The ‘making things’ challenges: Making bird feeders from peanuts, pinecones, seeds and wool; Making daisy chains; Going to the park and finding 5 things to make something with; Playing with reeds; leaving leaf messages; making paper boats and blowing them; making a map/plan of the green space behind the house; and making flower enchiladas; and a tree house for Twinkle, our garden fairy. Attempting to make a water wheel; trying to turn beeswax into hand cream… with mixed results; making bird pears; making things from lavender stems and making a harvest crown.
286 – Making pine cone bird feeders (again)
Friday 21 March. Cloudy. 13°C
We first made these in January when we spent a week doing bird related challenges (337). B was distracted by another idea but we persevered to get them out and up. The next day they’d turned white and I got a bit disheartened thinking it hadn’t worked. Then a few weeks later I realised they’d all disappeared and the tray of bits we’d stuck in the tree had been pecked clean. Now it’s nesting season and we’re going to do it again with confidence.
One big plus is that it uses things I’ve had hanging round the house and garden for months. We’ve got a big packet of shelled peanuts for birds still, which the squirrels in the park were too overfed to be interested in (see 304). I’ve also got a basket of pine cones which I gathered in Autumn and didn’t get fully used as Christmas decorations. We’ve got bird seed to hand as well.
- We put the peanuts in the food grinder and grind them for about 30 seconds. I added a little bit of water as the mixture still looked quite dry and it became a thick sort of paste.
- We got some wool (string or wire would do too) and tied it round the pine cones so we could attach them to the trees and bushes.
- B then used a knife to stick the paste into the pine cones. The nobbly structure is great at keeping the paste attached.
- Then we sprinkled and pushed seeds over them.
Final task is just to attach them to the trees in the garden. We spread the six finished cones around three different trees. We’ll monitor them closer this time and see which goes first!
284 – Making daisy chains
Sunday 23 March. Cloudy. 12°C
It’s finally DAISY CHAIN day. It’s not that warm but the little flowers are properly coming through at last and there are lots everywhere. B is totally ready for this one. I’m a little surprised that she knows how to make them already. I don’t think we’ve done them but she says a friend taught her. I vaguely remember learning them the same way. It’s definitely the sign of a Good Thing.
We pick about 25-30 and get to work, slitting the stems with our fingernails and threading the next daisy through. We’re surprisingly quick. I remember making them in the past and getting very cross with stems that split too much and the slow pace. B is surprisingly accomplished and definitely benefits from having smaller nails.
The completed circle is so long it goes round her head twice and she proudly wears it for the next hour or so… before complaining it’s itchy.
…4 months later, during the Celebration of Nature at St Fagans she finds an alternative option – clover chains! She makes the longest one I’ve ever seen…
254 – Finding 5 things to make something with
Tuesday 22 April. Mixed. 15°C
B has an idea for a challenge. “Let’s go to the park and each collect five things. Then bring them back and make something with them.”
Sounds good! The new leaves are mainly out now so there’s lots of new shapes and textures about. We separate out at the park and go hunting. I pick a dandelion, a bit of wood, an oak leaf (because they’re all new, light green and floppy) and two smaller leaves. B’s got an idea already and is looking for things to fit. She wants to make a beach scene. When we get home she digs out some kinetic sand and paper. She uses the stick to hold the leaf up to make a 3d picture. I’m wondering why it’s taken us till April to work out this one. It would have been great in January if less options around.
202 – Playing with reeds and seeing what you can make
Friday 13 June. Sunny. 18°C
B isn’t feeling good today. She’s got a headache so I suggest she puts the screens away and we go and sit in the park for a bit. She’s low energy but able to walk and we find a shady spot and mull things to do.
We find some leaves and grasses and have a go at bending them and folding them to see what we can make. Then I remember this brilliant video posted by Bryngarw Country Park. We head to the pondy bit and find some reeds and return to our shady corner with them. Then we see what we can do.
The joy is that they split easily down the middle but are tough side to side. B makes the boat and we have a go at plaiting too. Suspect we’ll explore this more.
182 – Leaving leaf messages
Thursday 3 July. Sunny. 22°C
…and we’re back at the same tree stumps in the park. B has had an idea. She grabs a leaf off the laurel tree and a pen and starts writing on it. This works surprisingly well – I’m wondering why we keep doing numbers on paper! Once her note is written she rolls it up, ties it first with grass (which makes a surprisingly good knot) and then with reeds. She writes ‘from B’ on it and it’s ready…
Why have we never done this before? I get one too and write something nice and cheering on it. It reminds me of finding painted stones on the beach on holiday that kids have left for other kids to find. We leave our little parcels on the tree stump for anyone wandering by to help themselves too.
172 – Making paper boats and blowing them
Sunday 13 July. Sunny. 30°C
A day on from running the Five Trees Treasure Hunt at St Fagans Museum and we’re still playing with paper boats. We spent a lot of time enjoying them yesterday – the older kids making them and the younger kids sinking them. All enjoyed blowing them around a bowl of water and having boat races and fights.
We got a very good tip on how to make them better so we have another go at home with the paddling pool… check out instagram for a video of our latest making technique.
154 – Making a map/plan of the green space behind the house…
Thursday 31 July. Sunny & windy. 21°C
This is thanks to ‘T’ across the road. The little bit of green behind our house is much enjoyed by all the neighbours and they’re looking into getting some funding to look after it. T wonders if B might be able to do a plan/map of the area which shows all the different trees and bushes and planters… B likes this idea.
We head round with a draft and set to work. The wind is not helping. It likes the paper. B thinks my attempt is rubbish so I give up and focus on keeping the paper in order. B is applying herself methodically. She counts the trees and locations, finds the baby pear tree in the corner and carefully places the planters and existing picnic tables. We don’t get round to identifying the trees. We’re learning how to do this on google but it the technology feels like a distractions so she focuses on what she can see instead.
As soon as she’s finished and we head over to hand our work in she starts realising all the things she’s missed. It’s amazing how much is in a small space!
113 – Making flower enchiladas for Twinkle…
Sunday 7 September. Mixed. 18°C
B is choosing the challenge today. She says I’m taking over. She’s got a plan to do with using decaying flowers and plants… I don’t quite understand it but as she heads out into the garden with purpose it finds a shape. She looks for flowers first – picking the lavender that is still purple and fresh and also some fuchsia flowers. Then she finds some leaves. Coming inside, she shreds the fuchsia and the lavender into two separate piles of bits and picks a leaf for each, rolling them up.
She’s nothing to tie them with so we go back in the garden and look for grass type things… the lavender stem actually works really well once we take the leaves and flowers off. Tied up and they are two tiny green parcels which B says are enchiladas. Then she heads back into the garden and carefully positions them outside the little fairy door we have in our garden tree. A lovely meal for Twinkle, our garden fairy.
103 – Making a fairy tree house
Friday 19 September. Rainy. 17°C
Continuing the ‘making things for Twinkle’ idea, B’s best friend K suggests they make a tree house. This is a small tree house for a fairy…rather than a big tree house for them. I’d love to make that but lack the skill! I can knock up a basic ‘house’ out of mdf board though. They take it and start decorating.
They refuse the feathers (“A BIRD might want to nest in it – and they’ll be scared if it’s covered in other birds feathers”) but opt for glitter and glue and for some reason add flags. Getting it in the tree turns out to be trickier than expected. As with the birds nest, the best place is a bit higher than B can reach. In the end we manage to get it up in the same spot and this time it doesn’t fall down… though B does point out that as it’s not got a bottom, it’s use as a house might be limited.
102 – A water wheel
Saturday 20 September. Rainy. 17°C
It’s been pouring with rain all week and we’re trying to think of new things to do in very wet weather… and I wonder if we can make a water wheel. I find some videos online of how to do it and opt for the easiest version which uses things we have already… We give up on the glue, find milk bottle tops rather than plastic bottle tops and hope for the best.
As soon as the next deluge of rain comes we head outside to our favourite gutter and see if it will go round in the little river running down the kerb. Amazingly it seems structurally sound (if flimsy) but hits several problems.
First we realise we can’t hold the skewer (d’uh) or it won’t go round. We fix this by placing it in our car’s mudguard and the kerb. It still doesn’t work though – we think the water’s not deep enough so B steps on the other side with her wellies on to make it deeper… but this stops the flow.
Finally we go and get a watering can and try pouring that on. It sort of works. I think we might try this again sometime but invest a bit more in the model and the operating conditions.
95 – Making hand cream
Saturday 27 September. Sunny. 17°C
B is moving on from potions and perfumes and wants to try her hand at hand cream. We’re out and about and she suggests we collect flowers and nice things for it, which we do. Then she starts googling what you need and comes up with shea butter and beeswax… With hindsight I think the latter might not be right but we had that so we went with it.
At home, we cut a bit off to melt and B finds some old moisturiser to use with it. Then she breaks up the flowers into tiny pieces, adds the moisturiser and asks for help with the wax. It doesn’t go well. First attempt we drop it and it immediately hardens all over the kitchen floor. Second time we’re wiser. We add the moisturised mixture to the beeswax instead. It sets very hard. I don’t think we’re going to become beauticians any time soon.
91 – Bob & Peach Pear
Tuesday 30 September. Sunny. 16°C
Our house is full of pears. The pear tree is ridiculously laden this year and they’re all very small. B has been wanting to try some carving but we’ve given up on wood after getting scared about sharp knives and the potential to cut yourself. She wants to try carving pears instead which seems like a good plan.
We find this wonderful video by Gala in the Kitchen and give it a go. It’s easier than I thought it would be. B does all the cutting herself and there are no accidents. Hurray.
79 – Making things with lavender stems
Tuesday 14 October. Cloudy. 14°C
I saw a great post on instagram about making lavender stems into little baskets. Have now lost it completely but we thought we’d have a go. The garden’s full of lavender and, at this time of year, I start thinking about getting rid of the flower stems. Reckon this could be one of those useful play ideas that also result in some tidying!
We have a go at a flower and a person and, of course, a 79! I love the idea of making it into a basket but remember too late they’d recommended soaking it for a while to get it to be more bendy. We’ll try that next time.
75 – Making a harvest crown
Friday 17 October. Cloudy. 14°C
Ten months into the 365 Day Nature Play Challenge and I’m finally getting a grip on how to use the willow that helpfully grows in the garden. At this time of year there’s all these long springy twigs which need cutting down. They’re really bendy. Almost absentmindedly we find ourselves making them into a circle, and then into a garland sort of shape. Challenge decided: We’re going to make a harvest crown!
We saw making a wild crown on the national trust website back in the summer. We’re now ready to do this for autumn. We know where the good leaves are from making leaf lanterns. We head back, grab more and find a new tree which has bright red leaves. From the garden we pick more lavender and also pick the rosehips. We find it’s really easy to thread them all through.
Only one snag – B isn’t putting on the final article (“eurgh! No. It might have bugs on it!”). Big bear gets the honour instead.
