Fill the glass with water to the rim, and then add more drops slowly using an eyedropper. You will see that the water won’t poor out of the glass thanks to a soft skin that forms over the water, which in science is referred to as surface tension. That’s how insects can walk on water. To demonstrate this you can slowly put a paper clip on the surface of the water and it will float. This part is very tricky and you might sink a few paper clips before getting it right. It is very important to be as gentle as possible otherwise the layer will break and the paper clip will fall down to the bottom of the glass. You can hold the paper clip with a pair of tweezers or use the rim of the glass for initial support.

I love all things Lego and these storage boxes not only look great but they are very functional too. Great for storing Legos or other toys these bricks are fantastic for playing too and making large constructions. In addition to that, they can be stacked, which is great for compact city living.

With our jeans leg we made a paper bin. For this project we used a jeans’ leg, a piece of cardboard, brown paper, glue, water, scissors and a brush.

To start with we soaked the denim in a bowl of water mixed with vinyl glue; the water and glue mix must be very watery unlike the mix we usually make for our decoupage projects. Then we squeezed the water out and we put it to dry. Once dry the leg should be rigid enough to stand, but not so that cannot be modeled as you need to create some creases and fold the top.

For the inside of the bin, we modeled some cardboard to fit in the space and glued a bottom to it. To make it more solid and hard we covered it with brown paper inside and out gluing layers of paper and glue mixed with water – the mix this time was the usual ¾ glue and ¼ water. We let the bin dry for a few hours and then inserted the cardboard bin inside the denim leg.

We have been a little quiet at FabMums over the holidays, but we are back now and what better way to start a new year of blogging than a quick upcycle craft.

I have a lot of round plastic containers where my sachets of washing detergent come in, they look so useful that I don’t like the idea of discarding them in the plastic weekly collection so I started turning them into decorative vases. The first one is very simple and it entails only a little cutting and gluing. I had kept some lovely wrapping paper that looks and feels like cork – I simply knew it would come in handy one day – which we cut into shapes and glued on the container.

Good wishes for a very Merry Christmas to all our lovely readers.

The central star is large and different from the others as it is only the outline of a star. This particular star has been decorated with pages from a catalogue using the decoupage technique. When all the stars were ready we punched a hole in each one and tied a fine thread to hang them.

Build your own kaleidoscope is a kit for boys who enjoy excursions as well as making thins. In fact this kit provides all you need to make your own functional kaleidoscope that can be personalized with an individual decorative design. Available from Not on the High Street at £9.95

Skipping ropes sadly are not as popular as they were back when I was a child, but they are a great toy that provides not only great exercise but also coordination skills as well as being a fun game to play outdoors. These Wooden animals skipping ropes are great as stocking filler and are a perfect gift for every occasion. The small animal shaped handles are perfect for little hands. Designs available include lion, giraffe, dog and crocodile. Find them Not on the HighStreet at £5.95.

Make your own Robot Kit with moveable arms and legs is a great retro style robot and a lovely gift for boys aged 7 and up. Available from Berry Red at £5.50.

Another great little game from the past is this pack of six wooden Pirate Skittles and a brightly coloured ball. Available from Berry Red at £8

The Glow stars and planets box provides your kids everything they need to create their own galaxy on the wall or ceiling that glows in the dark. The pack contains 36 stars, 14 planets and 50 easy to remove sticky pads. The stars and planets are non toxic and reusable. Available from Berry Red at £7.50

Finally a Magic tricks box is always appreciated by boys who fancy themselves as true magicians and this multiple tricks box is just the thing you need for your little entertainer. Thumb Tip Trick, Secret Taper Cards, magic Rope, Miracle Dice and Multiplying Balls, all packed up in a retro box at £9 from Berry Red.