Kids Arts & Crafts Ideas by Theme

Decorative Clothespin Photo Holder -

Paint a wooden daisy clip to hold photos. Use it as a centerpiece or give as a gift. A fun to make arts and craft project for kids of all ages.

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:

Wooden Holders
Paint and Paint Brush
Fine Point Black Pen
Photos


Paint wooden daisy clip. Let dry. Use a fine point pen to add details. Add photos from the past year to display as a centerpiece.

Peppermint Candy Frame Craft Idea for Kids - Make a Peppermint Candy Frame from Peppermint Candies, jumbo craft sticks, tacky glue, card board, and a photograph or drawing to put in the picture, clear acrylic spray. This fun to make craft for kids is suited to older children. The arts and crafts candy frame makes a great holiday gift idea.

What you will need:
Peppermint Candies,
jumbo craft sticks,
tacky glue,
card board,
a photograph or drawing to put in the picture, clear acrylic spray.

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:

1.Glue four jumbo craft sticks together to form a square. Turn the picture so it is facing you. Glue peppermint candies all the way around the edge. You can leave the wrappers on or take them off. If you take the wrappers off spray several coats of clear acrylic paint over the candy and let dry between coats. This will keep the candy looking fresh and keep ants away.

2.Glue a picture backed with cardboard on the back of the craft stick frame. Cut out a stand and glue it to the back.

Plastic Picture Frame - Frame your picture in 3D. This easy to make craft idea for kids makes a wonderful gift for Mom or Dad!

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:


Plastic standing picture frame
fun foam
Elmers Glue All™
Elmers 3D Washable Paint Pens.

Picture Frame - Make Your own picture frame with these easy to follow instructions. Your picture frame is an easy to make masterpiece that lets kids show off their arts and crafts skills with style!

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:


4 oz Elmers Glue
thick poster board
assorted pasta noodles, puzzle pieces, stones, buttons, etc.

Styrofoam Tray Frame - Try out these instructions for a craft idea and create a cool picture frame. This easy to make craft is lightweight and helps kids save the planet.


Styrofoam Tray
Paint
Items to Embellish
Glue
Picture Hanger

Instructions:

"We made a picture frame by using recycled materials. We used a styrofoam plate from package meats and cut out holes for the pictures. We painted it and glued on pictures from a magazine to decorate it and also stenciled it. We attached a picture hanger to the back for hanging."

Twig Frame - An easy to make craft idea for kids that reminds of yesterday. Cute and rustic picture frame will make any picture look great!

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:

Twigs
Twine or string
Glue (hot glue works well)
A photo for framing

Collect 2 bunches of twigs. One bunch (about 6 to 8) should be about 2 inches longer than your photo. The other bunch of twigs should be about 2 inches wider than your photo.

Arrange the twigs so that they surround the photo and extend outward about an inch in each direction. Tie the twigs at each corner using twine or string, making an "X" pattern.

Glue the photo onto the back of your twig frame. Hot glue works the best.

Glue a small loop of string to the top batch of twigs for hanging the photo.

Wallpaper Frames - We used donated wallpaper books, a cardboard box, cardboard, glue, and a piece of ribbon to make this inexpensive gift. The nice touch is the family portrait drawn by the child and inserted into the frame. This great arts and crafts project can be done independently by an older child and as a family project for younger children.

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:

Corrugated or stiff cardboard
White cardboard (similar to what is packaged with shirts)
Wallpaper scraps
Ruler
Pencil
Scissors
Narrow ribbon
Tacky glue (Elmer's may be used, but you may need clothespins to hold paper in place.)
Crayons or markers

Cut a piece of ribbon that is double the length of the frame that you will cut. Set aside.

Cut a piece of cardboard 6x8". (This can be any size, adjust accordingly.)

Cut a piece out of the middle measuring 5x7".

Trace around the outside and inside of the cardboard on the back side of the wallpaper. Note: Push the frame at least 1" in from the side of the wallpaper.

Draw a line 1" around the outside of the outside line on the wallpaper.

On the inside rectangle, draw a straight line from one corner to the next.

Cut on the outside line.

Cut on the X. Note: Do not cut anything out of the inside. You may cut off the tips of the
triangles if the tabs are too long to fold to the inside.

Lay the cardboard on the wallpaper in the center.

Put glue on one flap (inside triangle).

Fold the flap to the inside and smooth across the cardboard.

Repeat for other 3 flaps.

Take one outside corner of the wallpaper and fold over the corner of the cardboard. Glue in place. Crease the wallpaper flat.

Repeat for other 3 corners.

Apply glue to the sides of the wallpaper that is laying flat on the table.

Take the ribbon and tie the ends together in a knot.

Place the knot in the middle of one side (wrong side) of the cardboard.

Glue the ribbon along the side. It should form a circle to hang the frame.

Fold the wallpaper onto the cardboard (over the ribbon) and press flat.

Add clothespins to hold in place, if necessary, or lay flat and add a book for weight.

Take a piece of white cardboard from a shirt you buy in the store (or other similar cardboard).

Use the cardboard frame to LIGHTLY draw the inside dimension and outside dimension of the cardboard frame onto the white cardboard.

Cut the cardboard on the outside dimension.

Let the child draw a picture of their family and glue to inside of frame. Make sure you tell the child to draw inside the box so it will show through the frame.

Glue the picture to the inside of the frame. By making the white cardboard the size of the frame, it will cover all the cutting and gluing of the wallpaper to the frame.

Have the child autograph and date the back of the frame.

Wrap the frame up in either another piece of wallpaper or their own creative wrapping paper. See tips area below for links to our favorite wrapping paper crafts

Paper Bag Monster Pinata Craft - A easy-to-make pinata made from a paper bag and tissue paper. Pinatas are great at childrens parties and kids love to make the craft themselves for the parties.

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:

A large paper bag
String
Tissue paper
Glue
Scissors
Crepe paper streamers
Optional: Googly eyes, paint

Fill a paper bag about half way with goodies (like candies and small toys).

Roll the top of the bag down, staple the folded top shut, and punch two holes along the top.

Cut strips of tissue paper and cut fringes in them.

Glue the fringes of tissue paper to the bag (glue along the top of the fringes).

Cover the bag with tissue paper.

Decorate with paper cut-outs, markers, paint, and/or googly eyes.

Tie a long string through the holes. You will eventually hang the pinata up using this string.

Glue long crepe paper streamers from the bottom of the pinata.

You now have a scary monster pinata. Hang it up and break it open with a soft bat (like a Nerf bat or a tightly-rolled-up and taped newspaper).

Party Crackers -Kids, with this fun and easy to make craft, you can make your own party crackers!

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:


Cardboard Paper Towel
Wrapping Paper or Toilet Paper Rolls ( cut to about 3 in. long)
Wrapping Paper
decorations, ribbon, glitter etc
Tape
Small Surprises (chocolates, candies, balloon, toy, ....)
short Fortune Note in each like "The New Year will bring you much happiness. ")

Instructions:

Stuff paper roll with a selection of small surprises. Hold in place with a small amount of tape on each end.

Wrap each paper roll with wrapping paper leaving about 3 inches of extra paper on each end.

Twist the wrapping paper ends and hold with ribbon or tape.

Decorate as you like.

Party Hats - Make your own party hats for your party


CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:

8 1/2" x 11 " Paper
Wrapping Paper, decorations, ribbon, glitter etc
Tape

Instructions:

Mark shape on Paper and cut out

Bring straight edges of the paper roll together to form a cone shaped hat. Tape in place.

Wrap each cone paper roll with wrapping paper.

Tape wrapping paper in place and tape to paper base.

Decorate as you like.

Party Horns Favours - Make your own party horns for your party with this easy to make craft for kids

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:

Cardboard Paper Towel, Wrapping Paper or Toilet Paper Rolls ( cut to about 4 in. long)
Wrapping Paper, decorations, ribbon, glitter etc
Tape

Instructions:

Mark each end of paper roll in 4 equal sections lining up the sections on both ends.

Cut the paper roll into two pieces from one end to the other at an angle, (Cut from 1 to 4 on opposite ends and from 2 to 3.) This should make two equal pieces.

For each Piece:

Bring Cut edges of the paper roll together to form a cone shape. Tape in place.

Wrap each cone paper roll with wrapping paper leaving about 3 inches of extra paper on the large end. Tape wrapping paper.

Decorate as you like.

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY

What to do: Note: The most important part of this idea is to be certain to tell your guests that they must bring a Halloween treat.

1. Cut (3 x 4") squares from white construction paper .

2. Fold the squares in half.

3. Place a Halloween sticker in the upper right or left hand corner of what you decide will be the front of your place card.

4. Write the guest's name with markers on the center, front of the place cards.

5. Place a random guest's name on the inside of the place card.

6. As the guests arrive they must give their treat to the person who's name is inside their place card.

Contributed by: D. Lesser

CRAFT MATERIALS YOUR KIDS NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:

Free Halloween Craft Projects - Pumpkin Favors




Materials: Orange; knife; party favor candy cups; candy or nuts; (Optional): wooden dowels and leaves.

Instruction:

1.Remove the pulp from a large orange, carve a face, and fill with candy. To remove the orange pulp, first cut off the top (save). Use a knife to loosen pulp from the skin. Scoop out the pulp with a teaspoon. Work carefully, so the skin remains intact. Wash and let dry.

2. With a sharply pointed knife, carve out eyes, nose and mouth.

3. Put a small nut cup filled with candy or nuts inside; replace top.

4. If you like you can add wooden dowels and leaves to cover with glue.

DLTK's Hickory Dickory Dock
Clock and Mouse Craft
This is a great craft for kids just learning to tell time. Make sure you check out the full Hickory Dickory Dock section for more ideas and for verses to the popular nursery rhyme from one o'clock to noon

We made this craft when Kaitlyn was about 2 1/2 years old -- She's 4 1/2 now (yes, that's how long these things sit before I get them on the site sometimes *blush*). If you prefer, you can choose to make JUST the clock or JUST the mouse. If you're doing the craft with younger kids, you may want to make each part on a separate day (so they don't get tired). When we did it, we painted all the clock pieces and made the mouse on day 1. On day 2, we assembled the clock and added the mouse to it.

TEMPLATE FOR CLOCK (B&W only)


MATERIALS:
CLOCK

3 cardboard tubes ( paper towel) (or cut down gift wrap rolls to about the same size)
ALTERNATIVE: substitute a Kleenex box for the 3 cardboard tubes.
small paper plate
brass fastener (optional)
paint (whatever color you want your clock) or old paper bags or gift wrap
glue
scissors
tape
MOUSE

yarn (we used shades of brown + a short piece of pink for the tail)
The mouse looked a lot like "Tutter" from bear in the big blue house when we were done.
If you used blue wool it would be a very good likeness.

egg carton cup (the part that one egg goes into)
piece of cardboard or a 3 1/4 inch diskette (temporary use)
glue
scissors
piece of cardboard (small piece for the ears -- old cereal boxes work well)
wiggly eyes (or make paper ones)
small pom pom for a nose (or make a paper one)
INSTRUCTIONS:
CLOCK:



Paint all three cardboard tubes and the plate (the top, eating part of the plate should be painted, not the bottom)
I realize we used a very odd color for our clock, but Kaitlyn is really enjoying mixing her own colors (she calls it her "science"). This is equal portions of Crayola blue, green and red plus a double portion of white.

Let dry completely

Print out the clock face template. It's a "tracer page" so that young children can practice their numbers. It's a little bit smaller than I would have preferred, but it had to fit in the plate.
if you're making the craft with older children, you can have them trace a circle... (an old CD is about the right size for tracing).
Then have them print their own numbers on the circle -- you may want to pre-make an example so they can follow along how the numbers are arranged.
Suggest to them that it's easier to do 3, 6, 9 and 12 first (the four corners) and then fill in the other numbers after.
If you chose not to use the template, you'll have to make your own hands too.

Cut out the clock face and the hands.

Glue the face onto the center of the paper plate

Either poke a hole with a pencil through the center of the clock (adults should do this part) and put the hands on with brass fasteners OR just glue the hands onto the clock, pointing to ONE O'CLOCK.
If you use brass fasteners, you can have the kids turn the clock to TWO O'CLOCK, THREE O'CLOCK, etc as you sing the different verses of the song.

Tape the three tubes together in a triangular shape (this will make the clock sturdy enough to stand up on its own).

Glue or tape the paper plate to the top of the tubes.

To make the clock even sturdier, you can cut a rectangular base out of a piece of cardboard and glue/tape the clock to it.








MOUSE:

Take your styrofoam cup and "squish" it lightly so that it's longer than it is wide (I find it looks more mouse like this way and the kids like squishing it *wink*)

At this point, an adult should poke two slits in the side/top of the egg carton.
Cut out two ear shapes with tabs (like pink image beside these directions) out of a piece of cardboard. Don't worry about perfection!
Cover with pink paper or paint pink.
Shove the tabs from the ears into the sides of the egg carton cup.


red mark shows
approximate place to
put the ear slit
ear shape

Make a yarn pom pom:
wrap yarn around the diskette or piece of cardboard (or the serving platter from your toy kitchen set *grin*) about 30 times. You can mix different colors if you're using scraps of wool (we used dark brown, light brown and cream)
Slide off and tie in the center
for this one, we didn't actually snip the ends... we just left it as a loop so his "fur" wasn't too wild. It's up to you which way you want to do it.

apply glue LIBERALLY all over the egg carton cup and drape the yarn pom pom over top.

press down firmly
let dry completely (er, I never listen to my own advice... we didn't let it dry for more than a minute before we continued on, but it's a lot more fiddly when you do the rest with the wool still wet)


Tie a tail onto the back yarn of the mouse. We used a scrap of rosey pink wool for this (I keep EVERYTHING *grin*)

Glue the eyes and nose onto the front of the mouse (we used wiggly eyes and a pink pom pom nose, but you can use paper for the features!)




FINAL ASSEMBLY
Tie a piece of wool that is 2 1/2 times the length of the clock onto the mouse.

Put the wool through the clock. The child can pull the end of the wool to make the mouse climb up the OUTSIDE of the clock and let go of the wool so the mouse runs down.

You can attach a craft stick or a straw to the end of the wool the child holds onto as a handle if you like.

Kaitlyn had the most fun when she ignored the clock and just dragged her mouse along behind her (taking it for walks)

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:
This easy-to-make duck is a cute craft that is made from a single paper plate and construction paper.

More animal crafts

Supplies needed: Paper plate
Scissors
Glue
Stapler
A pencil
Yellow and orange construction paper or oak tag
Crayons, paint or markers
Googly eyes (optional)

Trace your hands on yellow construction paper, then cut the hands out. If you don't have yellow construction paper, use stiff white paper, then paint it yellow (or use markers).
Fold a paper plate in half.
Paint it yellow and let it dry


Staple the hands near the fold on one end - these will be the tail feathers.
Using yellow construction paper or oaktag, cut out a circle (about 3 inches across or a little bigger) -- this will be the duck's head.
Using orange construction paper or oaktag, cut out an elongated oval with one end cut off -- this will be the duck's bill. Fold the end of the beak over, making a small tab (this is where you will put the glue).

Glue the bill onto the circle (put the glue on the small tab that will be folded under the bill). Draw eyes above the bill (or glue on small googly eyes).
Staple the head to the paper plate (near the fold line, opposite the tail feathers).

Using orange construction paper or oaktag, cut out the duck's feet - they should be connected by a short strip of paper. To draw each foot, start with an oval, then draw a zigzag on one end.
Fold the paper where the feet meet the strip of paper.

Staple each foot to the bottom of one side of the paper plate, right inside the fold line of the foot.
You now have a cute duckie that will stand up.

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:
Easy Easter Bunny
Similar to the TP roll Easter Bunny, but quite a bit simpler to do. It's nice when there's a slightly jealous, younger sibling watching the older one make the tp roll bunny!

Materials:
printer,

something to colour with,

scissors,

glue, and

paper



Instructions:
Print out the template of choice.

Colour (where appropriate) and cut out the template pieces.

Glue the small dot (nose) and two bigger dots (cheeks) on to the circle to make a face. Glue teeth underneath.

Then glue on the eyes, ears, and bow.

Alternative Decorating Ideas:
Use sparkles, sparkle glue, or felt to decorate the small egg and/or the center of the ears (pink or red sparkles look great in place of colouring the ears.

Use a small paper or foam plate instead of the template circle as the head.

Replace the eyes with purchased wiggly eyes.

Replace the small dot with small pink or red pom pom.

Replace the two bigger dots with medium white pom poms.

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:
Easy Lion Paper Plate Craft
I've had a lot of requests for more paper plate crafts. This king of the jungle is made with a paper plate. I've provided templates for dinner sized and snack sized plates. If you don't have paper plates, don't fret! Just take a regular plate and trace it onto a piece of cardboard (old cereal boxes work great!) or use a margarine/ice cream container lid.

You can easily make a mask, by leaving off the eyes and cutting holes. Attach (glue and tape) a popsicle stick or unsharpened pencil to the bottom for the child to hold it to their face.

Older children may prefer the toilet paper roll version (Age 3+) or the paper folding version (Age 6+) as they are each more challenging (although some days it's nice to have an easy craft on hand when supper's running a bit late!)

MATERIALS
it all depends on what option you use... you'll will need

either paper plate (whatever size)
cardboard cut into a circle OR
margarine or ice cream container lid


either yellow paint, yellow construction paper OR
yellow tissue paper


either brown and/or orange paint,
brown and/or orange construction paper,
brown and/or orange tissue paper, OR
brown and/or orange wool


either black paint, OR
black marker, OR
black wool


INSTRUCTIONS
Paint your paper plate yellow

or

glue yellow construction/tissue paper onto it (rip 1 inch (ish) squares of construction/tissue paper and glue them on with a mixture of 1/2 water and 1/2 regular children's white glue. This is sort of like mod podging)


OPTIONS FOR THE MANE:
Swirl yellow, brown and/or orange paint in a plate (don't mix it totally). With a a toothbrush, dip into the paint and brush on a mane (this is how we did ours)

Swirl yellow, brown and/or orange paint in a plate (don't mix it totally. With a sponge, dip into the paint and sponge on a mane.

Cut 1/2 inch wide x 2 inch (ish) long strips of brown, yellow and or orange construction or tissue paper and glue them around the outside edge of the plate to make your mane. You can curl all/some of them around a pencil to make some curly parts

Cut 1/2 inch wide x 2 inch (ish) long strips into the paper plate itself. Roll them around a pencil to make curly parts. You can paint/color with marker the tips brown if you like

Cut 2 inch (ish) long strips of orange/brown/yellow wool and glue onto the paper plate to make the mane

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS WILL NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:
Supplies needed: Paper plate
Scissors
Glue (or tape or a stapler)
Googly eyes (optional)
Crayons, paint or markers

Cut a wedge out of a paper plate. The wedge will be the fish's tail; the hole will be the fish's mouth.
Glue (or use tape or a stapler) the tail to the end of the fish.
Glue a googly eye on the fish (glue on two eyes if you want a flounder) or simply draw eye(s).

Color in the fish, drawing scales, lips, and so on.
For an extra touch, make a tiny fish (use the same instructions as above, but start with a tiny circle made from construction paper). Hang the tiny fish from the large fish's mouth using a short piece of thread.

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS WILL NEED TO MAKE THIS ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:
A paper plate
Brown and pink construction paper
Crayons, markers, or tempera paint
Scissors
Hole punch
Glue
Yarn, string, or elastic

Paint the back of a paper plate brown.
Draw a groundhog's face on the plate -draw two big eyes and a mouth.
Cut out the eyes and mouth.

Cut two small, curved ears from brown construction paper and glue them near the top of the mask. Glue on a little pink paper circle to be the nose. Glue on bits of string or pipe cleaners for whiskers.
Punch a hole in each side of the mask. Tie a length of yarn to each side of the mask (or use elastic).
You now have a great groundhog mask to wear for Groundhog Day.

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS WILL NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:
Make a cute snowman decoration using two paper plates. This makes a nice decoration to put on a door or hang in a window


Snow Theme Page

Supplies needed: 2 white paper plates
Construction paper (black, red) or wrapping paper
An orange pipe cleaner (for the nose)
A short length of yearn or ribbon
Hole punch
Marker or crayons
Scissors
Glue
Optional: googly eyes, large buttons



On one of the paper plates, cut off the outer rim, making a smaller plate.
Punch a hole near the rim on both plates.
Tie the two plates together, using the yarn (or ribbon).
On black construction paper, draw and then cut out a top hat and two boots. On colored construction paper (or gift wrap paper), draw and then cut out two mittens.
Glue the hat, boots and mittens on the snowman.
Either glue on googly eyes or draw eyes. Draw a mouth. For the nose, cut a short length from an orange pipe cleaner. Stick the pipe cleaner through the plate to secure it (if the plate is too tough, make a tiny hole with the tip of the scissors).
For the buttons, you can cut out shapes from construction paper, use round stickers, glue on real buttons, or simply draw them.

You now have a cute snowman decoration!

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS WILL NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:
Owl Paper Plate Craft -
Supplies needed: 3 paper plates
Yellow, brown or orange construction paper
Scissors
Glue (or a stapler)
Googly eyes (optional)
Crayons, paint or markers

On one paper plate, fold about a third of the plate over (have the bottom of the plate facing forward). This paper plate will be the owl's head.
On the folded part, cut two short slits and fold them back up. (These will be the owl's tufts - although they look like ears, they are only feathers. An owl's ears are simple holes on the sides of the head).
Glue the center section down.

Glue googly eyes on the folded-down section (or cut two large circles and glue them down, then draw a dark dot in the center).
Using construction paper, cut a small half-circle with a little square off the rounded side. Curve the edges around, forming a cone. Glue or staple it shut.

Glue the cone to the paper plate (using the rectangle, folded inside the cone), just beneath the folded part of the paper plate.
Glue or staple the head to another paper plate.
Cut another paper plate in half (these will be the wings).
Glue or staple the wings to the body at a slight angle.
Using construction paper, cut two tiny feet. Glue them to the body.

Color in the owl, drawing feathers, wings, or other patterns

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS WILL NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:
Paper Plate Angel -
Supplies needed: a paper plate
pencil
scissors
tape or stapler
crayons, paint, and/or markers for decoration


Draw a pattern like this on the underside of a paper plate.
Cut along the lines, discarding the dark section.

Decorate the angel.
Overlap the edges of the angel's skirt slightly and tape or staple it into place.

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:

Paper Plate Crab -
MATERIALS:
paper plate or alternate (we used snack size in this picture, but dinner size would work too)
pipecleaners or two twist tie's twisted together - 9 of these. If using snack size, cut pipecleaners in half
1 inch(ish) pieces of drinking straw
hole punch
markers or paint

INSTRUCTIONS:
punch 8 holes around the edge of the plate
thread pipecleaners/twistties through these holes and twist to secure.
Put three pieces of straw on each of the pipecleaners. (represents real leg segments)
bend legs to shape/make look like he's walking
punch two more holes, close together in the "front" and put 1 pipecleaner through with ends sticking up. Twist to secure and add beads to the end to decorate (if desired)
color or paint

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS WILL NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:
Paper Plate Pig -


8 paper plates (either dinner size or dessert size),

egg carton cup or empty cream container (nose)

2 tp rolls for dessert size plates or 4 tp rolls for dinner size (legs),

scissors,

tape or glue,

piece of pink paper (or white paper coloring pink),

pink paint and black paint or marker.

OPTIONAL: googly eyes and a pipecleaner.








If you don't have pink paint, you could cut up 1 inch (ish) squares of pink construction paper or tissue paper and glue those to the paper plates (like mod podging) instead of painting.

We used styrofoam plates as it's what we had in the house. BUT, the paint didn't stick very well and flaked off easily so we couldn't play with the pig *wail*. If I had it all to do again, I'd recommend using paper plates that aren't too glossy on the bottoms. OK, before we go further, we're going to get to know our paper plates (so you'll understand the terms I'm using). The paper plates have a BOTTOM (the part you set on the table) and a TOP (the part you put the food on).



Paint the bottom of the paper plates, egg carton cups and tp rolls pink and let dry.

Kaitlyn (Age "almost 3" at the time *sob*) had loads of fun painting plates and tp rolls pink and gluing them together.

I ended up doing the nose, mouth, tail and legs.

If you're doing this with an older child (4+ ish), try making up a tongue twister to say while you're doing the project (something like "painting pink pig plates" or "please paint the pig plates pink").

Split your plates into sets of two.

Glue each set of two together rim to rim (TOP to TOP).

Glue the bottoms of the 4 sets together so you have a stack of paper plates (see photo). The top plate in the stack will be the face.

If you're using 2 tp rolls, cut them in half. If you're using 4 tp rolls, look at the dimensions and trim them down a bit if you want to (so the legs are proportionate with the pig).

Fold your pink paper in half and cut out a triangle (you'll end up with two identical ears). Glue or tape these to the back of the top set of plates. (If you want to get really fancy, you can sandwich the ears between the plates when you're gluing them together rim to rim).

Draw/paint black nostrils onto the egg cup and glue it to the face.

Draw/paint black eyes onto the pig, attach googly eyes, or draw eyes on white paper and glue them on.

Draw/paint a black mouth onto the pig or draw a mouth on white paper and glue it on.


Once everything is completely dry, squish the top of the tp rolls and slide them between the plates to make 4 legs. Tape or glue.

Twist a pipecleaner into a piggy tail and poke it through the back plate (use a sharp pencil to make a small starter hole) or take a circle of pink paper and cut it in a spiral and glue it to the back plate.

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS WILL NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:
Paper Plate Starfish Craft -
What you will need: 9 inch paper plates (2 per fish) glue, paint, beads

Directions:

Print out starfish patterns Pattern 1 (Large file of small file) and Pattern 2 (Large file or small file). Cut out the starfish pattern and trace the pattern onto the bottom side of a paper plate and cut it out. (You don't have to use a paper plate; you could just use card stock.)
Fold the solid lines on the pattern up and the dotted lines down as shown in the diagram.
Glue the folded starfish to a piece of card stock and let dry. Don't press the folded starfish flat against the card stock. When your glue is dry cut out around the legs to finish.
Glue on a string or magnet to hang up the fish.
Decorate with beads. We used plastic necklace beads and glued them on so the holes where face up.

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:
Rabbit Mask Craft -
Supplies needed: Two plain, white paper plates
Pink construction paper or pink paint
Scissors
Stapler
Glue
Crayons, markers, or paint
Optional: small pink pompom
Optional: elastic

Making the rabbit's ears: Either paint the center of a paper plate pink or cut a circle from pink construction paper (it should be the same size as the inside of a paper plate); then glue the pink paper circle to the center of a paper plate.
Cut the paper plate in half (the two halves will be the rabbit's ears).
Making the rabbit's face:Using a new paper plate, cut a wedge (about 1/4 of the plate) out of the paper plate (the large part of the plate will be the rabbit's face).
Staple the ears to the face.
Cut two eye holes in the face.
Optional: glue a small pink pompom to the center of the face (this is the rabbit's nose).
Optional: staple a piece of elastic (about a foot long) to the mask to keep it in place.

Decorate your mask with crayons, markers, or paint. Don't forget to draw whiskers!

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS WILL NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:
Star Wreath -
Supplies:

Red, white and blue construction paper
A paper plate
Scissors
Glue
Optional - glitter

Cut a large hole in the paper plate.
Cut out a lot of stars from red, white and blue construction paper. For a star template, click here.
Glue the stars to the paper plate.

Optional: Decorate the stars with the names of the children or soldiers. Also, glitter is a nice decorative touch.

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS WILL NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:
Swimming Pool Plate -

Materials Needed: 9" paper plate; blue tissue paper; fun foam; 1" Styrofoam ball; scissors; Elmer's Washable School Glue; Elmer's 3D Washable Paint Pens
Time Needed: 30 minutes
Cut blue tissue paper to the size of the paper plate and adhere it to the plate with Elmer's Washable School Glue. This will be the pool water.
Cut a small rectangle out of the fun foam and glue it to one edge of the plate lining up one end of the rectangle with the edge of the plate. The rest of the rectangle should lie facing the center of the plate. This will be the diving board.
Use Elmer's 3D Washable Paint Pens to draw segments or lines on the Styrofoam ball to resemble a beach ball. When it has dried, glue it to the tissue paper and the plate.
Cut an inner tube shape from the fun foam and decorate it with the Elmer's 3D Washable Paint Pens. Glue it to the plate using Elmer's Washable School Glue.
Cut out another rectangular shape for a raft and decorate it with Paint Pens. Glue it to the plate as well using Elmer's School Glue.
To make waves in the "water", use blue Elmer's 3D Washable Paint Pens.

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS WILL NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:
Valentine Heart Wreath -
Supplies:

Red and pink construction paper
A paper plate
Scissors
Glue
Optional - glitter

Cut a large hole in the paper plate.
Cut out a lot of hearts from red and pink paper.
Glue the hearts to the paper plate.

Optional: Decorate the hearts with the names of the children. Also, glitter is a nice touch.

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS WILL NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:
Ant Hill -
Soda Pop Bottle
Piece of Cadrboard or a Paper PLate
Newspaper
Paper Mache Paste
Masking Tape
Paint
Instructions:
Make sure you cover you work surface well. I usually set down newspaper first and then wax paper on top of the newspaper. This is a very messy project!

Cut the bottom off the soda pop bottle. Place the bottle in the center of the cardboard or paper plate and tape in place. Also run strips of masking tape from the top of the bottle out towards the edge of the cardboard or paper plate to make it look like a hill.

Tear several newspaper pages into strips. You will want them 1 inch wide and about 6 - 8 inches long. Set them aside.

Use a large bowl to prepare your paper mache paste (Pick a recipe here). The paste will be sticky! I would suggest using a bowl that is easy to soak and clean (glass perhaps) or even a disposable bowl.

Dip the newspaper strips into the glue. Run the newspaper through your fingers to squeeze off extra glue and lay them over the masking tape. Completely cover the masking tape, including where it is stuck to the cardboard or paper plate. Be careful to leave a hole in the top open. Let the first layer dry. Add one or two more layers of paper mache to your ant hill. Allow each layer to dry completely before putting on the next layer.

Once your ant hill is dry, paint it brown or whatever other color you want. You can also sprinkle sand on the paint while it is dry to make it look more authentic! Add ants climbing up the side of the ant hill using pom-poms, paper, or whatever else you want!

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS WILL NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:
Dolphin Paper Mache Craft -

MATERIALS:
The only "store bought" material is paint (tempra, poster or finger paint all work well... acrylic paints work great, but don't wash out of clothes!!!) We mixed white and black to make our own grey. Alternatively, you can mod podge (mache) on 1 inch squares of grey tissue paper. Or make a "funky dolphin" by maching on 1 inch squares of patterned tissue paper or napkins

paint brush

newspaper

toilet paper or paper towel

paper towel roll

toilet paper roll

scissors

tape (masking or scotch tape)

ONE OF: white glue, mod podge OR paper mache paste (1 part flour to 5 parts water... boil about 3 minutes and let cool)


STEP 1: BUILD THE FRAME:
This is part of a more complicated crafting series so if you have any suggestions to improve the instructions, please feel free to let me know! I recommend you quickly review all the instructions before starting the project.

Take the paper towel roll and cut a V shape out of one end
Discard the small piece
Pull the two ends of the cut together and tape (it will crunch up a bit, but we'll fill in the dips later.)
At this point, you can stuff the whole thing with newspaper or toilet paper so it's a bit more solid.
The open end is the head, and the narrow, taped end is the back.



Take a toilet paper roll & cut lengthwise, so you can unroll it.

Draw on a dolphin tail shape and cut it out.

Because you used a tp roll, your tail will be nice and curvy

Tape the tail to the back of the paper towel roll



Take a 1/2 sheet of newspaper and scrunch into a ball.

Insert ball into open end of the paper towel roll.

This will be the rounded head

Tape it well

Take a piece of cardboard (old cereal box) or another unrolled toilet paper roll and cut out a top fin shape (see photo).

Cut a U shape snout (mouth) for the dolphin

Cut two bottom fin shapes ("wings" as my 2 year old called them) (same as top fin shape in photo, but a bit longer and skinnier)

Tape/glue on the top fin (this step is a bit finnicky... just put big pieces of tape on either side of the fin and tape it on the body).
Shannon sent in the following suggestion for the top fin: Cut about an extra inch to the bottom of the fin. Then cut about an inch straight up in the middle. Fold in the flaps in opposite directions, then tape the flaps to the back.

Tape/glue the mouth to the bottom of the head
Tape/glue bottom fins (wings) to the bottom of the body.

Your dolphin frame is now complete. Use toilet paper and more tape to fill in any dips and round out the head.







STEP 2: MACHE:
Tear newspaper into strips about 1 to 2 inches wide. You can have some that are longer and some that are shorter.

Paper mache the entire thing

You don't want more than 4 layers of mache added or it won't dry properly. I usually tell the kids not to add more than 2 layers (when they inevitably overlap things a bit more than they should, we end up with 4).

Use shorter pieces when macheing around the fin and tail if it's too finicky (or have younger kids mache the nice easy body and save the hard parts for yourself).

Let mache dry (set outside on a nice sunny or breezy day and it will dry very quickly).

OPTIONAL: Apply a second coat of no more than 4 layers and let dry (one coat is enough, but the more coats you add the sturdier it will be ... especially if you've added mache limbs and tail). Let dry. Apply a third coat. Let dry.

The very top layer of mache can be done with white paper. This will make it easier to apply paint.



STEP 3: PAINT:
Paint with grey paint.

Decorate (add a white blow hole and black eyes or glue on wiggly eyes).

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS WILL NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:
Easter Bunny Pinata -

Materials Needed:

Large, Round Balloon
Newspaper
Paper Mache Paste
Masking Tape
Cardboard
Paint
Crepe Paper or Tissue Paper
String or Yarn

Instructions:
Make sure you cover you work surface well. I usually set down newspaper first and then wax paper on top of the newspaper. This is a very messy project!
Tear several newspaper pages into strips. You will want them 1 inch wide and about 6 - 8 inches long. Set them aside.

Use a large bowl to prepare your paper mache paste (Pick a recipe here). The paste will be sticky! I would suggest using a bowl that is easy to soak and clean (glass perhaps) or even a disposable bowl.

Blow up the balloon and tie it closed. Now you are ready to start with the paper mache! (To hold your ballon while you are working on it, you might want to try to set it in a cup or bowl that is covered with plastic wrap.)

Dip the newspaper strips into the glue and spread them onto the balloon. Completely cover the balloon, leaving a small hole at the top to remove the balloon and fill the pinata. Let the first layer dry.

Add two more layers of paper mache to your balloon. Allow each layer to dry completely before putting on the next layer. Once it is dry, pop the balloon and remove it through the opening you left at the top (If you cannot get the balloon out, don't worry about it too much - No one will see it).

You can now decorate your pinata to look like a bunny. The fastest way is to paint on the details, or cut the facial features out of construction paper.

You can color and texture to your bunny by using 3 inch squares of tissue paper. Spread some glue on your pinata. Hold the 4 corners of your tissue paper square together and then stick the center of the tissue paper square onto the glue. The 4 corners hould not touch the glue, they should remain sticking up.

To hang your pinata, poke 4 small holes evenly spaced around the larger hole in the top. Thread a piece of string, yarn, or even fishing line through each hole and tie the together at the top. Tie a longer piece of string onto the these.

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS WILL NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:
Fall Mosaic Paper Mache Box -

Paper mache box, small
Tissue paper, orange
Tissue paper, yellow
Tissue paper, red
Sizzix Machine
Sizzix Die-Cut, Leaf
Paper Mod Podge
Scissors
Ruler
Cost of each project will vary depending on materials used.

Due to the seasonal nature of some merchandise, actual availability of some products pictured may vary.






Cut 2 orange and yellow tissues into ½-inch to ¾-inch squares.



Working in sections at a time, brush Mod Podge onto the box and lay yellow and orange paper squares over the Mod Podge. Cover the papers with another layer of Mod Podge.



Use the Sizzix Machine and leaf die to cut 10-12 leaves from red tissue paper. Mod Podge leaves to the box.

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS WILL NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:
Lady bug Paper Mache - Material

Paper Mache
Red and Black Paint
Small (Head) and Large (Body) Margarine Container
2 Black Pipe Cleaners
Instructions

Tape two margarine containers together to form the base shape.
Cover shape with Paper Mache and let dry
Glue pipe cleaners for antenna's and curl
Paint black head, red back and let dry
Paint black spots