Junk model horse riding stables
We’re getting ready for the Carnival of Junk Play on Friday 3rd December!
What do you think of our riding school? We have stables, jumps, a daisy filled paddock and some prize winning rosettes – and all made for free using re-cycled materials from our beloved making box. B has been off school ill this week and we needed a good ‘sitting down’ activity to keep us busy and cheer us up – and this is what we made. It was a totally spontaneous project, put together after a rummage through the junk box to see what materials we could find.
The base is made from a big piece of cardboard from a packing box, which happened to have a circular shape marked out in the centre which seemed to say ‘paddock’! The jump is made from two Smarties tubes, turned inside out, with a wooden skewer, snapped in half and poked through the tubes to make the cross bars.
The stables are made from tissue boxes, and the one on the end which has proper stable doors is made from a teabag box. We covered them in sugar paper, held in place with sticky tape – as you know we can’t wait for glue to dry when we want to get playing. The prize winning rosettes are made from little gift bows salvaged from some presents, with a ribbon made from sugar paper.
We have a bucket with a pipe-cleaner handle, wool for straw and a biscuit tray cut up and stuck inside each stable to make a feeding trough (there’s probably a proper horsey word for that isn’t there?) The bunting is made from wool, old wrapping paper and held up on wooden skewers. And the paddock was painted with poster paint, sprinkled with a little glitter while it was still wet, and with some daisies (cut from a remnant of edging from my sewing basket) glued on.
Not all our junk models are this grand – L’s boat was very simple, but they both sum up what I love best about junk modelling:
it’s recycled, it costs nothing, it’s creative and it’s makes a toy with lots more play value to it.
Want more happy handmade crafts?
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Pine cone crafts
I love putting out some goodies for the girls to pounce on when they come home from school and then seeing what they come up with. Last week they had a selection of wool, pine cones, ribbons and feathers – and they decided to make some birds. They used craft glue to stick their materials to the pine cone and here are their creations.
We tied B’s bird to the end of our number line, which happens to hang over the radiator in the kitchen – the perfect place for our cat to sit and make swipes at the pine cone bird. L, ever since she started imaginative play, has always centred it around families so I wasn’t surprised she made a nest full of birds.
I like to see how they both take the same materials but add their own spin to what they make. It’s also great to see that 4 year old L is starting to conceive an idea and is now able, all by herself, to put together the bits and pieces she needs to bring her design to life.
What have you got lying around the house and garden that your children could make with?
And don’t forget it’s the Messy Play Carnival here on Friday – come and link a post!
happily shared with We Play at Childhood 101 and ABCand123 and Upcycled Awesome
How to make story stones
Story stones are a wonderful way to combine art, language and play. So making the most of our trip to the beach the girls and I collected a few smallish, flat pebbles to make our own set of story stones when we got home.
How to make story stones
Peg dolls
We had so much fun making these peg dolls! The wooden pegs costs less than a pound for about 24 and everything else came from our making boxes, so they’re a great frugal activity – perfect for the summer holidays. What I always like about these kind of crafts is that there’s so much playing you can do with what you’ve made. You can put on a puppet show, take them for a ride on your double decker bus, let them move into your fairy garden… wherever the kids’ imaginations take them.
If you make some peg dolls, we would LOVE to see them. You can share a photo on our Facebook page.
Happily shared with and teach mama Craft Schooling Sunday
Make a double decker bus
The highlight of Little’s week was a ride on a double decker bus. We had to sit on top and right at the front of course- something I remember always wanting to do when I was a child. When we got home she wanted to make a double decker of her own.
We used a shoe box for the bus and found two biscuit containers which we stuck in place with sticky tape to make the decks. I used a craft knife to make the bus open-top and to add in some windows.
It’s always good to add in some letters and numbers, so we made a sign for our bus too.
This kind of small world play lets children try out situations they come across in real life. By testing out scenarios they can gain confidence for their own encounters in the big world. It also lets them use lots of language and if you play along with them you can add in some new vocabulary. There’s usually a song you include too – The Wheels on the Bus would be perfect here.
We have more transport theme activities you might like too.
And you can find lots more play ideas at the Childhood 101 We Play link up