Kids Crafts Ideas and Instructions

This is a fun and easy project for small kids.
You can create a huge variety of ornaments for all the various holidays throughout the year.

You can use cookie cutters like Christmas trees & Gingerbread Men, and Easter Bunnies, Stars for Birthdays and 4th of July, Hearts for Valentines day, Clover for St. Patrick Day, and so on.

Just use a bit of imagination, some paint, or sparkles to brighten the ornaments up.

You can also punch a hole in the top of them with a plastic straw so that you can thread them up on ribbons for the Christmas tree, or to hang around the house.

Why not make some of the ornaments for gift tags, writing the name of the gift recipient on the ornament so that they have a keepsake token of the event.

EASY NO-BAKE CLAY FOR ORNAMENTS

1 cup cornstarch
1 1/4 cups cold water
2 cups baking soda
food coloring (optional)

Add the cornstarch, water, and baking soda in a medium saucepan and stir over medium heat for about 5 minutes.

Add food coloring, if using.

Remove from heat, turn on a plate and cover with a damp cloth. Let cool.

When cool knead like you would bread dough. Store in an airtight container.

Shape clay into whatever ornaments and shapes you desire.

You can also use cookie cutters to quickly create fast ornament designs to paint and decorate.

There are hundreds of great Craft ideas for kids when you look around and get creative!

These sweet baskets can be used to give your friends many gifts for every occasion, for example you can give:

Christmas Cookies,
Easter Eggs or Buns,
Halloween Candy,
Birthday Flowers or Pot Pourri,
Valentine Chocolates,
All sorts of little things, whatever the Holiday!

How to Make the Baskets:

Take two sheets of large construction paper and cut in circles the size of a large record or dinner plate.

Take a paintbrush and paint liquid starch generously on one of the circles.

Take the other circle and place neatly on top of the starched circle.

Then center the stuck-together circles over a mayonnaise jar with the lid on and pull down the sides and put a rubber band around the lid and the circles.

Flare out the edges of the circles and leave them on the jars over night.

They will look like fluted lampshades.

After they dry out overnight,take them off and turn them over.

You will have a frilly-looking basket, and it is sturdy too. Then the children can decorate it.

You can use wadded up pieces of tissue paper that they dip in glue and stick to their baskets.

You can make the baskets two tone by using two colors of paper.

You can also use large drinking glasses for a mold.

You can glue lace & ribbon bows on it for 'girly' gifts.

Paint or spray some glue that you can sprinkle glitter or stamp cutout shapes onto.

If you used a drinking glass as a mold for the basket, you can insert the glass back into the basket and add some flowers with a bit of water!

The handle can be a long pipe cleaner. Or simply cut and attach some firm cardboard.

Making all kinds of Decorative Gift Containers is great fun, and really impresses the person getting the gift.

Children enjoy making these colorful crepe paper streamers for sports days cheering their favorite team, or using while dancing, waving around at birthday parties or just having fun with a friend.

YOU WILL NEED:
* Pieces of Dowel, Rulers, Chopsticks or even sticks from the back yard
* Crepe Paper using a variety of colors
* Glue
* Scissors
* Paint if available

WHAT TO DO:
Assist your children while cutting the long length of crepe paper.

Have your children choose their colors, glue them from the end of the dowel, ruler, chopsticks or the back yard sticks.

If using the back yard sticks. Painting the sticks will dress your streamers up to look like the real thing.

Roll up the streamers tightly, and then release them letting the streamers unwind.

Show the children the wonderful colors displayed when the streamers are in motion.

Put some of the children's favorite music on and watch them dance with their colorful streamers. Running outside in the garden is most enjoyable.

Vegetable Printing

Cut various fruit and vegetables in half, allowing to dry on paper towels for at least an hour.

These fruits should be used within 2 days (lemons, oranges, onions, zucchini should dry 2-5 days).

Cover work table with old newspaper.

Brush paint on cut edge of fruit or vegetable.

Print design on water color paper. Cover with clear adhesive backed vinyl for a placement.

Print on 100% cotton fabric and heat set by ironing face down on paper towels. Sandwich the cotton fabric sit batting and a backing to make a pot holder.

Stitch around design, stitching through all three layers.

Make pictures, landscapes, designs, etc. Use your imagination for creative design ideas
Frame the results for wonderful presents.

All families have a huge collection of jigsaws, and they are great fun to complete.

But eventually you end up with boxes full of puzzles the kids no longer want to make up because too many pieces have gone missing.

Well, now at last there is a use for these jigsaw pieces! You can make wreaths for Christmas, Halloween, Easter, and make them for all the family as gifts from your kids.

Grandparents and Aunties will love receiving these fun and useful decorations, and your kids will be so proud to see them displayed!

How to Make Decorative Wreaths from Jigsaw Pieces:

Materials:
old puzzle pieces
glue
green good coloring
paper plate or cardboard
scissors
yarn
plastic wrap
various craft supplies

1. Mix four drops of green food coloring with a cup of white glue. Mix the green glue with all the puzzle pieces in a large bowl.

If the mixture seems too drippy add more puzzle pieces. Stir until the pieces are evenly coated with glue.

2. Cut the center out of a paper plate or cardboard to form a wreath shape.

Punch a hole in the edge of the rim and tie a piece of yarn through it to make a hanger.

3. Set the rim on a piece of plastic wrap on a flat surface where the wreath will be able to dry for several days without being moved.

Pile spoonfuls of the puzzle-piece mixture around the rim to form a three-dimensional wreath. You may not need to use all of the mixture.

Add or subtract pieces until the wreath looks right to you.

4. When the wreath has dried completely, you can decorate it by glueing on some artificial flowers.

You can use all sorts of seasonal or holiday decorations from the craft store.

This is a great creative activity with lots of wonderful color.

Your child will enjoy straw painting as they watch their master piece form many wonderful patterns.

Its lots of fun with magical art work, your child will be surprised and totally enjoy every colorful drop.

First test your Child's skill level for blowing through a straw; if not able to, your child will still enjoy using the straw as a paint brush.

What you will need
* News Paper
* Tempera paint
* Paper
* Drinking straws

What to do

Lay newspaper underneath the work, to reduce risk of splatter.

Drop a small amount of thin paint on a piece of paper.

Using the straw, have your child blow the paint around. Follow the new trickles of paint and keep blowing until the page looks like its covered with bright spiderwebs, or the page looks marbled.

Add a second and third color to make the art work more colorful.

You can also try different types of paper for different effects.

Folding the art work in half is also an interesting effect.