Making of a gruffalo outfit

This year for halloween wea re having a monsters and aliens theme, not a problem halloween is ages away.  Lil man says he wants to go as the gruffalo, so I had a look and there wasn't any in his size, so I said I would make him one.
Skip forward a week and he brings home a letter about world book day and decides he wants to go as the gruffalo!!!  Errrrr we have no outfit.....You can make me one......from what????

THINK Amy THINK!!!

2days later this arrives through the post:

1 brown furry monkey onesie.  After some "minor surgery" the monkey looked like this:

I then set about making the face for the gruffalo from pieces of felt - big orange eyes, white fangs for teeth and a green pom pom as the spot on his nose:

Next came the horns on its head, these were made from a white sock, cut and stuffed:

I then started to make purple spikes for its back from an old purple fleece:

lil man was so pleased with his gruffalo outfit.  He wore it for book day and has worn it around the house since and will wear it for halloween as well.

counting to 10 doesn't work.....

can't you tell it's the summer holidays - kids are fighting, winding each other up, winding me up and them ending up in tears.  I've tried counting to 10 and it doesn't work!!!  I'm sure i'm no the only parent that is having one of those days!

I've joined Amzreviewtrader......

I have recently joined the Amazon review website - Amzreviewtrader.  This means that I request to view  products/items that I am interested in.  The seller than decides if they are happy to let me be a reviewer of their product.

Some of the products are free to try others are at a discounted price and all you have to do is try it and review it and state that you recieved the product for free or at a discount.   How simple is that?

SO I find items that me and my family can use or want or need, request them and if selected use it and review it, which also helps other buyers.

February 24th 2016 - Harry Potter party - part 4 - general stuff

There are lots of other options you could do for the Halloween party linked to Harry potter (HP), the ideas are below:

*Ask all guests to dress up as a Witch/Wizard or character from Harry Potter
*Buy proper HP plates, bowls, cups etc
*cover your ceiling to look like a starry night
*turn different rooms in your house to different rooms from the HP films
*use the outside space as well for games like quidditch etc (not suitable for evening parties)
*hire a proper Wizard for entertainment
*have just 1 Hogwarts house for the theme and use only those colours
*make spells and potions as an activity
*have loads of stuffed animals about like the magical creatures
*play HP music in background

February 24th 2016 - Harry Potter Party - Part 3 - games/activities

As per my previous post about Halloween preparation for the Harry Potter Party (HP) I am hosting this year for Halloween here is part three - games/activities for Harry Potter.  I shall add to this as and when I find new ideas/possiblilites for the night that are linked to Harry Potter, witches/Wizards etc.


Activities

*Make wands for the guests - this could be done before the party or as an activity for them to do (depending on their ages and the time you have).  There are many different ways to actually make them - paper rolled and glued, paper marche, chop sticks, bamboo squewers, tree sticks.  You can use hot glue to make patterns on them, glue beads to them, rice and pasta etc.  Then you can paint them (acrylic is best) or even use nail varnish/polish.

*Wand Sorting - In HP the wand selects its owner, therefore if you are not making at the party you can use this activity.  Place all the made wands on a table/chair/surface etc and blindfold the guests 1 at a time.  Let them run their hands over the wands and they pick the 1 they "like".  Then I would tie a small label to it so you know whose is whose. (HP)


*Sorting hat - Have a proper "sorting hat" and get guests to put it on.  Using a dice with the HP houses on and each guest rolls it and then get an ID badge for that house.  OR using the sorting hat and clips from the sorting process in HP films place hat on head, play a clip and thats their house.

*Colouring pages linked to Halloween/Harry Potter etc

* Potions class - find ways to make simple potions for them to make (outdoors be better). (HP)


*pinata with gifts inside

*Quiz - this could be on any theme but best  linked to the party.  You can make the questions age dependent.  (HP)


*Photo booth/props - linked to theme but could be used as an extra gift to take home.



Games

*Pass the pumpkin/skull/hat etc - buy a cheap, small platic pumpkin, skull, hat and fill with sweets.  The game is played in the way of "pass the parcel" as in you pass the object round when the music plays and "do something" when it stops.  However, instead of unwrapping a parcel you take a sweet out of the object.  We go round at least once so that everyone gets at least one sweet.  Then once everyone has had a turn the last go the player who it stops on gets to take the whole object of sweets home.


*Pin the eyeball on the monster - pre-make or buy a monster image that's quite large and some eyeball stickers.  Each player has an eyeball with their name on and they get blindfolded, spun around and pointed towards the monster.  They need to place their eye on the image where they think it should be.  The winner is the person who gets closet to the eye.

*Pin the sock on dobby/scar on Harry - pre make or buy an image of dobby or Harry.  Depending on which you use you will need sock stickers for dobby or scars for Harry that have space to write names on.   They get blindfolded, spun around and pointed towards the image.  They need to place their sticker on the image where they think it should be.  The winner is the person who gets closet to the sock or scar. (HP)


*Bob for apples - using a big bucket filled with water place the apples in it and the guests must use only their mouth to retrieve an apple.


*Spider egg burst - Place sweets and confetti inside black balloons and inflate them and tie off.  Place on floor.  The guests need to burst the spider eggs to get the goodies, they can only do this by bouncing on them on their bottoms.

*Crystal Ball Fortunes - Using silver or white balloons place in sweets, confetti and a pre-written fortune, inflate and tie off the balloons.  In order to get their fortunes the guests need to burst the "crystals" y bouncing on them on their bottoms. (HP)


*Mummy Wrapping - working in pairs with a couple of toilet rolls (cheap ones).  On go they need to start wrapping their partner to look like a mummy.  Faces MUST be kept clear so that they can breathe.  The pair that get 1 of them wrapped the quickest wins.  You can make this harder by then saying they need to unwrap the mummy and using the same toilet roll the mummy then wraps their partner who wrapped them.  This is hard as the toilet roll usually gets ripped off the mummy.


*Guess the number of beans - Fill a jar with jelly beans an make a note of how many are in it.  Guests then write down their names and how many beans they think are in it.  The person with the correct guess (or closest if not exact) wins the jar of beans to take home.  (HP)


*Guess the flavour of the beans - You need a pre-printed sheet with numbers down 1 side and space to write their flavour.  You also need the same of amount of jelly beans in the same flavours for each guest (could be expensive if you have lots coming).  You also need to know what each flavour is so 1 = pineapple, 2 = vomit etc).  Pre-sort them into tubs rto make easier,  Give each guest 1 bean at a time and ask them to write down what they think its flavour is.  Repeat for all beans.  The person who gets the most flavours right wins a prize. (HP)


*Wingardium Leviosa - Give each guest a balloon and their wand and tell them on go they have to say "winguardium leviosa" and using only their wand keep the balloon afloat.  if they use anything else eg hand they are out and if it hits the floor they are out. Winner is last person with a balloon afloat. (HP)


*4 corners game - label each corner with a different halloween object or HP house.  Guests stand in the middle of the room and on go they choose a corner each.  A selected person then calls out one of the corner names and anyone in that corner is out.  The guests then choose another one and again one is called out and anyone there is out.  winner is last person in game.  (HP)


*Name the muggle - there are lots of muggles, squibs and half bloods in HP.  Print out pictures of them and the guests must write down who they think it is.  The winner is guest who got the most correct. (HP)

February 24th 2016 - Harry Potter Party - part 2 decorations

As per my previous post about Halloween preparation for the Harry Potter Party (HP) I am hosting this year for Halloween here is part two - decorations for Harry Potter.  I shall add to this as and when I find new ideas/possiblilites for the night that are linked to Harry Potter, witches/Wizards etc.

This part of the HP pages could end up very long and therefore may end up being split up.  Linked to HP there are absolutely hundreds of blogs and websites with ideas as to what you can do.  If your lucky enough to ever visit the studio tour you may well have taken photos that you can also use.

*House banners to represent the 4 Hogwarts houses.  These can be bought but are not very cheap.  You could make them from material in the house colours and add the house crest (if your good at sewing etc).  Or you could do what have I have done and find the house crests that you like on the net, add them to paint/photo shop etc and "chop" them into sections, add to a word document and print them, cut them out, laminate them and stick them together.  Below is my Gryffindor one.  I have also done this for the main Hogwarts crest.

Printed pieces of paper in house colours

cut, laminated and stuck together

Gryffindor crest

*Portraits of the Witches and Wizards of Hogwarts from the past.  Again there are loads of them on the net that you can do the same as above with - "chop" them into sections, print, cut laminate and build together bigger.  You can also print parts of old style frames to go over the top so they look framed.  If you have lots of spare money you can buy portraits from charity shops/car boot sales etc and use those, but they will have to be hung on walls and not just blu-taked.

*Spiders and creatures these could be found absolutely anywhere in your house if you are turning it into an old castle etc.  There were loads in the films.  They can be picked up very cheaply nearer to Halloween.

*Broomsticks were used alot in the films and it is up to you if you use them as a decoration or have 1 for each guest etc.  We have said no broomsticks are allowed due to the size of my house.

*Candles - Due to the fact that costumes can catch fire very easily if you want anything that resembles candles PLEASE use the battery tea lights for safety. You can make the floating candles by painting toilet roll tubes white, running fishing line through in two places, both as a loop tied and the doubl sided tape the battery tea light into one end.  Hang up via the fishing wire.

*Witches Hats - can be bought cheaply near Halloween or may be able to be borrowed from friends etc.  They come in all shapes, sizes, styles and colours and can easily be pinned to a wall in rows to look like a display of hats.  They also could be hung with fishing wire.

*Crystal Ball - This is another of favourite ideas and is in the process of being made.  I bought a small crackled glass candle holder, a circle mirror (bit bigger than the candle holder), some clear glass nuggets and a set of bright white battery led lights.  The led lights were placed into the candle holder and the glass nuggets were poured in on top and left to fall/fill gaps as they went.  a couple of the lights were moved on top of the nuggets in the opening of the holder.  Do not insert the battery pack to holder but leave a length of cable and it outside.  Using a strong glue place a row of it all around the edge of the candle handle.  Place the mirror onto it and carefully tune so that the mirror is on a flat surface.  Carefully apply some weight to what was the "bottom" (now the top) of the candle handle so that the 2 surfaces can bond.  You can also add a layer of clear silicone round where they are joined to make it more secure.  Turn the battery lights on and you have a crystal ball.

*Cupboard under the stairs as Harry's bedroom.  If your cupboard is a long one with door at end or a long one with door at side it will work.  If your cupboard is only small you cant use it.  And if your cupboard is anything like mine it is full of junk and all sorts so going to have to be cleared first!!!  This is very easy to do especially as most people have the bits you need for it - dustpan and brush to hang on the inside of the door, an air bed to use as Harry's bed with a sheet and duvet/quilt on it, a meter on a wall - you may be lucky enough to have it under the stairs but if not a cereal box painted will work.  A pair of shoes, some toy soliders and don't dust it for ages!!!   This is the basis of his bedroom.  You can add other things if you wish, I have bought a metal bird cage (was tea light holder) and a small toy owl to go in the cupboard as Harry's pet owl.

*Platform 9 3/4 sign again can be bought or made.  I am going for the made option (as cheaper and I like crafts and saving money!)  I am going to do it in the same way the house banners have been done - choppped, printed, cut, laminated and put back together bigger.  I also plan to get some thin pieces of wood that I can cut and fix round the sign so that it has the edging like the proper one does.  Laminating the paper is essential if it's going outside.

*Railway lines - linked to the platform 9 3/4 you need a railway line.  The easiest way to do this is black/silver duckt/gaffa tape in lines on your path.  Fingers crossed it doesn't rain.  You could also paint them on the path but i'm not sure HOW you would get them off!

*Luggage at the station - if you are lucky enough to have or be able to get some old leather effect, battered suitcases and you don't mind them being outside in the garden your doing ok.  If you don't have any you mayy have to make from cardboard boxes which with UK weather sadly wont last.  That is unless you cover them with sticky back plastic made for books (£1 shop sell it in various designs.)   If you can also aquire an old shopping trolley (local dyke/stream maybe?) you can cut it down to make a luggage cart.

*Platform 9 3/4 wall - this is where the kids run through to get to the platform to go to Hogwarts.  However, this isn't really going to happen and you don't want injuries.  You could do it with a shower curtain that is in 2 parts and fixed over an internal doorway.  You need to make it look like a brick wall by using a car sponge and brown paints.  The other option is again using the painted shower curtain but fix it to the outside of your front door (which can be opened for them to go through).

*Books - you can make spell books and such many way - buy old books and cover them with paper march to look old and then paint/add writing to them, by making them from old cereal boxes and again paper marche and decorating or the simplest way and how I am covering my DVD shelves - find covers of old books on the net, add them to A4 word document and print them out.  Fold them round the DVDs and you have lots of old style books easily.  I do want to laminate them so that they last but the issue is going to be the folding of them, so this is still in thought.

February 24th 2016 - Harry Potter Part 1 - Food ideas

As per my previous post about Halloween preparation for the Harry Potter Party (HP) I am hosting this year for Halloween here is part one - Food ideas for Harry Potter.  I shall add to this as and when I find new ideas/possiblilites of food for the night that are linked to Harry Potter, witches/Wizards etc.

As well as having traditional party food I do try and have some healthy fruit/veg options for the kids as well.  Food and it's witchy/halloween/hp names are below, some are listed more than once with different names:

FOOD	WITCH/HALLOWEEN/HP NAME
cocktail sausages	mummy wraps
jelly with eyeball	jellied eyeballs
grapes	witches warts (HP)
gingerbread men with cuts etc	gruesome gingerbread
cooked dough on a stick	dough snakes
hot dogs	severed fingers
coffin shaped sandwiches with ham man	coffin sandwiches
choc chip cookies, marshmallows & icing	dracs fangs
white marshmallows/merangues choc chips	ghosts
chicken bites/nuggets/chunks	chunks of flesh
choc chip cookies	moon bites
liquorice sticks	wands
cinnamon dough (shaped as hats)	sorting hat bites
cocktail sausages	owl droppings (HP)
sausage rolls	owl pellets (HP)
dough twists with sugar coating	unicorn horns (HP)
rice crispie treat balls with red icing	brains
shreddies	monster scabs
green popcorn	bogies

treacle tarts	treacle tarts (HP)
Snake cake (use a bundt tin for effect)	Nagini (HP)
ferrero rocher/lindt chocolates	Golden snitches (need add wings) (HP)
raisins	owl droppings (HP)
cheese puffs	"cheese-huffle-puffs" (HP)
chicken wings (any flavour)	dragon/griffin wings (HP)
veg sticks (carrots, cucumber etc)	herbology bites (HP)
breadsticks/cheese straws	olivanders wands (HP)
coloured hard boiled eggs	dragon eggs (HP)
dorritos	troll toe nails (HP)
green food dip	cave troll snot (HP)
cheese puffs	pumpkin poo
cocktail sausages	dead mans fingers
pizza slices	severed fingers
custard creme biscuits	cauldron cremes (HP)