Arty crafty party

[pigsinmud]

Dd2 is having her 6th birthday party soon. I like to do something crafty at some point in the party - just to calm them down. Dd2 would like a dog themed party. Apart from dressing up our dog (I don't think she'd be keen!) I can't think of what to do.

She is having 10 friends. I had looked at this, but I noticed it said completion time 1 hour! I haven't done anything like that before and it might be too fiddly for a group of 6 year olds. I could start them all off before the children arrived?

Can you think of some dog crafty things to do?

Masks?

Get DD to think of ideas? (or tell her it's a rubbish theme and she should choose a better one).

Couldn't see your link, sorry. But how about t-shirt painting? Thing is, at 5/6 years old, their attention span is fairly short, isn't it? So you probably do need something fairly quick! How about jewellery-making or pottery painting?

Or cupcake decorating?

Beanbag dogs?

Make a template of a dog lying flat, cut out 2 per child from white felt. Give each child a darning needle threaded with wool and get them to whipstitch round except for one side. Use a funnel to fill with dried black-eyed beans, sew uo the gap. Fabric glue, brown felt ears/tail/spots, googly eyes, black felt triangles for nose, more wool for whiskers...

No party bag required :o

I thought the sequin thing was too long at an hour.
PurplePidjin - not sure if that would take too long. Perhaps I'll look at masks.

Rope in a couple of mums so you've got a 3:1 ratio and help clearing up

Dogs only need to be 3-4" long, so shouldn't take more than 10 minutes to sew - we did frogs at school when i was about that age, so should be able to finish in time?

Buy a dog shaped cookie cutter and a shed load of writing icing etc?

Sausage Dog Draft Excluders ??

Gather up a collection of old socks & wooly tights & cut all into long socks

have a tray full of various types & colours of cut out felt shapes for ears, noses, eyes (buttons beads or felt), spots, flowers, hearts, tongue, teeth, etc etc. -

Some ribbons, or leatherette strips to make collars

tails can be cut into different sizes, some long & thin, some short & fat & various colours - sewn up one & made into tail shaped cones with the open end the size needed below

a pile of stuffing

let them stuff the socks until full

help with closing up the end so that you have long stuffed sausage shapes with a drawn up nobble on the end just about the size to stuff inside a tail

let the DCs loose choosing their dogs features & decorate the body

you stand by with a glue gun & glue the eyes, ears, spots etc in place as they want them to look - help them stuff the nobble bit into the tail & glue in place with gun - finish off with a collar or bow

how do you describe that nobble bit brain dead today, HTMS

They can each take home a new pet sausage dog draught excluder :)

Step Away from the Sequins (and beads, oh god). This is the voice of experience.

Might be pricy for 10 kids, but these, in the smallest size were great for a 6-child sleepover last year. First they made them, then they all eagerly took them to bed! Add t-shirts if keen.

I did homemade party bags - so bought plain white take-away style paper bags, and bought loads of glitter pens, sticky things, tissue paper bits and pieces etc, and they decorated their own bags. I also said the best one would get a prize so they spent some time doing it. Worked really well.

Dog masks? Cut out a suitably doglike face shape (more creative types could suggest what that Could be) out of plain card, elastic round the back, get them to decorate to their hearts' content - pens, feathers, pompoms....whatever. Can I join in ?!

Thank you for all the fantastic suggestions. I'm going to buy some small cheap soft toy dogs and they're going to make "collars" for them - in other words bracelets out of beads. I know someone said not beads, but I'm braving it!

I might also do the dog cookies and then they can decorate them after tea.

Go to the felt.... Make felt bags with dog faces.

Off the top of my head, get a bunch of 9" squares, sew around three sides... if you have decorative stitches on your machine use them in a contrasting thread.

Next cut out circles for eyes in white (large) and brown, blue etc (in small circles). Big felt circles again for cheeks, glue them on using fabric glue. Rounded triangles in black for nose. Draw on the mouth with fabric pens.

Ribbon glued on for collar/ and or bow in hair.

2' lengths of cheap wool for strap, use acrylic and either twist or plait... get a couple of volunteers to sew on while you are eating tea... and there is you ready made goody bag... simples!

Go to the felt.... Make felt bags with dog faces.

Off the top of my head, get a bunch of 9" squares, sew around three sides... if you have decorative stitches on your machine use them in a contrasting thread.

Next cut out circles for eyes in white (large) and brown, blue etc (in small circles). Big felt circles again for cheeks, glue them on using fabric glue. Rounded triangles in black for nose. Draw on the mouth with fabric pens.

Ribbon glued on for collar/ and or bow in hair.

2' lengths of cheap wool for strap, use acrylic and either twist or plait... get a couple of volunteers to sew on while you are eating tea... and there is you ready made goody bag... simples!