Craft a Miniature Zoo With Pom Pom Animals

Posted by Thien-Kim
Pom Pom Craft supplies

Photo by Vintage Fairytale via Creative Commons

Even though we already have two cats, my daughter keeps asking why can’t we get a dog. Does your child constantly ask for a pet dog or a pony? Now, your kids can create their own little zoo with some craft supplies that will bring you back to your childhood crafts.

I love checking out the craft supply selection at my dollar store. They always have supplies that remind me of my childhood. Basics like pipe cleaners, googly eyes, feathers and of course construction paper.

One summer during art camp, my students started creating pom pom animals all on their own. Soon each kid had their own little collection of pom pom creatures. My favorite part was that we gave them no direction and their imagination just took over.

So grab your childhood craft supplies and let’s create some pom pom animals!

Supplies

  • Pom Poms in assorted sizes and colors
  • Googly eyes
  • Pipe cleaners
  • Feathers
  • Construction paper
  • Scissors
  • A hot glue gun OR tacky glue. Regular white school glue is too runny and will take a long time to dry, which can be frustrating for kids. Remember that hot glue guns can get really hot and should only be used by an adult.
  • Felt or fabric scraps

Instructions

First brainstorm with your child about different animals or creatures that he or she can make. Sketch them out on some paper. Ask your child how a horse or pig would look if it were made out of circles. I like to call this the design process.

Now, they can pick out the pom poms in the desired shapes and colors to make their animal. With some of the tacky glue or hot glue, attach two pom poms together.

If you are making a pig, for example, you can use two pink pom poms, one as the body and another for the head. You’ll want to experiment with how much glue you will need to keep the pom poms together. It just depends on how absorbent they are.

Continuing with the pig example, glue googly eyes on the head pom pom. While waiting for the glue to dry, cut out felt or construction paper triangles for ears and an oval for the snout. Cut a piece of pipe cleaner and wrap it around a pencil to curl it. Attach all the ears, snout and tail using tacky glue or hot glue.

You can make practically any animal you want: an elephant with large ears, a mouse with a triangle nose and pipe cleaner whiskers or how about a caterpillar comprised of several pom poms and pipe cleaner antennae? Maybe instead of animals your child loves dinosaurs or aliens?

Once the animals are dry, they are fairly sturdy. Grab some old shoe boxes or milk cartons from the recycle bin and create houses for them. That should keep your child busy for quite some time!

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Play Dough For Toddlers: Squeeze It, Roll It, and Poke It

Posted by Thien-Kim
Balls of handmade playdough

Photo by FrankenberrysKiss via Creative Commons

Now that my oldest has begun kindergarten, it’s just me and the toddler during the main daylight hours. My little guy has expressed a lot of interest in crafts. He’s grabbing every crayon or pencil he sees and scribbles on whatever he can find.

To help him express his creative energy, I introduced him to play dough. Whether you make it yourself or purchase it, play dough is a perfect way for toddlers to express their creativity. Little ones love grabbing and touching everything they can get their hands on. Instead of watching him unload all the books from your bookcase, strap him or her into their high chair and give him a hunk of play dough.

How to make your own play dough

If you want to make your own play dough, this basic recipe comes highly recommended by my friends. Because it requires cooking, exercise caution if you decide to make this recipe with your older children.

Play Dough Ingredients

  • 1 cup of flour
  • ½ cup of table salt
  • 1 cup of water
  • 2 Tbsp of cooking oil
  • 2 Tbsp of cream of tartar
  • food coloring

Play Dough Cooking Instructions

In saucepan, add all dry ingredients and oil until mixed. Next slowly incorporate water. Over medium heat, stir until the dough becomes solid and has an even consistency. Remove and lay on wax paper.

Once cool, separate into as many colors as you’d like. Add food coloring 1-2 drops at a time and completely mix into your play dough until you get your desired color. Some food coloring may stain hands. Store in an airtight container. Discard when the clay becomes too dirty or starts to smell.

Enhance Your Child’s Play Dough Experience

Prep the play area beforehand so you won’t end up with play dough ground into your carpet. Besides strapping your toddler in his or her high chair, you can place newspaper or a mat under the chair or let  them play in a room with easy to clean floors.
Besides letting your toddler squish, roll, and poke the play dough. Give your child everyday objects to manipulate the dough.  Give him some dry pasta to stamp textures or shapes into the dough. Try plastic cookie cutters, a garlic press, container lids, plastic cups, or whatever you can find that’s easy to clean.

Don’t let your toddler squish that play dough alone! Channel your inner child and join in. Play dough is a great stress reliever.

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Recycle Glass Soda Bottles Into A Musical Instrument

Posted by Thien-Kim

Photo by Thien-Kim Lam

I love drinking soda from glass bottles. It makes me feel nostalgic for those glass Coke bottles I drank as a child. The soda always tastes better and seems more bubbly than soda in a plastic bottle or can. My kids have inherited the same joy for drinking out of glass bottles.

I have a hard time throwing the bottles in the recycling bin. I reuse them for various things like putting fresh cut flowers in them. I wanted something more interactive, so why not musical instruments?

Supplies

  • Glass soda bottles or jars. Wash them well beforehand. You’ll need at least 4-6 and can add more if you want.
  • Food colors
  • A  funnel
  • Pitcher of tap water
  • Metal spoon

Instructions

Make sure you do this project on a stable surface like a table or counter since you’re working with glass.

Using a funnel, let your child fill each bottle with water. Make sure each bottle has different amounts of water. The different levels of water will create different pitches when played.

Next, add food coloring to each bottle or jar. This part is entirely optional but makes it more fun for the kids. Plus it will make it easier to see the water level. You can even turn it into a color mixing lesson. You won’t need a lot of food coloring, just 1-2 drops per bottle or jar.

Playing the bottles

You can “play” the bottle in different ways. One is to blow across the opening of the bottle. If you’re using jars, you might want to pick ones with smaller openings so you can blow across them.

The second way is to grab a metal spoon and tap on the bottles or jars. Each “clink” will have a different sound. Experiment by using different objects to tap on the bottles: a wooden spoon, a chopstick, etc.

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Stock Up On Craft Supplies While Back to School Shopping

Posted by Thien-Kim

Photo by Thien-Kim Lam

Can you smell it in the air? It’s the smell of new backpacks, freshly filled lunchboxes, and unsharpened pencils. It’s back to school season. Like many parents, I’m looking forward to sending my daughter back to school.

I also love shopping for school supplies. I’m an office supply junkie and love using her school supply list as an excuse to go shopping. I can’t resist the boxes of 25 cent crayons or buy one get one free marker sales.

Everyday school supplies can also double up as art and craft supplies. The fall season is a great time to take advantage of the back to school sales and stock up.

Here are some extra school supplies that will come in handy for arts and crafts activities during the school year:

  • Our safety scissors always seem to go missing. I’m sure it’s because my daughter leaves them in random places or the toddler walks off with them. I like to keep extras in my craft closet when we don’t have time to search for the missing scissors.
  • Glue sticks are a crafting must in our household. Toddlers and preschoolers will find them easier to use. They are less messy than liquid glue and dry much faster. I like having extra on hand in case the kids forget to cap the glue and let it dry out.
  • Those 25-cent boxes of crayons are perfect to stuff into birthday goody bags with an activity book. Extra crayons can be upcycled into new crayons, in fun shapes.
  • Washable markers are one of the greatest inventions ever! If your child has ever drawn on his face or body you’ll understand. Just like glue sticks, my kids forget to cap the markers tightly or they just plain dry out. The markers with the thicker barrels are easier for toddlers and preschoolers small hands to grasp.
  • Pencil boxes aren’t just for pencils. You can create individual travel art kits for each person in the family. Or you can prepare supplies for a specific craft project ahead of time and store them in a pencil box. Just grab the particular box when the time is right and everything you need for it will be there. Try creating a box for balloon people puppets.
  • Composition books make inexpensive journals. Personalize the original marbled covers to create a travel journal, a scrapbook, or whatever fits the occasion. Younger kids will enjoy cutting out pictures from magazines and gluing them onto the pages of their very own journal.

Make sure that you hide your extra stash from the kids. You don’t want them to uncover them in October. What kid can resist a brand new box of crayons or markers?

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Accessorize Pretend Play With Recycled Paper Wigs

Posted by Thien-Kim
Recylced Paper Wig craft

Recycled paper wig craft. Photo by Thien-Kim Lam

Have you ever dug into your recycling bin and see what you can come up with? Whenever my daughter has an idea for a craft, I sent her to our recycling bin for supplies.

After digging into our mixed paper bin, my daughter and I came up with these paper wigs. You can create an entire wardrobe of wigs for your child’s next dress up or pretend play session.

You might have noticed but I love fun easy crafts that don’t require a lot of prep work on my part. Those are my favorite!

Supplies

  • Paper in different colors-I like to dig into the recycling bin but you can use whatever you have on hand
  • Scissors
  • Pencil, pen or marker
  • Tape, glue or stapler
  • Single hole-punch
  • Elastic thread or yarn

Instructions

These are basic instructions for the wig. Once you and your child get the hang of it you can embellish to create new wig styles.

Cut paper into long strips about 1 to 1  ½” wide. Cut another large roundish piece of paper as the “base” of the wig. Make sure the base is almost as large as the head the wig will sit on.

Now taking the strips of paper that you’ve previously cut, glue or staple them onto the round base. There’s no right way to attach them. Just have fun! Once you are satisfied with how the wig looks, you can “style” the wig and embellish it.

To create curly hair, roll the ends of the strip around a marker or pen. The thicker the pen or marker, the looser the curl.

Twist 1 or 2 strips of “hair’ together for a dreadlocks look.

Create a very full wig and braid strips together for pigtails.
Give the wig a “haircut” and give it bangs. or crunch up the ends of the wig for a frizzy look. Glue or staple bows or ribbons in the wig for a feminine look.

Once you’re satisfied with your wig, using a single hole punch, add holes to the sides of the base. Tie elastic or ribbon to the holes so the wig can be tied under the chin.

Pull one of these out on your next bad hair day.

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Whip Balloon Puppets For Your Next Pretend Play

Posted by Thien-Kim

Photo by Thien-Kim Lam

My daughter and her father love making fun faces at each other while she and I enjoy drawing funny faces together. After rediscovering a stash of balloons, I thought, why not draw faces on them?

Twenty minutes later with some additional supplies, we created a city of balloon puppets. Though making the balloon people did not take very long, we spent quite a bit of using them as puppets.

Making balloon puppets is quick and easy. Here’s how.

Supplies

  • Balloons. Various sizes and colors will make the puppets more interesting.
  • Permanent markers. Washable markers will smear more easily. If you’re doing this craft with young kids, carefully supervise them. In case they decided to draw on the wall.
  • Cardboard or cardstock
  • Scissors
  • One-hole puncher

Instructions

Have an adult inflate the balloons and tie them closed with a knot. Hand them over to your child and let him or her draw silly faces on the balloons. Encourage them to draw hair, ears, whatever you can think of to embellish them.

Cut “feet” out of cardboard or card stock. Cut out a heart shape for the feet, except instead of a point round off the bottom.  Your child can draw feet or shoes on the cardboard as well.

With a one-hole punch, punch a hole in the middle of the feet. Then pulled the tied end of the balloon through the hole. Now the balloon should be able to stand up on its own.

That’s it! Quick and easy.

The balloon puppets are a good a craft to keep up your sleeve. You can whip out the balloons when you need a twenty minutes of sanity.

Once the puppets are made, they can play pretend with them to create a world from their imagination.

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Turn Junk Mail Into Corner Bookmarks For Summer Reading

Posted by Thien-Kim

Cheesy Bookmark Photo by Thien-Kim Lam

Whether school is in session or whether my daughter is on summer break, books are a staple in our home. We have stacks and piles in every room in our home. Even the bathroom. Now that my daughter is learning to read, this summer we’ve graduated to beginning chapter books together.

Reading chapter books means we are not able to finish the books in one sitting. Instead of a traditional bookmark or a scrap piece of paper to remember where we stopped reading, we rummaged through our recycling bin.

After grabbing some junk mail envelopes, we created some quick corner style bookmarks. These as easy a making snowflakes, and just as addicting. You won’t look at your junk mail the same way anymore.

Supplies:

  • Fun colored junk mail envelopes
  • Scissors
  • Single hole punch
  • Paper punches
  • Markers
  • Stickers

Instructions

1. The heavier the junk mail envelope, the sturdier the book will be. I like the envelopes with bright colors or interesting designs. Cut a large square out the bottom corner of an envelope. You should be able to get two bookmarks from each envelope. Make sure that you don’t cut open the pre-folded sides of the envelope.  For younger children, you can do this part ahead of time.

2. Let your child embellish the bookmark using the markers, hole punch, paper punches and stickers. When punching the paper, you can either punch through both layers or just one. If you are using a heavier paper, it will be easier to punch one at a time.

3. To make the “cheese” bookmark above, all you need is a single hole punch. Punch holes randomly over the bookmark. I also punched holes half off the edge to make them look more random.

4. Make sure whatever embellishment your child chooses does not make the bookmark too thick. The book won’t be able to stay flat or completely closed otherwise.

5. Once the bookmark is finished, just stick it over the corner of the page to remember your place!
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Keep Boredom Away With A Low-Mess Travel Art Kit

Posted by Thien-Kim
Keep road trip boredom away with art kits

Photo credit: Andrew Currie

There’s nothing more annoying on road trips (or any car ride) than hearing your children repeating “Are we there yet?” When the books, CDs and games have run their course, surprise your children a travel art kit.
The key to a travel art kit is packing supplies that is little or no mess.  Back to school sales have already began, so you won’t have to worry about breaking the bank.
  • Markers, pens, and pencils make the foundation of any art kit. Pick one or all of the above. Try not to pack too many in case your child drops them in the car.
  • Pencil case or bag to keep the drawing implements tidy
  • Water soluble oil pastels These are similar to crayons except when you paint over them with a wet brush, the colors run, kind of like watercolors. You can find inexpensive versions of the oil pastels at an office supply store.
  • A waterbrush is a paintbrush with a hollow handle. It unscrews so you can fill up the handle with water. Instead of dipping your brush into the water, you squeeze the handle (lightly) to wet the brush. When the water runs out, just refill the brush.
  • Watercolors Pick up one of those eight color sets that are on sale right now.
  • Small spray bottle of water Spray the watercolors to wet them instead of the dipping a wet brush into them. If the watercolors start to dry up, just give them another spray.
  • Stencils will allow a child who’s not quite confident in his or her drawing skills trace fun shapes to begin their picture. Stencils add a new element as well
  • Blank index cards Stock your travel art kit with a mixture of 3×5 inch as well as 4×6 inch index cards. Blank, unruled ones are the best but if you can’t find them, the back of the ruled ones are fine too. These are sturdy enough to do some light painting on as well as drawing.
  • Clipboard or lapboard I like using a letter sized clipboard as a lapboard. Buy the ones with the flat clip. The clipboard will keep the index cards in place while leaving room for your child to lay her pencil case or crayons on it.
  • A bag or box for all the supplies For little ones, make sure it’s easy for them to open.

While not technically an art supply, Rory’s Story Cubes will inspire your young artist. The Story Cubes are a set of nine dice with different pictures. Roll the dice and have your children create their masterpiece based off the cubes. It’s also a fun game to play on the road.

This kit is also great for flying as well. Just fill the waterbrush and spray bottle after you pass through security.

Start with these basic supplies and personalize it based on your child’s interests. Hopefully you’ll hear less of “Are we there yet?” and more of “What should we paint now?”

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Show Off Your Favorite Photos With Painted Picture Frames

Posted by Thien-Kim
Three Dimensional Painted Wooded Picture Frame

Painted wooden picture frame. Photo credit: Thien-Kim Lam

We’ve been hitting outdoor summer concerts, parks, and museums so I have taken a lot of photographs. I might not carry a big DSLR camera with me, but I’m the shutterbug parent. I whip out my digital camera at a moments notice and try to snap as many pictures of my kids as possible.The kids love seeing the photos of themselves as much as I enjoy taking them. I printed out some of the pictures and let them decorate their own picture frames to show off the memories of our outings.

Supplies

  • Unfinished wooden picture frames. We used the ones from IKEA, but you can easily find them at craft stores or dollar stores. Feel free to repurpose an old picture frame or look for some at the thrift store. Make sure the wood is unfinished so the paint will stick.
  • Acrylic craft paint. I’m always a fan of the inexpensive little bottles of craft paint. It’s an easy way to try out different colors without too much commitment.
  • 3 Dimensional paint such as Tulip or Duncan fabric paints. Sometimes also called puff paint.
  • Foam brush or paintbrushes
  • Your child’s favorite printed photo
  • Newspaper or dropcloth to cover your work surface

Instructions

1. Cover your work surface with newspaper or a dropcloth. If desired, have younger children put on smocks or aprons. Acrylic craft paint does not wash out of clothing.

2. Remove any glass, paper and backing from the frame. The IKEA picture frames had clear plastic inserts instead of glass. Remove any stickers that are attached to the photo frame.

3. Paint a base coat using the acrylic craft paint in the color of your choice. Make sure you cover all parts of the frame that will be visible for a clean look. For younger children, you can paint the base coat for them ahead of time. Allow the paint to dry. It should take about 5 minutes to dry, depending on how thick the paint is.

4. Add three dimensional designs to the front of the picture frame using the fabric paint. Squeezing balls of paint will create a bead-like effect. Kids can also use the tips to “draw” designs as well. Tip: Set the paints upside down in a bowl so the paint is already in the tips of the bottles. This will make it easier to squeeze out the paint. Just keep the caps on until you’re ready to use them.  Allow the puff paint to dry, about 12 hours or overnight.

5. Once completely dry, reassemble the picture frame and add a your child’s favorite photograph. Display in a prominent place!

Painting picture frames is a great craft for birthday parties and playdates.

My 5 year old daughter and my 19 month toddler a great time making these. The toddler’s attention span didn’t last long and he needed some help squeezing the fabric paints. He enjoyed crafting next to his sister.

Can you tell who made which one above?

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Recycle Broken Crayons Into New Fun Shapes And Colors

Posted by Thien-Kim
Newly recycled crayons

Photo by Thien-Kim Lam

In our home, we’ve amassed a collection of crayons. They sit in a box all jumbled up, some broken, some worn to little nubs. Most of the crayons we’ve purchased at back-to-school sales. Quite of few of them come from our visits to family friendly restaurants. You know, the ones where your child receives a menu to color and a small pack of crayons. My daughter always wants to take her crayons home and ends up sneaking one or two home with her.

If you’re tired of looking at those broken crayons or if you just have too many languishing crayons, recycle them into new fun shapes! Both you and your child will enjoy making these.

Supplies

Crayons. They don’t have to be broken, but it’s a great way to use up the broken ones.

A flexible silicone ice tray. Silicone is important because we’ll be melting the crayons in the oven. I’ve found these ice trays at IKEA, dollar stores, and general merchandise stores. They come in many different shapes. Let your child pick out some fun shapes. For the summer you can make sea stars, shells or fish for a beach theme. Of course you can use a regular ole ice cube tray. Whatever you decide, once you use it for the crayons, do not use it for food afterwards.

Instructions

1. Peel all the paper wrapping off the crayons. I find this part rather cathartic. My daughter got bored with this part after a few minutes, so you might have to trudge on by yourself. If any of the crayons are not broken, break them into about 1 inch pieces. My daughter loved breaking the crayons. She couldn’t believe she was allowed to purposely break them.

2. Sort your crayons by color. This will make it easier to see what you have at a glance. You want to make sure you have enough yellow to fill up a section of the tray. If you only have a few, you can mix it with another color.

3. Let your child fill up the tray with the broken crayons. Since the broken pieces will not sit perfectly in each section of the tray, just do your best. You will want to slightly overfill the tray without letting the crayons spill out of the each section. Try not to mix more than 3 colors together so the colors won’t be muddy once they melt.

4. Place the trays on top of a foil lined cookie sheet to catch any drips or spills. Place the cookie sheet into a 300F oven for 8-10 minutes. Check on the crayons every 2-3 minutes. When they have melted completely, remove them from the oven.

5. Allow the crayons to cool completely before popping them out of the tray. If your child is feeling impatient, stick the molds into the freezer until cool.

Tips

Once you’ve used the molds/ice trays to make the crayons never use them for food.  Crayons are non-toxic but it’s better to not mix up craft supplies with food stuff. You can use the trays and molds with play dough another projects.

The recycled crayons are perfect for party favors or goodie bags for a birthday party. Place several different shapes and colors with a coloring book or sketchbook for a DIY gift.

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