Posts Tagged ‘girl craft’
Pirate Flags
Posted July 21, 2009
on:(Here’s another craft we did at Evan’s theme fourth birthday party. I figured this was easier and less messy than giving the children fabric and fabric paint. This is an easy craft that is great for a group of children as well as young toddlers. I recommend foam stickers, but you can use regular stickers and markers. This craft is not messy, is easy, and all the children enjoyed this craft. We have already made a second set of flags because the boys enjoyed them so much.)
Things you need:
- Foam sheet (either black or red)
- Pirate foam stickers
- Pirate stickers
- Markers
Give the child the foam sheet.

Foam sheet with a coin foam sticker
Let the child decorate the flag with the stickers and markers.

Decorating the flag
This is a great time to talk about how pirate flags were to scare merchant ships so that the pirates could take over the ship without a fight.

Evan's Pirate Flag

Sean's Pirate Flag
Egg Carton Turtle
Posted July 1, 2009
on:(Another egg carton craft. After making spiders, caterpillars, and bugs {I’ll get to those at another time}, I wanted to make something other than a bug for once. So I came up with this turtle. This is another easy craft where you can pick how you want to decorate the carton. The boys loved making them and playing with them. The first time I didn’t even want to throw out the turtles until an unfortunate smooshing accident. Remember Styrofoam egg cartons cannot be colored or painted on, so use cardboard.)
Things you need:
- Cardboard egg carton
- Scissors
- Crayons, markers, and/or paint
- Pen
- Green construction paper or green craft foam
- Scissors
- Glue
- Optional: things to glue on to decorate the shell
Cut out a cup from the egg carton.

Egg carton cup (again)
Trace four feet, using a dime, on the green construction paper. Make a “U” shade using the dime for the head, and make an obelisk shape for the tail.

The body parts
Cut out the shapes. Have the child draw eyes on the head. Have the child decorate the shell.

So I used the photo. We made them on the same day.
Have the child glue on the feet on each corner of the cup.

Adding the feet
Then glue the head between two feet, and glue the tail on the opposite end of the head.

The turtle brothers

One of the first turtles
Pirate Spyglass
Posted June 11, 2009
on:(My boys are into pirates. So we had to make a pirate craft. We made spyglasses. The boys loved painting them, stickering them, and playing with them. Some stickers don’t bend well around the paper towel, which is just silly, so you can have some freak outs. My boys had the plastic wrap off within seconds of playing with them. Arrrr!)
Things you need:
- Empty paper towel roll
- Smock
- Paint or markers
- Stickers (optional)
- Plastic wrap
- Scissors
- Rubber bands
Have the child decorate the paper towel roll with the markers or paint.

Finger painting? Didn;'t I give you a brush?
If the child uses paint, let the roll dry.

Drying
Have the child decorate it with pirate stickers.

Looks more pirate-y!
Cut a piece of plastic wrap big enough to cover the end of the paper towel roll. Wrap a rubber band around the plastic to make it stay. Repeat with the other end.

There be a mighty fine spyglasss, mateys!
Sandpaper Lizards
Posted June 10, 2009
on:- In: Animal Craft | Easy Crafts
- 1 Comment
(We recently moved to Arizona, and the house we have moved into has lizards EVERYWHERE. I’ve never seen so many lizards converge on one spot before. Obviously this has stirred up some curiosity, so I decided we needed to make a lizard since the boys were not fast enough to catch one. This was a lot of fun. You can make this complicated for older children by having them do designs on the lizards, or you can make this very simple even for a young toddler.)
Things you need:
- Sandpaper
- Lizard cut out
- Black marker
- Crayons
- Scissors
I found some cool lizard color sheets here. Print one out and cut it out of the paper to make a template. Trace the lizard onto the sandpaper with the black marker. This will ruin the tip.

Tracing lizards
Have the child color the lizard. Cut out the lizard, which will sharpen the scissors. (My boys refused to let me cut out their lizards.)

The finished product . . . sort of
Butterfly Kites
Posted June 5, 2009
on:(I got this idea off of Family Fun. But I decided to do it using coffee filters, which was more fun and messy. The boys loved building these and playing with them. It makes walking to get the mail more fun.)
Things you need:
- Smock
- 2 coffee filters
- Markers
- Bowl of water
- Paint brush
- Scissors
- Pipe cleaner
- Yarn
Have the child color the coffee filters with markers. The more color, the more fun.

Colored coffee filters
After the child is done decorating the filters, have the child paint them with water, making the colors run.

Water painting filters
Let the filters dry. Fold the filters in half to cut out half a butterfly making the wings even on both sides. (I wish I could have found a template.) Do not make a head or tail because the pipe cleaner will do that.

Butterfly cutouts
Have the child fold the pipe cleaner in half and slip the butterfly wings between it.

The bodies are forming
Cross the ends of the pipe cleaner to form antenna. You can bend them into little nubs if you like.

Almost done. Now where's that yarn?
Tie a piece of yarn to the pipe cleaner, long enough to fly the kite behind the child. If the child wants to flutter the kite, tie two short pieces of yarn to the pipe cleaner.
Wall Drawings
Posted June 4, 2009
on:Looking for something different to do? Have your child draw with chalk on the walls.

The latest in backyard artwork
Planting
Posted June 3, 2009
on:(I don’t know one kid who doesn’t like getting dirty. For young children, like my boys, I would recommend starting out with a plant; while, older kids have more patience and would enjoy starting a plant from seed.)
Things you need:
- A pot
- Potting soil
- Pebbles
- A plant or seeds
- A small shovel
- Water
Have the child cover the bottom of the pot with pebbles to allow good drainage. Then have the child shovel the soil half way in the pot.

A pot filled half way
Have the child place the plant or seeds in the pot.

The flower
Have the child fill the pot with soil with the shovel or hands. Water the plant as needed.

Watering the plant
(Encourage your child to talk and sing to the plant as this will help the plant grow better.)

The growing flowers
Painting Pots
Posted June 2, 2009
on:(Nothing like a little gardening to get the kids interested in the great outdoors and possibly vegetables. Before I dug a hole, I thought the boys would like to paint their own special pot. This would also make a great gift. The boys loved doing this.)
Things you need:
- Terra Cotta Pot
- Primer
- White paint
- Washable paint
- Paint brushes
- Smock
- Sealer (optional)
Primer the pot, and then paint it white (or any color you or your child would prefer as the background). Allow the pot to dry. Have the child paint the pot with the washable paints.

Sean decided to paint the inside of the pot

Because Evan did
Allow the pot to dry. If you want this work of art to last, seal the pot.

The finished product

The inside of the finished product
Cheap Shrinky-dinks: Pass
Posted June 2, 2009
on:It’s hard to find new craft material. Many of the sites use the same crafts, but that’s usually because the kids like them, though I have found sites quoting other sites by word. It’s a little crazy. One of those crafts that I’ve seen everywhere is cheap shrinky-dinks.
When I was kid I loved shinky-dinks. I made tons. I piled them into my dollhouse. I haven’t seen the shrink-dink paper in years, so when I found this craft, I was very excited. Then I was very disappointed.
You’re to take a clean Styrofoam meat tray like you get your meat on from the butcher section. You make a shape, color it, cut it. You pop your shape into the microwave. And bam! A shrink-dink is born.
Or not so much.
First off, when they say clean, you’re to get a brand-new, never been used Styrofoam meat tray. I decided to scrub and clean a meat tray to eat-off perfection. When popped into the microwave, the enticing stench of burnt meat and plastic wafted through the air, making me gag. My microwave stunk for days.
To make matters worse, all that pain gave me no gain. I drew out a couple of diamonds and squares and had the boys color them. I figured we’d start out simple, see how much the Styrofoam shrunk before we started making cool things like ice cream and dragons. I figured we could use the shapes as jewels for our pirate treasure. They shrunk quite a bit, but they curled and didn’t shrink uniformly, leaving me with unrecognizable curled plastic. Awesome.
So if you’ve done this craft and it worked for you, please let me know where I went so terribly wrong. If you haven’t done this craft, I say “beware.”
Pet Rocks
Posted May 19, 2009
on:(There’s nothing like a pet, especially a pet rock. We have a great time looking for rocks. Then we wash them, dry them, and decorate them. The boys love rock hunting. They enjoy the painting too. This is a fun, easy project. And you can do it over and over because you can make all kinds of pets.)
Things you need:
- Smock
- Rocks
- Paint (or markers)
- Glue
- Googly eyes
- Random other stuff like buttons, plastic gems, shells, whatever you want to add (optional)
Find some rocks with the kids. Have the child wash the rock. Allow the rock to dry. Have the child paint the rock (or color it).
- Evan’s rock
- Sean’s Rock
- My rock
- Evan’s tiger rock and my rock (not pictured: Sean’s rock, which was in his hands)
Allow the rock to dry. You can have the child decorate the rock with markers. (Evan made a tiger rock. I messed around.) Glue on eyes.
If you want to make you pet rock more unique, glue on other fun stuff.