Tag Archives: kids crafts

Our Imaginations! Groovy Buttons!

Our Imaginations! Groovy Buttons!
Our Imaginations! Groovy Buttons!
Groovy Buttons

Groovy Buttons in different shapes and sizes

 

Read: Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin.

“Pete the Cat puts on his favorite shirt with four, big, colorful, round, groovy buttons.”

But one by one, the buttons pop off and roll away. He realizes that he doesn’t have any buttons on his favorite shirt:

4 – 1 = 3

3 – 1 = 2

2 – 1 =1

1 – 1 = 0

Pete the Cat’s button less shirt opens up and what does he see? His belly button!

What can you do with your buttons?

Project:

Use buttons to decorate…anything! Use your imagination!

List of things to decorate with buttons:

Journal cover

T-shirt

Sneakers

Picture frame

Sunglasses

Book bag or any kind of bag

Materials:

Glue

Lots of buttons

Needle and thread (if you know how to sew)

 

Alternative Project: Make your own buttons

Materials:

Modeling clay in different colors

Pencil

Make small balls and flatten them. Poke four holes in the center with the pencil. What will you do with your handmade buttons?

 

*copyright Art work by Marion Constantinides 2015

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Art Project for Kids: Sponge Painting

Art Project for Kids: Sponge Painting

Sponge Painting: The Sun

SPONGE PAINTING: THE SUN

Materials:

Household sponges in various shapes and sizes (Household sponges found in grocery stores can create interesting patterns and designs.)

Craft paints in various colors

Water jar

Paint palette or paper palette

Printing paper like bond or rice paper or sheets of canvas

Markers or colored pencils.

Project:

  1. Draw a design or picture on a piece of paper and use it as reference for the sponge painting. Or draw directly on the surface that you are going to paint, i.e., a sheet of canvas.
  2. Cut small pieces of the sponge from the larger sponge. To create an abstract design, snip tinier pieces from the divided pieces of the larger sponge.
  3. Squeeze the paints on the palette.
  4. Dampen the sponges and squeeze out the excess water.
  5. Dab the sponge in the paint and dab it on a piece of scrap paper to test the design and the amount of paint needed. A lot of paint on a sponge will create large blobs of color on the paper or canvas.
  6. With the design as reference, dab the paint on to the paper. Do not drag the sponge because that will smear the paint (unless smearing is the effect you want to create).
  7. Remember to wash and rinse the sponge to use again or use a separate sponge for each color.
  8. Continue until you have completed the painting. Add details with a marker or colored pencil when the paint is dry.

NOTE:  In the example above, the central design was painted first, then the background.

ADDITIONAL PROJECT:

Create a sponge painting on wood or stone.

Inspired by Arts and Crafts Activities Desk Book by Joyce Novis Laskin

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BUGS & THINGS: Lady Bugs

BUGS & THINGS: Lady Bugs
LADY BUG

LADY BUG

LADY BUGS

Lady bugs are bright red with black spots. Their bright red color tells predators to stay away from lady bugs: they smell bad. Their short legs and antennae help them sense the world around them. There are some 5,000 species of ladybugs. Some of them eat plants and all of them eat plant-eating pests.

 

Materials:

Craft knife

3” Styrofoam ball

2” Styrofoam ball

Red craft paint (or color of choice)

Black craft paint (or color of choice)

Red felt

Black felt

Patterns (provided)

White glue

2 black pipe cleaners

Scissors

 

Project:

  1. Cut 1/2” from the bottom of a 3” Styrofoam ball. This will enable the lady bug to stand. Cut ¼” from the bottom of the 2” Styrofoam ball.
  2. Paint the Styrofoam ball. Use the traditional red for the body of the lady bug or use a different color. Use your imagination! Paint the 2” head black or use another color.
  3. The patterns provided include a pattern for the wings. Trace the circle on to the red felt and cut. Then cut the circle in half.
  4. There are also patterns for the dots on the lady bug. The dots are usually black but you can use another color for fun. Cut the pattern and trace four dots on the felt. Cut.
  5. Cut the pattern for the stripe down the back. Trace and cut a ¼” x 5” strip of black felt (or color of choice).
  6. Make sure the paint on the Styrofoam ball is dry. Draw a line of glue down the length of the strip and place it along the length the 3” ball.
  7. Place a wing on the 3” ball so it runs along the length of the strip and is even with the top of the strip. Glue only the top edge of the wing to the 3” ball.
  8. Glue the cut end of the 2” ball to the top of the 3’’ ball over the glued ends of the wings.
  9. Cut two 3” lengths of  pipe cleaner and push one end of each stem into the top of the head. Add a little bit of glue to secure the antennae. Bend and shape the ends into little round circles.
  10. Cut a strip of red felt or other color 1 1/2” x 1/8” wide for the mouth. Glue the mouth and the eyes to the face.

.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Delano, Marte Ferguson. National Geographic Kids/Butterflies. Washington DC: National Geographic for Kids.

Greensburg, David T. Bugs! NY: Little, Brown and Company. 1997.

Jackson, Demi.  Guess That Animal! Name That Bug! NY: Gareth Stevens Publishing, 2017.

McKissack, Patricia and Frederick. Bugs! Chicago: Children’s Press, 1988.

Parker, Nancy Winslow and Wright, Joan Richards. Bugs. NY: Greenwillow, 1987.

Simon, Seymour. Butterflies. NY: Collins, 2011.

Singer, Marilyn. Caterpillars. Waynesville, MC: Early Light Books, Inc., 2011.

Taylor, Barbara, ed. 1000 Facts on Bugs. NY: Miles Kelly Publishing, 2005.

 

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KID’S CRAFTS: Red,White and Blue Banner

KID’S CRAFTS: Red,White and Blue Banner

Fourth of July Banner

Red, White and Blue Banner

Ages: 5 – 12 years

Time: one hour

MATERIALS:

White felt 14” x 18”

Red, white, blue craft foam sheets

Sharp tool like an awl

¼” red, white and blue ribbon

Dowel rod 18”

String – double the length of the dowel rod

Measure and cut white felt to 14” x 20”. Place felt horizontally. Make a loop by measuring and folding and ironing a 1” seam. Measure and fold a second 1” seam. Iron and glue the second fold. You will be inserting the dowel rod through this loop. (This piece of felt should now measure  14” x 16”.)

Using templates or stencils trace the large star pattern and cut one large star out of the white craft foam sheet. Cut 13 smaller stars out of the white craft foam using the smaller star pattern. Trace and cut a large circle out of the blue craft foam sheet. Glue the large star in the center. Arrange the smaller stars around the circle. Make sure that they all face the same way. Lay aside.

Measure and cut 7 stripes ¾” x 16” out of the red craft foam sheet. Arrange the stripes on the banner so that there is a ¾” stripe of white felt showing between them. (Refer to the photo of the banner.) Glue the stripes down and trim if necessary.

Glue the blue circle with the stars in the center of the red and white stripes.

At the bottom of the banner, poke holes every 1” with a sharp tool like an awl. (Small children should let adults do this for them.) Insert the ribbon in the holes, alternating the colors. Pull the ribbon through and tie a knot in the back.

Trim the dowel rod to 18”. Cut a piece of string to a length suitable for hanging. Tie the string to each end of the dowel rod. The first Fourth of July celebration occurred in Philadelphia, PA. Eventually, all the states celebrated the holiday which included parades, picnics, military displays and fireworks.

VARIATION: You can also hang your banner on Memorial Day or Labo

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Indigenous Crafts: Mexican Bark Paintings

Indigenous Crafts: Mexican Bark Paintings
Mexican Bark Painting

Mexican Bark Painting

Latin American bark paintings depict birds, fish, sea horses, alpaca, armadillo, and flowers like marigolds, roses, hibiscus and sunflowers. Consider combinations of these objects when creating your design for the bark painting.

MATERIALS:

White drawing paper

Tracing paper

Pencil

Permanent black fine-line felt-tipped marker

Acrylic paints – bright colors of choice

Paint brushes

Shellac

Large paint brush

1/4 inch thick piece of plywood 8” x 10”

PROJECT:

  1. Draw your design on a piece of white paper. Then place the tracing paper on the drawing. Trace your design on to the tracing paper.
  2. Blacken the back side of the tracing paper and place it blackened side down on the plywood. Tape it down.
  3. Go over the design on the tracing paper with a pencil by pressing down hard. Remove the tracing paper and go over the lines on the plywood with the black marker. (They should show up on the plywood. Take a peek under one corner of the papers first to see if an impression was made.)
  4. Color the designs with the paints. Make it colorful like real Mexican bark paintings. Allow to dry.
  5. Layer a coat of shellac over the painting to make it shine and to protect it. Mexican bark paintings are colorful. Hang it up in a prominent place.
Mexican Banana Bark Painting

Mexican Banana Bark Painting

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Indigenous Crafts: Dream-catchers

Indigenous Crafts: Dream-catchers
Dream-catchers

Dream-catchers

The Lakota hang dream-catchers where they sleep or over the cradles of babies. Good dreams go through the hole in the center of the dream-catcher while bad dreams are caught in the webbing like flies in a spider web.

MATERIALS:

6 inch embroidery hoop or large metal ring

2 yards of string or yarn

Beads, wood, feathers

Scissors

Glue

PROJECT:

  1. With a pencil make 8 equidistant marks around the embroidery hoop. If using a metal ring, make the marks with the black marker.
  2. Knot one end of the string or yarn on one of the marks. Leave about 3 inches hanging.
  3. Tie the yarn to the next mark and so on until there is yarn looped to each mark.
  4. Tie and loop the string from the middle of one loop to the middle of the next. Do not pull the string or yarn tightly. Continue to loop in this way making three or four rows of loops while occasionally stringing a bead. This is optional.
  5. When only a small “hole” is left in the center, pull the string tightly and knot the end of the string to the previous row. Tie a second knot to prevent unraveling. Trim excess string. A bit of glue will reinforce the knot. This is optional.
  6. Take the original 3 inch piece of string and tie it to the inside of the web. Tie a second knot and trim any excess. A bit of glue will reinforce the second knot.
  7. Tie a piece of string about 5 inches or more to the bottom of the dream-catcher. Toward the bottom half of the string loop two or three (or more) beads and tie a knot. Leave enough string to tie around the tip of a feather. You can make as many as two or three of these but vary the lengths to make a more interesting design.
  8. Reinforce the knots if necessary with glue. Insert feathers into the web of the dream-catcher. This is optional.
  9. Tie a loop of the string or yarn at the top of the dream-catcher so you can hang it up.

NATIVE AMERICAN ART – A BRIEF INTRODUCTION

Native Americans imbued art into everyday objects: baskets, textiles/weaving and pottery. They placed all their hopes and fears into their art. Colors, patterns and symbols reflected their views of the creator and the inner spirit of people and animals.  These colors, shapes and symbols held different meanings for different tribes but some general meanings apply.

Colors:

Blue: female, moon, sky, water, thunder, sadness

Black: male, cold, night, disease, death, underworld

Green: earth, summer, rain, plants

Red: war, day, bold, wounds, sunset

White: winter, death, snow

Yellow: day, dawn, sunshine

Shapes:

Curves and spirals

Parallel lines

Flowing lines, i.e. plants and flowers

Birds, fish and human faces

Triangles, rectangles, squares and other geometric shapes

Bibliography

Haslam, Andrew. Make It Work! Native Americans. Minnetonka, MN: Two Can Publishing, 1995.

Gooch, Randall and Temko, Florence. Traditional Crafts from Native North America. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications, 1996.

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Lazy Day Crafts: Weaving With a Simple Frame

Lazy Day Crafts: Weaving With a Simple Frame

 

Materials:

Cardboard

String

Ruler

Pencil/eraser

Scissors

Yarn

Large-eyed tapestry needle (optional)

Ribbon

Feathers

Wool

Strips of fabric

Leaves

Twigs

String

  1. Weaving consists of a warp and a weft. The warp comprises the vertical strings of the loom while the weft consists of the yarn horizontally interlaced through the weft. Take a piece of strong cardboard. Measure and cut ¼” incisions at regular intervals of ¼” to 1/8” on both ends of the cardboard.
  2. To make the warp: Take heavy string (i.e., kite string) and make a knot at one end. Stretch a continuous length of string across the cardboard. In other words, loop the string from one end of the cardboard to the other and back up again. When finished, cut and make a knot in the back or tape it to the back of the cardboard. Always leave a little extra string for knotting at either end.
  3. To make the weft: Think of a theme or a design for the weaving. The design is up to you! Use a variety of materials to weave in and out as you did with the paper weaving. Start with about an inch and a half of warp at the bottom. Make sure strips of material alternate with each row.  Roll the material into a ball if possible and pass it through the warp back and forth for several rows depending on the design. Tuck the end in the back of the warp. Do not tie a knot.
  4. Tips: You can using the tapestry needle to weave. A ruler will help you if the warp so you can pass material through easily but you must lift every other string.
  5.  When weaving is finished, cut any loose thread in the back of the warp but don’t cut too close to the weft.
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Lazy Day Crafts: Papier Mache Dragon

Lazy Day Crafts: Papier Mache Dragon

Materials:

Newspaper, cut into strips

Scissors

Wall paper paste or white glue slightly thinned

Containers for water and paste

½ egg carton preferably made of paper or cardboard

4 – 6 oz paper cup

Masking tape

Bond or construction paper

Green acrylic or poster paint or any color you choose for your dragon

Glitter, buttons, tissue paper, wiggle eyes, foil, etc

Paint brushes

Paper towels

 

  1. Cover your work space with newspaper. Cut egg carton in half and tape it shut. Tape the paper cup to one end of the carton. (This will be the head of the dragon.) Make a long tube with the construction paper and tape it to the other end of the carton. (This will be the tail of the dragon.)
  2. Cut newspaper into strips.
  3. Read the directions on the label for using wallpaper paste. Mix wallpaper paste with water and stir. Pour into container.
  4. Dip strips into paste mixture. Allow excess paste to drip off into container. Apply to the dragon mock-up. Apply two or three layers. Allow to dry. Add more layers if needed and apply them when the first three layers are dry. Dry thoroughly.
  5. Paint the dragon with acrylic or poster paint. Allow the paint to dry.
  6. Decorated the papier-mache dragon with a variety of embellishments. Use your imagination!

 

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Lazy Day Crafts: Paper Weaving

Lazy Day Crafts: Paper Weaving

Materials:

Large sheet of paper for the frame of the mock loom

Two or three different colored and/or pattered papers

Scissors

Ruler

Pencil with eraser

Glue stick or scotch tape

  1. Fold paper in half. (Paper length can measure from 8 ½” x 11” and up.)  Draw lines ¼” to ¾” apart down the length of the fold.
  2. Make incisions with the scissors, starting from the fold up to ½” of the edges of the paper. (Draw a straight line at the ½” mark for an even cut.) Cut up to the ½” margin. This is the weaving “frame” or “loom.”
  3. Measure and cut strips of paper to weave in and out of the paper loom. Make sure the length is a little longer than the width of the loom.
  4. Choose two or three different colored papers to weave through the paper loom. Alternate the in-and-out pattern with each row. (Refer to photograph.)
  5. Trim loose ends and glue down using a glue stick or tape on the back of the paper loom.
  6. Paper weaving makes great place mats! What else can you do with your paper weaving?
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Lazy Day Crafts: Paper Bag Buddies

Lazy Day Crafts: Paper Bag Buddies
Paper Bag Buddies

Paper Bag Buddies

Materials:

Lunch size paper bags, brown or white

Newspaper

String

Tape

Scraps of construction paper

Paste or glue

Ribbon and/or yarn

Sequins, buttons, seeds (for eyes, nose mouth)

Crayon and/or markers and/or colored pencils

Clip art

Scissors

Pipe cleaners (for whiskers)

Wiggle eyes

 

Project:

  1. Choose the pet or animal you will make
  2. Stuff 1/3 of the bag tightly with crumbled or strips of newspaper to form the head (about two or three sheets).
  3. Gather the bag at the base of the head. Tie it securely with string or yarn.
  4. Stuff the rest of the bag with more newspaper and tape the bottom of the bag closed.
  5. Cut eyes, nose, mouth, and paws from construction paper or use sequins, buttons or seeds. Use pipe cleaners for the whiskers.
  6. Tie a ribbon or piece of yarn around the neck.
  7. Add buttons or other decorations to dress up you paper bag pet.

Alternative Project:

Make a paper bag person. Use yarn for hair and wiggle eyes. Follow the directions above.

 

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