Bunchland

Krista Rao blogs about crafty adventures with her kids

A super busy schedule around here the last couple of weeks hasnʼt really left us with any substantial time for crafting. Never fear, I have found pockets of time in which to dream, plan and bookmark crafting ideas that I am interested in doing. I have put together an Easter craft roundup of some of my favourite ideas and tutorials. Hopefully we can get some of these done before Easter!

1. I can imagine Ava cuddled up reading with one of these, these or these adorable bunnies!

2. Check out these Birdʼs Nest Cookies– they look super easy and delicious.

3. Cadbury Creme Egg cupcakes! I have a sister who would just go crazy over these cupcakes from My Baking Addiction… hmm, but does she deserve them?

4. Silk tie dyed eggs, chalkboard eggs and cross-stitched eggs. Yup! All on my list!  Read more...

Three simple magic tricks to let your kid feel like a junior magician

Harry Houdini, the magician, escape artist, and dazzling stunt performer, would have been 138 this weekend!

Houdini’s magic career began in 1891 with performances in dime museums and sideshows. He even doubled as “the wild man” at a circus. His repertoire grew from card tricks to elaborate escape acts, which would become his real claim to fame. His big break came in 1899 when he wowed the world with a handcuff escape gig. Onlookers were baffled. Police felt so threatened they threw Houdini in the slammer for half a year.  Read more...

Krista Rao blogs about crafty adventures with her kids

I hijacked the kidʼs valentines this year. I have been wanting to make this style since last February and come hell or high water, this year, it was getting done. While it should have been as easy as 1-2-3-4 (take a photo of each child with an outstretched fist, overlay some font in Photoshop, print them off and cut a little slit above and below the outstretched fist to fit the sucker through), it just didnʼt work out that way.

I really complicated things with my over the top ideas. Since Anthony is really into super heros I thought I would make his card look like a comic strip. Avaʼs was a lot simpler because all she wanted was PINK. Despite my constant battles with Photoshop, I think that the cards ended up looking super adorable.

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Melt them, shave them, or mold them; crayons make a great Valentines

Crayon Stained Glass Cards

You’ll need: waxed paper, a pencil sharpener, crayons, a bone folder, and a warm iron.

Remove the paper from crayons and shave them using a pencil sharpener. Sprinkle the waxed paper with the shavings. (The more wax you sprinkle, the more opaque the colours will be). Fold the paper in half, then fold along the edges to prevent the melted crayon wax from leaking. Iron the folded wax paper on a medium setting until the shavings melt. To prevent leaks, place a few sheets of scrap paper on the top and bottom. Cut the “stained glass” wax paper slightly smaller than the card and tape it closed using double sided tape.  Read more...

Accommodate your surplus of holiday greeting cards creatively and minimize clutter by turning them into funky Christmas decor

Sure, you could pile them on your mantle, but then where would you put your antique Santa ornament or dreidel collection? Here are six ways to display all the lovely holiday greetings you and your family have received:

Card Tree: Put together your own bouquet of dried winter branches (or a mix of pussywillows, branches and cedar bough) in a vase. Stick them into a piece of foam if you want them to stay put. Punch a hole in the top middle of your cards and suspend from branches with a loop of ribbon or small craft clothespins. Alternate cards with ornaments if you want to pump up your display.

Glass coffee table collage: If you have one of those versatile coffee tables with a glass covered top, give it a seasonal modification by arranging your cards underneath.  Read more...

With the help of some fancy photo-editing tools

This is a superfast way to make a homemade card, or framed work of art for Dad. There are a number of ways to go about doing this, and depending on your computer software and photo-editing abilities, but we’ve just gone with the straight-up easiest.

You’ll need:

• A photo in .jpeg form (many web-based photo editing programs can grab photos straight from your Flickr or Facebook accounts)
• A printer
• A photo-editing program (if you don’t have Photoshop on your computer, there are a number of web-based alternatives.)
• Crayons

Steps:  Read more...

1. If you’re working in Photoshop, please check out this excellent video, or watch the one below.
2. If you’re not using Photoshop, pick a web-based program with built-in editing features like FotoFlexer.
3. Upload your image in FotoFlexer