Tell Flora about keeping your LOs entertained during half term with arts & crafts - £200 JL prize draw NOW CLOSED

[KatieBMumsnet]

The folks at Flora want to know if Mumsnetters use arts and craft activities to keep their LOs entertained during school hols like half term.

Here's what Flora have to say, "Arts and crafts are a great way to keep the kids entertained during half term, but what do you do with the mini masterpieces your LOs have spent so long creating? Instead of covering the fridge, Flora are turning scribbly shapes into scrummy Sandwich Cutters. We'd love to hear about your favourite piece of artwork from your LO and how you use arts and crafts to keep your kids entertained."

With half term approaching, is arts and crafts something you and your DCs will be doing? If so, what art and craft activities do your DCs enjoy the most? Do they love finger painting? Or perhaps they prefer getting creative with beads?

If you could choose one piece of your DCs' art to hang on your fridge hall of fame, what would it be?

If you do have a fave piece of artwork from your LO, why not enter it into Flora’s Facebook competition for a chance to win a sandwich cutter in the shape of your DC's best piece of art!

Everyone who posts on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will receive a £200 John Lewis voucher.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

[3birthdaybunnies]

In the October half term we do pumpkin or watermelon carving. We also start on Christmas craft for presents for teachers, grandparents etc. All my dc love doing craft although I do need to be selective about things I keep. Some are hung from ribbons on the front of our bookcases. Others they keep in their bedroom.

Another popular outlet was when they got 'proper' art canvases and did paintings on them which are on the walls.

They probably love painting the most, probably because I don't let them do it v often due to the mess. My favourite pictures are when both girls painted the Eiffel tower after we had visited Paris. Dd1's was instantly recognisable, so was dd2's once you got beyond the green paint and 4 moons! Cake decoration comes a close second.

I only have myself to blame as I enjoy craft too, dh despairs of the mid-project mess.

[3birthdaybunnies]

Must admit I don't like doing school homework craft. I would rather do craft that we want to do than recreate the great barrier reef and then have to juggle getting it to school only to later have to bring it home and store it ad infinitum.

[ShatnersBassoon]

I've just bought an Usborne 'Make Your Own Christmas Decorations' book with half term and beyond in mind. Loads of cutting with the sharp scissors (what joy for my youngest!), free rein on my tape dispenser...

They'll all end up half-done and in the bin by November

[lorka]

My 7 year old daughter is craft daft! She is constantly making, cutting, glueing, colouring and painting. She doesn't let me throw anything out as she says, "Mr Maker says you can make something out of everything!!" and she certainly does!! :) :) I am amazed at some of the wonderful creations that she does for someone so young.

[tinypumpkin]

Today was paper chains. Anything that involves glitter (agh!) and glitter glue is a winner for both DD2 and DD3.

Painting too is a big love in this house.

[katiewalters]

I get these fridge magnets in different designs which my son loves painting, also he loves doing the plaster moulds, we have buzz light year one he's done and painted. On the fridge hall of fame we have painted fridge magnets and home made calendar which my son has decorated

[DoItTooJulia]

We do arts and crafts here!

Ds is 8 and loves doing more structured things nowadays. We make comics. I staple some paper together and he does the most intricate drawings. In fact, I've been asked if I can photocopy his latest effort 30 times so that every one of his class mates can have a copy!

I have some absolute favourite pieces of artwork that he's done over the years that I have framed and hung.

We are also into bento style lunches, so a cutter in the shape of some of his efforts would be awesome!

[SaltySeaBird]

My DD is only one but I can't wait to get creative with her. I love arts, crafts and creative stuff.

So far we have done paint footprints and handprints which have been messy but great fun. I've got them up in my office.

[maxmissie]

My dd is six and she has always been quite into crafty things - at the moment she likes Hama beads, sticking, scrapbooking, sewing, making jewellery and some craft kits she got for her birthday. She also wants to learn to knit but I have no idea how to do it and need to rely on my mum! My son is four and is less into crafts but does like scrapbooking, sticking and painting. He also likes but gets frustrated by Hama beads.

They both like making decorations for Xmas and we also have the Osbourne Xmas decorations book which was great for me as I find it hard to make stuff off my own back!

We also have a dinosaur sandwich cutter that is specifically for sandwiches but mostly we use biscuit cutters and use them for toast and more recently with scotch pancakes!

By my son would be his recent picture from nursery of his family. For my daughter it would be her 'Bananas in Pyjamas' collage that she did earlier this year.

[TeaJunky]

Amazed at how creative you all are!

Dahville - I have a wire up in dds room for the latest creations (from ikea). Looks great and really organises what to display :)

For the half term we are planning on doing some funky, glittery, painted high frequency words and phoniccy things that she's just started learning now (reception).

That's it so far

[Hopezibah]

We all love crafts. There is something really special about seeing your kids create something especially when they do things their own way and each of their pieces of art / craft looks totally different from each others.

My kids love things like gluing, and even just colouring and drawing - but we use pastels and charcoal pencils sometimes rather than just crayons and felt pens.

They tend to love little projects where you end up with an end product to keep and use too eg a pencil pot or purse or something like that.

I keep old boxes and bits of paper and cardboard so we always have a ready supply of things to get crafting with.

[LaTrucha]

I find a pack of 50 paper plates invaluauble. Throw in a few pens, things to stick, wool etc and we make masks, monster faces, paint and cut spiral, make mobiles out of the spirals by hanging things from them. Fab.

Kitchen paper and toilet roll animals too are good, improvised with bits of card, pens and paints. Rockets too, and if you stick them together you can make castles and things. Never throw them away!

Collect pebbles and paint them and put them round your house.

Decorate your shed with jumbo chalks.

Paint a box. They love it. Don't know why.

Finger mice -cut out cirles of paper, make a cone and fasten with sellotape. Decorate with whatever you have for a tail and ears, draw on eyes and a nose.

Make a book out of ordinary drawing paper by folding in haf and sewing through the spine. My children find this irresistable.

Make a treasure map. They then go off and play pirates.

[TwerkingTaxCredit]

Dd and I love making junk models. Egg boxes, toilet rolls, empty butter tubs decorated with feathers, pipe cleaners lolly sticks and most importantly googley eyes. At the moment monsters are the favourite theme.

[Princessdivaaa]

Our school usually have a half term family project.. Previous projects have included... Making a character from your favourite book, make a mini beast.. We usually try to do these and it can be anything from papermache, painting, glueing, sticking, glitter - kids love it..

[ScienceRocks]

I was starting to worry that I was a useless mum as I read this thread, but am relieved to see that there are others who don't excel in this area or have a natural flair for it. I am a scientist, so very good at homemade science experiments and even maths and language type stuff, but crafting leaves me cold.

I can manage the odd cooking type thing-fairy cakes, cut out biscuits, fruit salad- but appreciate that is more functional than pure fun (hmm, I see a theme developing ), and even cutting out snowflakes and card making, but that is really it. Origami, I imagine, doesn't really count as craft, and probably neither do teaching my DDs to sew, knit and crochet. Oh dear.

Fortunately, mil is an ex-art teacher so makes up for my shortfalls

[ladydepp]

I am extremely non-creative but my dd who is 6 LOVES art. Her favourite at the moment is doing sticky mosaic kits but she is also a fan of threading beads for necklaces and bracelets. She can do this endlessly!

She loves craft kits although I think they are mostly over-packaged over-priced rubbish. Our best crafty adventure was finding an amazing bead shop on holiday and buying masses of lovely beads. Even I enjoyed that!

My older boys have never been very crafty sadly, although they do a bit of drawing. They preferred Lego when they were younger.

[PeterParkerSays]

We will be doing drawing / sticking tissue paper etc onto a large box. DS loves the activity and also playing with the result - he's built a pirate ship, canal boat, house and cave in the past, all be sticking bits onto bog standard cardboard boxes. They last him ages.

We have tissue paper, PVA glue and a new pack of 14 crayola felt tips, which DS thinks is the bee's knees, as he only had 7 colours before. Oh, and have a pack of craft lolly sticks as well, which he sticks onto things as decking.

[3rdnparty]

we also try to relate to the time of year...ds hates getting hands sticky so may make some conker men, we make halloween pictures either cut outs or drawing. Halloween costume/decorations also home made in some fashion...and pumpkin carving etc

[Dolallytats]

DS (5) is not a huge fan of drawing, but he does love to make things. Last holiday we made papier mache planets (Naboo and the Death Star-complete with green straws for the laser!!). He has also made a shield, a cannon, a steam boat and a pod racer with his dad.

We also have rocks to paint which we didn't get round to in the summer holidays because DD was born!! I think he also wants to make more planets from Star Wars.

[asuwere]

I love crafting but I don't really love doing with the kids - I often try to take over to do it 'properly'!

My DC have been playing with Hama beads lately though and I'm happy to just leave them with them then iron the results. We currently have a box full of the results; I'm going to be hanging them from string in their rooms as garlands.

DH has them during the holidays so he might get more involved in making things with them.

[GoingGoingGoth]

Could not cope during the holidays without crafts, she's at the age now (8) where I have to leave her to it, which is a good thing. Pleased to say that the glitter doesn't seem to spread as far as it used to.

Now she's older the crafting can come in multiple stages, we were out in the week doing bark rubbings, in different colours. These will be cut up to make a mosaic (at some point)

Still doing a lot of Hama beads, and card making is still very popular.

[themummyonthebus]

DC1 isn't a huge fan of crafts but he does enjoy some sticker and glitter action . I'm planning some craft activities for half term that will give us a head start on Christmas presents and cards. Just need to decide what now!

[JollySleepyGiant]

We love sellotaping a roll of wallpaper to the living room floor and drawing pictures on it. The most recent involved a dragon, tractor and baler :)

[RedKites]

Mine are only little, but DS1, 3yo, loves anything involving stickers, or even better glitter glue. DS2, 11mo, isn't very into craft yet, but likes banging chalk on the blackboard, so it won't be long!

[kateandme]

i think its always good to have time with kids letting them be free and creative.they dont have to be good at art to just let go,espceically as now school seems to be putting on more pressure its good for them to do what they wish with there creative minds.
they love doing stuff for things comeing up.does someone have a birthday?easter?chrismtas?or for their gran.
they love glitter and in the summer getting a big canvas outside and doing splatte rpainting!!
their little handprints and footprints are always a favourite.