Princeza Holi i naše malo kraljevstvo - Princess Holly and our little kingdom

Nedavno smo imali maskembal u vrtiću. Ove godine sam bila malkice ambicioznija nego prošle. Sećate se da sam pominjala da su nam Ben i Holi sada omiljeni likovi, pa je Ema odlučila da će da se maskira u princezu Holi. Krila smo dobili u jednom od onih časopisa o princezama, pa sam ih sačuvala za neku ovakvu priliku. Kruna je rajf na koga su prišivena dva žuta oblika krune od hamera. Čarobni štapić smo napravili od silikonskih modli za kolače (u obliku zvezde). Isekla sam im dno i zalepila jedno za drugo, napunila koflinom i umetnula štapić koji se dobija uz balone. Nameravala sam da i zvezdu napravim od hamera, ali sam se bojala špicastih ivica i mnoštva dece.

Recently we had a costume party at Ema's daycare. This year I was a wee bit more ambitious than last year. You probably remember my mentioning that Ben and Holly are our favourite cartoon characters, so Ema decided to go as Holly. We got the wings from some magazine about princesses, so I saved them for an occasion like this one. The crown is a hair pin with two crown shaped yellow cardboards sewn together. The magic wand is made from sillicone star shaped cake moulds. I cut out the bottom and glued two of them together, filled the wand with some amigurumi stuffing and inserted a stick that kids get with balloons. I was planning to use cardboard to make the magic wand, but I was afraid of the combination of pointy edges and small children.

A ovu Holi sam pravila jako dugo. Vodila sam se mustrom za Pepu Prase, ali sam morala izmeniti lice, oblik tela, dodati krila, krunu i kosu. S obzirom da mi je ovo prva polu-samostalna mustra, jako sam ponosna. A Ema, kada ju je izvadila iz paketića, samo je uzviknula: „Mama, ponovo Pepa!”. Toliko o tome...

The other Holly took a looong time to make. I used Debbie Birkin's Peppa Pig pattern as a guide, but I had to change the body shape and add the wings, crown and hair. This being my first semi-personal pattern, I am very proud of it. But when Ema pulled it out the Christmas gift bag she just said: "Look, mom, another Peppa!" So much for that...

Slagalice u domaćoj izvedbi - Home made puzzles

Ema je trenutno oduševljena sa nekoliko stvari. Prvo sa Timijem (odn. Me, kako ga ona zove), Pepom Prase (što već znamo) i najnovije sa Benom i Holi. Druga velika zanimacija nam je slaganje slagalica. Kraćim obilaskom prodavnica došla sam do zaključka da su slagalice prilično skupe, a naročito one sa likom i delom gore pomenutih junaka.

I tako sam došla na ideju da napravim svoje slagalice. Sasvim sam sigurna da nisam izmislila rupu na saksiji, ali rekoh, ipak da podelim sa vama. Početna ideja je bila da slike (skinute sa Neta) odštampam u fotokopirnici (budući da nemam štampač u boji), zalepim na karton i onda isečem. Međutim, pretpostavljala sam da neću uspeti tako lepo da zalepim a da se ne odlepljuju krajevi. Druga ideja je bila da u fotokopirnici umesto redovnog papira štampaju na samolepljivom, pa onda da to zalepim na karton. Međutim, veoma ljubazna devojka u kopirnici, puna razumevanja za moje dileme, ponudila mi je opciju da mi slike odštampa na najdebljem papiru koji imaju, što se pokazalo kao dobro rešenje.

I, evo kako to izgleda:

Potreban materijal:

1. Odgovarajuće slike (šta god da je aktuelno kod vaše dece)

2. Skalpel ili makaze

3. Hamer ili samolepljivi papir i karton

4. Kolor štampač ili predusretljiva teta u fotokopirnici

Prednosti domaćih slagalica:

1. Daleko su jeftinije

2. Možete sami birati slike

3. Možete sami seći slike, tako da delovi predstavljaju smislene celine (što nije uvek slučaj kod kupovnih slagalica)

4. Možete biti ponosni na sebe i svoje delo

Nedostaci:

1. Delovi se ne uklapaju baš najbolje, nego se moraju približiti jedan drugom, pa često klize (preporučujem platneni stolnjak na radnoj površini)

* * * * * 

At the moment Ema is captivated by two things. Firstly with Timmy (Me, as she calls him), Peppa the Pig (which you already know), and lately with Ben and Holly. Her other great fascination are puzzles. A short trip around the toy stores lead me to a conclusion that puzzles are quite expensive, especially those depicting the above mentioned characters.

So I came to the idea to make my own puzzles. I am quite aware that I didn't invent anything new, but I still wanted to share this idea with you. The initial thought was to print out the pictures (downloaded from the Internet) at the photocopier's (I don't have a colour printer at home), glue them onto a cardboard and cut them out. However, I decided against it, since I believed I couldn't paste the picture in a way that it wouldn't come up at the edges. The second idea was to use the self adhesive paper for printing at the photocopier's and paste that on the cardboard. However, the very helpful lady at the photocopier's, who showed incredible understanding for my dilemmas, offered me the option to print the pictures on the thickest paper they have.

So, here it is.

Material needed:

1. Pictures according to your wishes (whatever your child is into these days)

2. A scalpel or scissors

3. Thin cardboard or a self adhesive paper and cardboard

4. A colour printer or a forthcoming lady at the photocopier's

Advantages of home made puzzles:

1. They are less expensive by far

2. You can choose the picures

3. You can cut the pictures yourselves, so that the pieces are meaningful (which is not always the case with ready made puzzles)

4. You get to be proud of yourselves and your work

Disadvantages:

1. The pieces do not fit into each other, but have to be put close to one another, so they tend to move around (I recommend using a tablecloth when playing with the puzzle)