Arts & Crafts – Bellissima Kids

Sweet and Cool Organics – KidsCase Summer 2017

Sweet and Cool organics from KidsCase Summer 2017 range! This collection has the base of the characteristic minimalist look that we have come to love and expect from Kidscase. Throughout the range is the soft feel of certified organic cotton in understated tones, complemented by bold prints and splashes of bright colors, with a nod to the 60’s. And unexpected stripes and neat looking cardigans in a cool summer knit.

Kidscase is a small, indie company, founded in 2000 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, by Jacqueline van Nieuwkerk (designer) and marketer Merel Verbrugge (sales & publicity). Their aim is to design collections that fit the lifestyle of individualistic and modern parents and their children.

They also design lovely accessories and home decor, like cushions, blankets, and the cutest little simple organic toys!

Check them out at Kidscase.com.

The Coolest Lace Doily Bowls

Just found the Coolest Lace Doily Bowls. I’ve always liked lace doilies and wonder what else one can do with them apart from having them gather dust under knick knacks in grandma’s house!

So, here is a very easy craft to turn those doilies into functional pieces of art.

You just need these items:
– Doilies
– White glue or fabric hardener
– Water
– Food coloring or fabric dye (optional)
– Table salt
– Plastic wrap

Tools
– Bowls for food coloring and glue mixture
– Glass or plastic bowls in different sizes and shapes – for shaping the doilies

If you want to make these, go to Apartment Therapy to see exactly how!

And you can also treat doilies in liquid porcelain and harden them in a kiln. I just saw this on Craft Forum and this women were part of exhibition in New York city gallery.

The Coolest Summer Activity Books for Kids

Here is our pick of the Coolest Summer Activity Books for Kids! We love summer and the freedom from a tight school schedule and we are pretty good about always having something fun and interesting to do. Yet there are times when activity books really come in handy. I’m sure there are other wonderful ones out, but it’s good to have a short and handy list at your fingertips when things get hairy.

I find activity books are great in the car and in those in-between times when the kiddos start to get restless. It’s true that the girls never complain of being bored, but it is nice to have them occupied when afternoon lag sets in after a busy summer morning.

So, here are the Coolest Summer Activity Books for Kids this season:

1. Wreck this Journal by Keri Smith. We. Love. This. Book!! For anyone who’s ever had trouble starting, keeping, or finishing a journal or sketchbook, Wreck This Journal, is a subversive illustrated book that challenges readers to make mistakes to create a mess! And the best part is the wrecking part. What kid does not love destroying things? I just love the irreverence and creativity of this book.Through a series of creative and quirky prompts, guerilla artist Keri Smith encourages journalers to engage in destructive acts—poking holes through pages, adding photos and defacing them, painting pages with coffee, coloring outside the lines, and more—in order to experience the true creative process. Wreck This Journal invites kids to wreck with color: mixing colors to make mud, letting chance dictate your color choice, weaving with brightly colored strips of paper, and more.

Here’s what peeps have to say about it:

“A conceptual artist and author luring kids into questioning the world and appreciating every smell, texture and mystery in it.” —Time Magazine

“Keri Smith may well be the self-help guru this DIY generation deserves.” —The Believer Buy Here.

2. Fill-Me-In by author/illustrator Moose Allain has very hip doodle illustrations. Just a wonderful and interesting coloring book, and drawing pad. There is lots of space on the page and in the mind of the kids to do their own thing. Buy here.

3. Amazed by Laurence King Publishing.This wonderfully illustrated and cleverly designed book leads the kids to help a lost boy to navigate cactus fields, caverns and treetops, all in the form of ingenious mazes, on his odyssey to return to his friends. This book is a pleasant challenge, so will keep the older kids going for a while. Not for very young kiddos! Buy here.

4. Big Magic for Little Hands by Joshua Jay. Kids love magic. And they are intrigued at how to do it. Joshua Jay, started doing magic when he was 7 and was named champion at the World Magic Seminar (the Olympics of magic) by the time he was 16. His Big Magic for Little Hands has 25 astonishing illusions for kids ages 7 and up. Kids love this! Buy here.

5. Go Photo by Alice Provjansky has 25 activities for kids who are young photographers. For some of these activities, you don’t even need an actual camera. Aimed at children between eight and twelve years old, this playful and fun collection of projects encourages young readers to use their imagination, get messy with materials and experiment in new and exciting ways. This is a very versatile activity book as the kids can do solo activities or group and they can be done anywhere. Some don’t even require a camera! Each project also features a series of pictures and handy tips to help guide the reader step-by-step, building a visual language and encouraging creativity as they go. A great book that goes far beyond the filling-in-time kind of activity book. We are huge fans! Buy here.

If you have any fave summer activity books for kids of your own, please share them on the Bellissima kids Facebook Page! Or comment below.

Magnificent Daisy Burlap Craft for Spring!

I know it feels like summer already if you are in the States but I just love this Magnificent Daisy Burlap craft for Spring! It’s not very difficult and the results are amazing. I would love to make a big bunch of these in all different sizes for an installation! I like the earthy feel that the natural jute lends to the project. And the items you need to make these are not complicated.

Here’s the list:

1 – roll of 10 inch white poly burlap (or whatever color you want for the base of the flower)
1 – roll of 10 inch green poly burlap for the leaves , you will not use the whole roll
1 –10 inch wire wreath frame
15 – white chenille stems
Felt circles
3 inch zip ties
8 inch zip ties
1 yard of natural jute burlap
Rotary Cutter and Mat
Glue Gun Kit
Scissors

Most of them are available from Amazon or in craft stores.

I found this on the wonderful Grillo Designs site so go there for full instructions! And if you don’t feel like making this yourself, you can order one from the Jules Wreath Boutique!

Try These Amazing Methods of Easter Egg Coloring

Tie Dye Easter Eggs Using Paper Towels

We are of course, coloring our eggs tomorrow and we are going to experiment with trying these different methods of Easter Egg coloring. Well, maybe not every single one, but a couple at least. Last year, we made these Ukrainian inspired eggs below which I thought came out quite nicely. We are always searching for new and creative ways to color our eggs, so here are a few for you!

If you know of a method that you like using, please do share them on our Bellissima Kids Facebook page!

Ukrainian Inspired Easter Eggs

Cool Whip Easter Eggs

Rice Dye Easter Eggs

Nail Polish Easter Eggs

Gold Leaf Easter Eggs

Book Page Easter Eggs

Unique Vintage Camper Bird House Scale model Playset

This is so wonderful. I found these Unique Vintage Camper Bird House Scale model Playsets on Etsy! The finished camper should actually be a great home for a small bird family.

Spring time is a perfect time for crafts like this. The retro design is brought to us by the people at 1Man1Garage in Nashville. They took ideas from old photographs from a trailer they had to create this charming birdhouse kit. The construction of the birdhouse is fairly simple, but the details leave endless possibilities for customizing this to suit you.

I love that you can paint it and decorate it for your own bird family. And you can get a few and paint them different colors. The kit includes over 40 parts to build the miniature camper with awnings on 3 sides, plus flowers for the 2 window boxes, curtains, a spare tire, leveling jack, a Welcome mat, 2 flamingos, even a classic Weber style grill we all had as a kid. Most of the details are individual pieces to make painting a breeze.

The finished size is roughly: 9 inches long, 6 inches wide (with awnings), and almost 5 inches tall. This is perfect for kids to make. You can purchase it right here.

Adorable Paper Plate Sewing Easter Chick Craft

Okay, so it’s snowing outside and hard…so a bit difficult to imagine that Spring and Easter are just around the corner but they are! So, I am sharing this Adorable Paper Plate Sewing Easter Chick Craft from over at Red Ted Art!

The girls have been doing a lot of this kind of stitching lately from this Stitchables book that I blogged about earlier, so it’s a great idea to expand on this and make their own! They seem to not lose interest easily as the results are immediate and it’s not a longer term project like some of their knitting endeavors. And you can also do whatever you want with this. Maybe some smaller plates to make Easter Eggs as well as the chicks. Let us know if you make these with the kids. I always love to see the results on our Twitter or Facebook page!

Amazing Stained Glass Craft

Well, you might have noticed I’ve not been posting that much lately, because we are moving house! We are up to our ears in boxes but thought I would sneak a quick post in before I put my scissors and packing tape away for the day.

And I will be getting back to the usual number of posts very soon. In the meantime, I am dying to try this Amazing Stained Glass Craft with the girls as soon as we are all unpacked and back to normal. What’s so amazing about this is that the effect is from mere school glue and watercolors. It does take some patience for the drying time but totally worth it.

I found it on Mum in the Madhouse. Where you will find all the detailed instructions. Let me know how it turns out if you make this by commenting below!

DIY Stacking House Blocks

So here is a really effective and fairly simple craft for a weekend! I’m a huge sucker for wooden toys and anything made of wood actually, so DIY Stacking House Blocks would be just the ticket if my girls were younger. I’m kind of sad that the really simple toys of a few years ago have been replaced with more complex things. However, I’m still tempted to make these.

I found this on Mer Mag, and Merrilee guides us to even saw these up into the blocks and make the A frame roofs. All you need is a stick of wood 4×4, sandpaper, paint and a bit of beeswax if you like. Yes, and the saw! The great thing is these blocks are much larger than most blocks, making them much more original. And you have carte blanche as far as painting them. Get all the instructions right here.

BTW, apart from making fabulous crafts from anything and everything, Merrilee is also an illustrator. Take a look at her work here.