Our Monthly Journal
September 2022
We're so excited to share another monthly journal written by the lovely Lola Jones, also known as @pocketfullofbuttercups on Instagram. Lola is a wonderful photographer and all round creator of beautiful content, raising her twin daughters Maya and Chloe & her baby Thea from her house near the Peak District. Each month she will give us a small glimpse into her world, inspiring you with activity ideas, recipes and more.
Are your little ones happy to be back at school? Were you happy to finally have a tidy house and some peace and quiet at least for a short while? After a few relaxing weeks at home over summer, most parents are happy to welcome routine and more structure back into their lives.
My girls have always loved school, so I never really had to persuade them to go, however much fun we had during the holidays, they haven’t dreaded the return yet. This year, however, they moved to junior school meaning not just a new class teacher, but new everything - building, classroom and new ways that come with a new school. Naturally, even the most confident of pupils may have a little wobble.
We have prepared a sweet little back to school craft that you can try with your children - something to celebrate the start of the new school year. We are also sharing a truly hilarious children’s book about the human body - another great back to school tool. Lastly, there is a creative approach to portrait (or self-portrait) art.
As always we hope that you enjoy this month’s inspiration. Should you decide to have a go at any activities, we would really love to see them. Please tag us #inspiredbynelliequats
DIY CORNER BOOKMARK
This is a great return to school activity. Super easy to do and you can create so many different characters - animals and other cute creatures. Check out our Instagram for a quick reel showing how to make these.
You will need:
- Standard origami paper (or 14cm x 14cm square)
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Paper glue
- Colourful paper if you wish to personalise your bookmark.
Thin origami paper is perfect for this project, but I also used other colourful paper as a base. They are a little harder to fold, being slightly thicker, but work well too.
CREATIVE PORTRAIT ART
We are big on art at home. My older girls always have a project on the go. They are either drawing their favourite characters, designing a new outfit for them, making a fairyland from boxes or crafting something else. They seem to find inspiration from all sorts of sources.
During lockdowns and school closures we have worked on self-portraits together using watercolour paint and both of my girls were very into it. It was a great way to express their own unique personality. This time we decided to try a different take on a self-portrait - using mostly cardboard.
You will need:
- Boxes (we used some we had in the house)
- Scissors
- Pencil
- Glue
- Paint if you want to make them colourful.
Find a large piece of cardboard to use as the background for your portrait. Ours is about A3. Use a separate piece of cardboard to draw a face, then cut it out and place on your background. Next draw your eyes, nose, ears, cheeks, etc. cut them out and start assembling your portrait. Then think about the hair. We tried different looks - plaits, buns and even curls using wood wool that once came in a parcel as part of the packaging. Remember to focus on the process and keep it fun, rather than worry about it looking life-like.
BOOK RECOMMENDATION
Kay’s Anatomy - a complete (and completely disgusting) guide to the human body - “The human body is a scientific marvel - an incredible machine that’s been perfected over the last seven million years, give or take a few days. It is more advanced than a space station and smarter than the speediest super computer.
Let’s find out all of your body’s weird and wonderful secrets. Like the brain, for instance, that feels no pain. Then there’s your heart. Which it turns out is neither bright pink or heart shaped, so someone should urgently tell whoever makes Valentines Day cards. And it pumps enough blood around your body each day to fill ninety (pretty repulsive) baths. And how about your lungs which puff out enough air every day to blow up a thousand balloons.”
A really hilarious book with lots of useful information about the human body that your children are sure to love!
