Craftzine.com blog: Kids Archives

Archive: Kids

February 9, 2010

Walnut Rattle

Ranjit Bhatnagar is making an instrument every day in February. Some are electronic, some are mechanical, and some are both. This walnut shell rattle seems easy to make with a drill and some string, and makes a pretty satisfying jangle, suitable for weekend sock-clad marching band parades around the house.

February 8, 2010

Beautiful Hyperboloid Made of Skewers

George Hart continues to rock Math Mondays on MAKE, up this week is the skewer hyperboloid!

Thirty two shish kabob skewers and 176 small rubber bands are all it takes to make a beautiful hyperbolid of revolution. This is an example of what is called a "ruled surface," meaning even though it is curved, it is made of straight lines.

How-To: Tiger Hand Puppet

The Chinese New Year is almost upon us, and you can celebrate the Year of the Tiger by whipping up some of these cool hand puppets made from cereal boxes. Tali of Growing Up Creative shows you how!

Flatpack Cardboard High Chair

John Baichtal @ MAKE points us to this prototype flatpack cardboard high chair. I'd think it would have to be wax-coated to withstand a toddler's meal, what do you think? Maybe it's a neat idea in need of a few tweaks?

February 6, 2010

How-To: Ruffle Flower T-Shirt Embellishment

BlogHer user CA_Girls shares a tutorial for creating this cute ruffle flower embellishment on the neckline of a child's t-shirt, using scraps of other t-shirt material. The embellishments would be a great way to use up thrifted t-shirts or shirts with stains. (not that I know anything about kids' shirts with stains ... of course.)

How-To: Egg Ocarina

Matt Mets @ MAKE writes:

There has been no shortage of food-based instruments around here, however I particularly like this one that Youtube user heita3 made from an egg shell. It's a good reminder that pretty much any old thing can be made into a fun project!

Egg ocarina Read full story »

February 4, 2010

From Lego with Love

I can't believe it's been 5 years since my oldest son, Will Kindred, surprised me with this lovely Valentine's Day gift. It's still at the top of my list when I think of favorite Valentine's gifts, which tells me how important love and ingenuity are to the creative process, both for the giver and the receiver.

Go out and make something wonderful for the people you love! Then send in photos and tell us about it in the Comments, so we can all say "Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh, that's so sweet!" together. Happy Valentine's Day!

February 1, 2010

Valentine Heart Leis

Cz Valentines-Deer

By Marie LeBaron

My Paper Heart

These fun heart-shaped leis are helping to spread Valentine's cheer. They are the perfect activity for your child's classroom party or to make ahead of time to give out as Valentines.

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January 28, 2010

Crayon Heart Valentine's Day Cards

Melted crayon shapes have been a favorite craft for kids for a while, but Ellen of The Long Thread takes it a step further by offering up these cute Valentine's Day cards to go along with your crayon heart creations. I only wish I'd had them when we did this very craft last year! Grab your broken crayons and a heart mold and help your kids make fun cards for their friends!

January 20, 2010

Any Size Long Johns from Wool Sweaters

Recycle an old sweater into toasty wool long johns.
By Nikol Lohr

Cotton thermals and space age synthetic long underwear are all well and good, but nothing kills the winter chills like a pair of old fashioned, toasty wool long johns. Trouble is, despite improvements in softness well known to knitters, wool still has a bad rap among the general population for itchiness. So despite the prevalence of cottony-soft merino, wool long johns have fallen out of favor. Not only are they hard to find, but at around 50 bucks a pop, they're hard to justify. But fret not! Real wool long johns can be yours for the price of a thrift store wool sweater and about an hour at the sewing machine. If you get lucky and score a cashmere sweater, you're really in for a treat!

Recycled long johns are cheap, eco-friendly, community-conscious (supporting local thrift stores), and can be made in interesting colors or stitch patterns, depending on what you find on the sweater rack. You can make them thicker (read: warmer) than the typical off-the-shelf counterpart, and you can get a custom fit. While they're not as streamlined as their store-bought brethren, you're probably wearing them to bed or under layers, so what's a few extra seams between friends?

If you've got kids to dress, the recycled long johns are especially fun, because you're more likely to find Fair Isle options in the smaller sizes on the thrift store rack.

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January 19, 2010

The Best Kids Craft Tools in Bazaar

Susan Beal of West Coast Crafty recently contributed her kids craft picks for our Bazaar section. From this Ikea Mala Easel to the perfect kids crayons, find out this crafty mama's excellent picks for kids crafting tools.

As an added bonus check out her favorite books for kids' art and craft projects after the jump!

Read full story »

January 12, 2010

LED And Balloon Lightsabers

Inspired by Zakka Life's lightsaber tutorial from last summer, Filth Wizardry took the idea one step further by bringing LEDs into the equation. See how she did it and see more of the cool long-exposure shots of the kids playing with them in the dark over on her blog.

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