Paper Fan

Here is a new twist on the classic paper fan. We used foil paper with a wide craft stick and decorated with Sharpie markers. But we suspect plain or patterned paper would work just as well. This is a useful craft for the upcoming weather forecast that has the temps up over 90 degrees! Click here for directions and have fun with this craft!

Back of fan (front of fan top left)

Bug Observation Jar

Glass pasta sauce jar turned 

into a Bug Observation Jar!

This is a super interesting and engaging activity for kids and adults alike. The project is also recycled as well as recyclable! 

We decorated both a glass (left) and a plastic (right below) container (depending on the level of safety individual folks require) with Sharpie markers. 

Since this is a tool to "view" bugs and not indefinitely house them, there is no need to put air holes in the cover.

 Plastic Deli Tub with toy grasshopper 

and real (wasp?) nest that blew

down on a very windy day

Take your new bug jar out capture (gently), observe, identify (if you are so inclined) and release!

Materials: 

• Glass or Plastic Container
• Sharpie Markers
• Bug Field Guide (optional)

Umbrella Craft

'Rainy Day Craft' picture

With rain in the forecast though most of the week we thought this was a fitting craft for the weather we are having! This is a super-fun craft for any age and most of the materials you probably have around the house! Follow the link here for the material list and directions. Enjoy!

How to Make Mini Garden Gnomes!

Socialphy Craft Photo

Oops! With staff vacations and the upcoming Summer Reading Program, we are sad to say that we didn't get to make the craft this week ourselves. However, we found this excellent Garden Gnome craft at Socialphy. It looks fun as well as easy. For those folks who try this craft, let us know how the finished product came out! Click here to go to the craft.

Paper Fan Butterflies

Since we just love colorful flying creatures we thought this would be a nice late spring craft made from reclaimed magazine pages and Chenille Stems!

Thanks to Family Fun for the great idea!

These are the materials you will need:

• Chenille Stems
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Old Magazine with glossy, colorful pictures

For specific instructions click here to visit the craft at the Family Fun site.

 

We did note that the fan folds should be rather small, less than a quarter inch. The smaller the folds the easier it twists into the chenille stems.

Also the skinnier the chenille stems are, the better the butterfly body will look after the few twists needed to add in the wings. The fatter the stems the bulkier the body.

Enjoy!

Mother's Day Flowers

Mother’s Day is this Sunday, May 13!  Here’s a fun and easy craft for kids to make (with a little help) to show Mom that they are great!

What you’ll need:

Vase:

• Plastic cup
• Glue
• Scraps of tissue paper

 Flowers:

• Pipe cleaners
• Construction paper
• Markers
• Playdough/clay
• Pictures of you

 1. Glue the scraps of tissue paper onto the cup using a brush and let dry.

 2. Have your child decorate the construction paper (one sheet per flower) then cut them into three pieces lengthwise.  Tape the ends of each strip together to make a circle, then staple the three circles of each color together to make the flower shape.

 3. Glue pictures of your child to the front of the flowers, and attach the pipe cleaners to the back using tape.  You may need to use something more rugged than pipe cleaners, like colored craft sticks, to support your flowers.

4. Finally, place the Playdough/clay at the bottom of your vase and press the flowers in to it to secure them.

 Happy Mother's Day!

Moon Sand

We found this recipe for form-holding Moon Sand and gave it a try.

The materials you will need are:

     

     * All Purpose Flour

     * Baby Oil

     * Measuring Cup

     * Mixing Vessel

Measure out one (1) cup of Baby Oil

and add to mixing vessel.

Measure out and add eight (8) cups of All Purpose Flour to your mixing vessel.

Hand mix!

This part was great fun and smelled good too!

While the Moon Sand is not really able to be hand sculpted, it will hold the shape of a form. 

We used a shell (on the right) to make the two shell shapes (both on the left) out of Moon Sand.

Here we used a small plastic container. 

Have fun and experiment with different forms and share your results with us!