Hermes Kelly Bag to make

With my current budget constraints, this is probably the closest I will EVER come to a great handbag.

Go to Hermes, find it in the thumbnails, click, customise and MAKE YOUR OWN. I’m going to use mine on my desk as a bills holder.

Doll-Houses

This site is in Japanese, which is a little intimidating, but there are 2 files:- 1 pdf with instructions and 1 pdf with the bits you have to cut out, just click on what logically seems to be a link. What fun!

Papercraft – Dollhouses

NaniBirds – Papercraft birds

Great little birds to craft, via Designfreebies

NaniBird Home

Now, would this be for mummy, daddy or any of the kids – rock the 80’s!

Still, somebody is bound to enjoy this…

Free Vector Art – HOFF-TACULAR

Also, along the same lines, and if you REALLY don’t have anything better to do, make your own US Candidate:

Halloween – pumpkin deocrating ideas

Jessica at How about orange… has a list of great ideas for pumpkin decorating,

How About Orange: Pumpkin decorating ideas

Jet-setter Luggage Tags

 Head over to HP for these custom luggage tags

How To: Make Baby wipes

Mmm, this looks interesting. I didn’t know baby wipes were so un-eco friendly.

Will definitely have a go…

Apartment Therapy ohdeedoh | How To: Make Baby Wipes

Last Minute Halloween Costumes

Just got this email from Parents.com with some last minute ideas…

1. No-sew ideas

2. Costumes you can make with stuff from your kitchen and garage

3. Crafty Mom Ideas

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All about shoelaces

Our son has started showing an interest in tying things (not necessarily shoelaces), so I decided to buy him a pair of lace-up shoes. So, it would be in my best interest to teach him how to tie his own laces, since this child can hardly ever be convinced to wear shoes, unless it can be slipped on in 2 seconds or less.

So I bought him the Plan Toys Tie-up shoe to get started on. The packaging recommends from 3 years and up, but it does take some dexterity to master.

Then I started trawling the internet for stories to accompany the making of a bow and this seems workable to me:

1. Bunny Ears

Probably the most common method for teaching kids to tie their own shoes is the “Bunny Ears” method.

• Tell the child that he needs to make his shoe laces into “bunny ears.”
• First,
  he needs to secure a knot for the bunny’s head. Take the laces and
  cross them over to make an “X”. Then, pull one ear through the bottom
  of the “X” and pull tight.
• Say, “Now we need to give bunny some ears.” Loop the laces into “bunny ears”.
• Tell
  the child that now we need to “make the bunny ears tight so they don’t
  fall off”. Then make another “X” using the “bunny ears”, slide one
  “ear” under the “X” and pull tightly.
• 

Though I wonder…

The Squirrel and the Tree

This is a fun method that utilizes a
kid friendly story and movements that help kids understand and remember
the basic steps to shoe tying.

• Tell the child to create “tree roots” by making a starter knot.
• Make a tree with a long thin loop; hold the loop in the child’s right hand.
• With
  his left hand, take hold of the lace and tell him that a squirrel runs
  around the tree and jumps into the hole under the tree and comes out
  the other side (he’ll need to switch hands at this point which can be
  difficult for some kids).

Many parents prefer this trick because it teaches the kid to tie shoes with the single loop method.

This seems more workable to me.

More methods on About.com

Ehow.com has some great tips that would seem obvious when pointed out, but I already made the mistake of sitting opposite my son when trying to show him.

And then finally the mother of all shoelace sites. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it! Besides teaching simple knots, there are variations on knots for adults and also knots that will help you correct “shoe issues”. Just look at these on Ian Fieggen’s Shoelace Site

I’m off to lace my shoes.

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Things to do in Joburg this coming week

With Halloween coming up, plenty to do in the city of gold…

Howloween at the zoo

Pull out your scariest costumes and dress up for Howloween at the Joburg Zoo, on Saturday, 27 October. Go trick and treating at the zoo. There’ll be no scary stuff for the small kids, but plenty to scare the adults. The fun happens between 5pm and 8pm, and entrance is R21. For more information and to confirm your attendance, contact Sophia on 646 2000 Ext 221or sophia@jhbzoo.org.za.

It’s Diwali time again

Try some Indian dancing at the Diwali Festival on Saturday, 27 October at Mary Fitzgerald Square. There’ll be the world-renowned Indo-fusion band Strings and Skins and Friends, Joburg music and dance collaboration Saptaswara, and performances from the Indian Dance Alliance of SA. An esoteric fair at Museum Africa, dance workshops, fashion shows, a fireworks display, a mini market, children’s art workshops, and a retail therapy area will flesh out the festival. The dance workshops will include north and south Indian classical, folk and Bollywood dance. Look out for an exhibition of textiles and crafts from India at Museum Africa. The fun starts at 10am and the party lasts until midnight. Entrance is free. For more information, visit the Newtown Diwali Festival website.

Spider walk and talk

Learn more about spiders – go on a spider walk and talk with the Spider Club at the wonderful Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden, on Saturday, 27 October. Cost is R45, time is 9am. The garden is in Malcolm Road, Poortview, Roodepoort. Booking is essential – phone Karen (mornings only) on 011 958 0529

Struggle transport exhibition

This sounds interesting, pity noboy at Sci-Bono thought to update their site for more information.

An exhibition entitled “Transport in the struggle”, opened last week at the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre in Newtown, and runs for the month of October. It captures the history of transport in Johannesburg and the role it played during apartheid days. The exhibition shows how the sector has changed through time: from the days of animal-drawn carts, to trams and then minibuses. Various modes of transport, including the Valiant Regal – once the most popular taxi – are on show. The history of the Public Utility Transport Corporation, or Putco, the South African Black Taxi Association and how people used public transport to raise their concerns, are included.
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