Sunday 25 September 2011

Today!

St Nicolas Messy Church is starting today at 4pm... and it is raining. However we will be fearless and uphold the great British tradition of barbecuing in the rain, under umbrellas!
Join us for a very messy afternoon!

Thursday 1 September 2011

Easy, Peasy Bunting!

Well, as many of you well know, the first St Nicolas Messy Church will be on 25th September. Write it down in your diaries mums and dads! They'll be lost of fun and family togetherness going on  - crafts, delicious barbeque (weather permitting) and great family worship, with stories and songs for young and old alike. We're really looking forward to seeing you all there and we have been preparing the bunting for the big day. Hey, what's a celebration without a bit of bunting?
I thought I'd take a few photos of us making it, as I think it's something fun people can do with their kids on the tail end of the summer holidays, when the weather is dreary and the kids are fed up of watching non stop Sponge Bob! Here's how it's done.

  1. Carve a simple shape into a large potato. We've used a heart as it fits in nicely with the theme of our first Messy Church - the love of God the Father.
  2.  Cut out as many triangle peices as you can without getting goggled-eyed with boredom. You can use paper or plain fabric for this. Your triangle should be roughly 17cm across the bas and 19cm down to the tip. I made a template on "Word" for ours and printed it off for the kids to draw around.
  3. Use your potato and some poster paint to print the hearts onto the triangle shapes. It's best to do a test on a bit of scrap before you get going - but your final print doesn't have to be perfect.
  4.  When your triangles are dry, stick or staple them onto some colourful ribbon, or even wool. Make sure that your triangles are evenly spaced.

If you are making your bunting out of fabric, you will be able to use it time and time again. I think bunting is a lovely addition to any family celebration. Here are a few tips to help you.
  1. Cut out the triangles with pinking sheers, so you don't have to hem your fabric.
  2. Use fabric paint, rather than poster paint, so you can wash your bunting if necessary.
  3. Sew the bunting onto your ribbon, or bias binding - this will make it strong.
Finally, this is such an incredibly quick and easy thing to do and the bunting grows in no time. It cost us next to nothing and it was a lovely bit of fun on a wet, Wednesday afternoon!

Why not come and see the finished product at Messy Church this September? Why not have a bit of messy fun yourselves?...Oh come on, you know you want to!