25. February: Designing carneval masks 🎭

(Post from Tanja) 

In Germany (nearly) everybody goes crazy around this time of year because it's "Fasching" or "Fastnacht" or "Karneval".🎉

It's a tradition that dates back to the 13th century.

Carneval, also known as the "Fith Season", begins on the 11th of November at 11:11 am and ends on Ash Wednesday of the following year with the main celebrations around Rosenmontag, which usually is in the end of February.
It has got three different names, each one used in a different part of Germany. The names evolved due to different traditions and other ways of celebrating.

Basically, carneval in Germany means
dressing up, partying all night long,
having different town-organized
parades and making fun of everybody
especially of politicians.

People can buy cheap costumes in
supermarkets, but if they have time,
they prefer to sew them themselves.

So of course, we had to make some in Ligzda, too! 😊
I chose to teach the kids the easiest costume: the mask 🎭


This is how you create one yourself :
1. Cut out any shape you want. Use hard, but bendy white paper.
2. Try the mask out and mark where your eyes are.
3. Cut out the shape of eyes.
4. Paint it with acrylic colours and glue on old material, buttons, etc.
5. Stamp two holes next to the eyes.
6. Knot elastic string to the holes.
7. Finished! 😊

18. February: Pretty purses 💰

(Post from Tanja 😊)
Guess why it's not very smart to buy a purse when you're still a kid or teenager!
Well first, because you shouldn't really need one
And second, because you can actually make one yourself!

This Saturday we created pretty purses by using milk- and juice cartons.

This is what you have to do:
1. Collect milk-/ juice cartons and clean them.
2. Cut off the top and bottom.
3. Make creases at the half of the long sides.
4. Devide the long side into three parts.
5. Make two creases  deviding it into the three parts.
6. Cut off everything of the third part except for one piece.
7. Fold the carton at the two creases.
8. Attach the velcro with a stapler.
9. Stick the two inner parts together with the velcro.
10. Colour it if you want to.
11. Finished! 😊

  

Creating valentine's day presents! ❤

This is a post from Tanja 😊
Valentine's day was on it's way!
Therefore, obviously we had to create pretty presents for our loved ones.

The kids made beautiful candle jars. Funnily most of them dedicated theirs to their mother. 😊

This is how you make them:
1. Collect glas jars and remove the etiquette with hot water.
2. Cut out a lot of hearts of special thin paper.
3. Cover your glas in a thin layer of decoupage glue.
4. Carefully stick the hearts on and completely attach them by placing more decoupage glue on them and then spreading it with a paintbrush.
5. Wait untilit's dry.
6. Cut out some hearts from colourful carton, make a hole in each one with a hole puncher and write a cute message for your loved one on it.
7. Wrap some wool or string around the top and knot the carton hearts to it.
8. Place a candle inside.
9. Finished!

4. February: Pen problem solved ✏

It's me again, Tanja  😊
Have you ever had too many pens and pencils lying around and no idea what to do with them?
Well, I experienced that way too often, therefore I found a solution:
Just put them in a glas or cup or can.  😉
However, that might look a bit boring, so you should decorate it.
That is exactly what we did this saturday at my workshop. The kids were allowed to use their own imagination and created very beautiful pencil holders.

This is how you do it:
1. Collect cans or glas jars and clean them.
2. Cut out a piece of material that is a bit bigger than the can.
3. Stick it on with hot glue.
4. Cut strips into the ends and glue them in.
5. Decorate it with everything you can find.
6. Finished.