| ISSUE 80 • 11 NOVEMBER 2009 | |
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Editorial Welcome to another issue of Kids Craft Weekly! It's lovely to be writing to you all again so soon! I have so many things that I want to show you between now and Christmas that newsletters will be coming weekly up until then. After that I think I may collapse from craft exhaustion. Is there such a thing? I suspect we may find out. Last week we looked at some lovely simple Christmas cards for kids to make. This issue I have more excellent card ideas for you but these ones are a bit more fancy and in most cases have a higher degree of difficulty. If your kids love making cards and love receiving mail don't forget to sign up to the Kids Craft Weekly handmade card swap. Sign-ups for the 2009 swap close on November 18 so there's still one week left to add your name to the list. We already have more than 200 crafty families participating so it looks like it's going to be a bumper year. If you're gearing up for some card-making don't forget that there are masses of amazing child-made card ideas in my fabulous new Christmas Cards PDF, including cards that were created for the card swap in previous years. I know that I may be biased but truly, I don't think you'll find a more inspirational guide to making Christmas cards and the kids simply love it. Seeing cards made by other children from all around the world is a great way to get your little ones enthusiastic about doing the same. It's worth pointing out that when you buy a Chistmas PDF from Kids Craft Weekly the link is emailed automatically to your PayPal email address so that you can download the file and get crafting right away. In some cases the email finds it's way to the spam or junk folder instead of the in-box so if you have ordered a book and don't get the link right away it's a good idea to check there. We'll start on advent crafts next week – I've got some great ideas that I'm excited to share with you. It's gearing up to be a very crafty Christmas! Until then, happy crafting and I'll see you next time!  Amber Carvan editor@kidscraftweekly.com |
These cards are messy to make but the effect is spectacular and I guarantee the kids will love it! They do cover the recipient in glitter when they open the envelope but I don't necessarily see this as a bad thing – I call it festive! You will need • blank cards • kid's pvc glue • a couple of different colours of glitter • christmas cookie cutters Directions 1. Pour glue into a small container or tray until the glue is about 3mm deep. Make sure that your containers is large enough to accommodate the cookie cutters.  2. Dip a cookie cutter in glue and then use it to make a glue print on the blank card. For best results, leave the cutter in place on the card for about three seconds to allow for the glue to drip down onto the card. Repeat until you have made all the glue prints that you want for that particular card.  3. Sprinkle different colours of glitter on top of the glue prints, making sure to cover all of the glue marks. Then shake the glitter off into a tray and allow card to dry. 
This idea, first published in the Guest Holiday Issue from 2007, was put together by the wonderful Jek (aka Jessica Wilson) who is the crafty-mad scientist behind jek in the box, scrumdillydilly and scrumdilly-do! Put your wee ones to work making holiday cheer with a recycled twist! Have you upgraded to a bento box for your wee ones and find you have an enormous stack of lunch sacks about to topple over? Never fear, with a little paint, glitter, scissors and your mucho talented tots you can whip up a batch of the most festive holiday cards ever! Don't stop at just one! You will need: • paper lunch sacks • washable paints or acrylics • large clean new sponges • glitter • stapler • scissors • markers and/or crayons • candy canes, stickers or other small trinkets Directions: 1. Place the paper sack in front of you length wise. Grasp bag in one hand and cut the bottom off in one straight motion. Save the bottom for a future project.   2. Fold the remaining part of the sack in half. By removing the bottom you have created a card with a pocket to fill.  3. Staple your sack at the fold to secure.  4. Cut your sponge into a triangle (or star or circle). Dip into paint (you can mix the colors a little for an extra fun effect). Stamp the front of your paper sack. Repeat the process for your trunk.  5. Add a sprinkle of glitter to the wet tree print. Set aside to dry.  6. When your trees are dry you can add your fingerprint ornaments. Dip the tip of your finger into a color and stamp a few "ornaments" onto your tree. Repeat the process in as many colors as you like. Set aside to dry.   7. Write your holiday message inside each card.  8. Slide a trinket such as a candy cane or handmade ornament into the pocket you created by cutting off the bottom of the sack. 
Older kids will love being taught this method of print-making and once they understand what to do they'll want to be left alone to do it all by themselves. Provide some additional materials such as sponges, toothpicks and a comb so that they can play around with different textures. If they like drawing, encourage them to draw custom images for their friends and close family members. Of course, younger kids can do this too – but they may not be able to wipe the edges of the print as described above. Instead, just let them print onto coloured paper and then cut the paper to stick on the card. You will need • blank cards • old baking tray • acrylic paint • paint roller • damp cloth • cotton buds, toothpicks etc Directions 1. Work out what size print you would like to make and mark out the rough dimensions on the back of a baking try, using sticky tape.  2. Roll paint onto the tray, then draw a picture using your finger, a cotton bud or wooden skewer.  3. Wipe around the edges of your print with a damp sponge, using the tape as a guide. Then press the front of the card against the the paint and carefully remove. You should be able to make about three cards from each print. When you've finished, re-apply paint with the roller and do it all again. 
These beautiful felt cards feel so textured and substantial. You can use the same technique that I've outlined here to make all different kinds of cards featuring felt shapes. You will need • blank cards • felt (in green and some contrasting colours) • a hole punch • white glue • scissors Directions 1. Cut some christmas tree shapes from green felt. For best results, make a template from cardboard or trace around a tree shaped cookie cutter.  2. Use a hole punch to cut small circles from different colours of felt.  3. Stick the tree on the card. Then glue the dots on using white glue.  4. We used a star shaped paper punch to make a felt star...  6. the perfect finishing touch!  Note: For a slightly simpler version, cut a tree from green paper and use spotty stickers to decorate!  |
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