Confession of a Daddy Longlegs

Daddy Longlegs

My legs are too long, my wings are too short,

I fly like a learner that's been badly taught.

My gangly limbs make life really tricky,

and best to steer clear of anything sticky...

For I once had a friend called Lollop McFloutit,

who got his leg in some jam and flew off without it...

But friendships are fleeting, we aren't around long,

Born, Mate and Die; two weeks and we're gone.

So I cling to a wall until there's a Light,

then I hover and bother and give folks a fright.

Round and round until it gets dark,

the same every day, how's that for a lark?

And I know you all wonder what we actually do,

but honest to goodness I haven't a clue.


Linking up with Victoria's 'Prose for Thought' 

Hey, Hey, it's the (egg box) Monkeys!

They've been a long time coming these monkeys, so really hope they're worth the wait...

The body's made from the same egg box bit as the penguins (the cone that stops the eggs bashing together),

you'll also need paint, glue and brown pipe-cleaners.

Once you've cut out the bodies (top 3cm), get painting, and don't forget to paint a piece of egg lid card brown too, plus a lighter colour for the face.

About a cm from the top, make holes for arms with nail scissors - keep closed, press down and twist from side to side) and do the same at the bottom for the legs.

Make a hole in the top (if there isn't one there already) and cut a slot about a cm long at the back for the tail.
Cut 3 pieces of pipe cleaner - two 9cm long, and one 12cm. Push the longer piece up through the hole until there's enough to bend into a loop (where you'll stick the head) - then pull the rest of the pipe cleaner up through the tail slot.

Push the other 2 pieces through for the arms, and the legs - when you're happy, fold the sharp tips over.

For the head, find a suitably sized circle (we used a thread reel) and draw round it twice on some cereal box card.

Now, using one as an outline, draw two small chimp ears near the top, touching the circle, and continue down to the bottom. See picture.

In the other circle, draw two 3's facing each other (see picture again). Use the bottom of the circle to form your 3's, and make the lower half fatter and shorter than the top bit.

Cut these pieces out, and you're looking for them to sit together like this...

...with a little of the lower part visible on either side. A bit fiddly, but once it's done and you're happy, use these pieces as templates for all your other monkeys.

Add any expression you like, and glue the head onto the pipe-cleaner hoop. Best to use a stronger all-purpose glue as PVA craft glue doesn't work so well with pipe cleaners.

We made a small playground for our monkeys too - you just need the top of an egg box + one egg cup, a suitable twig, paint, glue and some coloured paper. and a ball of plasticine (modelling clay)

First, paint the egg box lid green, (or you might already have a green one) and the egg cup piece grey.

Once they're dry, cut a strip of green paper (or paper you've painted) so it wraps around the cup, leaving a space at the front. Fold the bottom cm along the strip.
Fringe the paper up to the fold - my daughter loves doing this - then chop bits out and make it different lengths so it looks more grass like.

Snip a few times into the cm fold - this helps when it come to sticking it neatly under the egg cup.
Brush glue around the side of the stone - with the fold sitting along the bottom edge, press the grass on and stick the rest underneath.

Glue to the egg box lid. We added a few paper leaves to our tree. Make a hole for the tree and push the end into some plasticine to help keep it steady.
If you have any coloured tissue paper, scrupple little bits up to make flowers.

And once you've enough chimps, you could always try something else....We had a go at a baboon..

with cheeky extras..

Next time pandas.

Many more projects like this in my craft books, 'Make Your Own Zoo' and 'Make Your Own Farm Animals'

Jumping back in - part 2

I almost sobbed when I caught a brief glimpse of the kid's old school bus on friday;
gone are the days of waving them off at 8.35 in my slippers, before a 30 second amble back to the house.

Things couldn't be more different.

They're all at new schools, we're out the door at 7.20, and every week day I'm going to be in the car for over two hours, FOR EVER. Well that's what it feels like. The years of school runs are stretching before me.

But hey, it was our choice; and the problem with having it easy for so long was I was getting lazy. Some days I didn't leave the house. Some days I didn't see anyone apart from the kids and Beryl the bus driver.

How lucky was I getting all that time and space during the day? And no complaints about avoiding the school gate malarky either; but the more time I spent on my own, the less effort I was making to go out, anywhere. It really was next stop Hermitsville.
I also found I was getting less done at home. Things were starting to drift. It was time for a change.

So my plan is to squeeze every drop of positive out of our new daily routine. I needed a kick up the arse, and maybe this'll do it.

Totally out of the blue I got some work over the summer. Up to now I've talked a good game, then fear of failure has made me back off before things got too real. This time I didn't get the chance to wiggle out of it because it all happened so fast. Nothing very exciting, just some voice over work for a legal firm. But it's a start, I can fit into my day, and I'm in the early stages of setting up a website, which is going to be interesting for a techy biff like me. I will definitely need some help.

The other thing I'd really like to do, though does sound a bit lofty, is turn my Roll up to the Zoo posts into a kid's craft book. I haven't a clue how to go about it, but it's got to be worth a try?

Makes me laugh sometimes when I think how this blog has morphed into a glorified excuse to spend more time in charity shops, make soft toys, and fashion zoo animals out of loo rolls.

It has become a rather accurate reflection of the big kid that I am. But maybe some of it will lead somewhere? It's all stuff I love.

Anyway, lots to think about during the long school run.

Everything's a bit up in the air at the moment.

UP!

Jumping back in

We got back from our travels a few days ago now, and went head first into a whirl of getting ready for school. New schools too for all of them, so even more stuff to sort out. I should really be sewing on name tapes instead of blogging, but hey...

I had a picture in my head of how the summer was going to pan out, which was obviously daft - things rarely go the way you think, do they. And there were indeed a few unexpected twists and turns:  some good, some decidedly not so good.

The first was a grim little detour to the land of pain, when I did something agony to my shoulder. There is no great story attached to this injury; no tale of daring do, no sporting heroics, not even an over-energetic frisbee throw....
I was sewing. Yep, sewing. And when I finished sewing I couldn't move my right arm without screaming.
It all happened so quickly, SO out of the blue - and it completely stopped me in my tracks.
Not great when you're in France on your own with the kids.
There were some painkillers, which took the edge off the agony, but they soon ran out and I spent one long, uncomfortable night on the sofa, watching the West Wing and talking to the cat.

Straight to the doctor the next day, who prescribed a cocktail of pills and, thankfully, they seemed to do the trick. So apart from a bit of one-handed driving, I did nothing for a week: the kids lived on bread and we watched a lot of DVDs....including all 7 series of 'Sorry' - the 80's sitcom with Ronnie Corbett (lives at home with his overbearing mother) Anyone remember it? The eldest loved it for some reason, but not quite as much as his 'Legends of Tennis' DVD which he watched at least 23 times.

Weirdly there were a few good things that came from the shoulder injury: I got back into reading, about the only thing I could do. I'd sort of got out of the habit, and had forgotten how much I missed a good book.
It's also the only time I've ever gone to France and lost weight.

The next casualty of the holidays was my camera - dropped on a hard, cold tiled floor by the second born. I very nearly almost cried; not because it was expensive or particularly brilliant, but because we've been through a lot, that little camera and me. I'm rather attached to it in a sentimental kind of way. It isn't completely and utterly bust, but landed on the zoom lens; so sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Time I think to look for a new one. I still managed to take a few photos, and this is probably my favourite - taken at the Dune du Pilat near Bordeaux, which is definitely worth a visit if you're ever in the area.

The shoulder injury put paid to my ambitious Jumble Betty toy production plans too. I had hoped to build up a decent stock. But, if I'm honest, it wasn't just the shoulder - I simply ran out of steam.
Still, having no internet for ages probably helped boost bunnies etc, and I managed this lot. Quite a few of them aren't finished though.

I did however finish knitting the Tintin jumper for my 8 year old. The one I started when he was 6. I'm not going to do the big reveal yet as it needs to be sewn up. And I'm not feeling too optimistic, because all the kids have grown like weeds this summer. I know I'll have a job on my hands to get the youngest to wear it. She's not into Tintin... or jumpers.

I've more summer shenanigans to write about if you can bear it, but will leave that for a quiet moment when the kids are back at school, and the name tape mountain has shrunk to a gentle mound.

Turtles and Tortoises

Now, I had promised monkeys, but then my youngest came up with these, all by herself, and I thought they'd be perfect for our homemade zoo.

All you need is an egg box scissors, paint, a black felt tip pen and some glue.

First, cut out a few egg box cups, then push up and round the bottoms (push in and round the corners if yours are a bit square like these ones) - so they end up looking more dome shaped.

Painting time next, and don't forget to splosh some on both sides of the egg box lid, or any other spare piece of cardboard (for legs and heads)

When dry, use a felt tip to draw a pattern on the shell, and after perusing pictures online, we added some yellow and brown spots too.

All the other bits can be cut out of the painted lid - just a thin strip snipped into four for the tortoise's legs and a rounded head with a long neck.

Use nail scissors to make a slot for the neck on one side (adult supervision). Keep the scissors closed, press down and twist gently from side to side. A ball of plasticine behind the card makes this easier.  Widen the slot so your tortoise can retreat into its shell if things get too much...

For the turtle, make the legs more flipper or paddle like (draw and cut out one front and one back leg, then use these to draw the others)
Remember to make them extra long for sticking under the egg cup.

Glue the legs underneath, in the corners, and leave to dry upside down before bending into place.

We thought the penguin's pool might be a little on the chilly side for the turtles, so made them a more tropical one!

Monkeys next. Honest.

Butterfly - The Gallery

Never think of myself being particularly patient, but the other day I spent a good hour happily chasing butterflies around a field, trying to catch one on camera. Definitely a challenge as they flit about so fast, and by the time I'd sneaked up close enough, holding my breath, they'd be off again, dancing above the wild flowers.
Most of my pictures are blurred or just of nothingness; but I really didn't mind that, or getting long grass stuck in my flip flops, or the pins and needles in my hand from holding the camera so tight. All worth it. I'd have clicked away for longer if I could.

Seeing them fluttering about is one of those joyful signs of summer (now we have one!) - and don't forget the Big Butterfly Count from the 20th July to the 11th August. Get involved if you can. Just 15 mins in a sunny spot, recording what you see. Such a great thing to be part of, and we learnt a lot doing it last year. I always look out for them now, which is probably why I ended up chasing butterflies around a field in the sunshine.

Linking up with The Gallery - this week's theme is SUN