Friday, February 07, 2014

Heart crayons

 

I've been wanting to try this artsy Valentine's craft from Parent Hacks for a while now.  (I'm not ambitious enough to melt them down as per the instructions from the post Recycle Old Crayons Into New Shapes.)

Then one day I looked around the house and saw this:
 
 


Later in the week at the store I saw this:
 
 



So we put the crayons in a bucket with warm water, and peeled the labels off:

 


And chopped them up.  (Turns out I cut the pieces too small.  Next time I'll make them 1.5 - 2 cm, or about 1/2 inch,  in length.)

 


The bits go in a silicone baking pan:

 


Pop it in the oven at 230 F for about 15 min (you can see some aren't quite melted yet).  Tip:  put the kitchen exhaust fan on and / or open a window to get fresh air into the room.

 


Let the whole thing cool and then pop them out!

 

Any rough edges can be smoothed down by rubbing across a piece of paper.

Just make sure that kids don't eat them!



Friday, August 09, 2013

Hawaiian style necklace

2013_08_09_hawaiian_necklace

(This idea came home from school.)


Materials:
  • string or thin yarn
  • colourful straws cut into small pieces
  • colourful pieces of tissue paper (shown), wrapping paper or lightweight fabric

Monday, August 06, 2012

Expecto patronum!

Hoping to create a birthday event worthy of the Patronus Charm, but don't know what a Patronus Charm is?

Not to worry.  There are some terrific resources out there for creating a very Harry Potter birthday!  Check out these Potter-themed fonts for your invitations too.  My favourites are Harry Potter and Wizards Magic.

Make the day a magical one!


Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Snowmen in summer

2012_07_24_summer_snowmen


Materials:
  • Marshmallows (varying sizes if you want to get fancy)
  • Toothpicks or skewkers to hold the mashmallow's together
  • Decorative icing

Instructions:
  • Assemble marshmallow's as desired
  • Decorate accordingly

Friday, September 16, 2011

Paper roll people

2011_09_paper_roll_people

Notes:

  • Any size paper roll can be sued (paper towel, toilet paper)
  • The arms are made from two different sized drinking straws, the shorter / larger of which represents sleeves
  • The top fringes represent hair, which could also be crafted with yarn or ribbon glued to the top
  • Bodies and clothes could be drawn or painted on the tubes themselves

Sunday, February 06, 2011

Be still my heart and get crafting!

A heart craft round-up:

Woven heart pockets

heart_pockets



3-D heart
2010_01_3d_heart_10


Quick and easy Homemade Valentine's Day cards


valentine_1 valentine_2


Print your own maze Valentines:
2009_02_12_heart_maze

The code for this doodle and other doodles you can use on your blog can be found at Doodles.
[Download the PDF for the Heart Maze.]
[Download the PDF for Heart Maze Valentine's Day cards.]


One a little more little kid friendly.
[Download the PDF for Heart Maze Valentine's Day cards.]


2010_02_12_heart_maze

The code for this doodle and other doodles you can use on your blog can be found at Doodles.




Heart sun catcher
heart_sun_catcher


Heart necklace
heart_necklace

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Christmas craft round-up, part three

Salt-dough ornaments

2009_12_salt_dough_candycane 2009_12_salt_dough_girl 2009_12_salt_dough_tree



Reindeer antler headband
2008_12_reindeer_antlers_bear




Handprint angel
2009_12_angel_handprint




Santa mask
2008_12_santa_mask