Category Archives: DIY

DIY crab apple snack for kids

Posted on September 19, 2014 | 2 comments

Apples and crabs are Nady’s most liked when it comes to fruits or shower. What a combo to wow Nady! He was really fascinated with this fun snack. Is this real?

Very easy and simple to do. You only need a red apple to create this cool crab:

Cut two sides of the apple half centimeter from the center. Slice one side in 8 wedges to create the legs. Cut the two sides of the center, disregarding the seeds.

Put them on top of each other to cut symmetrical triangles to create the claws. Then place the other half we cut in the beginning to make the body.

With edible paint make the eyes to look more realistic. If you don’t have paint, simple use the seeds!

Such a cute and delicious crab fruit!

I bet your kids will have a big smile on their little faces when they get such snack! Bon appetit mon amour 🙂

2 Comments

Posted in DIY, kids food, way to play

Tagged apple, blog, crab, DIY, fruit, how to do, jaymmy, kids, marmite et ponpon, snack

Tree with homemade fingerpaint

Posted on September 18, 2014 | 2 comments

Today’s post is so colorful and fun, not just because of the art project, this time Nady is sharing it with his friend Fouad!

Two days ago Nady came from the nursery with a painting made of dots. I knew then they are exploring circles and dots. As i mentioned once, my son is my inspiration for the activities, so lets paint a tree practicing dots!

To prepare this easy recipe you need:

1 cup flour
1 tbsp salt
2 1/2 cup water
food coloring

Mix water and salt in a pot. Set the heat on medium, slowly add the flour and mix with a whisk to not get lumps. Once it starts thickening, put down the heat and keep stirring until you get the right consistency, custard like.

Leave it to cool, then divide it in containers as many colors you want to have. Add your colors and mix well. And here is your homemade fingerpaint!

With a brown paper i made the cut out of the trunk shape to set the starting point.

Nady, already familiar with this type of painting couldn’t wait to start, Fouad (should mention he is 7 months younger) was exploring this messy art for the first time, but all what mommy needed to do is dump those tiny fingers in the paint and let the fun begin!

There are plenty of activities you can do to encourage creative play at your home. Painting is so tempting, one of the creative plays that offers many skills to learn especially when freedom is left to explore.

Children love being creative if they are given the chance, such activities develop a love for the creative process, enlarge their brain and set them up as creative thinkers in all walks of life.

Don’t hesitate to do such messy activities at home, children love the paint! Try not to stress about the mess and let them enjoy being creative. Of course shouldn’t be a war zone as well, set the rules and boundaries and let them enjoy! Homemade recipes are always the safest and easiest to be cleaned with less risk of stains.

The physical, emotional and social benefits and skills gained from such activities are worth the mess!

Painting develop fine motor skills in early age which in turn helps them to be writing ready as they are near school age.

Even at young age, creative activities help to develop maths skills such as geometry (size and shape).

Look at the art pieces we got at the end:

This is the chef d’oeuvre of Fouad, he didn’t just use his hands but his feet as well! i loved how he was exploring the paint!

And this is the chef d’oeuvre of Nady, we framed it and add it to his wall of art!

Aren’t they beautiful?

We spent a really fun creative afternoon! A refaire sans dire!

2 Comments

Posted in DIY, way to play

Tagged blog, colorful, creative, DIY, fingerpaint, friends, fun motor skills, homemade, jaymmy, marmite et ponpon, tree

DIY vintage charcuterie board

Posted on September 15, 2014 | 4 comments

Small adds up revive your charcuterie board and create a style of its own. Not necessary for just charcuterie, could be for bread and cheese or even a serving tray!

By adding drawer pulls, any simple cutting board turns to a wonderful piece in your kitchen.

Choose a cutting board of your choice. I wanted it to look antique but i didn’t find one where i live, so i had to do the effect by myself (with acrylic). In a previous post for cheese board DIY i explained how to choose your non toxic paint.

Very easy and simple DIY. If you are handy with drilling, it takes more time to describe how to make this cutting board than it takes to actually make it. Just mark where you want to fix the pulls and drill holes.

I love everything rustic and vintage, hence i chose these pulls.

And here is my vintage charcuterie board.

With those handles it’s easy to use it as a serving tray as well! It’s an open ended craft, you can create endless colors or shapes to embellish your kitchen and wow your guests. It’s even a beautiful personalized gift for friends and family.

If you like this post and you want to see more of interesting things, follow this blog and like marmite et ponpon facebook page.

I am thrilled to see your suggestions and comments!

4 Comments

Posted in DIY

Tagged blog, charcuterie, crafts, cutting board, DIY, how to do, jaymmy, marmite et ponpon, personalized, serving tray

clothespin airplanes – kids crafts

Posted on September 11, 2014 | 2 comments

We travel a lot, therefor airplanes became familiar to my son who is very enthusiastic for. Today we decided to travel somewhere in our imagination using clothespin, popsicles sticks and pompoms.

Simple and easy activity (doesn’t need too much preparation) to strengthen his motor skills, enrich his vocabulary and widen his imagination.

We were bored at home, and i wanted to create a last minute simple activity to make him busy. But i didn’t want the fun to end fast. So we started by sorting the colors by naming them and the objects we are using before we create the planes. Very simple way to teach your kid the colors and adding new words to his vocab.

Putting a popsicle stick inside the clothespin might seem easy, but for small hands and tiny muscles it needs fine motricity to pinch the clothespin. With a little help from mommy, here are the wings!

To make it more realistic, stick pompoms on each side of the pretending wings. Sticking is an interesting activity to nady. We kept on sticking and removing the pompoms for a while.

Here are our lovely colorful planes!

Actually Nady enjoyed crafting the planes, but he didn’t want to pretend traveling in them. He was pointing at the sky for real planes. Well i don’t blame him 🙂

2 Comments

Posted in DIY, way to play

Tagged activity, blog, clothespin, craft, DIY, fine motor skills, jaymmy, kids, marmite et ponpon, pompom, popsicle sticks, way to play

DIY cheese board – Spruce up your kitchen

Posted on September 7, 2014 | 6 comments

Being in a crafty mood nowadays, i am going through my kitchen, trying to ~~throw~~ recycle, create and posh it up. With a simple touch you can add some excitement to your items. You know by now, i am fond of personalized items, i love to give identity to everything in my house, and even to the gifts i offer.

After the sharpie plates DIY , today’s craft is very simple and could be done in couple of hours. it’s often the simplest ideas that are the most striking. Adding some colors and typography to my cheese board, made all the difference!

With non toxic red acrylic , I painted the edge of the cutting board after i wrapped it with a thread to create lines effect. Diluting the acrylic with more water creates a “wash” of paint, and shows the wood grain beneath.

After a lot of reading to see which paint to use for food safe purpose, Acrylic paint was the best. It is a water soluble paint but become water-resistant when dry. It is a fast drying and durable paint, containing pigments suspended in an acrylic (or plastic) binder. They come in a wide range of vibrant colors, easy to apply and clean up and have no fumes. BUT Not all acrylic paints are non-toxic or food safe. Please read paint labels and look for the “AP Non-toxic” seal. Do NOT use paints without this seal. Some have mercury, arsenic and cadmium in them for pigments and you absolutely do not want these ingredients.

After a couple of hours, the paint is dry. I traced the word “cheese” and filled it with dark brown acrylic color.

And here is my new adorable cheese board!

With a little creativity and a couple of hours, you can personalize your things at home and be unique. I am planning to use it for the first time in a romantic cheese and wine with my hubby! Time flies, enjoy every second of it.