HIBISCUS (Gumamela) BUBBLES

This is a classic pastime I used to do when I was a kid. Mom taught me how to prepare Hibiscus (Gumamela) bubbles; and now I am sharing it to my little girl. She enjoyed mixing and blowing those bubbles.

My Gumamela plant

INGREDIENTS:
10-20 hibiscus leaves
2-3 tsp detergent
250 ml water

MATERIALS:
blower
mortar and pestle

Hibiscus leaves, and mortar and pestle

detergent

water

my daughter's old bubble blower

PROCEDURE:

1. First, crush Hibiscus leaves using the mortar and pestle. (I used stone when I was small)

2. Next, put crushed leaves in water.

3. Then, add detergent. Mix.

4. Lastly, let stand for 5 minutes. Afterwards, you can already enjoy your bubbles.

Little miss says it's like cooking.

It's windy; can't really catch those bubbles in photo.

Have a fun summer! =)

HOW TO DETANGLE DOLL'S HAIR

Barbie and Jem, and my little miss

Yesterday, my daughter and I kept ourselves busy with detangling Barbie and Jem's blonde locks. There is not much of a problem with Jem's hair; it just needed a bit of conditioning. Barbie's hair was the one to be rescued. 

To detangle their hair we used Johnson's baby shampoo, Surf fabric conditioner, water, towel and comb.

PROCEDURE:

1. First we gently shampooed their hair using the baby shampoo and rinsed afterwards.

2. Next, we removed the excess water in their hair by wiping it with towel.

3. Then, we applied fabric conditioner on the hair and combed it gently. The amount of fabric conditioner will depend on the severity of the tangle. We left them for an hour for the fab con to seep through; but 30 minutes is okay.

4. After an hour, we rinsed their hair with water; combed it and air dry.

I never knew before that Jem dolls are actually vintage. It was just a hand-me -down toy from my bestfriend.    I never knew her hair was really like that (punk style) until I saw it on the net; I thought my bestfriend murdered her hair. I know vintage things should be kept but not my Jem; she was playing with us since I was a kid. It's my favorite doll; love it!

LIGHT CATCHER

This is another cool summer project for you and your kids.

'Got this idea from Smart Parenting Philippines March 2011 issue; under How-to column entitled Easy, breezy summer by Grace Marcellana. I just changed some materials that are not readily available in our home.

Here's a photo of the light catcher I made with my 3 y/o daughter:

The main material here are the old CDs that reflect sunlight that's why it is called light catcher.

MATERIALS:

Old CDs

Colored paper

Sequins

Flower bead

Crayons

Ribbon

Glue

Sticks (2)

Scissors

PROCEDURE:

1. I got these two (2) wooden sticks, my father's scraps after repairing an old wooden bed. I covered them with colored paper.

2. I arranged them into a cross and tie them using the ribbon.

3. The next thing I did was to decorate the CDs by tracing them in colored paper, cut, then ornate.

My little darling wants to make one too.

This is a sunflower according to her. =)

4. Lastly, I glued them on the CD, strung the CDs and tied them on the sticks.

FINAL OUTCOME:

There goes Orange's sunflower.

Glimmer, shimmer, shine! (*-*)

COCONUT LEAF TOY ACCESSORIES

         When I was small, maybe 4 or 5 years old (I was leaving with my grandparents back then), during afternoons the girls in our neighborhood would gather together under the banana trees just across our home. There, they would make toy accessories out of banana leaves for pretend play. My cousin Freddie, my favorite cousin, would make me this kind of accessories so I could join the girls. Later on, I was able to make my own and I also discovered that this can be done using coconut leaves.

          I thought that this classic pastime could be a great summer activity bonding for me and my daughter since there are plenty of coconut trees in beaches. I'm glad she liked it. Let me give credit to my cousin who's already in heaven. Thanks, Manong Freddie! =)

 MATERIAL: Coconut Leaves (or a more scientific term is leaflet because coconut leaf is a compound type of leaf)

PROCEDURE:

FOR A BANGLE:
1. Separate the coconut leaf blade from its midrib.

2. Take a long and a very short portions of the leaf.

3. Wrap the small leaf around the long leaf just adjacent to the tip.

4. Fold the tip of the long leaf. Towards its ventral side. Let's call this a knot (it's not a knot though =D).

5. Insert the other tip of the long leaf in the knot.

7. Pull the tip to secure the knot. (Now, this is a real knot. =D)

8. Place the coconut leaf around the arm. (I'm making this bangle for my little girl). Again, insert the tip of the leaf in the knot to make a hoop.

9. Now, let's make a bangle's ribbon. Take the tip and insert it again in the knot (same side).

10. Once the tip is already pulled on the other side, insert it again in the knot. You should have formed a ribbon by now.

11. Lastly, take the tip and insert it on the other side to make a small hoop on top of the ribbon.

FOR A RING:
Just make a smaller version of the bangle. The same procedure could be used.

To make these ribbons on your ring just follow the procedure for making a bangle ribbon. This is done by inserting the tip of the leaf several times.

FOR  SPECTACLES:

1. Follow Procedure 1-5 of bangle and create a hoop.

2. Insert the tip on the other side of the knot to create the figure of an 8.

3. Lastly, get the leaf's midrib which will form the temple and earpiece of the spectacle. Decide on its length. 

To place it, just insert it on the side rim.

Caution: Coconut spectacles should not be worn when running or moving around. This is only good for picture taking purposes, lol =D (The midrib might poke your eyes).

My 3 y/o miss wants to make a bangle for me.

Ta-dah! Bangle by little miss.