And so the Perler bead craze continues!
(You know how they have "Shark Week" on tv? Maybe I should have called this "Perler Week..." Hmm...)
Last night while watching tv, I strung a whole bunch of black and white Perler beads onto some safety pins. Why? Well, because I wanted to make this bracelet...
The black and white design makes it quite graphic, the Perler beads make it fun, and the silver safety pin bits make it a bit edgy. When I wear it, I imagine that I'm a hip preschool teacher going out to a club. (Wow. I really need to get out more....)
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Melted Perler bead braided bracelet
Maybe you're like me.
You rushed out to buy a huge tub of Perler beads because you had to make an awesome Perler bead bowl.
But now you find yourself staring at a huge tub of tiny colorful cylinders, wondering what you're going to do with all of them.
Well, how about making a braided Perler bead bracelet?
Materials:
- Colored hemp cord
- Perler beads
- Wax paper
- Baking pan
- Scissors
- Tape (or clipboard, or you could just use your foot)
- Button
- Ruler
You rushed out to buy a huge tub of Perler beads because you had to make an awesome Perler bead bowl.
But now you find yourself staring at a huge tub of tiny colorful cylinders, wondering what you're going to do with all of them.
Well, how about making a braided Perler bead bracelet?
Oooh. Arm Candy. |
Materials:
- Colored hemp cord
- Perler beads
- Wax paper
- Baking pan
- Scissors
- Tape (or clipboard, or you could just use your foot)
- Button
- Ruler
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Contact paper and cellophane stained glass windows
Our weekly baby and toddler music class has now morphed into a music and craft class. The kids are getting more mobile now, so we figured it was good to give them something to make and do with their hands. (Otherwise, they go straight to grabbing the lovely books on the shelves or pushing the furniture around. Cute, but slightly disruptive to the library.)
But what kinds of activities could the kids do? Well, the activity had to be
- Suitable for children from 1-3
- Easy to prep
- Easy to set up
- Super easy and quick to clean up
- Made from cheap materials
- Fun!!! (Of course.)
Because of my love for stained glass, I wanted to try a simple stained glass activity with the kids. Instead of using glue (too messy for the younger kids), we used contact paper to attach our colored cellophane.
Materials:
Directions:
1. Carefully remove the backing from one contact paper rectangle and use masking tape to tape the sheet sticky side up to your table.
2. Let your child stick the cellophane rectangles onto the contact paper. (Chuck loved this part.)
3. Remove a portion of the backing from another sheet of contact paper. Then, slowly stick the second sheet of contact paper on top of the first (sticky side down), smoothing it, and removing the rest of the backing as you go. (This was the toughest part. When we got bumps or bubbles, we just lifted up the top sheet of contact paper and tried again.)
4. Tape your contact paper rectangle onto your frame. Decorate the frame however you want.
Results:
Here are some of the mommy and children's actual work (My sample item is in the one on top in the middle.)
Review:
They were fun to make and came out super colorful and cute.
We struggled a bit with the contact paper, but I didn't care because some of the 2 year olds actually sat still for a couple of minutes and stuck the colored cellophane onto the contact paper. What? A couple minutes of concentrated effort? Awesome. I'll take it!
One very pregnant mommy even said that this was the longest time that her almost-2 year old sat still. She didn't want to leave because he was behaving so nicely.
Ahh, music to my ears. Her comment just made my day.
I love seeing moms and children engaged in an activity and enjoying time together.
Happy crafting!
But what kinds of activities could the kids do? Well, the activity had to be
- Suitable for children from 1-3
- Easy to prep
- Easy to set up
- Super easy and quick to clean up
- Made from cheap materials
- Fun!!! (Of course.)
Because of my love for stained glass, I wanted to try a simple stained glass activity with the kids. Instead of using glue (too messy for the younger kids), we used contact paper to attach our colored cellophane.
Materials:
- Two identical rectangles of contact paper (I just bought a small roll from the Dollar store instead of buying the expensive large roll from the department store)
- Masking tape and clear tape
- Frame cut out from a cereal box (Note: Make the opening of the frame smaller than your contact paper rectangles)
- Different colored pieces of cellophane cut into small rectangles
Directions:
1. Carefully remove the backing from one contact paper rectangle and use masking tape to tape the sheet sticky side up to your table.
2. Let your child stick the cellophane rectangles onto the contact paper. (Chuck loved this part.)
3. Remove a portion of the backing from another sheet of contact paper. Then, slowly stick the second sheet of contact paper on top of the first (sticky side down), smoothing it, and removing the rest of the backing as you go. (This was the toughest part. When we got bumps or bubbles, we just lifted up the top sheet of contact paper and tried again.)
4. Tape your contact paper rectangle onto your frame. Decorate the frame however you want.
Results:
Here are some of the mommy and children's actual work (My sample item is in the one on top in the middle.)
Review:
They were fun to make and came out super colorful and cute.
We struggled a bit with the contact paper, but I didn't care because some of the 2 year olds actually sat still for a couple of minutes and stuck the colored cellophane onto the contact paper. What? A couple minutes of concentrated effort? Awesome. I'll take it!
One very pregnant mommy even said that this was the longest time that her almost-2 year old sat still. She didn't want to leave because he was behaving so nicely.
Ahh, music to my ears. Her comment just made my day.
I love seeing moms and children engaged in an activity and enjoying time together.
Happy crafting!
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Make Popsicle Bracelets
When I saw Mama Miss's Washi tape Popsicle bracelets, I was completely smitten. Bracelets... made out of Popsicle sticks? Super neat-o. Count me in.
So today I present my version of Popsicle bracelets. They were really fun to make and brought me back to my summer camp days.
Materials:
- Popsicle sticks
- Craft paint
- Paint brush
- Glasses
- Tupperware
- Water
- Painter's tape
- Drill
- String
- Scissors
- Fine sand paper
- Mod Podge
- Foam Brush
So today I present my version of Popsicle bracelets. They were really fun to make and brought me back to my summer camp days.
Materials:
- Popsicle sticks
- Craft paint
- Paint brush
- Glasses
- Tupperware
- Water
- Painter's tape
- Drill
- String
- Scissors
- Fine sand paper
- Mod Podge
- Foam Brush
Monday, June 10, 2013
Make a sailboat out of a shampoo bottle
((Thank you to everyone for entering my Kiwi Crate Giveaway. Before I talk about today's crapt, let me just announce that the winner of the giveaway is Mel! Congratulations! Please email me your mailing address so I can send you a Kiwi Crate straight away.))
Hi everyone! Today I'm going to share how I made this shampoo bottle sailboat after being inspired by this DIY boat kit found here:
Materials:
- empty shampoo bottle <-- crap!
- 2 rubber bands
- wine cork <-- crap!
- drill
- stirrer <-- crap!
- straw <-- crap!
- pair of scissors
- triangle from a potato chip bag <-- crap!
- tape (packing tape is best, but I only had clear plastic tape)
Directions:
1. Cut your cork in half lengthwise. Then, drill a hole through the middle. The hole should be big enough to hold your stirrer (aka the mast) up.
3. Cut your plastic chip bag into a triangle sail shape. Tape the plastic bag onto your stirrer and straw to create a sail.
4. Use two rubber bands to attach your cork to your shampoo bottle. Then, stick your stirrer into the cork's hole and voila, instant sail boat.
The boat sails nicely in your bathtub, but Chuck and I took it one step further and sailed the high seas (eh hem... a nearby lake.) We just tied a ribbon to it so that it wouldn't float away.
Hope you and your little one enjoy this crapt!
Hi everyone! Today I'm going to share how I made this shampoo bottle sailboat after being inspired by this DIY boat kit found here:
Materials:
- empty shampoo bottle <-- crap!
- 2 rubber bands
- wine cork <-- crap!
- drill
- stirrer <-- crap!
- straw <-- crap!
- pair of scissors
- triangle from a potato chip bag <-- crap!
- tape (packing tape is best, but I only had clear plastic tape)
Here are the boat's main components: |
Directions:
1. Cut your cork in half lengthwise. Then, drill a hole through the middle. The hole should be big enough to hold your stirrer (aka the mast) up.
2. Your straw is going to be the horizontal bar holding up your sail (aka, the boom). Cut your straw to the desired length. Then, make two triangle cutouts on each side of the straw, so that your stirrer (aka the mast) can slide into the straw. Both your stirrer and straw will support your plastic bag sail.
3. Cut your plastic chip bag into a triangle sail shape. Tape the plastic bag onto your stirrer and straw to create a sail.
4. Use two rubber bands to attach your cork to your shampoo bottle. Then, stick your stirrer into the cork's hole and voila, instant sail boat.
The boat sails nicely in your bathtub, but Chuck and I took it one step further and sailed the high seas (eh hem... a nearby lake.) We just tied a ribbon to it so that it wouldn't float away.
Hope you and your little one enjoy this crapt!
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Make pipe cleaner bubble wands and big bubbles
Currently Chuck only knows a couple of words. One of them happens to be "bubbles." This kid of ours really loves bubbles. He'll point outside and say "bubbles." He'll point to round objects and say "bubbles." He'll point to the bathtub and say "bubbles." He'll even point to birds and say, "bubbles."
Given his obsession with soapy spheres, I thought it would be fun to make our own bubble wands and bubble solution. These pipe cleaner and straw wands make larger bubbles than the wands you typically buy in the stores.
(Psst- Here's the recipe for the bubble solution that we used. I combined 5 C warm water, 1/2 C Dawn dish detergent, and 1/4 C glycerin. I gently mixed the liquids together and made sure not to create suds. Then, I let the solution sit overnight. Even though this recipe made fairly large bubbles, I really didn't like the way the Dawn smelled. Yuck. Plus, Chuck tried to rub his face with soapy hands, so I worried that the soap stung his eyes. Next time I'll find a recipe using baby shampoo. This way the solution won't smell so detergent-y and Chuck's eyes won't sting. )
Here are some photos from our first big bubble making adventure:
All in all, not a bad start. We managed to make large bubbles, but they popped really easily. Hrmm... Next time we'll try a different solution and we'll make one of those giant bubble blowing wands. Oooh! I can't wait!
Given his obsession with soapy spheres, I thought it would be fun to make our own bubble wands and bubble solution. These pipe cleaner and straw wands make larger bubbles than the wands you typically buy in the stores.
(Psst- Here's the recipe for the bubble solution that we used. I combined 5 C warm water, 1/2 C Dawn dish detergent, and 1/4 C glycerin. I gently mixed the liquids together and made sure not to create suds. Then, I let the solution sit overnight. Even though this recipe made fairly large bubbles, I really didn't like the way the Dawn smelled. Yuck. Plus, Chuck tried to rub his face with soapy hands, so I worried that the soap stung his eyes. Next time I'll find a recipe using baby shampoo. This way the solution won't smell so detergent-y and Chuck's eyes won't sting. )
Here are some photos from our first big bubble making adventure:
I found that the bubbles didn't pop as quickly if I made them by moving the wand through the air instead of blowing it. |
Another bubble created by the wind. |
All in all, not a bad start. We managed to make large bubbles, but they popped really easily. Hrmm... Next time we'll try a different solution and we'll make one of those giant bubble blowing wands. Oooh! I can't wait!
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Make a bubble snake
We don't drink much soda so when hubby finally brought a Pepsi home I snatched up his empty bottle quicker than a hungry child grabbing at freshly baked Christmas cookies.
Why? Well, I had been dying to make a bubble snake blower. And honestly, could you blame me? Look at the long foamy chain of bubbles I was able to blow.
To blow awesome foamy snake-like bubble chains, I just needed a couple of materials:
Materials:
- empty plastic bottle
- wash cloth
- scissors
- rubber band
- dish detergent
- water
- plastic container
Directions:
1. Cut off the bottom of the bottle.
2. Cut a circle out of the wash cloth that's about 1-2 inches larger than the bottom of the bottle.
3. Use a rubber band to attach your washcloth circle to the bottle. That's it!
4. Dip the bottle (wash cloth bottom) into dish detergent that's been mixed with a bit of water.
5. Blow. A foamy bubble snake will appear before your eyes.
(Warning: Do not inhale, only exhale. Otherwise you'll end up drinking dish detergent like I did. Yuck.)
Here are some photos of Baby Chuck and I playing with our bubble snake blower. (You may be wondering why we're in the bath tub. Or why my bathtub is so dirty.... Hmm.. Well, we fully intended to blow bubbles outside, but it was just too cold. The bath tub served as a nice place to try the activity out, since the bubbles created quite a sticky mess on the ground. As for why my bathtub is so dirty... I've neglected to clean it.... eek.)
Let me know if you try this out with your kids. I can't wait till the weather gets warmer. We'll definitely try blowing more bubble snakes outside.
Why? Well, I had been dying to make a bubble snake blower. And honestly, could you blame me? Look at the long foamy chain of bubbles I was able to blow.
Wowzers. This photo makes my inner child squeal with delight |
To blow awesome foamy snake-like bubble chains, I just needed a couple of materials:
Materials:
- empty plastic bottle
- wash cloth
- scissors
- rubber band
- dish detergent
- water
- plastic container
Directions:
1. Cut off the bottom of the bottle.
2. Cut a circle out of the wash cloth that's about 1-2 inches larger than the bottom of the bottle.
3. Use a rubber band to attach your washcloth circle to the bottle. That's it!
4. Dip the bottle (wash cloth bottom) into dish detergent that's been mixed with a bit of water.
5. Blow. A foamy bubble snake will appear before your eyes.
(Warning: Do not inhale, only exhale. Otherwise you'll end up drinking dish detergent like I did. Yuck.)
Here are some photos of Baby Chuck and I playing with our bubble snake blower. (You may be wondering why we're in the bath tub. Or why my bathtub is so dirty.... Hmm.. Well, we fully intended to blow bubbles outside, but it was just too cold. The bath tub served as a nice place to try the activity out, since the bubbles created quite a sticky mess on the ground. As for why my bathtub is so dirty... I've neglected to clean it.... eek.)
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