Materials Needed:
1. Draw the vase on the white paper and cut it out. 2. Glue the vase to the colored paper. 3. Draw stems and leaves for your flowers. 4. Crumple tissue paper and glue the clumps to the tops of the stems. 5. Add any other touches to the flowers as desired. Decorate vase as desired.
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Materials Needed:
This is a great keepsake craft to give as a gift for Father's Day or a birthday or just because. There are other ways to apply handprints with paint but this is the way I prefer for slightly less mess. 1. Take first color of paint and put it on a paper plate. Use a paint brush or a sponge to apply the paint to your child's hand. Don't put too much on - just enough to cover the hand. 2. Help your child place their hand on the paper sideways. 3. Repeat with another color. (If you have more than one child, have each one do a handprint) 4. When all your fish are applied. Use your child's finger to make the bubbles, seaweed and eyes and mouths. I almost always have left over paint after a craft like this. Instead of just tossing it, I let my kids mash their hands in the remaining paint to make their own crazy paintings (they often mix the colors together). Their work is not usually frame-worthy but they have fun and I feel less guilty about tossing the paint. Items Needed: * Piece of paper or card stock (white is best) - you might need a few pieces * Craft paint (gold for wings and halo, other colors optional) * Sponges (get a bunch from a Dollar Store) * Paper Plates * Paintbrush * A few disposable rags or lots of paper towels Note: I did this craft with my 5-year-old which I think is the ideal minimum age. If you try this with a younger child, I would recommend at least two adults help with this craft. This craft, based on a project in The Usborne Big Book of Playtime Activities, can be messy and a little time consuming but it is worth the effort and makes a great keepsake. 1. Start with the "body" of the angel and apply your paint color to a paper plate. My daughter chose pink. 2. Rub the sponge on the plate and wipe off some excess and then place your child's hand on the sponge to apply the paint to his or her hand (this is like having a large ink pad). 3. Firmly place your child's painted hand in the center of the paper. If you don't get it right the first time, try again with a new piece. 4. Let the "body" dry for a few minutes; take this time to wipe off the excess paint. (Note: You could do the wings first to prevent multiple hand cleanings, but you'd have to be pretty certain of your hand placements). 5. Assuming you've done the body hand print first, now apply your gold paint to another plate. Spread a sponge on the gold paint (You could use the other side of the first sponge but you will get very messy. For a cleaner option, rinse the first sponge or just use a new sponge for this color). 6. Press your child's hand onto the gold-painted sponge. Wipe off any excess and firmly apply the hand to the paper, slightly overlapping your "body" hand print. 7. Then apply your child's other hand to the gold-painted sponge (you may need to add some paint to the sponge). Press this hand to the other side of the "body." 8. Allow the paint to dry a little and wipe your child's hands off. 9. Rotate the paper so the fingers are pointed down. 10. Use a pale pink or cream paint (or whatever skin tone you'd prefer) and have your child finger paint a circle for the head and two finger prints for the hands. For younger kids, you can help guide them. 11. Dip your child's finger in whatever paint color you've chosen for the hair color and apply the hair around the head in a dot pattern. 12. Draw a face with your choice of colors for the eyes, nose and mouth. (A paintbrush might be best here and an adult might be needed for this part). 12. Use the gold paint and draw a halo. Small kids can use their finger or a paintbrush. 13. You can embellish the picture with other decorations such as stars which can be drawn with the finger or a paintbrush. Materials needed: * card stock, colored or construction paper * crayons or makers * photo of your child in Halloween costume * scissors & glue (optional) * stickers (optional) What better way to share the Halloween holiday with distant loved ones than a special card? Younger children might need a little help but let your child decide what the design will be. Use crayons or markers to create a Halloween scene and embellish with stickers or pasted pictures, if desired. For an extra special card, include a photo of your child in Halloween attire. Items Needed: * A piece of pink or red construction paper * A piece of white copy or construction paper * Glitter Glue or Glitter Paint * Craft Glue * Scissors * Pencil Kids of all ages can do this craft although younger children will need help with the cutting. Fold your colored construction paper in half and draw half a heart. Then cut it out. Fold the paper in other sections and draw and cut smaller hearts. The location of these hearts is up to you. Have or help your child use the craft glue to attach the colored construction paper to the white paper. Then decorate the white sections with glitter paint or glitter glue. You can add sequins for extra dazzle. Don't throw out the hearts you cut out. You can use them: - by placing them loose in a Valentine's Day Card's envelope - you can use them to decorate a Valentine Card Items Needed: * Heart-shaped doilies in red and white (color and sizes are optional) * Glitter Glue or Glitter Paint (clear or white glitter paint works best here) * Craft Glue (if you don't use glitter glue) * Red, pink or white construction paper (optional) This is a quick and easy craft for even very young children because they can just slap on the glitter glue and it will still look pretty and sparkly. You can use a piece of red, pink or white construction paper as a background or you can choose to just have the doilies decorated. You can also pick smaller doilies and attach them to a folded piece of construction paper to decorate the cover of a card. To do the craft the way we did, attach the larger doily to the construction paper with craft glue or glitter glue. Note, we used glitter glue for this step and my daughter was very liberal with the glue which is why it looks puckered in the photo. It looks fine but if you want to avoid the puckering use regular craft glue for this step. Then attach the smaller doily to the larger one using glitter glue or use craft glue and then paint it with sparkling paint. There is no "right way" to do this. Let your child spread as little or as much glue or paint as they'd like. If you don't want the craft to get too wet and pucker, try having them decorate the doilies first and then attach them to the construction paper when they're mostly dry. You can vary this craft with different colored doilies and backgrounds, varied glue colors or add sequins. A card or decoration Items Needed: * Construction Paper (pink or red best) * Pencil * Glitter Glue (color is up to you) * Festive stickers * Scissors * Rhinestones (optional) * Crayons or markers (if you decide this is a card) Recommended age: toddlers and older can do this although with very young kids you will need to cut for them and you might want to skip the glitter glue or help apply it. Fold a piece of construction paper in half and draw half a heart shape along the fold. Cut out the heart shape along the line you've drawn. Note: If you'd like to make another craft with the leftover paper, cut out two pieces of paper and click here for more information. Unfold the heart that you've cut out. If your child wants this to be a Valentine's Day card, have them decorate and write on the inside first. When done with the inside, or if you simply want this to be a decoration, adorn the front of the heart with stickers and glitter glue. If you have rhinestones, you can place them on your heart stickers or in a variety of ways. We swirled the glitter glue on the paper but you can choose what design you'd prefer. To swirl the glitter glue, apply a small blob onto the paper and then use the tip of the applicator to "draw" the shape. When the glitter runs out, apply another blob to the end and then spread it out again. Continue until your shape is finished. A preschooler can do this with some parental guidance, depending on the shape. If you use a lot of glitter glue it can kind of warp the paper so you can either use a thicker paper or take the second cut-out heart (if you had cut a second heart) and glue it to the decorated heart. Items Needed: *Two pieces of construction paper (pink or red ideal for Valentines Day but color is your choice) * Tissue paper (more crumpled the better; colors optional) * Laminating pouches (or something similar) * Glue Stick * Scissors * Pencil * Stapler * Tape or stickers (optional) Age recommended: ideal for 4 years and older but some 3-year-olds could do with extra help If you're like me you might just be getting around to putting away your Christmas decorations and miscellaneous related items such as leftover gift wrapping. Well, I have a use for any crumpled tissue paper you might be thinking of tossing as you pack things away. Take your two pieces of construction paper and place one on top of the other. Then fold them in half. Draw half a heart on the folded paper (parents would need to help younger kids), starting at the top of the fold and curving to the bottom (see first of the photos below). Be sure to leave a little space at the top and bottom of the heart. Use your scissors to cut along the heart you've drawn (parents need to do this for younger children; see second photo below). Set aside the cut-out hearts. You can use them for another craft. Tear up and crumple your tissue paper. Your kids will love this part. If you haven't done so already, open your paper to reveal your full heart. Place a laminating pouch on top of the heart (so you can see the heart shape through the plastic) and lift the top of the pouch (like opening a book). Use the glue stick to glue a section of the pouch within the heart shape and then put the tissue paper on it. Continue until the area of the heart is as filled as you want it to be. Then place the top of the pouch over the tissue paper - your tissue paper is now sandwiched between both plastic pieces of the pouch. Place a heavy book or two (or three) on top of the laminating pouch to flatten the tissue paper as much as possible. If you have really crumpled tissue paper, it shouldn't take much to flatten it. If your tissue paper is in better shape, it might take a few hours to really pack it down. Once the paper is as flat as you'd like it, remove the books and now place the laminating pouch (filled with tissue paper) between the two pieces of construction paper. Use your stapler to attach all the pieces (parent should help younger children). If you don't want to use staples, you can use tape but staples really do hold it together better, especially near the cut out of the heart. If you don't like the look of the staples, your child can place decorative stickers over them. Now you have a great holiday decoration or gift for Mom or Dad or a grandparent! Draw and cut your heart on your construction paper. Remember to cut both pieces of paper at the same time so your hearts are the same size
Items Needed* Clay that can be baked (color optional; amount depends on the size of the hand) - note alternate materials below * Baking pan * Tin foil * Clay knife or similar utensil * Rolling pin for clay * Depending on your child's age, an additional adult can be helpful * Ribbon if you want it to be an ornament * Access to an oven It's not terribly expensive to buy a hand print ornament kit (the average price is $10), but you can do it for a fraction of the cost on your own, especially if you want to make more than one. In addition to making a hand print ornament as a gift for the grandparents (great for your baby's first Christmas) you can make your own hand print keepsakes inexpensively as your child grows. Knead the clay and then roll it out onto your pan. I've done this several times so I actually have an old baking pan I use specifically for baking clay items. If you don't have a pan like that, then line it with tin foil and place your clay to be baked on top of that. Roll the clay out to about 1/4 inch thick or so. You can make it a little thicker if in doubt. Roll out enough to have space around your child's hand. Sometimes if you flip it over the underside is smoother looking. Then have your child place - or help them place - their hand roughly in the center of the clay and push down. If the child is 3 or younger, you'll want to try and hold their hand down for a few seconds and gently push each digit into the clay just to be sure you get a full impression (of course your child's age, squirm factor and general attitude will play a large part). Then try to pull your child's hand straight out (note some younger kids will instinctively curl their fingers so pulling the hand back quickly helps avoid this). If you don't like the impression, pull it off the pan, roll it into a ball and re-roll it for another try. If you do like it, then cut away any excess clay with the knife to make it a circular or oval shape. You can also use a clay tool or even a push pin to carve your child's name and/or the year. Also use the knife or clay tool to cut a small hole in the top for your ribbon later. Cook it in your oven to the temp and time frame recommended on the clay package. Once it's cooled, tie your ribbon. For an extra creative boost, wrap your gift in hand print paper. Other tips and ideas: * If you want to have keepsakes of your child's growth, buy the air-dry or baking clay in different colors and you can do their hand and foot prints at different milestones - 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 1 year and so on. At the two-year mark, I did my daughter's hand impression for that milestone, 2 1/2 and 3 years and then switched to paint hand prints as they're easier to store. * If you use the air-dry or baking clay in colors instead of plain white, then buy at least two packs per color. I liked using a different color for each milestone (ie blue for 3 months, then green for 6 months) and as your child grows, you will need at least 2 packets (if that's how you buy the clay) for one hand or foot. You can buy white in a big box but be sure to put the excess in a zip lock bag or it could dry out before you're ready to use it again. * You can get a shadow box to display the prints or just keep them in a nice decorative box. You can also mount them on a wall or place on a decorative shelf. Cookie cutters for creative designs Items Needed * Cookie cutters (can use one or several) * Paint (variety of colors optional) * Tray or paper plate for each color * Paper This craft was initially done by my 4-year-old daughter for Veteran's Day through the Middlesex Recreation's Pre-K Art Program. At that time, they used red and blue paint and stars but I thought this could easily be adapted for Christmas or as a general craft. The image of the stars was done on green paper and we used green and red acrylic paint. I poured the paint into separate plates and she dipped the cookie cutter star into the paint and then applied it on the page. She did a few different ones, experimenting with different shapes and overall designs. For the last piece, she dipped the cookie cutter into one paint color and then the next and then a third paint color before applying it to the paper. The effect was kind of neat. Personally, I think the star and tree shapes worked the best, especially when she tried overlapping them but it's really whatever your child enjoys. This can be a fairly quick and easy craft for you child to enjoy the holidays or for any occasion (depending on your choice of cookie cutters) and can even be a gift or stocking for Mommy or Daddy or grandparents. Below you'll see two more options. On the left we used a white background and my daughter chose a tree cookie cutter in red and green. On the right is a green paper background and she used multiple shapes and mixed the colors. The angel and snowman look "thicker." She actually meant to do that; she placed the shape on the paper and held it there and then gently pushed it along the paper about a centimeter to create a kind of shadow effect. Sometimes it looked cool and other times it looked like a mistake. An older child might have more patience |
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AuthorSandra K. Lee is a freelance writer and stay-at-home mom with a 8-year-old princess & a 4-year-old superhero in Middlesex County, New Jersey. |