Recycled Crayons

These are a great idea for Valentine's Day. We made them for my daughter to take to class and all the kids loved them too!

We used a combination of the tutorials from The Long Thread and from Make and Takes as well as some trial and error of our own.

My daughter had a great time breaking up the old crayons and dividing them among the different spaces in the silicone pan we bought. It was really easy to pop the cooled crayons out of the silicone pan and it was pretty easy to clean up afterwards too. We did put the pan on a cookie sheet so it was easy to get in and out of the oven because the silicone was bendy.

They were a hit with both teachers and kids and we would absolutely make these again.

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 - 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.

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!