craft day

10% off Mabel's Labels purchases made in August 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 04:18:00 +0000

- clothing labels for camp and school
- return address labels for you
- Ultimate Back-to-School Combo (now with Teeny Tags™!)
- stationery kits
- child ID wristbands and more!

E-mail MabelsAgent at NSCcards dot com
with a subject of "coupon"
to receive your coupon code for
10% off your next Mabel's Labels purchase!^#

^# By sending your e-mail address you agree to receive periodic newsletters from your Mabel's Labels agent. You may unsubscribe from these newsletters at any time. Coupon code expires at the end of August 2009.

Win an Ultimate Back-to-School Combo (now with Teeny Tags™) !

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:59:00 +0000

As a Mabel's Labels agent, I'm happy to offer you a chance to win an Ultimate Back-to-School Combo from Mabel's Labels.

Click through for contest information and details.

Contest closes Monday, July 13th at 11:59pm (EST).

Easter craft round-up

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 00:27:00 +0000

Valentine, you amaze me!

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:36:00 +0000

[Download the PDF for this Heart Maze.]
[Download the PDF for Heart Maze Valentine's Day cards.]

The code for this doodle and other doodles you can use on your blog can be found at Doodles.

Heart-y round-up

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 16:37:00 +0000

Woven heart pockets

Quick and easy Homemade Valentine's Day cards

Heart sun catcher

Heart necklace

Stained glass light catcher

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 16:33:00 +0000

Materials:

scrap tissue paper
2 sheets of construction paper (letter size printer paper shown)
scissors
tape
white glue

Instructions:

take one sheet of construction paper and fold it in half lengthwise
cut out the centre piece (which includes most of the folded edge), leaving a 3cm (1.25") frame
open out the frame
take the second sheet of construction paper and cut several 2cm (0.75") strips lengthwise
begin arranging the 2cm strips over the frame, cutting as required to fit your design
tape the strips down to secure them to the frame and to each other (this is the back side of the frame)
cut tissue paper big enough to fit over each of the holes in your frame, dry fit them (overlay them on the back side of the frame to make sure they're the right size, but don't glue them until you're sure they are!)
glue the tissue paper to the back side of the frame
let dry overnight
hang on a window and enjoy!

As you can see from the photo below, if you use lightweight paper such as printer paper, the frame will be translucent. For best results, use thick opaque construction paper for the frame elements.

An advanced method (for adults) of doing this, would be to use a single sheet of paper for the frame and an X-Acto knife to cut out the "window" parts of the decoration.

Stained glass bell

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 00:10:00 +0000

(This idea came home from school.)

Materials:

waxed paper
different coloured tissue paper cut into small rectangles (approx 2cm x 3cm)
white glue
construction paper

Instructions:

layout a sheet of waxed paper
have child glue pieces of tissue paper on the waxed paper (it's okay to have the tissue paper overlap)
leave overnight to dry
have adult cut out the shape of a bell out of the construction paper, and then cut out the inside leaving a 2-3cm outline of a bell (make sure the overall size of the bell is smaller than the sheet of waxed paper covered with tissue paper)
trace the outline of the outer part of the bell onto the dried sheet of waxed / tissue paper
glue the construction paper bell outline onto the tissue paper covered side of the waxed paper
let dry
hang on a window and enjoy!

Reindeer antler headband

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 23:44:00 +0000

(This idea came home from school.)

Materials:

2 sheets of coloured construction paper, about 16cm x 30cm (3" x 12 ") to make the headband - red shown
brown construction paper, big enough to cut out two child size hands (antlers)
pencil for tracing hands
scissors
clear tape
stickers, markers, glue etc for decorating headband

Instructions:

fold the coloured construction paper in half lengthwise (so you have two sheets 8cm x 30cm)
slip one of the folded sheets inside the other (keeping the folded edges in the same orientation) overlaping about 5cm (2") and tape to hold in place
optional: have child decorate construction paper (dry fit around child's head so you know where the decorations should stop)
have an adult wrap the length of construction paper around the circumference of the child's head and tape to fit
have an adult trace the child's open hands on the brown construction paper
have an adult cut out the hand outlines, being sure to include 3cm (1") for the wrists
tape the cut out hands by the wrists to the inside of the headband, opposite each other
outfit your little reindeer with their new antlers!

Santa mask

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 08:39:00 +0000

(This idea came home from school.)

Materials:

paper plate
cotton batting / cotton balls
white glue
red construction paper cut out like Santa's hat
red construction paper cut into a circle for the nose
scissors
ruler
optional: crayons, markers, stickers, glitter for decorating
optional: craft stick to make a handle for the mask

Instructions:

adult: mark a "T" shape on the back of the mask (the eating surface of the paper plate)
adult: measure approximate width of child's eyes across face (outer corner of eyes) and mark that as the top of the "T"
adult: measure approximate distance of eyes to mouth of child and use this to mark the vertical length of the "T"
adult: cut out the top of the "T" and the very bottom of the "T" to make holes from which child can see and speak
have child glue cotton and nose on mask
have child decorate as desired
mask can be held up to face
optional: attach craft stick to bottom of mask to use as handle

Christmas craft round-up, part deux

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:01:00 +0000

Woven heart pockets

Although, I typically make these around Valentine's Day, they are traditional Christmas decorations in some cultures.

Gingerbread man

Plate for Santa

Paper Plate Santa

Christmas craft round-up

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 10:01:00 +0000

Six pointed snowflakes

Christmas hand print tree

Reindeer treats

Notes to self: building better gingerbread houses

Some free seasonal promotional colouring sheets and colouring cards.

The code for this doodle and other doodles you can use on your blog can be found at Doodles.

Click on an image below to download the colouring sheet of your choice (PDF).

Hallowe'en craft round-up

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:43:00 +0000

Ghost feet:

Pumpkin book:

Hallowe'en wreath:

Pumpkin carving for easy candle access

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:44:00 +0000

Have you ever burned your hand trying to get a candle in or out of a jack-o'-lantern? Try cutting your pumpkin 'lid' a little differently.

Materials:

pumpkin
carving knife

Instructions:

Prep the pumpkin for carving.
Mark where you're going to cut the 'lid.' The front (shown as top of the photo) will be a semi-circle, while the back will extend all the way down the back of the pumpkin.
Using your favourite method, clean out and carve the pumpkin.
Now you're able to put a candle in through the back of the pumpkin, with much less risk of getting burned!

[Remember to keep children away from lit flames and matches!]

Hallowe'en mobile

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 12:53:00 +0000

This was created at our local Ontario Early Years Centre.

Materials:

white, orange or black construction paper
orange or black crepe paper
orange or black string or yarn (yarn shown)
paper towel roll (shown one is cut to about 20cm in length)
stickers, crayons, markers for decorating
glue
scissors
masking tape

Instructions:

Have an adult cut out fun Hallowe'en themed shapes and have child decorate with stickers, paper, markers etc.
Attach one length of yarn to the back of each shape using masking tape (vary the lengths to make the mobile more interesting)
Attach the other end of the yarn to the paper towel roll, using masking tape. Cover the roll with crepe paper to hide the taped yarn. Place a last piece of yarn through the paper towel roll and knot. This last piece will be used to hang the mobile.
Hang your mobile and enjoy! [Remember that long lengths of string / yarn present hazards to young children. Safety is your responsibility.]

Dynamic Fall centrepiece

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:55:00 +0000

Materials:

One or more unopened common milkweed pods.
One short and wide glass / crystal vase (or rose bowl).

Instructions:

Take the unopened milkweed pod and place in the bottom of the vase.
As the pod dries out, it will crack open.
As the long silky hair, attached to the seeds, dries out, they expand, forcing the pod to open more and accelerating the drying of the pod contents.
With time, the pod will completely open and the seeds will be suspended throughout the vase on the fluffy silky hairs. (Little hands may also be happy to assist with the process!)

CAUTION: Place out of reach of curious little hands and / or paws, unless you wish for a milkweed filled house!

Autumn collage

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:00:00 +0000

Materials:

construction paper
white glue
things found on the ground at Autumn (leaves, acorns, flowers etc)

Instructions:

Send your youngster out to collect things specific to Autumn (leaves, acorns, flowers etc)
For pre-schoolers, have the child tell the adult where on the construction paper they'd like to glue items down. Have the adult apply the glue to the paper and the child place the item on the glue.
For older children, have them glue items to the paper as they see fit.

Gift idea: pop-up colouring card for kids

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 14:30:00 +0000

(This post assumes you're familiar with my more detailed instructions of how to make Horizontal Fold Pop-up cards.)

Recently, Ask Moxie had a post titled "Q&A: Does 'no gifts' really mean no gifts?" Should you feel uncomfortable going completely empty-handed, making a personalized colouring card like this (optionally including a selection of appropriately themed stickers) is a nice compromise.

Materials:

2 sheets of 8.5" x 11" cardstock or construction paper
X-Acto type knife
glue (stick-glue or white glue or rubber-cement)
template with measurements (PDF file*) or template without measurements (PDF file*) (use this legend to decipher the folding symbols)
optional: a selection of stickers to include in the card for the child to use

Instructions:

create the front cover of the card (text on the lower half of the letter sized cardstock)
create the inside of the card (text on the upper half of the letter sized cardstock, offset to allow for the pop-up mechanism)
create the decoration for the pop-up portion of the card (in this case, the recipient is turning four)
print off a copy of the inner template
I transferred the template onto the inside of the card using the pinpoint method
trim the pop-up decoration to size
create the pop-up portion following steps three and four from making Horizontal Fold Pop-up cards
glue the decoration onto the pop-up portion of the inside of the card
b
if desired, add additional designs to be coloured on the front of the card
glue the inside of the card into the outside of the card
optional: include a selection of stickers for the child to use to decorate the card

Write your message to the birthday child and deliver!

(*) When printing out PDF documents, be sure to set "Page Scaling" to "none" (you'll want the document to print at 100%). You may need to adjust the template on your paper depending on your printer's "offset" settings.

Firefly / glow bug

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 08:15:00 +0000

(This idea came home from school.)

Materials:

empty and dry clear plastic water bottle
construction paper (approx 20cm x 20cm / 8" x 8") cut into the shape of wings
things with which to decorate the wings of the bug (shown are glue and glitter, could also use stickers, markers, paint etc)
small piece of paper the size of the top of the cap of the bottle (shown is a circle approx 3cm in diameter / just over an inch in diameter)
things with which to decorate the face of the bug (shown is marker, could also use stickers, markers, paint etc)
glue
glow stick / light stick approximately the length of the bottle (shown is approx 20cm / 8") -- the more glow sticks you have the brighter the bug glows!

Instructions:

apply decorations to the construction paper cut out for the wings (see view below)
glue the wings to the bottle and wait until glue dries (I prefer to let the glue set overnight) -- you can continue with the face part, as there's more gluing there and more overnight waiting too
decorate the face of the bug
while the bottle cap is screwed snuggly onto the bottle, glue or tap the face of the bug with the face oriented appropriately relative to the wings and let the glue dry (I prefer to let the glue set overnight)
when it's dark, or when you have access to a dark room, activate one or more of your glow sticks and put them in the bottle
close bottle cap

Enjoy your firefly!

Coffee filter butterfly

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:55:00 +0000

(This idea came home from school.)

Materials:

cone shaped coffee filter
pipe cleaner
things with which to decorate butterfly such as bingo dauber (shown), crayons, paint, stickers, glitter

Instructions:

have adult open up coffee filter to be flat
have child decorate coffee filter as desired
have adult wrap pipe cleaner up around the middle of the coffee filter to make a body and antennae, and voila!

10% off your next Mabel's Labels purchase

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 04:01:00 +0000

- clothing labels for camp and school
- return address labels for you
- Ultimate Back-to-School Combo
- stationery kits
- child ID wristbands and more!

E-mail MabelsAgent at NSCcards . com with a subject of "coupon"
to receive your coupon code for
10% off your next Mabel's Labels purchase!^#

Little flag

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 22:43:00 +0000

In anticipation of Canada Day!

Materials:

white paper (for a more durable flag use thick paper such as cardstock)
scissors
red crayon / marker / pencil crayon / paint
drinking straw (the one shown is approx 19cm in length)
tape
optional: print out an image of a maple leaf, glue

Instructions:

adult to cut paper down to appropriate size to match straw handle (one shown in image is approximately 14cm wide by 6.5cm high)
draw red lines for two red stripes, one on either end of the flag
draw red maple leaf in centre of flag (or cut out image of maple leaf for pasting onto flag)
have child colour red stripes and maple leaf red
tape flag to end of drinking straw
wear safety glasses to avoid having your eye poked out by a very excited flag waver!

Hand flower

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 13:34:00 +0000

This was created at our local Ontario Early Years Centre.

Materials:

construction paper of contrasting colours (petals and centre)
glue
pencil (with which to trace little hands)
scissors

Instructions:

have an adult trace four or five hands on construction paper (petals) -- if you are giving this as a gift, it is a nice touch to have one hand per member of the family!
have an adult cut out the hands
have an adult cut out a circle for the centre of the flower (the one shown is about 10cm in diameter)
have child glue the hands to the back of the flower centre
if desired, improvise stem with popsicle stick, pipe cleaner or construction paper (alternately glue the whole thing on a large piece of paper and draw the stem in -- along with flowers and birds!)

Handprint placemat

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:53:00 +0000

(This idea came home from school.)

Materials:

large sheet of coloured construction paper
smaller sheet of white paper (shown cut with scalloped edges)
marker / crayon for drawing on paper
fingerpaint for making handprint
glue
smocks to keep child and adults clean
clear contact paper or laminate large enough to cover the sheet of construction paper

Instructions:

write any messages ("Happy Mother's Day," "Happy Father's Day," "Happy Birthday" etc) on the white sheet of paper leaving room for two handprints
have child make handprints around text
glue white sheet of paper to construction paper
laminate

This is a terrific gift idea for a "special" occasion such as Mother's Day, Father's Day or a parent / grandparent birthday!

Pipe cleaner caterpillar

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Mon, 19 May 2008 23:10:00 +0000

(This idea came home from school.)

Materials:

pipe cleaner
decorative beads with whole large enough to fit over pipe cleaner
optional: paper circle on which to draw face, white glue

Instructions:

curl one end of the pipe cleaner (so the beads don't fall off)
string beads along the pipe cleaner
leave 2 cm of pipe cleaner unbeaded
curl the remaining end of the pipe cleaner (so the beads don't fall off)
decorate the paper circle to be the face
glue the face on to one end of the pipe cleaner
bend the beaded pipe cleaner to shape!

Happy Mother's Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sun, 11 May 2008 10:28:00 +0000

The code for this doodle and other doodles you can use on your blog can be found at Doodles.