How to make a family rules chart

How to make a family rules chart

I don't get crafty very often but when I do I really like to go all out and try to make something that will last a long time in our home. I have always wanted to have in our home a family rules chart...or family principles chart as we call it. I have seen some really awesome charts on other blogs and decided to try to create one that would fit with our family and what we believe.

Here is how I created our family principles/rules chart:

1. I talked with the family about creating a personalised chart for our home. We decided to call our chart the 'family principles' chart because we believe in teaching our kids correct principles and letting them govern themselves. We all talked about what we wanted to have on our chart and what would have the most meaning to us. The principles needed to be simple and easy to understand as we still have many young members of our family.

2. We wrote out a list of what the principles would be and then talked about what they mean to us. We made sure that each family member was happy with the principles and then felt ready to start creating.

3. I just happened to have a spare board/canvas that I knew I could recycle and thought it would be a perfect fit for the chart. It was simply a hard board backing to a poster that was hanging in one of my kids rooms. I wiped it down and headed off to the craft stores to get some supplies. You could use any size canvas or board that you like to make the family rules chart.

4. To decorate the chart I used:

craft paper/scrapbook paper

stick on letters

stick on flowers

stick on sequins

ribbons

glue

5. The first part of decorating was with the craft paper. We selected what colour we wanted to use and then ripped/tore the paper according to what width we wanted it to be on the chart. We did not worry about measuring it exactly, we just had fun and tore the paper until we had enough to stick together to cover the width of the board. We then glued the paper to the board and started the process again with the next colour we selected. We did try to stick to colours we knew would match together and would match the decor of our home. Remember to have enough rows of paper to match the number of rules you want to have in your list for your home.

6. After sticking down the paper we then picked out ribbon that we felt would make the chart look bright and fun. We cut the ribbon to length across the width of the board and glued it over the top of the connecting paper lines. We chose some colours that would be contrasting so that they would stand out when the board was hung up on the wall.

7. When the paper and ribbon was dry we then picked out what order of words we wanted to have on our chart. We selected what colour stick on letters we wanted to use and simply stuck them on to the paper in the rows. You could use a font that you like on your computer and print out the letters on paper and then cut them out and stick them on but we went for the easy (but more expensive) option.

8. When the words were all stuck on we added a few extra flower/diamond/sequins to add a little more of fun look to the chart. You can play around and add as much as you want to decorate it or simply leave it plain. 

9. When all of the above is completed your family rules chart is ready to hang and admire. For our chart I picked up this second hand frame for around $40 and it fit wonderfully.

I created this chart with my daughters and we had a great time making it. The chart hangs in our lounge room and we receive so many comments from visitors about how lovely they think it is. I love referring to it as a mother and reminding our family that we are trying our best to live good principles in our home. 

easy ideas display kids craft art projects

This year I am on my last year of displaying kids kindy craft art projects.

You know like the one cleverly, crafted and created above.

I have a love/hate relationship with these projects.

Love that my kids were creative, hate trying to fit them into my home!

I have seen my fair share of awesome (sometimes hard to love) craft projects come into my home. 

I have also used many different techniques to display them so my cherubs feel special.

Here are my tops ideas for displaying kids craft art projects:

1. The good old fridge. I don't know of any child who does not love their art work on the fridge. Super easy and seen everyday by everyone in the family.

2. Pin up board. This can be placed anywhere around the house. In the kids bedroom, play room or any family room so that it can be seen and appreciated by everyone.

3. Hang them on wire with pegs to display in rows on a wall in your home. If you have a large family or very creative children this is a great idea to create a dedicated space for displaying the kids art work.

4. A clothes airer. Just like they use in kindergartens. Bring the kindy home by displaying it outside under a veranda or in another room. Great as it can easily be folded away at anytime and also be used for the washing! Double role!

5. Display them in frames. Putting your cherubs art work up on a wall in a frame around the home helps them feel special and highlights the great work that they have done.

6. Open display scrapbook on the kitchen table. A way to keep artwork finger safe under protective sleeves and it can be referred to as the child's special art book that can be talked about during dinner.

7. One of my favourite things we have done is to lay down art work all over our kitchen table and to then cover with a clear plastic table covering so that it is see through and protected. Makes a fun table decoration and the kids can look at whenever they are sitting at the table. Great way for extended family or friends visiting to also see what art work has been created without it being destroyed.

8. For larger craft or art projects I sit them on our bookshelf or even on a hall table to be displayed and looked at. This way they are in sight of my cherubs until the time comes that they need to be disposed of for the next craft or art project because we can only have one craft project per child on display you know!

In my lounge room I have two large frames I picked up cheap that I have filled with my cherubs art work. It really brightens my room and everyone comments on it when they come in our home. My cherubs love that we have highlighted the great work that they have done. I also have a cottage looking coat hanger that hangs in my lounge (to the left in this picture above) where I can hang and display art work. At the moment it is showing off an awesome creation of Matt that Sam and Eli made.

By the way the large craft project in the first picture above that Liberty is holding is sitting in our hallway near the umbrellas and shoes until I can sneak it into the bin. Cute project but a little large for my liking!

How do you display your kids craft art projects?

pinterest + free christmas printables

I love a free Christmas print and have been having a great time finding them on Pinterest.

Check out my collection I have found below:

Christmas gift tags

subway art

Happy Holidays

Reindeer Food Tags

and the one I created yesterday if you missed it.

Linking up here.

easy christmas craft ideas pinterest

We love to do Christmas craft in our home and this year I have been hunting down some new easy craft activities to have fun with. Here are some great ideas I have seen on Pinterest.

Cute card idea from Paper Crafts Connection

Twig Christmas Trees from Craft Gossip

Easy Christmas Card tutorial from Amy A La Mode

Free Scripture Christmas Tree printable from Betty Crocker Wannabe

Wooden Nativity from Learning to be me

Glitter Table Decorations from Martha Stewart

You can view my Pinterest boards here.

Linking up with Tina Gray {Dot} Me

Biddy Bags Crochet Bag Giveaway

About 2 years ago I met a wonderful, motivated business lady named Samantha. When she told me about her business idea and what she does, I loved it right away.

Samantha is the owner of Biddy Bags.

Biddy Bags is a boutique social enterprise. It connects socially isolated Nannas and mature-aged ladies through craft, economic participation and social networking. Together they design and manufacture unique handcrafted crochet products for women that are just gorgeous!

Samantha appreciates and values the skills of mature-aged women and challenges the idea that the older you get the less you have to contribute to society. I so love it! I love that these women have the chance to use the skills they have developed over time to bless us and create such wonderful masterpieces that we can use and appreciate.

Biddy Bags products are both a fashion and a social statement. Included in the purchase of every unique Biddy Bags product is the story of its maker reminding us that real people made these wonderful bags and I so love the sentimental addition to the products.

You can check out the online store here. You can also follow them on facebook and twitter.

Samantha has donated a gorgeous Biddy Bag as a giveaway here at Seven Cherubs.

Here is the lovely bag that is available to win:

This quote appears on the inside pocket of the bag:

"This bag was handcrafted by Mrs Roslynn Maher. 

Mrs Maher has been crocheting for over 40 years and loves cooking meals for big groups of people."

I know! gorgeous right!!! I so want one myself.

This bag is worth $80.

Here are the guidelines for the giveaway:
1. Add yourself as a follower on my blog
2. Open to Aussie residents only and winner chosen by the random number generator
3. Entries close July 27th, 2011
4. Please make sure you have your email attached to your profile or leave it below
5. Leave a comment below to enter and if you want to - tell me:

Where would be the first place you would wear your bag???

GIVEAWAY CLOSED.

CONGRATS TO TARA FROM MUM-MENTS

YOU ARE THE WINNER!

childrens craft: quilling

One easy craft activity that I have the girls involved in is quilling. It is reasonably cheap and easy to do on a basic level. It does not make much mess and is a lovely quiet activity for a Sunday afternoon.

After searching for supplies (a quilling tool and paper) in local craft stores and coming up empty handed, I ended up buying the supplies off ebay for a bargain price of $0.99cents. I managed to get the quilling tool and paper together and since then the girls have enjoyed creating and designing some great colourful cards and pictures.

This is what the tools look like. A quilling tool with thin paper to roll and create with.
The paper comes in packs of different colours and is a bunch of thin strips stuck together.
You then roll it up around the tool to create circles in different sizes that you can shape and create with.

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Here are some designs Chelsea put together:

If you have the right quilling tool, one with a slit in it, you can create some really simple, easy designs.
Here is an introduction to quilling I found on Youtube if you are interested in checking it out.

                         

Anyone else do any quilling???

inspiration boards work

One of the ways I love to take time out just for ME is to make and create an inspiration board. I love to sit down with a bunch of old magazines to let my mind go crazy exploring, admiring and then cutting and constructing pictures or images that I am drawn towards.

Lately I have been drawn towards words. I have always loved words and have noticed that I have been including them in my inspiration boards more and more. They keep me focused.

For my inspiration board I use, I just picked up a cheap pin board from IKEA. I think it was $12 and I sit it by my computer where I blog and write. For this board I sat down and cut out any images that I liked. I had no theme in mind, just pretty things and wanted a collection that would make me smile.

I have been using this one for a while. It has uplifted me many times and during the week I noticed something wonderful. See below:

{Gosh! I miss Notebook magazine}

Does the above image look familiar???

I think they really do work!!
If you don't believe me go and ask Stacey, from Sunny Mummy.
Here are her instructions for making your own: HERE.

I am now creating a new inspiration board.
One that is full of goals and dreams.
More specific, more focused and more fun!

Have YOU ever made an inspiration board???
 Have YOU ever noticed it worked for you???

easy paper napkin craft ~ wallflowers

I am so grateful for Craft Blogs. They are currently saving my life with my girls.
My daughters love to make, to create and to craft, constantly.

Gone are they days or drawing, glueing and finger painting.
They are now into wanting to do some serious crafting and designing.

As a busy mother, coming up with new craft ideas is just very difficult and time consuming.
Enter the wonderful world of craft blogs and the blessing of finding easy cheap crafts to online.

I just have to say that I am amazed at those who have craft blogs. For me keeping up with this blog is hard work and I cannot imagine having to make something every time I wanted to do a post - the pressure would kill me! I really admire the work and effort that craft bloggers do.

In my searching recently I found this wonderful site over at Dana Made It.
Dana has this wonderful tutorial on how to make easy paper napkin Wallflowers.
You soooo need to check this out!

So I looked it over,  loved it and decided this was a craft we could actually do. I took myself off to IKEA {any excuse!} to get the paper napkins and came home to have some serious fun with my girls.
Actually, I think we went a little crazy!

Our home is now 'wallflowered' in 3 rooms and we are totally loving it. I found it was the perfect solution to a blank wall I have had in our lounge for ages and I love the texture, the colour and the boldness of the flowers. I even got some other colours to make later on when I want to change the colours around a bit. Couldn't help myself! I even have some great pink colours to add when I am ready to experiment.

Here are some snaps of our cheap craft adventure below:

laying out the napkins

 folding the napkins

fluffing the napkins

 more fluffing the napkins

 the lounge room wall - flowered

 a close up of the flowers

 they sit really nicely ~ even from side view

the girls put some in their bedrooms

they look great don't you think?

This craft was so easy and I am so grateful to find Dana's site as it will keep my girls happy for a little while. I love that they were able to make this all by themselves and can be reminded of how clever they are every day when they see it in their rooms.

I recommend you check out Dana's site - her flowers look awesome and you can tell she is way more crafty than me when you see her decorating. Thank YOU Dana.

the creative family

I have just finished reading 'the creative family' by Amanda Blake Soule. She is the author of the popular blog SouleMama, where she writes about and photographs her thrifting, crafting and parenting adventures. Amanda is one clever mum and has simplicity down to a fine art.

I really enjoyed reading her book. It stirred within me a desire to simplify, to create and to connect with my children on a more personal natural level. Along with my recent visits to The Organised Housewife I am feeling the need to de~clutter and to look at the items we have around our house in a more creative, imaginative and fun way. I have been clearing out rooms and trying to set up a better play and creative fun space for my cherubs.

I love how Amanda shares that many of us are feeling the need to bring a little more simple heartfelt, handmade presence into our lives. I find I am currently craving that need. I want to slow down and take in the moment more. To see the delight in my cherubs eyes when they learn a new skill and the wonderful chatter that comes when we are creating and learning.

After reading this book and pondering a little, I remembered that I used to hang up all of my kids art and school work and lately I have been so busy that I have not been showcasing them as much as I would like. I have been so busy trying to keep up with all of the events we have happening in our family that I have found I am missing out on enjoying and appreciating the creative expressions my children have been doing.

This book is a very simple read. The ideas presented are from her blog and if you have been a mother for several years you probably would have tried most of these already. I found it is not a book for more experienced mothers to get new ideas but more a book to inspire and remind you to slow down, appreciate what resources you have around you and to get back to basics in teaching and creating with your children.

I love the idea of encouraging imagination and nurturing family connections.

How do you go about it in your house?

cheap christmas crafts, value for money

Sponsored by Nuffnang

The time of year is fast approaching where we all go a little crazy with spending money. 
Yes, I am talking about the silly season - Christmas.

We shop, we scan the catalogue's, we research, we plan and we spend.
Any savings we can make during this season enables us to make our Christmas much more enjoyable.

As part of Kia's new value for money website, here at Seven Cherubs we are sharing some great ideas on how to save a few extra dollars and to get more value for your money. 

One of the things our children love to do is craft. They love to make, create and paint.
This can get quite expensive with many children and I am always on the lookout for fresh, cheap ideas.

As Christmas as my inspiration here are five of my recent finds:

Stocking Countdown calendar

Give the traditional advent calendar a creative kick by turning it into a festive garland that reuses your kids' colorful socks. Tuck inside notes, games, and goodies for kids to receive ~ one sock for each day leading up to Christmas day.

Materials needed:
25 socks to hang up
Marker to number the pegs
25 mini clothespins (available at craft supply stores) to secure the socks
Something to secure the cord or string with to hanging area
2 meters of cord, string, or ribbon

Helping hands wreath

Celebrate the gift of giving with this hand wreath. Write one good deed or simple service project on the back of each hand and set them aside in a basket. Each day, pick a hand from the basket, perform the deed or service, and add it to the wreath. You can stick each hand together to make the wreath with different adhesives to give it more texture.

Materials:
Paper plate
Green paint or markers
Green construction paper

Instructions:
To make the base of the wreath, cut out the middle of a paper plate.
Color the remaining circle green with markers or paint.
Trace your child's hand on card stock to create a pattern.
Using the pattern, cut out hands from green construction paper (make enough hands to equal the number of countdown days).

Bead Wreath

The wreath can symbolize the circle of friendship, which makes this decorative sun catcher just the gift for almost anyone on your family's list. Children will love putting this together and you will love how simple it is to make.

Materials:
silver-colored craft wire
Wire cutters
Translucent plastic beads (with center holes large enough to thread the wire through)
Ribbon
Fishing line

Instructions:
Cut the wire to a length that will form a loop the size of the wreath you plan to make plus a little extra Curl one end to keep the beads from sliding off, then thread on the beads from the opposite end.
Twist the wire ends together to close the circle and wrap the loose ends around the wire between the beads.
Tie on a ribbon and a loop of fishing line for a hanger.

Candy Sleigh

Looking for a way to sweeten the wait for Santa's sleigh? This little item should help.

Materials:
Square tissue or cracker box
Candy canes
red tape or paint
Candy or lollies

Instructions:
Cut off and discard the top of the box. Trim the cut edge of the box so that it resembles a sleigh.
Cover the sleigh with red tape or paint, or leave it if you like the pattern already printed on it.
Cut holes in the lower corners of the sleigh and insert candy canes "runners."
Fill the sleigh with candy.

Bag it!

Perhaps the most instant and inexpensive of gift wraps is in your kitchen drawer: a recycled bakery bag or a brown paper lunch bag. Not only can it make a stylish package for treats like flavored popcorn or gourmet biscuits, but also it is great for disguising CDs, cassette tapes or other distinctively shaped objects.

Instructions:
Fold down the top of the bag about 8cm or so from the edge.
With a hole punch, make a hole through all the layers of the folded portion about 4cm down from the crease.
Make a matching hole on the opposite side of the bag.
Open the bag and insert the gift (wrap food in plastic first).
Then refold the top, thread ribbon through the holes and tie a fancy bow.
Finally, slip a candy cane or lollipop between the bow and the bag.

This post was sponsored by KIA. To celebrate the great value of KIA's new cars – such as the Cerato Hatch, a website has been launched so you and your family can get some great value offers and deals. Check out my favourite deal for this week: Buy any Panasonic Lumix Camera from Digi Direct.com. au and receive a 4GB Bonus Memory Card and Case FREE at www.getmorevalue.com.au

all image are from http://familyfun.go.com