How To Tie a Bow for Gifts, Craft and Decorating

 

We all know how to tie a bow in our shoelace, but to make a flat decorative bow takes a few little tricks in the tying...

This little video clearly shows us how!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CXb5WXWl9L7/?utm_medium=share_sheet

Have a go and give your gifts in 2022 that 'professionally wrapped' look!

New Quiz - Countries & Capitals to Start the Year!

 

Happy New Year Everyone! 

Having been out of the UK for some years I was unable to keep up with my blogging - but here I am back again!

To start the year off lets have a quiz!

Quiz - Countries and Capitals

Match the Capitals to the Countries

    

 Here is the link for this geography quiz - how many do you match up correctly?

Quiz - Countries & Capitals

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Really hope you are enjoying doing the quizzes 

I have put together for you and your groups!

Have a look at my eBook of 41 x Easy Quizzes 

that you can instantly download and print 

for fun with your groups!

Quiz - Common Phobias - Printable with Answers!

With the Internet at our elbow, we are all more knowledgeable - 

or are we...??

What do you know about Common Phobias? I was amazed to find a list of 100 - have put up 15 of the most common in a new Quiz - see how many you and your groups either know or can work out by the name used to describe it...

Quiz - Common Phobias

If you want more Easy Quizzes do have a look at my 41 x Easy Quizzes eBook 

Printable and with all the answers!

 

Benefits of Colouring in for the Elderly with Printable Drawings!

I have long believed in the therapeutic effect of colouring in for adults of any age.

I loved colouring in with my grandchildren, when they were little - not just to please them, although they loved Granny to join in, but for the pleasure and relaxation I found myself enjoying in the process.

I found this very good website, "Golden Carers", which not only discusses the benefits of colouring in for the elderly, but also includes five downloadable drawings. 

They can then be printed as needed.

Here is the link....

Benefits of Colouring in for the Elderly

Enjoy!

Toby has new Summer Bandanas!

Toby looking very smart and ready for some Summer Walks - just need some sunshine...

More from Toby's fashion portfolio... home-sewed with such pleasure!

Proud to be British...!

Chickens...!

Bird Anagrams - Quiz... Printable with Answers

Ten Bird Anagrams for you to decipher with your group - over a cup of tea of course!

Bird Anagrams - Quiz

Answers supplied in case you get stuck...

Hope you enjoy this little quiz - if you want more have a look at my eBook...

41 x 10 Easy Quizzes - Printable with Answers 

 

Easter Face-Cloth Bunny and Hand-Towel Teddy to make!

Easter is coming around again soon, and so why not make a few gifts - easily made by just folding towelling...

Using a face-cloth for the Bunny and a hand-towel for the Teddy,  they will both be useful gifts, after the little choccy eggs have been  devoured...!

I have made the face-cloth Easter Bunny before...

for tutorial see here and here

I decided to make him again this year, as we now have a hand-towel Teddy to add to the fun...

The Easter Bunny has button eyes this time, but you can us googly eyes of course!

The hand-towel Teddy is easy to make and all you will need is a hand-towel, elastic bands, ribbon and buttons or googly eyes.

Here is an excellent tutorial showing how to make it - just folding....
No sewing involved!

Hand-Towel Teddy

Have fun with your groups or families, making these Easter Gifts...

 

Winter - Celebrate with a Wall Mural...!

We made our Winter Mural at Braintree Mencap, with strings of artificial ivy, red poinsettia and white tissue flowers. 

Then our table of members, coloured-in various winter-themed pictures, which we added, to give the mural some lovely points of interest...!

Wall Murals are fun to put together and there are endless themes you can develop. 

Try, as we did, the Seasons or maybe Holiday themes - Religious or National. 

Popular also are Sporting themes - Winter or Summer Sports. 

Geographical - work on a country, showing highlights of what that country is known for...

Whatever you decide - enjoy working together with your groups - young and old.

  

 

New Quiz - Our world... the Highest, the Longest, the Smallest etc ....See how many you know!

Take a break and try our quiz with your group, with a cup of tea of course - and a mince pie, being that time of the year!

Here it is - with all the answers in case you get stuck...! 

Highest Longest Quiz

 If you would like more quizzes, do have a look at my ebook...

 41 Easy Quizzes

Memory Wire and Bead Bracelets

We found these Memory Wire and Bead Bracelet Kits on eBay (they come in a range of colours) - what a great afternoon we had making them up in our Craft Group at Mencap. 

We placed the beads on white poly plates to make them easy to see and to pick up and then threaded them onto the memory wire coil. The best thing is, they fit any size wrist and are just so pretty...  

You do need "jewellery tools" however to make a loop at each end of the wire as it is not possible to bend by hand (this loop stops the beads from falling off, so is essential!)

Here are a couple the girls made...

Kavita

 

 

 

Jenna

An Autumn Wall Mural at Mencap

 We put together an Autumn Wall Mural at Mencap this week - with temperatures in Essex topping 30C it still felt like Summer, but now a few days later and after some very welcome, steady rainfall, we are back to normal weather - Autumn - "a season of mists and mellow fruitfulness"

 Our centre piece (Autumn Wreath) was made using an excellent tutorial from this website In the New House 

We added the wording in the centre wreath.

 Stacy insisted on the Pink Tail - as was a girl squirrel...! And why not?? Even squirrels can have fashion tints!

A Simple Little Felt Purse - Tutorial

Here is a very simple little felt purse - we will be making these at Mencap when we start the new term in September - so more photos to follow when we see what they come up with - always delights me to see their ideas and creations!

What you will need...

Felt

Embroidery thread

Charm (optional) Can use buttons or anything else as an embellishment

Magnetic clasps (we got ours on eBay)

How to make...

Cut out  your two pattern pieces and your heart (or any other shape such as a flower or something geometrical)

Felt Purse Pattern

Attach you magnetic clasps positioned as below (instructions will be with clasps)

 Stitch your charm or button to your heart shape.

Sew your heart over the back of the magnetic clasp, on the outside of the flap as below, using blanket stitch.

Join the two purse pattern pieces - again, I used blanket stitch.

 Easy to make and useful for coins, lipstick or a spare tissue!

Here is Jenna with her felt heart purse - and wearing such a pretty floral dress - Jenna is such a pleasure to sit and do craft with - always has a big smile for everyone and tackles everything with such enthusiasm...!

 

Quiz - Numbers! Printable with Answers

Time for a quiz...! 

All the answers are numbers...here is the link - printable and with answers!

Quiz - Numbers! 

If you would like more quizzes then do have a look at my eBook...

41 x 10 Easy Quizzes with Answers 

All types of subjects, printable and with answers - hours of fun with your groups - trivia specifically put together for our senior citizens...

Toby - proudly wearing his British Bandana!

Toby already has many fans, but here you see him in his latest role - wearing his Union Jack Bandana - Proud to be British...!

 

Felt Bunnies Wall Hanging - Tutorial and Templates

 A simple little felt wall hanging - here is how to make it...

You will need...

A4 sheet of felt for background

Scraps of felt for bunnies and flowers

Buttons

Pom pom or cotton wool balls for tails 

Double-sided sticky pads to attach tails 

Embroidery thread

Wooden dowel and ribbon to hang

 How to make...

Print out the Bunnies and Flower templates 

(my flowers were cut from a die on my Big Shot, but if you want to cut by hand here is a flower template to use)

Bunnies Template

Flower Template

Take your A4 sheet of felt and turn over a hem of 2cm (width of hem depends on the thickness of your wooden dowel - we used green garden stakes trimmed to size)

Stitch across leaving ends open - either on machine or by hand

Cut out your bunnies and flowers

Stitch the bunnies onto the background, using a running stitch

Using double-sided sticky pads, stick on the bunny tails

First stitch both layers of flowers, together with the button and then stitch onto the  background felt

Stitch stems with embroidery thread

Slip the wooden dowel through the hem and tie on a ribbon for hanging

 
 Here are some we made at Mencap - enjoy making yours!

Mencap Wins Best Float in Braintree Carnival...!

We did it .... we won First Prize in our catergory and then Best Float in the Braintree Carnival overall...!! A great team effort - well done Mencap!

 

We Made Tissue Paper Flowers at Mencap for Braintree Carnival

Mencap is putting together a float, to join in with the annual Braintree Carnival, which will be held on Saturday 11 June.

Our Thursday Art and Craft group was asked to make lots of bright colourful Tissue Paper Flowers to put on the float and so we had a lovely afternoon making them.

We followed this excellent tutorial...

Tissue Paper Flower Tutorial

Our tissue paper came in A4 sheets, so using 5 sheets for each flower, we made them up as per the tutorial. 

Because we used a slightly bigger sheet of tissue paper, our flowers were larger, but it worked just as well.

Tea and Tissue Paper Flowers

Jenna with her flowers

Andy painting Union Jacks