Nature Bugs

Disney's family fun site has the cutest idea for how to make bugs out of leaves, twigs, pebbles, and glue to hold them together.  They have several ideas of bugs you can make.

Good for ages 5 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/rock-bugs-674280/

Tin Punched Lantern

Gem fatale has a unique idea for how to make a tin punched lantern out of an empty can. The trick to the punching is filling the can with water and then freezing it. They recommend using a nail and hammer to punch the holes.

Good for ages 10 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://gemfatale.blogspot.com/2011/05/tuesday-tip-tin-lanterns.html

Rainbow Sun Catcher

Dilly dali art has a make your own rainbow suncatcher made out of gelatin. She has a recipe to make sheets of gelatin plastic using just gelatin, water and food coloring. From there she shows you how to cut them and connect them with thread and beads. It's pretty neat.

Good for ages 5 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.dillydaliart.com/2012/03/gelatin-plastic-rainbows-two-ways.html

Dragon Fly Popsicle Craft

Umm abdul basir has a cute idea for how to make a firefly craft using popsicle sticks, paint and cellophane.

Good for ages 6 and up.

Get the instructions here:

http://ummabdulbasir.wordpress.com/2010/06/13/dragonfly-craft/

Easy preschool craft has a similar craft using just popsicle sticks and glitter glue.

Get the instructions here:
http://easypreschoolcraft.blogspot.com/2012/06/easy-dragonfly-bug-craft.html

Using Spices to Paint

The children's art group has a great sensory craft mixing spices and glue and water to make scented and colorful paint. Kids will love the colors and textures and scents.

Good for ages 3 and up.

Get the instructions here:

http://thechildrensartgroup.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/children-art-group-spice-painting.html

Paper Plate Dream Catcher

Raising sparks shares how turn a paper plate into a dream catcher using beads, feathers and string.  

Good for ages 4 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://raisingsparks.com/craft-activities/paper-plate-crafts-for-kids/

Leaf Shadow Art

Rock a bye butterfly has a cute idea of how to make colorful leaf shadows using leafs and oil based crayons.

Good for ages 4 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.rockabyebutterfly.com/2011/09/fall.html

Button Art Roundup

One great way for kids to decorate a picture is by using buttons.  You'll need to add the outline and the glue but they can add the buttons to make a really neat picture.

Here are some great examples:

Button Letters

Button Trees

Good for ages 5 and up

Bath Time Submarine Printable

Mr. printables has some really cute and colorful templates your kids can embellish to create their very own bathtub submarines. Each template has spaces to add animals and pictures. After they add their own touch to them simply place them within a clear plastic bottle for lots of bathtime fun.

Good for ages 5 and up.

Get the instructions here:

http://www.mrprintables.com/homemade-toys-bottle-submarine.html

Paint With a Fly Swatter

The imagination tree has a fun way to play with paint -- using a fly swatter. Kids will have fun swatting the paper. They suggest making fly swatter flowers, but we guess kids will just love swatting the paper in general.

Good for ages 2 and up.

Get the instructions here:

http://www.theimaginationtree.com/2012/03/fly-swatter-flower-paintings.html

Fairy Feather Wand

Craft project ideas has a great tutorial for little girls -- creating a feather wand. All you need are some popsicle sticks, paint, feathers and glue and bing you'll have a wand.

Good for ages 5 and up.

Get the instructions here:

http://www.craftprojectideas.com/index.php/how-to/material-of-the-month/wood-dowels-february-2012/780-feather-wand

Rubber Band Bracelets

C fabbri designs has the most adorable idea for making a bracelet using rubber bands, jump rings and pretty beads.

Good for ages 7 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://cfabbridesigns.com/miscellaneous/jewelry/rubber-band-girl-bracelets/

Pipe Cleaner Bouquet

Easy preschool craft shows you how to make flowers out of pipe cleaners. They also include instructions in case you want plant them in rice.

Good for ages 6 and up.

Get the instructions here:

http://easypreschoolcraft.blogspot.com/search/label/spring

Alphabet Coloring Pages

Daily coloring pages has the most intricate animal alphabet printouts. They're a little too complex for abcderians but older kids will love them.

Good for ages 6 and up.

Get the template here:

http://dailycoloringpages.com/alphabet-letters-to-print/challenging-animal-alphabet-letters-to-print/

Reading with kids has some really neat color by number printables.  Each letter is completely different from puzzle pieces to triangles.  They also have color by letter coloring pages as well.

Get the template here:
http://www.reading-with-kids.com/color-by-number-coloring-pages.html

Mr. printables has the more classic alphabet coloring pages with a cute object to represent each letter.

Get the template here:
http://www.mrprintables.com/alphabet-coloring-pages.html

Education.com has 26 animal alphabet pages.

Get the template here:
http://www.education.com/slideshow/color-animal-alphabet 

Educational coloring pages hosts Sesame Street pages.

Get the templates here:
http://www.educationalcoloringpages.com/sesame.html

Play at home mom llc has a different alphabet exercise using stickers instead of crayons the kids place labels into the dots of letter templates to exercise fine motor skills.

Get the templates here:
http://www.playathomemomllc.com/2012/06/letters-in-different-light.html

Milk Carton Bird Feeder

Lake shore learning has a great way to upcycle an empty food carton by turning it into a bird feeder. Simply paint the feeder, cut out a hole, add some bird seed and string and hang. They're feeders are inspired by autumn, but you could easily do this for any season.

Good for ages 7 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/general_content/free_resources/crafts/ffbirdfeeder.jsp

Ballerina Paper Dolls

The vintage moth has shared a template of ballet paper dolls. There's even a male for all of them to dance with.

Get the template here:

http://thevintagemoth.blogspot.com/2011/09/vintage-paper-dolls-ballet-dancers.html

I should be mopping the floor has a ballerina paper doll as well with many different outfits to dress her in.

Get the template here:
http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com/2012/07/free-paperdoll-printables.html

How to Make a Paper Marche Bowl

Bread and buttons has a really great idea on how to use paper marche techniques with fabric strips creating a fun colorful bowl.

Good for ages 4 and up.

Get the instructions here:

http://breadandbuttons.typepad.com/blog/2011/02/process-vs-product-cast-your-vote.html

 

Carolyn's homework uses pre-cut circles to give her version a unique look.  

Get the instructions here:

http://carolynshomework.blogspot.com/2013/03/inkling-paper-mache-confetti-bowl.html

Crayon Colored Lanterns

Stylist has a fun way to make lanterns using crayons to decorate paper brown bags. You'll need to help with the melting part. They recommend using an iron to melt the colors.

Good for ages 3 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.stylelist.com/2012/02/23/craft-of-the-day-crayon-lanterns_n_1296588.html

Tin Can Windchimes

Hands on as we grow has a tutorial on how to make your own windchimes using empty food cans and glitter paint. For safety they recommend taping around the top of the cans so little fingers don't get cut.

Good for ages 6 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.handsonaswegrow.com/2011/06/outdoor-music-diy-windchimes.html

Easy to Make Lacing Cards

Tot school shows how to make some easy lacing cards your preschooler will love and provides several templates. They can even help with the punching if their little hands are strong enough.

Good for ages 3 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://totschool.shannons.org/?p=3422

Hygloss also has a lacing card tutorial but with a winter theme of mittens. The cute idea is they use full page construction paper so the kids can actually wear the mittens once they're laced.

Teal and lime suggests punching holds into premade card stock shapes.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.tealandlime.com/2011/12/diy-lacing-cards-kids-gift/

 

Kpmattingly uses cookie cutters as stencils to create the lacing cards.  

Get the instructions here:

http://kpmattingly.wordpress.com/2008/10/08/homemade-lacing-cards/

Painted Boxes

Pysselbolaget has a great idea for how to reuse face cream jars using only spray paint and affixing small figurines to the top.

Good for ages 9 and up.

Get the instructions (in Swedish) here:
http://pysselbolaget.se/2012/02/21/lyxig-smaforvaring/

Make Your own Foil Necklace

Make and takes has a cute way to make a foil pendant out of aluminum foil, sharpie markers and yarn.

Good for ages 8 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.makeandtakes.com/foil-pendant-craft-for-kids

How to Make a Woven Rug

Flax and twine has a great tutorial on how to weave a rug using a hula hoop as a base and colorful yarn.

Good for ages 10 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.flaxandtwine.com/2012/02/woven-finger-knitting-hula-hoop-rug-diy.html

Make Your Own Paperweight

Little blue boo shows you how you can make a unique paper weight out of beads, buttons or anything small and plastic. The main ingredient is clear plastic resin and a simple round circle mold.

Good for ages 10 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.lilblueboo.com/2012/03/cast-resin-paperweights-coasters-a-tutorial.html

Tissue Paper Vases

Woman's day has a great tutorial on how to make a vase out of tissue paper and glass bottles and jars.

Good for ages 7 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.womansday.com/home/craft-ideas/diy-decor-cheery-spring-vases

Let's explore shows a more kid centric and colorful version.

Get the instructions here:
http://lets-explore.net/blog/2009/09/tissue-paper-vases/

How to Make Soap Crayons

Child source has instructions for how to make soap crayons out of soap flakes and washable tempura paint.  For molds they suggest ice cube trays or dixie cups so not sure how they would match the photo, but you could use virtually any mold to design your own shapes.

Good for ages 6 and up.


Get the instructions here:
http://www.childsource.ca/crafts/soap-crayons

How to Color a White Flower

Child care land has a fantastic science experiment using a white carnation and food coloring showing how flowers drink water all the way from the stems to the leaves.

Fun guerrilla has a similar experiment with roses and splits the stem into two.

Get the instructions here:
http://funguerilla.com/rainbow-roses-all-colors-in-one-rose/

Chalk Dust Art

Flax and twine shows how you can decompose chalk to make colorful sand.  It's actually very simple.  All you need is some salt and colored chalk.  Roll the chalk in the salt and the chalk will start to break into tiny grains coloring the salt.

Good for ages 5 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.flaxandtwine.com/2011/03/rainbow-in-jar.html

CD Case Maze Game

Bloesem kids has a craft to make a labyrinth game in a cd case.  All you need is the cd case, wiki sticks (wax covered sticks), colored paper, and fimo clay to make the ball. 

Good for ages 6 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://bkids.typepad.com/bookhoucraftprojects/2011/05/project-85-cd-case-labyrinth.html

How to Make a Water Bracelet

Three jewels in a crown has a tutorial for how to create a glitter and water bracelet using clear plastic tubing, glitter and water.

Good for ages 8 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://threejewelsinmycrown.blogspot.com/2010/06/water-bracelets.html

September Free Kids Craft Events

September 1st

Home Depot has a make a goal post project from 9 am - 12 pm.

Get more information here: 

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/catalog/servlet/ContentView?pn=HT_WS_KidsWorkshops