This activity was featured on The Crafty Crow- an amazing collection of creativity!

http://www.thecraftycrow.net/2015/05/stitched-plastic-lid-necklaces.html

Materials

• Colourful plastic lids (we used ones from Playdoh)
• Drill or hammer/nails (For adult use or depending on your age and abilities, with direct supervision and safety gear)
• Embroidery floss
• Needle
• Beads
• Scissors (Whoops!  We accidentally forgot to include them in the supply photo! Our apologies.)

Directions

• Have an adult drill holes into your lids for you.  For the weaving we went with a hole in the centre and those around the perimeter. (Make sure to make an odd number of perimeter holes.)  For the other lids we did a hole in the centre, some around the perimeter and then we tried other spots as well.  We found that with our choice of lids and drill we were able to drill over a small carpet sample, quickly and effectively making the holes.  Be sure to exercise caution around power tools and wear safety gear.

• Knot your embroidery floss and sew through your holes creating designs.

• Younger children can do something a bit more abstract.

• For the circle weaving we started off in the centre and made an odd number spokes going out to the holes on the perimeter.  We then chose a different colour and went up through the middle and then went over and under the spokes.  With the next round we made sure to do the opposite from the last round (so if the floss went under, then next time around it goes over etc.).  When we wanted to switch colours we tied a knot to the next colour choice and continued one, tucking the knot under the previous round of floss and hiding it with the next.  To finish the edges we sewed around the perimeter holes going up and down.

• If you have two existing holes in your design near the opposite edges (so a left and right) use this to lace on your beads with your embroidery floss to form a necklace.  If not, have an adult drill two more holes for you.

• Lace your necklace and enjoy!

• Take a contemplation break and admire your siblings’ work!

Purpose

• Re-using/re-imagining
• Developing fine motor skills (lacing, sewing, circle weaving etc.)

Safety Notes

• Exercise care and use scissors and a needle with adult supervision.
• Based on your age and abilities, a drill is recommended for adult use or with direct adult supervision and teaching.
• Beads can be a choking hazard, therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things in their mouths.
• Embroidery floss, cord etc. can be a strangulation hazard therefore, do not use it for play, but rather for its intended use.  Be sure to remove your necklace for play (e.g., on the playground etc.) or use a child-safe release clasp.

Materials

• Sturdy cylindrical containers (These Playdoh ones are perfect!)
• Elastics
• Paint
• Paper (we used gift bags instead)
• Shallow tray
• Smock
• Craft tray

Directions

• Depending on your age and abilities (you may need a bit of adult help for this step), stretch your elastics over the mouth of your container (so that they wrap around the bottom as well).  You could vary your elastic sizes, designs and overlapping.  Do this for a few containers.

• Don your smock and put your paper or bag into your craft tray.

• Put approximately two tablespoons of paint onto a shallow tray or re-use lids from take-out or deli containers.

• Dip your elastics into the paint and then carefully apply them to your paper or bag.

• Allow to dry overnight and then pop in a present and give it to a friend!

Purpose

• Learning various painting techniques
• Re-using materials

Safety Notes

• Be sure to exercise caution when working with elastics.
• We recommend wearing a smock and using a craft tray to protect your clothes and work surfaces.
• Use non-toxic products.

This activity was featured on:

http://www.hellowonderful.co/post/DIY-UPCYCLED-BEADED-JEANS-NECKLACE-FOR-KIDS

Check them out for a wonderful collection of engaging, beautiful and fun activities!

Materials

• Old pair of jeans (we used an adult size)
• Fabric scissors
• Embroidery floss
• Needle
• Sewing materials (we used a sewing machine, but you could sew it by hand)

Beads

• Wooden beads
• Acrylic paint
• Floral foam
• BBQ skewers
• Pony beads
• Paint brush or brushes

OR

Purchase pre-painted wooden beads!

We also find these items helpful:

Directions

• Don your smock and cover your workspace with a table cloth or set out your craft trays.

Painting your Beads

• Have an adult cut the sharp points off of the BBQ skewers.

• Put a pony bead at the bottom of your skewer.  This will hold your beads in place and prevent them from sliding down when you paint them.

• “String” your beads onto your skewer.

• Insert your skewer into your craft foam.

• Don your smock.

• Paint your beads.  We find it helpful to hold the skewer with one hand at the top while you paint with the other.

• Paint as many colours as you would like for your necklace.

• Allow to dry overnight.

Jean Portion

•  Cut off one leg of your jean and cut off one side of the leg as shown below.

•  Cut off the cuff.

•  Cut off the seams.

• We made a headband which was the width of the leg (as shown).  For the necklace we went with approximately a width of approximately 2.5 inches/ a little over 6 centimetres which when sewn was approximately 1 inch/2.5 centimetres, using the foot of out sewing machine as our guide. (This a simple activity for learning how to sew a line!)

•  Fold the jean in half with the good side facing inward.

• Get goofy with your scraps!

•  Sew the jean together, along the cut side, using the foot of your sewing machine as a guide.  This will form a tube of material.  Be sure to use a needle in your machine suitable for jean.

• Turn your tube inside out.  We found a piece of dowel handy for this process! (To gently push the end through.)

• Tuck in and sew the ends.

• Get a long length of embroidery floss.  Tie a knot in it about 1/3 into the embroidery floss.  Fold your jean with the end facing backward (so it will be hidden on the necklace when you wear it.)  Go through the fold until you reach your knot.  Our daughter is learning to sew so we did this together.

• Put a bead on snuggly to hold the fold in place.  We like to go back through the end of the bead again so a bit of the floss appears on the bead.

• Fold the jean again.  We alternated between one and two folds between each bead.

(The one below will be a headband!)

• Make a secure knot at the end, leaving your excess thread on for the next step.

• For the ends we took an additional piece of embroidery floss and tied it to the end threads (making the knot in the middle of your additional piece) so we had three pieces to braid.  We put the braid through the bead to hide the knot (as seen).

• Here is our finished project!

Purpose

• Re-cycling materials, making them into other useful products.
• Developing one’s fine motor skills (lacing beads, sewing, painting etc.)

Safety Notes

• Use scissors and a needle with care & supervision.
• Yarn, cord, floss etc. can be a strangulation hazard therefore it should be used with adult supervision and for the intended purpose.
• Be sure to wear a smock and use a craft tray to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Beads can be a choking hazard and therefore should be kept out of the reach of children 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things in their mouths.

Materials

• Picture frame
• Polymer clay (Fimo, Sculpey etc. We recommend the soft version for kids)
• Clay board
• Clay tools
• Paper
• Pencil/eraser
• Rolling pin
• Scissors
• Baking sheet
• Craft tray
• Smock

• Glue (the product featured above is only for ADULT use!)

Directions

• Sketch out an idea for your frame. (We went with a nature-inspired theme, but you could do anything- an urban scape of buildings, you and a friend etc.)

• Don your smock and prepare your clay.  You may need an adult to help you a bit with kneading it until it is pliable.

• Roll out your clay with your rolling pin.

• Create your image using your clay tools, cutting away the unnecessary parts with scissors and your craft tools.

• Add layers of details, using your fingers, tools etc.

• Gently lay your pieces onto your frame to make sure that they fit/work. (We ended up using a bigger one than our original choice!)  Transfer your clay onto your baking sheet.

• Follow the product directions regarding baking.

• Once cooled, have an adult glue the pieces to your frame, following the product directions.

• Once it is dry, pop in a photo and display your wonderful work!

Purpose

• Working with various materials
• Developing one’s motor skills (kneading, sculpting etc.)
• Learning and experimenting with creating texture

Safety Notes

• Use scissors and clay tools with care & supervision.
• Be sure to follow the product directions, both on the clay and the glue.
• We recommend that an adult use the adhesive.

This activity was featured on The Crafty Crow’s collection of Handmade Mother’s Day Gifts- check them out for ideas to do with your kids or students!

http://www.thecraftycrow.net/2015/05/sweet-handmade-gift-ideas-for-mothers-day.html

Materials

• Paper rolls
• Felt
• Embroidery floss
• Needle
• Paint
• Paint brush
• Craft tray
• Beads
• Smock
• Scissors
• Paper
• Pencil/eraser
• Fabric glue

Directions

• We first cut the paper rolls in half and painted each of them.  We did two coats on the outside and one on the interior.  You could also cover your rolls in felt or fabric.  Be sure to wear your smock and use your craft tray to protect your clothing and work surfaces.  Allow to dry in between each coat.

• For the flowers we cut out hearts and then snipped off the bottom to make a simple petal shape.  We did a few sizes.  You can sew on a few details if you like.  We made between 6-8 per flower, but add as many as you like to make your flowers to your desired fullness.  This is only one flower idea- we’d love to see what you come up with!

• We then cut out a circle to form a base.  Glue your petals onto your circle and then cover the centre with another circle to make the flower centre.  Allow to dry overnight.

• We then sewed on a bead or beads to add a bit of embellishment. (You could glue them on as well.)

• Glue your flowers onto your napkin rings and allow to dry overnight.

• Slip a napkin inside and use them for brunch!

Purpose

• Learning to sew
• Developing one’s fine motor skills (cutting, gluing, working with beads)
• Recognizing symbols of various seasons

Safety Notes

• Use scissors and a needle with care & supervision.
• Embroidery floss can be a strangulation hazard therefore it should be used with adult supervision and for the intended purpose.
• Beads can be a choking hazard and should be kept out of reach from those ages 0-3 years or those that tend to put things into their mouths.
• We recommend using a craft tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces from glue and paint.

Materials

Letters

• Twigs
• Craft wire
• Scissors
• Embroidery floss

Coffee Filter Flowers

• Coffee filters
• Water
• Food colouring
• Cooling racks
• Containers
• Scissors
• Craft tray
• Smock

Putting it Together

• Beads (you could use un-finished, paint them or purchase pre-painted beads)
• Cord
• Scissors
• Chenille sticks

Directions

• Go out into nature with an adult and collect twigs.

• Arrange your twigs into letters.  You may need an adult to help you to break them into pieces.

• Overlap the parts where the segments of the letters of the letters join.  Wrap them with craft wire.  You may need an adult to help you cut it.

• Wrap over the craft wire with embroidery floss if you like for a finished look. (This is a great way to practise tying knots!)

Coffee Filter Flowers

For Easter we made a garland with dyed coffee filters (please see the process below) and we wanted to transform the extras into flowers to decorate this garland.

• First we created a dye bath with water and food colouring- the more colouring you add, the more vibrant your filters will be.

• Dip the edges of your filters and spread them out to dry on your cooling rack.  If they are quite saturated, then place a plastic tray underneath to catch any potential drips.

• Allow to dry overnight.

•  For this garland, we then folded our dried coffee filters in half.  For the leaves we went with 2 layered on top of each other.  We cut out leaf shapes on the edges.

• We did the same with the flowers but used 3-5 filters and cut the edges into a more petal shape.

• We then put the petals inside of the leaves and made a small snip on the opposite (flat) side for inserting the stem.

• Gently put the chenille stick through the green leaf filters, then the flower filters and added a bead at the end to make the flower centre, tying a knot at the end.  Before we added the flowers to the garland we also found it helpful to put a small bead on the underside (where the flower meets the stem) to hold it all in place.

Putting it all together:

• With your cord, knot your letters and flowers on, creating your garland.  We also added a few wooden beads.  A needle was helpful to this process.  We curled the ends of our stems with a pencil so that they looked a bit “vine-ish”.

• Gently wrap up your garland and send it to a friend!

Purpose

• Working with various materials (manipulating wire, tying knots, experimenting with dying techniques etc.)
• Getting out into nature

Safety Notes

• Use scissors and wire with care & supervision.
• Cord, twine etc. can be a strangulation hazard therefore it should be used with adult supervision and for the intended purpose.
• Beads can be a choking hazard and should be kept out of reach from those ages 0-3 years or those that tend to put things into their mouths.
• We recommend that you use a craft tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces from damage from the dye.

Materials

• Cardboard or thick paper such as bristol board/ poster paper
• Shaving foam (not the gel form)
• Craft (white) glue
• Food colouring
• Plastic containers
• Old spoon
• Permanent marker
• Scissors
• Smock
• Craft tray

Cloud Wall Hanging

• Wooden raindrops (you can find these at craft or dollar stores-  they are often marketed as “petals”)
• Acrylic paint
• Paint brushes
• Craft tray
• Ribbon or cord
• Thread
• Craft glue
• Stick
• Clear tape (Optional*)

Ice Cream Cone

• Felt
• Seed beads
• Fabric scissors

Directions

• Mix your white glue with your food colouring.  We went with approximately 2 tablespoons of glue and 10 drops of food colouring.  Add more food colouring for a deeper colour if you like.  If you are adding food colouring it is best to do it prior to adding the shaving foam as you don’t want to over mix your paint, causing it to lose it’s “puffiness”!

• We then added approximately 1 cup of shaving foam, gently stirring the mixture.

• Create a painting with your foam.  Our daughter’s creation was a 3-D map!

• Allow to dry overnight.

Cloud Wall Hanging

• This foam cut-out served as the inspiration piece for our son who made clouds with the puffy paint.

• He first drew them out of cardboard.  We then cut them out and painted them.

• While they dried, we painted some wooden raindrops on a craft tray.

• Once the pieces were dry, we attached the clouds to a stick he had found (now that it is getting nicer we are back to scouring the neighbourhood for all sorts of treasures!) using thread and did the same with the raindrops, gluing two together with the thread in between.  We looped and glued together ribbon on the two ends of the stick to then hang it from the wall.

Ice Cream Cone 

• Inspired by so many fun ideas for ice cream cone activities (Check out this one: http://www.hellowonderful.co/post/DIY-PRETEND-PLAY-ICE-CREAM-CONES!), we turned a few of the extra clouds into ice cream.  We cut a cone out of felt, sewed a few details in diagonal lines and sprinkled some beads onto the paint while wet.  It is going to make a fun card for a friend’s upcoming birthday!

Exploring Cardboard

With some of our remaining cardboard, our eldest son made this hockey game and a cut-out character.

• We took some sponges from a previous project, a bit of glue and created these little houses- wouldn’t this be cute to add to a housewarming gift for a friend?

Purpose

• Exploring different painting mediums
• Creating out of cardboard
• Recycling

Safety Notes

• Use scissors with care & supervision.
• Yarn, ribbon etc. can be a strangulation hazard therefore it should be used with adult supervision and for the intended purpose.
• Follow the safety precautions on your shaving cream product in regards to compressed air.  Only use with adult assistance.

For our full tutorial (and lots of other fun, creative ideas!), check out the link below:

http://www.hellowonderful.co/post/KID-MADE-MOTHER—-S-DAY-STITCHED-NOTEBOOK