Visit To Pumpkin Patch

Hello, 

Today we got to visit Halloween Pumpkin Patch at The Curraghchase Garden Centre, Co Limerick.  I have never been to a Halloween event like this before so I didn't really know what to expect.  It was great to see the garden centre had gone to huge efforts.  An area of the garden centre was dedicated to the Halloween event. It had a shop selling teas, coffees, candy floss etc, there was a pumpkin carving area with all the utensils provided.  There were bubbles, face painting and numerous Halloween photo opportunities set up. The main event was the huge selection of pumpkins available.  

It was lovely to roam around the hay field and pick the pumpkin.  You could pay for the pumpkin and bring it home or for an extra 3e you could carve it at the Halloween event. The prices were reasonable. Obviously it is more expensive than buying a pumpkin in the supermarket but it is all about the experience and how the kids enjoy it. There was no charge into the event. I booked a few weeks in advance and some time slots were already booked out.  We got a 10am slot, early on a Sunday morning but the weather was lovely and sunny which made the whole experience memorable.  It was a beautiful Autumn morning. 

The grounds were brilliantly decorated which added to the magic of it.  The kids were so inquisitive of the various scary set ups. 

We came across the unusual white pumpkins there, the girls wanted to carve one.  It ended up with a Hello Kitty being carved into it.  Dad got caught for this particular arts and crafts session!

Hello Kitty Pumpkin! :-)

I would highly recommend a day out at Curraghchase Garden Centre for Pumpkin Patch. Leave the buggies at home, too hard to push them through the hay.  Bring the baby carriers.  Bring wet gear.  Although the sun was out, the field, pumpkins and hay were wet. Also bring the wellies.  

If you go let me know how you got on...

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Thanks for reading,      

Orla Xx

Quality Time - Easy Arts & Crafts @ Home

                                                                                                            

Today I am blogging about a recent arts & craft project I did with Farrah at home.  It was really simple and we both enjoyed creating it together.  We did a paper mache cat.  It was easy, cheap and fun to make.  It took a few hours on different days to create, which was great to keep Farrah busy while Georgia had her afternoon nap.

What we needed to start:
4 toilet rolls for cats legs.
2 Balloons. One for head and one for the body.
Cello-tape to stick the legs to the balloons and the two balloons together.
Newspaper.
Flour and water to make the paste.

 

Instructions:

 

1: Blow up one balloon the size you want the body to be. Then blow up the other balloon in proportion to look like the cats head. 

2: Stick the head to the body using cello tape. 

3: Stick the toilet roll legs to the body also using cello tape.

It should look like this;

 



 

 

 

4: Make the paper mache paste by mixing plain white flour with water. 

5: Tear the newspaper into strips.

6: We used a paint brush to paint the paste onto the balloons then stuck the newspaper to it, then added another layer of paste on top to ensure it would stick.

7: Using newspaper I made the cats ears and tail which I secured using the paste and more newspaper.  You just cant beat flour and water! :)

8: Cover the whole cat with at least three/four layers of newspaper.

9: Let it dry over night.

 

It should look like this;

Cat when wet;

 

 

Cat when dry;

 

 



10: When it is all dry, talk to your child and decide what colour cat you want. We went for a black and white cat. Farrah had a great time painting it.

 

 

                       Farrah enjoying painting the cat by herself.

11: The whole cat was first painted black.  Then when that was dry we painted on white detailing to the cat.  When that was dry, Farrah painted on the face.

                       Here is the cat after being painted black.



The finished pussy cat looks like this;

 

He now lives in Farrah and Georgia's cubby house outside!

It was great fun to make with Farrah and there were different stages to creating it, so we got loads of quality time doing arts and crafts at home that week.

Give it go, let me know how you get on?

Have you made any paper mache arts and crafts projects with your kids?

I am thinking I might try a paper mache pumpkin next to store the sweets in for Halloween!

Would love to see some photos if you do try it!

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Thanks for reading!

Orla & Kerri xx

 

 

 

 

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.




 .  

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?





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Orla and Kerri xx