While today’s International Women’s Day is an opportunity to raise awareness against bias, it is also a chance to celebrate women’s achievements. At eatsleepdoodle, our brand new colour & learn heroines of history tablecloth was conceived with exactly this sentiment in mind. The tablecloth features 20 impressive women in history, from all parts of the world and many different centuries who, in one way or another, each helped shape our world. Some you may well recognise, while others are lesser-known.
Researching and developing this product was enlightening for the whole doodle team; while lots of these women were familiar to us by name, the specifics of their accomplishments were often not. We were fascinated to learn that Marie Curie, for example, so well-known for pioneering developments in cancer treatment, was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first and only woman to win the Nobel Prize twice and the only person to win the Nobel Prize in two scientific fields.
Other heroines were, to us, new discoveries! Grace Darling, for instance, a lighthouse keeper’s daughter who at the age of 23 spotted a ship foundering off the coast. Together with her father, they rowed nearly a mile out to the site to save the shipwrecked survivors. She was subsequently awarded the Silver Medal for Bravery for her role in the rescue and inundated with letters of praise, marriage proposals - several artists even visited the lighthouse to paint her! Mary Eliza Mahoney, was a trailblazer as the first licensed African-American nurse, working in the profession for over 40 years, actively promoting nursing as a career and co-founding the National Association of Coloured Graduate Nurses to provide support and encouragement to others.
You can learn more about these marvellous women and the other heroines featured on our tablecloth by visiting our learning resource page here. They are all truly inspiring role models who have each contributed enormously to the great strides we are continuing to make today to achieve equality for women.
There were also so many, many more women we wanted to include that we simply couldn’t fit on the cloth! A small example of these impressive and influential women includes Rosa Parks, Georgia O’Keeffe, Junko Tabei, Ella Fitzgerald, Mary Seacole, Wangari Maathai, Caroline Herschel, Betty White, Jean Muir, Noor Inayat Khan, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nancy Pelosi, Frances Haugen, Naomi Osaka, Elisa Loncon Antileo, Greta Thunberg, Malala Yousafzai, Paula Rego – the list goes on and on!
That’s why we decided to include three empty frames in our design, ready for your own heroines, whether historic or contemporary and whether they’re close friends and family members or people on the other side of the world to you, or from a different century, or even a heroine of the future!
Another design choice for our tablecloth was the colour! In honour of International Women’s Day and the Suffragette movement, we chose lavender – which signifies justice and dignity - as the background colour. It also represents ‘visionary thinking’ – which we thought fitting.
While there is still so much more to be done to achieve gender parity, it is wonderful today to live in a world where women are CEOs, prime ministers, presidents, astronauts and engineers; girls are welcomed into universities and training and women have more options and choices than ever before. So the importance of celebrating women and their achievements and inspiring future generations grows!
Although IWD is not a one-day-a-year event, but rather a continual movement to strive for women’s equality, its recognition on 8th March means that we have time dedicated to reflecting, listening and learning. Since 1996 there have been many different themes for International Women’s Day, to bring focus and shed light on particular aspects of gender disparity. Themes have included #ChooseToChallenge, #EachForEqual, #PledgeForParity, #MakeItHappen and #TheGenderAgenda. This year’s campaign theme is #BreakTheBias, chosen because ‘whether deliberate or unconscious, bias makes it difficult for women to move ahead. Knowing that bias exists isn't enough. Action is needed to level the playing field.’ So we are all encouraged to imagine a gender-equal world, free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination and a world that is diverse and inclusive. That way we can learn to celebrate and value difference and all unite for gender equality.
If you’re looking to inspire and inform others this International Women’s Day, our heroines of history tablecloth or wall-hanging could be just the thing! It’s a great girl-power gift for feminist friends and an ideal present for godchildren – a creative gift for nieces and nephews and a wonderful educational gift for grandchildren.
So, grab something purple and let’s all get involved this International Women’s Day to support women around the world – together we can #BreakTheBias!
And don’t forget you can get in touch with us on social media by using #eatsleepdoodle – we always love to see what you’re up to! You can also tag us on Instagram (@eatsleepdoodle_), Facebook (@eatsleepdoodlehq) and Twitter (@eatsleepdoodle_).
December is upon us and we’re ready to get festive! With last year not being quite what we had hoped, we want to go big this year and can’t wait to spend time with friends and family.
We’ve decided to take on 12 DIYS of Christmas and make, sew, colour and bake our way to Christmas. We’ve shared some ideas below for fun festive activities which we hope will help get you into the Christmas spirit – and there’s no age on Christmas crafts, so everyone can get involved!
To start us off, we thought we’d get into a festive mood with a wreath!
What you’ll need:
eatsleepdoodle’s in-house wreath-making pro Niki made this gorgeous wreath for her front door, using a ready-made wreath frame and foliage she found in her garden! So, how do you make it? First, you might need to make up your wreath with moss (unless you buy a ready-made frame) and then begin by sticking your foliage into the frame, using wire to hold pieces together if need be.
Once your greenery is in place, you can start adding decorations and a pop of colour (Niki used cinnamon sticks and berries), holding these in place with the wire. Once you’re happy with your wreath you can use the ribbon to tie it to your front door (or anywhere you’d like!).
Next up, we decided to make cookies - chocolate and hazelnut! These are simple to make and a super fun activity for all avid bakers out there. The full recipe can be found here. These cookies are delicious – perfect for a Christmas party or as a Christmas gift and they went down very well at eatsleepdoodle HQ!
Christmas cards are a lovely way to spread the joy of the festive season– so why not make this year extra special and create your own! We used our colour-in Christmas cards and plain card for this festive activity. First, we coloured in our Christmas cards using our artist set of 20 wash-out pens, then we cut shapes into potatoes to use as potato prints for the plain card using child friendly paint. This is a great activity for younger kids (although it can get messy!).
A lovely, jolly addition to your Christmas tree – clay decorations!
What you’ll need:
First, we rolled out our clay, then used cookie cutters to cut the shapes, made a hole in the top using a skewer, and put these to one side. We used Christmas tree and star shapes! We then left our clay shapes to dry for 24 hours before we painted them in festive colours. We used red and white ties and made a loop through the clay to hang them. They’re perfect as a decoration, a gift or even a stocking filler!
Struggling to find the right Christmas cracker that everyone will love? Why not make your own! Using wrapping paper, cardboard tubes (toilet roll size are ideal!), string, scissors and of course something exciting for the inside. A fun activity for kids and grown-ups, too! They’re easy and simple to make – you can follow this video to learn how to make them yourself! These are great fun to make and add an extra special personal touch to your Christmas table!
Wanting to be more sustainable this Christmas? Why not try our reusable placemats! Our doodle frame placemats are perfect for any Christmas or party table – they can be personalised and kids will love doodling whilst waiting for their dinner. We decided to embroider our placemats with names – like a place card! You can colour and doodle on the placemats, personalising it further for your guests or give everyone a pen and they can draw whatever they’d like!
Little ones will love getting involved with Day 7 of our 12 DIYS of Christmas - make your own baubles! We used clear baubles, red and white festive ties and lots of colourful craft pom poms. These are so simple and a fun activity for a winter’s afternoon – all you have to do is fill your baubles with whatever you’d like, close it up and tie it together with ribbon, string or a festive tie. This is great for little hands and they’ll love seeing their handiwork on the Christmas tree!
On the eighth day of 12 DIYS of Christmas…we made tea light holders! Grab some old jars and our wash-off ceramic markers and start doodling! Make sure you wash any stickiness off the jar and dry it, then colour and draw anything you’d like – we went for some festive icons. Then carefully pop a tea light inside the jar and light it (grown-ups will need to help with this part). The warm glow from these tealight holders definitely makes us feel festive!
Another decoration for those looking to dress their tree – and this one involves sewing! We found these felt decorations online at The Orchid Craft Room. The kit comes with three different patterns and shapes to make, instructions for each one, a needle, thread and stuffing. These festive decorations are simple and easy to make, ideal for beginners! A lovely way to add another festive homemade touch to your tree!
Who else loves gingerbread biscuits at Christmas? We definitely do! We made some delicious gingerbread biscuits – which can hang on your tree or just be eaten as a yummy treat! We followed this great and simple recipe from Sainsbury’s Magazine to make these Christmassy delights.
Paper snowflakes– a Christmas classic! All you need is paper, scissors and a pencil to make a merry Christmas decoration. Follow these easy steps to make your own snowflakes! You can also thread string or ribbon through them to make a garland.
What better way to finish our 12 DIYS of Christmas than to make a topper for the Christmas tree!
What you’ll need:
We found this great video with step by step instructions on how to make your own star to sit atop your tree. This tree topper is the perfect addition to any tree – and will add a special handmade touch!
As you probably know, we love everything crafty and really hope you can join us as we craft our way to Christmas!
And don’t forget you can share any of your colouring or crafting creations with us on social media by using #eatsleepdoodle and #12DIYSofChristmas – we always love to see what you’re up to! You can also tag us on Instagram (@eatsleepdoodle_), Facebook (@eatsleepdoodlehq) and Twitter (@eatsleepdoodle_).
