Monster-making mayhem has broken loose in Stratford's Discover Centre as Monsterville comes to town and everyone's invited to get their monster on!
The monstertastic exhibition was created by illustrators Sarah McIntyre (You can't Eat a Princess), Neal Layton (Emily Browne) and Ed Vere (Mr Big) to offer an "unbelievably hideous and funny experience" for the whole family.
The exhibition is open until March 2012 and promises to be "the mankiest exhibition ever". Take a peek at the launch party on Sarah's blog. It has to be smelled to be believed. Get down to the monster town and see for yourself.
Woo hoo! A tiny person's tooth has fallen out to make room for a grown up one! Bring on the Tooth Fairy! But while you're waiting where are you going to stash to tooth?
This free Monster Tooth Pillow how to from The Long Thread helps you make a growly point-toothed pal to keep your wee ones baby tooth safe until the Tooth Fairy arrives.
Toothtastic craft.
Lots of folks seem to popping out babies as spring is in the air. If you're not up for making them tiny baby clothes how about sewing them a sweet swaddling blanket to snuggle their tiny new family addition?
The DIY Swaddle Blanket how to from Prudent Baby is ever so simple and a lovely thing to hand over to a new mum.
It beats the pants off those endless sets of cute booties other folks will bring (not that there's anything wrong with booties). You're giving them a whole handmade hug!
[via Whipup]
So many of us are nuts about owls. From the much-coveted Owls jumper to our recent post about the Who hat , the craft world loves a handmade owl.
A little Acorn Owl how-to from Bloesem Kids, seemed like a good idea for those of you who crave all things owl but don't have the knitting skills to stitching a wise old bird themselves. This cute bit of owl-themed kids' craft shows you how to turn a lonesome acorn into a little owl of your very own.
There's also a whole load of simple kid-friendly and grown-up friendly craft projects on there too from Project #1 Tissue Paper Landscape to the latest kooky custom wall hooks.
Comics are cool. With the likes of Watchmen, Iron Man, The Avengers and Scott Pilgrim vs The World making the transition from page to screen and the revamp of British classic The Dandy, the mainstream are starting to realise that comic craft is worth a look.
Like all craft though it's easy to see the big guns in comics but there's plenty of astoundingly talented artists and storytellers out there who aren't as prominent. It's not all exploding robots, Manga screams and caped crusaders, and Jim Medway's Comical Animal has set out to prove just that with some perfect examples of comic craft.
Enter a world of hand-drawn, carefully coloured and lovingly crafted comic animals. At turns mind-bogglingly odd, heart-squeezingly cute and all over hilarious, the comic strips hark back to the giggles and guffaws seen in the days of Snoopy, The Beano, those curious Moomins and strips from weekend newspaper comics of days gone by.
The first issue features a wealth of ink-wielding talent from well-known comic makers such as The Beano's Gary Northfield with the buffoonery of Billy Bumble, and other artists of the lost and lamented DFC with Sarah McIntyre's bizarre Grizzlies, and Woodrow Phoenix's Lenny the Largemouth Seabass.
Some of my favourites include a tale of oversized love in Fred Blunt's The Crush and the decidedly kooky Chutney the Rabbit by Rick Eades.
Read them. Love them. Sign up to the Comical Animal newsletter or support the project by adopting your very own cartoon animal.
Some of my earliest craft memories spring from falling in love with characters from Bagpuss and Ivor the Engine and making gluey, scribbly plasticine-flavoured attempts at creating them myself. On the tiny TV screen craft came alive and it was magic to watch.
Last night London's Cartoon Museum held a private view of their brilliant Toy Tales exhibition and I was lucky enough to snag an invite. The exhibition features some of Britain's most cherished kid's TV characters, from saggy Bagpuss to cheesy Wallace and Gromit to the perky Peppa Pig.
What fascinated me about the exhibition is seeing how the magic was made. I was even luckier to meet Peter Firmin (co-creator of the likes of The Clangers, Bagpuss and Noggin the Nog with Oliver Postgate) who talked us through some of the untold stories behind the handmade beasts.
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Easter is upon us and that means disgruntled urchins hanging about the house peering out at the inevitable holiday rain and whining "I'm booooooooooored!" What to do with them when you can't release them into the wild to chase pigeons in parks or poke about in ponds for frog spawn? Children's book illustrator and cupcake scribbling Sarah MacIntyre has just the solution. Turn your tiny one into an illustrator.
Enter Sarah's website for a rocket ride into the crafty world of creating aliens, monsters, mini comics and rocket rides.
On the monster side of things get icky with Morris the Manky Monster, the lovable but oh so disgusting creature. You can make your own monster, let the world know just how yuck your creation is, decide just what lurks in a monster's food cupboard and go wild with a whole load of monster activities.
On the alien side of things you dream up your own alien, draw your own spaceship and embark on drawing your own mini comic adventure. All inspired by the "You Can't Eat a Princess" book.
Learning the craft of illustration from a real illustrator should keep them amused and crafty even when the chocolate eggs run out.
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