Thrifty Craft Supplies That Spark Imagination

Posted by: Crafter

A healthy stash of craft supplies can make the rainiest of days seem sunny summer play days for kids of all ages. Yes, the big kids in the world enjoy doing all manner of crafts as well. The problem is that craft supplies do not necessarily run on the cheap side. If consumers aren’t careful the price tag for that sunshine in a craft box can add up quickly.

Here are a few great craft supplies that are small on budget and big on fun.

Old Buttons

Children grow out of clothes fast. Adults outgrow clothes over time in a way no adult cares to face in the mirror. Clothes get ruined, go out of style, shrink (wink, wink), and sometimes do not look as good in the mirror as they did on the hanger. Many of these clothes hit the garbage pile without a second glance-buttons still attached.

But, take a few seconds to make a snip here and there with a pair of scissors and those buttons can become eyes for mismatched sock puppets, noses for hapless snowmen in winter months, or even the windows to the soul for one giant purple people eater on paper. Little girls love stringing buttons together to make bracelets and necklaces. They can become the centerpiece for beautiful fairy flowers and even be glued to picture frames for a little added pop or pizzazz.

Don’t discard another article of clothing without first checking for buttons. Additionally, thrift stores and garage sales will often have large packages of buttons on sale for a steal. Check them out if help is needed getting a fantastical button collection started.

Recycled Goods from the Kitchen

Take a look around the kitchen for a moment and think with the mind of a crafter. Paper towel rolls can become pirate looking glasses. Egg cartons can be transformed into a garden of flowers, and potato chip cans may be transformed into musical instruments or rain sticks.

Empty coffee cans provide a wide range of crafty pleasure including gift tins that can be filled with small treasures for friends who are shut in; organizational tools to hold pens, paperclips, etc.; or a beautiful birdfeeder for neighborhood birds.

Thrift and Second-hand Stores

Another great source for frugal but crafty ideas, that all but guarantee indoor fun for all ages, is the local thrift store. There are tons of great bargains on craft kits and supplies that can be mixed and match for even more crafty pleasure. The idea is to find a wide range of supplies that are versatile and encourage creativity.

The real beauty about thrift or second-hand stores is that many of the items are in mint condition. They are simply the unwanted castoffs of another crafter who created too large a stash of supplies.

A Walk around the Neighborhood

Children are amazing creatures. Perhaps it’s the nearness to the ground but children can spot all sorts of neat craft supplies that most adults would miss just by walking outside. With the right child, a blade of grass could become a paintbrush.

Simple things that can be found without paying a penny for crafting include things most adults pass by every day without a second glance. Pine cones, river rocks, sticks, and leaves are all fabulous crafting tools that won’t break the budget.

Crafting can be very expensive if people allow it to be. It doesn’t have to be. There are too many great bargains available to crafters to limit personal pleasure due to budgetary constraints. During these troubling economic time who couldn’t use a little crafty sunshine?

Andrea Bullock is a freelance writer for Crafts for Kidlets, a fun craft idea blog for moms and dads who need something creative for the kids to do.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrea_Bullock

How to Make a St. Patricks Day Leprechaun

Posted by: Crafter

St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner. To liven up your home, teach the children how to make a St. Patrick’s Day leprechaun. Not only will it brighten your home, it will also give the wee ones a chance to enjoy hands-on crafts.

Many people associate the leprechaun with Ireland, but don’t realize there are crafts which allow children to make them. In fact, with items found around the home, your child can make more than one leprechaun. And who knows, if you find leprechauns you may also find a pot of gold!

You may be able to find many of these things around your home. For those you cant find, they’re relatively inexpensive or you can find and print some things off of the internet. Here’s what your child will need:

* Toilet paper rolls (enough for each leprechaun your child wants to make)
* Paper in various colors (black, green, white, yellow)
* Crayons
* Scissors
* Glue
* Brown chenille stems (may also be called pipe cleaners)
* Green craft foam
* Printer to print templates or other items off the internet

Begin by searching the internet for leprechaun crafts at websites like DLTK-holidays.com or jas.familyfun.go.com/crafts which will provide templates for various parts of the leprechaun body for this type of craft.

If you dont have access to a colored printer, your child will most likely enjoy coloring the areas where color is needed. No matter which type of craft your child is making, the toilet paper tube will need to be covered. This can be done by using a template or measuring the length of the tube and adding half inch extra on both ends. Be sure the paper or green craft foam is long enough to fully cover the paper tube and then glue it down in place. Bend the extra over the edge of the tube and glue it to ensure the paper wont come off.

Cut out the head, hat, ears, feet, and arms. If the paper these have been printed on is flimsy, your child may want to glue them to an index card to give them extra stability. Then glue the pieces to the covered paper tube. The leprechaun is ready to stand guard over a pot of gold or whatever else your child chooses.

If your child prefers, they can use many of the same ideas using craft foam. Draw a circle around the tube and another one about half an inch larger. This will be the brim for the hat. The center of the circles can be the top of the hat.

Wrap brown chenille stems around a pencil to create spirals which can be glued to the tube. Leave enough room for a face. Either paint the face onto the tube or use one of the templates found. Draw the detail (eyes, mouth and nose) onto the face as well as any other details such as the hands, arms, belt, or a flower in the pocket. Let your child look at pictures of leprechauns to give them an idea of what they should look like.

Once your child learns how to make a St. Patrick’s Day leprechaun, they can use the same basic ideas to make similar crafts for other holidays. Remember, however, since these are made of paper, you’ll want to store them in a box to protect them if your child chooses to keep them. Enjoy the leprechaun and hopefully you’ll find your pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Easy St. Patrick’s Day Crafts

Posted by: Crafter

With St. Patrick’s Day almost upon us, it will soon be time to get out the decorations. Here are some easy St. Patrick’s Day crafts for your kids to enjoy.

1. Buy green construction paper and trace shamrocks from either a coloring book or a template online, and make a string of shamrocks to hang in your home.

2. You can’t celebrate the day without hats! You can easily make St. Patrick’s Day hats by using construction paper. While there are tons of templates available online, you can accomplish this task easily. Take two pieces of green construction paper and tape them together forming about a 14” long piece. Fold it into a circle and tape one side to the other. Take another piece of green construction paper to make the top of the hat by using a paper plate to trace a circle. Cut it out and use clear tape to attach it to the top of the hat.

Next, you’ll need to make the brim of the hat. Again, using green construction paper; cut out a larger circle and apply glue so that the hat will attach itself to the brim. Finally, you need the buckle to place just above the brim of the hat. For this you can use brown construction paper and cut a wide strip and glue or tape it to the hat.

In addition, you may want to assist your kids in making a rainbow Jello mold. You can even make a pot of gold using yellow apples! Or how about the old standby; cupcakes with green icing, with a shamrock cookie on top!

There is no end to the many creative and imaginative ideas you can incorporate when engaging in a fun activity such as decorations for St. Patrick’s Day. Put on some Irish CD’s, and have a great time!

Storage Container Art

Posted by: Crafter

When you have kids, storage containers can’t be far behind. They are a simple system that can help them to stay organized in their rooms and play areas. Let the kids in on the act so they can learn that staying organized can be fun.

Kids like bright colors. Whatever the organizational structure in their room, incorporate color into it so they can make it their own. Speaking of rooms, kids also need a say in how their areas are designed, since they will be the ones occupying it.

To that end, try to get your kids involved in storage container art. This is the process of letting them decorate the organizational features of their room. This will also keep them from having the desire to draw on the walls and other surfaces that don’t need to be enhanced.

Encourage creativity in your child by giving them an outlet. When you help them to tidy up their area, bring a few special extras and the storage containers. Your kids will love you for it.

Clear an area to work. Show your kids the storage containers that they will use to keep their rooms clean. Before you start, let them choose what containers they want to use for their stuff. Start with two or three and then grab more as needed.

Lay out the special extras that you brought with you. Kids can decorate their containers with stickers, non-toxic paints, pictures, foam lettering and ribbons. Let them go wild. Resist the urge to straighten their stickers or correct their designs. It is for their stuff so it needs to look good to them.

Set aside a special place for the decorations so that your kids can grab and use them whenever they need to. Be sure that you reiterate that the stickers are not for the walls, but storage containers. But, just in case they get mischievous and one or two end up on the wall, use decals that are designed for walls instead of regular stickers for their container art. These can be removed and reapplied without ruining surfaces.

Once the containers are decorated, it is time to put something in them. Let your kids decide what toys will go in what container. Help them to move the containers to an area where they will stay permanently to keep their items off the floor.

Now, whenever you tell the kids it is time to clean up, they get to use their decorative containers. Cleaning before bed won’t be such a chore. You can even turn it into a game by letting them pick up each other’s toys and throw them in the right bin.

Use storage containers as a way to unleash your kid’s creative side and teach them responsibility at the same time.

Sparkling Sun Catcher

Posted by: Crafter

There’s nothing quite like the morning sun streaming through the windows unless, of course, you have a sparkling sun catcher to catch the rays and spread a rainbow of color around the room. Sun catchers aren’t hard to make and they may be something your children would enjoy trying their hand at.

Sun catchers are easy to make. All it takes is some crafting wire, translucent colored beads, and fishing line. The benefit of using crafting wire is that you or your child can create any number of shapes with it. Your child can use their imagination to create butterflies, stars, birds, or anything their heart desires. They can even make completely abstract shapes if they prefer.

Your child can make a drawing and use that as the pattern to shape the wire, or they can find a picture out of a coloring book. The simpler the drawing and pattern, the easier it will be to create the desired shape. Your child may want to place circles, colored in with the color of the desired beads, on the drawing to show where the beads will be placed.

Do you want a simple sparkling sun catcher with only the outline of the drawing or do you want it to be more elaborate? You can use a larger gauge wire for the outline of the sun catcher and then use a smaller gauge wire for adding more colored glass beads. The choice is yours or your child’s – you can add as many pieces of wire as you like.

Parents will want to cut the wire to length rather than allowing children to do this step. You can then place one bead onto the wire and wrap the wire around the bead to keep it in place. Now it’s time to get the wire into the right shape by bending it.

Your child can begin threading the beads following the color pattern they made on their drawing, being sure to either put glue on either side of the bead or placed within the bend. They could also wrap the wire around the bead and then continue with the pattern. When the final bead is placed and you’re near the end of the wire, hook the end into the bead or wrap it around the bead to finish it off.

To display your sun catcher, cut a piece of fishing line long enough to hang it from a nail around the window or from a suction cup with a hook. Sit back and enjoy the beauty that your child helped to create. And when the sun gleams through your window, you can think back to the fun you and your child had making it.