What do you get when you mix rope, duct tape, and a bamboo spoon? Snakes, obviously! These little guys appeared in FamilyFun magazine a few months ago…click this link to learn some other cool animal crafts to make with rope!
What you’ll need:
duct tape
1/4″ sisal rope
floral wire
bamboo spoon
black marker
1.Ā Have your child stick two 8-inch strips of coloredĀ duct tape (we used two different colors for each snake) onto parchment paper. Using scissors, cut them each into 12 1/2-inch strips.
2.Ā Cut a 42-inch piece of 1/4-inchĀ sisal ropeĀ into 3 equalpieces. Gather them together and sandwich a 14-inch piece ofĀ floral wire inside the bundle of rope. Peel a strip of duct tape off the parchment paper and wrap it around the middle of the rope and wire, then wrap 2 strips in the other color on either side. Repeat as desired along the whole length of the body.
3.Ā Cut off all but 1/2 inch of the handle of aĀ bamboo spoon. Tuck the end inside the ropes, secure withĀ tacky glue, then wrap with duct tape. Use a marker to draw eyes onto the back of the spoon. Fold a strip of duct tape in half lengthwise, and trim to 1/4-inch wide. Cut a V for the forked tongue, then tape to the inside of the spoon.
4.Ā Secure the snake by wrapping an 8-inch piece of tape around the end of the rope bundle.
When Ebay.com asked me to come up with on-trend sneaker decorations, I knew a cactus pair of shoes had to be made. These desert dwellers are popping up in all manner of DIY, home decor, and fashion, so I was determined to figure out a quick and easy way for kids to design their own sassy succulents…finger-stamping!
1. First, fill the shoes with newspaper to create a taut surface for your art. Have your child use his fingers to stamp green, intersecting ovals on the shoes to resemble a prickly pear cactus.
2. Outline the ovals with a green fabric marker together.
3. Have your kid draw small black xās on top of the green ovals with a fabric marker.
4. Let him finish off the cacti by drawing small orange flowers on top.
5. Paint shoelaces green with a watered-down green fabric paint (optional).
School is out (or almost!) for summer! And just like kids get their new pencils and backpacks before the start of school, summertime brings fresh, new sneakers for warm weather activities.
I made three fun sneaker projects for kids to do with their parents that can be found over on Ebay.com, and these Sundae sneaks are the first that I’ll share here at Project Kid.
Head over to Ebay and check out all of the fun craft ideas they are serving up for summer!
1. Help your child draw an ice cream shape on the front of each shoe using a pencil. Leave white space at the toe for āwhipped cream.ā
2. Have the child paint the shape. Here, we chose pink. (Crafterās tip: Be careful around the rubber edges of the shoes. Wipe off the paint immediately upon contact ā or, to be extra careful, tape them off first.)
3. From the bottom of the ice scream scoop to the heel, have your child paint each shoe a very watered-down camel hue to match the color of an ice cream cone.
4. While the cone is drying, add several dots of glue to each white toe and together add bugle beads as sprinkles.
5. Once the paint is dry, draw intersecting brown lines over the cone sections. Hold a ruler in place for your child to trace for more precision if desired.
6.Ā Lace sneakers, then stitch two pom-poms on either side of each shoelace as the cherry (this is best for a parent to do).
Sometimes my kids come into my craft room, fiddle around, touch everything they can get their hands on, and beg to make a project. While I have a ton of materials at my disposal, sometimes in the midst of developing new work, I can’t just clear the canvas and start an in-depth craft at the drop of a pom-pom.
So that’s when I grab for simple, mark-making projects like these. Using rubber bands and a few other household items that everyone has, you can make three different painting tools that will yield surprisingly clever results.
Rubber-Band Stamps
Cut small rectangles of cardboard, a bit larger than the circumference of the rubber band that youāre using.
Lay a rubber band down on a protected surface, apply glue to the top edge, and set a cardboard rectangle on top of it. Let dry.
Gently press the rubber band stamp onto the ink pad and stamp onto a piece of paper.
Rubber-Band Roller
Stretch five to eight rubber bands around the tape roll
Roll the tape roll in a thin layer of paint or on an ink pad and then roll it onto a piece of paper to create multiple stripes.
Rubber-Band Paintbrush
Gather six to eight rubber bands at the end of a pencil and wrap another rubber band around them to secure.
Dip the rubber bands into paint and use like a paintbrush.
I was so excited when Michaels asked me to guest post on their blog to talk about why and how I craft with kids. Check out the full post over on The Glue String!
Here is one of the projects I made specifically for this post!
BOHO DREAM CATCHER
How do you wish away your four-year-oldās bad dreams? While thereās no guarantee this will work, it at least gets them to sleep at night (and looks good on the wall)!
In the meantime, lay a 12-inch piece of embroidery floss on cardstock and apply strips of washi tape over it. Cut out a feather shape, about 4-inches long, making sure not to cut the string. Fringe the edges to look like a feather.
Thread beads over the string. Set aside.
Stretch cotton loops over the inner ring of the painted embroidery hoop to create the dream catcherās web.
Cut the strings of your feathers to the desired length and use a little piece of washi tape to secure them to the inside of the larger embroidery hoop.
Slip the larger hoop around the inner hoop and tighten the screw.
Hang on your wall with a cotton loop and have sweet dreams!
Wreaths have a reputation for being all about holidays:Ā Spooky stylesĀ greet Halloweenās trick-or-treaters,Ā harvest motifsĀ welcome Thanksgiving dinner guests, and come Christmas,Ā decking the door with boughs of hollyĀ is the order of the day. But despite their undeniable holiday appeal, wreaths can add a lot of life, love and creativity to your door during the spring and summer months, too. No official holiday needed!
For further proof, check out this bright, botanical DIY wreath. Itās made with spring and summer seasonality in mind;Ā floral spray paintĀ andĀ silk leavesĀ mean it stays fresh from year to year. I used neon colors and high-impact stripes to create a tropical vibe for this project, but you can use the same technique with your choice of colors and patterns ā from polka dots and zig-zags to color blocking andĀ Memphis-inspiredĀ shapes. Get creative!
Step 1:Ā Cut about ten 8Ć4-inch pieces of fabric and hot glue them around the wreath form tightly, overlapping to cover it completely.
Step 2:Ā Starting with the largest leaves, tape 20-24 leaves onto the scrap paper, creating a striped pattern on each one.
Step 3:Ā Smooth the tape down over the surface of the leaves and spray with paint. Let dry.
Step 4:Ā Hot glue the leaves around the covered wreath, positioning each one on a slight diagonal. Continue all the way around, overlapping them until you have covered the form.
Step 5:Ā Repeat the same technique with the smaller leaves and a second color of paint (I used yellow). Once they are dry, hot glue them on top of the first layer, working all the way around. Next, paint 6 to 10 leaves with a third color (I used orange) and intersperse them among the layer of small leaves.
My son Oliver is SO into Star Wars these days, so this year, May the FourthĀ finally has some weight in this household! Tonight, I’m planning on surprising him and Sommer with some cupcakes topped with Star Wars figures and their candle light sabers. Photo by Wonderthreads on Instagram.
Here are a few more ideas, perfect for any Star Wars-obsessed kid (or grown-up)!
Throwing a Star Wars party anytime soon? Check out these adorable ideas, like a Star Wars photo booth, from Pottery Barn Kids!
How genius are these cookies from Sweet Sugar Belle?Ā Just pull out your Christmas cookie cutters and repurpose them as Star Wars characters and objects.
I’m a huge fan of the paper lantern turned into (blank) and this BB8 latern idea from Desert Chica is fabulous!
It’s about a month late, but spring has finally sprung in New York, and we have taken to the park as though it were our backyard. It’s truly my one sadness of living in such an urban environment…that I have to travel to nature. But on the flip side, our local park is so grand and expansive that weĀ really get toĀ hike through trails, pathways, and acrossĀ meadows.
AndĀ when we go to the park, we reallyĀ GO to the park…I try to do all I can to prevent my kids from saying “Mommy, I wish we had brought _____!” We pack multiple snacks, blankets, games, extra clothes, sunscreens (we are in love with the new Babo Botanicals line), and sunglasses for all.
Since this was really our first campout day in the park, I decided to make it extra special. I’m always trying to find a way to get my kids to look up, down, and all around them, so I designed this nature scavenger hunt to encourage the 360 degree view. It’s designed for preschool-aged kids and older, both readers and pre-readers.
Print out the template and cut the full rectangle.
Tape the rectangle to the top of the egg carton.
Give each kid or team of kids a carton for the scavenger hunt. Send the kids out to find objects that match the pictures on the carton, having them collect objects from nature that match the pictures, words, or descriptions on the carton top. Encourage the kids to pick things off the ground that have fallen or that are weeds. And if your little one finds a red gum wrapper for the red category, then great! It teaches a good less in litter clean-up.
Oliver was very studious about matching his loot to the photos, while Sommer just filled her carton with yellow dandelions.
After running around collecting sticks, dandelions, and leaves, we enjoyed our picnic, reapplied our sunscreen, and relaxed on this beautiful day.
This post was sponsored by Babo Botanicals, and ProjectKid.com received the products compliments of BaboBotanicals as part of the PreenMeVIP program.
It’s Earth Day and now, more than ever, we really need to sit up and pay attention. So after you reuse your Ziploc bags, turn off unnecessary lights, and vote the right people into office, I say take a break and craft.
This year, celebrate Earth Day with your kids by making a cute, and also useful craft project. This penguinĀ book end reuses a drink bottle, a lone baby sock, and a Tyvek shipping envelope. This one comes from my first book, Project Kid.
Clean out the bottle and remove all labels. Fill it with sand and replace the cap.
To make the penguinās head, stuff the baby sock with cotton balls and slip it over the top of the bottle.
To make the eyes, cut two circles about the size of a plain M&M from white felt. Glue a tiny black pom-pom to each. Glue the circles onto the sock.
To make the beak, fold a piece of yellow felt and cut a 1ā4-inch triangle on the crease. Glue the crease onto the sock about 1ā2 inch below the eyes.
To make the earmuffs, bend the wire into a headband shape. Cut the felt bead in half and glue a piece to each end of the wire, rounded side facing out. Slip the earmuffs onto the penguinās head and glue to secure.
Cut two wing shapes (pointed at one end, cut straight across on the other) from the Tyvek envelope, about two-thirds the height of your bottle and about 3 inches across at the widest point. Cover the wings with strips of washi tape and glue the top, straight edge of each wing around the neck of the bottle.
To give the penguin a scarf, braid three 20-inch strands of yarn (the finished scarf will be about 16 inches long). If the yarn is thin, you may want to double or triple it Ā to give it some thickness.
Finally, to make the feet, fold a 3-inch square of yellow felt in half and cut a 2-inch-tall half heart shape on the crease. Glue it to the bottom of the bottle, rounded points facing out.
Playing with scale can make even the most mundane object exciting. An elephant that you can fit in the palm of your hand, a slice of cardboard pizza the size of your front door, or an itty bitty plate of pancakes that can fit in your dollhouseāthey all make you smile no matter what.
Check out these three ginormous food crafts that would make any kid swoon. Perfect for parties for just for silly playroom decor, they are easy to make and darling to look at. Too bad they don’t taste as good as they look!
How flippin’ cute is this painted pasta party decoration from Handmade Charlotte? Wagon wheels, penne, bowties, ravioli…I thought I had seen it all until this appeared! So cute and simple.
I would surround myself with honeycomb paper decorations all day long if I could. They have such a nostalgic yet modern feel. And they naturally lend themselves to transforming in to fruit like these beauties from The House That Lars Built.
Willie Wonka’s got nothing on these pops from Oh Happy Day. Made from styrofoam disks and dowels, they are so easy to make.Ā Perfect for a Candyland Birthday party!
If you’ve ever visited Studio DIY, you’d know she has a thing with donuts. And these donut balloons are just asking to be iced and sprinkled! Who knew these existed?
Back in my days at Parents magazine, i worked on this adorable Ice Cream Social party. These decorations were made with styrofoam balls, tissue paper, and cardboard cones.
1. Help your child draw an ice cream shape on the front of each shoe using a pencil. Leave white space at the toe for āwhipped cream.ā
