Thursday 25 July 2013

Children's Crafts - Hamabeads and Whipple

Children's Crafts are something that are always popular in our home and my girls always seem to have something on the go.  I thought today I would share with you a couple of the projects they have been working on over the last few weeks.
 
Now these are not something new, but these little beads are the most amazing things to make things with.  They go by a lot of different names, depending on where you buy them from.  I've always known them as Hama Beads.  Here is a link for the Hamabeads Website.  Lots of craft stores sell them and you can also buy them from IKEA.


The way these beads work is that you start with a template which is covered in tiny little pegs which hold the individual beads.  Using your own imagination with the colours, you create a cute little design.  Once finished, you cover it with a non-stick baking paper and carefully iron over the top.  The heat from the iron melts the beads just enough to bond them together and hold the shape.


A variety of template shapes are available

 
Here is a finished heart

and a Butterfly

We have built up a collection of colours over time and I love the fact that all the age groups seem to enjoy making things with them.  My son has even been known to do some craft with these!


So if your children are looking for a fun activity and they haven't tried these, I would highly recommend them.  They are a great non-messy craft, providing of course, the beads don't get spilled all over the place!!

Another craft I wanted to show you is called "Whipple" and it comes in a kit form.  My daughter had such a lot of fun with this.  This year she received lots of craft kits from friends for her birthday, they all know her so well! 


Whipple is basically a non-edible form of decorating cupcakes.  The "cream" comes in a tube ready to be piped onto the cupcakes and decorations are then added.  The whipple cream is left to dry hard and then you have a lovely collection of cupcakes to display.  The smaller ones have chains which come in the kits so that they can be made into keyrings. 

Too cute!

While I have been unable to do much crafting myself with our repairs and renovations going on, there has still been some craft going on in our home.  I love that my kids enjoy being creative!!