Sun Catcher

Did not even though that our normal kitchen use foil can be used to do this simple craft.
Source: www.ActivityVillage.co.uk

Materials:
Foil pie plate
Sweet wrappers
Glue
Needle and thread








Method
1. Cut triangles or blunt shape around the sides of the pie plate making a set of points. Fold out the points to make your sun or flower shape.
2. Glue sweet wrappers to each point of the sun/flower. Don't worry about cutting them to shape: just trim when they have dried.
3. Decorate the center of the sun by gluing on some scrunched up sweet wrappers. Punch a small hole and thread a loop of thread through the top of the sun to hang.

Personalised Craft Box

Still remember my storage box for my kid's craft I posted earlier? This is another way you can create one, with a master piece of your child.

Another idea fromwww.ActivityVillage.co.uk .

Get you child to choose a copy of his favourite poster drawing, and stick the poster to the top of the cover. You may wanna spray to protect the piece to create a smooth surface. It is also good to include name on the art so that each children could easily identify their box.

Colourful shaker

Materials: Paper crepe streamers, stapler, paper plate, scissors

Method:
1. Put some beans into between 2 paper plates and stapler them.
2. Cut long pieces of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple crepe paper streamers. Each streamer should be about two to three feet long. Staple a rainbow of streamers onto the paper plate.

Source: www.enchantedlearning.com

Handprint: Spotty Giraffe

Love this idea from www.ActivityVillage.co.uk. Saw this while I was surfing online and thought it would be great to use it for our playgroup.

Material: Construction paper, yellow and brown paint

Method:
1. Print a single yellow hand print.
2. The palm forms the body.
3. The fingers the legs and the thumb forms the tail.
4. Use the side of the hand to print the neck and add a fingerprint for the head.
5. Once dry use brown fingerprints to make the giraffe’s spots, and the short little finger for the end of the tail.

Handprints

Wonder what I am doing with so many research on the handprint craft for my playgroup? This is one of the reason. Read this poem, it is sweet:

Sometimes you get discouraged
Because I am so small
And always leave my handprint
On furniture and wall

But everyday I'm growing
(I'll be all grown someday)
And all those tiny hand prints
Will surely fade away.

So here's a final handprint
Just so you can recall
Exactly how my fingers looked
When they were very small.

© T. Lambert, Jr. May 1978

Handprint: Friendly Lion

This is another finger print craft from www.ActivityVillage.co.uk . Not only I find it easy for our little kids to do, it is very fun letting your kid to play with the paint too. Explore their site for more craft ideas.

Materials: Construction paper, orange and yellow paint, pen.

Method:
1. Keep fingers together, print a circle of orange handprints with palms to formthe centre of the circle. This is to make the lion’s mane.
2. Once dry, print a yellow handprint with fingers together in the centre of the circle, for the lion’s face.
3. Draw the lion’s eyes, whiskers and mouth only once the paint is dry.

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Mosaic Pot Stand

Found this simple craft idea from www.ActivityVillage.co.uk while I was surfing online. Not only it is simple, it would be great to use it for our playgroup. Do visit their site for more ideas.









Materials:
Unwanted CD, CD-Rom or DVD
Craft foam (in lots of different colours)
PVA glue (white glue)

Method
1. Cut the foam into squares or shapes.
2. Start of the middle, use different color foam and stick on the CD.
3. When completely dry, trim around the disk to leave a mosaic circle.

Mini Chest Drawers

Create a chest of drawers from the box that you have at home.

Materials:
4 ‘Tetrapak’ cartons (eg long-life fruit juice, UHT Milk cartons), scissors, paints, glue, Old magazines


Instructions
1. Remove any plastic fittings from the cartons. Rinse and let dry. U can use also any unwanted carton cereal box.
2. Make a hole with the scissors in the side panel of one of the cartons and cut out. This will form the ‘chest’ of the chest of drawers.
3. Cut out some drawers (be sure to check it fits into the box).

Lunch Box

I have been looking for some tips on packing a lunch box, to promote a healthy eating to hubby and my little gal. To keep food fresh, there are some ways to do it.

1. Use insulated lunch bags. Not only it looks trendy, it can keep keep your child’s lunch cold and, therefore, safe and fresh.

2.Send a salad in a small plastic container. Keep the dressing on the side in a separate smaller container.

3.Whole grain snack crackers add a nice crunch and lots of healthy fiber.

4. Pack a cold pasta salad, cole slaw, or potato salad.

Letter magnet

Got this great idea from Activity Village.

Kids love to see their own name, and with this craft they can make some really effective magnets to display their own artwork on the fridge. This can be even great gifts for birthdays or even mother's Day.

Materials: modelling clay, craft magnets, hot glue

Method:
1. Roll clay into thick sausage. Then shape them into letters.
2. Decorate the letters by mixing 2 or more different colored clays together.
3. Make strips and dots with colors.
4. Bake the clay following the manufacturer’s instructions. When hard and cool use strong glue to attach a magnet to the back.

Straw blown art

Materials: 2 straws, a piece of white paper, some paints and cut out heart shapes

Methods:
1. Squirt some paints on a piece a of white paper.
2. With a straw each for yourself and your kid, blow the paints.
3. Glue some hearts to the art

Big Sister Pack

Still cannot make up your mind what to give to your elder child when you deliver a new baby? I am sure you will find a perfect gift for her while you buy baby gifts.

I love this special pack called Big Sister Kid. And it suits just perfectly to the pre-school child. This kit includes a baseball tee, a baby doll, and nice gift card (from her new sibling), some jumbo crayons and a nice lollipop. By giving this special present to the elder child, it makes her feel extra special during a tough transition period. Best of all everything is even packed in a nice vinyl backpack where she can even use it to school.

Recylced Carton Flower Pot

Don't throw away your juice cartons that can’t normally be recycled. You can make a plant pot out of it.

Materials: ‘Tetrapak’ carton (long-life fruit juice, UHT Milk cartons), scissors

Methods:
Make a hole in one of the two big sides of the carton and cut away the side. Make a few holes in the remaining big side. These will form drainage holes in the base of your pot. Put in soil and start planting !!!

Boots pencil stand

I keep my girls old belongings in a box. Did not even though of making them to good use until this idea came along.
Ever wonder what to do with your kid's old boot? Here is an original way to keep your pens and pencils organized.

Materials: Boots, button, foam, beads, acrylic paint, glitters, scissors and hot glue.

Method:
1. Get an old (clean!) pair of boots
2. Paste alphabet buttons or beads, or foam shapes or other decorations as appropriate

Wooden Peg

This is a fantastic idea making use of the wooden peg from Activity Village

Instead of buying expensive decorate pegs, a great it would be fun to just get the plain wooden tag and decorate them. Easy and cheap project for your kids.

Ways to do it:
1. Paint with acrylic. Use varnish for protection.
2. Tip some glitter onto it.
3. Cut out shapes of the name alphabets and stick on it.

Father and Daughter

My girl sticks to her father whenever he is at home. She is such as sticky gummy until her father couldn't breathe. Instead of playing with me, it is a good idea to provide some fun activities for both of them to do together, such as coloring, or contest to assemble the puzzles. Some fathers I know even bring their children to movie (it is the only way fathers can do best entertaining their children while sitting down to rest). Hubby has not tried this before, how about the rest of you?

My paper collection

I used to do a lot of origami when I was young. On my previous trip to Japan, I even got some very nice Japanese origami paper to add to my collection of wrappers, boxes, letter paper, pretty envelopes. Not sure if all girls did the same as I did. I still do, in fact. Probably will start to teach my girl to do origami, as I see her quite innovative created her own origami.

Bubble wrap art

Materials: Bubble wrap(small bubbles preferably), light blue paint, construction paper, cotton balls for clouds, Optional:other colored paints for adding scenery

Method:
1. Spread out your bubble wrap with slightly over half of the bubbles popped.
2. Cover the bubbles with a thin coat of light blue paint.
3. Place it on a piece of white paper and rub gently.
4. Remove paper and let dry. Spread some cotton balls out a bit and glue on paper for clouds.

Paper Bag Meow

Mommyof2angels asked me about if there is any cat crafts for her gals. Sorry for this late posting.

Very simple puppets made from small paper lunch bags. You can make a raccoon, dog, cat, rabbit, bunny, mouse, pig, panda, or frog.

Materials: Paper bags, scraps paper, glue, scissors, markers, googly eyes, pipe cleaners for whiskers

Method:
1. Cut out ears, eyes, a nose, paws, and whiskers (made of thin paper strips or pipe cleaners threaded through the paper bag).
2. Glue them to the cat.

Match box train

My favorite site has uploaded with more craft activities again and this issue, there are lots of ideas for train.

This freight train is very easy craft made from match box. For more details, see here.

Special Melting Moments

My little helper and I did a simple baking yesterday.

Ingredients:
200g margerine (I uses Planta)
80g icing sugar sifted
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 tsp sugar

120 self-raising flour, sifted
120g corn-flour, sifted

Method:
1. Cream butter, icing sugar, vanilla essence and salt till just combined.
2. Add both sifted flours and mix into a soft-dough.
3. Spoon mixture into piping bag with star nozzle.
4. Pipe them into a shape of a rossette.
5. Bake in pre-heated oven at 170C (20mins) till light golden brown.
6. Cool on rack, sprinkle some icing sugar on top.

Tips: You can also ignore step 3&4. Instead just spoon them onto the tray and top them with honey star for decor.

Magic star wand

Materials: star shape cookie cutter, styrofoam, stick or hard straw, color paint, glue, glitters





Method:
1. Cut out shape of star on the styrofoam
2. Paint or sprinkle glitters onto the glue area
3. Carefully insert the straw or stick into the star
4. Tie the ribbons together at one end and glue the knotted end to the base of the star where the straw or stick has been inserted.

What do you do with all that artwork?

Each week we do craft in our playgroup. There were so many master pieces created by my gal and I decided to keep them in a paper box, just for memory. Instead, I found another better idea, that is to display them at home and replace older works with newer ones on a regular basis.






Several ways to display them:
1. On board
2. Clipping on a string of yarn across the room.
3. Take photographs
4. Blog it
5. Recycle

Indian Drum

Material

• oatmeal box or any can with a lid (I used a cornmeal box and peanut cans)
• construction paper, glue & scissors
• markers or crayons
• paint (optional)
• string/yarn, feathers, beads, leather. . . any bits of scrap material you may have
• stamps/ink pad (optional)

Method:

1. Paint or cover you box/can with construction paper (to figure the width, wrap ribbon or string around the can, measure its length and then add an inch)
2. Paint or draw designs or creatures on the can/box.
3. After the paint is dry . . .you can glue all sorts of things to your drum
4. Use 2 pencils with erasers as drumsticks. Chopsticks also work.

source: http://www.kckpl.lib.ks.us/

See De'Kidz Band here at my main blog

Mouse Nibble Bag

Create your own healthy junk food pack. A better way to get your little one to eat a delicious mix of nutritious nibbles!

You need
• a paper lunch bag
• crayons for colouring / decorating stickers
• scissors
• sticky tape
• healthy nibbles (see below)


Method
1. Cut a brown paper bag in half and make two small bags using the bottom half of the original bag (cut in half) and some sticky tape.
2. Decorate the bags with a theme
3. Fill up the bags with your choice of healthy nibbles

Nibble ideas: Pop corns, mini cookies, dried prunes, dried apricots, marshmellow, banana chips, peanuts, cashews, Japanese rice crackers, sunflower seeds, or anything you can find in your house

Ideas from Kidscraftweekly

Craft: Pencil holder

A specially designed pencil container is an attractive and useful gift / to be placed on your kids writting table.

Materials: tube, container, glue, cut out decor item

Method: Just stick all the decor items to the pencil holder to create a master piece.

Paper clip mobile

Materials: Paper clips, straws, color paper

Method:
1. Insert the straw into the paper clips.
2. Make a few of the units. Put them together using paper clip chains. To make the mobile balance, you can slide the paper clips over.
3. Cut out some colorful shapes (stars), alphabets or animals.
4. Clip the shapes to the mobile.
5. Hang the mobile onto a wall or ceiling.

Envelope Animals

This idea is easy and fun for little one. Also doesn't require much preparation.

Using an envelope for the animal is a great idea as it already has those flips which makes decorating even easier.

Materials: envelopes, crayons, glue, color paper

Method:
1. Seal up the envelope.
2. Draw a nose, whiskers or other features for an animal
3. Cut construction paper ears, hat, or hair.

Paper plate fish

Materials: Paper, scissors, glue, bits of paper, crayons/color pencil

Method:
1. Cut a wedge out of a paper plate. The wedge for fish's tail; the hole for fish's mouth.
2. Stick the tail to the end of the fish. Draw the eyes.
3. Color in the fish, drawing scales, lips. Or best stick bits of colorful paper as scales to it.

For an extra touch, make a tiny fish (use the same instructions as above, but start with a tiny circle made from construction paper). Hang the tiny fish from the large fish's mouth using a short piece of thread.

Lace-up wedge of cheese

Making a lace-up is a fun and easy activity with a lasting outcome. Good for kids to practise their hand and eye coordination too.

Materials
• thick card
• crayons or colour pencils
• scissors
• a hole punch
• a shoe lace (or a length of wool with the end wrapped in sticky tape)


Method
1. Draw a big wedge of swiss cheese onto cardboard.
2. Have your little one colour it in. When they're finished, cut it out and punch holes in it.
3. Demonstrate how to thread the lace through the holes and then sit back and enjoy continue blogging!

Ideas and photos adopted from Kidscraftweekly

Paper turkey

Materials
2 tube toilet rolls, some colour papers, glue, scissors

Method
1. Trace your child's hand on the colour paper
2. Cut them out
3. Paint the paper multicolour if it is a plain paper
4. Cut the toilet roll, one shorter than another
5. Glue them together
6. Cut the beaks, eyes, feet for your turkey
7. Attached them with glue
8. Staple the feathers to the back of the tubes when the feathers are dry.

Sun

I like this one. Easy and fun to do as it requires tracing out the child's little hand.




Materials: paper plate, yellow papers, scissors, glue, crayons

Method

1. Paint the back of a paper plate yellow.
2. Trace a child's hand on yellow construction paper about 7 times.
3. Cut out the tracings.
4. Glue or staple the handprint tracings to the paper plate - the fingers are the sun's rays.
5. Color in the sun, drawing a mouth and a nose, and draw the eyes.

Flowery Hat

Make a pretty flowery crown from a paper plate and paper flowers. These are fun to make for Spring or Easter.

Material: colour paper, paper plate, crayon, scissors, glue, ribbons, crepe paper, stream of plastic papper.

Method: You can use your own creativity to decorate the hat or even add stream of tails to it :)

source: www.enchantedlearning.com

Robot picture

Materials

Colour paper, buttons, clips, wool scrap, glue, paper

Method
1. Cut felt and paper into different sized squares and rectangles

2. Paste and decorate the materials onto a piece of paper to form a robot

The Bug

I saw lots of unwanted egg carton yesterday at our Playcentre craft room. Since I am responsible to prepare for the kids craft this coming August, decided to make good use of it. Here is one, The Bug.

Materials
Egg cartons, glue, paint, decor items (paper, eyes, pipe cleaner, misc)

Instruction
Use one cup to make a bug.Cut a long row of cups and make a caterpiller. Use two sections and some tissue paper and make a butterfly. Make a spider with long, pipecleaner legs! Use your imagination and I bet you can think of a lot more!

Source: TheFamilyCraft

Short easy craft to keep your kids busy

Short craft ideas to keep your kids busy while you prepare your dinner.

1. Edible necklaceIf you keep 'hole-y' cereal in your pantry (nutrigrain, cheerios, fruit loops etc) you can show your little one how to thread the pieces of cereal onto a piece of string or wool using a blunt wool needle. If you don't have a needle on hand you can wrap stickytape around the end of a piece of string to make it stiff enough for small fingers to manage. When they're finished with the necklace they can eat it!

2. Coin rubbingsEmpty your coin purse on the kitchen table. Show your little one how to make a coin rubbing by putting a coin under a piece of paper and rubbing over the top with a crayon. You can also rub over leaves, cardboard shapes and more.

3. Drawing facesA great one for toddlers and preschoolers alike. Draw a series of circles on a piece of paper and have your child draw in the facial features. Older kids can be encouraged to draw different, increasingly sophisticated, expressions. If you have more than one kid who is of pen weilding age, have them produce a collaborative effort. Keep the finished products - they make terrific artwork for birthday cards.

To see more ideas, click here.

Craft Ideas: Tall Hat

Ideas from Kids Craft Weekly.

Materials -tape, elastic, stapler, lace trim, glue, veil

Directions

1. Make a hat-sized cone from a piece of cardboard and tape it in place. Make sure you leave a hole at the top of the hat through which you can thread your veil.

2. Thread through your veil in the hole at the top of the hat and tie a large knot (or two) on the inside of the hat to prevent it from coming out the top

3. Decorate the hat with lace trim or sequins or whatever you have handy

4. Then staple on a length of elastic to hold the hat under the chin. Then dance with delight!