• This activity was featured on hello, Wonderful!  Check out this beautiful collection of inspiring activities and interviews with makers:

http://www.hellowonderful.co/post/KID—-S-ART-PAPER-PINWHEEL-CRAFT

Materials

• Printout
• Cardstock or white printer paper
• A push pin with a ball at the end or a stick pin with a ball (the push pin is ideal)
• Dowel or new pencil
• Paint
• Paintbrush
• Scissors
• Smock
• Craft tray

Decorative Option

• Bright copy paper
• Glue stick
• Buttons
• White glue or a glue gun (optional, we used one for speed)

Directions

• Print the template.

• Paint your pinwheels.

• Once dry, glue your paper onto bright copy paper if you like.  Allow to dry.

• Cut along the exterior lines and the lines coming in from the corners.

• Fold the corners in, poking your your pin through the small circles, with the one in the centre being last. Poke your pin through the eraser portion of the pencil.  (If you use the push pin, which is ideal, push it sideways through the eraser.  If you need to use a stick pin, have an adult bend it into a 90 degree angle before putting it into the top of the eraser.)   We went with a more decorative option, gluing the triangular pieces to the middle of the square and then affixing a button on top.  We then glued it to a dowel, with an adult using a (However, we should note, this option is stationary!)

• Attach your pinwheel to a springtime gift!  Or pop in into the top of a cake!

Purpose

• Learning how to make things out of paper.
• A pinwheel is a simple tool for indicating if the wind is blowing which could later lend to the study of the anemometers, wind vanes etc.

Safety Notes

• Use scissors and stick pins with care & supervision.
• Wear a smock and use a craft tray to protect surfaces and your clothes.
• A glue gun should be used by an adult.

Materials

• Black or brown felt for the burrows
• White, brown, grey felt for the bunnies (or go with any colours that appeals to you!)
• Pink felt for the noses
• Black fabric paint
• Fabric scissors
• Fabric glue
• Sewing materials
• Plastic pellets (purchased from craft or dollar stores)
• Funnel
• Measuring cup or scoop
• Clear plastic zippered bag
• Smock

Directions

• Fold your felt over and cut out two rectangles to form your bean bag pieces for as many bean bags as you would like.

• Cut out a set of ears and a nose (we did a triangle and rounded the corners).

• Don your smock.  Make two eyes out of fabric paint on one of your rectangles.  You could also sew on buttons.  Our bunny is quite simple- “make it your own”!

• Glue on your felt nose and allow your bunny face to dry overnight.  (You could also sew it on.)

• Sew around the edge of your bean bag, tucking the ears in between the two layers.  We used our sewing machine foot as a guide and then trimmed off the excess to make it uniform.  Be sure to leave a space in your sewing big enough to fit your funnel to fill your bean bag (as seen in the photograph).

• Put your beanbag into a see-through bag and add your plastic pellets, using a scoop and a funnel.  You don’t want to fill your bean bag too full to allow for movement.

• Move your pellets to the side opposite of the hole in your bean bag (to avoid needle breakage) and sew up your hole.

• Cut out various sizes and shapes of burrow holes out of dark felt.

• Arrange your burrows on the ground with some near and some further away and try to toss your bunny bean bags into the burrows.  We made a fox based on an old drawing of my son’s to hang on the wall, imagining the bunnies escaping their predator!

Purpose

• Learning how to sew, developing fine motor skills.
• Developing gross motor skills through play (tossing, working on aim towards a target etc.)

Safety Notes

• Use scissors with care & supervision.
• Plastic pellets can be a choking hazard, be sure to keep them out of reach from children 0-3 years of age.
• A sewing machine is for adult use or depending on the age and abilities of your child,  with direct supervision and guidance.
• Be sure to wear a smock to prevent damage to your clothing from the paint and glue and use a craft tray to protect surfaces.

This activity was featured in The Crafty Crow’s Rainbow Crafts for Kids collection!  So many fun ideas!

http://www.thecraftycrow.net/2015/03/rainbow-crafts-for-kids.html

Materials

• Various colours of yarn
• Cardboard
• Scissors
• Tape
• Elastic headband

Directions

• There are many innovative ways to make pom-poms.  This one is easy for young children.  Have an adult cut out a rectangle of cardboard.  (Your child might be able to do this, however, cutting cardboard tends to be a bit tricky and may require large scissors.) Cut a smaller rectangle out of one of the sides (as seen in the photograph).

• Tape one end of your yarn to the cardboard as shown.  Wrap your yarn around the cardboard.  The more you wrap, the fuller your pom-pom will be.

• Cut a small piece of yarn (we used another colour just so you could see it more clearly).  Put it under your wrapped yarn through the small rectangular window (as seen in the photograph) and knot it securely.

• Gently slide your wrapped yarn off your cardboard.  Trim the ends of the loops with your fabric scissors, making them uniform.  Leave the middle tie long (as shown) so you can knot your pom-pom to your headband later.

•  Make several pom-poms in the same fashion.

• With the long strings, tie the pom-poms onto your headband. Trim the excess to match the length of your pom-poms.

• When done, trim all your pom-poms to a size that suits your wearer.  Enjoy!

Purpose

• Creating items for imaginary play.
• Thinking of others.

Safety Notes

• Use scissors with care & supervision.
• To avoid strangulation, remove your headband prior to play (e.g., going on the playground) and use yarn for its intended purpose.

This activity was featured on The Crafty Crow’s Flower Crafts for Kids.  Check them out for other beautiful blooms!

http://www.thecraftycrow.net/2015/04/flower-craft-ideas-for-kids.html

Materials

• Tulle
• Sticks
• Cord/ twine
• Glue gun/glue
• Scissors

Directions

• Cut strips of your tulle and fold them half.

• Put a small line of glue on one end of your stick.  Attach one end of the folded strip of tulle to the glue and then wrap it around the branch, scrunching as you go and adding more glue as needed.  (Your folded side forming the top portion of your flower.)

• To polish off the portion where the tulle connected to the branch we wrapped it with a bit of cord, gluing it down.

• Pop your flowers into a vase, add them to the top of a present etc.

Purpose

• Re-imaging items

Safety Notes

• It is recommended that you use a cool glue gun for this activity for safety reasons.
• Use scissors with care & supervision.

Materials

• Yarn, cord etc. (Colours of the rainbow)
• Beads (Colours of the rainbow, we went with ones that had large holes so that we didn’t need a needle for this activity.)
• Scissors

Directions

• Line up and cut your lengths of cord, yarn etc. to approximately the length of your arm.

• Measure this around your neck to make sure it is the length that you desire.

• Knot your cord, yarn etc. together.

• Lace your beads.  We went through the hole and then came back through the bottom and went through again so as to hold the beads in place.

• Knot the end when you are done and then tie your two ends together. (Or sew on Velcro for an easy release.)

• Enjoy your necklace!

Purpose

• Developing fine motor skills.

Safety Notes

• Use scissors with care & supervision.
• Remove your necklace when playing (e.g, on the playground) to prevent strangulation.
• Beads can be choking hazard, therefore they should be kept out of the reach of children 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths.

Materials

• Felt
• Scissors
• Fabric scissors
• Fabric glue
• Embellishments such as sequins, beads, rick rack etc. (*Optional)
• Cardstock
• Paper (for your message)
• Pencil/eraser
• Tape (optional)
• Sewing materials (*optional)

Directions

• Draw a basic fish shape on cardstock.  Cut it out and tape it (make a donut) to your felt, cutting it out twice.

• Cut out scales from the edge of your felt.  We used our finger to make the basic shape.

• Cut out circles or a shape you would like for the eye.

• Glue or sew your scales on, layering them.

• Add your rick rack, sequins and any other embellishments.

• Flip your fish over and cut off any excess portions.

• Put fabric glue on the bottom portion of the fish as shown, gluing together the two sides of the fish. (You could also sew this with a stronger stitch.)

• Allow to dry overnight.

• Write a personal message, pop it into your fish and send it to your friends, family etc. Depending on the size of your fish, you could pop in your red envelope as well.

Purpose

• Learning about various celebrations.
• Cutting different materials.
• Learning to sew (if you went with this option)

Safety Notes

• Use scissors with care & supervision.
• Small items such as beads etc. can be a choking hazard, be sure to keep them out of reach from children 0-3 years of age or those who tend to put things in their mouths.
• Rick rack and other cord like materials can be a strangulation hazard, therefore, use with direct supervision and for their intended purpose.

 HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY! 

We hope that in some small way we are making your days a little bit brighter, because you certainly have brought happiness to ours with all your encouragement & support.

Thank you!

]]> https://make-it-your-own.com/happy-valentines-day/feed/ 0 https://make-it-your-own.com/valentines-day-pre-school-string-art/ https://make-it-your-own.com/valentines-day-pre-school-string-art/#comments Fri, 13 Feb 2015 02:30:11 +0000 http://make-it-your-own.com/?p=6278 Painting on different materials gives children various experiences.  Our piece is a bit more of a fun, process- focused abstract, but wouldn’t this be great with a portrait or landscape piece? (With the string to highlight an angle of a face or hair or to form the horizon line?)

Materials

• A piece of wood (you can often get a cast-off piece at a hardware store)
• Small finishing nails
• Acrylic craft paint
• Paint brushes
• Yarn or embroidery floss or both
• Small hammer
• Safety googles
• Scissors

Directions

• Don your smock.  Put your wood piece into a craft tray or on top of a plastic table cloth.

• Paint on your wood with your brush and acrylic paint. Allow to dry overnight.

• Pick various points on your creation and have an adult hammer in your nails (OR depending on your age and abilities do so with direct supervision, being sure to take safety precautions such as wearing safety googles etc.)

• Cut a length of string or yarn about the length of your arm (we find this an easy length to work with).  Knot it onto one nail, sliding the knot up to the nail head.

• Go to the next nail and knot your yarn to it, creating a line.  Continue to do this, enhancing your work with lines.  (If you do not have enough to go to the next nail, return to the last and trim off the excess.)

• Hang your work or give it to a friend!

Purpose

• Painting on various materials.
• Learning how to use a hammer and nails.

Safety Notes

• Be sure to use nails and a hammer with direct adult supervision, using safety pre-cautions.
• Follow product directions.
• Yarn can be a strangulation hazard, therefore please use with adult supervision and not for play.