Blogging some of our own crafty tales...

Jan
18

Crafty Fridays making a little friend

Learning that a lot of things are better with a friend!

Second week of Crafty Tales at York Theatre Royal and another fantastic turn out. Thank you to all the new people who came and to those that came back.

It’s a total treat seeing children mucking in with some crafty activity and also getting really into our story time. I have to say with a 3 year old and a 5 month old if I manage to write my name when I’m out let alone make a craft then I’m feeling pretty good about myself. So rock on all you big folk for getting involved too.

This week we had the story of the Boy and his Penguin friend in UP AND DOWN by Oliver Jeffers. There are a few stories of these two’s adorable friendship. This one tells of how the Penguin wishes to fly . . . all by himself. By the end of the book there is a realisation that having your friend next to you makes most things better. Not to way in with a bag of cheese here but I have to agree. Parenting/Grand-parenting/Caring for others can often feel like a lonely place.  Having someone to talk to, moan to or share unnecessary chocolate treats with is a good thing.

If you’re not familiar with Oliver Jeffers work I highly recommend it. Funny and touching stories with beautiful illustrations. A particular favourite is This Moose belongs to me.

So this week we made some little penguin friends.

Enjoy

C&J xxx

You will need:

Black card/Toilet roll/White Paper/Orange card

Glue/Sellotape/Scissors/Pen/Pencil/Light crayon or chalk

Step 1:

Mark out on the black card a rectangle to shape to cover the toilet roll. Do this by marking the inside of the roll with a pen and then rolling it across the card until the mark has done a full turn and is back on the card. Allow a little extra card for overlap and then mark out with the light crayon or chalk and cut out.

Step 2:

Stick the black card around the toilet roll with sellotape. On the white paper draw out a rectangle shape that is rounded at one end. You want this to be about 3/4 length of the roll. Stick it onto the roll to make the front of the penguin.

Step 3:

Fold a piece of the black card in 2 and draw out wing shape on one side. Cut out with the card together so you get 2 matching pairs. Stick to the side of the toilet roll with sellotape and glue.

Step 4:

Draw in eyes. Cut out a small triangle from the orange card to make the beak and a fan shaped piece to make the feet. You’ll need a little over-hang on the feet part to sellotape at the bottom of the roll. Glue the beak under the eyes and add detail.

Some of the penguins below from today’s Crafty Tales . .

Loving it! Good work everyone xxx

 

Jan
11

Our first Crafty Tales at York Theatre Royal!!!

What a way to start!!

Thank you everyone who came down for some Crafty Tale fun today. We had a full house which was very exciting with it being our first one. Thank you for all getting stuck into the craft as well as the storytelling too. Next week we’ll have a few more chairs set out from the get go.

The story we looked at was The Storm Whale in Winter by Benji Davies. It’s a follow on story from Storm Whale. We love his work, the stories are always so moving and the illustrations are lovely. If you’re interested his story ‘Grandad’s Island’  it has been adapted for stage and is on at the theatre from the 26th Feb – 2nd March.  We’ll be taking our kids along to see it as we didn’t get a chance when it was on last year.

Back to Storm Whales. Today was all about making our own special whales as part of the craft. We’ve set out a step by step guide of how to make your own. We’ve kept the colours very basic so feel free to let your Storm Whale reflect how you feel. We had some absolutely brilliant ones today. There were sparkles, pom poms, sailors, foil water spray and even a cat whale!

Hopefully see folk again next week for some more Crafty Tale fun

C&J xx

You will need:

Paper plate

Scissors

Paper

Colour crayon/paint/sparkles  . . whatever you fancy

Pen

Glue

Step 1:

Draw a tail shape on one side of the plate. Cut along the lines. The small triangle shape (at the bottom) will come away but the rest should still be attached.

Step 2:

Bend the plate in half and lift the tail up into position. Draw an elongated triangle along the side of the plate. Thicker end at the back under the tail and thinning out towards the middle of the plate. Pinch the plate together and cut along the line. You’ll have 2 bits the same from each side.

Step 3:

Colour in your whale. We’ve left a line of white along the rim for detail but quite frankly if you manage to get your kids doing any colouring in then let them rock it out however they want! The 2 elongated triangle bits that were cut off will become fins.

Step 4:

GROWN UP BIT!! You’ll need to cut a thin line (about 2 cms) through the folded plate. You can do this on a hard surface of get a bit of blue-tac or play-doh to do it on. Then you can poke the fins through so they are nice and wedged. The hardest part here is figuring out which way round they should go. Once you’ve done that they’ll be a bit of over-hang on either side so you can glue these together.

Step 5:

With some of the paper. Fold a small piece in half and cut out a circle. You’ll then have 2 matching circles for the eyes.

Step 6:

Stick on the eyes on either side and add a mouth and any other detail too.

Step 7:

With the rest of the paper you have. You won’t need much; maybe a little less than A5. Roll it up into a small tube (or telescope if you’re my 3 year old . . he’s obsessed that anything that is a tube is a telescope. Bring out the kitchen roll and watch the hours fly by!). Another GROWN-UP bit. Make a hole (easier with a sharp pencil) in the top of the whales head and poke through the tube.

Step 7:

Cut 3 or 4 snips down the tube and then bend the pieces of paper back to give the effect of water. And there you have it.

We called ours Stormy . . because despite celebrating imagination, we clearly don’t have any when it comes to naming things!!

xxxx

Jan
04

Happy New Year!!

A big happy Crafty Friday New Year to you all.
2019 here we come!!

The Christmas tree and decorations have already been put away. I know this may seem a bit early for some but in this house it get’s to January and we’re all ready to be getting on with things. Plus with a 3 year old and a 4 month old we have so much stuff; like exploding laundry baskets, endless trails of Lego and boxes of non matching Tupperware, that there’s a sigh of relief when you pack everything up and the place feels momentarily bigger than normal.

So as another reminder, next week our Crafty Tales will be running at York Theatre Royal. A weekly interactive multi-sensory storytelling session with a craft for preschoolers. You can book your tickets at the website here or always pop along on the day. It starts at 10.15 and we meet in the cafe. The craft we’ll be working on I’ll be blogging about later in the day. The story we’ll be looking at is the beautiful ‘The Storm Whale in Winter’ by Benji Davies.

In the meantime today’s craft has come about because my son is currently going through (another) pirate phase. . . along with an evil super villan and a yak (??!!) phase. We managed to cobble together a basic costume for general activities but needed a parrot. So that’s what we’re up to.

Have fun!

xxx

You will need:

A mix of coloured cards or paper

A small piece of white paper

A toilet roll

Thin strips of coloured paper or coloured material

Glue, sellotape, scissors and pen.

Step 1:

Line the toilet roll flush with the edge of the card or paper you are using. Make a small mark on the inside of the toilet roll and then on a piece of card.

Step 2:

Roll the toilet roll along until the mark inside the roll comes back onto the card and make another mark on the card. Now you know how long the card need to be cut by. Allow a little extra for overlap and mark out.

Step 3:

Cut out card and stick one end to the toilet roll. Roll along and stick down the other end too.

Step 4:

Fold a different coloured piece of card in half and draw out a shape of a wing and cut out so you have 2 matching.

Step 5:

Fold down the flat edge of the wings and stick down on either side of the roll with glue. You can add sellotape to make them more secure.

Step 6:

Draw a diamond in another piece of coloured card or paper. Fold in half and stick one side down to create the beak.

Step 7:

On the piece of white paper draw 2 eyes. Cut them out and stick them above the beak.

Step 8:

With the strips of paper pop it in the top to make a crazy (somewhat 80’s) hairstyle and add a bit of detail here and there.

You can use different colours into and play around with what you want coming out the top. You could use some material. Makes a good scarf holder!

xxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dec
28

Last Crafty Friday of 2018!

Saying hello to 2019 in style with New Year bunting!

who doesn’t love bunting?

It’s been an amazing year for us. Managing to get Story Craft Theatre up and running whilst raising toddlers and having more babies has been an incredibly proud achievement. We’re already taking bookings for parties; have organised more school workshops and have lots planned for Crafty Tales at the York Theatre Royal. Needless to say we’re really excited about what the New Year has in store.

We’re hoping you all had a great Christmas; not to many tantrums and lots of lie-ins??? Ha ha haaaa haaaa!!!!!!

Well, for the last Crafty Friday blog of this year we thought it would be nice to use it towards the New Year, whilst recycling a little bit of Christmas. If you have any scraps of wrapping paper, gift card, ribbon, cracker party hats etc. . . .now is the time to put them to use.

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year. We’ll be back on the 4th.

Cassie and Janet xx

 

You will need:


Large sheet of card. Ideally black or white for clarity.

Bits of used wrapping paper, cards, gift tags etc

Scissors and pencil

Ruler or template (using the top of a Tupperware pot)

String or Ribbon

Glue and sellotape

 

Step 1

Draw around template (you’ll need 12) or draw out rectangles. The size and shape is totally down to you. It can be as big or as small as you like. Obviously the younger the little folk you’re working with, then the bigger it can be for ease.

Once you’ve done this you can cut them out.

Step 2:

Draw out HAPPY NEW YEAR in pencil on each piece of card as a guide for your sticking. Good opportunity for those who are learning their letters to have a go at drawing each one. Leave a little extra at the top as you’ll be folding this down later.

Step 3:

Now this it the fun bit if your children like cutting things up. Let them go for it on the wrapping paper. Get them to cut as small as they can so you get lots of different little pieces to use. There will be a need of sweeping up afterwards but this will keep them occupied for a good amount of time!!

Step 4:

Basically you’re looking to create little collage for each letter. Use the glue to go over your pencilled markings of the letters and then get sticking. This is where the bigger the letters and bigger the pieces of paper make it easier for the younger children.

Step 5:

Get the letters in the correct order. Turn over and fold down the tops by about a cm.

Step 6:

Run your ribbon or string along the fold. Glue the top part and stick down. You can also use a piece of sellotape to make sure it sticks.

You can run the bunting all along as one or make it in 3 parts like we’ve done. Just remember to leave yourself extra at either end to tie up.

Enjoy! If you like the post, please leave us a wee comment xx

Dec
21

Crafty Christmas Friday

Wishing you a very merry crafty Christmas!!

Can you believe it’s the Friday before Christmas already?! It’s come round so fast. With a couple of days still to go we thought a Christmas themed craft would help keep little ones a little distracted over the weekend.

A reminder that we’ll be starting our Crafty Tales at York Theatre Royal on January 11th. You can book tickets via their website here or you can always pop along on the morning. Tickets are £5 (10% off if you purchase a full term) It’s 10.15-11.30 and we meet in the cafe first before heading upstairs for some fun multi-sensory interactive story time.

Back to the Christmas craft. You most likely would have decorated your Christmas tree by now if you’re getting one. . . then again if you have young kids maybe not!! Our craft this week is a mini Christmas tree to hang. See below for what you will need and as before mince pies are optional.

Janet and Cassie xx

What you will need:
Green Card
Another piece of coloured card
Stickers
Pipe cleaner
Scissors
Glue

Pencil and ruler

 

 

Step 1:

Make a small tie at the top of the pipe cleaner then fold the green card in half and draw out a long triangle. You’ll want to make it shorter than the pipe cleaner you’ll be using.

Step 2:
Cut out the shape. You will now have 2 triangles from the folded card. Keep them together and  divide them into 5 sections; drawing 4 lines across roughly the same distance between. You can use the ruler if you want to be precise. Drawing the lines helps mini Crafters cutting practice . . .they might not stick to the lines but hey it’s worth a go!

 

Step 3:
Glue the pieces of card together
with the pipe cleaner in the middle.
Make sure you leave the hoop at
the top sticking out from the top.

 

 

 

 

 

Step 4:
Fold the other piece of coloured card you have. Draw and cut out tree base. Glue both sides and stick together with the bottom of the pipe cleaner inside.

Step 5:
Decorate with stickers. Obviously this is just one way we have decorated the tree. You can cut out shapes, cover with glitter or use old wrapping paper rather that green card. Go wild . . . just maybe not with the glitter. Telling a child to
go wild with glitter = sparkly mayhem!!

 

Merry Christmas Everyone xx

 

Dec
16

Horrah!! Our first post.

Hello and welcome to Story Craft Theatre’s first ever blog.

It’s been a pretty exciting week for us; we have just launched our website. A massive thank you to our friends Giles and Charlotte who put it all together, Steph for helping create our logo and sister in law Virginia who had the arduous task of proof reading it for us. Without the support of our friends and family we wouldn’t have a theatre company so a massive thank you to you!
We will be posting a new craft activity every Friday. With this in mind, we have decided to name our blog ‘Crafty Fridays’. It took us ages  to come up with that one!
If you would like to hear from us more than once a week, we are on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, email and you can also ring us anytime. As parents of small children we will usually be awake.
Janet and Cassie xx
We know it’s not Friday yet but as we’re just starting up on the blog, here’s a little something to get you feeling festive. We love making Christmas cards; not only are they an extra special gift, it’s a great activity to do on a cold raining day. Below is a step by step guide on how to make a snowman card.
We find that making these whilst eating mince pies is a wonderful idea!!

You will need:

  • Dark coloured card A4
  • White paper A4
  • Small piece of black card
  • Small piece orange card
  • Pens
  • Pencil
  • Chalk
  • Glue and scissors

Step 1:

Fold the card and paper in the middle and draw the shape of a snowman on the dark coloured card and cut out.

Step 2:

Glue the white paper inside to the dark card.

Step 3:

Cut out a hat and arms from the black card and a carrot nose from the orange card and stick down.

Step 4:

Add some detail with pen; eyes, smile, buttons, scarf etc. Make it a snowy scene with some chalk.

There’s loads of designs you can go for. . . especially if the snow storm does hit and you find yourselves indoors a little longer than you had planned!

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