Archive for the ‘Crafts’ Category

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Using die cuts to make unique crafts

Friday, December 31st, 2010

A great way to make your scrapbooks, pictures, greeting cards, announcements, and other things stand out you should consider using die cuts. You can purchase pre-made die cuts to add to your crafts or you can purchase a die cut craft machine to create your own. Die cut machines average around $250 or more but for a serious crafter, they are a worthwhile investment. Depending upon the type of crafts you want to create you can purchase a die cut machine that is manual, electronic, or computerized. They are extremely easy to use and they can add a lot to your crafts. Here are some tips on how you can use die cuts and how you can create them:

Premade die cuts
If you are using die cuts for your scrapbook or other crafts, the premade ones are easy to find at any craft store. You can even find some great websites that offer die cut templates you can download and print off from your computer. Use cardstock paper if you are printing out your own die cuts as it’s easier to work with and it’s really sturdy. The die cuts you purchase at craft stores are always made with sturdy paper so you don’t need to worry much about them ripping. Once you print the die cuts, you need to cut them out with a good pair of scissors that won’t fray the edges. Arrange the die cuts on your scrapbooking pages in a manner that looks good to you and then glue them on with some Elmer’s glue. Double stick tape also works good to secure the die cuts in place. Before you add the die cuts to your scrapbooking pages, consider adding some glitter and other fun decorations to them. This will make them stand out and look nicer on your crafting projects.

Using a die cut machine
If you purchase an electronic die cut machine, you need to be careful that it is in an area where your children cannot reach it. The manual machines are easy to use and very portable, which is great if you are planning to host scrapbooking parties or attend a few parties. There are die cut machines for kids so if your children are interested, purchase one of these machines for them as they are easy to use and they won’t pinch their fingers. You can find die cut machines online or at your local craft store.

The nice thing about using the electronic die cut machines is that they usually offer several different die cuts to choose from so you aren’t stuck with just 5 patterns or less. The electronic machines are usually pretty easy to use and they are also extremely portable like the manual ones so you can take them to a scrapbooking event.

If you don’t want to invest $500 in a top notch die cut machine, your best option is to look into the computer die cut machines. The computer machines range with software that you can install on your existing computer or you can buy a computer that specializes specifically in die cutting.

Why use die cuts?
Die cuts have taken the place of stamps and some of the outdated crafting ideas. Now die cuts are easier to create than ever before and they help to add depth to scrapbooking pages and to create unique cards, announcements, and other fun things. With just a few minutes and a little creativity you can easily make unique crafting materials to share with  your loved ones and to make your scrapbooks and other things stand out nicely.

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Transform paper into art

Thursday, December 30th, 2010

Paper can be transformed into literally anything you want. Besides recycling your scrap paper, you can find a number of other uses for it like making paper mache, homemade crafts, and other fun crafts to share with your loved ones. In order to come up with some fun crafts to share with your loved ones, you will need to explore your creativity to create nice works of art that you can be proud of. Here are some basic tools you need to transform paper into art:

  • Scissors. Try to find multiple cuts of scissors so you can create unique cuts for paper borders and other things. You will need to keep your scissors only for crafting in order to keep them sharp.
  • A paper table. You need a table to work on that you can get dirty with glue, paint, and many other things. There are self-healing cutting mats you can purchase specifically for your paper cutting projects.
  • Rulers. In order to make straight cuts using a ruler. A ruler allows you to draw on the paper with a pencil so you can see exactly where you need to cut.
  • Pencils. It helps to have pencils so you can lightly draw on the paper and figure out where you need to cut.
  • Straight edge tool. A great way to make perfect cuts is with a straight edge tool. You can find smaller ones that allow the blade to slide up and down so you don’t need to worry about your kids chopping off their fingers with the large blade. A straight edge provides accurate measurements and perfect edges, allowing your project to look perfect.
  • Paint and other coloring objects to write on the paper for your different projects.

Check out some crafting books and magazines to learn about some paper crafts you can create. Paper crafts range from paper folding and creating flowers and fun things like this to scrapbooks, collage projects, and many other things. You should also consider taking a course on paper art so you can learn some new skills to share with others. It’s nice to attend a class because it will be easier for you to teach your children when you know exactly what you are doing. Here are a few fun paper crafts to create:

Placemats
Using paper you can create placemats for your table. Look into a few different types of paper to create unique placemats. You will need some contact paper to place over the paper in order to keep it safe and protected. Some people prefer to just laminate the paper placemats if they aren’t too thick because this allows you to get all of the air bubbles out. Create themed placemats for the different holidays, birthdays, and other events throughout the year to make your table stand out.

Scrapbook
Paper provides you with a number of different ideas when you are creating a scrapbook. Purchase several different types of paper like cardstock, vellum, and many other things that will allow you to create unique scrapbook pages. Purchase some scrapbooking books in order to find some great ideas on how you can create unique scrapbooking pages. Try using die cuts and multiple sheets of paper all cut to different lengths and sizes for the pages as this helps to add depth to your pages. It’s easy to do as is paper tearing, this is a common scrapbooking method to add depth to pages and to make the scrapbooks have a themed page like a forest or beach. Hang onto scrap paper because you can easily cut it to create frames behind and around your pictures in the scrapbook.

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The real reason why your kids need craft time

Wednesday, December 29th, 2010

Crafting is an important part of every child’s education and development. Crafting helps to teach children how to be creative and it teaches them patience, which is a needed skill that many children lack. One of the main reasons why so many doctors urge parents to participate in craft time with their children is because it helps to build a bond between the parents and the children. Far too often parents are not spending time with their children in today’s society and many children suffer from neglect. Sitting down for even 30 minutes a day with your child to focus on crafting can strengthen your bond with your kids and improve their self-esteem and self-worth.

No matter if you have toddlers or teenagers, craft time can provide you with some great one-on-one time with your kids. Spending quality time together is extremely important to develop strong relationships with your children. Sitting down with your children and focusing on spending quality time with them is easy to do and it provides you with time to discuss struggles they may be having in school and other things that are bothering them.

What are some fun crafting activities you can do with your children? Sit down and discuss a few with them. Young children love to get dirty and finger painting is always a delight to them. They also love to create things with clay, markers, chalk, etc. Older children may enjoy learning how to create meals and bake a number of things like coconut bread. Give your child a chance to come up with their own ideas pertaining to craft time as this provides them with freedom to explore their own creativity. This will help to develop strong neural connections and can help your children develop strong reasoning skills and other needed skills to get by in life.

The one thing you need to work on is complimenting the child no matter what the craft looks like. Some crafts may turn out wonderful while other aren’t going to turn out exactly as they’d hoped. Make sure you take time to sit down and talk to them and continue to encourage them as they do the craft. Don’t let them throw a temper tantrum and destroy everything when they just don’t quite get it. What you need to do is just talk to them and offer your help and support as they do the craft and try to prevent a temper tantrum from occurring by offering help when you see they may be getting a little frustrated.

Young children learn a number of necessary skills when they are working on crafts, one of which is hand-eye coordination. This is a needed skill when they are younger that will continue on clear into adulthood. As your child starts to develop stronger hand-eye coordination you want to be sure you continue to increase the difficulty of the crafting projects. When they are young, work with larger beads to create things like animals and even jewelry. As they get older, increase the level of difficulty of the beaded objects by using smaller beads and be sure to research a few different beaded things that are harder to create like bags, purses, necklaces, and bracelets.

Not only is crafting great for developing patience and hand-eye coordination, it is also necessary for developing their reasoning and listening skills and it also teaches them to follow directions.

To make the crafting projects easier on you and your kids, make sure you have all the necessary supplies and directions to follow. A good idea is to purchase crafting kits and do one yourself to make sure you completely understand it before you teach it to your kids.

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Teenage crafting ideas

Tuesday, December 28th, 2010

Do you need some teenage crafting projects? Just like younger children, crafting projects help to stimulate strong neural connections in the brain and it helps to teach teens patience, a skill that many of them struggle with. The problem many parents and teacher face with teens is that they often look upon crafting projects as boring or a waste of time. How can you come up with some fun teenage crafting projects that will energize and boost your teen’s neural connections? Here are some great teenage crafting projects to consider:

Soap Making
A lot of teens actually have fun creating soap. This is a fun craft to do if you are teaching them emergency preparedness skills. You will need to work with lye, which can burn the skin so you need to be extremely careful and wear thick plastic gloves and protective clothing. Here are the steps to make soap:
1.    Use a plastic soap container and mix in the lye in a 1:3 ratio. Always add the lye to water, the normal amount is 11 ounces of lye for 33 ounces of water. Make sure you are mixing this in an open area and keep the window open because of the fumes.
2.    Allow the lye to cool and then you will need to leave it for about 24 hours. During this time you need to measure out the oils and lard that will be added to the lye mixture. Place it on a hot stove until they blend together completely. Gently stir the mixture and then once it has heated to 130 degrees you will add the lye mixture to the fat.
3.    Once you have mixed it together for about 5 minutes you can then add the fragrance to the soap and then add the coloring dye.
4.    Now you will pour the soap mixture into molds and allow it to cool and sit for about 24 hours. The soap is now ready for use!

Pillows
Another fun teen craft project is to create pillows. Using your old scrap fabric, you can have your teens create fun pillows. An easy pillow to create is a heart. This is a fun pillow for Valentine’s Day. Using some pink or red fabric, cut out two heart shapes, you may want to consider adding some words to the outside like “Mom” or “I Love You”. You will need a sewing machine for this project. Now turn the fabric inside out and sew all the sides together, leaving one side open so you can stuff some batting inside. Now you will flip the pillow back into the correct order so the seams are not sticking out. Stuff the pillow full of cotton or batting and then stitch the last portion together and you now have a fun heart-shaped pillow. Check out some books from your local library to come up with some fun patterns to share with your tens so they can create unique pillows to display in their room or share with their friends or family.

Painting
It’s always fun to paint something unique. You can use acrylic paint to make unique paintings to display. Even watercolor paintings are fun to create for teens and they provide them with the opportunity to relax and become creative. One idea to consider is to have your teen help you paint the walls in your home. If you have an empty wall in the basement, allow your teen to become creative and paint a unique mural. You will be impressed to see the painting skills your teen has developed since their early years and it will be fun to watch their personalities come out as they paint.

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Teaching your kids how to do origami

Monday, December 27th, 2010

Origami is a fun paper craft that kids can use to create fun and creative craft projects. Many people that hear of origami usually use this paper folding craft to create flowers and other and animals. In order to teach children how to do origami is to learn how to do it yourself. It is important for you to pick out some simple origami projects to do and practice them multiple times so you can easily teach your children how to do it.

The easiest way to learn origami is to check out a few books from your local library on how to do origami so you can learn how to do it. Look for books that have illustrations as they are easier to learn from when you are trying to learn and understand how to do origami.

Many people participate in origami as it helps children develop necessary skills that provide them with a well-rounded education. Origami stimulates strong neural connections to form in the brain and they help to challenge children to use their creativity.

Some of the benefits you can expect from origami include the following:

  • Patience. When you teach children how to do origami, they are learning how to become patient. It takes time to figure out how to fold paper correctly and how it will be able to create a unique object if they are patient.
  • Reasoning skills. Many people love origami because it teaches reasoning skills. As you fold in different patterns, it helps to strengthen your mathematical skills and provides you with stronger reasoning capabilities.

Fortune teller
Young girls often use this fun device to predict their future and their friend’s future. You can often see them counting with the device to predict which boys in school like them and fun things like that. To make the origami fortune teller you will need a square piece of paper and fold into two diagonal pieces. Once you have done this you will then fold all the edges in toward the center. Fold all the corners into the paper and then fold the paper in half. Turn the paper over and fold it in half from top to bottom. Now you can then write all the numbers on paper and the colors on the inside and the names or answers on the very inside to find out your “destiny”.

Origami Boat
Another popular origami paper craft to create is a boat. If you construct the boat correctly it will be able to float. To create an origami boat you will take a rectangular sheet of paper and fold it into 2 equal halves. Now you will fold it again in half to make it look like a handkerchief. Once you have done this you will open the second fold and then form a crease in the middle and then make two triangles that are on the same side. The triangles should have one side that touches the center crease and it should look like a house. Now you want to fold the lower rectangular edges outward and then you will open this fold and it will make a hat. Bring the corners of the hat together and push it out to make a square and then flip it over so it will form a boat. If your children are going to be placing the boat into water it may be a wise idea to consider placing some contact paper on the bottom of the boat or be sure to wrap it in plastic so it won’t get damaged and sink into the water.

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Simple craft projects for kids

Sunday, December 26th, 2010

Children love craft projects as it provides them with something fun to do and it helps to develop their brain power. Providing your child with a fun craft project offers them a chance to strengthen and develop their creativity. This article will provide you with some fun craft projects for kids that are easy to do.

Greeting cards
Take your children on a fun walk outside where they can gather up leaves that they can mix together and develop some fun greeting cards. You will need some paper, leaves, crayons, glue, scissors, glitter, decorative stickers and beads. The first thing to do is to provide each child with a piece of paper, cardstock paper is the best as it can handle glue and other heavy objects on them. Allow your children to cut up the paper however they would like. This will make the greeting card personal to your child and it provides them with a unique look to the card. Once the children have cut up their paper, provide them with leaves, glitter, stickers, and other things to decorate the card. Stick the leaves onto the paper using the glue or you can even have your child decorate the card and write their message on it and then use contact paper to stick the leaves to the paper.

Fingertip pictures
Every child loves to get messy and create pictures to share with their parents. Fingertip pictures are easy to create using an ink pad or acrylic paint. Provide your child with a large piece of paper or help them create unique things like greeting cards or gift tags. Give your children the ink pad so they can get their fingers messy and stick it onto the paper to develop their own fun and unique crafts. A fun design to make with fingertip pictures is a fish bowl. Creating fish with fingertips is enjoyable for children as they are fascinated by animals and it is exciting for them to mimic something they have seen.

Collages
It is fun for children to create fun collages. A collage allows children to become quite creative as they can randomly select pictures and other things to develop a unique piece of art. Alphabet collages are a lot of fun to create as you can have your child select all the different pictures that match up with the different letters in the alphabet. Give your child the power to select their own theme for their collages as they will have a stronger connection and tie to the collages. Use scissors to cut out the pictures and to create them into unique designs. Glue them all to the paper and consider using some contact paper to secure the images together and to make the collages last for several years.

Creative envelopes
A great way to teach your children a new craft is to grab some paper and create unique envelopes or you can use existing envelopes to develop new envelopes. Have your child decorate the envelope using crayons, markers, and other fun things like stickers. You can make creative envelopes that you can pass out or use during singing time with your children. Have each child come up with a unique animal of their choice and then you can transform an envelope into a unique animal or design. For this example we will use a cat. You will need construction paper, wiggly eyes, felt, and many other things to create whiskers, eyes, etc. Seal the envelope and then glue all of the objects onto the envelope. Your children can draw on a nose or they can use fabric to create the face of the cat.

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Preschool arts and crafts time

Friday, December 24th, 2010

Preschoolers grow and develop rapidly. One of the most important things you can do with your preschooler is to participate in arts and crafts time. Arts and crafts time provide your children with an excellent opportunity to grow and develop. It helps to strengthen their developmental skills, providing them with an opportunity to expand their mind and to have fun while doing so. Whether you are teaching a group of preschoolers or you are teaching your own children, here are some wonderful preschool arts and craft time activities you can do:

Fishy Beanbags
Preschoolers love animals and they love fish. Try taking your preschooler to an aquarium to let them see a number of different fish and to pet stingrays and other aquatic animals. Sitting down with your children and creating your own fish beanbags is a lot of fun for them. Here are the essential supplies you need in order to get started:
    Tube socks
    Markers
    Glue
    Yarn
    Felt scraps
    Wiggly eyes
    Dried beans

Now what you will do is pull out the tube socks and have the children place beans inside. You want to full up the tube sock pretty well until it is about 3/4th full of beans. Use the yarn to tie a knot in the socks. Try to make the socks have a tail at the end. Use scissors to cut the ends of the socks to try and shape it into the tail of a fish. Now use the wiggly eyes to glue onto both sides of the sock. You can then use the felt scraps to make a mouth or you can draw eyes and a mouth on the fish. The market or felt scraps can also help you create gills on the sock for the fish. Let your children decorate the fish however they like and you then have a completed fishy beanbag for your kids to play with.

Tootsie Roll Ghosts
Another fun way to sit down and enjoy arts and crafts time with your children is to purchase some tootsie rolls. Using Kleenex or white fabric, cover the tootsie rolls and then use yarn to tie it together. Now you will use some markers to draw eyes on the tootsie rolls and you have some cute tootsie rolls ghosts to pass out at Halloween.

Macaroni Jewelry
Preschoolers love to play with macaroni and creating macaroni jewelry. To create some fun jewelry, here are some of the essential supplies you need to get started:
    Tube macaroni
    Glitter
    Thread
    Color markers
    Glue

The first thing you will do is have the kids use color markers to decorate the macaroni. Coat the macaroni in glue and then sprinkle the macaroni pieces. Once the macaroni has dried, string them onto the thread. After you have placed enough macaroni on the thread to create a necklace or a bracelet, tie a knot in the thread and your jewelry is ready to be worn.

Singing time
Although singing may not be considered a craft, it is one of the best ways to teach your child and to help their skills grow and develop. Sit down with the preschoolers and teach them itsy bitsy spiders and other fun songs that require them to learn some fun hand gestures. Look for songs that include sign language that you can teach your children. Working with your child to develop body actions while you are singing songs as this will provide them with great memory skills and observation skills.

There are some wonderful activities and arts and crafts you can do with your preschoolers to help them develop new skills. Spend some time with your children daily to help them learn these skills.

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Pine cone craft ideas

Thursday, December 23rd, 2010

Pine cones are wonderful items to use to create a number of different crafts. From simple crafts like a bird feeder to complex crafts candle holders and flowers, there are a number of different options you have available. Do you have pine cones in your backyard? Chances are they are probably the smaller pinecones, which can work for some crafts but you need to look into the larger pinecones to create unique crafts. You can purchase these large pinecones at your local craft store or you can collect some in the mountains as long as they are not protected by the state or national forest service.

Bird feeders
Do you have young children? A great craft to create with them is a bird feeder. Use a large pine cone and coat it with a lot of peanut butter. Once you have done this, roll the pinecone in birdseed and then hang it outside on a tree. Try to place it close to a branch so the birds can stand close and eat it. This is a easy craft to make and kids will love checking on the bird feeder daily to see if the birds are coming by to eat the food.

Ornaments
You often see people with pine cone ornaments on their Christmas tree. Use some large or small pinecones to add to the Christmas tree, you will simply need to use some string and glue it to the top of the pine cone and then hang it on the tree. To make the pine cones stand out, try spraying them with some fake snow or add a thin layer of glitter on them. Some people like to paint them in gold and silver and then place them on the tree. Experiment with different colors and decorations to see how they look on your Christmas tree.

Centerpieces
It’s easy to create a pinecone centerpiece for your table. Gather up several different pinecones and then use some garland or fake tree branches to create the body of the centerpiece. Consider adding a few candles with the centerpiece to make it festive. Now you will need to place the candles however you would like, stick with about 3-4 candles that are all different heights. Once you have the candles in place, arrange some of the pinecones around the base of the candles. Glue them down so they can support the candle and prevent it from falling and causing a fire. Add some fake flowers, holly berries, and other fun trinkets to the centerpiece to make it original and unique.

An easy way to create a pine cone centerpiece is to grab a large glass vase or a glass bowl and arrange the pinecones inside. It’s easy and it looks really nice on a plain table.

Potpourri
Pinecones can be a lovely addition to your home just the way they are. Dip the pinecones in cinnamon wax to have them provide a delicious smell to your home. If you don’t want to use wax you can also purchase some sprays for the pinecones so you can spray the smell directly onto the pinecone and add a nice smell to your home.

Pine cone flowers
Pine cones have a number of possibilities. You can easily create flowers with the pinecones by using the scales from the pine cones. Cut the pine cone’s base, working from the base to the top. You will need a few scales from several different pine cones as they will be used to make flowers. Using card stock, cut a 1″ circle and then arrange the scales to form a flower. Once you have done this you will then create a stem for the flower using sticks and painting them green. Slap a magnet on the back of the pine cone flower and you have a decorative magnet for your fridge.

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Paper bag puppet crafts for kids

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010

Children love to make fun crafts to share with their family members. When you sit down and create fun crafts with your child, it will help them explore their creative side and develop new skills. One of the easiest crafts to create with your child is a paper bag craft. Puppets are easy to make and fun for kids.

Why do children love puppets? Many times children will use puppets to create animals and even friends with their puppets. It gives them the chance to create puppets to share with their friends and explore their creative side. Children often learn how to interact with other children because of puppets as they help them develop social skills. Puppets can be used to overcome shyness and any fears that some children often experience when they are placed into new situations.

To start making paper bad puppets begin with something simple like an animal. Here are the supplies you will need to create paper bag puppets:

  • Paper bags that you use for sack lunches. You can purchase them in brown or white.
  • Markers
  • Construction paper
  • Scraps of fabric
  • Wiggly eyes
  • Acrylic paint
  • Crayons
  • Colored yarns
  • Children’s safety scissors
  • Elmer’s glue
  • Buttons and beads and other fun things to decorate the puppet

Your kids can draw on the animal faces themselves or you can choose to use templates that create the animals. Print out some templates from the internet and cut them out to create the animals that you can glue on the paper bags. Clown faces are a popular option when you are making paper bags.

The mouth of the puppet will be the flap of the paper bag. Use red markers to create the mouth of the puppet because they are easier to use than fabric. Fabric is harder to work with on the mouth because you need to move the flap multiple times to make the puppet talk. To make the mouth a lot of fun, glue a tongue onto the monster.

Now you will lay the paper bag on the ground and then glue the ears to the paper bag. Once the ears are glued onto the paper bag you can then color the ears in with some pink markers or you can use felt or some construction paper to create the ears. Wiggly eyes are another wonderful option for the paper bag puppet as they help to give it some personality.

Felt can be used to draw a nose on the paper bag puppet or you can also use markers to create the nose. If you can find some leather try using this to resemble the nose instead as this makes the paper bag puppet authentic, which is more fun for the child. Use the yarn to make hair for the paper bag puppet.

Buttons and fabric can create fun outfits for the paper bag puppet and it’s always fun to watch your child’s creativity as they create a fun outfit for the paper bag puppet. This is where all those extra scraps of fabric can come in handy as they make up unique outfits. Another thing to add to the paper bag is some wrapping paper. Wrapping paper is great for making t-shirts for the paper bag puppet.

Once you have everything glued onto the puppet, allow it to dry and it will be ready for use. To use the puppet you simply need to stick your hand in the puppet and then pretend to talk with the puppet. Just move the flap up and down and the puppet will take on it’s own personality.

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Keeping crafting simple

Monday, December 20th, 2010

Crafting is a lot of fun for kids and adults. It’s always rewarding to see a work of art that you have created, even if you don’t believe you have a lot of talent to create it. The reason why children love craft projects so much is because it allows them to explore their creativity, which is essential in developing their personalities. Crafting teaches children wonderful skills like patience, hand-eye coordination, how to follow instructions, and listening skills.

To help your kids come up with some fun crafting projects, try keeping crafting simple. Trying to make the crafting projects too complex will be frustrating for kids; sometimes they may even frustrate you. Here are some essential supplies you need in order to get started with crafts for kids:

  • Extra fabric
  • Buttons
  • Elmer’s glue
  • Paper
  • Feathers
  • Yarn
  • Lace
  • Beads
  • Pipe cleaners
  • Popsicle sticks
  • Glitter
  • Stickers
  • Markers
  • Cotton Balls
  • Paint

You can purchase kid crafting books to help you come up with fun ideas for each age but it’s a good idea to let your kids come up with their own ideas. Try handing your child a large notebook full of empty paper and watch their creativity grow as they come up with different things to put on the paper.

An easy crafting project for kids is to teach them how to create collages. Using old magazines, pictures, and other things your children can create fun things like decorating garbage cans, scrapbooking pages, photo albums, and other fun things. It’s exciting to watch your child’s creativity expand as they look into their minds to come up with unique things to create.

Teach your kids necessary counting skills by showing them how to take boxes from your home and turn them into a unique craft. Write a number on the outside of each box and then slit a hole in the top of the box where your kids can insert things into the box. For each box come up with a theme that your kids will follow when they are looking for pictures to insert into the box. Now since each box has a number, find matching items for boxes that require them to insert more than one item in the box. This helps to teach them how to count and it also teaches reasoning skills.

Jewelry making is a lot of fun for kids because they love to display what they have created. Using beads you can make necklaces, bracelets, and other fun jewelry items to wear. As they catch onto jewelry making, you can challenge them a little more with harder things like purses and bags. Just make sure you know your child’s skill level and choose a craft that will challenge them but won’t cause them to get frustrated and upset.

Picture making is always fun for children. Grab some finger paint and let them go to town on a blank sheet of paper. You can also try using ink pads to have them create fun fingerprint pictures and other things. Offer help on choosing things to paint or create like their favorite animals, trees, a rainbow, etc. This will spark their creativity and help them get on the right track with the things that they can and would like to create with paint and other items.

There are literally thousands of crafts out there that you can create with your kids. Have a large crafting box available for your kids to dig through and find things that they would like to create.  A box of fabric and other supplies is always nice, especially when you don’t know what to do with all your scrap fabric as your kids can create unique things.

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