Kids Craft - Homemade Wrapping Paper

We actually made this project for a birthday party but 'tis the season for wrapping and gifting so here it is.

I try not to buy wrapping paper for gifts whenever possible. Our city does not accept it in the blue recycling bins, which means it goes into the landfill and, to me, it seems like a lot of money to spend on something that is so short lived. We reuse gift bags, use the Sunday comics and I also use a lot of fabric gift bags. I love the fabric gift bags because they can be reused for gifting or other purposes indefinitely.

I do love a beautifully wrapped gift but there are ways to present something beautifully without commercial wrapping paper.

My daughter loves to be involved in organizing and wrapping the gifts that we give. We usually get some holiday baking and hot chocolate and make an afternoon of it. We have lots of fun together and at the end of the day, all the gifts are ready to give.

Making your own wrapping paper using brown kraft paper is very easy and inexpensive. It is a great project for kids of all ages.

I bought rolls of kraft paper, on sale for $0.49 each right after Christmas last year. We have used them all year for crafts and to wrap gifts and packages.

Materials:
Kraft paper (you could also use blank newsprint or newspaper)
Stamps and Ink Pads
Markers/ Crayons
Painter's Tape
Scissors (to cut the paper to size)

Instructions:
1. Cut the piece of kraft paper to size. We do this before we start stamping to keep the paper size manageable. If we have a large or heavy package, I sometimes wrap it in blank paper first and then we stamp the paper. It makes it easier to manage.

2. Tape the piece of paper to a flat surface. We use painter's tape to ensure that it will come off the paper with minimal ripping or tearing.

3. Get stamping. Decorate the paper with stamps and markers or crayons.

4. Allow the paper to dry. When dry, remove the tape slowly and wrap the gift.

Kids Craft - Masquerade Masks

October means that fall is officially here. The nights are definitely cooler, the leaves are changing colour and dropping off the trees. I love this time of year at the farm - a walk in the woods with the sound of leaves crunching under our feet, is wonderful to me.

Halloween is also no the way and that brings all kinds of fun dressing up and tasty treats.

This month we made some masquerade masks. They were very easy to make and we had a great afternoon making them and then plating dress up!

Supplies:
Card stock (in whatever colour you want your mask in - we used white)
Popsicle Sticks
Glue (white glue worked best)
Assorted Decorations:
Feathers
Glitter
Beads
Ribbon
Markers
Stamps


Directions:
Print the template below on 8.5" x 11" card stock. We used white card stock because that was what I had on hand - you can use any color that you want to.

Cut out the individual masks.

Decorate the masks - use your imagination!

You can make them any way that you want: Superhero, Animal, Mermaid, Robot - just have fun and let your creativity flow.

Let the glue dry - Once the glue is dry we taped Popsicle sticks to one side and tied some ribbons on the stick.
  
Here are the masks we made. Once they were dry we spent the afternoon playing masquerade ball.

Kids Craft - Paper Plate Fish

Fishies!!!!

We saw this craft at a welcome to Kindergarten party in town. We had fun making it there and decided we would try making some of our own at home.

We had lots of fun making our own with crayons, sequins and we even added a googly eye!

Materials:

Paper Plate
Scissors
Crayons/ Markers
Sequins
Googly Eye
Stapler

Instructions:
1. Draw a triangle on one side of the plate. Use the scissors to cut it out. This makes the mouth and the tail for your fish.
2. Staple the triangle on the back side of the fish, opposite the mouth.

3. Decorate the fish with crayons, markers, sequins, glitter, feathers and a googly eye.

Hang it up to admire.

Kids Craft - Paper Plate LadyBug

Here is another great craft for a rainy day - or even for a sunny day. It was rainy the day that we made these but on nice days we do paint and make crafts outside on the deck or in the grass.

This one is a paper plate ladybug. I LOVE ladybugs - I think that they are so cute.

This was a quick and fun craft for us to do. We used things that we had on hand so there was no shopping required for this craft either.

Materials:
Paper Plate
Paint and Brushes
Construction Paper
Glue
Pipe cleaner
Stapler

Instructions:
1. Paint the paper plate red.
2. Make the dots. There are at least 4 different ways to do this.
   a) Use black construction paper and cut out circles. Glue the circles to the painted paper plate.
   b) Use black paint to paint the dots on.
   c) Make glitter dots. Use glue to glue sequins on the painted paper plate.
   d) Use black markers or crayons to draw the dots on the ladybug. You should wait for the paint to dry  
        before doing it this way.
3. Make the antennae. Fold a pipe cleaner in half, wrap the ends around your finger to make then curl and then staple them to the plate.

VOILA! One super cute little ladybug.

Kids Craft - Paper Plate Butterflies

Warm weather and sunny days are here again! HOORAY!!!

We like to spend lots of time outside when the weather is good but rainy days put and end to outside fun pretty fast. At least until the rain goes away.

We were feeling crafty while we were watching the rain come down outside and decided to make some bright butterflies to cheer us up until the sun came back out.

They were really easy to make and we used things we had on hand so there was no shopping for any extra bits and bobs.

Materials Required:
Paper Plate (we used white but coloured plates would work too)
Scissors
Pipe Cleaners
Bingo Dabbers
Glitter Glue
Stapler
Markers/ Crayons

Directions:
1. The first thing we did was figure out how to make the butterfly wings. We made 4 triangles on the plates. 2 small ones on each side and 2 larger ones on the top and bottom. Draw them on with a crayon and cut out the triangles. This will give your butterfly wings.

2. Once your butterflies are cut out it is time to decorate!

We used Bingo dabbers to decorate yours but the possibilities are endless. Use crayons, markers, paint, glitter glue, ribbons, sequins, feathers, stickers, anything your heart desires.

3. Once the decorating is finished it is time to add the antennae. Take a pipe cleaner, fold it in half; curling each end around your finger to make them round and staple it to the centre of the butterfly. You can also add a string here if you want to hang your butterfly from anywhere. We stuck ours on the fridge with some clip magnets so did not add any strings.

These were lots of fun for us to make on a rainy Spring day and they really made the kitchen brighter!

Mason Jar Pin Cushions

 

 I have wanted to try a project like this for quite awhile but have always used my canning/ mason jars for making jams and preserves and never had any jars to spare.

I was gifted 2 boxes of old canning jars without lids. The jars were in great shape and I figured that they would be perfect to finally make this project. I found some lids with the centre seals for the jars at a local hardware store.

I also wanted to make a thank you gift for the ladies of the Rimbey International Historical Quilters Guild. They hand quilted a quilt for me and I wanted to give them a little something to let them know how much I appreciated it. I filled the jars with little chocolate bars from the local wholesale club. They looked great and made a wonderful gift. All the recipients were thrilled!

Click on the link for materials and instructions to make your own Mason Jar Pin Cushion

Project of the Month - April 2012

I was searching for projects for my friend who had a baby last summer. We both have extensive collections of fabric scraps and we were looking for something simple to make as a scrap buster project and that would be fun for the baby to play with.

I found this great tutorial for Fabric Beach Balls from The Purl Bee. We thought it would be a fabulous project and we were right!

I made 3 medium sized Fabric Beach Balls out of various fabrics that I had in my stash. It took about an hour for me to make all 3 balls, including cutting & stuffing time. My daughter helped me put the stuffing in and she had lots of fun making sure that they were the perfect shape and size.
I did leave off the fabric circles on both sides. I liked the way the intersecting seams looked.
The tutorial was simple and easy to follow. I think I will make them again the next time I need a baby gift for someone!

 

Kids Craft - Snow Paint

Snow Paint is an excellent project that will keep the kids entertained for hours on a snowy day.

It is inexpensive and easy to do. I purchased spray bottles from the dollar store that we use just for snow paint. You can also use spray bottles that you have at home if you have some.

Materials:
Spray Bottles
Water
Food Colouring

Directions:
 Fill the spray bottles 1/2 to 3/4 full with water.

Add food colouring and shake slightly to mix the color into the water.

Put the lid on the spray bottle, make sure the nozzle is open.

Hand the bottles over to your kids and go outside to have some fun.

You can make any colour that you can imagine and use them to make all kinds of pictures in the snow. We have also used them to colour our snowman and to make the icicles that hang off our deck multicoloured.

Project of the Month - January 2012

A new year brings all sorts of new projects to try.

I am looking forward to making some of the things that have been on my "To Do" list for awhile and to trying out some new projects.

The first project of the year is a sewing project for my daughter.

Something warm and fuzzy for cold winter nights.

Here is a picture of the 2 micro fleece fabrics that I got. 

Check back at the end of the month to see the completed project!

Placemat Cosmetic Bag

I love it when I find something great and get that bolt of inspiration that fuels me and keeps me creating.


I was wandering around a shop in town and saw these fabulous placemats. It was love at first sight, but we don’t use placemats on our kitchen table. Instead, I had a vision of something fabulous and useful instead, a new cosmetic bag. My old one has been with me for more years than I can remember and is in a very sorry state. It needed replacement and I was inspired - what a great combination!

I bought several placemats made with all kinds of different fabrics and interfacing. I found the easiest ones to work with had lighter interfacing in them, otherwise it makes it too hard to get the zipper in.


Here is an easy tutorial to make your own cosmetic bag from a placemat. 
Placemat Cosmetic Bag Tutorial

Leave a comment & let me know how yours turns out.


If you love the way they look but do not want to make your own they can be purchased in my Etsy shop too.

Project of the Month - August 2011

I have a project for myself this month and plan to use up some fabric from my stash. 

It's a gorgeous, navy and white bordered fabric. I am excited to see how the project turns out.

Check back later for some photos of the finished piece!

The Place to go for great tips & inspiration

The internet is a treasure trove of hints, tips, tutorials and endless inspiration.

Have an idea for something in your head but not sure how to translate it into reality?

Google it and see what results you get back. You may find nothing but often you will find inspiration and if you get really lucky you will find some instructions on how other people have done things themselves.

One of my favorite websites for inspiration and great How-to's is Fave Crafts 

I subscribe to the newsletter and love all the great projects that find their way to my inbox every week. The newsletter connects the reader with Fave Crafts and also with a network of other talented crafty bloggers.

The site is full of great patterns, tutorials and inspiration for crafters of all kinds. I found a few crochet patterns for dolls to make for my daughter and her cousin (I can't crochet but my Grandmother is great and is making them for the girls).

The sewing patterns are great! I have been inspired by many of the baby and children projects as well.

There are lots of simple crafts that kids can do and many eco-friendly projects to choose from too! I have a tutorial post coming soon that was inspired by some of the ways to re-use old glass canning jars that I received in a newsletter.

Stop by, stay and browse - You'll love it!