Think Crafts Blog – Craft Ideas and Projects – CreateForLess

By Guest Blogger Jackie from the blog Happy Hooligans

Jackie writes about the daily happenings in her small home daycare.  Her blog, Happy Hooligans, is chock full of easy and affordable art, crafts and activities for toddlers and preschoolers.

The hooligans were experimenting with food coloring and medicine droppers (or pipettes) today, and we created these simple and sweet paper towel butterflies with the results of their activity.

We do this activity at least once every year here our daycare because it’s always popular no matter how old or young the children are.

What you’ll need:

• water
• food coloring or liquid water colors
• paper towels
• an ice-cube tray (or individual bowls)
• instruments for dropping the colored water (paint brushes, droppers etc.)

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By Kid’s Craft Contributor Tracey, from the blog We Made That.

My daughter’s Kindergarten class just did a project where they raised some caterpillars and watched them build their cocoons then turn into butterflies.   The whole class did a document  where they got to draw pictures of the entire process and talk about each stage of the transformation.

Needless to say, my daughter thought this whole thing was pretty cool.   She talked about it a lot and was really excited when the butterflies finally emerged from the cocoons.  Last week the class took the butterflies outside and released them as a group.  The teacher made a big production of it and I know my daughter was so excited. When she got home, all she could do was talk about the butterflies.

So, I thought it would be fun to make some butterflies of our own for her to keep.  She was so excited about making these and has been playing with them for a few days now.  They are pretty simple to make I did help her put the buttons on the pipe cleaners, but she was able to do all the rest herself.  Once the excitement is over and she is done playing with them, I plan on hanging them from the ceiling in her room, I just think they would look so cute flying around the room!

Supplies

• Yarn (any color)
• Buttons (2 big 2 smaller per butterfly)
• Craft Sticks (2 per butterfly)
• Pipe cleaner (1 per butterfly)
• Glue Gun

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By Kid’s Crafts Contributor Stephanie, from the blog A Geek In Glasses.

I like the idea of taking basic shapes and creating something out of them. I feel this teaches children to use their imaginations and think outside the box. I had plain wooden beads in three different sizes and my daughter and I came up with several different animals / bugs that can be made out of the beads. Using different combinations of sizes and colors, the possibilities are endless. 

Supplies:

• Liquid Water Color Paints
• Vinegar
• Brushes
• Plain Wooden Beads
• Hot Glue Gun
• Felt

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By Kid’s Craft Contributor Tracey, from the blog We Made That.

Well it is happening, my daughters are growing up.  My oldest has her first loose tooth.  I am excited and sad at the same time.  Excited because this is such a big deal for her, she has talked about the other kids in class losing their teeth all year and wanted to know when she would lose a tooth and get to meet the tooth fairy.  I’m  sad because she is growing up, and as selfish as it is, I really just want my babies to stay babies forever but I can see I will not get that wish.

Since my daughter is so excited about losing her first tooth, I thought it would be fun for her to make her own tooth pillow to put her tooth in when it falls out.  So I came up with a cute no sew design that any kid could make.  That makes it more fun and exciting because they made it.  And don’t worry about it opening,  it is held together by glue.  The hot glue from the glue gun really works well with the felt of the pillow and this thing is really held together well, so well that I cannot pull the two pieces apart so no worries about it coming apart at all!

And if you already have lost a tooth and need a pillow quick, this pillow can be made in less than an hour.  Just print out the template, cut it out, trace it, glue it, stuff it, and voila you have a cute and awesome tooth pillow!

Supplies

• Tooth Template
• White Felt Sheet
• 2 Googly Eyes
• Black Permanent Marker
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Poly-Fil
• Glue Gun

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Mark Montano has made one reader very happy! Congratulations to… Karen ! Who won an autographed copy of the Big-Ass Book of Bling!

With tons of glamorous and glitzy tutorials, celebrity crafter Mark Montano will have you sparkling from head to toe in no time with homemade jewelry! The Big-Ass Book of Bling has easy to follow step-by-step instructions to create beautiful pieces from surprising materials. Learn how to make turquoise from paper, cast your own jewelry molds, and create unique statement jewelry from recycled materials. For more of Mark’s craft tips, visit his website MarkMontano.com and for fun interviews and DIY projects, check out Mark Montano on YouTube.

The winning answer to “What is one item you can never leave home without?” is…

“My beloved eyelash curler! You can always ask to use a friend’s phone, I’ve even had an occassion to use a cabdriver’s phone – complete stranger! A good lipstain or pencil can last all day. Forget your keys? If no one’s home to let you in, don’t you maintain a backup set w/relative, friend, neighbor or at the job? BUT, with or w/o mascara, you still MUST keep those upswept, sexy eyes!!”

Every Friday we’ll post a giveaway on Think Crafts and all you have to do is comment on the blog post answering the question of the week.  Check back on Friday for your chance to win!!

By Kid’s Crafts Contributor Stephanie, from the blog A Geek In Glasses.

We love decorating eggs at Easter, the only thing is that we never have enough places to put the eggs to dry. My daughter also thought that the eggs could be used as table decorations so we came up with these cute little bunnies. So save up those empty paper rolls!

Supplies

• Toilet Paper Roll or Paper Towel Roll
• Scissors
• Glue
• White Paint
• Colored markers
• Pompom

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By Crafts-a lot Contributor, Mable who is an avid reader of craft blogs & magazines and is always looking to improve her crafting skills. Join Mable on Facebook to socialize and share with other crafters!

If you have a creative child around, there are many great craft supplies to keep them busy, and keep you worry-free. Keep the right supplies on hand, and crafting with your kid can be fun and help you build memories that can last well into their lives.

Preschool Feather Craft – Homeschooling Helicopter Mama 

Soft and colorful feathers are a must for your kid’s craft toolbox. They come in a wide variety of colors and types, so you can keep crafting in countless different ways. Feathers are great for making textured collages. Kids will spend hours simply feeling the soft feathers then gluing them to paper. You can create an outline for the feathers to make a shape, or you can make an open-ended crafting session and let the kids glue feathers to a piece of paper and create colorful, textured art.

Here are some more unique crafts you can make with feathers:

Nest Zest – Paint Cut Paste

With a little bit of colorful yarn, raffia, felt, and other biodegradable products,  feathers can be used to dress up your local birds’ nests. Create these springtime ornaments and hang them outside to help birds build their new nests when they arrive for the spring. This is a fun and easy nature lesson, teach your kids about birds while the things inside the ornaments get taken away.

More Feather Crafts…

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