May You Have a Swanderful Month!
It's time to break out the swanderful shades and head outside!
Summer months are in full swing and there are so many fun things to do! Alise and Lucas are having a picnic near the tulip farm whilst Odette is planning a festival for the Kingdom, filled with music, food and even an obstacle course!
Just like the festival we saw in the third movie, once again, the winner of the obstacle course is to be crowned prince for a day...and JeanBob already has his eye on the prize...hopefully he is more careful when training this time!
Keep reading for a fun activity and tasty recipe!
NEW Limited Edition Pin
To celebrate one year since the release of The Swan Princess: A Fairytale is Born, the next pin in our limited edition range will be available to add to your collection in May!
The beautiful Swan Princess herself takes center stage with this latest release.
This pin captures Odette's heartfelt thoughts and dreams as she tries to explain her love through the magic of the beloved song, "Far Longer than Forever".
This pin captures Odette's heartfelt thoughts and dreams as she tries to explain her love through the magic of the beloved song, "Far Longer than Forever".
Watch our website and social media, @SwanPrincessOfficial to order!
Pom Pom Caterpillar Companion
Our beloved Swan Princess has many animal friends!
Make your very own adorable animal friend with this quick and colorful craft!
Keep your caterpillar close or next to your bed and whisper all of your secrets to your little friend!
You Will Need:
• Pom Poms (any color!)
• Green construction paper/card
• White school glue
• googly eyes
• Green marker/pen
• scissors
Method:
1. Draw a leaf onto the green card using your green pen, making sure it will be big enough for your caterpillar friend.
2. Carefully cut your leaf out.
3. Place glue in a wavy line over your leaf. Make sure that the line isn't wider than the pom poms. This will be for your caterpillars body so be sure to leave enough room on the leaf for the larger pom pom later.
4. Place the pom poms along the line of glue. Will your caterpillar be all one color? Or be like a rainbow? Or perhaps you will alternate between your favorite colors?
5. Glue two googly eyes onto your final pom pom to make the head.
6. Add the caterpillar's head to it's body!
Swantastic Tie Dye!
Whether it's a bouquet of flowers or a new gown for a ball, Odette loves color! This swantastic tie dye activity is bright and full of color to match the summer season!
This craft is a great way to add a splash of color and express yourself!
Create a shirt in your favorite colors and rock your own style! You can mix different colors to give yourself even more options, for example, by using red and blue coloring to make purple! What other awesome colors can you make?
You Will Need:
• White t-shirt (cotton material will work, however, it will fade faster compared to silk, wool or nylon).
• Plastic wrap, bin liners or aluminum foil (to cover surfaces)
• Water
• Plastic Gloves
• White vinegar
• Bucket/Large Bowl
• Rubber bands
• Salt
• Food coloring, choose 1 to 3 different colors in total for your shirt.
• Empty water bottle, one for each color (an empty sports bottle with a nozzle is easier but if your water bottle has a normal lid, you can carefully pierce a hole in the lid)
Method:
1. Lay out your bin liner, wrap, foil or whatever you are using, to protect any surfaces. If you can work outside, this will likely make the process easier.
2. Pour equal measures of water and white vinegar into a large bowl or bucket (approx. 2 cups of each liquid for adult sized t shirts).
3. Put your white piece of clothing into the solution so that it is completely submerged and allow it to soak for around an hour. If you find that the t-shirt "floats" out of the water, feel free to weigh it down with another clean item (e.g. a heavy jar).
4. Wring out the clothing well.
5. Move onto your tie dying whilst the t-shirt is still damp using one of the methods below, remembering that any "tied up" areas will stay white.
• Random Crinkle
Place the t-shirt on a flat surface and "crumple" it together into an tight, imperfect ball shape. Then tie bands around it to keep it in place. This will make a completely random design and is also a great method for younger children that want to try this fun craft too!
• Swanderful Spirals
Choose any point on the garment (you can choose the center or another point on the t-shirt) and pinch the fabric, grabbing both layers (not just the top of the shirt). Then twist the fabric into a tight spiral before wrapping 2 rubber bands around it in an X shape so that your spiral stays together.
You can make one big spiral or several little ones by twisting in different places and strategically securing them.
• Bursts of Magic
Spread the t-shirt out and pull together small pieces in random places, securing each one with a rubber band. This effect will create "bursts of magic" over your t-shirt.
• Swantastic Stripes
Roll the t-shirt into a tube shape and wrap rubber bands around the circumference of the tube. The more bands you use, the more stripes you will have. Make sure that the bands are tight and create a good indent in the tube (you may need to wrap the bands around the t-shirt a couple of times depending on how big they are compared to the roll of fabric).
6. Take your water bottle and pour in 1/2 cup of water with 8-10 drops of food coloring. If you are using more than one color, repeat this method using a different bottle for each color. Then secure the bottle and shake it well to mix the color.
7. Make sure that your shirt is on the covered surface and put on your gloves (if you haven't already).
8. Squirt the dye onto the shirt and fill one of the tied off sections with a color. If you are using just one color, continue covering all of the different sections. If you are using different colors, switch to another one of your colors and do the same thing with another section, repeating the process until all of your sections that you don't want to remain white are filled with color! Make sure to turn the t-shirt over and repeat the tie dye process on the reverse of your t shirt if you would the back to have color too.
9. Take your t-shirt and put it into a plastic bag. Secure the bag with a knot, pressing all of the air out before you completely seal it. Alternatively, use a resealable freezer/ziploc bag to make this easier, but still be sure to squeeze all of the air out.
10. Leave your t-shirt in the bag and keep it in a place where it won't be disturbed or moved for at least 8 hours (warm areas or out in the sunshine are a good choice as the heat will help "set" the colors).
11. On a protected surface (e.g. plastic wrap) and wearing your gloves again, remove the t-shirt from the bag and take off the rubber bands (you might need scissors for this but be careful not to cut your shirt).
12. Put 1/2 cup of salt with 1/2 cup of water into a bucket or bowl and gently dip your t-shirt completely into the solution before pulling it out and wringing out the excess water.
13. Fill a bucket with cool, clean water and dip your t-shirt in and out, changing the water when it no longer looks clear. Alternatively, hold your t-shirt under a tap of cool water. Keep doing this until the water in the bucket stays clear during dipping or until the water runs clear if you are using a tap.
14. Hang your t-shirt up to dry (or use a dryer).
15. Wear your t-shirt wherever you like!
Remember to wash your t-shirt separate to your usual laundry loads the first 2-3 times to prevent any dye ruining your clothes.
Panzanella
This delicious dish is one of Tuscany's most popular recipes! It's great for the summer and full of flavor!
Odette and her family recently had this for one of their meals on a particularly sunny day and it went down a treat with everyone at the castle!
Ingredients:
• 300g day-old sourdough (or ciabatta)
• 1kg ripe mixed tomatoes
• 50g tin anchovies, drained and roughly chopped
• 50ml (0.5 cup) red wine vinegar
• 100ml (1 cup)extra virgin olive oil
• 100g black olives (pitted)
• 1 small shallot, finely chopped
• Salt
• Pepper
• large handful of basil leaves, torn
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4/320F
2. To prepare the croutons, tear your bread into chunks and set them to one side for later.
3. Remove the stalks from your tomatoes and carefully cut them in half (you can cut them into quarters if you would like them smaller).
4. Put the tomatoes in a colander and sprinkle over 1 tsp sea salt before leaving to sit for 15 mins.
5. Spread the chunks of bread out onto a baking tray and drizzle over 1 tbsp of the oil. Use your hands to gently toss the bread in the oil.
6. Bake the bread for 10-15 mins, or until lightly toasted.
7. Whisk together the vinegar, remaining oil and shallot in a bowl.
8. Season the vinegar mix with salt and pepper to taste.
9. In a large bowl, toss together the tomatoes, anchovies, croutons (the bread that you put in the oven earlier), olives, olive oil dressing and half of the basil.
10. Spoon you delicious panzanella onto a plate and top with the remaining torn basil.
• Try and make the Swan Princess characters out of spoons!
This month we are celebrating the birthday of the regal King William. This makes his zodiac sign Taurus and his birthstone the emerald.
Taurus people are reliable and down-to-earth. They are very stubborn and love set patterns in life. They make loyal friends as they are wonderful at staying the course of life's ups and downs to be forever supportive of those they love.
Taurus love all things romantic and will throw themselves into finding true love for themselves and others (even if that means making your daughter spend summers with the prince you think is 'the one').
Taurus are loving and soothing to be around, this makes them great parents especially for young children.
They have very strong opinions and tend to stick to them. While this makes them passionate it can also make them seem unadventurous or close-minded.
The emerald symbolizes balance, growth, peace, and foresight. King William certainly showed great foresight in his choice of match for Odette!
We think this sounds just like King William! Is your birthday in May or do you just love the color green?
