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Kids' Craft Ideas (Correct Version) - Crafts for Spring
February 07, 2008

Welcome to Kids' Craft Ideas - your source of new and original crafts.

Kids' crafts develop kids' minds.

Use these instructions as your starting point, but encourage kids to go beyond them and think of their own variations. They'll learn to think outside the square.

Teach your kids to be creative, and you give them skills for life.

You'll find your children behave better and grow in confidence when they spend time making things with you at home.

Creative people don't give up. They find an inventive solution to every problem.

7 February 2008 Issue 3

In this Issue:

  • What's new at Original Kids' Crafts?

    In the last two months, the Original-Kids-Craft team have relocated from Germany back home to New Zealand. As you will appreciate, such a move takes much time and organization. Some of the spring crafts featured this month are existing favorites. Next month we'll feature more new crafts. Thank you for your understanding.

  • Two Spring Craft Projects for Kids.

    Spring Flower Pencils and Decorated Bedroom Mirrors.

  • Coming up Next Month

    Find out which crafts I've lined up for you in March.


    • If you like this newsletter, please help a friend - and me. Pass it on.
    If a friend did forward this to you, and you like what you see, please subscribe by visiting www.original-kids-crafts.com

    What's New at Original-Kids-Crafts.com?

    Spring Flower Headbands
    Girls love to make these pretty flower headbands. Great for a craft party or just for fun.

    Make an Undersea Diorama
    Peep through a spy-hole in the end of a shoe-box, and enter another world. A shipwreck lies on the sea-floor. Looking between seaweed fronds, you see colored fish, a treasure chest, and an octopus...

    Kids find this project fascinating. It's wonderful for developing their creativity.

    Grow a Green Wig
    This one's crazy! Great for fancy-dress parties, or just for the fun of it. A green wig that you and your kids can grow in just a few days.



    Veggie and Fruit Creatures
    Have you tried making these wacky creatures from fruit and veggies yet? Even big kids get a laugh out of this. You can take photos of them afterwards and make captions.

    Glass Bottle Craft
    Decorate colored bottles with acrylic jewels.


    Two New Crafts for Spring

    As the weather warms a little, flowers appear. Time to celebrate! The crafts below will soon be featured with photos on original-kids-crafts.com.

    Spring Flower Pencils

    Funky pencils decorated with self-adhesive craft foam.

    You'll Need

  • Sheets of self-adhesive craft foam in various colors (Smaller children could use pre-cut flower shapes, but for older kids the plain sheets of foam offer more scope to be imaginative.)

  • Pencils

  • Scissors

    • What to Do

    1. Use a pencil to draw a flower shape about 5cm (2") in diameter on the paper backing of a piece of craft foam. Cut it out with scissors.

    2. Now draw a slightly smaller flower shape on a different colored piece of foam. Cut it out too.

    3. Draw and cut out a center for your flower. It could be a circle, a star, or a flower-shape.

    4. Cut thin strips of green foam about 7cm (3") long and 5mm wide. Peel off their backing and stick them to the top part of a pencil to make the flower stem. Use lots of thin strips lined up vertically next to each other to cover the top one third of the pencil.

    5. Stick the largest flower onto the top of the pencil. Replace the backing-paper onto the backs of the petals so they aren't sticky.

    6. Stick the smaller flower shape on top of the large one, and then stick the flower's center on top.

    7. Cut out green leaves and stick them onto the stem.

    Sharpen the pencil. It would make a great gift or addition to your child's pencil case.

    Try designing different flowers. You could add pieces of chenille stick or pipe-cleaner to your creations.


    Kids - Decorate a Mirror for your Bedroom

    Kids are more likely to brush their hair before school if they have a mirror at their own height in their bedroom. It's even more fun if they've designed and decorated it themselves!

    This is a project for children and adults to do together.

    You'll Need

  • A Mirror with a plain wooden frame

  • Acrylic paints

  • Paintbrush

  • White craft glue

  • Newspaper

    • AND EITHER

  • Decorative stickers (spring flowers, butterflies, fairies, dinosaurs, spaceships, frogs...your children will have great ideas.)

    • OR

  • Craft foam (plain sheets or pre-cut shapes) and colored pom-poms

    • What to Do

    1. Slide a piece from a sheet of newspaper between the mirror and its frame to protect the mirror from paint. Paint the frame a plain color. You'll need 2-3 coats to make it even. Let the paint dry.

    2. Plan how you will decorate your mirror. Look at the stickers, foam shapes and pom-poms, and find some that will go with the color of your frame. Stick to 2 or 3 colors and 2 types of decoration, otherwise your frame will look too busy. Discuss what goes together with your kids. Let them choose, then put the other decorations away.

    3. Spread the decorations around the frame, arranging them where they look best. Glue pom-poms on with craft glue, and stick on the stickers and craft foam.

    4. Remove the newspaper once the glue is dry.
    Hang the mirror on the bedroom wall at your child's height. If you screw a small box or basket onto the wall just below it, it's useful for a brush and hair-clips. Your kids could decorate the basket or box to match their frame. Have fun!


    Coming in Next Month's Issue

    Next month's issue contains new spring crafts - including the long-awaited spring printables.

    Also: Crafts for Easter

    I hope you enjoy these crafts.

    Thank you again for your understanding regarding the half-completed newsletter that I mistakenly mailed out recently. I try at all costs to produce a high-quality ezine which you will look forward to receiving.

    Now that we're settled back into New Zealand, I have lots more plans for original kids crafts.

    Watch this site!

    Kind regards Giselle

    Copyright 2007 Original-Kids-Crafts.com

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