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

21.5.21

Daffodil toilet paper roll posy

This is a slightly adapted version of the snowdrop posy - the only extra thing you'll need is some orange or yellow tissue paper.

24.12.20

Fireplace for Shoebox Sitting room

Shoebox fireplace

It's taken a while...but now the shoebox kitchen has been updated, it's time to move onto the sitting room, and a fireplace seemed a good place to start. This one is made from a stock cube box

4.12.20

Shoebox kitchen units

shoebox kitchen

We made a shoebox kitchen a while ago, and fully intended to add more rooms, but then got sidetracked, as you do.. And when I looked at it again recently I felt the kitchen units could be improved and simplified. So the old ones

25.11.20

Toilet paper roll oven and washing machine



Forever flattening toilet paper rolls, that's me! It's really quick and easy to do once you've got the hang of it, and this simple technique opens up no end of possibilities.. 
Like these sweet little kitchen appliances.

29.10.20

Halloween egg carton crafts



...poor little thing! Didn't stand a chance.. 

But Halloween is definitely the time for crafts with a bit more shock value. 
And good to have an element of surprise, even if that spells bad news for the fly..

14.10.20

1.9.20

Egg carton Viking Longboat

egg carton craft

This is such an easy way to make a boat - all you need is an egg carton lid, and then when you've made the basic shape, you can turn it into any kind of sailboat or ship you want.

We've gone for a Viking longboat - some Asterix influence I think! And an abundance of lollypop sticks helped too... 

They do make great oars.

You will need:
A large egg carton (dozen box)
6 popsicle sticks
8 similar sized bottle tops (different colours is possible)
Sheet of plain A4 paper
Kebab stick
Some old modelling clay
Scissors
Craft glue
Strong glue (like UHU)
Paint
Red marker or felt tip pen
Black marker pen
Nail scissors (to be used by a grown up)

1. If there's paper on the lid top, remove as much of it as you can. Use a pencil to make two marks inside the lid, about 8cm/3in. from either end, and in the middle.


2. Cut out a long thinnish triangle up to your mark, at both ends.


3. You're really looking to cut away any bumpy, moulded cardboard bits that you often find at the ends of the egg carton lid (see below).


4. Next, carefully cut straight across the lid from the end of the triangle, right into the curvy edge. Do this on both sides and at both ends.



5. Then the fun bit, you simply tuck the pieces you've cut behind the central part of your boat (or in front, which ever works best), and pull the ends together, so they overlap and fit together. Trim if you want to neaten the overlap, but hopefully they should be a pretty snug fit.

You could use sticky tape, or use glue. A glue gun would be quick - we just used PVA craft glue and some clothes pegs (or paper clips) to hold it all in place while the glue dried.


6. For the raised ends of the boat, cut out an egg carton cone and neaten around the bottom edge, then cut in half, longways.


7. Flatten out the bottom part of the cut cone, and glue to the ends of the boat, so they sit high, above the boat edge. Press and mould to the curved shape of the bow and stern. Hold in place with pegs or paper clips while the glue dries.



8. For the dragon figurehead, cut out another egg carton cone and trim around the bottom edge so it's about 3cm/1in.  Draw a pencil line across one side, roughly a cm from the bottom edge, then join the ends of this line to the bottom corners below, with a diagonal line. Cut along the pencil line.



9. On the longer side, draw a V from one corner to the other and cut out.



10. You can draw the details on after painting, or cut out a mouth if you prefer. This is best done by an adult with small sharp scissors.

Brush glue inside the bottom part of the figurehead and glue to one end of the boat. Leave pointing up while it dries (use a peg or paper clip again) Then bend down into place when dry.


11. For the mast, cut out an egg carton cup and neaten around the edge so it sits flat. Make a very small hole on top in the middle, and place a ball of modelling clay underneath. Press the skewer stick through the hole and into the clay.  Don't glue the mast into the boat yet.



12. Paint the boat, mast and the six popsicle oars brown.

While they're drying, make the sail. Trim a piece of plain A4 paper so it's about 20cm/8in. by 25cm/10in. We drew red strips with a marker pen, but you can obviously paint or colour-in your sail anyway you like.

13. Make very small holes a few cms from the top and bottom of the sail, roughly in the middle (you don't want the holes to be too big or the sail won't stay up). When the paint is dry on the mast, slot the sail on.

14. For the flag, fold over a small piece of spare paper and cut out a long thin triangle shape.  Decorate and colour in as you like, then brush glue inside and wrap around the top of the mast.


While the glue is drying, bend the flag so it looks like it's flapping in the wind.



15. For the shields, decide where you want your bottle tops to go - we put four on each side - and lightly draw around them with a pencil on the sides of the boat.

In-between these, mark diagonal lines, where the 3 oars will go on each side. Pierce through the oar lines with something like nail scissors and cut along the slots (this should be done by an adult - placing an old piece of modelling clay behind the slot helps when you're piercing through the sides.) Push the oars into place.


16. Cut out thin strips of paper and glue crosses to the top of the bottle lids, before sticking them to the sides of the boat. Use stronger glue for this, like UHU, or a glue gun if you have one.

You can glue the mast down too, though the modelling clay will hopefully stop it from falling over.  Use a black marker pen to add details to the dragon figurehead.



18.7.20

Crabby the egg carton crab

egg carton crab
I'm a fan of these whole egg box crafts - they're simple and effective and there's space inside to store things too!

You will need:
An egg carton
Cereal box card or similar for legs, claws and eyes
Scissors
Glue
Sticky tape (optional)
White bottle tops or google eyes
Nail scissors or similar (to be used by an adult)
Black marker pen

1. Paint the top half of the egg carton orange (the lid) and some cereal box card too, for the legs, claws and eyes. You could paint the whole egg carton if you wanted to.


2. When the paint is dry, cut strips from the cereal box card - you will need 8 (...spot the mistake in the picture!) about one cm wide and 12cm long. Cut four circles too. We drew around the bottom of the paint bottle - you could use the bottom of a glass or beaker. The size of the circle will be the size of the claw, to help gauge what to use.


3. Cut a segment out of all four circles, roughly the same size. Keep two for the claws, then cut the other two in half - these will be the claw limbs. (See below)


4. To make the limbs for the claws,  overlap the two pieces and glue together. 


5. Glue the claws on and make sure they face in opposite directions. Leave to dry.


6. Fold the 8 leg strips in half, then unfold them, and attach inside the carton with glue or sticky tape. Leave them to dry sticking up in the air. When dry, bend them carefully over the edge of the box. PLEASE NOTE - the BACK of the box is going to be the front of the crab.


7. THEN, press along the fold you made halfway down the strips, so it looks like a leg joint.

Push the top part of the leg up. at a bit of a angle, and bend the lower part down - to make your crab look like it's scuttling!


8. The claws go at the back of the carton, where the lid and base join. Just cut this join a little on both sides so the claw limbs can slot in more easily. Brush glue behind these cuts and along the bottom edge, and slot into place.


9. For the eyes, cut two strips from some spare painted card, about 2cm wide and 6cm long. Mark with a pencil where you want the eyes to go on top.


10. Use the nail scissors to pierce a hole through the pencil line and cut a slot (to be done by an adult). Check the strips fit.


11. Either use googly eyes or draw black circles on white bottle tops with a marker pen (we used the lids from UHT milk cartons) Glue at the end of each strip.


23. Add a smile with the marker pen and Crabby is ready!

Why not make little crabs out of egg carton cups and pipe cleaners and pop them inside?



egg carton crafts

26.6.20

Toilet paper roll Woodpecker that pecks!

toilet paper roll craft kids craft
We recently moved house and now live right next to a forest. Occasionally I catch a glimpse of a flash of red and green, darting about the trees. So that got me thinking about woodpeckers and possible woodpecker crafts. And then I thought, wouldn't it be great if the woodpecker could actually peck...?


In fact getting the bird to peck the kitchen paper roll tree is really simple - and it mightn't look like it, but the woodpecker itself is made from a toilet paper tube!


You will need:
Toilet paper tube (not too narrow. Ours had a diameter of about 5cm/2in.)
Pencil
Ruler
Paint
Green paper (or plain painted)
Black marker pen
Strip of cereal box card (3cmx16cm/1inx6in)
Kitchen paper roll
Nail scissors or similar (to be used by adult)

1. Apart from the green wings, all the woodpecker pieces come from the TP roll. Flatten the tube with you hand on a table or other surface, and press firmly along the creases.

With a pencil, roughy mark the middle at one end, and use a ruler or something straight to draw a line down the centre.

2. To help get the shape of the body, draw a line across the tube, roughly about 2cm from the top.

Now, start the curve of the head at the top edge, halfway between the vertical pencil line and the side of the tube (I've marked it with a short line in the photo below). Aim for where the pencil lines cross. Then curve the rest of the body downwards, towards the bottom corner.


Cut it out, carefully cutting along the line. This is the body shape.



We're now going to work on what's left of the tube, to make the tail feathers, head plume and beak.

I've kept them beside the body piece, so it's hopefully easier to see where they come from.

3. The tail feathers come from the top of the leftover piece, where you cut out the head. Keeping any pointy bits, cut diagonally across to the fold at a sharpish angle. So you end up with a narrow, pointy triangle.


4. The head plume comes from the bottom part. Simply cut along the pencil line.


You don't need double thick card, so only keep one of the pieces, and cut straight across it, about 3cm/1in from the edge. See the photo below.


5. At the very top of the body piece (on the RHS of the picture below), snip across the card diagonally, at a sharp angle, from where the curve for the head starts (the pencil mark), to the fold.
(You'll be snipping off a small triangle)


6. Now, just to check how everything looks together, and if you need to do any trimming. Slip the head plume in between the fold, with the shortest side inside, and the pointy part on show, facing to the back.

Push it down until the top of the head matches the width of the head plume. Place and hold the tail feathers inside the body at the bottom.


7. From what's left of the TP roll, cut a beak on the fold so it's double thick card. Make it a few cms long. Then glue it closed. Use a paper clip if you need to, to hold it firmly while the glue dries. The beak needs to be strong!


8. Before painting, open up the body piece and draw around the shape on some green paper (or plain that you can paint or colour in later). Cut out, then fold in half. We need to make it a little smaller for the wings. So, keeping the bottom curve as it is, and draw half a heart shape on top.





Cut out and when you open it up, you should get a long heart shape.

9. Time to paint. Paint the body white, both sides of the tail feathers yellow and both sides of the head plume red. Either paint the beak black or colour it in with a black marker or felt tip.



10. Cut out the strip of cereal box card (3cmx16cm/1in.x6in.) and it's time to assemble your woodpecker!

11. Brush glue inside the whole of the body. Then, working on one side, place the head plume in position at the top, the beak near the top of the head, then the strip of card about halfway down the body. Place the end right into the fold, so the strip is at a right angle with the back of the body.


Last of all add the tail feathers, which need to stick out at the bottom. Fold the other side of the body back into place so you're sandwiching all the pieces together. Glue the paper wings on too. If you've used craft glue as opposed to a glue gun, use paper clips or something similar to hold the card pieces together while the glue dries.



12. For the tree, flatten one end of a kitchen roll with your hand, so you make creases either side, and hold the strip of card across it, about a third of the way from the top. Use the strip edges to draw 2 parallel pencil lines across the tube.


13. Cut a slot along one of the creases, between the pencil lines. This needs to be done by a grown up. Nail scissors or something similar work well to make a hole in the card, then cut the slot. Do the same on the other side, but this time, make the slot about 2-3cm longer, above the top pencil line


Use the nail scissors to make lots of random holes in your tube.. This woodpecker has been busy!

Check the strip fits into the slots and position your woodpecker so the end of the beak touches the tube.

When you're happy with the bird's position, make a little pencil mark where the strip slots into the tube.

Take the strip out, draw a thick black line at an angle for the legs, and take the line a little past the pencil mark. We tried it with claws, but it looked a little strange with the movement so stuck with a line.

Add an eye and some feathery V marks on the wings.


The strip may move around a bit, but it's easy to reposition and wasn't a bother at all.


toilet paper roll craft kids craft