Windchime Keys

Squeaky's holiday homework for the Easter break (yes, it's taken me that long to write about this!) was to make a musical instrument.  Now I try very hard not to be a competitive parent, but there was no way I was sending her to school with an empty coke bottle with some dried peas in it.  If we're going to make an instrument, we're really going to make an instrument.  Know what I mean?

All good ideas start off with a google search these days. And after realising that I had neither the skills nor materials to make a real and functioning flute, and there was no way Squeaky would sacrifice enough colouring pencils to approximate a glockenspiel, I came across an idea to make windchimes from old keys.  As luck would have it, we had our windows and doors replaced over the Easter break, so I was the proud owner of a handful of door keys that were no longer in use.

I sent Squeaky & Daddy off to the park in search of suitable sticks, while I hunted through my collection of art & craft stuff for string and acrylic paints.  I also experimented with a handy coathanger just in case the sticks weren't co-operative.

Painting under way

As I only found primary colours, plus white, it turned out to be a great opportunity for Squeaky and I to learn about colour mixing and we managed to make 7 different coloured keys out of the 4 paints we had available.  Very impressive.  (The picture doesn't show the orange very well, you'll have to trust me)

Jingle jingle

 Most of the colours covered the keys in two coats, the yellow needed three as it was a bit more sheer than the others, and we painted the stick in sections to match the keys.  Crafting string to suspend the keys from the stick, and a final piece to suspend the whole chime from, and our homework was complete.  Squeaky took great delight in taking it into school and jingling it at everyone in sight.  It's due home from school soon, and I'll suspend it from the bird table to jingle in the breeze.

Maybe we put in a bit too much effort to our holiday homework, but surely homework is meant to be about learning, and fun.  We learned about colours, picking the right materials, recycling.  What does a child learn from their parent shoving peas into a plastic bottle they grabbed just before walking out of the door?

And yes, there were a lot of empty bottles with peas in.

Capture the Colour with TravelSupermarket

Travelsupermarket, those nice people who save you the hard work of finding the best holiday deals, have set bloggers a challenge.  They want us to Capture The Colour of our holidays.  If a picture paints a thousand words, then this post must be a short novel!  I don't pretend to be the best photographer in the world, these pictures were all taken with a point-and-shoot digital camera, but they're memories.  They capture moments that I can't hold on to in my head or my heart alone, and take me back in an instant.  None of the pictures have been edited in any way, and are straight out of the camera from some very lucky & special moments.

Green

Can Marca caves, Ibiza.

Amazingly, this is the real colour you'd see.  The caves have ultraviolet lighting in this section, which lights up the water in the three pools (they're not steps, that's water!), due to the minerals in the rocks & the water.

I love this picture, it gives me goosebumps. I can still feel the cold of the underground caves, very welcome on a roasting hot day, while I was pregnant with Squeaky.  We didn't even know the caves were a stop on the tour, and very nearly didn't bother going in. This picture made the walk down a couple of hundred cliffside steps worthwhile!

Blue

Neos Marmaras, Sithonia, Greece.

I don't like boats. No, I REALLY don't like boats.  But the only way to see around the rest of the three peninsulas that make up Halkidiki is to get on one.  This picture was taken on a stop in Neos Marmaras, halfway up a hillside, when everyone else was either enjoying a well earned coffee, or looking round some beautiful boutiques.  I was just making the most of being on dry land.

It really captures that shade of blue so common to Greece, the sun blazing down, the whitewashed walls.  All I need is a cold glass of wine for my Shirley Valentine moment.  It's not just me that does that, is it? (Yes, I talk to walls as well!)

Yellow

Famagusta, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

A location that, not all that long ago, was out of reach for many.  A place of conflict, of contradiction, confusion.  The relics of British and Greek rule remain, but have been changed by Turkish occupation.

This postbox dates back to the reign of King George V, 1910-1936, so there can't be that many still in use in the UK. To find one in Famagusta, and repainted so vibrantly came as a surprise.  It was a stark reminder of British involvement in Cypriot history, and just how different the culture was, to see something so familiar, but not.  I wish I'd had the opportunity to spend more time there.

Red

Wembley Stadium, London

I really had to have at least one Olympic venue amongst my pictures, and what better than the home of English football?  I'm not a big football fan, snooker is more my thing (why aren't I using a picture of a table in Sheffield, I ask myself), but Wembley is awe-inspiring.  The scale of the venue is something else.  Walking out through the tunnel onto the side of the pitch, you can almost hear the crowd, thankfully you can't smell the sweat of 22 stinky footballers. That would be an sensory experience too far!

White

Santiago de Cuba, Cuba

Quite how the classic cars of Cuba survive the Cuban road network is a mystery to me, but they do.  The owner of this white beauty had just parked up and I had to snap a cheeky shot.  The amazing cars are my clearest memory of Cuba, and I'd love the chance to drive one for myself.

Santiago is a real attack on the senses, an extremely hot, very noisy, busy, bustling city full of people, noise and life.  After a little walk around, we retreated to the comfort of an air-conditioned bar with a cool mojito to watch the world go by.

So, there's a handful of my favourite holiday photos, I've been lucky enough to travel to some amazing places, and I hope you like them as much as I do.

I'm tagging five of my favourite bloggers to join in and capture the colour of their travels with Travelsupermarket, we could win £2000 of holiday vouchers, or one of five iPads.

Esther at Diary of a Bad Mutha
Sarah at Sweet Craftiness
Joanne at The Blunt Truth
Claire at Ninja Killer Cat
and Di at Super Lucky (I'll regret this one, I just know it!)