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** This post is part of the Sew a Softie tutorial hop! It's a month-long event in July where people from around the world post free simple-to-sew softie tutorials for you and your kids to make.  Psst! Hey, have you heard of a Kuku Bird? No?Well, you're in luck because here's one.Meet a Kuku Bird!- Have You Heard of a Kuku Bird?   Those of you who have kindly grabbed a copy of my children's book Have You Heard of a Kuku Bird? might recognise the above opening lines from the book. When I produced the book a year ago, we were...

This is a fun craft project that combines different art techniques. It is messy and playful, and makes a wonderful summer craft activity. What You’ll Need: Balloon Paper Mache Paste (flour, craft glue and water) White Tissue Paper Spray Bottle Acrylic or Watercolour Paint Water Ribbons or Old Clothes Thread & Needle Step 1 - Make the paper mache paste by mixing ¼ flour, ½ water and plenty of craft glue. Step 2 - Inflate the balloon and cover it with strips of white tissue paper using the paper mache paste. Let it dry overnight. Step 3 - Once dry,...

I have always been a bit of a sucker for a good packaging design. I enjoy looking at the artwork being used in a product, especially the label designs of craft beers and whiskies. I like how a product packaging can become so iconic that consumers start recognising a product or a brand just by looking at a certain feature of a product like its shape, colour, character and font. A good example that constantly appear on a marketing textbook is Coca-Cola and its iconic bottle shape.  One of my favourite packaging design is Kellogg's cereal boxes. We try to stay away...

5 May is Children's Day festival in Japan. What the heck is Children's Day? It's the day we wish all children happiness and cherish their different personalities.  Traditionally, families celebrate it by raising koi-shaped windsock called 'koinobori' on the day or few days before the event. You'll find a koi fish to represent each member of the household (black for father, red/pink for mother and blue/green/orange for child). My family and I currently live in the Netherlands. My husband is Dutch and my daughter was born in Australia. She's never lived in Japan and I am not sure if she...

We recently purchased a new picnic table for our garden and the packing came with lots of Styrofoam. So I wondered whether I could make a nice use out of it before it goes to the waste. I had a look at my bible aka Pinterest, and I found out that you could make an adorable artwork with it. So I decided to try it out with my 3-year-old daughter. What You'll Need: Styrofoam Marker Something sharp to puncture holes - we used a screw driver Paint - we used acrylic paints Paint brush or roller Paper Step 1 - Using...