We are just gearing up for our lantern-making workshop next week, and of course, it's Diwali season right now, so there are lanterns being made everywhere! Our simple paper template is easy to make and is a great base for a kid's Diwali lantern. You can use coloured paper to decorate your lantern for an extra bright and cheerful lantern. Happy Diwali, everyone.
Lantern Workshop for kids November 14th
This fall Judith and Robin have been invited by LAMP (Lighting Architecture Movement Project) to teach a lantern-making workshop inspired by our stories Sunny's Dark Night and Foggy's Big Fright as well as our lantern project for Small Wonder magazine.
Details: 2nd Annual L A M P Workshop for KIDS teams up with the gals from Windy & friends to create a fun filled morning for youngsters making their own LED Paper Lanterns! Kids of all ages will follow the basic diy instructions to make their lanterns and are then given the freedom to explore their own decorating techniques.
Registration fee covers the cost of materials, a L A M P tote bag, a snack & a download of the "Sunny's Dark Night" - the groundbreaking stop-motion animation app by Windy & friends.
Let's keep our pets safe and happy this Halloween
In our story, "Foggy's Big Fright", Jean-Cloud's dog Foggy is very frightened at Halloween. Many pets really do find this time of year stressful. So while we're getting ready to get out and trick-or-treat and have a great time, let's remember to make things easy on our dogs and cats.
Here are some shareable safety tips: spread the word and have a fantastic Halloween!
Sunny: the recycle robot
Ahh, the robot. The perfect, inexpensive last-minute DIY costume. Mysterious discarded bolts left over from your last Ikea purchase, old CDs (dials), cardboard box bodies, soda-bottle jetpacks, coat hanger antennae, discarded aerosol spray can lids you can stick on each side of your helmet.. is there any costume that's so versatile and fun to build? Empty out the recycling while you're crafting :)
Sunny is a long, long-time fan of Daft Punk and also enjoys some early Kraftwerk, so he was keen on being a robot. Variations on the theme: the Tinman of Oz, Tron, C3PO ... find more inspiration on our Pinterest board.
Some DIYers like to use silver spray paint for their robots, but we'd like to put in a plug for another option: school glue with silver glitter and silver duck tape or aluminum foil on a few key areas. It's ok to keep some areas unpainted and it's easier on your lungs and the environment, too. At the end you can pull the costume apart and re-recycle it! Or go silver-free like this little pink-and-white robot (pictured).
If you're feeling up for a small challenge, check out this great Power Ranger cardboard helmet video tutorial!
Join the Cat Club!
We love the re-issued Jenny Linsky books from 1949 from the New York Review of Books. This Zara kids knit cap with Windy's red scarf is a perfect Jenny Linsky costume!
Donut worry, Foggy
What is a good costume for a dog, especially one like Foggy who is so scared of Halloween? That's just what we ask at the beginning of our Halloween story "Foggy's Big Fright" ...
Well, this one's a bit of a cheat, because we cannot reveal which costume Foggy chose. But one option was the donut (pictured at left). He felt that a hot dog was a bit too obvious ...
Donut costume how-to from Studio DIY (pictured in the middle) via our Halloween pinterest board.