Summer Crafts to do with your Child...

[HopeandFaith4God]

Mosaic Flowerpot



Preserve old treasures and create a
useful gift in the process.

CRAFT MATERIALS:

Newspaper
Pieces of broken pottery, tiles, beads, marbles, beach glass, shells or charms
Ceramic tile grout (available at hardware stores)
Plastic knife
Terra-cotta flowerpot
Sponge

Time needed:

Under 1 Hour
1. Cover the work area with newspaper. Before starting to decorate the pot, sort through the pottery pieces and discard any that have sharp edges (a parent's job).

2. Spread a heavy layer of tile grout onto the flowerpot with the plastic knife. Then press the tile pieces into the wet grout. When finished, spread a little more grout between the pieces so that most of the broken edges are covered.

3. After the pot is dry, wipe off any grout film with a damp sponge.

Tips:
If you don't have broken pottery, place chipped, leftover tiles in a clear plastic bag (this way you can see what you're smashing) and break them with a hammer. Another good source for broken tiles is your local tile or hardware store; many will give you broken display tiles for free.

 

[HopeandFaith4God]

Cascade of Stars


Make a cascading star mobile from paper stars,
a drinking straw and yarn. When you're finished,
you can hang this cute decoration from the ceiling.


Supplies:


Thick paper, like cardstock or thick construction paper
A printer
A drinking straw (one straw for each project)
Yarn (about 1 1/2 feet of yarn for each project)
Scissors
Optional - paint, markers, glitter

Draw and cut out 6 stars of various sizes from thick paper. For a star template, click here.
Poke a tiny hole in the center of each star (this is where you will eventually thread the yarn through them).



Decorate the stars with paint or markers. Also, glitter is a nice decorative touch. (Work on top of old newspapers to avoid too much of a mess.)
Cut a drinking straw into 1 1/2 inch long segments (the exact length is not important) - you need 5 segments of straw for each project.
Cut a piece of yarn about 2 feet long. Tie a thick knot at one end of the yarn. Thread the smallest star through the other end of the yarn -- push it down to the knot. Then thread a segment of drinking straw -- push it down to the small star.
Continue threading stars and straw segments. When the last star (the biggest star) has been threaded onto the yarn, tie a large loop at the end (you will hang your mobile from this loop).

 

[HopeandFaith4God]

Paper Plate Flower Craft



flower is made from a paper plate and a child's handprint cutouts.

More paper plate crafts

Supplies needed:

A paper plate
Colorful construction paper
Scissors
Glue (or a stapler)

Trace a child's hand on colorful construction paper, at least 10 times.
Cut out the hand tracings.

Glue or staple a circle of handprint tracings (fingers pointing outwards) around the outside of the plate - the fingers are the flower's petals.
Glue or staple a second circle of handprint tracings (fingers pointing outwards) just inside the first circle.
Glue or staple a third circle of handprint tracings at the center of the plate.
Glue a small paper circle in the center of the flower.

 

[HopeandFaith4God]

String of Jack-O'-Lanterns or Ghosts

Make a string of jack-o'-lanterns or ghosts to hang around a room. These simple-to-make strings make a great Halloween decoration. You can drape the strings across rooms, over windows and from the chandeliers.






Supplies needed:

Construction paper (orange and black for pumpkins, white and black for ghosts)
Crayons or markers
Scissors
Glue, tape, or staples
A long piece of green or black yarn or string


Draw a jack-o'-lantern's face on a piece of orange paper, or a ghost on white paper. Make sure to draw a long stem on the top (your pumpkin or ghost will hang from this stem, which will be folded over).
Cut out the pumpkin or ghost. Make eyes, a nose, and a mouth from black paper (or use a black crayon or marker).
Fold the pumpkin's stem in half. Fold the ghost's "stem" completely behind the ghost.

Attach the pumpkin or ghost to a long string. Use green yarn for the pumpkins, black string for the ghosts. Attach them using tape, glue, or staples.

Hang your string of jack-o'-lanterns or ghosts across the room for a wonderful Halloween decoration.

 

[HopeandFaith4God]

Japanese Kokeshi Dolls




Kokeshi dolls are simple stylized dolls that are made for tourists on vacation in Japan. In Japan, these hand-painted, lathe-turned wooden dolls often had a cylindrical base (the body) and a round head. Many people collect these small dolls. In this children's craft, the base (body) is a small, plastic bottle and the head is a ping-pong ball.

Supplies needed:


A ping-pong ball (or a styrofoam ball)
A small, clean, label-less empty plastic bottle, like a yogurt drink bottle, a vitamin bottle (or use another small, white, plastic bottle)
Hot glue gun and hot glue
Tempera paint or acrylic paint
Small brushes
Markers

Hot glue the ping-pong ball to the top of the small, plastic bottle. Let the glue cool and set for a few minutes.
Give the body (the small, plastic bottle) a coat of paint (you can pick a simple white or beige, or choose a less traditional bright color). Let the paint dry.
Using small brushes or markers, draw the doll's facial features and hair (on the ping-pong ball). Let the paint dry.
Then decorate the body to represent a beautiful kimono (a traditional Japanese gown). Let the paint dry.
You now have a beautiful Kokeshi doll.

 

[HopeandFaith4God]

Twig Frame


rustic picture frame made from twigs.

Supplies needed:

Twigs
Twine or string
Glue (hot glue works well)
A photo for framing

Collect 2 bunches of twigs. One bunch (about 6 to 8) should be about 2 inches longer than your photo. The other bunch of twigs should be about 2 inches wider than your photo.
Arrange the twigs so that they surround the photo and extend outward about an inch in each direction. Tie the twigs at each corner using twine or string, making an "X" pattern.
Glue the photo onto the back of your twig frame. Hot glue works the best.
Glue a small loop of string to the top batch of twigs for hanging the photo.

 

[HopeandFaith4God]

Handprint Butterfly Craft


handprint cutouts.


Supplies needed:

A few pieces of colored construction paper (stiffer paper makes a more durable butterfly)
A pencil
Scissors
Glue, tape or a stapler
Crayons, paint or markers
Googly eyes (optional)
A pipe cleaner


Trace a child's hand on a few pieces of construction paper, for a total of 6 times. These will be the butterfly's wings.

Cut out the tracings.
On a piece of dark construction paper, draw a butterfly's body (draw a long oval plus a smaller circle at one end).
Glue or staple the handprint tracings to the body, three on each side. The fingers should point outwards.
Fold a pipe cleaner in half. Curl the ends a bit or wad them into balls. The folded pipe cleaner will be the butterfly's antennae.
Tape or staple the bent part of the pipe cleaner to the back side of the butterfly's head.
Either draw eyes on the butterfly's head or glue on googly eyes. Decorate the wings with crayons or markers.

You now have a great butterfly decoration.

 

[Palomino]

every babysitters dream here so than k you for posting these as I will be watching 2 twin girls this summer.

 

[CFFosterAngel50]

Thats wonderful ... I did daycare for 6 years .. if you need help with ideas just let me know .. See what we can put together for them to do ... to make your summer stress far and make them happy tooo ... always here to help in any way I can...
God Bless
Faith

 

[JolieHeart]

Easy, creative ideas for Sunday School or for every day activities! Thank you for sharing

 

[AxionEsti]

When I was a child we had a project that we went out to fields and collected wild flowers, and interesting leaves. Then we brought them home and placed them between newspapers, and then that was sandwiched between two cardboard pieces. We wrapped that up in very large rubber bands, or tightly bound with string. After a while they became dried flowers and leaves, and then those were carefully mounted in an album. I think I had to look up their names and label them. It's very educational.