Love Bug Pin

What you'll need:

• Plastic spoon
• Plaster of paris
• Small wiggle eyes
• Paint (assorted colors)
• Pin back
• Clear acrylic spray or glaze
• White craft glue
• Newspaper
  

How to make it:

1. You will need one plastic spoon and pin back per pin.
2. Lay out the plastic spoons on the newspaper.
3. Mix the plaster of paris in a small bowl per instructions on the container. (See image.)
4. Place the plaster into the well of the spoons and level with a butter knife. (See image.) Let them stand for a minute or two, then gently press/place pin back (or magnet) into the plaster. Let dry completely (a minimum of 30 minutes, longer is better). (See image.)
5. Pop plaster out of spoons by pressing the outer edges of the spoon. With butter knife, smooth the edges of the form. Place on to the newspaper.
6. Paint bugs however you like and let dry.
7. Glue wiggle eyes on to your bug, let dry.
8. Spray with acrylic sealer or glaze.
   

Tips:

• Allow smaller children to paint with cotton swabs while older children use paintbrushes.
• Pin to a silk flower to give as a gift.
• Plaster of paris is available at your local craft supply store and makes a LOT of projects!

Fun TIps

I have found that I don't always have all the items that I need to entertain my little one. So I have started a Fun Box. When I find random Pom-poms, or scraps of fabric, I toss it into the box. I also Keep things like Paper towel rolls, or Toilet paper rolls, (Great fun with these!!) Any thing I think I can use. And when I find a good activity, I put it in a notebook. So when I have to have something to do, I just open my book, and EVERYTHING I need is right there!

Good Luck!

Pipe Cleaner Creations

TO MAKE PEOPLE

What you Need:

	4 yellow pipe cleaners
	Googly eyes
	Pencil
	Fingernail clippers
	Glue

How To:

1. Make a V with a pipe cleaner and twist a small loop at the top.





2. Twist together the two ends a few times to make the torso.






3. Coil another pipe cleaner around a pencil.






4. Slide the coil onto the torso.






5. Clip a pipe cleaner in half and slide one half through the loop.






6. Bundle a pipe cleaner around a pencil and stick it on the loop to make a head.





7. Make loops at the ends of the arms and legs for hands and feet.






8. Glue on googly eyes and pipe cleaner accessories: hair (a C-shaped snippet of brown), a necktie (looped from red) and briefcase (a length of brown bent back and forth).

TO MAKE DUCKS

What you Need:

	4 white pipe cleaners
	1 orange pipe cleaner
	Googly eyes or markers
	Pencil
	Fingernail clippers
	Glue

What to Do:

1. Connect two white pipe cleaners end to end.





2. Bundle the double pipe cleaner around a pencil to make the body. Bundle another white pipe cleaner to make a head.




3. Bend the orange pipe cleaner in half. Thread the folded end into the head and out through the bundle.





4. Thread the body onto the orange pipe cleaner.






5. Bend the ends of the orange pipe cleaner into V-shaped feet. For wings, clip and bend two 3-inch sections of white pipe cleaner.






6. Insert the wings into the body with a dab of glue (if you want) for extra strength. Glue on googly eyes or draw them with a marker.

Need More Ideas?

Go to: http://familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts/
In the search box type in Pipe Cleaners
And it will show you how to make TONS of other people, animals, dinos, and Monkeys!!!

(If you have questions on the wording above, or how to do your Pipe Cleaner creations, CLICK HERE There is a wonderful How to Video)

Have Fun!!!

How Deep is the Snow?

I thought this was fun and really cute!

Go to your local Hardware store and pick up some paint stirring sticks.
Have your child paint it
Mark on it inches, so they can see how deep the snow is

If you want you can have them paint the body white, and then using Pom-poms and that foam craft stuff, you can make a snowman on the top. Or any other character you may want!

Coffee Table Books . . . Starring Your Kids' Artwork!

I get a daily newsletter from Disney.com with ideas for things to do and I thought this one was brilliant . . .

_________________________________________________

"Mom, look at the flowers I made you," Trevor exclaimed, proudly showing off his latest art project, a vivid drawing of red and yellow tulips. "Can I hang it up on the refrigerator?" he asked.

The picture was lovely, and certainly worth displaying -- but it also was his third artistic creation in less than an hour. My two daughters also were budding artists with a high production rate, and I was quickly running out of refrigerator and wall space to hang their personal Picassos.

Throwing them away simply was not an option. I can still hear the screams from the last time Ally found her drawing in the garbage can.

"How could you throw this aaaawaaaay? I made it for you!" she cried, making me feel like a terrible mother.

To better preserve and display my children's artistic expressions, I made a personalized coffee table art book. First, we chose 40 or so of their best pictures and preserved them by applying a thin layer of Mod Podge, a special craft glue. While the pictures dried, we gave each page a title. I had the kids make a book cover, using sturdy cardboard stock from the scrapbook store, and took turns gluing sequins and jewels to decorate it. Once done, we dated the inside cover page and I had each child sign their name.

When finished, I took all the preserved artwork and covers to a copy shop and had the book bound with a coil binding. The final product looks professional, gives guests a chance to see lots of work while sitting on the sofa, and is easy to store when it's time to make another one.

And it's nice to be able to see the grocery list hanging on the fridge again...

Cookie Bouquet

OK, so I was thinking about it and this could actually be something fairly simple to do with the kids and could also double as a service project. My visiting teacher actually dropped this off at my house a few weeks ago and I just thought it was adorable. Basically all you need is an old cup or vase, some pretty rocks, a couple skinny skinny dowels, some cookies, gum drops, green construction paper and a piece of ribbon.

Start by having the kids put the rocks in the cup or vase. Then cut your gum drops in 1/2 and stick it on the dowel. Next poke the cookie on the dowel and the other 1/2 of the gum drop on top to hold the cookie in place. Then cut out some leaf shapes and hole punch a couple of holes for the kids to thread through the dowel. Make a few of those, stick them in the rocks and tie a ribbon around the vase. Then you can have your kids help you to deliver it to your neighbor or someone in your ward who might need their day brightened.

Horray for Puppets!

OK so I could COMPLETELY be out of the loop but last time I checked kids love puppets! Here are two SUPER easy ways to make puppets:

#1. Use old stuffed animals you might have lying around the house that your kids don't really play with anymore and cut a small slit down the bottom seam of the animal. Remove all the stuffing and voila you have a puppet.

#2. If you don't want to destroy any of the toys you already have you can also make puppets out of paper bags. Use the fold/flap part as the mouth. Depending on the age of your kids you could cut out pieces for them to glue on to the bag or just have them draw directly on to the bag.

Be creative with your puppets too, they can be anything or anyone your kids want them to be! Once you have your puppet your kids can have puppet shows behind a counter or a table, whatever you have available. Good times will be had all around...

Play with Static!!!

An age old fun time!!! All you need a balloon! Let them rub it on their heads to make their hair stand up. Also put a balloon next to running water, and see how the water will bend around the balloon and the static electricity! The your kids can always play, "Don't let it touch the floor." This should take up at least an hour of a rainy afternoon!

Leprechaun Traps

I could type all of it out, but I'll leave the link.

http://www.diylife.com/2008/03/07/enchant-your-kids-with-a-leprechaun-trap/

In Addition to Tambourines...

...you can make drums out of oatmeal or raisin canisters. Just glue the lids on them, wrap construction paper around (and glue that), then decorate. We made these, along with tambourines, for Nursery and they were a hit

Paper Plate Tambourines

Supplies:

• paper plates
• markers (and stickers, if desired)
• rice or pasta
• tape

Activity:

Have the kids color on the backside of the paper plates with markers and decorate with stickers. When finished, turn one of the plates right-side up and fill with a small amount of rice or pasta. Position the other plate upside down over the top and tape the edges together. Voila! Happy noise-making for at least 5 minutes!