How to Make Simple Friendship Bracelets

BLOG CATEGORY: Arts & Crafts for Kids | Posted on: August 11th, 2011

Friendship bracelets are a fun and simple craft to make. Why not invite some of your friends over, and have a bracelet-making party? You can exchange them with each other, and then every time you look at the one tied on your wrist you will remember the stories and fun times you shared with your friends while you made them.

Friendship bracelets have a charming tradition to them that you should pass on when you give them away. Help fasten the bracelet onto your friend’s wrist, and tell them to make a wish. When the bracelet is worn out and comes off their wrist, the wish will come true.

How to Make a Simple Beautiful Braid Friendship Bracelet

Most of us have had a chance to create a braid, whether in a craft or with a friend’s ponytail, but don’t forget that you can make some pretty, simple bracelets by braiding as well.

To make your bracelet the correct length, measure your wrist with enough give so that the bracelet is a bit loose and will be comfortable on your wrist. Use a ruler or piece of string to help measure your wrist and use the measurement for all the bracelets you want to make for yourself.

1. Spread out the three colors of strands of string. Pick up the right group of threads and move them into the middle position as shown.

2. Now pick up the left group of threads (A) and move them into the middle position.

3. Pick up the threads that are now on the right (B) and move them into the middle position, and then repeat this with the left threads (C), moving them into the middle position.

4. Continue to repeat these steps until you are finished, alternately moving the right threads and the left threads into the middle position of the braid until you have braided the complete length of the threads.

5. Knot the loose end and tie around your wrist. Easy!

One of the things that has helped friendship bracelets maintain their popularity for more than thirty years is that you can achieve eye-catching results with very few supplies. Also, the techniques are straightforward and easy-to-learn.

Starting your Bracelet: There are two ways to start your bracelet, either by leaving enough length to tie your bracelets onto your wrist (normally 2 inches/ 5 cm is enough) and then knotting the strings, or by folding your strings in half and tying a loop. Depending on which method you choose, you will need to cut different numbers of strings at different lengths. Each bracelet has a
little chart to show how long your threads need to be, and how many to cut of each color.

Finishing your Bracelets: Once you have knotted the bracelets to the length you measured, you will need to tie the ends so they don’t fall apart. If you have created a loop at the start of the bracelet, thread your loose ends through the loop and tie them into a knot around the loop. If you have left the ends of the threads long and tied a knot to start your bracelet, do the same to finish the bracelet and trim the ends so they are even. Tie the bracelet on with the threads from both ends. You can braid the ends, tie beads onto them, or trim them off.

Did you know: that once you accept a friendship bracelet from someone, you must wear it until it naturally wears out and falls off. If you take it off sooner than this, it means that you no longer want to be friends with the person who gave it to you!

Browse Friendship Bracelet s & Kids Activity Kits

Tea Parties for Children

BLOG CATEGORY: Kids Gift & Party Ideas | Posted on: August 12th, 2011

Tea Parties for Children ~ The Tea Party An Introduction

A tea party is the perfect occasion to dress up and invite your friends over for a wonderful afternoon of playing games, eating special food and drinking tea. It is even more fun when you use your very own tea set that you painted yourself. Let’s get ready; it’s time to have a tea party!

How to Have a Tea Party ~A History of Crust-free Sandwiches

Tea parties have been popular for over 150 years. Originally the only people invited to tea parties were royalty and friends of royalty. Everyone wore beautiful gowns, gloves and fancy hats, and tea consisted of tiny sandwiches and cookies served on pretty china.

Nowadays, most of us aren’t real princesses, or have royal friends, but it is so much fun to dress up and pretend! The following pages have lots of fun ideas to help you host your own party.

Invitations and Dress Up ~ What to wear for a tea time affair

Here are some fun suggestions if you and your friends need help. Planning what to wear: Pretty dresses, or a fancy cape, fancy shoes, purses tiaras, crowns, hats, bonnets and lots of jewellery! Scepters, swords and gloves.

Invitation Ideas

Hare some great ideas for invitations. Use cards and decorate them with: Glitter glue, Scraps of giftwrap, Stickers, Ribbon, Gemstones and Sequins. Use stickers and add decorations to your invitations that reflect different themes for your parties.

Tea or Two

In this section you will find plenty of great ideas for hosting your tea party.

Setting Your Table

Make it Pretty for your Tea Party

Now it is time to set your table and show off your beautiful tea set. Take the time to decorate your table with a lovely table cloth, flowers, doilies and pretty centerpieces. Lay out your tea set so that each place setting includes one cup and saucer, a plate and a pretty napkin. For a special touch, write each guest’s name on one of the place cards and set them by each place setting so your guests know where to sit when they arrive.

Food Ideas ~ Taste-tea treats to serve your friends

There are lots of great ideas for yummy food to serve at a tea party, but try to

serve things that are easy to eat daintily with your fingers. You and your friends will have fun nibbling bite size snacks and teeny treats from your pretty plates, so think about things that are small and won’t be too messy. Little candies, cookies and fruit are always good. On the next few pages are some recipes for other tea party favorites.

Prepare the jelly mixes directed on the box. Crumple some tinfoil into circles and put them in a pan. Slice the orange in half and scoop out the fruit so Only the peel remains. Fill the orange shells with prepared jelly and place on the tinfoil circles so that they don’t tip over. Put in the fridge to set. Slice the jelly oranges into wedges and serve!

Mini S’mores

Ingredients: graham wafer cereal, mini marshmallows, and chocolate chips

Use a graham wafer cereal, mini marshmallows and chocolate chips to build

mini s’mores. Microwave them for 10 seconds until the marshmallows and chocolate has melted. What a yummy treat!

Pinwheel Sandwiches

Ingredients: Sandwich bread, your favourite jam, and peanut butter Tools: Rolling pin, and a butter knife

Cut the crusts off of a piece of sandwich bread and gently flatten it with a rolling pin. Spread the bread with jam or peanut butter. Roll the bread up carefully and cut the roll into slices. Dust the pinwheel sandwiches with icing sugar.

What to Drink

At a traditional grown up tea party, they likely will serve real tea. However, you and your friends will probably enjoy other beverages more. Here are some suggestions: Lemonade, Fruit punch, Ice tea or Hot chocolate. When you’re thirst-tea!

Game to Play

Classic party entertainment ideas

A tea party is a time to visit with your friends, have a lovely time eating the food you made, and sip your tea. However, you may want to have a special game prepared to play as well. This will encourage your

friends to laugh and have a good time at your party. If it is a nice day, play outside and enjoy pretending that you are royalty attending a party, fairies attending a magical celebration or that you are on a jungle safari. However, if it is a drizzly day and you need to play inside, here are some classic games that are lots of fun.

I SPY

This is a very old, traditional game that was played in tea parties by royalty long ago. Start the game by selecting an item in the room without telling anyone what it is. Tell everyone that “I Spy with my eye, something that is _______” and tell them what color it is. Have everyone guess what the object is until your guests discover the item. An alternate way

to play this game is to have everyone cover their eyes while you remove an object from the room. Then have your guests try to guess what item is missing.

Have a great tea party!

A Great Gift Idea for the Tea Party Loving Girl

"Tea Time” Paint & Pretend Kit

Comes with a 56 Page Book of Ideas!

This Kids Tea Set Includes: 17 mini tea set pieces, 10 paints, 2 paint brushes and a 56 page book Idea Book included tea party birthday party theme ideas, pre-made invitation, 10 tea party recipe ideas, and 6 different types of fun games you can play at your tea party and 5 creative themes for your tea party!

Tea Parties for Children

BLOG CATEGORY: Kids Gift & Party Ideas | Posted on: August 12th, 2011

Tea Parties for Children ~ The Tea Party An Introduction

A tea party is the perfect occasion to dress up and invite your friends over for a wonderful afternoon of playing games, eating special food and drinking tea. It is even more fun when you use your very own tea set that you painted yourself. Let’s get ready; it’s time to have a tea party!

How to Have a Tea Party ~A History of Crust-free Sandwiches

Tea parties have been popular for over 150 years. Originally the only people invited to tea parties were royalty and friends of royalty. Everyone wore beautiful gowns, gloves and fancy hats, and tea consisted of tiny sandwiches and cookies served on pretty china.

Nowadays, most of us aren’t real princesses, or have royal friends, but it is so much fun to dress up and pretend! The following pages have lots of fun ideas to help you host your own party.

Invitations and Dress Up ~ What to wear for a tea time affair

Here are some fun suggestions if you and your friends need help. Planning what to wear: Pretty dresses, or a fancy cape, fancy shoes, purses tiaras, crowns, hats, bonnets and lots of jewellery! Scepters, swords and gloves.

Invitation Ideas

Hare some great ideas for invitations. Use cards and decorate them with: Glitter glue, Scraps of giftwrap, Stickers, Ribbon, Gemstones and Sequins. Use stickers and add decorations to your invitations that reflect different themes for your parties.

Tea or Two

In this section you will find plenty of great ideas for hosting your tea party.

Setting Your Table

Make it Pretty for your Tea Party

Now it is time to set your table and show off your beautiful tea set. Take the time to decorate your table with a lovely table cloth, flowers, doilies and pretty centerpieces. Lay out your tea set so that each place setting includes one cup and saucer, a plate and a pretty napkin. For a special touch, write each guest’s name on one of the place cards and set them by each place setting so your guests know where to sit when they arrive.

Food Ideas ~ Taste-tea treats to serve your friends

There are lots of great ideas for yummy food to serve at a tea party, but try to

serve things that are easy to eat daintily with your fingers. You and your friends will have fun nibbling bite size snacks and teeny treats from your pretty plates, so think about things that are small and won’t be too messy. Little candies, cookies and fruit are always good. On the next few pages are some recipes for other tea party favorites.

Prepare the jelly mixes directed on the box. Crumple some tinfoil into circles and put them in a pan. Slice the orange in half and scoop out the fruit so Only the peel remains. Fill the orange shells with prepared jelly and place on the tinfoil circles so that they don’t tip over. Put in the fridge to set. Slice the jelly oranges into wedges and serve!

Mini S’mores

Ingredients: graham wafer cereal, mini marshmallows, and chocolate chips

Use a graham wafer cereal, mini marshmallows and chocolate chips to build

mini s’mores. Microwave them for 10 seconds until the marshmallows and chocolate has melted. What a yummy treat!

Pinwheel Sandwiches

Ingredients: Sandwich bread, your favourite jam, and peanut butter Tools: Rolling pin, and a butter knife

Cut the crusts off of a piece of sandwich bread and gently flatten it with a rolling pin. Spread the bread with jam or peanut butter. Roll the bread up carefully and cut the roll into slices. Dust the pinwheel sandwiches with icing sugar.

What to Drink

At a traditional grown up tea party, they likely will serve real tea. However, you and your friends will probably enjoy other beverages more. Here are some suggestions: Lemonade, Fruit punch, Ice tea or Hot chocolate. When you’re thirst-tea!

Game to Play

Classic party entertainment ideas

A tea party is a time to visit with your friends, have a lovely time eating the food you made, and sip your tea. However, you may want to have a special game prepared to play as well. This will encourage your

friends to laugh and have a good time at your party. If it is a nice day, play outside and enjoy pretending that you are royalty attending a party, fairies attending a magical celebration or that you are on a jungle safari. However, if it is a drizzly day and you need to play inside, here are some classic games that are lots of fun.

I SPY

This is a very old, traditional game that was played in tea parties by royalty long ago. Start the game by selecting an item in the room without telling anyone what it is. Tell everyone that “I Spy with my eye, something that is _______” and tell them what color it is. Have everyone guess what the object is until your guests discover the item. An alternate way

to play this game is to have everyone cover their eyes while you remove an object from the room. Then have your guests try to guess what item is missing.

Have a great tea party!

A Great Gift Idea for the Tea Party Loving Girl

"Tea Time” Paint & Pretend Kit

Comes with a 56 Page Book of Ideas!

This Kids Tea Set Includes: 17 mini tea set pieces, 10 paints, 2 paint brushes and a 56 page book Idea Book included tea party birthday party theme ideas, pre-made invitation, 10 tea party recipe ideas, and 6 different types of fun games you can play at your tea party and 5 creative themes for your tea party!

How to Paint with Pastels

BLOG CATEGORY: Arts & Crafts for Adults | Posted on: August 11th, 2011

How to Paint with Pastels | A Sunset Stage

The fiery evening sunset takes us into a brighter, more vivid range of pastel colors. The subject allows you to practice pastel blending, yet offers the use of a silhouette for detail and contrast between light and dark.

Step 1. Rather than sketching out the subject, create the sunset and reflection in the water first. Use white pastel for the sun, yellow and orange in the remaining areas, with just a little crimson red in all four corners of the page.

Stage 2. Blend the colors with your fingertip working from light to dark:white to yellow to orange to red.

Step 3. Use the top edge of a black pastel or black pastel pencil, to lightly draw on the real and reflected body of the windmill, house, tree and bushes.

Step 4. With a pointed black pastel or black pastel pencil and a ruler, draw in the windmill sails. A little yellow can be used for highlights and also for the windows on the house. Using dark brown pastel and a black pointed pastel, pick out the boughs and branches of the tree. Use orange for the highlights on the tree. Complete the reflections with horizontal strokes of the pastel to add to the watery effect.

Details: A. In the shapes created by the outline use diagonal strokes of brown pastel to fill in the silhouette in the sky and its reflection in the river.

B. Press more heavily on the brown pastel. C. Use gentle black diagonal lines over the brown, blending with the tip of a finger or, if you wish, leaving it unblended in these areas. The choice is yours.