I ♥ the muppets

Ever since watching the Muppets movie a while ago my girls have gone muppet crazy so I thought I'd share a few muppet things I've come across lately and a few things I've made for the girls too. If you haven't seen the movie yet go and get it out as it is just brilliant!

Muppet alphabet print by Mike Book- my girls loved figuring out who was who when I showed them this

 

I shared this kermit apple snack on my mousehouse facebook page the other day- here's how to make your own one..

http://family.go.com/food/recipe-1022462-kermits-green-apples-peanut-butter-dip-t/

You'll need an edible ink marker for the eyes- I got mine from here

I also shared this Miss Piggy sandwich I made for my three year old...she couldn't tell me who it was though!  I used luncheon for the face and nose, a fruit leather for the mouth and bega cheese strings for the hair.

Muppet book and CD- I bought them both from Fishpond- the CD has been sooooo popular - it's been great to see the kids listening to and singing along to all the songs

Muppet activities and ideas on the Disney Website

Muppet cupcake toppers on Etsy

Rowlf cake pops and lots more ideas from this amazing muppet party

Amelie made this cute 'muppits' picture so had to share it :)

And I made a very quick and easy Kermit costume yesterday-I bought the green t-shirt from second hand kids shop Zero to Five, sewed on some green felt for the collar and glued some polystyrene balls to a headband-the girls loved it- Jack wasn't too keen on the headband though and pulled off the balls straight away...need to work out a more permanent way of attaching them!

And here are a few youtube clips from the Muppets movie and a lovely photo tribute to Jim Henson as well...

Mahna Mahna

Am I a man or am I a muppet?

Life's a Happy Song

The Rainbow Connection- Tribute to Jim Henson

And I have a spare edible ink pen to giveaway as they come in a pack of two so if you would like it to make your own Kermit apple leave a comment telling me your favourite muppets character!

Megan x

PS: If you have liked mousehouse on Facebook but aren't seeing many posts since Facebook changed something (I'm updating my Advent calendar progress on there at the mo as well as other stuff I like the look of) go to my page and click on the little gear symbol next to the 'Liked" button, then add to an interest list :)

The Perfectly Imperfect Home

I got this book out of the library yesterday 'The Perfectly Imperfect Home' by Deborah Needleman after seeing it on Fishpond and just had to share it as it is such a delicious book to read if you are into houses and interiors as much as I am! It is written by the former editor of Domino magazine who is now the Editor of the NY Times Style Magazine (how much would I love to read that each week!)
I love the names for the chapters- things like "place for chatting" "cozifications" and 'glamifications".

I really like Deborah's style of writing and she has a great sense of humour too- here is a quote on the back of the book from her 10 year old son :)

She actually writes a lot like Rita Konig (who incidentally also wrote for Domino magazine) and who wrote one of my favourite book's "Domestic Bliss" which set me off on my path of home obsession!

So there you go, another book to put on your wishlist perhaps!

Megan x

a book + a gift : for grown ups

One of my favourite reads each week is the Herald Viva magazine out each Wednesday- it is such a great magazine full of articles related to fashion, beauty, homes, food and wine...'the good things in life' as their tagline says. One thing I really like is their spotlight on new books which is where I get a lot of ideas for books I would like myself or to give as gifts. So I thought I'd make up a list of books that would make great Christmas gifts (most of them have been featured in the Viva) to share with you. Then I thought it's always nice to get something that goes with the book so I've had fun doing some virtual shopping to give you some ideas for gifts as well. Most are easy on the budget but there are a few pricier things that you could always substitute for a more budget friendly alternative (like the Save and Splurge page in Your Home and Garden magazine each month!)


Pipi: the cookbook + Cake Stand

Simple Pleasures by Annabel Langbein + Kathmandu picnic cooler bag

Treats from Little and Friday + Mason Cash Heart Mixing Bowl

La Cigale: recipes and stories + Ooh La La tea towel 


Bowerbird by Sibella Court + Box of swing tags from Maisy and Grace


Modern Vintage Style by Emily Chalmers + Greengate Flour&Sugar Shaker

Design*Sponge at Home by Grace Bonney+ vintage candle holder from Green With Envy

Home Sewn + Doily travel sewing kit

The Dress Circle + Designers Guild Compact Wallet

Jemma Kidd Make-up Secrets + Karen Murrell Lipstick

Gifts from the Garden + Garden Pots in Wire Basket

Pattern by Orla Kiely + Orla Kiely address book

Mollie Makes Christmas + Saint Nick Ribbon

Bangers to Bacon + Oxo Goodgrip tongs

Richie McCaw The Open Side  + AllBlacks scarf

Stoked + Fire and Flavor Skewers and Rub
I hope these ideas come in handy for you (I really enjoyed writing this post!) and let me know if you have any other books that you think would make great gifts or are hoping to get yourself.  Next up I'm going to write a 'Book + a gift: for children' post so look out for that too. But first I'm off to add some of these books to my wish list!
Megan x

DIY shadow puppet theatre

I saw a great idea on the Seedling Facebook page a couple of weeks ago- making a shadow puppet theatre. They were running some workshops for the school holidays and the pic showed a scene from the Gruffalo. (Here's the pic on their page. )  I thought it would be fun to make our own one so I had a go- the girls loved it and played with it for ages..always a good thing!  

Here's how I made my one...

You will need
printer/photocopier
white A4 paper
black card
scissors
wooden skewers or lollipop sticks (I bought mine from a cake supplies store a while ago with grand plans of making lollipop cookies which hasn't eventuated yet!)
cereal box
sellotape
glue stick
cake board (optional)

1. Print out these Gruffalo colouring sheets and reduce them to about 25% of their original size. Cut around each picture like above and stick onto some black card.

 2. Cut out each picture and stick onto a wooden skewer or lollipop stick

3. Take apart a cereal box so it lies flat. On the two largest rectangles of the box measure about 1.5 cms in from each side (see below) and cut out (see below 2nd pic)

4. Tape the box back together so the outside of the cereal box becomes the inside.

 

5. Now trim a piece of A4 white paper to fit inside the box. Cut a piece of black card the same size.

 

6. Cut out two trees from the black card (nice and easy because the black card is the same height as the white paper) and stick onto the white paper

 

7. Stick the white paper to the inside of the box like below

8. Cut a slit out of the bottom of the box closest to the white paper for your puppets to go.

 

9. I sellotaped the theatre to the edge of a cake board so it was easy to keep the theatre stable- make sure the slit is just over the edge of the board if you do this (see above)

10. Set up a lamp behind the theatre on a stool so it is roughly the same height as the theatre. Warn children to be careful of hot light bulbs (learnt that lesson!)

11. Have fun acting out your story!

 And here are some more pics from the Seedling workshop for more great story ideas as well as ideas for decorating your puppet theatre-  thanks for the idea Seedling and Tweet Design!

Megan x