Mumsnet users share with Frankie & Benny’s the craft activities or kids experiments that have gone wrong

[EllieMumsnet]

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Arts & crafts, cool science experiments, baking...they all sound such fun and great ways to spend an afternoon with your child/children and 99% of the time they are. Sometimes though, something might go a little left; maybe it wasn’t really the kind of trajectory you had in mind for that rocket or perhaps you put a bit too much bicarbonate soda in that science experiment and ended up giving a lesson on explosives instead. With that in mind Frankie & Benny’s would love to know all the craft activities and kids experiments that you’ve tried to do and have gone wrong.

Here’s what Frankie & Benny’s have to say: “We know Easter holidays are a key time for any family to spend time and do activities together. Whether it’s going out to share a meal, going to see a movie or entertaining the kids with home experiments, we all love to try new things. This half term, Frankie & Benny’s is giving away free slime with every kids’ meal and we want parents to share with us their home experiments disaster stories, including those who’ve tried to make their very own slime!”

Perhaps you too have tried to make slime and you’re still finding it in different places all over the house? Or maybe you tried to help your child with their homework, mistook superglue for PVA glue and are still trying to pick bits of your hands? Or maybe you tried a famous sweet and fizzy drink experiment and immediately regretted it?

Whatever craft activities or kids experiments you’ve done that have gone wrong share them on the thread below and everyone who does will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

I’m going to Thorpe park next week and am a size 16/18 depending, Carry most of my weight in my belly, hips, thighs, I’m 5 foot 6 and worried I won’t fit, has anyone been recently? I’m so paranoid

We made marbled egg shells. At the end you blow out the egg through a pinhole.

DS sucked.

I wish, wish, WISH people wouldn't give slime away... It's banned in our home because my youngest who is old enough to know better by the way, gets it in her clothes, the bedding, her hair and one batch they bought somewhere stained the duvet covers and clothing. Pissed off doesn't cut it.

My girls love trying new things and with the slime craze I thought it would be an easy and fun thing to do. I was advised shaving foam and pva glue would do the trick, so my DDs (6 & 8) got mixing but it got out of hand with the shaving foam. As all the best craft sessions go, you just keep adding to get the right texture! After an hour of mixing, we just had a large globby mess! Next time I'll stick to making playdough!!

In a restaurant sitting drawing sketch of the village, roads, trees, traffic lights, shops, people on pavements etc. Kept adding to it between courses. At the end of the meal went to pick it up to take home and realised to my horror that the white sheet of plain paper that we were drawing on had moved and 75% was drawn directly on the white table cloth! We told the Restaurant owner and offered to pay for a new table cloth, but the owner saw the funny side of it and .

Meant to be a Birthday present for my girl (she was 7 then). A make your own little doll. Everything was cut and included in the pack. It was too difficult for her and I ended up doing it. Spent hours making it and the result was disastrous. Really meant for a child? Even an adult couldn’t make it properly.

Definitely the science experiment box 🤪 although it did redecorate our ceiling...

In terms of scientific experiments, nothing ever went wrong, because our children followed instructions and involved us if there were something tricky. However our house is littered with failed artwork and sculptures!

DIY slime that was much too slimey and instead of staying nicely on the tray went all over the carpet!😱

I thought mixing paint colours to teach them about the primary colours would be loads of fun but it didn't quite go according to plan, the colours ended up dirty looking and they got bored really easy. There was paint practically everywhere in the kitchen and it took me all day to clean, not worth it at all!

So far our art has worked out ok. Though homemade paint does not actually work! However I guess it’s process not product, as I said yesterday when my toddler decided stamping on the table was more fun than stamping on paper.

Trying a rocket experiment in the garden, it did work and went up in the air but over the garden fence and hit the neighbour, whoops!

Tried making slime messed up the ratios. didn't end well.

The worst thing we did was make pasta skeletons !! Stuck everywhere and still finding them weeks later !!

We’ve tried to make a slime 30 mins of mixing and all we had was a glittery purple coloured water 🤦‍♀️

This sounds mad, but after watching too much Top Gear (years ago) with their Dad, they all went outside and "blew up things" - actually it was not a disaster - only for me, with the cleaning up afterwards!

Usual messy ones. Slime mainly though

We thought we had brought washable felt tip pens but unfortunately they weren't so the clothes they managed to draw all over were ruined.

We once made an enormous hot air balloon which really was amazing. The children filled it with hot air from a hair dryer tethered to a pole. It slowly rose and eventually floated in the sky but unfortunately the tether was not tied strongly enough and it floated off in the sky over a major road potentially a danger to cars and fortunately landed in a tree in some bemused gardener's garden.

Never really had a disaster, just the dreaded glitter that never fully cleans away

Papier-mâché is always a huge drama. Both kids start off enthusiastic but then get bored and glue and soggy paper gets everywhere. I ALWAYS end up finishing it and then the kids get interested again when it is the painting stage. Without fail the end product engages them for a very short time and ends up bring squashed, broken and rapidly thrown away! Definitely much more hassle than it is worth.

Oh there has been so many of them over the years! The bicarbonate volcano was a disaster, we did it on the table and I never expected it to be so 'successful' and my carpet got soaked with it.
My mum bought these glitter packs and gave them to the kids before I could intercept and of course they insisted they got to use them. Even with all my preparations glitter got everywhere and I swear I'm still finding the odd bit of glitter a year on.

Having boiled eggs for my DS to decorate for a school Easter competition, he decided he didn't like what he'd made so binned them sneakily got some normal eggs out the cupboard and decorated those. Pleased with his artwork he put them In his school bag for next morning ready to take, by the time we got to school egg was dripping through the rucksack and school books covered in raw egg!

DS is still quite little so we are new in the ‘craft’ area. However I did try painting recently - put him up in his high chair, covered him in overalls and put newspaper down - only for his to flick his paintbrush and splatter murky, green-brown paint all up our lovely white wall.

Oh i am useless at art, absolutely useless. I give it my best shot but i refuse to ever partake in another easter bonnet creation ever again. I'm sorry but i cant compare with the other parents that seem to be all secret Van Gogh's!
Once tried to make a papermache mountain that turned into a sloppy mess. I'll stick to my other strengths! xx