Surprise in a Box - Little Paper Crate!

Are you one of those parents who wish to do more art and craft activities with your little ones, but don't know where to begin, or simply have no time?

After starting this blog, I had received numerous personal messages with words of encouragement on the creative plays and DIY crafts. That is one reason that kept me going - knowing that it inspires some parents out there. However, many, including some of my closed friends who are full time working parents, find it challenging to have time to prepare all the craft activities after a long day of work.

If you are in the same shoes, then Little Paper Crate may be just the right answer for you. It delivers creative craft projects in a box to your door step every month, under the name of your little one. You don't have to scratch your head and sweat to source for supplies, as everything needed for the craft project is nicely packed in the little brown crate, with a  graphical instruction manual that is easy to understand. Now, anyone can enjoy crafting at home. 

My little boy and I were invited to the soft launch event last week at the Marmalede cafe @ Publika, with a few other kids and parents, one of which is Melany, the creator of Wanderlustandwonder.com and her cheerful boy, Chase.

We met the founder, Eleanor, together with her friendly colleagues whom are the people who brought the concept to live. Just realized I did not managed to take pictures of them nor the venue after the event was over. Opss.

It was a fun afternoon where all the kids had fun crafting, meeting new friends and went home with their proud creations. We liked the venue too, the food was good and the bright yellow interior gave a very warm welcoming atmosphere.

My little handsome was immediately geared into action when he was handed the box. He just couldn't wait to open up the box and see what's in there. He was met with a pleasant surprise. 

The theme for the day was Under the Sea, and there's 3 projects within each box. My little handsome decided to start with the first project right away.

The instruction in the manual was easy to understand for the little ones, as you can see in the picture below.

His partner, Chase, was clearly enjoying himself too. I like that the project is not overly challenging so the kids get to experience at ease,  some parents guidance will be required for young toddler if scissors and glue are involved.

See how the boys worked with each other. Tried to figure out how to fold the box into an aquarium while Melany and I just watched with much amusement.

Almost there, he was trying to figure out what fish to draw for the aquarium. Finally settled with a small fish and a shark.

Ta-da... All done and he's proudly hugging to his new craft work, even while sitting on the swing. That's what happen when kids craft, they feel proud of their creations and it is this confident smile that I adore the most.

Melany wrote about the same event too, you may read her post at Wander Lust and Wonder and check out other of her posts on traveling adventures and  the beautiful photos shared!

So, interested to sign up or to find out more? Just head on to their website or visit their Facebook page. They offer subscription of 3, 6 and 12 months, as well as party pack, for a little surprise in a box.

Have fun crafting!

Now, we still have project #2 and 3 to complete, yippee..

Copyrights © Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones, 2012 - present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any materials/photos within this website without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones with appropriate and specific direction to the original content

Playtime... Cooking time! (a.k.a Masak-masak)

Since I have been cooking dinner daily now, keeping my duo occupied while I am busy in the kitchen is quite a challenge, was, to be correct. My little girl loves to stick to me like a baby koala  and often tries to pull me out of the kitchen.

So, one fine day, I decided to give them a set of cooking utensils. Not the playset you buy from stores, but real ones from my kitchen. They really love their cooking set and can play for 30-60 minutes without requiring my company. We'll, I just have to pretend eating the imaginary food they serve me. :) 

Random picks - a tray, mini rolling pin, mini whisk, plastic plates, cutleries, spatula, bowls, containers, salt & pepper mills and one paper board stove, made out of an discarded cardboard box. Nothing breakable, no small parts, so is absolutely safe for them,

These are mostly extra equipments from my kitchen, just ideal to keep them occupied as they will pretend to cook while I'm cooking the real stuff. 

The stove we made together. It's single hod with 3 level of heat selection (using scrap paper from the packaging). And when turned over, it functions as a storage box too, so we can easily keep all the utensils and cutlery within the box. 

The stove is named after my little handsome. Little one always love a little personalization, but then again, who doesn't like to feel special?

The duo having a yogurt break after playing with their masak-masak (this is what Malaysian calls a cooking toys). They both have an apron each too.

Next, I'm going to make an oven with my duo once I can find a bigger cardboard box, so they can "bake" cakes and cookies. Maybe if I have that extra time, we can even build a kid size kitchenette. We shall see. 

Simple DIY / recycle toys with absolutely no extra cost. Who says kid's toys have to be costly?

{Updated} Instead of kitchenette set, we made a cardboard washing machine instead.

Copyrights © Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones, 2012 - present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any materials/photos within this website without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones with appropriate and specific direction to the original content

DIY Organizer 自制收纳袋

Since I am on a career break now, I am on a quest to tidy up the house. You know, clean up the closets that you have always wanted to but can never find the time? Clear away the baby clothes and maternity clothes before they rot? Reorganize the room for a fresh look?

Gosh, that's just so much I wanted to do. I made a list of 10 things I wanted to accomplished for the house within this break, and I called it PH's Misisons Impossible. As a challenge to make myself want to accomplish them all. Similar to at work, if you maintain a to-do list, you will be able to manage your milestones and easier to achieve the objectives. Of course most ideal is a master project charts but back at home, lets keep things simple and sweet. :)

So, in my attempt to tidy up the kid's room, I have made a simple organizer to kept everything in place 8instead of cluttering the table top.

This is what I have made, a DIY organizer.

I completed this within half an hour without a proper plan nor pattern in mind. Just cut, think and sew along. Luckily it came out pretty ok. However, due to the hush hush, no time to prepare thtorial.

It was made of a simple basket recycled from a baby hamper.

And you know how much baby stuff we tend to accumulate over the time. This is just the tip of an iceberg.

Now, messy no more. I have made pockets all around for convenient storage. 

Is it just me, but it feels good to keep things organized?

That all folks, just a simple DIY project,

If you are into sewing I am sure you too can wipe up one similar to this, or better! ;)

8 Back to Basic Interactive Games for Toddler

If you have been dining out recently, I believe you may have noticed that it is becoming so common that more and more parents are using iPad or smart phone to keep their little ones entertained during meal time. The little ones busy starring at the screen or playing games while the parent try to feed them. It is rather alarming how these gadgets had affected the way we interact with our kids. 

Firstly, I strongly believe to teach the little ones to self feed. It's the first step towards independency. I have seen a boy of 8 years old still need to be spoon fed, while his eyes were fixated at the screen. Unless the parents are prepared to be around to serve the kids till they reach adulthood, do train the young ones to self feed and does simple chores from young.

Secondly, while all these gadgets are super effective in keeping the little ones entertained and reframe them from disturbing the parents, do think about the long term effect. It's a one-way communication which does not encourage interaction, which is essential to help build social behavior and communication skill.  Same applies for TV program which is very much a one way communication too. Not to forget, starring at the screen at short distance for long hours may be a reason that lead to short-sighted vision.

Hence, whenever possible, I would choose to keep my little ones entertained on interactive plays and toys instead of offering them my smart phone.

Here are 8 activities that I often practiced with my little ones while we are waiting at restaurants or at home. Hope you find them helpful. 

1. Activity Books 

An ideal silent game, just let them play with sticker, spot the different, do matching or coloring. Books with colorful prints usually catch the little ones' attention.

I bought a few of these books during sales and when going out just grab one of them and chuck into my bag. Handy "kit"!

Can you spot the objects in the page?  

2. Spell the Word 

We received some wooden magnet alphabets as gift from a family friend and how my kiddos love the cute looking alphabets! While waiting for meals to be served, I challenged my little boy to spell a few words. Those without overlapping letters of course (since we only have single letter each :). I choose simple words such as dog, house, water, cake etc and only kept to 3-5 words per game before I loose his interest.

Ideal game for kindie going kids.

3. Car Racing

My duo's favorite. Pick a hot wheel each and we will have a race, on straight road, hill (use the menu!), bumpy road (use the napkin!) or cliff (use a bottle ;).

Just use a simple toy bag for the little one to carry the toy cars by themselves.

4. Memory Challenge

I usually bring along some small cards with me in my handbag, it keeps the my little girl entertained with a game of  naming the objects, or finding the matching cards.

For my elder one, I use the same sets of cards for memory game. With all cards closed, he is suppose to find the matching cards by recalling the last position. You can read more about the game here http://funwithlittleones.blogspot.com/2012/08/matching-cards-game.html

I made a pouch so it is easy to sort them in separate pockets. This makes all the cards a lot easier to handle. :)

4. Riddle, Riddle Time

At times when I forgot to bring any toys with me, my little boy and I will play random riddle. How he loves this challenge. Either he answers my riddle   or he has to come out with one. Good mind teaser, just make sure you keep your riddle to the level that your little one can understand. :)

Some examples here:

It's round, it's big;

It's hard on the outside but soft on the inside;

It wears a green suit with red inside.

What fruit is it?

It's fury, it has 4 limbs, it loves to climb from tree to tree and banana is the favourite.

What animal is it?

6. Doodling, Drawing Fun

From 18 months onwards, I let my little one learn to hold a thick crayon and doodle on a large piece of paper. I opt for non-toxic, washable crayons so it is safe in case the little ones put the crayons into the mouth, and if they accidentally (or deliberately) draw on the table or floor, it can be easily wiped off.

All the doodling, drawing and writing will keep the little ones' hands busy. Here are some of the random arts we made together.

My little boy found so much fun in Spirographing.

Or simply a game of tic-tac-toe. With pen and paper, there is lots to create.

 

After I've learnt sewing, I made a mobile Art Pad for my little ones so we can doodle anytime, anywhere. It's another proud creation of Made by PH :)

7. Nursery Rhyme Time

Most young toddler loves to sing, my baby C included. She is so familiar with all the baby nursery rhymes hence having a small nursery rhyme book in my bag is handy to keep her entertained. Can be a little noisy at the restaurant if your little one has loud voice, but it helps to keep him or her sitting still.

Songs that allow hands or body movement is most ideal, such as Inchy Wincy Spider, Wheel on the Bus, Twinkle Little Star, Humpty Dumpty, Ten Little Indians etc. I bought a small bag-size book for traveling and keep a full size one at home for bedding reading, it's one of her favorite books.

8. Finger Puppets Show time

I keep a small pouch of finger puppets, some are ready made animals bought from IKEA, some are my handmade  figurines. Just play a random puppet show, eg little animals having a Waltz dance, friends day out, etc while waiting at the restaurant, imaginary play such as this helps to train little ones' speech and creativity. 

The puppet family

The IKEA finger puppets. 

Note: All the above suggested plays are for before / after meal time or while being idle. Once food is served we will keep all the toys aside so the little ones can concentrate on eating.

That's all, sharing from a mom of two who always crack her head on creative activities with her little ones. Hope you find this post useful and do share with me and the readers should your little one too have some favorite interactive games that does not requires a smart device. ;)

Copyrights © Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones, 2012 - present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any materials/photos within this website without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. 

Weaning off Pacifier... The Friendly Way

I have successfully weaned off Baby C from her pacifier, a.k.a. Dummy, hurray!

She was so adamant on having her pacifier to sleep every time or she just won't sleep. Period. Such a strong will child she is that I was scratching my head what should I do to let her wean off willingly. There were suggestions of cutting a hole in her teat, putting chili onto it etc, I find that rather invasive and choose not to.

Finally, my chance arrived when she dropped her pacifier onto the floor in a public toilet of a shopping mall. I picked it up and told her, she can't have it because it is dirty! She agreed, and did not argued with me as she knew very well that toilet is a place to poo and wee, and she never likes being dirty. by the way she was potty trained at 18months old so she definitely understand the function of a toilet.

That night, during bedtime, she asked for her dear pacifier as usual. Then I reminded her.

"Remember the pacifier was dropped in the toilet today? It's so dirty!"

She paused for awhile, and still asked for it. I reminded her again.

"Cannot, toilet got poo poo and wee wee, it's so dirty, are you sure you want to suck your dirty pacifier? It's so smelly!". Notice how I kept emphasizing on the word "dirty"?

She shook her head, "No... Poo poo, wee wee, 臭臭 (smelly)... Mei Mei don't want dirty dirty".

So, despite she took longer time to toss and turn on the bed and occasionally biting her hanky, she finally fell asleep without her pacifier that night.

So day 1, success. 

Day 2, she asked for it again.

"Mommy, Mei Mei want pacifier...", in her super sweet sleepy voice,

"Remember what happened to your pacifier? Who dropped it?", I asked.

"Me.", she replied quietly (I sensed the guilty tone)

"and where did you dropped it?", I just need her to remember that it's really dirty.

"Toiler. Ooohhhhh... 臭臭! Blek!". Great, she remembers.

"So do you still want your dirty pacifier?", I tried to let her decide now, after conditioning her mind.

"No...", she replied pitifully, but not a single argument nor cry. This time, she fell asleep sooner with her hanky in hand .

So day 2, success.

On Day 3, she was about to request for her pacifier during bedtime but she paused before she even finished her sentence. She seemed to recall its her fault she knew she does not want her dirty pacifier anymore. So I just proceed with our bedtime routine without having to do any persuasive talk.

So Day 3, success. 

Since that day onwards, she never ask for her pacifier anymore and I could happily chuck them away. :)

So there you go, a simple fuss-fee way to wean off the pacifier. Albeit took me longer than the traditional way my old Ma suggested me, it was her decision.

For my elder son who too was glued on to his pacifier, I applied same tactic but it was thanks to a strain of hair he found on the teat. He was so put off with the thought of a strange hair onthe pacifier and he even threw into the dustbin by himself.Isn't that wonderful?

Call me an opportunist, but you can't deny my way works. ;) 

If you choose to go cold turkey, well, good luck to you and hope it works! 

Copyrights © Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones, 2012 - present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any materials/photos within this website without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones with appropriate and specific direction to the original content

New Venture... Never Too Late to Try

I am up to something new recently.

As most of you probably already knew, I'm a working mom who normally works rather long hours. I decided to take a career break recently to attend to some matters at home, after all, we all work hard to give our family a good and comfort life, so it's utmost important to ensure the family are well taken care off instead of just focus on the career, right?

Anyway, all the necessary is done and I am a temporary stay-at-home-mom with two kiddos now.

Taking advantage of this precious window, I have setup an online store to feature some of my handmade for the kids, it's a little store called Pea Hatch. I thought this will allow me to get my sewing bugs fed while sharing my handmade with others who appreciate craft works. 

I don't know if the store will be well received by the public, I definitely do not target to compete with the many online stores selling kids clothing from China, Korea that aim at the mass market. For me, it's about having a dream and making it happen. It makes me happy to see others wearing or using a piece of Pea Hatch. :)

Anyway, here's the latest sewing project I was working on for my little girl, a new toddler bed cot sheet. The fabric is too sweet to resist and my girl really liked it when she saw it. She starred at it for a while and finally said, "咦，美美", which means beautiful. That's enough for me. :)

She had some fun time on the cot.

Do drop by the store for a visit at http://peahatch.blogspot.com, who knows you might find something you like (opps, commercial time, sorry... :P)

Thanks for stopping by, I promise next post will be real fun stuff with the little ones!

Copyrights © Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones, 2012 - present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any materials/photos within this website without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. 

Toddler Pants for Little Handsome!

My little handsome had been asking for some mommy made apparel refently, well, i can understand why he requested so as I have been sewing quite a few dresses for the little sisters recently but none for him. So, I managed to buy  some fabrics for making toddler pants recently, to be specific, linen and corduroy, and they turned out pretty well. My little captain was sprouting tall recently like the magic beans and many of his long pants had became 3 quarters pants by now, so these 2 new additions are done in just in time.

The corduroy pants in light brown with two deep pockets. This shall be suitable for casual or formal wear.

With a pair of Mickey buttons, his favorite.

The back of the pants, with a pair of pockets and of course, my Pea Hatch label! :)

I made a little pattern for the pockets for that designer feel. :)

Here's another casual pants made of blue linen fabric, as chosen by my little captain. I used a lighter blue for the pocket for fun since this is a kid pants, and fold up for the bottom. This way, I'm sure the pants can last him for another year or more. :)

The back of the pants, with simple pockets design and belt holders.

Simple mommy made pants for my little handsome. He got his mommy made pants, and I got my crafty bugs satisfied :)

If you are interested to get a custom made pants for your little ones with his of hers name embroidered onto it, I am happy to assist with a small fee since I am now on a temporary career break. ;-)

Copyrights © Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones, 2012 - present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any materials/photos within this website without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.