little people discovering their world through good, old-fashioned play

summer twig ornaments

Posted on May 18, 2013 by happyhooligans

Add a little glam to your deck or patio with summer twig ornaments made from raffia and painted sticks. I just love it when we take a few simple craft materials, and transform them into something this beautiful! This week … Continue reading →

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sandbox ideas

Posted on May 15, 2013 by happyhooligans

Backyard series: Sandbox Ideas. Tips for creating a natural play space in your back yard. I recently wrote about the PLAY LOGS that I added to the back corner of our yard, and today I’m sharing the second post in … Continue reading →

3 ingredient puffy paint

Posted on May 14, 2013 by happyhooligans

Make vibrant, 3 ingredient puffy paint art in your microwave! We made 3 ingredient puffy paint yesterday. I’ve written about puffy paint before, but I wanted to share yesterday’s results with you because they’re so awesome! I also figured there … Continue reading →

homemade magic kit

Posted on May 12, 2013 by happyhooligans

Make a homemade magic kit for pretend play using a paper bag, a drinking straw and a handful of simple household items: Remember a few weeks back when I shared the 5 minute magic wand that I made from a … Continue reading →

hand dyed pasta necklaces

Posted on May 9, 2013 by happyhooligans

Quick and easy recipe for hand dyed pasta necklaces: This method of making hand dyed pasta is quick and easy, and pretty much mess-free. The pasta is vibrant and won’t stain hands, and it’s great for sensory bins and crafting … Continue reading →

clothesline activity

Posted on May 8, 2013 by happyhooligans

Fine motor and water play come together in this fun clothesline activity:

Now that we’re enjoying summer-like temps, we’re starting to get back into our favourite fair-weather activities, like this clothesline activity that I set up in the backyard this morning.

The hooligans often play with my basket of wooden clothespins. They’re excellent for developing fine motor skills, hand muscles and co-ordination. For today’s activity though, I brought out our camping clothespins. They’re bright and fun and colourful, and they’re slightly easier to squeeze open than the wooden ones.

What you’ll need for your clothesline activity:

rope
clothespins
basin of water
stack of facecloths

String your rope up between to trees, posts or deck rails, and you’re good to go.

The hooligans had a great time washing their cloths, squeezing the water out and hanging them up to dry.

The baby had fun simply splashing in the water.

And someone even decided to wash her socks! This makes me think it would be fun to bring the doll’s clothes out, and let the hooligans “launder” those. Maybe tomorrow.

If this is your first visit to Happy Hooligans, I’d love for you to pop over and LIKE us on facebook. I update my page daily with easy and affordable arts, crafts and play ideas.

You can follow me on Pinteres t too! I have over 90 boards dedicated to all kinds of kids’ crafts and activities, as well as some personal interest boards too.

See you there!

homemade wind chimes

Posted on May 5, 2013 by happyhooligans

Homemade rainbow wind chimes made from sticks we collected on a nature walk:

The other day we were out for a walk, enjoying the gorgeous Spring weather that’s finally arrived, and along the way, the hooligans were collecting sticks. Making homemade wind chimes is a project I’ve had in the back of my mind now, and I figured these sticks would be the perfect thing to make them with.

Other than using sticks, I hadn’t given much thought to how we would make our wind chimes, and then I came upon this fabulous, colourful key wind chime on Inner Child Giving, made by Carla over at Small & Friendly, and it all came together for me.

What you’ll need to make your rainbow wind chimes:

Sticks
acrylic paints
craft varnish
small screw-eyes
yarn (or fishing line, jute, twine etc.)

For your convenience, I’ve included affiliate links to some of the products used in this post:

How we made our wind chimes:

We started by snapping our sticks into lengths of about 8-10 inches.

Next, we peeled the bark off the sticks. This is actually quite fun, and older kids might really get into this part. The hooligans are a bit young, and found it tedious after a few minutes, so I ended up doing this part mostly by myself.

Then, everyone got a sanding block or a piece of sandpaper, and gave their sticks a quick once-over to remove any remaining bits of bark. The hooligans love sanding wood. For a fun activity, I sometimes set out a few pieces of scrap wood and some sanding blocks for the hooligans to have a go at. They think it’s great. They’re always impressed by how satiny the wood feels after giving it a good scrubbing.

Then, each stick got 2 coats of acrylic paint.

The sticks dried quickly in the sun, and then I brushed on a coat of craft varnish. This step is important for a couple of reasons. Firstly: because these sticks will be hanging in the yard, the varnish will offer some protection from the elements, and secondly: a great craft looks even better with a coat of varnish. From paper mache to painted rocks, a coat of varnish will take your craft from “ok” to “WOWZA” in a matter of seconds. It adds some shine and makes your colours really “pop”.

When the sealer was dry, we screwed tiny screw-eyes into one end of each stick. I started each one, and the hooligans finished twisting them in. Depending on how hard your wood is, your child may require very little or a lot of assistance with this part.

I then tied a long length of acrylic yarn to each hook, and took the sticks back to the oak tree beside our playhouse, and tied them to the lowest branch.

Ready?

Ooooo!

Can you hear me doing my happy dance?

Check it OUT!

Aren’t they awesome?

And when the hooligans jump up and swat at them,

or when the wind blows…

…GORGEOUS!

See? Proof once again that you don’t have to spend a lot of money or get too fancy when it comes to crafting.

If this is your first visit to Happy Hooligans, I’d love for you to pop over and LIKE us on facebook. I update my page daily with easy and affordable arts, crafts and play ideas.

You can follow me on Pinteres t too! I have over 90 boards dedicated to all kinds of kids’ crafts and activities, as well as some personal interest boards too.

See you there!

Chalk Chook, we LOVE your chalk!

Posted on May 4, 2013 by happyhooligans

Chalk Chook: hands-down the most whimsical and vibrant sidewalk chalk we’ve ever played with!

Remember a few weeks back, we received a surprise package of handmade chalk from Mel at Chalk Chook? You can click here to read all about that excitement.
Well, temps are finally on the rise here, and we recently took our Chalk Chook out to the front porch, and had a colourful morning testing out all the different whimsical pieces that Mel sent us.

I’m thrilled to report that it is without question the BEST sidewalk chalk we’ve ever come across!

When you draw with Mel’s chalk, the colours are just as brilliant on the sidewalk as they are in the pieces that you hold in your hand. The vibrant colours remind me of oil pastels. It was so fun to make such vivid drawings.

Something that I noticed when we initially opened our package from Mel, and again when we were drawing, is that Chalk Chook’s chalk doesn’t leave your hands coated in powdery dust like the commercial brands do. Well done, Mel!

And somehow Mel’s chalks are denser, and seemed to last longer than the store-bought chalk we’ve always used. Normally I can’t get through making a hopscotch with one stick of chalk, but the Chalk Chook pieces go a long way.

And the shapes, of course, were hugely popular with the hooligans. There were stars, cars, fish and dinosaurs, to name a few, which made for a whole lot of excitement as the kids traded pieces with each other, and used their chalk pieces as toys as well as drawing instruments.

Are the pieces gorgeous? Wouldn’t they be perfect for stocking stuffers, party favours and loot bags?

You can order some Chalk Chook of your own, directly through both their Website and Etsy Store. Located in Australia, they ship world-wide.

You can find Chalk Chook on Facebook too! It’s one of the prettiest pages out there!

From all of us hooligans, THANKS again, Mel!! Your chalk ROCKS!

If this is your first visit to Happy Hooligans, I’d love for you to pop over and LIKE us on facebook. I update my page daily with easy and affordable arts, crafts and play ideas.

You can follow me on Pinteres t too! I have over 90 boards dedicated to all kinds of kids’ crafts and activities, as well as some personal interest boards too.

See you there!