Be inspired by the new Beci Orpin DIY book Sunshine Spaces

Beci Orpin's brand new DIY book Sunshine Spaces is the kind of book that makes you feel prettier and cooler just owning it. Scattered throughout the book are thoughts from Beci about her relationship with urban nature, a range of DIY ideas from very easy through to challenging, and page after page of beautiful images of kids and grown-ups connecting with the local outdoors.

Kids' floral workshop at Seasonal Concepts in Sydney

Sydney wonder emporium Seasonal Concepts in Redfern, NSW is hosting a floral workshop for kids next Saturday 7th May. Send your 8-15 year old along for an hour and a half of creativity and be guaranteed beautiful blooms for Mother's Day!

Make a beautiful terrarium with the kids

I received this beautiful copper and glass terrarium from West Elm and have been enjoying it's interesting angles sitting on my sideboard, but thought the kids would love to help me turn it into a real terrarium with gorgeous succulents.

Make: Mother's Day photo gifts

There's not much that Mums love better than a photo of their children or grandchildren. I've teamed up with Officeworks to create two fun photo projects that Mums will love using their in-store Kodak Picture Kiosks. Both are inspired by a DIY challenge by Katrina Chambers, an ex-contestant on The Block and now lifestyle blogger. I've tweaked and personalised them a little with a splash of colour. Read on to make these gorgeous photo blocks and a framed photo heart.

Make: Kids' Easter Bonnet for the Easter Hat Parade

Easter is just a few days away and for many kids, the excitement is at fever pitch for the Easter Hat Parade. You kids might be making their own bonnets, or you might have been roped in. Having a heart attack about it? I made four in one night, and you can too. Here's the tutorial that I put together a few years ago. Click here. Super-easy!

Images and tutorial by: Steph Bond-Hutkin | Bondville

Make: Felt patches for holey leggings

Winter has been very cruel to the leggings in our house. There is nary a pair without a holey knee or two. But rather than throw them away, I spent a few hours making felt patches to cover the holes and voila - even cooler tights!

To make these knee patches, I drew a heart shape onto paper and cut out, to make a pattern. I then pinned the pattern to scraps of felt and cut out heart shapes. Then I positioned and pinned the hearts over the knee holes, and hand-sewed with a simple running stitch.

Easy and so effective! You could also cut simple shapes like circles, stars triangles and squares. Raid the cookie cutter drawer to make some patterns. A gem-shape would look great, especially with some contrasting stitching to mark the facets! Let me know if you make felt knee patches for your kids' leggings or pants - I'd love to see pics.

Note - I wash with cold water and I don't use the dryer; both of which may affect the felt and cause shrinkage.

[My little one wears her leggings with a tutu from Tutu du Monde.]

Image: Steph Bond-Hutkin | Bondville

Make: face teacup planters for Father's Day

My friend Diana is a crafty Mum and always organises fun activities at playdates. For a recent Frozen screening she handed the other Mums and I a pack of Pebeo Porcelaine 150 pens and a plain tea cup to have our own craft time while the kids sung their hearts out. How good is that! I made this little two-sided character and potted it with a mini succulent. You could get the kids involved and make one too for Father's Day.

Side one:

Indoor rainy day activities for kids

When it's rainy and you're ready to go spare with the kids, these are a few easy activities that should keep them occupied for hours.

Balloon volleyball:

Painting rocks:

DIY Dreamcatcher kit for girls

Looking for a little school holiday activity crafty fun to make with the kids? Lovely Deni from Free Range Living sent us two sweet DIY dreamcatcher kits to try out and we love them to bits.

Make: cute DIY bunny craft kit from Artstitch

More cute Easter craft for you - this little bunny craft kit from Artstitch comes with everything you need to sew your own rabbit in the prettiest cotton Liberty outfit. Too sweet! Head to the Artstitch online store to check out the whole range. Make one for a little person, or buy as a gift for an older child. Suitable for beginner to intermediate sewers.

Image: Artstitch 

Make: Easter craft projects for kids

If you're looking for some fun craft activities to do with the kids this week before Easter, hop over to my friend Lisa Tilse's excellent blog the red thread for these two gorgeous craft tutorials:

Make bunny softies from socks:

and a sweet Easter bunny costume and egg hunt bag:

Do you recognise the littlest Miss Bondville?! She was such a good little model. I love this photo of us together.

There are also some great Easter printables over at TinyMe and some fun tutorials at Mum's Business including my articles on making Easter branch decorations, Easter hats and Easter cooking treats.

Have fun getting ready for Easter this week!

Images: the red thread

Make: Free Superhero doll craft pattern

So you crafty types out there - what do you think of these gorgeous DIY Superhero dolls designed by my friend Lisa from the red thread? Head to Lisa's blog now to get the free pattern for these dolls and surprise the little ones in your life. Great for using up scrap fabric!

Image: the red thread

Free Valentine's Day Printables from Tinyme

Print out these adorable free designs from tinyme to get started on some fun Valentine's Day craft activities with the kids. There are super-cute cards, straw flags, gift tags and more. Click here to get started!

Images: tinyme

Make: Take One UNICEF Tshirt...

Today is the UNICEF Day for Children! My blogger-buddy Kate works for UNICEF Australia and when she asked if I would be interested in being part of a cool project to upcycle an old UNICEF tshirt, I jumped at the chance.

I'm one of 10 bloggers participating, which is a great way to raise awareness for the UNICEF Day for Children. And with kids in mind who might need a little extra comforting, I decided to make the most of the sky-blue colour of the UNICEF tshirt, to create a comfy cloud pillow.

Here's the tutorial for this easy DIY craft project:

Halloween lantern free printable from Sassaby

If you do no other decoration for Halloween this year, try these super-easy Halloween lanterns - a free printable download from Amy at Sassaby in Queensland. Simply head to Sassaby, download, print, and secure in a cylinder shape with a little tape. Pop in a little weight and tea light (preferably a non-flamable one) and arrange a few at your front door or gate for a little fun seasonal spirit. Easy! And a perfect DIY craft for the kids.

Image: Sassaby

Make: crafty octopus lantern decoration tutorial

For many of us it's school holidays, and if you are looking for a fun, easy DIY craft activity to do with the kids, try these purple octopus lantern decorations. We made these for our big girl's 6th birthday party to hang above the table, but now they are hanging inside as they are too cute to pack away. Here's what you will need:

Lotta magazine for school holiday kids' craft activities

Depending where you are in the world, there's a good chance that it's school holidays. If you're going a little crazy, grab a copy of the latest Lotta magazine which is chock-full of great kids' craft activities for 5-10 year olds. Designed and written in Australia, Lotta magazine is beautifully designed with clear, easy craft instructions and great photos to inspire the kids.

The current issue of Lotta magazine is themed When I Grow Up and includes fun activities such as the emergency vehicles cubby houses and uniforms (how great!!!), star lights (high on my wishlist), a blueprint board for budding architects (genius), and many more arts, craft, and games for kids.  

You can find Lotta magazine in the online store as well as select stockists around Australia.

Images: Lotta magazine

Make.Play craft workshops at Object Gallery in Sydney

Get on the craft bandwagon with these great, affordable craft workshops at Sydney's Object Gallery in Surry Hills. The Make.Play program runs until 29th June 2013 and there are some really fun workshops by fabulous local crafters artists lined up including Cut N Paste Zine, Mobile Mania, Papier Floristry (tonight!), Pom Pom Necklace and Tshirt Bowl.

There is also a Japanese art workshop for kids running July 3-4 to learn the art of origami and kirigami with Chaco Kato.

Head to the Object website to book. Workshops are held at the MAKE. PLAY studio in Surry Hills. If I wasn't going away this weekend, I would absolutely be attending the Mobile Mania workshop by the amazing Dear Plastic.

Image: Object Gallery

Make: craft workshops for kids at The School in Sydney with Amanda Lonsdale

I remember going to Day Camp as a child. We all got on the bus and ended up in a big field in a bushy area south of Brisbane. We made humpty-doos and billy tea and damper. We sang a lot of songs, put on a performance at the end of the week, and had an amazing time.

Next July school holidays, there is an equally memory-making (if not a little more cool/urban) opportunity at Megan Morton's The School in Sydney.

Long-time blogger and now home-schooler Amanda Lonsdale (aka Miss Lonny) will be hosting a four-day and two-day craft program for children 6-15 years. Limited to only 12 kids per class, the program will include a different instructor each day, sharing their love of terrariums, printmaking, sewing, photography, paper crafts, and a super-cool "fiesta day". The kids will be coming home each day with armfuls of things they have made, and tales of new friendships too.

I can only imagine how inspiring for the kids at The School - a big, light-filled space, bright craft material, fun instructors, sweet treats and all based in the heart of one of the city's coolest design districts. The kids' craft program looks like a great experience and something the kids will remember for a long time (and I bet the afternoon tea tastes slightly better than our dodgy damper!).

The four-day program will run from Tuesday July 2nd - Thursday July 4th, 2013, and the two-day program will run on Monday 8th and Tuesday 9th July, 2013. The classes run from 9.30am - 4pm and are fully catered for including a yummy morning tea, lunch, and afternoon tea. A full description of classes can also be found on The School website on the July 2013 calendar. Read more about The School here on Bondville.

Images: The School

I made four Easter hats in one night - you can too

Last week I made four Easter hats in one night using an old nappy box, a few sheets of card stock, bought shredded paper, one cheap chicken in a nest, and the contents of our craft box (ribbon, washi tape, paint, broken butterfly, broken flower clilp, feathers). You can too!