Make a Disney Princess Castle - Arts & Crafts

Hello,

So with all this talk of recent heat waves and only non stop rain the girls and I got stuck into some Paper Mache Arts & Crafts.  We decided on a Disney Princess Castle. You could just paint it grey to make it more boyish or pick colours to create a neutral Fantasy Castle.  In my house as usual, we went for an explosion of pink!! 

                                             
                                         










So I started with getting the base ready. I collected a series of cardboard tubes and taped them together.  I then taped this to a cardboard piece. See below;

To make the towers you roll up a piece of paper in one corner.  As you roll, turn the paper to the right to form a cone.  Tape along the edge of the paper to hold the cone in place.  You will need to make a number of cones for each tower top. Tape cones onto the cardboard towers. These will be the turret roofs. Don't worry about the tape looking untidy as all this will be covered in Paper Mache later.

See below;

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To make the Paper Mache glue I just mix flour and water. So simple!! Tear strips of old newspapers, the kids will love doing this.  I get the girls to use big paintbrushes when applying the Paper Mache glue then place a strip of newspaper then recover it with the glue mixture again.  Cover the whole thing with layers of this Paper Mache glue and newspaper.  It will look like this;

Leave this to dry overnight. Then the painting fun begins!  So we went for all over pink for the base colour.  Get the Aprons on, these are from Ikea. I find them great.

So after the painting was finished we had a very pink Disney Princess Castle.

That was left overnight to dry also and then we just added some details.  Farrah informed me Disney castles have blue tower tops. We just added some windows and doors.



Here is the finished result;

 We are getting some fun out of it with the Disney Princess characters :-)

Have you ever tried Paper Mache with the kids? Give it a go, Great for the rainy days! 

Don't forget you can keep up to date with Countryside Mumsie on our social media accounts facebook and instagram.

Thanks for reading,

Orla & Kerri X

Toddler Activities for Rainy Days

Hello, 


Today's post hopes to give you a few ideas on how to keep your toddler busy at home, especially on a rainy day!





1: Russian Dolls

Nearly everyone's mother or granny has a set of Russian Dolls in their home that are never used. Ask for them for your toddler. My girls love the challenge of fitting all the various characters into each other and trying to do it faster than the previous go!






2. Skills Boards

I recently purchased the Mellisa and Doug 'Basic Skills Board'. It is a lovely handcrafted piece. It challenges your toddler with laces, buckles, buttons, belt buckle, zip and popper button. It is mentally challenging and teaching them life skills. My 18month daughter particularly loves the buckle challenge whilst my 3 year old daughter enjoys the other harder tasks. Great purchase for toddlers of all ages.




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Melissa & Doug 'Basic Skills Board'





Georgia at 18 months loving the challenge of the buckle!







3: Toy Picture Collage

My 3 year always requests this one over and over. Toy picture collage. With a safety scissors she cuts out her favourite toys from the Argos or Smyths catalogs. She then glues them all on to a page. She adores this activity. She is planning her Santa letter in her head whilst doing it ;-)








4: Peg Boards

Peg boards really catch a toddlers attention. It is great for practicing the pencil grip.



Beading is a lovely activity for toddlers. It requires great concentration and they also get to wear what they create.





5: Toilet Roll Bracelets

Making bracelets out of toilet rolls is a great hit in my house! Never throw away toilet rolls, you will always find an Arts&Crafts project with them involved.



6. Indoor Tent

Make a tent; Use chairs, blankets, duvets and pillows. then camp out in the sitting room :-)




7: Shoe Shop:

Shoe Shop; line up all the shoes and play shop, not forgetting the cash register, fake money , receipts and bags.





8: Hide the Spoon

Hide the spoon; Hide it in the sitting room and various places around the house and let the kids find it, never grows old!





9:Indoor Picnic

Indoor picnic; Blanket on the floor, teddy bears ready!





10: Puppet Show.

make puppets out of old socks and sew buttons on for their eyes.





10: Home cinema

Draw the curtains, make popcorn and put on their favorite film.

11: 

GO OUT!!

Put on the Wellies and waterproofs, take umbrellas and splash in puddles!

 

Finding ladybirds in the rain.







Let me know if you have any other cheap and cheerful activities for keeping your toddler busy at home?





Don't forget you can keep up to date with Countryside Mumsie on our social media accounts facebook and instagram.


Orla and Kerri xx