Cut out dolls

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Hyde


 Cherry Blossom Time 

April is Cherry blossom time and in Japan cherry blossom time marks the arrival of spring and much celebration.  People visit the parks and gardens where the cherry trees are in bloom and many families enjoy spending time together picnicing under the cherry blossom trees. The illustration we have chosen is a decorated woodcut by Helen Hyde an American artist who lived and studied in Japan. Blossom Time in Tokyo, 1914.

Cut out dolls
Cut out dolls in keeping with our Cherry Blossom theme. The little girl and boy have two outfits each: regular spring clothes and tradition dress to wear during their Cherry Blossom picnic.
 

   To print out the cut out dolls simply click on the image and print onto thin card or heavy paper. 

                                                    

Crafty Spring Inspiration

Elsa Beskow was a Swedish writer and illustrator, she was born in the 19 century and her illustrations are wonderfully inspirational - the Scandanavian Beatrix Potter.  This illustration is from the book Emily and Daisy! https://elsabeskow.se/

 

Easter Decorations

 Easter Decorations

Seasonal decorations from the kitchen! Cook up a saucepan of homemade white clay from cornflour and bicarbonate of soda. We used Easter cookie cutters and they turned out beautifully. 

 To make the clay you will need:
 

1 cup cornflour

2 cups baking soda

 1 1/2 cups tap water

Place all ingredients in a saucepan. Stir constantly over a low to medium heat. Keep stirring until the mixture resembles mashed potato. Take off the heat and tip it onto a plate. Cover with a damp tea towel. When cool enough to touch it is ready to use. You could colour this clay with food colouring.

 

An adult needs to make this clay as cooking on a hot stove is required. Do not touch the clay with your hands until it is quite cool!

 

 When the clay has cooled to room temperature it is ready to use.  Shapes can be moulded or you can roll out the clay and use cookie cutters to create suitable Easter or spring shapes.  

 

 We used the end of a drinking straw to make holes in the cut out shapes.  Carefully place the cut out shapes on a baking tray and set aside in a quiet warm spot overnight or until they have completely hardened.

 

 When your decorations have completely dried they are ready to decorate. We used poster paints (acrylic paints) to decorate ours but you could use water colour paints.  Thread ribbon or string through the holes and hang the decorations on some pussy willow set in a sturdy vase.