Origami Mommy

Tutorial: A doll's bike seat

I commute everywhere here with the girls on a bike with me, the way many moms do in Japan. The commuting bikes used here are called "mamachari" and they have child seats on the front and the back, so that you can put a baby or toddler in the front basket while your older child rides in back. There's a steep learning curve when you are commuting with two kids, as the bike is pretty heavy (I'll have to take a photo one day), but it's a lot easier to navigate the narrow streets here on that than in a car. 

Anyway, M really wanted to put a bike seat on the back of her own bike so she could pretend to do what I do, so we whipped one up pretty quickly. Here are basic instructions. We made it plain, because there just wasn't a lot of time to decorate, but you or your child can do whatever you want to spiff it up!

All you need are two pieces of rectangular cardboard, around 11 x 14 inches or so.

Fold one near the middle (I think I folded mine about 2/5s of the way down), and then use scissors to cut about two inches in on either side.

Fold up the sides

Fold it over as shown in the photo, and use staples or tape to secure. 

To attach it to your child's bike, take the other piece of cardboard, fold it into thirds and tape it so that it's firm,  and then attach this piece to the bottom of the seat you just made. Then tape the other end to the bottom of the bike's real seat. (I had to tape around the seat a few times for it to stay on there. I also cut a little notch in it so that it would fit snugly around the pole underneath the seat, but you can do what works for you.)

You can add on a seat belt, a bar, or whatever you want. We made a crude makeshift helmet out of leftover cardboard, as you can see on the bunny.

Let me know if you try this project! And don't forget to check out this giveaway (until Nov. 5) if you want a chance to win some Japanese stamps.

Creative toy play, part 1: building blocks

  

I have such a love-hate relationship with toys. I love watching children deeply engrossed in play  - play is, after all, the work of childhood. But I have a hard time with clutter, anguish over missing pieces, dislike toys that are meant to be played only in one specific way, and most of all, loathe the commercialization that seems to pervade modern childhood. I also think that when there's too much going on - too many toys, too much stuff - children play less well, and less creatively, with what they do have.

To try to avoid this, over the years, we've worked on building a small collection of good toys.  Most of what the kids are drawn to over and over again are simple open-ended classics such as wooden blocks and toys for pretend play - dolls, animals, kitchen items, vehicles, and little Lego or Playmobil figures. 

Kapla blocks are quite pricey, but they have lasted us nearly a decade so far and have been used in so many different ways. B, age 10, made this pretty cool maze with kaplas and a couple of other smaller colored blocks. I like how he wrote "Start" at the entrance of the maze.

Kaplas also become castles, like the one in the photo at the top of this post. The photo doesn't show this but the boys also cut up a bunch of felt to use in the castle as carpets and runners. Flags and banners are easy to make as well with a stick and a bit of glue and cloth.

Children love setting up scenes. In addition to building blocks, recyclables are useful too - this was made from a paper bag, paint, and milk cartons, plus origami for the boat. 

I try to get the children to put their own creative stamp on their play by showing them how to make or design their own props to stretch their play with store-bought toys. A milk carton ship to take Lego figures on adventures far and wide. Clothing designed for a beloved bear. A cape for a little boy made of a simple scarf. An impressive sword made of cardboard and foil. Pretty paper flowers for a flower shop or garden. I think it's nice for children to learn that you can always make what you need rather than buying it! 

Getting your children started on a more creative path to play can be as simple as collecting a small fabric stash just for the children and their projects, collecting buttons, stones, sticks, and shells as well as empty baskets and boxes, having yarn and ribbon, elastic and tape on hand, and keeping a bunch of recyclables for your children to use. By doing this, you will find yourself, and your children, cultivating an ability to spot potential in the most mundane things. Treasures from trash!

In the next two posts of this three-part series I'll be showing you a few things you and your children can do with these raw materials. In the meantime, I'd love to know what your children's favorite playthings are.

Tutorial: Water Fountain

I've been wanting to post this since last summer, when I learned it in a parent-child class, but then time went by and it didn't seem a very wintery sort of craft to post about. Now a year has passed and it's summer again. Where does the time go?!

 

 
All you need is a plastic water bottle and tape or markers to decorate it. The plastic bottle must have a cap. Oh and the grown up uses some sort of awl, nail/hammer, or something else to punch holes in the bottle. 

 

(Note: about plastic bottles, we try to avoid buying them, but if you do have any lying around or find any as trash, it feels better to give them a second life as a craft project before recycling them.)

Have your child decorate the bottle as s/he sees fit.

Then you, grown up, use an awl, or nail and hammer, to punch holes in it either at random or in a pattern. 

After that, fill the bottle with water and put the cap on. Take it outside. When your child starts to unscrew the cap, the water will flow out of the holes. This makes a great science experiment too for the little ones: what happens if you unscrew it part way? all the way? 

Such a simple quick project, but it provides a lot of fun on a summer day.

tiny pincushion tutorial

The children and I have been working on a lot of projects - mostly sewing, beading, and some papercraft - so I'll post about that next week. In the meantime here is a brief tutorial for a tiny pincushion made with a bottle cap as the base. You can whip these up in about 2 minutes! Very addictive to make.

You'll need a bottle cap, a small amount of fabric and a piece of ribbon wide enough to cover the side of the bottle cap, a bit of batting, and some thread and glue.

Cut your fabric into a circle somewhat bigger than the bottle cap, as in the photo above. (How big you make it depends on how big you want the pincushion to be - but this is a forgiving project and you don't have to be very precise.)

Glue the ribbon around the bottle cap. While it dries, start a running stitch around the perimeter of the fabric circle. Kind of like you're making a fabric yo-yo.

When you're done, gather it in, and fill with some batting. 

Next, gather in all the way so you close it up, tie it with a knot, and then glue it upside down inside the bottle cap. Quick and easy! 

I like that the cap prevents your pins and needles from going through all the way to the other side and poking you by accident - a problem I've had with my other handmade pincushion. I also love how tiny these are. You can glue a fabric or felt circle on the bottom if you like. If you don't have ribbon, you can use bias tape or make your own bias tape out of contrasting fabric. I did that for some of the pincushions in the photo below. You can also use felt, maybe even cut with pinking shears, instead of ribbon. I think I'll have to try that!

Recyclable craft quickies

Here are 2 super-quick craft projects you can do with your little ones.

First, a nice summery fish tank. I got the idea from my brother who made a fish tank with his little boy and even provided imaginary "fish food" (using an empty spice container). All this is is tissue paper inside a clear plastic container, and your child can create fish of different colors to put inside. Simple, but somehow incredibly delightful for little ones (especially toddlers).

This next project takes a bit more time, but is great for kids who love to paint. Cut up milk cartons to make bridges and highways, and arrange them on a painted roadway (or river, or both). Use toilet tissue rolls as columns to support the bridges. We used a cut up paper grocery bag to paint on. Connect several together and you could make something quite elaborate!

I love encouraging children to provide handmade props for their toys!

Recycled milk carton truck tutorial

I mentioned in an earlier post that one of the highlights of our children's Japanese kindergarten was the annual "play store" (omiseyasan gokko) where the oldest children would create beautiful handmade toys, origami sweets and vegetables, jewelry, sushi, and other such things for the younger ones. One of the things our boys learned to make there were trucks and vehicles like these, with real working wheels.

These are very easy to make from recyclables. 

Assemble your materials first:

You'll need straws, bamboo skewers, water bottle caps, and milk or juice cartons.

Tools you will need are a paper or box cutter (for adult use only!), scissors and tape and decorative paper, and glue.

The first step, putting holes in the bottle cap wheels, is for adults only, and if you have impatient little ones, it might be best for you to do this before making the trucks. In fact, if you prepare a whole bunch of these in advance you can set up a little vehicle factory. Your children could also get to work decorating their cartons while you do this part.

Take the box cutter (or a small knife) and make a small hole in the center of each bottle cap. I found that the easiest way to do this was to place the bottle cap on a folded washcloth on a table, place just the tip of the box cutter in the center, and press down while twisting the bottle cap around (by turning the washcloth, thus avoiding having to touch the bottle cap with your fingers and getting too close to that blade!). Definitely do put the bottle cap on some sort of surface to provide traction while cutting.

Next, cut your straws to size - just a bit bigger than the width of the carton.

Start assembling the wheels and axles. First, stick the end of a skewer into one of the holes. Add a dab of glue if you'd like. 

You can actually stick the skewer in the bottle cap the other way which might be easier for kids because it's more stable and less frustrating. 

Next, add the straws.

Once the straw is in place, trim the skewer down with scissors (another adult-only job), and stick the skewer through another bottle cap.

Now you can tape these onto the bottom of a carton and your vehicle is done, aside from decoration, which is what your children will have the most fun with. 

If your children want to make a dump truck or cut out windows and/or doors, they should do that before you put the wheels on. Making a dump truck is very easy - you just cut out part of the side and bottom of the milk carton and then stick it back in the other way, attaching with tape. It really works! Fire engines were popular in our house too as were buses and passenger cars.

Once you have the wheels and axles down pat you can stick them onto anything, really, like water bottles or small boxes. If you want to make trains, connect the train cars with the bit of straw you cut off the axles (this is especially great if you use bendy straws).  

Here are some photos from Japanese children's craft books for more ideas! I especially love the corrugated cardboard around the wheels in the last photo. 

Sushi play food tutorial

One of my favorite memories from my boys' kindergarten years in Japan was an event held every year. The oldest children in the school would work for weeks preparing all sorts of items for a huge play store. They'd make toys, fruit and vegetables, sushi, sweets and ice cream, jewelry and bags, all from recyclables. Some of the materials they used included newspaper, milk cartons, water bottles, straws, shopping bags, gift wrap, plastic wrap, cardboard, toilet paper rolls, etc. Meanwhile, the younger children in the school would make their own little shopping bags, wallets, and money, and then the store would open, the young ones would troop in, and the older ones would proudly "sell" their gorgeous little creations. This always led to weeks of exciting follow-up play in our own home. 

Making handmade items for house play or store play seems to be really popular here.  Adult make things like felt sweets.  Children make their own versions from paper and recyclables. The sushi shown here is quite easy for children to do.

First of all you will need a few of these or some other similar styrofoam packing. Here,  this is used to wrap fruit in in the grocery store. To be honest, I'm not sure if they even use this back home - if not, you can easily substitute with styrofoam peanuts, shredded paper, or even small amounts of wadded up paper towels or tissue.

Make a small cylinder using the stuffing of your choice, then wrap it with black construction paper and tape. Cut to the length you want your sushi to be. That's all there is to it! Add on bits of red maguro (tuna), green cucumber, or yellow pickles with glue and then line them up in a little container (such as take-out sushi containers). You can cut the green "grass" that comes inside take-out sushi, and then use a wadded up small piece of green construction paper as wasabi and pink paper as pickled ginger.

Children get a real kick out of play food, especially if they make it themselves. I'll be posting more tutorials for other play store items in the next few weeks.

Recent random projects

Yesterday Daniel came home from school and proudly showed me this:

Such a happy dancing boy! I so love the joy that bursts out of children's art. This was made from a piece of recycled cardboard, around which he wrapped a piece of used, crumpled foil which he had smoothed out. On top he put a piece of substantial plastic wrap (the kind that might be used to wrap flowers or produce), taped all in place, and then made his drawing with permanent marker.  I like the way these layers, and especially the foil, give his piece texture. 

While he was making more of those, I made a few of these:

These paper stars are so, so easy and addictive. 

I find I'm doing more papercrafts these days because I really crave the meditative zone I fall into. Like origami, these stars satisfy because they are logical and geometrical but charming and beautiful. It also helps that I can complete a batch quickly as opposed to my never-ending, languishing fabric and yarn projects. The boys like to simply make and collect these stars but Mia loves to steal them and feed them to her dollies.

Mia's latest crafting endeavors mostly consist of drawing on random bits of important papers she finds lying around the house, along with the occasional wall or piece of furniture. For her the whole world is a canvas. She's also learned how to use our craft punches, and I keep discovering random piles like this in secret little corners: 

which kind of makes up for the just-as-random but less delightful scribbles on the walls. 

Our great, big, almost-9-year-old Benjamin is serious about his work as an artist, and works slowly and methodically. He's been putting touch-ups on this mountain scene for awhile. 

What I like is how he has pulled many Japanese countryside scenes out of his memory even though we are stuck living in a city. I like to think that maybe our infrequent trips to the Japanese mountains have managed to leave imprints on his heart, and that makes me feel a little bit less sad about our Tokyo urban surroundings.

Speaking of heart, DH and I celebrated our 11th year anniversary recently. The children secretly prepared confetti and showered us with a burst of color. 

Cutting was as much fun as tossing. A sweet end to a sweet day.