If you want to write for children you can but there are a few things to consider and a few questions to ask yourself.

Creativity doesn’t always come naturally and it doesn’t have to there are many things you can do to inspire yourself and gather ideas together. Don’t be fooled into thinking however that writing for children is easier than other types of writing. You will find it to be quite the other way around.

Ask yourself what your motivation is. Is it your love of children or maybe you’re just a big kid yourself. You will need to have passion not only for writing but for writing in a way that reaches out to children. Your story or stories will have to fill a need in their lives whether that need be for pure entertainment, silliness and laughter or reassurance, courage and love.

You will also need to have respect for children, they may not have a lot of life experience but you can’t fool them. Today they have so much more of the world right in front of them and even though they take so much of it in they really do still want to be kids.

If when you write you can draw on your childhood memories and imagination while at the same time consider what today’s kids are interested in you are off to a good start.

Tomorrow – What do children want to read?

Have a Great day

You will need to find or make a frame with a flat surface, any size is ok but a square frame with the outside measuring double the length of the window is a good method to use.

If you decide to make a frame, balsa wood works well, just cut to size and glue, using impact adhesive, at square angles.

Decorating your Frame

Using moulds that will fit on your frame and some plaster of paris your frame is only limited by the moulds you choose to use. Chocolate moulds are a good source for this design. There are a wide variety  of shapes available shells, dinosaurs, teddies, hearts and the list goes on. Once you have decided on and made your moulds you can paint them to suit your theme.

What to Do :-

• Follow the directions for mixing the plaster to a creamy consistency.
• Pour into moulds and leave to set for one hour.
• Turn out the moulds and leave to dry completely.
• Sand off any rough edges.
• You can paint the frame and each mould individually if needed or glue to frame and paint altogether.
• Position moulds onto your frame and stick into place. Leave overnight.

A gilt edged frame is nice with the shells and bright colours for a funky frame.

If you start now you will have made some quick and easy but uniquly attractive and personalised gifts for Christmas.

Enjoy and keep smiling.

So when it comes to drawing them a little bit of basic structural knowledge will help you get off to a good start.

Look closely at the shape of them and try to get the lines right. Use a dot to position the pupil and use that as a guide to draw the shape around it. The distance between each eye is about an eye width apart.

Concentrate on getting the lines and positions right before you think about eyelashes, brows or shading. Look at the iris where does it sit in relation to the eyelash lines. Draw in the pupil, shade it black but leave a little dot of white for reflection.

Now the tip of the nose is not quite halfway from the centre eye line to the chin, then the mouth measures about one third of the way down from the nose to the chin. Mark their locations lightly on the centre vertical line.

Your nose measures about the same width across at its tip as the distance between the eyes. The correct size for the mouth is about as wide as the distance between the centre of the eyes.

Practice drawing the eyes and nose keeping an eye on where they are positioned.

Happy Days

All the ingredients in these recipes are safe, really work and smell good so why not give them a try.

All Purpose Cleaner:

Warm water mixed with pure soap or white vinegar is cheap and it’s an easy general purpose cleaner to make for use throughout your home.

In the Bathroom :

Toilet Cleaner-Make a paste from borax and lemon juice for cleaning non-septic toilet bowls.

Ceramic Cleaner : Clean tiles, sinks, toilet and baths with bicarbonate soda using a damp cloth.

Mirror Cleaner :

Apply eucalyptus oil with a wad of newspaper to prevent mirrors fogging.

In the Kitchen :

Surface Cleaner : Use bicarbonate of soda on a damp cloth to clean bench tops, sinks windows and your refrigerator or freezer surfaces.

In the Living Room :

Carpet Cleaner : Sprinkle bicarbonate of soda on carpet before vacuuming to deodorise. It’s also great for stain removal. Just vacuum or brush up when dry.

Window Cleaner : Add half a cup of vinegar to a litre of warm water for a useful window cleaner. Wash the window first with warm soapy water if especially dirty. Use a crumpled newspaper moistened with vinegar to get a beautiful sheen.

In the Laundry :

Bleach : Use one cup of lemon juice in a half bucket of a water and soak overnight.

Laundry Detergent : Grate one third of a cake of pure soap with one third of a cup of washing soda. Dissolve in hot water in a bucket and top up with water The mixture will set to a soft gel. Use 2-3 cups per wash.

If you like you can add a layer of lightweight wading under the shape for a added softness or make it standout by adding iron on interfacing.

When sewing applique by hand a narrow seam allowance around the shape is tucked under before the shape is slipstitched in place on to your item.

Cutting the shape – Mark a 3mm seam allowance around your chosen shape, then cut out just beyond this line.

Prepare the shape – Stitch round the shape just outside the seamline using tiny running stitches. This reinforces the shape and helps to prevent fraying.

Trim the fabric – Trim your shape along the inner marked line. Cut small notches up to the stitched line on outer curves, and snip to the stitched line on inner curves. Clip across any outer corners and snip to the stitched line on any inside corners.

Tack the edges – Turn the raw edges under just at the stitched line so it can’t be seen. Press down the edges by hand and tack them down.

Attach the shape – Place your prepared shape onto the background fabric or item in its desired position.Tack into place with diagonal stitches across the centre of the shape. This will ensure your shape is sitting flat and smooth on its fabric background,. Using a thread that matches your shape slipstitch all the way around with tiny stitches.

Happy Sewing

Make a Giant Puppet

What You Need:- Strong Paper, Stapler, crayons, paint or felt tipped pens, newspaper, cardboard cylinder, tape old clothes.

What to Do:- Make a head by cutting and joining two sheets of paper. Staple the paper together but leave a hole for the neck. Paint or draw on a face. Fill head with scrunched up paper. Tape head to a long cardboard cylinder. The puppet can now be dressed, you can try adding arms from extra cylinders.

Puppets can also be made from a variety of kitchen utensils.

Dish Mop Dolly

What you need? Dish mop, paper, scissors, glue, cloth, elastic band, felt tipped pens.

What to do:- Make eyes and mouth from paper then glue them onto dish mop. Wrap cloth around puppet and gather at the neck, secure with elastic band.

Remember to Have Lots of Fum

All the kids need is encouragement, opportunity and a little bit of equipment and of course a safe place to make a mess.

What you need…..

Brushes

Brushes should have long fairly thick handles which are easy to grip and control. Start with thick bristled brushes and finer ones can be added as more control has been gained. If possible have one brush for each colour or water and a cloth for rinsing colours. Be sure to wash clean and store with bristles facing up.

Paper

Provide fairly large sheets if possible so as  not to restrict their creative urges.

Containers

Any old jar, cup or plastic container is suitable.

Colourings

Edible vegetable dyes are available from toy shops and art suppliers in powder form. The colours are bright but they do not come in black or white. To use, first dissolve a small quantity in a teaspoon of water then add cornflour paste or starch to make a thick paint. Food colouring added to the starch or paste will also make a suitable paint. Tempera is non toxic powered paint available in art supply stores. There are a wide variety of colours including black and white. This paint drys quickly which makes it easier to paint over without blending colours. Mixing one part water to two parts paste works best.

Be prepared with covers to protect clothes and surrounding area if required.

Let them enjoy and have Fun

Materials

• Self hardening modelling clay
• Card
• Scissors
• Glitter
• Glue
• Brooch Mounts
• Modelling tools – Rolling pin, knife, wire, needle, newspaper (for rolling on)
• Paint and brushes

Roll out the clay and leave for 5 to 10 minutes to harden slightly. Draw the outline of the badges on card and cut around to make templates. Place the templates over the clay and cut around them with a knife. Smooth over the rough edges and allow to dry for one day.

When the badges are dry they can be decorated as desired. Paint the surface and the sides and when completely dry they are ready for glitter. Spread some glue over the surface and sprinkle on the glitter. Leave to dry.

To waterproof the badge, paint a layer of varnish over the decoration. Make sure all of the surfaces are covered. Leave to dry then glue a brooch mount to the back of the badge.

Of course there are a number of other uses for these badges. Before the clay hardens a hole can be made in the top with a needle or similar item, depending on the size of the hole required. These little badges can then be used to make necklaces, mobiles or whatever can be imagined.

Have fun

What you need to always have on hand in your paint collection is warm and cool red, warm and cool yellow a pthalo blue, an ultramarine blue and of course white. Those six colours and white will make any colour you choose. When mixing always put your white out first and then add your colour a little at a time. If you do it the other way around you may find you have far more paint than you need.

You may have heard of’ ‘medium’, if you haven’t medium is a milky white in colour and dries clear. So you would get the same effect if you added water to your colour but without thinning the consistency.

For example, if you add medium to red you will get a lighter shade of red. If you add white to red you will get pink.

Here are some colour combinations:-

• Red + Yellow = Orange
• Red + White = Pink
• Blue + Yellow = Green
• Green + Red = Brown
• Blue + Red = Purple

Remember always add your colour a little at a time and try to get three shades of each a light, medium and dark. To do this first mix your colours together, this will be your darkest shade,  then take a little of the colour and add it to white this will be your light shade, then take a portion of your colour and a little white to it this will be your medium shade.

Have Fun

You will need to buy or draw up a grid on tracing paper and place it over the original image. Draw the image outlineonto the paper. Then using your tracing as a guide reduce or enlarge the image onto another sheet of grid paper. When reducing use a small scale grid,enlarging, a larger grid.  To transfer a key point, firstly determine where it lies on the grid by counting down and across. Then reverse the procedure to plot the point on the second grid. After plotting all of the key points, draw in the details.

Pencils

Use a 2B for drawing and tracing designs.

5H for transferring the designs on to projects.