Want to do some art/crafty stuff with the DC

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Trying to plan out the summer holidays a bit, a little late I know as they break up tomorrow .

DS is 7 and DD is nearly 4, so what's good to do with a Mum who is hopeless at this kind of thing and where is the best place to buy materials?

[allhailtheaubergine]

Here's one of our all time favourites:

A glass jar each
Various coloured tissue paper
PVA glue

Rip up the tissue paper and stick all over the jar with lots of glue.

When it dries you have a stained glass tea-light holder.

Put a ribbon around the neck to lift it.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Ohhh, that sounds good allhail, anymore where that one came from?

[moominthecorner]

Making houses out of boxes - ds1 loves doing that! I just supply glue, boxes and various bits of paper, foil etc to decorate. He does all design etc. We end up with some ahem, 'interesting' architecture.

[pollyteapot]

geat suggestions. My DS is almost 4 and I'm stuck for crafty things to do with him. Plus he gets bored after q5 mins of drwaing or painting. glue, glass, tissue and boxes - might have a go tomorrow

[rockinhippy]

Making a beanbag or heat pad toy, you can gear up the finished article to suite their ages

You need

fabric crayons or pens (crayons best at 4 as less likely to get onto clothes)

White cloth - more cotton than polyester - 50/50 at least

stuffing - barley is cheap if you want to make it into a heat pad - otherwise lentils or any other stuffing - even chopped up poly bags make good stuffing

Sewing machine or needle & thread - you will probably have to do this bit, at least for the 4 yr old - 7 yr old might be able to sew their own :)

Get the kids to decide on what they want to make -

for example at 4 DD made a ladybird, so I cut out a pair of ovals in the fabric, an inch bigger all round than we wanted it ti finish - this allows for stuffing to pad it out & make it smaller.

DD then used the crayons to draw & colour the shape into a ladybird - the underside fabric she just coloured in black - we used the internet to look at pictures of ladybirds top & undersides for inspiration, which she loved

once she'd finish, I ironed the cloth to seal in the fabric dye & helped her sew the 2 ovals together - leaving a hole - we used a funnel (make one out of card or toilet roll inner if you don't have one)

DD then poured barley into her ladybird until it was full - I sewed up the hole for her

She still uses it today for tummy pains etc :)

you can do all sorts of simple shapes, cars, trucks, doll, butterfly, cat dog - anything they can think of :)

[rockinhippy]

PS - I should have said - if you do MAKE A HEAT PAD - USE COTTON CLOTH ONLY Calico, linen etc etc - polyester will burn - when finished pop them in the microwave for 2-3 minutes depending on size

[rockinhippy]

Also get them pianting pasta tubes to make beads - they can then string it make jewellery - surf style for your DS

[allhailtheaubergine]

Here's another one:

A catalogue or magazine, some scissors and some glue.

The 7-yo can cut out things and make a collage.

For the 3yo draw a clothes line on a big piece of paper and they cut out clothes to hang (stick) on the line, and then draw little pegs on each thing.

[allhailtheaubergine]

Similar one:

Cooking magazine, paper plate, glue.

Cut out food, stick to plate to make a yummy meal.

(Bit young for the 7yo maybe? My 5yo still enjoys it)

[lawnimp]

model magic by crayola is nice stuff

[rockinhippy]

& another one - if you do go for fabric crayons, make the most of them & also....

buy a couple of cheap plain tee shits -

stretch them over a bit of old cardboard box- this protects the back from dye bleed & makes them easier to draw on.

Let your DCs loose with the fabric crayons to design their own Tee Shirts :)

[HoneyPablo]

Make some homemade playdough. it will keep you them busy for hours.

[rockinhippy]

Also this site is a great source of cheap & interesting art supplies to keep kids busy :)

in here :)

I've found that the plain white masks go down great with kids of all ages - I've even used them as a School fete activity - add paint, glitter, feathers, sequins you name it - DD LOVES doing these & did when small too - & the boys tend to turn them into super heroes :)

Also the wooden lollypop puppets are very good & again suit all ages - again add paint, glitter, cloth etc etc - & then they can make a puppet theatre out of an old cereal box & put on a show - DD would spend hours on these :)

[rockinhippy]

great stuff to do on here...

I've just been googling for Macrame projects as thatsDDs latest new best thing & came across the site above - loads of great artsy projects for kids on there, so just thought I'd share :)

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions so far. Keep 'em coming

[20wkbaby]

Have been meaning to make some sock puppets with DD (3yo) for ages. Have two odd socks (the other ones had huge holes in and got thrown away). You can make the face with anything you have lying around or go and buy proper googly eyes, felt shapes or colour with paints, felt tips, chalks. They don't have to last forever!

Or google some simple origami animals that you can help them make and then decorate.

Cardboard cutout mask stuck to a lollipop stick or even a pencil - decorate as you wish - put on a play afterwards. Or on the same theme you could make a theatre out of an old cardboard box and make little characters for the plays from pictures from magazines or just cut them out, attached to sticks etc to move them on and off stage.

[CaptainKirksNipples]

Wilkinson's has loads of craft stuff for £1. Hand puppets, paint and window decorations, cross stitch and wooden models. Everything is in the sets too!