| ISSUE 37 • 12 AUGUST 2007 | |
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Editorial Welcome to Kids Craft Weekly and a special hello to new subscribers who joined us this fortnight, many of whom discovered us through Apartment Therapy – Nursery earlier in the week. The theme for this issue came to me in a blinding flash about 48 hours before publication date. For the past fortnight we've all been sick with the flu, no-one has been in the mood to come up with new craft ideas let alone cooperate for the camera. So, in an attempt to make my life a little easier I decided to devote the entire newsletter to the concept of taking it easy. What a relief! Being sick is pretty awful in itself but when everyone is sick, including you, it's a real struggle. It's times like these that you have to use every ounce of resourcefulness at your disposal to make life a little easier for yourself. This might mean letting the kids watch more TV than you usually would allow, ordering out for dinner, forgetting about the washing and finding simple activities to keep the kids busy. This issue features some of our favourite 'taking it easy' crafts. These are the ones that the kids ask for time and time again and that are relatively easy to set up and supervise. They're also all pretty simple and many of them only require supplies that you're likely to have on hand. If you haven't perused the resources section of the website, it's also worthwhile taking a look at my list of simple and absorbing activities for young kids, and also at the list of twelve no fuss craft ideas. Thanks for all the brilliant theme suggestions! I'm looking forward to getting cracking with some of your great ideas for the next issue. In the meantime, I hope that you all enjoy taking it easy. I certainly will. Happy crafting and see you next time!  Amber Carvan editor@kidscraftweekly.com |
These paper bag faces are very appealing to young kids and are simple to put together by using items from around your home. When collecting material for your little one to use it's a good idea to select a range of items for each of the facial features. We used • paper bags • patty pans (paper liners for cupcakes) • cotton wool balls • rubber bands • bottle tops and plastic lids • balloons • scraps of wool • permanent markers • ribbon • sticky tape • scissors • kids pvc glue and brush Directions 1. Give your bag some eyes...  2. ...a nose and a mouth, perhaps even some hair...  3. ...and then put it over your hand to make a simple puppet  4. By this point your little one will be inspired to keep going on their own. Ella went on to make six funny bag faces. These are two of my favourites. 
We haven't made one of these for a while and had forgotten how fun they are! This is a genuine all ages craft. Preschoolers will enjoy flicking through magazines and choosing pictures to cut out and paste. Toddlers will enjoy sticking the pictures after you've cut them. Imaginative big kids may like to write and illustrate their own story or comic. You will need • several sheets of paper • stapler • old magazines • scissors • glue • markers Directions 1. Fold sheets of paper in half, then stack them and staple down the side. You may wish to have a different coloured piece of paper at the front to make a cover.  2. Use your imagination to make a book. Cut pictures from magazines and stick them in. Maybe use some old photos or draw your own images. Possible themes include zoo animals, pets, people, places and food.  3. Add some descriptive words or a simple story and there you have it!  I can guarantee that this will become the favourite book in the house – for at least half an hour!
This no-glue collage is such a simple craft that even toddlers can get involved. It's also a lovely way to appreciate the seasonal changes in your natural environment. You will need • clear sticky contact • cardboard • a selection of colourful things from outdoors Directions 1. Collect a range of leaves, grasses, flowers/petals and other things that are in your backyard this season.  2. Find a clean flat surface and peel the back off a large piece of sticky contact. You may need to put something on each of the corners to keep them from folding up. Start placing your leaves and other outdoor objects onto the sticky contact.  3. When you've finished, place a piece of card over the top of your collage and fold the contact around the card.  4. And there you have a beautiful seasonal collage. 
These fun wheel prints make a great spur of the moment crafting session as you're likely to have all the supplies on hand. For younger kids, the stamping will be more than enough to keep them busy. Kids aged three and up will enjoy the added challenge of creating pictures of fabulous wheeled vehicles by using the stamps and some marker pens. Of course these easy stamp pads will work with regular rubber stamps and with all different types of cut fruit and vegetables. Be warned though, food colouring can take a while to come off little fingers and it won't come off clothes or the carpet! You will need • some citrus fruit (orange, lemon, lime) • knife • dish sponge • scissors • plastic dish • food colouring • paper • marker pens Directions 1. Cut a dish sponge to fit into a shallow plastic dish (we use plastic lids). Then wet the sponge, ring it out and pour on some food colouring.  2. Cut your fruit in half to make stamps.  3. Stamp the fruit in your ink pad and then on the paper. Once you've stamped your wheels on the page you can use a marker to draw a train...  or a car...  or just have fun making wheels!  |
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