When it gets this close to Spring, it’s hard to beat those Winter blues with the kids.  It’s often too cold to play outside and they’re getting cabin fever… at least that’s the way it is at my house.

So I thought I’d post some sunshine craft ideas to help beat those Winter blues…

Enjoy!

Paper Plate Sun

1.  Cut triangle wedges out of the edge of a large paper plate and go all the way around the plate.  These will be the sun’s rays.

2.  Paint the back side of a paper plate yellow and let dry completely.

3.  Glue on wiggle eyes (or draw them) and draw nose and mouth with black marker.

These are cute and they give kids some great cutting practice!

Handprint Sun

Have the child dip their hands in yellow paint and stamp them onto a large piece of paper.

The idea is to stamp the hands so that they form a circle with the fingers facing out and the palms overlapping.  Take a look at the picture above for clarification.

Kids seem to love anything where they get to put their hands in paint!  This is a great sunshine craft to beat the Winter blues!

Edible Sunshine Craft

I think it’s fun to do edible crafts once in awhile… my kids love this one!

1.  Use food coloring to tint cream cheese yellow.

2.  Spread the yellow cream cheese on half of an english muffin.

3.  Use skinny pretzel sticks to make sun beams.

4.  Eat the sun and enjoy!

You could also do this with some kind of yellow jam… we’ve tried orange marmalade before.  It’s not as yellow, but a good substitute for children who don’t like cream cheese.

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Sunshine Crafts To Beat Winter Blues

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With Halloween starting to creep up on us, I thought it was about time to start posting some Halloween crafts.  Spider crafts seemed like the natural place to start — especially since they are EVERYWHERE right now at my house.  I don’t mind doing the crafts, but I really don’t like the creepy little critters in real life.

Anyway, here is part one of spider crafts… enjoy!

Thumbprint Spiders – In one corner of a plain sheet of construction paper, draw a spider web with a marker. Use a black washable stamp pad or black paint and have your child put a thumbprint on the paper. Draw on the legs(8), eyes, etc. and connect the spider to the rest of the web.

Spiderwebs – Cut several pieces of yarn in various lengths. Use white glue (like Elmer’s Glue) and make a spider web pattern on a piece of construction paper. Then glue the yarn onto the paper to form a spiderweb.

Spider Hatchlings – This is just awesome! Just looking at the picture of this gives me the creeps! The kids are really excited about making one of these this year — even though I’ve been trying to talk them out of it. I hate spiders and this looks pretty realistic to me!

Ice Cream Spiders – Okay, this one isn’t exactly a craft, but it’s a lot of fun! Put a scoop of chocolate ice cream in the center of a bowl. Poke 8 pieces of black licorice along the side of the scoop to make the legs. If you can find small red candies, like red hots, you can use those for the eyes and make a pretty creepy spider.

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Spider Crafts – Part 1

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1. Halloween Crafts Around The Web

Everything is so green and luscious in my neck of the woods right now that the kids started singing, “The Green Grass Grows All Around,” which led me to a few grassy craft ideas perfect for warm weather.

Then again, maybe the kids were just trying to politely point out that the grass needs to be mowed.  Drat!

Either way, here’s the song lyrics and a few activities to do with it.

The Green Grass Grows All Around

There was a hole (echo), In the middle of the ground (echo)
The prettiest hole (echo), That you ever did see (echo),
And the green grass grows all around all around,
And the green grass grows all around.

And in this hole (echo), There was a tree (echo).
The prettiest tree (echo), That you ever did see (echo)
Well, the tree in the hole, And the hole in the ground
And the green grass grows all around all around
And the green grass grows all around

And on this tree (echo), There was a branch (echo)
The prettiest branch (echo), That you ever did see (echo)
Well, the branch on the tree, And the tree in the hole,
And the hole in the ground
And the green grass grows all around all around
And the green grass grows all around

And on this branch (echo), There was a nest (echo)
The prettiest nest (echo), That you ever did see (echo)
Well, the nest on the branch, And the branch on the tree,
And the tree in the hole, And the hole in the ground
And the green grass grows all around all around
And the green grass grows all around

And in this nest (echo) , There was an egg (echo)
The prettiest egg (echo), That you ever did see (echo)
Well, the egg in the nest, And the nest on the branch,
And the branch on the tree, And the tree in the hole,
And the hole in the ground
And the green grass grows all around all around
And the green grass grows all around

And in this egg (echo), There was a bird (echo)
The prettiest bird (echo), That you ever did see (echo)
Well, the bird in the egg, And the egg in the nest,
And the nest on the branch, And the branch on the tree,
And the tree in the hole, And the hole in the ground
And the green grass grows all around all around
And the green grass grows all around.

There are probably hundreds of crafts that you could do to tie into this particular song, so I just put together a couple of really simple, spur of the moment ideas.

Sponge Painted Tree

Draw a tree trunk on a large piece of paper.   Sponge paint the leaves on the tree.

Bird’s Nest

Glue grass, hay, Easter grass, dried leaves, etc. into a coffee filter.

Edible Bird’s Nest

Melt some butterscotch and/or chocolate chips in the microwave. Add chow mein noodles and mix until noodles are well coated. Scoop a spoonful out and put into a lined muffin tin and form into a little nest. Let cool completely.

Feathered Bird

Kids absolutely love working with feathers! Print out or draw a picture of a bird onto construction paper. Spread glue onto the bird. Glue assorted feathers onto the bird.

Grass Hair People

Draw a face on a styrofoam cup using paper, paint, markers, etc. Let dry if necessary. Fill the cup with a few small rocks for drainage and potting soil. Sprinkle grass seed and cover with a light layer of soil.  When your grass grows, it will look like hair for the face on the cup.  If it gets too long you can cut it with scissors.

Do you have any great ideas for this song?

I hope you’ll share them below!

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Green Grass Grows All Around

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Making paperweight crafts for Father’s Day is something that has probably been around since Father’s Day began.  A couple of years ago I saw an idea for making a nuts and bolts paperweight craft using plaster of paris and nuts and bolts from the garage.  I thought I’d adapt the idea to make it easier for younger kids and those who have dads that are into different types of things.

So, here’s my idea…

1.  Make up a batch of salt dough (or any other kind of dough recipe that you want to try).  You’ll find the recipe below.

2.  Give each child a fist size piece of the dough and have them form it into a ball.  (This should a child’s size fist)  Put the balls of dough on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper (this is where you’ll leave the paperweights to dry).  Push the ball down a little bit on the cookie sheet so that it will be flat on one side.  Making the balls a little flatter, rather than perfectly round, will allow them to dry more quickly and give you more space for the next step.

3.  This is where you can really get creative with your paperweight.  Now it’s time to embed objects into the dough.  Here are some ideas:  golf tees, nuts and bolts, sunflower seeds, buttons, marbles, beads, pebbles, washers, bottle caps, etc.  You could also make impressions with leaves or other objects.  The idea is to make it personal to Dad.

4.  After you’re done embedding objects, you have to let your Fathers Day Paperweight dry completely.  This can take a week or more, depending on how thick the dough is.

5.  After the Fathers Day Paperweight is dry, you could choose to paint it with acrylic paints if you want.  It’s also nice to put the child’s name, a Father’s Day message, or the date on the paperweight with a permanent marker.  When the project is complete, spray clear acrylic sealer over it.

That’s it!  This Fathers Day Paperweight is really easy to make, can be very personal, and kids will be proud to give it to Dad!

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Fathers Day Paperweight Craft Ideas

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This is a really great keepsake for Mother’s Day keepsake craft… especially when the kids are really young and their hands are so tiny (Oh, where does the time go!).  It’s also a really easy craft that Dad can do with the kids!

Salt Dough Handprint Plaque

1.  Make a batch of salt dough (the recipe is below).

2.  Break off a piece of dough that’s a little bigger than the child’s fist. Roll it out flat and make it any shape you want.  Don’t make it too thick or it will crack when it dries.

3.  Place the child’s hand in the middle of the rolled out dough and press it into the dough to make an impression. Press a paper clip into the top of the dough to make a hanger.

4.  Let the dough air dry (seems to work best) or place it in a 250º oven 30 minutes to an hour, or until dry.  Slow drying will help it keep from cracking.  Don’t turn up the oven to make it go faster or you’ll have a brown plaque.

5.  Once the plaque is dry, you can paint it with acrylic paint or leave it white.  It also looks really nice when spray painted.

6.  String a nice ribbon through the paper clip and tie it to make a nice hanger.

Salt Dough Recipe

Mix 1 1/2 Cups of salt and 4 cups of flour in a large bowl. Gradually add about 1 1/2 Cups of water until the dough forms a ball around the spoon. (If you add too much water, just add a little more flour. If it’s too crumbly, add more water.) Dump the dough out onto a flat surface and knead it until it is pliable and easily formed.

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Handprint Plaque Keepsake

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Here are some really easy and fun children’s Valentine recipes that you can use tomorrow… especially since there’s no school!

These are all tried and tested by my own kids over the last couple of years and they loved them!

Cornflake Hearts

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 cups miniature marshmallows
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp red or pink food coloring
• 4 cups corn flakes
• Small heart candies (like the ones you find for decorating cupcakes in the baking isle).
• Wax paper

Directions:

1.  Melt butter, add marshmallows, stirring until all marshmallows are melted.

2.  Add extract and food coloring.  Stir until it is a uniform red or pink color.

3.  When mixture is smooth, add corn flakes.  Mix well, but gently so as not to crush the cornflakes.  Let the mixture cool enough so that you can handle it, but not too much or you won’t be able to shape it.

4.  Form into heart shapes on sheets of waxed paper, decorate with candy hearts. Let cool.

Krispie Kisses

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like rice krispies treats.   You’ll need a batch of the basic recipe (below) and a very small funnel.

1.   Make a batch of rice krispie treats and let it cool slightly so that you can handle it.

2.  Butter the inside of the funnel.

3.  Using your hands, pack the rice krispie treats into the funnel, then turn it over onto a cookie sheet to cool.

Variations

There are a couple of variations on this basic recipe.

1.  You can dip your kisses in chocolate to make a more traditional kiss, but it is messy.

2.  You can use a spoon to drizzle chocolate over the kiss.

3.  You can make them with love messages inside, similar to the little kisses.  Just write a message on a strip of paper, string it through the small end of the funnel so that only part of it will be inside the kiss, and then pack the cereal mixture inside the funnel.

Here’s the basic recipe

Ingredients: 3 tablespoons margarine or butter, 1 package (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows or 4 cups miniature marshmallows, 6 cups rice krispies cereal

Directions: In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt margarine and marshmallows on HIGH for 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute. Stir mixture until smooth. Add rice krispies cereal, stirring until well coated. When slightly cooled, shape cereal mixture into desired shape using buttered hands, or lay out flat on waxed paper. Allow to cool.

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Easy Kid Valentine Recipes

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A lot of kids need to decorate a lunch bag for Valentine’s Day in order to exchange Valentines with their friends at school.

The one below is just a little different than the average bag and may appeal to boys a little more than the average “heart” bag.

In addition, I thought that some of you might be planning and putting together Valentine parties for your classes.  We’ve made Lollipop Mice several times and I thought you might enjoy them too!

Here’s a complete template with directions for this simple Valentine craft project:

http://www.freekidcrafts.com/lollipopmice.html

Here’s how to make the Kissing Fish Valentine Bag…

What You’ll Need:

• Lunch sized paper bag
• Purple, blue, red, and pink construction paper
• 2 Wiggle eyes
• Pen
• Scissors
• Glue

What to Do:

1. First cut two large hearts to make the fish bodies. They can be different colors or the same color. Glue them to the paper bag about a quarter of an inch or so apart in the middle of the bag.

2. Cut two tiny hearts to make the lips. Glue them down so that they touch.

Two more hearts that are about half the size of the body make the tails. Two hearts that are slightly smaller than the tails make the fins. Glue all the hearts into the right spots. Refer to the picture.

3. Cut 6 small blue hearts to make the heart shaped bubbles and glue them to the bag.

4. Glue one wiggle eye onto each fish.

5. Use a black pen (or any other color you want) to add details to your scene. Tiny heart shaped bubbles, scales on the fish, etc.

We only decorated one side of the bag to show you how to do it, but when you make your own you should decorate it all the way around. You could make an entire fish scene out of hearts and create a Valentine’s bag that’s far different than everyone else’s.

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Another Valentine *Mailbox* and Lollipop Mice

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