Crafting with kids

Crafting with Kids: Countdown Calendar

August 23, 2012 By Tonya Staab 2 Comments

The twins are turning 6 next month, I can’t believe how quickly time flies by. They are also starting 1st grade in a couple of weeks.

This means that every day I get asked ‘how many more days to go?’ Every. Single. Day.

So yesterday, I suggested to them that we make a paper chain and they could take off a link each day until school goes back, and also until their birthday.

Then I thought to myself, well I’d been wanting to make a year-round calendar for the longest time, so off to the thrift shop I headed with a vague idea of what I wanted to do.

Now I know I normally bring you crafting ‘with’ kids ideas, but today’s idea is more a crafting ‘for’ kids one instead, although they could definitely help out painting the pegs, and doing the stamping.

The beauty of this calendar is that you don’t need a new one for every holiday, you can use it throughout the year for all the important dates, you just make a new tag and hang it on the hook.

What you need:

A piece of wood – I used an end of a wood crate
Small wood pegs
Paint – I used white for the pegs
Hooks – for hanging your holiday tags
Number and letter stamps and a stamp pad
Tags and stickers – I used acrylic tags, but you could use cardboard, chipboard, or anything else you like.
String – for hanging the tags.

This is very simple to make. I scrubbed and dried the block of wood. While it was drying I painted the pegs and set those aside to dry also. While everything was drying I attached little stickers to the acrylic tags and popped a piece of string through to make a loop for hanging.

Once the wood and pegs were dry, I attached the pegs using a hot glue gun. Using a set of letter stamps, I stamped the saying across the top, and then using the number stamps I stamped the numbers counting down from 30 to 1.

Hang the frame at a height that will be easy for the kids to move the tag each day.

I’m sure somebody out there will be wondering why I used pegs. Leading up to the holidays and during their birthday week we like to give them a little treat as part of their countdown. Yes most holidays I am one of those parents who have the cardboard countdown with the little chocolates inside. With this countdown calendar, you can attach a little treat, toy, or candy to each day using the peg.

Happy crafting!

Tonya

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Crafting with Kids: Nature Crafts

July 26, 2012 By Tonya Staab Leave a Comment

We’ve spent a lot of time over the summer vacation learning about nature, not only the bugs, insects, sea life, and other animals that we share our area with, but also the plants, and flowers too.

One thing though that we talk to the kids about is not taking anything home from our state parks and nature centers, but to leave it where the next group of visitors can see it too.

I heard a great quote once from a ranger that has stuck with me “Leave only footprints, take only memories”.

Occasionally we like to get creative with the memories we take with us, even though I do always take a lot of photographs.

On a recent walk I packed a small bag of crayons, a clipboard, and plain paper into my backpack. As we came across trees, or leaves on the ground we did bark and leaf rubbings.

Here are a few tips for doing leaf and bark rubbings with your kids:

Make sure the leaves on the ground aren’t too dry. If they are, they are likely to break if you flatten them to rub over them with crayon.
Use a flat side of a crayon, or a blunt top to do the rubbings. Using the point of a crayon will make it harder to show the markings. Also don’t press too heavy on the crayon.
Make sure the objects you are using are as flat as possible. Items such as flowers, feathers, and sticks won’t work as well as a flat leaf.
Items that make great rubbings are leaves, bark on trees, and pine needles. You may also be able to do sand dollars and flat shells you find on the beach (I haven’t tried these yet though).

Now, what can you do with these bark and leaf rubbings?

Cut them out and stick them on blank cards to make greeting cards to send to family and friends.
Cut them out, and attach them to card stock and frame in small frames to hang on the wall.
Make a memory book, kids can write the name of each plant, or object that they used. Maybe you could take a photo of each plant to put next to the rubbing.
Make a mixed media art project. Have your kids create a work of art using paint, markers, pencils, or crayons, and attach the leaves to it.

Have you been doing any fun summer craft projects with your kids, I’d love to hear more about them if you have.

Hope you are all having a wonderful summer.

Happy crafting!

Tonya

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Crafting with Kids: 4th July Rock Painting

June 28, 2012 By Tonya Staab 2 Comments

The kids and I have a fun 4th of July craft project for you this month that makes great table decor, or a fun hand-painted favor for your guests.

What you need to make these fun patriotic painted rocks:

Rocks
Outdoor Paint – blue, red, and white
Stencils
Paint Brushes

Begin by painting your rocks one solid color. We found that the blue rocks only needed 2 coats of paint, but the white ones required 3-4 coats.

Allow the rocks to dry between each coat of paint.

Once the rocks are completely dry, firmly hold a stencil on top of each and using just a small amount of paint on your brush, paint each stencil onto the rocks.

These painted rocks are perfect for not only holding down items that might blow away in the wind, such as napkins during an outdoor party, but if you stencil guests names onto the rocks, they make great place markers too that guests can take home with them.

I hope you have a happy and safe 4th of July with your family and friends.

Happy crafting!

Tonya

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Crafting with Kids: Memorial Day

May 24, 2012 By Tonya Staab 13 Comments

Kids will love making this fun Memorial Day craft project.

If you plan on grilling this weekend with family and friends, hang these outside and let them blow in the wind.

What you need:

Florists wire (and a pair of pliers)

Plastic tablecloths

Fishing line

Scissors

These are very simple to make but kids will need a little adult help (but isn’t that what crafting WITH kids is all about).

Begin by using the pliers to secure each piece of wire into a circle.

Before you go on any further take a quick photo of the kids who are upset that they weren’t in the first photograph.

Next cut the plastic tablecloths into strips.

Fold each strip in half and place with a loop underneath the wire circle. Thread the long ends through the loop and pull gently until tightened.

This is a great exercise in teaching the kids about patterns. We did alternate colors, but try out a few different options such as 1/3 red, 1/3 white, 1/3 blue, or making three of these hoops using one color per hoop.

Attach some fishing line to the top and hang.

One of the great things about this project is you can save it for the 4th of July too.

I hope you all have a safe and wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

Happy crafting!

Tonya

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Crafting with Kids: Flower Arranging

April 26, 2012 By Tonya Staab Leave a Comment

You may have realized by now that I am generally all about practical crafts, I rarely craft with the kids just for the sake of it, unless we are using up scraps or looking for a quiet indoor rainy day activity. Most crafts we do serve a purpose, so when I was thinking about Mother’s Day crafts it dawned on me that I should teach my children how to do something practical that mom’s and grandmother’s are sure to love. So, I decided to give them a lesson in flower arranging. Whether your child wants to bring you breakfast in bed with a little vase of flowers on the tray, or is helping set the table for Mother’s Day lunch here are some simple ideas to get them started.

Method 1: The Vase

Whether you choose one variety of flowers, or a few different types, give your child free reign when it comes to arranging them in the vase. They will need a hand cutting the stems though. Maybe they would like to bring a little of the outdoors inside for this project too and include some wheat grass, large leaves, or even some interesting branches from the garden.

Method 2: The Fish Bowl

This flower arrangement let’s them get a little more creative. Let them choose some decorative rocks, glass stones, shells, or marbles to place in the bottom of the vase, fill with water then have your child arrange the flowers inside.

Method 3: Canning Jars

Jars, or even tins are a fun way to arrange flowers. You can pop them into old soda bottle or milk crates, or simply line them up down the center of the table. Have your child place just one flower in each jar or can. My daughter decided to make hers into a pattern – so there you go, there’s a little math thrown in for good measure. They can even use this method to place a little flower on your breakfast tray when they bring you breakfast in bed.

I hope you all have a wonderful Mother’s Day.

Happy crafting!

Tonya

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Crafting with Kids: Spring Birds

March 22, 2012 By Tonya Staab 4 Comments

Hello Spring!

Spring is here, and it’s time for gardening and pretty flowers. I decided we should pretty up some of our pots by making some birds to plant in each. This was a great project for the kids to help with, and they take less than 30 minutes to make.

Items needed:

pre-cut wood birds (available at craft stores)

wooden dowel rods

scrapbook paper

mod podge and hot glue

sandpaper

pencil

silver glitter glue

Begin by laying the wood bird on the piece of scrapbook paper and trace around it. Carefully cut out the scrapbook paper bird. You will need to cut one for both the front and back side.

Apply a layer of mod podge to one side of the wooden bird and gently attach the scrapbook paper bird to it. Repeat on the reverse side. Once dry use the piece of sandpaper to gently sand the edges so that the paper blends with the wood and isn’t hanging over. Apply another layer of mod podge to the outside of the paper, and repeat once dry on the reverse side.

Apply hot glue to about one inch of the wooden dowel rod and attach it to one side of the bird. Add a dot of silver glitter glue to the bird for the eye. Pop your pretty bird into one of your flower pots. Make sure that your birds are in a protected area where they won’t be ruined by the weather. Ours will be making their home indoors.