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Crafts for Kids

Ideas

• Ran out of room on your frig or walls for all that art work? Try this:

Tack a piece of yarn, string, fishing ling, or even ribbon, to the ceiling with a push tack. On the other end tie a paper clip (making a hook with one end of the paper clip). Then hang childs art work from the paper clip!

• Going through your closet? Save these for later crafts:

Remove buttons from shirts or pants.

Cut out the cartoon characters from shirts or pants. Use as patches or sew togeter and stuff with beans for a game of bean bag toss.

Clip pieces of textured shirts and pants and let kids touch them and decribe the different feelings.

Projects

Playdough

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 cup water
• variety of soft drink mixes

Put first 4 ingredients in saucepan and cook over mediumheat, until dough pulls away from sides and forms a ball. Remove from heat and let cool to the touch. Knead doughuntil smooth. Divide dough into storage bags or an air tightcontainer. Mix 1 to 1/2 packet of soft drink mix into dough.Using different flavors for different colors.

Button Jars

• Baby food jar
• Plate
• Potpourri
• Buttons
• Mod Podge™
• Netting
• Hot glue gun (optional)
• Ribbon (optional)

Pour buttons onto plate, set aside. Cover bf jar with a moderate coat of Mod Podge™. Children can roll the bf jar on the plate of buttons, or just put them onto the jar. If to much Mod Podge™ is used the buttons will slide off. Just wipe off excess if this happens.

Once dry fill the bf jar with potpourri. Glue netting over top of jar, trimming away extra. Glue ribbon around "neck" of the jar.

Easter Egg Pins

• Plastic Spoon
• Vasoline
• Plaster of Paris
• Pin Backs, magnet, ornament hooks

Coat plastic spoon with thin layer of vasoline. Mix Plaster of Paris according to directions. Pour mixture into spoon. Let set until soft, then put pin back into it. Push just enough to hold. Let completely dry and remove from spoon. Decorate as an easter egg.

(Thanks Cindie)

Girls Hats

• Paper plate for each child
• Ribbon
• Glue
• Flowers
• Crayons, markers, or paint

Allow children to color/paint one side of paper plate. Glue flowers to colored side. Punch 2 holes in plate,across from each other. Cut ribbon/string into 2 pieces, place through hole and tie under child's chin.

Top Hats

• Paper plate for each child
• strips of poster board(long enough to fit around child's head)
• Glue
• Hot Glue Gun (Adults use only)
• String

Have child paint or color bottom of paper plate the same color as the poster board strips you are using. Give each child 4 strips and have them glue them together. Not stacked, but long edges together, just overlapping slightly. Once dry staple ends together to make a tube shape. Glue to paper plate, punch holes on across from each other and put string through them. Using this for a chin strap.

Dream Catchers

• Paper plate for each child
• Yarn
• feathers
• crayons/markers (optional)
• hole punch

Allow children to color/paint one side of paper plate. Cut center from paper plate. Using a hole punch make holes along the inside edge. Run yarn from hole to hole making a "spider web" design. Leaving 2 longer strings still hanging from bottom when finished. Attach feathers to the longer strings. As many or as few as you like.This little note can also be add:

Native American Dream Catcher

Native Americans believed that dreams, both good and bad descended from the night sky. Bad dreams were captured in a web and held there until the rays of the morning sun evaporated them. Good dreams slipped through the web onto the dreamer. In the Native American Tradition, this dream catcher was woven to catch bad dreams in its web while allowing good dreams to pass through.

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