Where in the World is Patchwork Natural?

Things have been rather hectic in the abode of Patchwork Natural lately, and it was only when a friend mentioned my blog that I thought 'Oh. Shit. Yes. My blog. Might wanna jump on that'.

Sorry.

The craziness of life has lately been spurred on by a rather long trip home, attempting to unpack, a re-enrollment for a new Kindy for the Dinosaur, toilet training for said Dinosaur, and some unfortunate (to say the least) news of a wonderful friend and role model is weighing heavy on my heart, and the hearts of my family.

I so desperately want to write, but words form in my head and the sheer exhaustion of having my plate full has me resting my head on my desk, fingers poised to type, then grabbing a bottle of wine instead. It will come soon, as life settles back to its relative normality and I come to terms with the terrifying changes happening around me. My world around me has revolved and changed and settled into another place, and I'm stuck looking around at this whole new life that so far, I haven't made full sense of.

I know I'll be back in a few days, words can only swirl around in my head for so long.

Homemade Fossils.

Just in case it hasn't been apparent, my daughter Audrey is obsessed with Dinosaurs. So when my lovely new friend Laura (who stalks this blog, hi Laura!) suggested making clay dinosaur fossils, I jumped at the idea. This morning was the perfect time as Audrey had the day off kindy and as is my nature, I hadn't made a single plan for the day.

We didn't use clay though, as the nearest craft store is almost half an hour away, and instead we opted for the wonderful salt dough that only has three ingredients and can be made with basics from the pantry. After I'd cut off various pieces and rolled them out for Audrey, she got to work stomping her toy dinosaurs around and making her 'fossils'.

After we had a sufficient number of footprints, I left the tray in the sun to dry out for about half an hour, then put them in the oven. The half an hour outside helped the drying process, and meant they needed less time in the oven, in turn giving the oven less time to heat up my whole house. A large bonus for anyone already sweltering their way through the day in Queensland.

At the moment we don't have any decent painting materials, or sealing spray (which I highly recommend for any painted crafts) so they're only halfway done. I'm hoping that tomorrow we'll get to the shops and get a nice stock of sealer, brushes, and assorted paints, and get busy decorating. My inner child is busting out to decorate those babies.

Do you have any good craft ideas for toddlers? I'm always hunting for new ones!

Salt Dough Recipe

1 cup salt

1 cup plain flour

1/2 cup water

-Put the flour and salt in a bowl and gradually add water, working it together to form a dough

-Knead roughly for around 2 mins, adding more flour if needed to reduce stickiness

-Roll dough out and have fun!

-Bake your creations in a 100 degree celcius oven for 3 hours, allow to cool then decorate.