I may have mentioned before (once or twice!) that I love any kind of arts & crafts activity… and having Emma gives me a great excuse to indulge this. However, I do sometimesΒ struggle to come up with fun and different crafty activities that she can get properly involved in at her age (sheβll be 2 in September), where the finished result is really hers, and not just the result of mummy having taken over (I doΒ acknowledge that this may be the result of mummyβs interfering nature, not just Emmaβs age!).
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This week we were babysitting the gorgeous Olivia, one of Emmaβs best friends for a couple of hours, and together we had aΒ fab time combining two of the things we love best in this houseΒ β paint and stickers! I thought those of you with little ones might like to try this too, so this blog is a bit of a βhow toβ guide…and if youβd like some letter stickers to make your own version at home, weβve got some limited stock of sticker letters that weβll send you for free (see guidance on how to request these below!).
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You will need:
- Something to paint on (I used a blank stretched canvasΒ β at Β£5 for 4 from The Works, they were a bit of a bargain)
- Paint and paintbrushes (or just fingers / hands / feet!)
- Sticker lettering (if you didnβt have any pre-made lettering, you could always cut out your own using self-adhesive labels)
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Step 1: Stick the lettering onto the canvas
Ok, so whilst I said this project was all Emma and Oliviaβs own workΒ β this is one bit I did in advanceΒ (spelling not being their strong point yet!).Β Our sticker lettersΒ come with a transferΒ film toΒ make it really easy toΒ get theΒ positioning right, and the little ones canΒ always help you make sure each letter is stuck down firmly (which is importantΒ so they donβt getΒ knocked off whenΒ youβreΒ painting). How about personalising a canvas with your little one’s name, or spelling out a message for a super-special pressie?
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Step 2: Paint!
Olivia was pretty good with the paintbrush, Emma preferredΒ the more βrusticβ approach of using her hands and feet to cover everything in paint (baby wipes at the ready!). The more paint the betterΒ β the only important thing is to make sure all the letters are totally covered, and I am definitely a subscriber to the whole idea of the more messier the look, the cuter the finished result π
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Step 3: Wait for it to dry
Iβm far too impatient to enjoy this bit, but we found some other games to keep me them amused, and it only took an hour or so.
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Step 4: Remove the sticker letters
Carefully peel off each of the letters in turn, to reveal the plain canvas underneath and your work of art! The girls seemed toΒ enjoy this bit – whilst pulling things apart is normally a less useful skill, it is one whichΒ seems to come naturally to most children…
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Step 5: Admire and show off!
I was really thrilled with the canvasses theyβd created. Olivia proudly gave her βlove you mummyβ one to her mum, Claire, when she came to collect her, and Iβm planning to put Emmaβs βhappy daysβ canvas on the wall amidst some photos of family days out. I love that they made themΒ themselves, and theyβre a bit different from all the scribble pictures stuck to our fridge door!
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Do you want some free sticker letters to have a go at this at home?
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We have recently changed the material we use for our wall stickers, so have some of our βoldβ stock of lettering left over. If youβd like to have a go at this crafty idea at home, while stocks last weβll happily share the sticker love and send you whatever name or phrase youβd like for free! All we ask is that you give us Β£1 to cover P&P (or if youβre making an order of anything else from our website, just let us know that youβd like these lettersΒ too and weβll enclose them with your order without the extra P&P charge).
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We just have this old stock in the one fontΒ β the same style as in Emma and Oliviaβs pictures (all capital letters), and there are 2 different sizes available. Oliviaβs βlove you mummyβ picture uses the smaller letters (approx 3.5cm high) and Emmaβs βhappy daysβ picture uses the larger letters (approx 5cm high). If youβd particularlyΒ like a different font, styleΒ or size, we can always make these as a bespoke orderΒ for you, just let us know and we can give you a quote.
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If youβd like us to send you these sticker letterΒ freebies,Β let us know youβre interestedΒ by adding a quickΒ comment to this post, andΒ then email us at hello@stickerscape.co.ukΒ to let us know what letters youβd like (up to a max of about 15 characters) and what address we should send them to. Weβll then send you details of how to pay your Β£1, and weβll post your letters out!
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Have a happy weekend everyone!
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Jo xx