Tickle The Imagination magazine Kids Issue 21: Sprout

I know I'm biased as it's the Kids Issue, but Issue 21 of Tickle The Imagination magazine is my favourite yet. It's full of ideas for creative kids' bedrooms, study spaces and toy rooms, party ideas, a recipe for healthy doughnuts, DIY craft tutorials for softies and fabric lunch sacks, interviews with creatives and much more. Here's a sneak peek of some of the kids' inspiration in this Australian-published and printed craft and lifestyle magazine:

Cheap and easy DIY Alice in Wonderland costumes for kids

It's Book Week - that week that sends dread into many a non-crafty-parent's heart, and joy for the rest of us. Our school celebrates every second year, and this year the theme was Alice in Wonderland, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the book's publication. My girls were very specific about the their characters - the Queen of Hearts, and the White Rabbit (during the croquet game, which is apparently important to note).

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

Dandi Baby Shower and doilie garland tutorial

My friends at Sydney homewares and textile designers Dandi put together a gorgeous baby shower for team member Leezar recently. I love the red and white theme with a vintage touch for a baby shower, especially if you don't know if a little boy or girl is on its way. I think this theme would also be gorgeous for a girl's birthday party, and stunning for Christmas too!

Caroline and Mindi from Dandi share their tips and tricks for styling this gorgeous baby shower below. AND there's a super-easy tutorial to make the gorgeous doilie bunting garland. Enjoy!

Party: Leezar's Baby Shower
Organised by: Caroline & Mindi from Dandi
Location: Sydney, NSW
Theme: Vintage

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:

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:

Make: The Bondville Christmas Tree Branch

It's a yearly tradition for the girls and I to go hunting together for a large fallen branch and drag carry it home to decorate as our Christmas tree. 

This year we decided to add a little glitter action for some added sparkle. We argued over gold or silver and of course my big girl won, so gold glitter-dusted tree it is.We started with a base of a few favourite decorations and a sprinkling of Polli Christmas decorations (see the pics). Then I let the girls go to town adding as many decorations as the tree can hold, as well as new decorations that they seem to be making every day, and gift tags from opened presents. All good fun.

If  you would like to make a glitter Christmas tree too (it's never too late), head over to eBay's Mum's Business website where I have written a full tutorial using both glitter paint and loose glitter and glue.

And one branch in silver for good measure (a lot messier than the gold dust paint!)

Did you go with the glitter this year? Silver or gold? Let me know if you give it a go.

Images: Steph Bond-Hutkin | Bondville

MAKE: a cool house doorstop with fabric scraps

I've been wanting to make a fabric doorstop for a while, with all my fabric scraps and lovely samples that I have picked up in abcd meet-up goodie bags and from textile designer friends. There were lots of pyramid-style doorstop tutorials online, but I wanted something a bit different. So I made my own! Presenting, my house-shaped DIY doorstop:

I love it! Useful, cute and reduces waste. I used some great fabric from Sydney quilter and crafter extraordinaire Siobhan (Beaspoke Quilts), and will make more with some upcycled tea towels and left-over deck chair fabric from my stash. I used bits and pieces that I had around the house - scrap paper, an old nappy box and a recycled ziplock bag.

If you would like to make one too, head over to eBay's Mum's Business website where I have written a tutorial for my house doorstop which includes instructions to make a house-shaped template. I promise, it's not hard at all - and may even make a fun handmade Christmas gift for family and friends.

Images: Steph Bond-Hutkin | Bondville

Make: Thousand Origami Paper Cranes artwork

First stop on our North American tour was Vancouver to visit my sister and her husband in the super-cute Kitsilano area. Their garden was full of vegetables and their deck covered in pots of flowers and herbs - heaven for the local hummingbirds.

Apart from having a green thumb, my sister is also a crafty DIY gal and a whiz with origami. I adore this amazing artwork that she created for her husband as a wedding gift, featuring a thousand Japanese paper cranes that she folded herself leading up to their big day. According to Japanese folklore, the person who folds a thousand paper cranes is granted a wish by a crane. Origami cranes given as gifts are said to be powerfully lucky; what an amazing wedding gift!

You can make this artwork with your favourite paper (origami or not) and a serious amount of patience. There are a huge number of paper crane tutorials online. My sister recommends bundling the finished cranes in groups of 10 to keep track. Once you have folded one thousands cranes, use your imagination to display them in a frame. You can spray a little adhesive onto the frame backing to ensure that the cranes do not move once they are hung. Place the cranes randomly in the frame, or create a pattern. My sister used solid origami paper, a black backing sheet and a square black frame to showcase her work.

This is also a great project to try with older kids, and a great school holiday project. It's perfect for a rainy day but this craft is portable, so you can also take your papers with you to the park.

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Images: (c) Steph Bond-Hutkin

Craft: Recycled Tissue Paper Pom Wreath Tutorial

Here is a quick and easy Christmas project that you can make at home *tonight*. I was trying to think of a craft project to make at home with my big girl using only items I had around the house. This Christmas Wreath is made using the same principles as for tissue paper poms (still a big trend) and only recycled/upcycled material. I think it looks pretty nifty.

All you need is a piece of cardboard (I used a mango tray), used tissue paper from all the presents that you have been receiving (I fished my crumbled tissue paper out of my wrapping paper stash), some old ribbon or string, scissors, a pencil and two pot lids (one big, one small). I even nicked an ornament from our tree to give it a little pizazz. Give it a go!











Images and Tutorial (c) Steph Bond 2010