Ball and Cup

My favourite crafts to do with the kids are the ones that are functional. As a mom, I too have piles of drawings, collages and other craft projects my kids have proudly presented me. Most of them, after a short tenure on the fridge end up in a drawer, or God forbid, the recycling.

I like this project a lot. Our beaver scout leader was planning an evening with an international theme. I searched the Web looking for something like the wooden tops my father-in-law brought back from Mexico. I saw a picture of Mexican toys including the top. What inspired my Krafty Mom "ah ha" moment was the ball and Cup. You know the one, a cup on a stick and a ball on a string. There has got to be a way to make it with a bunch of 5 - 7 year olds.

Here's what you need:

Craft or popcycle stick
Plastic cup
Duct tape
String
Ping pong ball
Scissors

Place the craft stick along side of the cup, leaving enough for a comfortable handle. Attach together with the duct tape. Use multiple colours of duct tape to decorate as desired.

At the bottom of the cup, create a small hole and thread the string through. The string should be about 24 inches, but exact measurements not necessary. Knot the string and tape to the bottom of the outside of the cup. Tape the ping pong ball to the other end. Start your hours of fun. Swing the ball towards the cup to catch it. Repeat.

Incident, my kids loved tossing the ball back and forth and catching it in the cup.  A great game for camp, birthday party or just because.

Duct Tape Jingle Bells

My son's Beaver Scout leader was planning the section Christmas Party and was looking for some ideas for indoor activities. My had volunteered to sing some Christmas Carols with the kids, but was thinking about borrowing some bells for us to sing Jingle Bells. Being the eternal crafter a few iterations of jingle crafts went through my head until I finally came up with jingle bells made with duct tape. What kid doesn't love to play with duct tape?

I used red duct tape for the base and white for the stripes, but you can use any colour you can find. In my sample, I was able to thread a thin piece of duct tape through the holes on the bell, but if you can't, use the yarn. A darning needle will make quick work of it, but not required.

Here's how you do it...

Duct Tape Jingle Bells

Materials:

·         Duct Tape

·         Yarn or Twine (optional)

·         Jingle Bells

Directions:

1.     Cut a piece of duct tape about 12” long – or long enough to fit about wrist. Fold in thirds lengthwise to centre of wrong side (so all sticky sides are together). You’ll end up with a piece half the width of original piece.

2.     Cut a piece of yarn or twine the same length as base piece OR use a thin piece of duct tape. String jingle bells along; attach each end and between bells with more duct tape.

     3.  Attach ends together with duct tape

Happy Holidays!

Apple Pencil Toppers

This was a great craft for the fall. I was looking for something with a back-to-school theme for our first meeting this year. I came up with this cute worm crawling up to eat a red, delicious apple.

My son even gave one to this teacher.

Just as a quick note, make sure you use tacky glue as glue sticks and regular white glue does not stick to felt. It can be found at arts and craft stores.

Hardware:
Scissors
Tacky Glue

Materials:
Pencil
Red felt
Light green pipe cleaner
Dark green pipe cleaner
Googly eyes (6mm)

Adult Prep:
· Cut 2 apple shapes out of red felt for each craft
· Cut both light and green pipe cleaners in half
· Cut 1 dark green pipe cleaner into 1 inch pieces

Method:
· Outline one of the apples with tacky glue, leaving a small gap for the pencil
· Place 1” piece of pipe cleaner on the top, in the middle for the stem. Add a small dap of tacky glue on top
· Place pencil in the gap of the glue
· Place second apple on top, pressing down on the edges.
· Twist the light and dark green pipe cleaners together and wrap around the pencil; bend the top slightly for the head.
· Glue 2 googly eyes on the worm’s head

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Paint Stick Snowmen

I think this was one of my favourite crafts. My youngest son's nursery school teacher gave me the idea. She showed me one that her daughter did at school years ago. The kids loved doing them. A special thanks to our local Home Depot, who donated the paint sticks.

If you had more time to complete the craft, the kids could do this mostly on their own, but since we only have 15 minutes for craft time at our Beaver Scout meeting, I did the painting before hand, and was able to do a couple coats and allowed them to dry completely.

Hardware:
Scissors
Tacky Glue
Glue Gun

Materials:
White Paint
Black Paint
Felt (red or green)
Orange felt or craft foam
Craft sticks (popcycle sticks)
Twine
Buttons
Marker
Paint Stir sticks (available at hardware or paint supply stores)
Googly eyes


Adult Prep:
· Paint both sides of paint stir stick white. This may take more than one coat, depending on the paint. Dry.
· Paint top “handle” part of the paint stir stick black. Dry.
· Paint craft sticks black. Dry.
· Cut out felt for scarf, approximately 1” x 8”
· Cut twine approximately 12” in length and using glue gun, glue both ends to the back of the paint stir stick. (approx 3” down the back). This will allow the snowman to be hung on the tree.

Method:
· Write name on the back of the snowman
· Glue craft stick across the stir stick where it changes from black to white. This makes the brim of the hat.
· Glue eyes
· Cut small triangle out of orange felt (or foam) and glue on for the nose.
· Using a marker, draw dots make a mouth
· Wrap scarf around the snowman, gluing on the front and back. Cut small slits on the ends to make a fringe
· Glue buttons down the front.

Duct Tape Wallet

In preparation for Beaver camp at the Community Centre next month, I was testing out an idea for a craft. We've made duct tape crafts before and the kids love it. As a matter of fact, so did the leaders. Who doesn't love duct tape?

Duct tape (or Duck tape) can before found in a variety of colours and patterns. For the basic colours, I usually go to the dollar store, but for the fancy ones, go to the craft supply store. I've heard of duct tape wallets, and have seen some at a craft show before Christmas. My son begged and begged for me to buy him one. Instead, we came home and made one and he couldn't be happier.

Our community centre camp is for 5-7 year olds so will probably need a parent's help, but the older kids can do this one their own.

Hardware:
Scissors

Materials:
Duct tape in a variety of colours and patterns

Method:

1. Overlap approximately 4 pieces of duct tape to make a rectangle about 5” x 9”
   Fold in half lengthwise and trim the edges


2. 
   To make the bill fold, create a rectangle, approximately 4” x 9” of overlapping duct tape. (About 3 pieces) Fold in almost in half lengthwise, but leave a small amount of the sticky part exposed on the bottom. (about ¼”)


3. 
   Line up the sticky part of the bill fold pocket to the bottom of the wallet and press down. Trim off any excess.


4. 
   To make credit card pockets place 2 pieces of duct tape back to back – about 4” long. Leave about ¼” of the sticky side exposed. Fold one of the edges over. Stick the other one to the bottom of the wallet on one side. Repeat. Trim each pocket to neaten the sides.
   


5. Seal the edges by using lengths of duct tape equal to the side of the wallet you are sealing. Use a half width or quarter width of the duct tape. (Cut a small slit in the duct tape at the desired width and rip to the end of the length.) Trim any extra bits.


6. 
   Fold wallet in half. If desired, decorate the outside of the wallet with cut out pieces of different colour duct tape.

Tissue Paper Autumn Trees

This was the first craft that I lead for my son's Beaver Scout group. For those that are reading that are unfamilliar with the scouting movement, Beaver Scouts are boys and girls ages 5-7. For our American friends, it is equivalent to Tiger Scouts.

Our season starts with the school year in September and I wanted something I could do for a large group of boys (we had 20 at that time) with a fall theme. This is what I came up with.

Hardware:
Scissors
Hole Punch
Pencil
Markers (optional)

Materials:
Red, Orange and Yellow Tissue Paper
Paper Plates
Yarn
White Glue
Construction Paper

Adult Prep:
· Cut tissue paper into approximately 2” squares
· Cut yarn into approximately 6” pieces
· Cut construction paper into 4 pieces and trace the tree trunk with pencil

Method:
· Cut the tree trunk shape from the construction paper
· Glue tree trunk to the front bottom of the paper plate
· Using the eraser end of a pencil, wrap the tissue paper around it and drip into the glue, and place it on the tree. Repeat until tree is full
· Using markers, add “bark” details, if desired
· Hole punch 2 hole in the top of the paper plate and tie the yarn on each end.

Variations:

By changing the construction paper cut out and/ or the tissue paper colours you can make a variety of other variations, such as a tree in spring with flower blooms, a Christmas tree or even a campfire