Book Review: Paper Fashions Fantasy

image by Heather Holbrook

I recently took part in a contest put on by Klutz publications for their new book Paper Fashions Fantasy. First let me say I LOVE this book! It’s something I would have picked up and bought for myself. I love making art paper dolls and I also like using templates to add wings, hats, etc to collage and stamped art pieces so this book was right up my alley. It has plastic templates you trace and cut out to make clothing for fairies, princesses, witches, etc, lots of different dresses, shoes, hats, wings, anything you can think of. Plus it comes with a bunch of great papers, ribbons, beads, sequins, tiny hangers and glitter glue. There are also lots of wonderful ideas to copy or to get you going on your own ideas. It’s a wonderful book for kids but also for us adults who love to play with paper too

For my projects I was inspired by my favorite princess, Snow White. It’s the first movie I remember seeing in the movie theater when I was really little. So I wanted to recreate Snow’s outfit as well as the Evil Queen, she’s one of the best dressed Disney villains (next too Cruella Deville ) and I was so happy to find I was easily able to use the templates, papers and embellishments in this book to make my versions of those iconic outfits, I think they turned out so cute and they were so much fun to make. I’ll definitely be using this book for more creations in the future!

Visit the Klutz website for more info on this fun book and many others.

-Heather

image by Klutz

Lots of Americans seem to think that May 5 is Mexican Independence Day, but that holiday actually falls on Sept. 16.

May 5 is the celebration of the Battle of Puebla, in which the Mexicans defeated the French in 1862. Independence Day marks the beginning of their fight for independence from Spain in 1810. That was the day of what’s known as El Grito de Dolores, or the cry of Dolores, for when the Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang the church bells at his church in Dolores and declared that Mexico should be free from Spanish rule.

They would fight for their freedom until 1821 when they finally gained independence.

Fabulous Classroom has a little of the history and ideas for celebrating the holiday for all age groups. There’s also a link to a good video in that post about the real story of Mexican Independence Day.

Twinkl also has a good tops about the history and different activities, discussion ideas, crafts and foods that can be incorporated into lessons at school or used at home.

I also found a few pins that no longer link to a website but include good information on Mexican Independence Day, including some questions for students to answer based on the reading. You can find more printables and questions for kids from TX Homeschool Mama on Etsy (also available in Spanish).

You can find a lot more paid resources about Mexican Independence Day at Teachers Pay Teachers.

Mexican flag crafts are a fun option for celebrating Mexican Independence Day (though the current iteration of their flag has only been in use since 1968). Kids Activities Blog has a free Mexican flag printable and a few different ideas for decorating it including dot markers and torn tissue paper.

You can also find some great Mexican crafts at Red Ted Art. The post includes all sorts of Mexican inspired projects including Day of the Dead crafts, Frida Kahlo pinatas and upcycled musical instruments. I love the giant paper flowers they shared from Honestly WTF.

Have you read?