Random Kids Crafts

Some cute kids crafts:

Knit Wits
Dino Pipe Cleaner
Felt Cap
Patchwork Art

I may have to try some of these.

Homemade Paint Soup

Yesterday the twins were wanting so badly to pain. Naturally, I threw out the last set of watercolor paints during my montly de-clutter sweep. I couldn't find any recipes for paint that I could make with what I had on hand (not in my books), but finally found one online recipe. I quadrupled it and made these:

Here's the recipe I used. The paints were a little runny, dried light and grainy, but they fit the bill. The kids were happy and painted for quite a while, until they lost interest, dumped the paints out in thier outdoor kitchen set, and made paint soup.

Spongeball!!

Nine-year-old son is terribly bored. Break out the Martha Kids mag and make spongeball:

The instructions call for 3 sponges, but we had 2. Make do with 2. Marked sponges every 2cm, to make 6 pieces. Dante cuts the sponges, while I mark. He also insisted on taking the pictures.

Lie all the pieces out (we had 12) and stack them by 3's, then wrap the string around (I used the string I normally use to make knitted dishcloths.) and pull tight, knot and tie.

Dante takes another picture of me, holding up sponge, before we cut the string. Reminder to son: do not take pictures of mom when her 2nd chin is showing...

Finally, the spongeball gets tested in our full-of-seeds-from-the-rotten-tree pool.

Passes test and will be used this afternoon.

Tissue Paper Flowers

These are tissue flowers, and very easily made. I took the twins to a preschool story time at the library and the focus was on Spring. They handed out 3 circles of tissue papers. The kids put their finger in the center and pushed, indenting the center. You take the pipe cleaner and twist it around (in the back) where their finger made the indent and you've got a pretty flower. And easy, easy kids craft.

Homemade Flubber / Goo

I thought I posted this a long time ago, but maybe I didn't. It's the recipe for Homemade Flubber / Goo. It's fantastic. I got the recipe years ago from a friend who worked in daycare. I've given it away as gifts, whipped it up when the kids were bored (like today) and it keeps beautifully (Did I mention easy clean up? Soap and water). Here goes:

Part I - In one larger bowl mix (see picture):

• 2 c. glue (I used Elmers regular)
  
• 1 1/2c warm water
  

Part II - In another bowl mix:

• 1 1/3 c. warm water
  
• 4 tsp. Borax powder
  

NEXT - Pour Part II into Part I. Swish it around until it is a blubbery mess (not all water will be mixed in, that's okay). Lift it out and knead on a non-porous surface. (see picture)

Hints

• wash hands before using
  
• store in airtight container
  
• may mold after 6 weeks (mine never lasts that long, though - the kids destroy it
  

For colored Goo: Take an old marker and remove the inner core. Squeeze the coloring into the bowl of glue and mix (before adding water). If you're using an older marker that is dried out - just soak it in a little bit of warm water, then try squeezing it. You can also use food coloring, but I find the marker thing more flexible, not to mention cheaper. (For my pink Goo, I used an old highlighter- see picture)

Here's the finished product - color is way off, though.

And the twins, enjoying the Goo. They were pretending they were cooking up some good eats.

Enchanted Learning

Crafts for Kids - EnchantedLearning.com - Oodles of crafts!! There's also coloring pages, letters and numbers pages (tracing), and tons of other goodies. Wow.

Kids Rainmaker

Oooh. I found instructions for a Kids Rainmaker. I remember my mom making something similar for me when I was a kid. I'm going to have to make one of these.

Pooh Crafty Stuff

Oooh, printable fun crafts from Pooh Bear's Den.

Kool-Aid Playdough

Today we made some kool-aid playdough from this recipe. It's super easy to make, cheap and smells delicious. I used lemon-lime kool-aid for one batch, then cherry for the next. The kids loved it. It provided 2+ hrs of playtime so far.

Here's some pictures:
Kids with playdough
Dough stamping, with cookie cutters
Heart stamped in the dough
Bear in his playdough cave
Wee too much fun with flour

The kids are still playing with the dough, mixing the two colors together and making strange creations. I had my own fun, kneading the dough out onto the table, adding flour and pretending that I was making bread. Joy, joy. This is really so simple that kids could make it (almost) by themselves, although, you do use boiling water, so adult supervision is a good idearsky.

Crafty stuff for kids

Just Kids Recipes - Craft recipe index.. Yus, yus. Crafty stuff for kids. Love it. I like making stuff with my kids, but I also like following craft recipes intended for kids. Usually they are ultra easy.

Link via bobthecorgi.