

Keep on going around and around layering all the bits and pieces that you have gathered. If you are adding leaves, make sure you are securing them with another layer of strings on top of them.


When you think you are done set aside to dry. This may take a couple of days.
Once it is dry, pop the balloon.

Part 2:
DECORATING THE EGGS

You will need:
Fresh Eggs
Embroidery Needle
Markers, acrylics (use your preferred medium)

How to:
Empty the eggs first by pocking two holes one at each end of the egg. One hole should be no bigger than a needle’s head, and the other hole can be slightly bigger.

Blow air into the egg through the smaller hole, make sure you have a bowl under the egg, the content off the egg will come out, I promise.
Rinse the eggs, set aside to dry
Decorate the eggs


Place in nest.

We have cushioned our nest with an extra layer of rose petals from our garden.



I hope you will enjoy this as much as we did.
Let me know if you have any questions.

tali

I am linking this post to Craft Schooling Sunday

A Bird’s Nest / by Hayyim Nahman Bialik

I know you haven’t been sleeping much, desperately waiting for my post about Hayyim Nahman Bialik ’s poem activity. So this is it, no more sleepless nights for you.
I chose to translate the poem קֵן לַצִּפּוֹר - A Bird’s Nest. It is a classic, every child in Israel knows it, and most importantly it is one of Ori’s favorites. I hope you like it too.
I couldn’t find any other translation for this poem, so...when you can’t find it you just do it. With THE brilliant mind of my friend Anat we have got it done.

קֵן לַצִּפּוֹר - A Bird’s Nest
By/ Hayyim Nahman Bialik
Translation/ Anat Weinstein and Tali Buchler

קֵן לַצִּפּוֹר,
בֵּין הָעֵצִים
וּבַקֵּן לָהּ
שָׁלֹשׁ בֵּיצִים.

וּבְכָל-בֵּיצָה
– הַס, פֶּן תָּעִיר –
יָשֵׁן לוֹ
אֶפְרוֹחַ זָעִיר

Bird’s nest,
in the trees
and in the nest
there lay eggs three.

Inside each egg
-hush…, do not stir-
Is a sleeping hatchling
A tiny baby bird.

Inspired by this poem we have crafted a nest with 3 little painted eggs nesting peacefully within.
I have posted the tutorial on growing up creative as an Eco kids craft project. I hope you will enjoy making it as much as we did.
WARNING:This is a messy project but it is a mess well worth cleaning.



Please let me know if you have any questions.

tali

I found it - a pop up Haggada

I found it, the Haggada I was looking for and I didn’t even know existed.
It is a pop up Haggada which I think my girls will be thrilled about (any child, really…) and help them engage with the Seder beginning to maybe even the end.
It is based on one of the oldest extant Haggadot in the world:  from the late 13th century, from the collection of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.  This only means one thing: a trip to see the original Haggada in Jerusalem. 

If you will not be going t o Jerusalem, you could always get it at Amazon - The Koren Bird's Head Haggada: A Hebrew/English Pop-Up Passover Haggada .

tali

How-to: egg carton seed starter

It’s March.
Are you thinking spring?

Here is an easy, Eco friendly, biodegradable, what else can I say….oh, and a fun way to start your seeds for your garden. Also, a great idea for a gift to someone you love.


You will need:
Egg cartons
A sheet of nylon (may use a plastic bag)
Scissors
Soil
Seeds

How to:

1. Cut the cover of the egg carton
2. Fill the egg carton cups with a little soil
3. Lay your seeds in each cup and cover with more soil
4. Cut the nylon to be 1” bigger than the egg carton cover.
5. place the nylon on top of the egg carton cover, place the egg carton planted cups into the cover. 
6. Water the seeds
7. Once the seedlings are big enough, transplant to a bigger pot or directly into garden. Just cut around the egg carton cups and place the seedling with the carton in the soil. The carton is biodegradable.  

Suggestion:
You may turn this into a great gift.
In order to do that you will need to keep the egg carton cover attached, decorate the top of the tray, close the tray, tie a ribbon and give to someone you love.

I will update when we have some seedlings. 

If you have some extra egg cartons in your recycling box, you may also make some hand-held masks with your kids.

tali