Showing posts with label summer crafts for kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer crafts for kids. Show all posts

9.8.17

Sunflowers - simple summer crafts for kids

sunflower craft

This is something I’ve been thinking about doing with the kids for a while, and seeing as we’re in France surrounded by sunflowers it seemed like a pretty perfect time! 
Surely it’s impossible to ever tire of fields of sunflowers? Stretching way into the distance, like a sunny bright, cheery yellow sea.

This is a quick and easy project - you'll need:

Paper plate
Brown paint ( or red, yellow and blue to mix)
PVA glue
Dried lentils (or something similar)
Sheet yellow tissue paper
Scissors

1. If you don’t have brown paint, mix red and yellow to make orange, then add a small amount of blue until you’re happy with the shade.
Mix your brown with an equal amount of PVA glue (we mixed them in an old yogurt pot)

Paint the middle part of your paper plate with a good, thick layer of your gluey paint, then sprinkle liberally with dried lentils (or something similar from the kitchen cupboard) and leave to dry.






3. While that’s drying, fold a sheet of tissue paper over a few times to make a strip (roughly 5cm/3in. wide) Snip the end into a good ‘V’ shape for the petals and cut off. (Use the folded pieces cut away from he sides too, if they’re a good shape)




Snip the petals a part if any are still joined together.

4. Brush glue around the rim of your plate and stick the petals down. You could do one layer only, overlapping as you go. (If you go for this option, we found it looks better if you cut away part of the rim first, so you don’t see it between the petals.)




OR. don’t overlap the first layer of petals, space them out evenly instead, and add a second in-between, to fill the gaps. Just dab a bit of glue at the base of the circle of petals. Add a third ring of petals too if you want.





Two of my not so little sunflowers!


25.7.15

Shell Lady - summer crafts for kids

I love shells. Put me on a shelly beach and that's me sorted really. Helped along by happy memories of summers spent by the sea. But here's the thing, what to do with all those shells that find their way home? A lot of mine are still in a large glass bowl in the bathroom... scary to think some of the little cowries near the bottom were found on Tyrella beach almost 40 years ago. But they're not all keepers, and there are plenty of other fun things to do with shells - Red Ted Art has some great ideas here. Making little figures and animals was my thing though, so I thought I'd share a favourite. The Shell lady.


If you'd like to have a go, it might be worth reading through first, so you know what to search for on your next beach trip. They're all common UK shells - periwinkles, whelks, limpets, banded wedge shells (we called them finger nail shells - wrong apparently!), and collect a good range of sizes and colours so you can try different ones together. Look out for any tiny shells too, or colourful shiny fragments to put in the basket.


Once you've got your shells, all you need is some strong, clear, all-purpose glue, like UHU, pens for face and hair (Sharpies are great for this) - and kids need a little patience... some waiting involved!

Start with the skirt, and either use one limpet shell on its own, or find a few that fit on top of each other, to give a pretty tiered skirt effect. Glue together.


The body is a small whelk shell. You want the opening to sit on top of the limpet - keep trying different ones until you're happy, and it stays put without being held in place - then glue onto the body and leave to dry. This is important, because if you plough straight on, bits will start to slide!

While the glue's drying, make a little basket. Use a small, flatish limpet shell, spread a bit of glue inside and add some tiny shells and colourful pieces.


My daughter made a few for her Sylvanians...


The head is a periwinkle, and again you're looking for one that fits snuggly on top of the pointy bit. Glue in place.


When dry, draw on a face and hair. Use a pen that won't wipe off, like a Sharpie.


Find two similar sized banded wedge shells for arms (or small mussel shells work well). If you want her to carry the basket, just glue on one arm...


....then glue the basket on the other side where the skirt meets the body. We propped ours up with a limpet shell while it dried.


Stick the other arm just behind the basket.

If you fancy a bonnet, glue a small limpet shell to the back of the head.

We didn't varnish ours, but it does help to protect the shells and bring out their colour. If you don't have any, a good 'make do' tip is to use a coat of clear nail polish instead.


The basket-less lady is looking a little left out, so we'll make her a pram to push next time!