Earlier this year my Middleman* had a Library night for his Grade at the school (very clever idea I might add). All the kids had to dress up like a story book character.

The instruction that was brought home* was – A book character that wasn’t a movie. My interpretation – That the character had to originate from a book (even if it was made into a movie)

Wow, so during the process I realised how many books were movies and as we were going according to the Middleman’s instructions it took a little while before finding a book that wasn’t a movie yet. After a little creative persuation on how cool it would be to be Wally from “Where is Wally?” ,we were set. 

Have you ever made a suggestion and convinced your child that it is a great idea and then you wonder why you actually suggested it? But so, this is all part of parenthood and I embrace it and love it!

So with a decision made, I wasn’t going back to ask for another character….we were all happy (I think).

It should be really easy to just go buy stuff for a dress up, but we live in South Africa where there are some things that are just not that easy to find or could cost you an arm and a leg. And I need both my arms and legs with 3 boys!

I made a decision on what the outfit had to consist of:

1. A white and red beanie

I knew I could crochet one, so it seemed an easy enough task

2. A red and white striped shirt

Thought I would find one in a shop somewhere but nowhere had red and white OR white and red striped shirts anywhere. Fortunately after a conversation with my very handy mom, she offered to make one quickly

3. Glasses

Had an idea I would be able to find this at a Party or Novelty store

4. A cane

Thought I would be able to find this at a Party store, but with no luck decided that I would just make one with paper mache. How difficult could it be?

5. Jeans and sneakers

These were easy enought to find as we had them in his cupboard

Beanie

I had a basic beanie pattern that I crocheted kept on fitting on his head as I went along to make sure it was big enough. The pom pom for the top of the hat is a very basic pom pom which can be made with 2 paper wheels

Shirt

I am sure that red and white striped material would be easy to find, but it is like every shop stops stocking it when you need it. Fortunatly, my clever mom found a cheap (non-breathable and probably flamible*) material that she could make into a T-shirt. Perfect for the amount of time he needed to wear it. With her master sewing skills, we had a shirt in no time!

Glasses

Totally in luck I found these round nerd glasses with plastic bottle top looking parts where the glass would go. Because you could barely see through them, I just popped the insides out and voila – Wally glasses

Cane

This was the fun part. Making a cane was actually a rather easy process. I knew that I could find a wooden dial and with some paper mache I could make the top part.

What I used:

• Wooden dial – I looked for one that was about the height I needed (the Middleman’s waste height) and was rather thick .
• Saw
• Wire
• Newspaper
• Clear wood glue
• Brown paint – I used all my primary colours to make a brown

Method

1. I sawed the dial to the appropriate height, baring in mind that the rounded part that I was going to make would also add length to the stick.
2. Using the wire, I formed the rounded part of the stick on top of the dial.
3. Mixing some water with the clear wood glue powder I made the glue that I was going to use for the paper mache.
4. I tore the newspaper into strips and formed it around the wood and wire letting it dry after every layer.
5. After it was properly dry I painted the stick

A pair of jeans and sneakers added to the mix and the *Middleman was Wally and a VERY VERY happy one at it. He kept on sneaking behind stuff so I could take “Where is Wally” pictures.

He declared greatness on the evening and it is now a talked about event in our house!

When you can’t find something in the shop, kids are mostly very happy with a homemade item….especially made with love!

SO GO BE CREATIVE!!!

If you like this, please share it….because sharing is caring (because what would the world be without us sharing our creativity?)

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Before I begin I would like to clarify that this post is full of carbohydrates and no Tim Noakes! I don’t do Banting as my Greek genes overwhelm every thought of cutting carbs from my eating plan. I do think my jeans might benefit from me banting, but in the same breath – I do not think it will ever happen!

So while everyone else is busy banting I am busy bunting! I am not a serial Bunter, but I Bunt when I need to.

NOTE: I am pretty sure these are not real words, but as “bootilicious” can make it into the dictionary maybe “bunter” can as well.

I love the look of bunting hanging beautifully from the ceilings and walls to decorate a special occasion, or for that matter any occasion. However my first introduction to bunting was far from the pretty that we all know now. About 15 years ago when I started working at an Incentive Travel company the only bunting that was around was the ones that you could find on a cruise ship and the ones you had to make for your client with their company logo all over them (not so pretty). Thankfully a creative brain can change something not so pretty into something really pretty! Bunting can be made of any material you wish/like and in any shape you like. I love the traditional triangle bunting and have a few new materials I want to try and make bunting out of as soon as I have time (interpretation: It is going on my long list of  “want to do’s”) and hopefully I will be able to show something on my blog when it is done one day.

I have had a number of parties that I have done that I have used bunting for decorations. I thought I would share how to make some easy-peasy paper bunting

You will need:

• A stencil of your bunting shape(will explain how to make one below)
• Sheets of different coloured paper
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• String

For the stencil: Cut out of hard cardboard the shape (triangle, circle, square) you would like your bunting to be. This will be your “master” and you can keep it for all future bunting.

How to make it:

1. Lay the paper out on a flat surface with the front to the bottom. If you have very thin paper you can even layer your paper on top of each other.
2. Mark your triangles with a pencil. Try to get as many triangles in next to each other in order not to waste paper.
3. Cut the triangles out with a sharp scissors.
4. Once you have all your triangles you can start to paste them onto the string.Your length will be determined by how much string you are using.

How to make bunting

Tips:

• If you are measuring a space to put the bunting up, take into account that bunting hangs. You will thus need to make your string at least half to three-quarters longer than your measured space.
• Vary your patterns and even the colours of your paper to create interesting bunting
• Eat at least one piece of carbohydrates whilst doing your bunting ….preferably a piece of cake

When you have your next party and wonder how to quickly do up the room….BUNT!!!

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