Last Day of Half Term is Paper Craft Day!

"Craft day please mummy!" was the cry of my little foxes when I asked them what they'd like to do yesterday, the last day of half term.

I'm in the midsts of a bit of a project in the studio, so it's a mess and that's where most of the craft stuff lives.  But, at a clear out at my mum's some months ago I found an old art box of mine from when I was a kid.

My little foxes have done most of Mrs Fox's crafts 100 times already and they wanted something new. So, I decided to look online for some other paper crafts that could be downloaded and printed out.  I wanted something that we could do at the kitchen table, that required no more than scissors, glue and the paints from my old art box.

We came up with, four projects from craft blogs and online sites (follow the links if you fancy having a go yourself); we spent the whole day doing these - wonderful day!  Here they all are:

A Paper Doll 
from Sweet Paul

London Paper Doll by Lova Blåvarg

We made the London paper doll by Lova Blåvarg. Two A sheets of doll, clothes and props.  London could be a boy or girl, s/he is beautiful, and I have to admit I printed one for me to paint and make up too.  We also downloaded Brooklyn, Lova's other paper doll, for a bit of craftyness today.

Brooklyn Paper Doll by Lova Blåvarg

I remember making paper dolls as a child, and had as much fun doing this one as I ever remember as a kid.  We mounted the doll onto some card and created a stand for her.  This was my favourite of our projects.

Big Ben 
from Paper Toys

Louis' been building a lot just recently so he wanted to make a tower.  On the same site you can download a London taxi and double decker bus which we didn't get round to making.  They print out quite small so you need to scale them up before printing.  But this was Louis' favourite and I've since had to draw him a number of "castles" to paint or colour in too.

Bird Finger Puppets 
from Mr Printable

I LOVE Mr Printable's site.  I have it book marked for a rainy day.  Everything they do is beautiful and this was the easiest project we did, although his beak got a little squished.  You can make 4 birds from this download.  The flamingo is a little too big to fit on small fingers but that just means mummy gets to keep one.  The toucan also conveniently fitted into Una's half-term homework project on Brazil.

Mrs Fox's Articulated Paper Unicorn

Ok, for this one you also need paper fasteners, or you can use pieces of wool or string knotted on either side of the legs.  The children have done them before, but it's one of Una's fav so I printed them out and we made a few more to add to our collection.  I've uploaded one to our website for you to download too.  RIGHT HERE.

Print as many as you like, but please only for personal use.  Drop a comment in the box if you download them, we love to know they're loved.  And if you want to share the love and link to them, please link to this page rather than the PDF itself. Thanks xxx

So, what did you get up to this half term?

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Maya Angelou - 1928 - 2014

Still I Rise

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise. 

Maya Angelou

What's your favourite Maya Angelou poem?

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Mrs Fox's Felt Menagerie

Mrs Fox's Handmade includes an ever increasing menagerie of needle felted animals that I've been making, and I'm happy to turn my hand to almost anything.  Drop me an email if you don't see what you're after, I take commissions; info@mrsfoxs.com

This was the first thing I ever needle felted - a little dog for one of my daughter's friends.

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Toxic Baby - The things our children teach us.

Many moons ago, in around 2005BC (Before Children), when I had a glamourous job in the media... Ok, well, maybe not that glamourous.  I worked for the BBC making interactive TV (that red button stuff) and lots of video for the internet.  But in 2005 I wrote, produce and directed my biggest (BBC ONE) and favourite (got nominated for a BAFTA for it - woop woop!) project "Shakespeare's Stories". But even more special than BBC ONE and BAFTA nominations I met the most wonderful director, Penelope Jagessar Chaffer, and better yet we became friends.

Don't we look young?  My team of brilliant women at the 2005 BAFTA's - Claudia, Tanya, Vicky, Me and Penny 

The first time I met Penny, I was mostly just impressed at how gorgeous she was, and incredibly impressed that this was within months of giving birth to baby, Zephyr.  I was interviewing Penny with an eye to her being the primary director on my project and pretty early on in the interview she asked if it would be possible for her baby to be on set, as she was still breast feeding.

As a young producer of my first BIG project, I remember a flash of panic as she explained that she would have to stop work and feed Zeph on demand.  I knew there would be BBC healthy and safety issues galore, and I felt responsible for this tiny being's safety.  I knew that he would need space separate, away from the chaos, noise and lights of a set, and Penny's mother would be there with him all day, but then that's another mouth to feed and more responsibility for the Producer, Me.  But after the momentary flash of panic, I thought about how I expected to want to continue my career after a baby, and that if women didn't support other women, how could we expect that support to be forthcoming from society as a whole.

And besides all that she impressed me, as a director, more than any of the other candidates, she listened and 'got' what I had in mind for my project.  Penny had already been nominated for a BAFTA for her debut documentary "Me & My Dad" for Channel 4.  So, was I going to turn down the best person for the job?

I said yes.  Beautiful Zeph was a positive benefit on set.  Yes BBC health and safety was a bit of a nightmare, but, he gave us enforced moments of calm when we were stressed.  Actors and crew would sneak up to check out his latest cuteness.  Penny's mother was a wonderful lady to have around.  Zeph really brought something to the set, there was real camaraderie on set and he helped forge that feeling of family.  And all in all, I got to meet and become friends with an absolutely inspirational woman and her family.

I discovered I was pregnant at the end of the shoot, and I see the situation as a karmic moment in my life.  I learnt a lot from Penny, her mother and Zeph.  Once I told Penny I was pregnant I also found an incredible source of information, recent experience and ancient wisdom right there in Ms Penelope.  My daughter Una was born a year minus a day after Zeph; see what I mean about Karma?!

Una and Zeph

So, to bring all this up to date, since then, Penny has moved to New York, had another baby, Oceana and made an amazing film called Toxic Baby,

"... a cinematic look at how chemicals in our day-to-day lives can affect the health and development of babies and children... an epic detective story that tells the story of environmental chemicals through the science of some of the world's most revolutionary thinkers and seen through the eyes of a surreal cast of characters. ... the film explores breathtaking new scientific concepts to ask the question what does all of this mean, why don't we know about it and what can we do about it?" 

She has gone on to do a TED Talk and is now looking for funding to turn the vast quantity of research and interviews with scientist and experts that went into the making of Toxic Baby into the world's first interactive documentary app for the iPad.

TOXIC BABY the iPAD AP

Penny needs support and is seeking financial funding through crowd sourcing at Kickstarter. 

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE CHECK OUT THE VIDEO AT THE TOP OF THIS POST AND CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO SUPPORT TOXIC BABY!

To find out more about the issue and to contact Penelope Jagessar Chaffer:
Website/ Facebook/ Twitter

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