Crafts for Kids Archives - Page 4 of 9

The Kid Friendly Festive Paper Wreath

November 25, 2016 by Melissa

When I was a kid, one of my top favorite things about the holidays was getting to make crafts in school. Maybe the most fun holiday craft to make in class and at least as popular as the handprint turkey was the paper Christmas wreath! Making a paper Christmas wreath is your child’s crafting rite of passage. What are Christmas decorations without a paper wreath?!

The Paper Christmas Wreath Pt. 1

Materials Needed:

Scrapbook paper, green, maroon, gold

Cardboard cake circle

Buttons, red and white

Ribbon

Tape

Tacky glue

Packet of glue sticks

Rubber gloves, optional

Directions:

Step 1: Fold sheets of scrapbook paper into cones. Tape. For smaller cones, cut the paper in half using your scissors.

Step 2: Using the red buttons for the wreath’s berries, have your children superglue the buttons to the paper cones. If you’re worried about them super gluing their fingers and hands together, make them wear gloves!

Step 3: Hot glue the tips of the larger cones around the perimeter of the cake circle. This step will need to be completed by you, mom, so that the kiddies don’t burn their little fingers!

Step 4: Continue gluing the cones to the cake circle. Remember, the larger cones should be glued on the outside of the circle, with the medium to small cones glued towards the inside.

Step 5: Tie the ribbon at the top of the wreath. TA-DA! Your kids have made their own paper wreath! Let’s continue learning about more ways to spin the classic paper wreath design with more Christmas crafts for kids!

The Paper Christmas Wreath Pt. 2

Materials Needed:

Construction paper, dark green, light green and red

Elmer’s Glue

Pencil

Glitter, red and green

Ribbon

Scissors

Directions:

Step 1: Have your child trace their hand 20 times on the construction paper — 10 times on the dark green paper, and 10 on the light green construction paper.

Step 2: Cut out the handprints. Using the Elmer’s Glue, draw squiggles on the handprints. Sprinkle with green glitter. Set aside and let dry.

Step 3: Draw small circles on the red construction paper. Cut out. Cover in glue and sprinkle with glitter. Set aside and let dry.

Step 4: Layer the hands at the palms in a circle and glue together. Glue the red circles on the hands in groups of three. Set aside and let dry.

Step 5: Tie a ribbon at the top of the wreath for hanging.

The Paper Christmas Wreath Pt. 3

Materials Needed:

Paper plate

Pom-poms, red

Green acrylic paint

Paint brush

Elmer’s Glue

Glitter, green

Ribbon

Pencil

Scissors

Pie plate

Directions:

Step 1: Trace a circle in the middle of the paper plate with your pencil and cut it out with your scissors. Put aside. The part of the paper plate you will be using for this project is the waved edge of the plate.

Step 2: Paint the plate green. To create a more interesting composition, you can paint each indentation or rise in the plate a different shade of green. Set aside and let dry.

Step 3: Trace curlicues and tendrils along the dried plate with the glue. Sprinkle with green glitter. Upend on the plate on the pie plate to remove excess glitter. Set aside and let dry.

Step 4: Glue the red pom-pom in groups of three on the wreath to mimic holly berries. Set aside and dry.

Step 5: Tie the top of the paper wreath with a ribbon for hanging the wreath and hang on your door, above the fireplace or on your children’s doors!

There’s no better way to get in the Christmas spirit than by crafting with your kids!

Turkey in Disguise Thanksgiving Kids Craft

November 12, 2014 by Melissa

You know that holiday in between Halloween and Christmas? It doesn’t get the hype that the others get. Thanksgiving is an important day in our history so we’re going to make a point to give it the attention it deserves. We’re starting with a cute kids craft, Turkey in Disguise.

When I told Shae exactly what we were supposed to do she laughed. The idea was to hide or dress up the turkey so he doesn’t get eaten for Thanksgiving dinner. This seems to be a popular idea for kids each year in the classroom. I’m on my 3rd child and I’ve never heard of it. Trish from Momdot brought it up as an idea to get a bunch of bloggers crafting together.

Shae come up with a Butler. He’s in his tux serving up a glass of lemonade (after I told her a glass of wine or a beer isn’t appropriate for a kid’s craft).

Trish even has a simple turkey template to use. I ended up making my own because I couldn’t get my printer to work but it was easy.

Download and Print the template from Trisha of Momdot.

Help your child figure out how best to disguise their Turkey. It could be a costume, a new personality or even hidden in another picture if your child is feeling extra artistic.

Shae used a combination of sticker foam, cardstock, sharpie and pencil. She practiced drawing her tuxedo and adding details like buttons, pockets, a tray holding a glass and a wing.

When it came time to put it all together she was master of her own domain. No matter what advice or input I gave her she made her Turkey her way.

How would your child disguise their Turkey? Come back and share what you’ve created.

DIY Refrigerator Letter Magnets #kidsinthekitchen

October 3, 2014 by Melissa

My kids are older so we’ve passed the stage of singing letter magnets on the fridge. We still have lots of magnets but we’ve upgraded to ones that have memories, are handmade, and do double duty (like powerful rare earth magnets that hold everything from the school menu to a half-open bag of rice! Those “classic” primary color letters don’t really fit our style anymore. What does a crafty mom and crafty kid too then, they DIY Refrigerator Letter Magnets.

We wanted to make them so it would allow us to leave little notes to each other. Making them small allowed us to make many of them, a couple alphabets worth.

Refrigerator Letter Magnets

1/2″-3/4″ clear glass, flat gems (found in floral arranging section)
old magazines, junk mail, brochures
clear drying school glue
super glue or hot glue
scissors
disc magnets 1/2″-3/4″

Leaf through old magazine, seek out bright and fun headlines and titles. Determine if they’ll fit behind your marble by simply placing the gem on top and making sure you can see the letter, number or symbol clearly.

Apply clear drying school glue to the back of the marble, press firmly to the letter/page. Let completely dry for up to 1-2 hours.

When the glue has completely dried carefully cut/trim paper away from glass gem so paper does not stick out from behind gem. Using hot glue/super glue attach the magnet and to glass gem, pressing firmly.

Magnets will be ready to use in 10 minutes.

*****Keep careful watch using hot glue or super glue around children.

Come join me and my co-hosts, Paula at Frosted Fingers, Sara at Sensibly Sara, Kate of Busy Bee Kate & Jeannette of Eco Incognito each week linking up a post, new or old, that feature the theme Kids in the Kitchen. It doesn’t matter what you are doing as long as you are doing it together, enjoying it and learning something along the way.

preparing healthy snacks
having a tea party
counting skills with m&ms
pouring from measuring cups
discovering a local restaurant that your kids love
creating new family friendly recipes

You’ll find these and many more ideas for healthful and unique food fun on the #KidsintheKitchen Pinterest Board.

Follow Melinda Babiak’s board #KidsintheKitchen on Pinterest.

An InLinkz Link-up

DIY Mancala Board #kidsinthekitchen

September 18, 2014 by Melissa

Having kids of varying ages there aren’t too many things that they all have interest in. Board games is tops on that list though. Games is something they can always agree on. Sabreena remembered playing a game in elementary school called Mancala. I’ve never played it but have heard of it. She looked in the fridge on day and said save that egg carton when it’s empty, I have a project for it. Using an 18-count egg carton Sabreena fashioned her own Mancala board and grabbed some glass gems from my craft cabinet. Within 1 hour of her big idea she and Shae were playing. Like I said I didn’t know how to play the game but apparently Shae did and they went through about 4 games before dinnertime. This is now a nightly ritual, one I don’t mind at all. I’m gonna bring all the quiet games into the living room so we can have nightly intellectual games instead of tv and video game time. Materials and Directions

18-count egg carton
strong glue such as E6000
pen knife or other sharp knife
Tissue paper & mod podge (or washi or duct tape)

Using the knife slice one long row of egg cups from the carton. Cut 2 sections of 2 cups to use as the “store” and cut out the dividers of those 2 pieces. Glue the store cups on the ends of the remaining carton, set aside to dry for several minutes. Seal up the holes in the “store” cups with paper or tape. The girls used colorful tissue paper and mod podge. This just made the game board a little more festive. Your game is ready to play with marbles, rocks, seeds, beads or in our case glass gems. Mancala is the word for this type of “sowing” game. There are many versions of it around the world from many cultures. This is the version my girls play. One day I’ll invest in a beautiful wood board that will last a long time but for now I’ll relish in the ingenuity of my smart girls to create their own fun. Come join me and my co-hosts, Paula at Frosted Fingers, Sara at Sensibly Sara, Kate of Busy Bee Kate & Jeannette of EcoIncognito each week linking up a post, new or old, that feature the theme Kids in the Kitchen. It doesn’t matter what you are doing as long as you are doing it together, enjoying it and learning something along the way.

preparing healthy snacks
having a tea party
counting skills with m&ms
pouring from measuring cups
discovering a local restaurant that your kids love
creating new family friendly recipes

You’ll find these and many more ideas for healthful and unique food fun on the #KidsintheKitchen Pinterest Board.

Follow Melinda Babiak’s board #KidsintheKitchen on Pinterest.

An InLinkz Link-up

Fabric Bead Necklace Kids Craft

July 30, 2014 by Melissa

Crafting is becoming a big passion for Shae. I’m not talking about cutting out construction paper and gluing it to each other to make odd shapes. I’m talking about thought out creations that have a purpose. These fabric beads happened after seeing my trunk full of fabric and other random stuff. She wanted to make something permanent, something that was useful not something that would’ve ended up in the recycle bin in a month.

We started off with a stack of thin fabrics in a variety of colors and patterns. We cut them into strips of all lengths and widths. Don’t exceed 1 inch wide as your bead with be very big. Lengths can vary from 5″ to 12 depending how thick your child wants the beads.

Hold your strip flat and apply a thin strip of glue the entire length. Using a pencil start rolling the strip up. Don’t roll too tight as it will be difficult to remove. Slide your rolled up fabric gently off your pencil and set aside to dry. Use an extra touch of glue if the end isn’t secure. If you find your pencil is getting too much glue, use another pencil.

*roll your bead close to the pointy end, it’ll be easier to remove.

After all of your beads have set and seem to have hardened (we let them sit overnight) you’re ready to create your jewelry. Shae made a necklace using a thin suede cord.

I created a cool knot/loop on one end and when she done I created a larger knot to close the necklace. Elastic cord would work well too and then you won’t have issues with closures.

Make tons of beads for rainy day projects or make gifts for others.

Supplies needed

thin fabric in a variety of colors/patterns
scissors
school glue
pencil
thread/cord for necklace

Goop A Lesson in Quicksand #StreamTeam

July 24, 2014 by Melissa

While showing Shae The Princess Bride for the first time this week, the three of us (kids) got into a discussion about what quicksand is and how it works after watching the scene when Buttercup sinks into the lightning sand. With the Netflix theme for this month being all about staying engaged during the summer, Shae and I decided to do a little experiment.

The next morning we set out to discover the science behind quicksand. I gathered the necessary supplies; cornstarch, water, a large bowl, some food coloring for extra fun and an array of victims.

We decided to move outside because this is a notoriously messy experiment. Shae helped me pour the two main ingredients into the larger bowl but we quickly realized that there wasn’t nearly enough quicksand for a good experiment. What started out as a carefully measured experiment soon became me dumping a ton of cornstarch into a bowl and adding water in a splash at a time until we decided it was perfect. Adding the food coloring was a lot more difficult than I thought because the goo was so thick. I suggest that you add it to the water before you pour it in to guarantee even mixing.

Then we began subjecting our victims to the quicksand. First we killed the dinosaurs, then we sent a diver in to save them. We galloped some horses across the surface and then watched them slowly sink like that scene in A Neverending Story. I had Shae punch the surface and feel how oddly solid it was. We rolled the goo into balls and then watched them melt on the table.

I’m not entirely sure if Shae learned anything but it sure was a lot of fun. Cleaning up was a pain because Shae was covered up to her elbows in caked cornstarch.

Jelly Bean Tree Kids Craft #KidsintheKitchen

April 10, 2014 by Melissa

With spring comes Easter and with Easter comes the influx of sweet, brightly colored candies. Jellybeans are a staple for this season and what better way to use them (besides eating them) is making crafts like this Jelly Bean Tree.

I made a different kind of Jelly Bean Tree(coming next week) but Shae wanted to make her own. Using the same jelly beans leftover from my project I thought this was a good project for her. While it wasn’t HARD it took a little more maneuvering than I initially figured. The trick is to use a thick tacky glue, NOT HOT GLUE. You don’t want to be stuck holding the jelly beans in place for a long time.

The Quick Grip adhesive from Beacon works really good for projects that use beads, candies, buttons, etc. I wish it came in a different container, a squeeze bottle would be beneficial. (not sponsored)

Materials
styrofoam balls
vase, mini flowerpot
strong adhesive
jelly beans
lollipop stick or skewer
cotton balls
decorative filler/cover, like grass or moss

Directions
Using a dab of glue, stick a styrofoam ball into the bottom of your flower pot and let set.
With another dab of glue slide a larger styrofoam ball onto the stick then into the base. Distribute the glue onto the styrofoam ball in sections. We did lines at first then just filled in spaces. Be sure to hold the jellybeans in place for a few moments so they get a good grip.

(This is where a good glue is important. School Glue might work but I don’t think it dries fast enough to make this a project suitable for kids)

As one side of the ball was getting heavy we supported the stick with pompoms (or cotton balls). these can be removed at the end but Shae ended up keeping them and making them part of her arrangement.

At one point the one of our ball was filled with jellybeans making it a bit top heavy so I placed it in my hand so Shae could add the last of the jelly beans. Once your ball is covered in jelly beans and set sprinkle the top of your flowerpot with “grass”. We used crumpled up, cut up scrap paper. Now it’s sitting on my shelf in the kitchen.

Come join me and my co-hosts, Sarah of Play to Learn with Sarah, Paula at Frosted Fingers and Sara at Sensibly Sara, each week linking up a post, new or old, that feature the theme Kids in the Kitchen. It doesn’t matter what you are doing as long as you are doing it together, enjoying it and learning something along the way.

preparing healthy snacks
having a tea party
counting skills with m&ms
pouring from measuring cups
discovering a local restaurant that your kids love
creating new family friendly recipes

You’ll find so many more ideas on the #KidsintheKitchen Pinterest Board.

Follow Melinda Babiak’s board #KidsintheKitchen on Pinterest.

An InLinkz Link-up

Paper Bag Birds Nest #kidsinthekitchen

April 4, 2014 by Melissa

The weather has finally changed for the better. No snow for almost 2 weeks now, that might be longest run we’ve had for the last 4-5 months. We’re noticing the birds making nests in the trees so why make our own Paper Bag Birds Nest to celebrate the great weather we’re experiencing and the new feathered friends taking over the neighborhood.

A simple lunch bag and some jelly beans makes an adorable little nest.

Supplies
paper bag
school glue or glue stick (shae used both)
jelly beans

Directions
Cut open your paper bag so it lays flat. From it cut 4 circles, 2 of them about 4 or 5″ across and 2 of them 3″ across.

Cut the larger circles into a spiral.

Starting from the middle of the spiral create a flat-ish base and wrap the spiral of paper around the OUTSIDE of itself. Add drops of glue as you go to keep it in place.

Crumple your spiral before wrapping for a more rustic look.

Glue your smaller circle on the bottom of your nest. This gives it more support and closes up any holes so the “eggs” don’t fall through.

Set aside your nest to dry for 20-30 minutes then add eggs.
These would be cute placecards for the Easter dinner.

To make this more permanent go ahead and glue your jelly beans into the nest or make eggs from clay.

preparing healthy snacks
having a tea party
counting skills with m&ms
pouring from measuring cups
discovering a local restaurant that your kids love
creating new family friendly recipes

You’ll find so many more ideas on the #KidsintheKitchen Pinterest Board.

Follow Melinda Babiak’s board #KidsintheKitchen on Pinterest.

An InLinkz Link-up

Silly Monster Faces for Kids #craft

March 27, 2014 by Melissa

My kids are never short funny stories, jokes and even faces. But that didn’t stop us from making these cute Silly Monster Faces craft that work great for photo bombs or fun photography sessions or even strange conversations between each other.

All you need is some paper, scissors, glue & tape and popsicle sticks.

Sketch out the shapes of your crazy mouths, some crooked teeth, fat lips and big tongues. Match them up and attach them with glue and add a popsicle stick with a piece of tape.

Let the fun and laughter begin.

Butterfly Clothes Pin Fridge Magnet #kids #diy #craft

February 19, 2014 by Melissa

Everyday Shae comes home from school and empties her backpack of a stack of papers. Among these papers are art projects and drawings that she cherishes with every fiber of her being. She’s 6 so every single crayon stroke is important to her. I’ve often turned my kitchen walls into a mini art gallery but there is something about the refrigerator that beckons a masterpiece. That’s why these Butterfly Clothespin Magnets are so handy to have.

Making these fridge magnets can be done by any child, any age. The materials used can vary from foam sheets to wooden shapes to molded clay.

Materials
Cardstock butterfly
Fine point markers
Glitter glue, glitter, sequins, stickers, etc
Clothes pins
Glue (something strong enough to keep magnet attached to clothespin)
Button magnets

Directions
Give your children creative license when decorating their shape. These magnets are to hold not just notes and photos but their artwork. If using glitter glue allow time to dry fully before handling.

Using a strong adhesive attach the magnet to the lower half of the clothes pin. Set aside to dry.

Glue the shape onto the clothespin so the opening is at the bottom. This works best when displaying sheets of paper.

Save the chip clips for the chips & pretzels and make multiple fridge magnets to exhibit the many pieces of artwork your children are creating at school and at home.

How would your child disguise their Turkey? Come back and share what you’ve created.

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