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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 CHILRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY:
Apple Pencil Holder-

Materials:
balloon
paper mache paste
strips of newspaper
strips of white paper (3 sheets or so of old computer paper works well)
red tempra/poster paint (or red tissue paper or red napkins)
green felt or green construction paper

Instructions:
prepare your paper mache paste (read my "How to Paper Mache" section if you don't know how this is done.

Blow up the balloon ALL THE WAY and then let all the air out now blow up the balloon a little bit (until it has about a 5 inch diameter) and tie it
blowing it up all the way and letting the air out first, will make the apple more round.





Cover with 2 to 4 layers of newspaper paper mache and let it dry. About 24 hours to dry unless you leave it somewhere sunny and warm
don't cover the tied part (this will be the hole for the pencils.


Cover with 2 to 4 layers of white computer paper (it's much easier to paint over than newspaper!) and let dry

Reach through the hole with a sharp pin and pop the balloon. If you can, pull out the balloon bits


IF NECESSARY: Take a fairly damp cloth and widen the hole (for the pencils) to the desired size (you can see from the photo above how large we made our hole). The damp cloth will soften the mache so you can work with it. Be patient and let it soften!



Crush the bottom of the apple so that it stands without help. You won't be able to crush it when it's all dry, so use a damp cloth (or set the apple on a damp paper towel for about 15 minutes) to soften the mache. Then push gently to make a flat surface on the bottom.

Paint the apple red. If you covered with white computer paper, this should only take one coat. If you're using tissue paper or napkins, tear into small pieces and paper mache them onto the apple in a final layer to turn it red.
Let dry


OPTIONAL: Give the apple a coat or two of spray varnish (I always have a can of this around for projects the girls are especially proud of, to waterproof them and ensure they last longer)

Cut two simple leaf shapes from green felt or construction paper and glue to the top of the apple.

Add a couple of sharp new pencils and present to your teacher (or to a child who is just starting school).

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

At FAMILYFUN, we've sampled lots of papier-mâché recipes, but our favorite is this smooth, light paste that's easy to work with. To make it, combine 1/2 cup all-purpose flour and 2 cups cold water in a bowl. Add this mixture to a saucepan of 2 cups boiling water and bring it to a boil again. Remove from the heat and stir in 3 tablespoons of sugar. Let it cool; it will thicken as it cools. Once it does, it's ready to use.

CRAFTS MATERIALS YOUR KIDS WILL NEED TO MAKE THIS CHILDRENS' ARTS AND CRAFTS ATIVITY:
Celluclay Eggs -

Celluclay Instant Paper Mache
Styrofoam goose eggs
Watercolors
Acrylic paints
Markers
Gems
Glitter
Ribbon
Paintbrushes
Cup of water
Paper towels
Plastic mixing bowl
Measuring cup
Resealable sandwich bags
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.






Mix one cup dry paper mache with cup warm water in a sandwich bag. Knead mixture like bread dough until well mixed. If mixture is too dry add a little water; if too wet, add a little dry paper.



Cover mixed paper mache with damp paper towel while working.



Form Celluclay around styrofoam eggs.



Set aside and allow to dry until no longer sticky.



Use watercolors, markers, acrylic paint or even food coloring to decorate eggs. Add gems, glitter, or other embellishments or accessorize with ribbons and bows - you're only limited by your imagination!