Archive: Super Crafty Kidz

February 26, 2010

Crafting with Kids Wind Chime -- Free PDF!

To me, the real signs of spring are blooming bulb flowers and wind (there's a lot of wind in New Mexico in March, let me tell you!). So when I was sent a copy of the kid crafts book What Shall We Do Today? by Catherine Woram, I was particularly interested in the homemade wind chime as a spring break project with my 7-year-old son.

Happily for me, after looking through the book my sweet boy chose about 5 projects he was interested in, including the wind chime. Yay! A couple of weeks later as I made Pasta Rustica for dinner, a big, 48 oz. can of tomatoes called out to me as the perfect vessel for our creativity.

We gathered the other materials from around the house, or close facsimiles, picked up a few jingle bells at the Five & Dime, and we were ready.

The project is fairly simple and lots of fun -- you punch some holes in your tin can for the hanger at the top and the beads, chimes, and clapper at the bottom. Paint some stripes on the sides of the can, and then string some beads together with some jingle bells. Next, you tie the chimes onto some other pieces of string and thread everything through holes in the bottom of the can. Finally, tie everything together through another bead inside the can, wire on a hanger, and you're done. The attached PDF explains the steps in more detail.

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November 30, 2009

Juice Box to Jukebox

By Jessica Wilson My friend Alexander (age 8) has an iPod shuffle. While he loves to listen to all his happy tunes, he is not a fan of the clippiness and wishes he had something to better house his mini jukebox. We didn't have MP3s back when I was a kid. We didn't even have CDs, but believe it or not we did have music and tunes and cassette tapes and Walkmans (which are a lot like iPods but bulkier). My Walkman was some no-name drugstore gadget but it still had headphones and played my favorite Oingo Boingo tapes to perfection. Size-wise it was a bit on the bulky side, and the plastic built-in clip didn't last too long so I made myself a cozy of sorts, but back then I called it a purse.

Even as a junior high kid I thought outside the box. My first foray into fashionable crafting consisted of turning McDonaldland cookie boxes into purses. It was easy enough to do as long as I had a roll of packing tape and a yard or so of ribbon. This project plays on my old school sensibilities, but since all you lucky ducks use the much smaller iPod you can get away with something a bit smaller than a cookie box. Hopefully, Alexander will approve.

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How-To: Anticipation Calendar

By Future Craft Collective
It's holiday time! Let the countdown begin! If you've got kids in your house you know how they love to count down to special occasions. We designed this Anticipation Calendar for just that reason — counting down to the big day. With this calendar you can help your kids count down to Christmas, New Year's, Festivus, birthdays, whatever the big day might be.

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November 25, 2009

How-To: Make a Twirled Paper Octopus & Angel Fish

Excerpt from Twirled Paper By Jacqueline Lee It's amazing what you can make with simple paper strips! With this project, kids can learn the art of quilled paper by creating these adorable paper versions of an octopus and angel fish. Recycle and cut long thin long strips of paper from old newspapers, wrapping paper, or even junk mail!

Download the PDF
(Right click mouse to save to computer. More info here on downloading PDFs.)

For more twirled paper projects like these, check out the book Twirled Paper: Make Almost Anything with Simple Paper Strips by Jacqueline Lee which comes with more than 100 paper strips in 28 different colors. You'll also get googly eyes, glue, and a twirling wand and a multitude of project ideas. As a special to CRAFT readers, get 25% off all Klutz titles by entering in the promo code CRAFT at checkout!

November 24, 2009

Book Review + Giveaway: Super Simple Sewing

Sewing was one of the first crafts that I was really into as a wee kid. I learned from my mom and figured out what I could from trial and error. If only at the time this book, Super Simple Sewing was available. This book + kit comes with materials and instructions needed to make three easy sewing projects: a purse, bird, and felt bracelet. The materials are safe for kids and sets them up for sewing success. A shoe-string style thread with attached cord-catcher eliminates the need for knots and also gives the projects a pretty bead look. I loved that the pre-printed fabrics and felt are all perforated with holes. The instructions show you how to sew through the projects each step of the way so in the end your child has a finished project to play with while learning basic sewing techniques.

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November 23, 2009

Egg Crate Flowers: Napkin Holders & Centerpiece Flowers

Egg Crate Flower Napkin Holders & Centerpiece Flowers
By Sonya Nimri

Reduce, reuse, recycle ... reinvent! Egg crate flowers make a fantastic craft because they are probably one of the easiest materials to find around the house. They tear apart easily and paint beautifully with nothing but a little food coloring. Read full story »

November 20, 2009

How-To: Bake a Turkey-Shaped Cake

Bake a Turkey-Shaped Cake
By Cathy Callahan

How about cake instead of pie this Thanksgiving? I don't mind pie but am really more of a cake person. This turkey-shaped cake is a fun way to introduce a cake to the dessert table and is also fun for kids to make for Thanksgiving. And if the "pie people" turn their noses up at it? At least it can also double as decoration for the table.

With the big holiday just around the corner I'm sure many of you are starting to pour over your favorite cookbooks in search of recipes. I really don't own many cookbooks and am an advocate for just having a few really good ones on hand. There's been a lot of talk about classic cookbooks lately. Of course we all love Julia Child's The Way to Cook. The Joy of Cooking has been a staple in kitchens for many generations. On many people's lists of "must haves" are The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, How to Cook Everything, Beard on Food and the list goes on.

But to me an overlooked classic is Baker's Coconut Cut-Up Cakes (1956 edition). Why not have a little fun in the kitchen? It was updated in 1959 and retitled Baker's Coconut Animal Cut-Up Cakes. It was published by Baker's to promote their "Angel Flake Coconut" product. At any given time there are usually a few listed on eBay and there is oftentimes a bidding war to get the older ones. You can sample some pages of the book in charm and poise's Flickr set.

Cut-up cakes are all about the reconfiguration of the standard layer or sheet cake. Following the illustrations, the cake is cut into shapes and arranged to resemble things like boats, bunnies, witches, etc. and then iced, sprinkled with coconut, and decorated with candy; the boat eveb gets Lifesavers for the portholes. And they all have cute names.
I have made the "Ella Elephant," "Fanny the Fish," and "Dear Santa."

I just made the "Gobble-Gobble Gobbler" as a dry run for this Thanksgiving. I tried to follow the recipe as best I could but I have to be honest that a little more explanation would have been helpful. I did have a couple of mishaps and had to approach this project like a small scale construction project. So here I've adapted the original directions in hopes that it will make it a little easier for you. Make sure you wear an apron because it's a very messy, but fun, undertaking.

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November 19, 2009

Homemade Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

Homemade Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream
By Jennifer Perkins and Chris Boehk

Every fall my husband Chris whips up a batch of his world famous pumpkin pie ice cream! This year we served it at a Halloween party and are planning to take it to a Thanksgiving potluck! Since this is his special fall creation, I let him write up the instructions and I took the pictures! Read full story »

November 18, 2009

Apple Face Mask

Apple Face Mask, excerpt from The Natural Beauty Book
By Anne Akers Johnson

Mask are intensive treatments and should be limited to your once-a-week routine. Choose one that is well suited to your skin.

Facial Mask Basics

1. Before applying a mask, find a place where you can lie back without being disturbed. Spread a towel out where you will rest your head in case your mask drips.

2. Choose and prepare a recipe.

3. Pull your hair back off your face. Pull long hair back into a ponytail.

4. Wash your face so it's nice and clean.

5. Run a washcloth under warm water, squeeze it out and hold it over your face for a few seconds to dampen your face. If you've just had a steam, skip this step.

6. Apply the mask all over your face and neck (if you like), avoiding your eye area. Lie back and let the mask work for 10-15 minutes. If it starts to feel itchy or uncomfortable, less time is OK.

7. If your mask is particularly chunky (like oatmeal) use your washcloth to gently wipe it off your face, shaking the bits of mask into the trash (this is the trick to avoiding clogged drains). Once it's mostly off, rinse your face in warm water.

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November 17, 2009

Book Review + Giveaway: Paper Flowers

"Easy! No gluing or cutting required" says the cover of the book Make Your Own Paper Flowers. So I decided to make my flowers in a place where craft supplies are sparse: an airplane. Before my trip, I stashed the Klutz Chicken Socks book in my purse. Without any scissors in my bag, I cleared security in a breeze! After takeoff, I folded down the tray on the seat back in front of me, and set to work.

As I put together the project, a million childhood memories came rushing back to me. I vividly remember so many fun Klutz books. I had the juggling one, the dollar bill origami one, the magic one with the special coin, and my personal favorite, the friendship bracelet one. And seeing Klutz triggered memories in more that just me. All the stewardesses paused as they walked by to check on my progress and talk about the best Klutz books which, after much debate, it was decided was the braid one!

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November 16, 2009

Everlasting Terrariums

Everlasting Terrariums
By Jamie Chan and Katy Kristin


We love terrariums! The idea of crafting tiny living landscapes has attracted hobbyists for over 100 years. But we'll be the first to say that not all of us were born with a green thumb, nor do we want to have the hassle of working with soil, gravel, and live specimens when crafting with kids. We will show you how to make a whimsical and woolly terrarium using vintage German charms, wool felt, and roving. It's a perfect craft project for kids to do on a rainy fall afternoon. Most of these supplies can be found at a local craft store or online. The tools are easy to collect from around the house. Encourage your kids to pick a few of their favorite small toys and incorporate them into their tiny world! These zero-maintenance terrariums also make great gifts or can add extra charm to your bookshelf or window ledge!

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November 15, 2009

Robot Sketchbook Cover, by Toxic_Panda_Crayon, age 11

My amazing friend Sasha is only 11 years old, but she already has quite the body of artwork and graphic designs under her belt. I just love this sketchbook cover collage that she made of a robot, using paper that she cut out of Vogue magazine. With some glue, scissors, and some recycled media, Sasha was inspired and worked on this notebook mod for several hours yesterday. Under the username Toxic_Panda_Crayon, she has posted tons of her creations on deviantart. I am so impressed that at her tender young age she has such a portfolio of photoshop drawings too! After we checked out her journal last night, she taught me how to download and install brushes even! She is totally a Super Crafty Kid, and I promise to keep you updated on her projects in the future!

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