Category — Crafts for Kids

A fun way to preserve special summer memories is by using a tin lunch box. You can find them at craft stores and they come in various shapes and sizes.

Use permanent markers and stickers to decorate the outside then use a clip magnet on the inside cover to hold all the photos. You can make a booklet with your photos or just stack them together and secure with the magnet clip. Put souvenirs, postcards or other memorabilia inside.

You can also use a tin box you already have and paint it.

Kate, Kimball & Megan painting their pots. Kate must have thought the paint was a treat because she wanted to lick the brush.

Megan & Logan planting their flowers.

Grandma Liz with her sweetie pies and their creations.

I enjoyed a fun day with my daughter and my grandsons painting and planting.
We started out by painting terra cotta planters that I picked up at the thrift store for $.50. We used acrylic paints. While they were drying we headed to the nursery to get shrubs & flowers for my daughter’s yard. I let my grandson’s pick out a plant for their pot.

We barely had room for Ethan in the backseat. He was surrounded by plants & flowers.

Mason with the final project.

Aren’t these darling. I can’t wait to make them with my 8 year old granddaughter when we have our special sleepover. They would also be fun to make at a birthday party. Thanks to Hope at Going Sew Crazy for letting me share her idea. She has detailed directions so they’re easy to make.
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This could be a fun activity for a summer project, family reunion or birthday party.

Wouldn’t this be a fun way to present a Mother’s Day gift. You could fill it with potting plants, lotions & soap or towels. All you need is a basket and some ribbon or fabric strips. Aimee at HomeSpun Threads shows you how you can take a plain basket and embellish it to create something special.
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You probably never thought something as fun and easy as making a placemat would also develop important skills. This activity, great for any celebration, helps children with small muscle coordination and patterning which is an important math skill.
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These wind chimes are easy to make and would be a great gift for Mother’s Day or any occasion.
You’ll need:
various sizes of lids (soup, vegetables, fruit, etc.)
paint
string
dowel (about 6-8 inches long)
hammer
nail
Directions:
1. When you open the cans to get the lids make sure to use a can opener that doesn’t leave sharp edges. Clean the lids.
2. Using the hammer and nail make a hole in each lid. Make sure to pound the back down flat so there are no cut fingers.
3. Paint each lid front & back. When dry decorate.
4. Attach a string to each lid where you made the hole and then attach to the dowel. You’ll want them to be close enough together so they chime when the wind blows.
5. Attach a string to the dowel and hang.

This is a great gift for your child to give someone special or a way to preserve a memory. Just recycle an old frame with paint and cute designs. You can also us tongue depressors to form a frame. Just paint, glue together and add a message or design. Use a ribbon or string for hanging. These frames are easy and fun and I know any grandparent or parent would be thrilled to receive one as a gift.

This is the final product, a special surprise for mom and dad.

You begin by cutting shapes out of sponges. You can do it with scissors but it’s hard for small hands to do so your grandkids will need help. I got a package of 8 sponges at the Dollar Store

Cover the work space with newspaper. Squirt acrylic paint onto a paper plate and let the kids press the sponge shape in the paint and stamp on their paper. I used pieces of brown paper sacks because it’s thicker and the paint won’t go through to the other side.

You can also make an accordion shape book or use your imagination to create something special.