card making

Crafty Ideas February 2010

admin

Winter Games Crafts

The Olympic torch is quickly making its way to Vancouver now, and we’ll soon be watching our country go for gold!  Do some sports or
medal crafts with the kids, or be inspired by the Olympic logos and mascots.  Here are some ideas to get you started:

Mascot Puppet:

Go to the Olympic website to find out which mascot is most like you, and then make your favourite one!  We recreated our favourite
sasquatch with an easy paper bag project:

Sasquatch puppet
 Supplies: 2 brown paper bags, cream paper, white paper, blue felt, scissors, glue, crayon or marker

  1. Cut the bottom of the paper bag off, zig zagging your cuts to resemble tufts of hair
  2. Use the scrap from the bottom to make a jagged tuft of hair.  Glue onto top of bag
  3. Cut a heart shaped face from cream paper.  Glue onto top of bag.  Use marker or crayon to make face
  4. Cut arms from 2nd paper bag and glue onto your puppet.  Make hands out of cream paper and glue onto arms
  5. Cut ear muffs from blue felt.  Cut ear muff band from white paper.  Glue into place

Inukshuk Paintings

Thanks to Melanie for her craft ideas and photos!  Her family did Inukshuks two ways – with black paper and with handprints. 

Handprint Inukshuk

Inukshuk1
 Supplies: white paper, tempura paint (red, yellow, green, light and dark blue), red construction paper, marker.

  1. Dip the sides of your fists into red and yellow paint to and stamp the legs of the Inukshuk.
    Wash and then repeat with light blue (body), dark blue (arms – stretch out hand and use the side of
    whole hand), fist for the green head.  
  2. Dry, cut out, paste onto red construction paper, print 2010 on the top, and GO CANADA on the bottom.

Sunset Inukshuk

Inukshuk2
 Supplies: white paper, tempura paint (red, yellow, orange, green, blue), pastels (optional), black construction
paper, scissors.

  1. Draw wavy lines using coloured pastels or crayons across white paper about 3-4cm apart.  
  2. Fill in white spaces using tempura paints (use blue greens on the bottom half, and red/yellow/oranges
    on the top half)  let dry
  3. Using black paper and scissors, cut out 5 shapes to form your own inukshuk.  It can have 2 legs,
    a body, head, and a long piece for the arms, or try some other combination of stacking
  4. Glue onto coloured background

Recommended Reading

Thanks to Portia from Once Upon A Huckleberry Bush for her Olympic reading recommendations! 

 

Outstanding Olympics

Outstanding Olympics

By Clive Gifford

The Olympic Games is the greatest sports celebration in the world. This colorful book offers
all the information you need about the world’s top athletes, their amazing achievements and
the rivalries and competition among nations. The perfect companion to our own hosting of
the games – and way beyond!
Olympic Mascots

Miga, Quatchi and/et Sumi

This is the lovable story of the mascots Miga, Quatchi, Sumi and their sidekick Mukmuk unfolds on the
magical landscape of Canada’s West Coast.

Written in both English and French, learn the legends behind these now famous characters as they introduce
the world to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Read More

Crafty Ideas January 2010

admin

Happy New Year!

Getting back into school and daycare routines after the holidays usually leaves little ones exhausted at the end of the day.  Give your tired kids some extra time to relax by sitting around the table for craft time.  They can get crafty by getting organized for the new year!   Give these crafts a try:

Decorated Art Folder:

Supplies: presentation folder, collage supplies such as photos, magazine clippings, crayons or markers, stickers, feathers, sparkles, glitter glue etc.

Directions: transform a simple folder into a personalized art folder by decorating with your name, a photo of yourself, and other items.  Keep your folder in a handy place and add the new artwork that comes home from school or daycare!

 2009 Calendar Story Book:

Transform your old calendar into a story book with the kids!

Supplies: 2009 Calendar, 12 pieces of paper large enough to cover dates portion/chart of calendar, glue, something to write with

Directions: replace the dates area of the calendar with a blank writing area by gluing paper on top of dates chart.  Do this for all 12 pages.  Using the theme of the calendar (animals, landscapes, princesses, cars, etc), ask your child to dictate a story for you to record.  The calendar themes can be transformed into personal stories such as ‘Joe’s trip Across the Country’, or ‘Sue’s  Animal Adventure’.  You can also add word bubbles to the calendar photos if your child wants one of the pictures to talk.  A great way to pass the afternoon!

Did you try these crafts?  Send us your comments and photos!

 

Kitchen with Kids – Candied Walnuts

Some nuts, such as walnuts and pecans, are a good source of Omega-3s, which may be linked to brain development and emotional well being.  Here’s an easy snack the kids can help make:

2 ½ cup walnuts

1/3 cup corn syrup

2 tbsp sugar

½ tsp cinnamon

Coat walnuts with corn syrup, and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.  Spread on a baking sheet and bake at 325 for ~15 minutes or until nuts are golden brown.  Let cool before serving.

Simple Science – Gravity and Resistance 

A classic experiment that’s a fun guessing game for kids too!  Choose several (non-breakable) objects from the house, such as a stuffed toy, a ball, a building block, and a couple identical pieces of paper.  Hold two of the items out in front of you.  Which one will fall fastest?  Why?  What happens when you drop the pieces of paper at the same time?  What happens when you crumple one up and drop it?

Five Minute Fun – Mark Up Your Calendar

Enlist the kids to help mark up your calendar with special events such as birthdays, anniversaries, etc.  They can practice their printing by writing the names of friends and family who are celebrating birthdays on a certain date, or they can draw a picture of the person in the calendar date box. 

Read More

Crafty Ideas December 2009

admin

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

December is spent planning family festivities, baking, decorating, and carefully selecting thoughtful gifts for friends and family.  The kids can get involved with lots of the tasks on your seasonal ‘to do’ list – decorating cookies is always a crowd pleaser, and we’ve got lots of great craft ideas for the family to try!

Five Crafty Ways to get the Kids Involved in the Holiday ‘Bustle’

1. Family Picture Christmas Cards – your child’s artwork can take centre stage in all of your Christmas cards.  Ask them to draw your faimly and then scan or colour-photocopy the picture to include in the cards you send out.  If you want to get really fancy, use the scanned image as the cover of your printed cards!

2. Paint some pinecones – use brightly coloured paints, and sprinkle some glitter while the paint is still we.  Let paint dry and arrange in a bowl or vase to display

3. Make a wreath – cut a wreath form from an old piece of cardboard, and then trace and cut out lots of green hand prints.  Glue handprints around the wreath form.  Add other decorations – find some holly or small pinecones to bring the outside in, or use pompoms, bows, stickers, and ribbons to accessorize.

4. Make a garland – popcorn on string is a classic, but you can also do a beaded garland, paper chains, or even cheerios looped through a piece of yarn or string

5. Make gift tags and bows – repurpose images from old Christmas cards by gluing them onto cardstock gift tags, and make gift bows by cutting newsprint into strips, laying the strips in a star formation, and folding (& gluing) the ends of each strip into the centre of your star

 

Did you try any of these craft?  Send us your comments and photos!

Recommended Reading For Christmas

We have two Christmas favourites that get the kids giggling every time we read them, and we pull them out year after year. These are fun stories right from the time they’re toddlers: 

Are You Grumpy, Santa? by Gregg Spiridellis & Evan Spiridellis

Santa’s Suit by Kate Lee & Edward Eaves

More Christmas Craft Ideas

We’re sharing a multitude of Christmas craft ideas on other web sites this month.  Check out the links below for more great ways to get crafty for the holidays!

Christmas Crafty Fun

Tree Ornament – Baby Footprints

Dangling Christmas Bell Craft

Felt Tree Card Holder Craft

Did you try any of these crafts?  Send us your comments and photos!

 

Kitchen with Kids – Grandma’s Shortbread

This has always been my favourite shortbread recipe – maybe because it’s the one my mom always makes! 

3 c all purpose flour
1/2 c cornstarch
1 c icing sugar
1 lb butter or part margarine

Cream butter and add sugar, mixing until creamy.  Add flour and cornstarch and whip together until fluffy.  Drop from a spoon, roll, or use a cookie press.  Bake at 325 for about 8 minutes

Tip:  have cake/cookie sprinkles or coloured sugar ready for the kids to decorate cookies before they go into the oven!

Five Minute Fun – Reindeer Food

Santa’s flying force might get a little hungry on their trip around the world on Christmas Eve, so make sure you sprinkle some reindeer food in the snow or lawn for them to munch on while Santa fills your stockings!  Simply add some sparkles to oatmeal, or use cake sprinkles if you don’t have sparkles.  Mix in a bowl or zip lock bag, ready for Christmas Eve!

Read More

Crafty Ideas November 2009

admin

 Snuggle Up And Hibernate

With the arrival of colder days, it’s just about time to pull out the winter gear – snuggly blankets, soft warm sweaters, and winter boots.  On those really ‘crisp’ days, you might even wish you could just curl up and hibernate!  Turn frosty days and winter warmth into themes for craft projects with the kids.  Try these ones to get started:

Frosty Tinfoil Etching:

Supplies: 8 ½” x 11” flat piece of cardboard (such as from a cereal box), tin foil, glue, cotton balls, icing sugar or flour, pencil or crayon, tape

Directions:  Cover cardboard with tinfoil, using glue or tape to secure foil edges on the backside of cardboard.  Use a cotton ball to carefully cover tinfoil with a layer of glue (dip the cotton, and dab onto foil, repeating until covered).  Sprinkle icing sugar or flour over glue, covering completely.  Tip cardboard to remove excess.  Let dry for a few minutes.  Using a dull pencil or crayon, ‘etch’ away through the icing sugar, to reveal a shiny frosty looking drawing.    

Did you try this craft?  Send us your comments and photos!

Reader’s Paper Chain Book Log:

How long is winter?  Measure it by keeping track of all the books you’re reading together!

Supplies: coloured construction paper or paper, crayons, glue, 2 paper plates, stapler

Directions:  Make a bear’s den that doubles as storage for your paper chain links:  draw a bear on the face of first plate, or use construction paper circles to make bear face and ears, gluing bear to first plate.  Cut second plate in half, and glue it to first plate, facing inward and matching edges of both plates.  Now the bear is resting in his den.  Make chain links: cut paper into equal size strips that are long enough to glue end to end to become a ‘link’ in the chain.  Make first link by folding one piece of paper in half and stapling or gluing it to bottom of den.  Store remaining link papers inside bear den.  Every time you read a book, write the title on a piece of paper and make a link in the chain, adding it to the end of your chain.

Did you try this craft?  Send us your comments and photos!

 

Kitchen with Kids – Collecting Seeds

Squash soup is a yummy cold weather meal, and the kids can help in the kitchen by gathering and cleaning the seeds for planting in the spring.  Buy a sugar pumpkin or other squash and cut it in half, scooping out the seeds to ready the squash for roasting.  The kids can sort the ‘muck’ from the seeds, and then wash the seeds, letting them dry on a paper towel.  Once the seeds are completely dry, they can be stored for the winter, ready to sprout in the spring!

Simple Science – Measuring Volume

It seems that November brings either lots of rain or lots of snow, so turn the wintery weather into a little science experiment.  Find three containers of similar size, but with different shapes.  You could use a bowl, a cup, and a jar or storage container.  Place the containers outside where they will get rained or snowed on, and make some guesses as to which one will fill up first.  Was it the tallest?  The widest?  Which one holds the most and which one the least?

Five Minute Fun – Connect The Dots

Draw a dotted outline of a picture for your child so that they can connect the dots.  They’ll get some practice holding a pencil, and they’ll be excited to see what you drew together!  Take turns, letting your child place some dots for you to connect.  For older kid, you can even number the dots if you like, but we found it was fun just to splash dots on the page randomly, and watch to see which way they got connected!

Read More

Craft Ideas for kids – February 2009

admin

Hearty Heros!

Cupid isn’t the only one who flies around making people fall in love!  How about a Valentine’s fairy?  Or perhaps a Valentine’s superhero?  February is heart month, so help the kids spring into action with some Valentine’s inspired playtime props:   

Superhero Wrist Bands:

Supplies: toilet paper roll, aluminum foil, scraps of coloured paper, fabric or ribbon, glue

Directions:  Cut toilet paper roll in half cross wise, creating two small cuffs.  Snip each cuff vertically, so that child will be able to slip cuff onto wrist.  Cover each cuff in tin foil.  Cut paper or fabric into stars, hearts, lightning bolts, or other superhero symbols (such as child’s initials) and glue onto cuffs.  Let dry, and then let the games begin!

Heart Tipped Fairy Wand:

Supplies: wooden dowel or old wooden spoon, cardboard (e.g. from cereal box), red or pink paper, ribbons, packing tape, glue

Directions: Cut heart shape from cardboard. Lay dowel on heart so that one end is at the centre of the heart, making a handle coming down from tip of heart.  Secure in place with packing tape.  Glue ribbons to bottom of heart shape to create a ribbon fringe.  Cut two identical hearts out of  red or pink paper, making hearts slightly larger than cardboard heart.  Cover both sides of cardboard heart with the red or pink hearts, pinching edges together to secure around cardboard heart.  Let dry.

Made with Love for Valentine’s Day

Help your child create one-of-a kind unique Valentine’s Day Cards with our exclusive Valentine Card making kits .  Choose a class pack of 24 mini cards for your child to give to classmates, or standard size cards (packages of 8) to send to close friends and relatives.  A crafty way to make Valentine’s Day just a little more special!  Check our card selection here .

 

Have A Laugh!

 

Not only is laughing a lot of fun to do, but it’s proven to be good for your heart.  Your heart rate increases with laughter, and then dips below normal when you stop, giving your heart a workout.  And did you know that kids laugh about twenty times as much as adults?  That’s 20 giggles for every one of our chuckles.  So, get a little crazy with the kids this month, and get laughing! .

 

Kitchen with Kids – Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

A little bit of (dark) chocolate is good for the heart, as is the fibre provided by delicious red strawberries.  Try this simple Valentine’s treat with the kids! .

  • Strawberries, washed, but not hulled
    •   2 oz semi-sweet bakers chocolate, chopped up, or chocolate chips
    •    2 tablespoons milk

Melt chocolate in microwave; add chopped chocolate and milk to microwave safe bowl, and heat for 30 seconds.  Let stand for 30 seconds.  Stir.  Microwave slightly longer if necessary.  When chocolate is melted, cool slightly, and dip strawberries, letting the kids hold them by the hull.  Tip: if you prefer to remove the hulls before serving, use corn picks to hold the strawberries for dipping.

Simple Science- Geometry Lesson

Cut several pieces of paper into squares and circles.  Can you use the pieces you have cut to make a heart?  Note:  Pieces can overlap.  Use a heart template to make it a little easier for little ones to see what they’re striving for!

Five Minute Fun – Folding Heart Card

Make a quick Valentine card with your child by folding a piece of paper in half and cutting a heart along fold line.  Open your heart and decorate with crayons, markers, stickers, and other embellishments.  Let dry and then close the heart card, pop it into an envelope, and send it to someone special.  

Stick to My Heart

Planning a party this month?  Try playing pin the heart on the human!  Draw an outline of your child, and draw a heart in the location of the real heart.  Give each child a heart stick to the human.  Blind fold the child, spin them once or twice, and lead them to the picture, giving them a chance to stick their heart to the picture.  Get as close to the real heart as you can!  If you need party crafts, check out our supply here

Read More

Craft Ideas by Craft Caravan – November 2008

admin

Falling Back…

Turn back time tonight, as today is the day most people change their clocks to ‘fall back’ for daylight savings time.  The shorter days, together with cooler weather are sure signs that winter is just around the corner.  Use the themes of time and winter for a couple of fun crafts with the kids:

It’s About Time for a Clock

Supplies:  Cardboard, old magazines and newspapers, aluminum foil, 2 buttons, string, scissors, glue, crayons, hole punch

Directions:  Make clock face- cut circle from cardboard and cover with aluminum foil.  Find newspaper or magazine clippings of the numbers 1 through 12.  Glue each number to the clock face. 

Cut a big hand and a small hand from cardboard.  Colour the hands with crayon, or cover with magazine clippings.  Punch a hole at the end of each hand, where they will be connected to the centre of the clock.  Make a hole in the centre of the clock using scissors (a job for the caregiver!) 

Assemble clock: feed string through hole of first button, then through clock face, then clock hands, then second button.  Loop back around through second hole of top button, then through hands and face, then through final button-hole, tying string together on underside of clock

Handprint Mitten Mobile

Supplies: construction paper, glue, scissors, hole punch, string or ribbon, pencil, decorating supplies such as pompoms, glitter glue, sparkles, stickers, etc

Directions:  trace your child’s hand on construction paper with fingers together and thumb out.  Instead of individual fingers, trace around all fingers like a mitten.  Make 4 or 5 tracings.  Cut out tracings, decorate, and punch a hole at the top or ‘wrist’ part of each mitten.  Cut various lengths of string for hanging mittens on mobile.  Tie one end of each string through each of the mittens, and tie the other end around the pencil.  Loop another string around the pencil, in centre, for hanging.

 

Kitchen With Kids –  Grilled Banana Nutella Sandwich

An easy, yummy, warm sandwich treat for cool days!

1 Banana
Nutella spread
2 pieces of bread
butter or margarine

Spread one piece of bread with Nutella.  The kids can cover the Nutella with banana slices.  Close sandwich and lightly butter outside.  Place in sandwich grill for about 5 minutes.  Let cool until warm, and serve.  

Getting Crafty for Christmas

If you’re sending out Christmas cards this year, check our website for Christmas and Season’s Greetings Card making kits .  You can also subscribe to the Kids Craft Club – a great gift idea for pint sized friends and relatives!

 

Come Get Crafty with Us!

Craft Caravan is sponsoring the ‘Creative Corner’ at Vancouver’s Baby & Family Fair this weekend.  Drop by for some colouring and crafts when you visit Canada place tomorrow!

 

Five Minute Fun – Hibernation Hideout (Cave)

A simple way to pass a few minutes, throw a blanket over a chair or table for an instant cave or tent.  Though not quite a ‘craft’, we just had to remind everyone about this age old game, as our kids get endless amounts of joy out of hiding in their makeshift cave!

Read More