bookhoucraftprojects

Project #42 Magic Bottles

Magic bottles by Kristen Sutcliffe from New House Project

We made these for our students when I was a preschool teacher in Japan, and the kids just loved them.  It is a super simple craft project, but sometimes that is just what you need.

What you'll need:
*plastic water bottles with the labels removed
*glitter
*sequins
*metallic ribbon
*food coloring
*vegetable oil
*glue

Step one:
Fill your water bottles with water leaving about 2 inches of empty space.
Step two:
Cut the ribbon into 3-4 inch pieces.
Step three:
Add glitter, sequins, and ribbon to the bottles in interesting combinations.
You can also add a tiny bit of food coloring to the water if you like, or add a few tablespoons of oil to make bubbles in the water.
Step three:
Glue the lid onto the bottle, so your little ones won't be able to open it and make a huge mess.
Step four:
Play time!  These water bottles are so pretty to look at, but you can also use them to talk about color, floating/sinking, density, and states of matter.  I took them to the park today and they were a hit. 

..New House Project..

Project #41 Sticker Art

Sticker Art by by Courtney from Two Straight Lines

I originally had another more complicated craft planned for this week, but on Sunday I put together a little project for my son so that I could buy 15 minutes to make dinner.  He was so pleased with the results that we thought we'd share it with you today. My son loves these dimensional stickers, but I am always reluctant to buy him for them, because they are rather expensive.  One sheet of them is about $3.99 if you don't have a Michael's coupon, which is a lot to spend for your young child to stick them to a piece of paper that you will likely throw away a few days later.  I purchased a set of canvas covered boards for another project, so I decided to let him use one of those, which would make his "artwork" seem a little more special.

Step one
Have your child draw a "setting" for the dimensional stickers on the canvas board using the pastels.
Step two
Have your child place the stickers on the board where he would like them to be glued (the adhesive on the stickers doesn't work on the waxy pastels).
Step three
Heat up your glue gun and fasten all of the stickers to the canvas board.  (tip: regular school glue such as Elmer's would work as well, but would take longer to dry)
Step four
Place your child's artwork on a shelf or pop it in a shadowbox frame, and enjoy.  Alternatively, you could use my son's idea, and "send it to the museum."
Variations:
One nice thing about this project is that you can adjust the degree of difficulty depending on the age of the child.  The very young child could simply scribble on the board and stick the stickers in random places. This is likely what my 2 1/2 year old daughter would do.  My nearly 6 year old son drew a more detailed drawing and placed the stickers in appropriate places.  An older child could draw a very detailed background, or work with other mediums such as paint or decoupaged fabric, adding the stickers when the background is dry.   Because the canvas board is rigid, it would work well on a shelf as a part of a seasonal display.

..Two Straight Lines..

Project #40 Toy Tin Drum

Toy Tin Drum by Khali from Little. Lovely.

Use a recycled tin to make a musical instrument for your toddler.

You'll need:
*Empty tin with lid
*Paint
*Contact (adhesive book cover)
*Craft glue
*Super glue
*Cutting mat
*Craft knife / blade
*2 x lengths of dowel
*Thick card stock (optional)

Step one:
Thoroughly wash and dry the inside of your tin.
Step two:
Paint the outside of your tin. You may need an undercoat and several layers of paint, depending on how easily the paint adheres to the tin. Set aside to completely dry.
Step three:
Draw a design for the outside of your tin onto standard paper. I used images I found online of a marching band and drummer boy as inspiration. Create your own design or download my images to save time. Note: Your finished design will be the mirror image of the one you draw.
Step four:
Take a piece of contact that is the same size as your design and use tape to hold the two together. (I stuck mine over the cutting mat to make them easier to cut out.)
Step five:
Carefully cut out your design, making sure you cut through the contact.
Step six:
Attach your cut out design to the outside of your tin. As my tin had ridges down its side, I chose to stick my design onto a piece of cardstock and attach the cardstock to the outside of the tin with glue.
Step seven:
Glue each length of the cord to the inside of your tin. This will become the drum’s strap so ensure it is long enough to hang around your child’s neck.
Step eight:
Run a thin line of super glue along the inside of the tin lid and attach to top of tin. Allow to dry.
Step nine:
Cut two pieces of contact using the dowel’s circumference as a guide. Cover both pieces of dowel in contact. Finish the drumsticks by tracing circles onto contact using the dowel ends as a guide. Affix the circles to the ends of the dowel. 

..Little. Lovely...

Project #39 Wild Things Tote

Wild Things Tote by Courtney Russel from Two Straight Lines

I have monsters on the brain as we in the States near Halloween, as well as the upcoming release of the film Where the Wild Things Are.  This fun tote project would make a perfect Trick o' Treat bag, library tote, or even a slightly spooky gift bag.
You will need:
*Pre-made canvas tote
*Pen and paper for sketching
*Fabric or felt
*Scissors
*Fabric glue (I use Alene's because it doesn't soak through to the front of the fabric)
*Fine point permanent black or brown marker
*Other embellishments such as yarn, cording, buttons, ric-rac, googly eyes
Optional
*1" Masking tape
*Craft paint or fabric paint
*Paintbrush

Step one:
Gather "monster inspiration" with your kids.  Do you have any stuffed monsters or monster story books?  What do you turn up if you do an internet search for "monster?"  Bring your inspiration to the table with your supplies.
Step two:
Draw a variety of monsters with the pen on the paper.  Which one is your favorite?  Do you prefer scary monsters?  Silly monsters?  One-eyed monsters?  I prefer friendly monsters.
Step three:
Select which monster you would like to put on your tote bag and refine the drawing, if necessary.
Step four:
Look over your fabrics and felt and see which ones you would like to use for your monster's body, eyes, nose and mouth.  Does he have any other parts?  Is your monster made from solid or printed fabric?  Is he plush or smooth?  Would you like to use any additional materials for your monster--  ribbon, ric-rac, buttons or googly eyes?  You can see from my photos that at first I tried felt, but decided I wanted to use a printed fabric instead.  I thought he looked too much like an Ugly Doll and wanted something a little more original.  I also really wanted to use to the more muted palette of the book Where the Wild Things Are.
Step five: (optional)
If you have the desire to make your tote striped as I did, cover one side of the tote with stripes of masking tape, alternating with 1" blank stripes.  Mix up the color of paint that you would like (I made an orange-y pink), and paint between the masked stripes.  When dry, remove the tape and if you wish repeat on the other side.  You don't need to be too fussy about this, it's supposed to be imperfect. Tip: you could also make a polka dot background by placing circle stickers on the bag and painting the unmasked area.
Step six:
Cut your monster out of the paper and trace around him on the fabric you've chosen.  Cut out any other parts he might have out of the paper, and trace around those too.  Finally, cut the parts out of the fabric.
Step seven:
Lay your tote flat and arrange your monster parts on the front.
Step eight:
Glue your monster parts on the bag, beginning with the ones that go on bottom and working your way to the top.
Step nine:
Using the fine point permanent marker, apply details to your monster, such as pretend stitching or outlining and any other characteristics that you wish him to have.  I also used the marker to draw my monster's mouth.

Finally, you can enjoy your Wild Things tote.  Does your monster have a name?  Mine is named Coriandre.

..Two Straight Lines..

Project #38 Texture Words Book

Texture Words Book by Kristen Sutcliffe from New House Project

Use materials with interesting textures to make a fun book for your baby or toddler.

What you'll need:
*Scraps of materials with interesting textures.  (Try textured *papers, fabric, household items, etc.)
*Spiral-bound book with blank pages.  (I used a watercolor pad because the pages were nice and heavy.)
*Exacto knife
*Glue (Bookbinding glue will work really nicely.)
*Glue brush
*Binder clips
*Computer/printer

Step one:
Gather together your textured materials.  The watercolor pad that I bought had 15 pages, so I needed to find seven items--one for every other page.
Step two:
Leave the first page of your book for the cover.  On the next page, use an exacto knife to cut a square out of the center of the paper.  Continue to cut a square out of every other page of the book.
Step three:
Cut your textured items into squares a little larger than those that you cut out of the book.  You are basically going to sandwich the textured items between two pages of your book.
Step four:
Use book-binding glue and brush to glue your pages together.  Use binder clips to hold the pages together while they dry.  (You could use another type of glue, but the bookbinding glue is nice because it is strong and it dries nice and flat.  You can find it at an art supply store.)
Step five:
Print out some text to add to your book.  I just did some texture vocabulary words, and a simple title.

This would make a nice gift for a baby or toddler.  Or just pass it on to your child to enjoy!

..New House Project..

Project #37 Art Display and Storage Box

Art Display and Storage Box by Maya Donenfeld from maya*made

Children tend to be prolific with their art. Finding storage for their creations is at the top of many parents' list. Today we'll take a simple box and turn it inside out to create a frame for rotating artwork with hidden storage behind. This project incorporates organizing and recycling beautifully.

You will need:
*narrow cardboard box (cereal box or Priority mailer are good examples)
*strong tape
*card stock
*craft knife
*ruler
*supplies for decorating (we used a stamp pad and found objects for printing)
*glue gun
*hole puncher

step one:
Carefully open up the box and lay it flat on a surface safe for using a craft knife. The outside of the box will be the new inside.
step two:
Cut top flaps off and measure an opening in front of the box that will highlight artwork. Our dimensions on a priority mailer box were 8x10 inches. This will vary depending on the size of the box you are working with.
step three:
(optional) Decorate the outside of the box (brown side). Keep in mind that it will contain art and be displayed on a wall. Because of this we chose one color and kept it simple, but you and your child can create the perfect customization for your home.
step four:
Tape a piece of card stock to the interior side of the box front. Tape three sides, keeping the top open. This is the sleeve you will be sliding artwork into for display.
step five:
Reconstruct your box. It will just be the reverse of how you took it apart. Use a glue gun for easy and sturdy sticking together.
step six:
punch a hole in the back near the top. This is how you will hang your frame on the wall.
step seven:
Select a piece of art to frame and store the rest!

..maya*made..