Tag: summer crafts

Clothespin Butterflies

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These clothespin butterflies are fun to make and can be clipped just about anywhere! L and I started this craft on a whim a couple weeks ago, we were trying to make butterflies with things we already had. Hopefully you have all the materials hiding around your house too! You could use paint or markers to color the clothespins. Using markers, the butterflies could be finished in one morning. We chose to paint ours…L loves to paint and I like when projects can be stretched out, keeping us busy for a few days.

Materials needed:

  • clothespins
  • paint or markers
  • pipe cleaners
  • beads
  • hot glue gun and glue

First, paint the clothespins. We painted one side, let them dry, then painted the other. I helped with the touch-ups…filling in any little spots that were missed. Let the kids have fun with it! L was happy painting hers all sorts of colors…there’s no right or wrong way.

 

Next, choose the color pipe cleaners you want to use for wings and the color beads. We used three colors of beads for the wings. This was a great learning activity to teach little ones about patterns! L strung the beads on the pipe cleaners, repeating our 3-bead pattern 4 times for each wing.

 

 

Spread the beads out a little bit, so the color of the pipe-cleaner can be seen. Next, loop one end of the pipe cleaner around to the middle of the pipe cleaner and wrap it once or twice, leaving about half an inch of the end sticking out. Repeat with the other side of the pipe cleaner, forming a figure-8 butterfly wing shape. Twist both half-inch ends together. (This step is much easier to see in the pictures than to explain!) Repeat for the second wing.

 

 

 

 

To make the butterfly’s antennas, cut a pipe cleaner in half. Then, bend that piece in half. Put a bead on each end of the antenna and curl it down a bit.

 

 

After you’ve shaped both butterfly wings and the antennas, it’s time to glue them to the clothespin. Using the hot glue gun, put a little bit of glue on the inside ridge of the clip and quickly press the middle of the antennas in place.

 

 

Next, put a bit of glue inside the wire coil and push one of the wings in. Repeat the same on the other side, only put the glue above the wire coil and slide the wing in place.

 

 

Cute, right? These would be beautiful hanging in a window with the sun lighting-up the beads! We’re making something special for WB’s room with ours…I can’t wait to show you next week! Enjoy!

DIY Rustic Spinning Stars

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I love these Rustic Spinning Stars. When I first saw something similar here on the “happy hooligans” blog I just knew we had to make them! They’re fun to make with the kids and are beautiful hanging inside or outside. We have ours spinning on our front porch, while my dad hung his (which we gave him for Father’s Day) in their kitchen. I think the stars would be really fun hanging, spinning from the branches of a big tree too!

 

 

Materials needed:

  • sticks
  • glue gun and glue
  • white acrylic paint and brushes
  • colored ribbon scraps, string, raffia
  • florist wire

First, have your little ones collect sticks. You can make big stars with big sticks or use little twigs, like we did, to make little 3 to 5-inch stars.

Use the hot glue gun to glue five sticks together into the shape of a star. The stars don’t all have to be the same size and they certainly don’t have to be perfect…any imperfections give your stars more character! Don’t worry about the glue showing either, in the next step the paint will cover it up.

Next, have your kids help you paint each star with white acrylic paint. This is a great painting project for little ones, since any missed spots give the stars their rustic appearance.

 

After the paint dries, tie one end of your ribbon to the center of the star and wrap it around. Again, no need to be perfect here…another great task for your kids to help you do! After the star is wrapped, tie the end in a knot around one of the star’s arms.

You can attach the stars to each other with string or wire. We used green florist wire, which is weather resistant and sturdy. If you link two pieces of wire together, between each star, the stars will spin a little more than if you use only one wire. We tried both ways…both did the job and look great, so it’s up to you!

Now for the fun part, find the perfect spot to hang your Rustic Spinning Stars! Enjoy!

Play Dough Funny Faces w/ DIY Outlet Covers

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When I saw a variation of this craft years ago, I stored it away in the back of my mind, just waiting for L to be old enough to make and play with these! The outlet covers I saw were made using Sharpie Markers, but I love the color we brought to ours with paint! The outlet-cover funny faces are as much fun to make as they are to play with! L and I spent one day painting the outlet covers, let them dry overnight, then the next day, we were able to glue on the googlie eyes and stick them in our play dough! So silly and so much fun!

 

Materials Needed:

  • outlet covers
  • paint (acrylic and/or puffy paint)
  • googlie eyes
  • jewels (optional)
  • hot glue gun and glue
  • your favorite play dough
  • egg cartons (optional)

 

The first thing I did, preparing our work station, was to cut off the center tips of an egg carton. I then put an outlet cover in each opening so L could paint them with ease.

 

Then, paint away! I tried to paint mouths and noses on the outlet covers, while I let L paint hers however she pleased. I figured the ones she painted could be used to glue on the eyes and jewels later on.

 

 

After the glue dries, you can go over some with puffy paint too! I thought it was a fun effect for big, puffy lips!

Using a hot glue gun, attach some googlie eyes and jewels to a few of the other outlet covers.

 

Now it’s time to play! Just push the outlet covers into your favorite play dough…the funny face possibilities are endless!

 

 

 

 

 

I love how the play dough doesn’t stick to the outlet covers, rather it just falls off, making clean-up a breeze! Please share pictures of your funny faces…we’d love to see them! Enjoy!

Tie-Dye Napkin Painting

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I remember first doing this activity at a friend’s house when I was in Kindergarten. It’s so simple, yet so much fun! Even as an adult, I enjoy painting these with L…the finished painting always looks so much better than I expect it to!

Materials Needed:

  • white napkins
  • watercolor paints

Keeping it folded up, paint the napkin with the watercolors. Make sure the paint is plenty wet and soaks through the napkin completely.

 

 

Once you’re done painting dots, patterns, or whatever you fancy on the napkin, open it up for the surprise ending! See…so much cooler than you anticipated!!!

 

 

 

 

L could paint these all day long! If you don’t have paper napkins on hand, paper towels work too. Enjoy!

 

 

Bubble Blobs and Bubble Worms

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Here is a super-fun activity made with materials you already have! L and I started making bubble blobs after breakfast this morning and we were still making them in the shower tonight! (I may or may not have bribed her into the shower with her bubble blob blower.) It’s definitely a good summer activity, but there’s no reason why it can’t be done in the bathtub on a rainy, cold day.

 

 

 

Materials needed:

  • plastic drink bottle
  • old sock (Thick socks work best!)
  • rubber band
  • dish soap
  • food coloring (optional)
  • a small bowl
  • scissors

 

 

First, cut the bottom of the plastic bottle off and unscrew the lid.

 

 

Turn the sock inside out (so the fluffier side is outside), and pull it over the bottom of the bottle. Secure it in place with a rubber band.

 

 

Next, put some dish soap in a small bowl with a little bit of water. If you want your bubble blobs and worms to be colored, add a few drops of food coloring too!

 

 

Now for the fun part…put the newly-made, bubble blob blower in the dish soap, then blow through the bottle top!

 

 

 

Instruct your kids to blow as if they’re blowing up a balloon and not to suck in!!! L made that mistake once and got a mouthful of bubbles. Ick!

 

 

 

 

 

It’s fun to see who can make the longest bubble worm! 🙂 What other bubble inventions have you made? Please share in the comments section below!

 

Acorn Cap Treasures

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L and I were so excited the other day when we noticed that acorns were starting to fall from the Oak trees. We collected as many acorns and acorn caps as we could carry and rushed home to make “acorn cap treasures” with them. This craft is so much fun to do and to observe that we’ll probably be doing it every summer when the first acorns begin to fall.

 

Materials needed:

  • acorn caps
  • markers (any kind should work)
  • Elmer’s Glue
  • a medium container
  • rice or dried beans or lentils

 

 

First, color the inside of your acorn caps with the markers. L loved this part, but being only 2 yrs old she wasn’t the best at coloring the entire cap…so I helped filling in any missed spots.

 

 

 

 

Next, pour some of the rice or beans into your container…it only needs to be about half an inch deep.  Have your child lay all the caps on top, one by one. Press down gently on each cap making sure they are upright…well, bottoms-up.

 

 

Now, fill each acorn cap with the glue. This was our favorite part, watching the colors bleed out into the glue.

Wait and watch your acorn caps for a couple days as the glue begins to dry and the colors change. L loved checking on her treasures throughout the day, observing all the color variations. They take a full two days to dry!

 

 

 

 

When your acorn cap treasures are dry, the insides will be nice and shiny like true jewels. Now it’s time to play!

 

 

L likes to pretend that her acorn caps are fairy treasures and coins. She tried giving me a couple of my favorite colored ones, the orange, in exchange for a cookie this afternoon. Ha! I love seeing L’s imagination at work!

 

We also have fun playing matching games with them. We turn all the caps upside-down on a blanket. Then, one of us says a color and we take turns trying to find it. With the same set up, you can also take turns trying to find two of any matching color. So much fun to make and to play with! What games did your kids come up with???

 

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Fairy Furniture

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It wouldn’t be fair for me to tell you how to make a “fairy door” without showing you how to make some fairy furniture to add to your garden as well! These tables and chairs are super easy and quick to make and, like most of my favorite crafts, they can be made with things you already have!

 

 Materials needed:

  • bottle caps
  • little sticks and twigs
  • scissors
  • hot glue gun and glue

First, have your kids help you collect sticks out of your yard and select some colorful bottle caps. (Bottle caps are another item we hoard in our house…they can be used for so many crafts!)

 

Using your scissors, cut a stick into four equal pieces…each about an inch long. These will be the legs of your chair.

 

Turn a bottle cap upside down and glue the four legs into place. You can either put the glue onto the leg and push it into the bottle cap, or put the glue directly onto the cap and push the stick in. Whichever method you decide on, make sure you do it quickly so the chair legs are super-secure!

 

 

 

 

Cut two more sticks, about an inch and a half to two inches long. These ones do not have to be exactly equal in length or straight! Cut two or three more sticks about an inch in length.

These sticks will resemble a ladder-back chair. One by one, glue the inch-long sticks to the longer ones, attaching the two. (Easier to see in the pictures below than to explain!) I prefer the small, horizontal sticks to be a little crooked…gives the chair more character!

 

 

Once all the sticks are attached and the glue has dried, flip the chair over and decide which side will be the front and which will be the back. Glue the back of the chair to the seat with two more dots of glue. All done!!!

 

 

If you’ve made the chair, the table is super easy…essentially it’s a back-less chair!

 

 

I just love the color and character the bottle caps give the fairy furniture! Have fun playing with this one! They are so quick and easy to make, you might as well make a few for your neighbor’s garden as well.

 

Homemade Paper and Seed Paper

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Last night, while cleaning up from dinner, I told L not to throw away her pudding cup because it can be recycled. She replied, “What’s recycle? What’s it mean?” So as I was doing my best to explain to a 2-year-old how plastics are melted down and made into new containers, I remembered how I used to make paper as a kid…it’s the perfect activity to teach kids of any age how things are recycled! I lost my paper-making kit years ago, but it didn’t take long to locate and piece together the materials needed for homemade paper. I love this activity because your kids can help with each of the steps, keeping them busy and entertained the whole way through!




Materials needed:

  • old paper
  • water
  • blender
  • 2 small window screens
  • felt (or thin cloth like a cloth diaper)
  • sponges
  • plastic tub or wide container
  • seeds (optional)

 

 

First, dig through the recycling basket for colorful paper. (I always save colored-on pieces of construction paper for projects like this!) Have your kids help you tear it up into 2-inch pieces and throw it all into a large bowl.

 

 

Add some water to the bowl, covering all the paper pieces, and let it soak thoroughly for a few minutes. Your kids can now reach in the bowl to see how the wet paper feels compared to the dry.

 

 

Next, scoop and dump the paper and water into your blender. There’s no exact amount of water needed since it’ll all be squeezed out in the end. Blend the mixture for about a minute. The pulp should resemble the consistency of oatmeal.

 

Now for the fun, messy part!!! Lay one of the screens over the plastic tub or container. (You could use your sink, but it’s easier for kids if the project is done on the floor!)

 

 

Next, dump the paper pulp mixture out on top of the screen. Let your kids help you spread it around gently.

 

 

Then lay a large piece of felt on top of the mixture and next, the second window screen.

 

 

Using sponges press down on the felt, squeezing most of the water out. We started in the middle of the felt and worked our way out, pressing the paper underneath nice and flat.

 

 

Next, take off the top screen and, placing one hand on top of the felt, quickly flip the other over. Remove the screen and leave the paper on the felt to dry. I did this last step outside on our picnic table so the paper could dry in the sun and summer heat. It takes about a day to dry on its own. When I was a kid, doing a similar paper-making project, the paper and felt pieces were much smaller and I’d pop it in the microwave to dry. The paper would curl a little bit sometimes, but it was quick and easy.

 

 

 

Here’s our finished paper! It doesn’t look like your typical paper, but it is beautiful with all the bright yellows, reds and oranges mixed in! It’ll be perfect to paint on later in the day!

 

Making Seed Paper: 
To make seed paper, add a handful of flower seeds to the pulp before squeezing all the water out. After the paper dries, you can cut it up into squares and gift it to friends. They can plant the paper strips in soil in the Spring, water and wait for their flowers to grow! We used our leftover, perennial Balloon Flower seeds…they’re easy to grow and look beautiful anywhere!

 

 

Other Ideas:

  • Before squeezing the water out of the paper-pulp mixture, add some flower petals to the pulp for a fresh and colorful look!
  • After squeezing the water out and removing the screens, use cookie cutters to carefully cut the paper into shapes. After they dry, you can punch a hole to hang the paper shapes and make ornaments! We may do this around the holidays, using holiday-colored paper.
  • You can also add glitter to the paper pulp, before squeezing the water out, to give your paper a little sparkle!

 

Have fun and get messy! Your kids will love you for it!!!

DIY Tin Can Bird Feeder

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I think what I love most about the Tin Can Bird Feeder is that you’re essentially making something from nothing! It’s also such a fun way to teach kids how to reuse and recycle! We just made the bird feeder on a whimsy for our own backyard, but it would make a terrific gift too.

 

 

Materials needed:

  • tin can and its lid
  • pliers
  • hot glue gun and glue
  • sticks
  • string
  • a few small rocks

 

First, make sure your can has been thoroughly cleaned and remove the paper label.

 

 

 

Next, being careful not to cut yourself, fold the lid in half using your pliers. Our lid was one of the pull-top ones, which made it a little tricky, but we were still able to make it work!

 

 

 

Now, using the hot glue gun, put a little bit of glue around half of the rim of the can and set the lid inside. Try your best to hide the glue, so it’s not so visible from the outside.

 

 

While you’re folding and gluing the top, go ahead and send the little ones off to find sticks in the backyard.

 

 

Find one or two thicker, sturdier sticks and glue them to the bottom of the bird feeder…this is where the birds can perch while they snack.

 

 

Now, go around the can gluing sticks side-by-side until the entire can has been covered. We broke the sticks so they were all roughly the same length, but by no means perfect. If one stick is curved and leaves a substantial gap, go ahead and glue a small stick in to fill the hole.

 

 

On the bottom of the can, glue a few rocks in place…these probably won’t be seen, but will help balance out the bird feeder so it doesn’t tip too far forward.

 

 

Lastly, tie a string around the bird feeder and fill with bird seed. Hang it up where you and the kids can see it from a window…maybe on a nearby branch or off of your porch. Now, sit back and wait for the birds!

 

 

 

We decorated our bird feeder with sticks from the yard, but you can certainly get creative and mix things up a bit. Your kids can paint the tin can, wrap string around the can, or glue buttons on it…anything you all are inspired to do to make it unique!

DIY Fairy Door…Gnome Door…

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In our garden the fairies and gnomes live amongst each other. Their village spreads around the yard with lil houses, patios and ponds hidden beneath the flowers. Throughout the year, L and I like to collect and make things to add to our garden…this morning we made a lil fairy door.

Materials needed:

  • sticks
  • florist wire
  • a button

 

First, have your kids collect some sticks and twigs around the yard. Sort through the sticks, finding ones that are particularly straight. Lay these sticks side-by-side, getting an idea of what your door will look like.

 

 

Next, cut two pieces of florist wire about 2-ft long each. Fold them in half.

 

 

Take the first stick you have laid out for the door and place it in the middle of one of the wires. Wrap the wire around the stick, about an inch from the bottom, and twist the wire once to secure it.

 

 

Do the same with the second wire about the an inch from the top of the stick. Continue adding sticks, one-by-one, wrapping and twisting the wires as you go.

When all the sticks are connected, hold the door in two hands and very gently squeeze the sticks together.

 

 

Cut the end of the wire, leaving about half an inch, and fold back the extra.

 

 

Next, have your child select a button for a door knob. L chose this cute lil heart button…probably not the one I would have chosen, but it was perfect for a fairy door! (Kids just know when it comes to these things.)

 

 

Thread the button onto a 4-inch piece of wire, twisting the wire a bit to secure it. Then, deciding where you’d like the door knob to be, wrap and twist the wire around one or two of the sticks.

 

 

To ensure that the button won’t slide down the door, you can thread the excess wire up and over the wire that holds the sticks in place as well.

 

 

Now the fun part…find a little piece of wall, fence, or a tree trunk to prop the door up against! Add some buttons, pennies, or broken tile pieces for lil fairy stepping stones… Adorable!

 

 

This project was so quick and easy, I think we’ll make another to sneak into our neighbor’s garden. He’s got the perfect tree for a fairy or gnome door…