Category — crafts

This is a great craft that is easy enough for 2-3 year olds to do!
Supplies:
Chinet® paper plates – these really do work best
Green paint
construction paper in the following colors
red
yellow
orange
glue
marker or pen
yarn or ribbon

Cut the center out of the paper plates, leaving about 3 inches of the edge. Punch a hole in the top about 1/2 inch from the edge. Paint the bottom of the plate with the green paint and allow it to dry.

Cut some assorted leaf shapes from the construction paper.

Choosing some of the larger leaves, write things you and your kids are thankful for (i.e. mom & dad, brother or sister, sports, music, etc).

When the plate is dry, glue the leaves onto the green side in little clusters, putting the leaves with your thanks on top.

String the ribbon or raffia through the little hole as a bow.

If you want to hang it up with ribbon, punch another hole towards the top.

Ari’s wreath is a couple of years or so old, it started out with LOTS more leaves! This craft is fun because you get to hear things that your kids are thankful for that just might surprise you!

Are you looking for an inexpensive (frugal) way to decorate your home for fall? This leaf garland is one that will combine a fun outing with your family, and a great craft for all ages!

Leaf Garland
Supplies:
Leaves in a variety of colors
fishing line or ribbon
needle

Gather leaves from a variety of trees in lots of different colors.
String the leaves on the fishing line or ribbon in any order you prefer (all one color, totally random, red, yellow, brown, green, etc). Tie a loop at each end & hang them on the wall!
It is a very inexpensive and very lovely Autumn decoration for your home.

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Candy, flowers and cards can be so expensive these days. Wouldn’t you rather make homemade valentines? If so, here is how making homemade valentines saves money.

If you have a computer, this is your first link to making homemade valentines cards. Using Photoshop or other card-making software is not only fun, but easy to use. You can make scores of valentine cards within no time.

Perhaps you’d like to make a valentine wreath for your door. That’s easy enough!
Find some red fabric of different textures and make heart shapes. Then stuff them with newspaper to give them fullness. You can make several hearts and sew them together to form a larger heart which you can then add to a round piece of wire.

How about a valentine basket? Fill the basket with homemade heart shaped cookies. Be sure to use red icing; or even red food coloring would suffice. Add some Hershey chocolate kisses in red foil and set it out on your table for your family to enjoy. Using your baking skills to prepare a homemade valentine cake. You can even shape it into a heart. Surprise your family after dinner!

Make a valentine heart for your loved one by taking some red construction paper; glue; and write your heartfelt sentiment on it, then sprinkle colored sparkles on the glue and hang it so that your spouse can see it as soon as they walk in the door. You can even cut out tiny hearts with red construction paper and stream it across a wall in your home. Write notes of love on each one!

It doesn’t take much to make homemade valentines. Just imagination and a few items can really make a splash without having to spend a fortune. It’s the thought that counts!

By the time kids reach their teen years, so many things that parents do can seem sappy and dull. Gifts on Valentine’s Day can become one of those things. This year, give a gift that shows your teen that parental love is still a cool thing to have in their lives.

Teens these days are into vintage and eclectic things. This includes their clothes, shoes and gadgets. Think of a throwback gift that you can surprise your teen with that will get you a hug or at least a smile of gratitude. Remember the Rubiks cube or the magic 8 ball? These gifts are especially fun for a girl.

What about your son? He could use a Nerf football or basketball. Every boy should have an over-the-door basketball hoop in his room. Making a few baskets helps him to think over his problems or just let off some steam. He would enjoy the Rubiks cube or a Simon game. They now make these kinds of games pocket size and keychain size.

Find out what kids of movies, music celebrities, and games your kids like and get them some new posters. They’ll be surprised that you even know where to find those posters.

Gifts from the heart show that you are interested and care about their life and their passions. They may be interested in the guitar this week. Even though you have a sneaking suspicion that next week they will want to be an artist, give them a gift certificate for a few free guitar lessons. At least they will have a chance to try it out and see if they really want to play the guitar.

Girls and guys like jewelry. Surprise your daughter with a necklace and earring set in the color of her birthstone. Boys are usualy more into silver rings or necklaces. Instead of choosing a piece of jewelry for him, get a gift card to the jewelry store and let him pick out his own accessories.

Create some cards that they can redeem for free services around the house. If your teen is on the younger side, they might appreciate getting to stay up an extra half hour, a free movie, or a sleepover with friends. Older teens would like an extra half hour or hour out with friends on the weekends or extra driving time in the family car.

Give a special card to your teen. This card doesn’t have to come from a store. Handmade cards aren’t that hard, and you can be very creative with color and design. If handmade cards aren’t your thing and you have a card creating program on your computer, you can make it as lavish as you want. Express to them how you feel about them and how proud of them you are. A card is a keepsake that they can look back on in days, months and years to come and remind themselves of your feelings.

Valentine’s Day affections don’t have to be lost on your teen. Think of something that would interest them. They may act annoyed by it, but deep down they will cherish the sentiment forever.

Kids like to create things. Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to let them get creative. Here are some ideas to get them started.

If there are girls in your child’s class, jewelry is a good craft. Stores sell kits to create bracelets, necklaces and rings. Your kids can visit a craft store and choose their own necklace material and the beads to go on them. In keeping with the theme of the day, they can choose heart-shaped beads in various colors and a necklace material that is suitable for school age little girls. Create one necklace yourself so that they can see how it is done. Matching bracelets can be made using the same beads.

Kids can give their teachers a bouquet of roses. These aren’t just any roses! These special roses are made of tissue paper and wood dowels. Show kids how to fold the tissue paper and wrap it around the dowels. The flowers can be presented in a vase or with a ribbon tied around them. Get the details at TaterberryCottage.com

Candy is still the most popular thing to use for crafts. Instead of beads, use candy to create bracelets for boys in the class. Candy pieces can be strung over a piece of string. Itíll look nice at first and the boys can nibble on the candy throughout the day, kind of like a snack on the go.

Valentine’s Day crafts can be created for family members. If grandma is into flowers, kids can give them a flower pot with seeds and a little bag of potting soil. Using paints, kids can decorate the pots in red and pink hearts for true Valentine’s Day fashion.

Instead of buying packs of Valentine’s Day cards, let the kids use a card program and make their own for other members of the family. They can add whatever they want to the card. Some cards come blank for the kids to write what they want or with cute sayings already inside.

Kids can make Valentine’s Day decorations for the house to put everyone in the mood to express their love. Using a piece of string, construction paper, scissors and glue, they can create a banner to be hung in the kitchen or anywhere in the house. Each paper heart can contain one letter in the words “Valentine’s Day”.

Make arrows for the boys so that they can pretend to be Cupid. Instead of metal, use wooden skewers as the arrow. Styrofoam pieces in the shape of hearts can be painted red and stuck on the end of the skewer. Pieces of ribbon can be glued to the other end to act as feathers on the arrow. To create a quiver for the arrows, use an empty cereal box.

Your child can make a Valentine’s Day box for each child to hold their precious cards. The boxes can be purchased at a dollar store. If the boxes are not already decorated for the occasion, kids can use markers or paint to add hearts to the box. Write each childís name on the outside of the box. A piece or candy can be added to the box so that the kids donít open it and find it empty.

Valentine’s Day is fun for kids. They get to have a good time making crafts for others and enjoying gifts given to them.

Do you have a little artist in the house? This is a wonderful solution to store all of their fanciful creations!

My Place For Art is a large accordion file folder (in great kid colors) that will sort and store the creations of your budding artist – or artists – in an easy-to-access place that will not only keep everything contained, but keep their art accessible for years to come.

Take a look at My Place For Art today!

These picture wands are a great way for every little girl that attends to remember your daughter’s special day. They are very easy to make, and you just tape a picture into them during the party (Dad’s love to be stuck with this job – they can’t seem to take that much fairy fluff!) Here are the items that you will need to pick up at the store – we usually head to Michaels:

· 1 package of 20 dowels – pre-cut to around 12” long
· spray paint in the color of your daughter’s choice (we have done pink, purple, green, etc.)
· spray glitter or loose glitter
· Ribbons – you can choose either ¼“ ribbon or curling ribbon. Get a couple in each color you choose. I recommend at least 4 colors.
· Pre-painted wooden mini-frames – Michael’s carries these back in the wood section. They are about 3” tall.
· Hot glue gun
· Digital camera

Take the dowels outside & spray them with the color of your choice. They will need some time to dry between coats, so if it’s cold or rainy, use the garage. I usually place them in a cardboard box & shake it to roll them around to get all sides. If you are using plain glitter, pour some in the bottom of the box while you are painting the last couple of layers & shake the box to coat them. Spray glitter is easier to use, just wait until the paint is dry & spray the glitter as the final layer. Allow them to dry overnight.

Cut the ribbon into 2 ft. long strips. We usually use an assortment of curling ribbon, sheer ribbon & ¼” to 1/2 “ ribbons. Sometimes we even add a little pearl ribbon that you can find in the bridal section of most craft stores.

When the paint is totally dry, glue the dowel to the back side of the picture frame at one end. While the glue is still hot, select around 6 ribbon pieces & tie them around the dowel, just at the base of the frame. Set them aside to dry. On the day of the party, you can place them in a vase as part of the table decorations.
If there are older kids at the party, you can have the pre-painted dowels, ribbon & frames there for them to put together as a craft, however I would not recommend it for young kids – that hot glue gun gets hot!

When each guest arrives, take their picture – make sure you have a good close-up of their face. When everyone is there, let dad sneak upstairs to download & print off the pictures. Make sure they are sized to fit inside your picture frames. Once they are printed off & cut out, simply tape them to the back side of the frame. If you want a more “finished” look, you can tape or hot glue a piece of fabric on as a backing behind the picture.

Ta-da! You now have a wonderful party favor that will remind your daughter’s friends of her party for a very long time.
These also work great for a special craft for a pre-school or kindergarten class.