If, like us, you have an ever-growing stick collection, this is the perfect nature craft for you! Sticks and twigs are just brilliant for crafting, and this little project turns them into a lovely homemade gift. All you need is a plant pot, some string, and a little plant to pop in when you're finished. The idea is to create a length of tied-together twigs that you then fasten around the pot. Start off by measuring each stick ...
How to make fun bird feeders
Do you feed the birds at this time of year? We try to do it all year round, but in winter it's particularly important to give wild birds a helping hand, because natural food sources are scarce. One of the kids' favourite craft activities is making our homemade feeders; I've lost count of the number of times we've made them, and whenever we put them out in the garden they vanish within a couple of days! This week we've been ...
Nature craft: painted rocks
Painted rocks are a classic nature craft, and one that my kids never tire of! It's a great little craft that doesn't need much preparation, and suits pretty much all ages of child. It's also brilliant for those days when the weather isn't fantastic but you'd still like to get hands-on with some natural materials. Here's how to make your own painted rocks. We use rocks and pebbles from our garden for this craft (I'm pretty sure it's ...
Homemade bird feeders
Winter is a tough season for wild birds. Natural food sources such as insects and berries are scarce, and they need lots of energy-rich food to maintain their fat reserves, which are called-upon most when temperatures drop. Providing a winter food source for birds is not only a great way to help your local wildlife; encouraging birds to visit your garden will supply you with plenty of interest during the winter months. You can buy a wide ...
Fun garden games to get kids active
The arrival of warmer weather and longer days means one thing in our house: everyone spends more time in the garden. This is a really busy time of year gardening-wise, so I’m always pottering about with plants, and the kids just love being able to play outside and blow off steam. I’m a huge fan of outdoor play. After being cooped-up indoors my kids’ mood visibly lifts when they head outside for some fresh air; it’s no surprise really, given ...
Nature craft: making a wooden whistle
Today I'm sharing another lovely nature craft that we did on our recent trip to Skylarks nature reserve in Nottingham. As well as doing some fab clay pressing with natural materials, the kids also had a go at making a wooden whistle from twigs. I can vividly remember having one of these made for me when I was six years old and we were on holiday in Canada; it was so exciting watching it take shape, but I didn't get hands-on like my kids did ...
Clay craft: making clay pressings from nature
A couple of weeks ago, we spent a fantastic afternoon exploring nature at our local nature reserve, Skylarks in Nottingham. Skylarks is part of the Wildlife Trusts, and it's a great place to take the kids for a good old outdoor romp. Last year we made journey sticks there, which has become one of our absolute favourite nature crafts. On this particular visit Skylarks was holding an open day, with lots of hands-on activities, demonstrations ...
Nature craft: flower pressing
Oh this flower pressing nature craft has taken me right back to being seven years old :) We've been finding beautiful flowers and petals in nature, then preserving them using a flower press, just like I did when I was little. How have I not done this with the kids until now?! We didn't over-complicate this nature craft; we just worked with what we found in the garden. It was an absolute joy to watch these two exploring nature, getting ...
Nature craft: making natural noughts and crosses
I always look forward to the kids being at home more in the school holidays, and this year I'm absolutely loving the extra time it's giving us for crafting. There's a four and a half year age gap between my kids, and I find nature crafts one of the best ways to get them inspired and absorbed by the same activity. We're having our bathroom re-fitted at the moment, and we've been a bit tied to the house while the workmen do their stuff. So we ...
Nature craft: making a miniature garden
We've been having a LOT of fun with our latest nature craft: making a miniature garden. This is a nature craft that I've been wanting to do with the kids for ages. It can be as simple or as complicated as you want, and you really don't need to buy any special materials; just head outside and see what you can find. We started off with a bit of a hunt around the garden, and came up with this haul. It's the first time I've been pleased that ...