Crafts For Kidlets

Next week, during the Labor day week, is another appropriate time to be doing crafts that celebrate our flag. I have gathered together some links to Independence day crafts, that I will be doing again this weekend with my kids.

First, we’ll start with some treats for our Labor day BBQ (we will hopefully still be having after Hurricane Earl passes through). Honey Bee Buzz has the cutest patriotic cupcake idea. Its a terrific combination of that yummy red, wite and blue that the kids can do!

Enchanted Learning has a simple Patriotic Pinwheel that the kids can make, using a pencil and a push pin. It really works too!

Last but not least, Making Friends has an American Flag Pin, made out of pony beads and safety pins! This project is simple, creative and quick to complete.

Have a Happy Labor day!

On the same day that my boys were busy creating a pair of American flag earrings for me, my niece was busy making a beaded creation of her own, a September 11th  memorial bracelet. This craft is for a child that has a longer attention span, as it required a lot more detail.

For this project you will need:

• any type of bracelet clasp, my niece used a loop and pole clasp
• 98 red beads
• 100 clear beads
• 100 blue beads
• 48 black beads
• 52 white beads
• 8 feet of 34 gauge jewelry thread
• a scissor
• something to measure with

First measure out and cut an eight foot piece of the jewelry thread.

String on to the thread: two red beads, one side of the bracelet clasp, and then another two red beads.

Take the opposite end of the cord and thread it through the beads and clasp, so that the thread crosses over itself inside of the beads.

Thread on rows of red beads, five beads in each row, until you have ten rows of red beads.

After you have finished ten red rows, repeat the same process with the clear beads until you have ten rows of clear.

Once you are done with the clear beads, add ten rows of blue beads.

After you are finished with the blue beads, add three rows of black beads.

Follow the black beads with three rows of white beads.

The next row should be as follows: three white beads, then two black.

Follow this row with with a row of all black (you have now made the 9).

After the row of black, add a row of all white.

The next row should be as follows: two white beads, a black bead, and then another two white beads.

Follow this row with a row of all white, then a row of all black, another row of all white, another row of all black, then three more rows of all white and another three rows of all black.

When you look at this section after it is completed it will look like 9 – 11 is written out in the middle.

After the three rows of all black, add another ten rows of blue, another ten rows of clear, and another nine rows of red.

The tenth and last row of red should be as follows: two red beads, the other side of the bracelet clasp, and the remaining two red beads.

Re-thread the last row to secure the bracelet, then trim the thread.

I love earrings, and my kids love playing with beads. So what if I conned a pair of American flag earrings out of them for Labor day!

For this project you will need:

• two earring hooks
• two 12 inch pieces of 34 gauge jewelery thread
• a pair of scissors
• something to measure with
• 18 blue micro beads (9 for each earring)
• 2 clear beads, these will represent the stars so glitter or pearl ones will work too (one for each earring)
• 44 red beads (22 for each earring)
• 36 white beads (18 for each earring)

First, measure and cut two 12 inch pieces of the jewelry thread.

On to a piece of the jewelry cord, thread three blue beads, then the earring hook, followed by a white bead, a red bead, another white bead and another red bead.

Center the beads and take the opposite end, and thread it through the beads so that the thread crosses over itself in the center of the beads.

The next row should be as follows: one blue bead, one clear bead, another blue bead, a white bead, a red bead, another white bead and another red bead.

The following row should be as follows: three blue beads, a white bead, a red bead, another white bead and another red bead.

All of the remaining four rows should be alternating between red and white beads, containing seven beads in each row, starting with red and ending with red.

Once all of the beads are threaded, re-thread the last row of beads and then trim the ends of the cord.

You can then repeat all of the steps for the second earring to make a pair, or if you have two kids to participate each child could do one so that you have a pair (each one of my kids did one each and were excited that mommy could wear the art work proudly).

Next week, two days that are symbolic to the freedom of the United States will be celebrated; the first is Labor day, and the second is the remembrance of the attacks on September 11, 2001. As someone who is a New Yorker and patriotic, this gives me yet another opportunity during the year to celebrate our United States flag.

Being that my kids love playing with beads (because they get everywhere), we made United States flag keychains out of pony beads.

For this project you will need:

• a one yard (3 feet) piece of lanyard or satin craft cord
• a keychain ring
• one clear bead (this will represent the stars of the flag, so glitter and decorative ones are okay too)
• nine blue beads
• fifteen white beads
• eighteen red beads
• something to measure with
• a tooth pick
• a scissor
• a lighter

First, measure and cut the cord to the appropriate size.

Then, string the beads on the cord alternating between red and white until you have seven beads (you should start with red and end with red).

After you have the seven beads on the cord, take the end of the opposite side of the cord and thread it through the beads too (so that the cords cross over each other inside the beads).

Then, thread a toothpick through for extra support while you work.

Continue the bead pattern two more times, so that you have a total of three rows of alternating red and white beads.

The next row should be continued by threading three blue beads, followed by a white bead, a red bead, another white bead and another red bead.

The following row should be as follows: a blue bead, a clear bead, another blue bead, a white bead, a red bead, another white bead and another red bead.

The last row should be three more blue beads, followed by a white bead, a red, bead, another white bead and another red bead.

After you are done threading the beads, tie the strings together making a double knot.

Then make another double knot, securing the flag to the keychain ring.

Trim the cord down, and use the lighter to burn the tips together.

When you are done burning the tips together and the flag is secured, you can either remove the tooth pick or trim the tips (I usually trim the tips).

Today I am continuing my cross-blog conversation with Heather Mann of DollarStoreCrafts.com

So far, Heather and I have gone back and forth about what our favorite crafting tools are, what crafts our boys like, and what has inspired us. Heather has recently asked what’s my favorite part of working on the Crafts for Kidlets blog.

Before I answer Heather’s question, I just want to say something about her last answer. I love the Dollar Tree too! When I lived in the city, all of our local dollar stores were also independently owned and unreliable. Moving out of the city and into Long Island, was one of the best things my husband and I ever did for our family. Finding a Dollar Tree less then a mile away from our house was the other!

Now to answer Heather’s question: since July I have been working as an intern on the Crafts for Kidlets blog for Kelly McCausey. I love that I am learning a lot, and improving my writing techniques. As essential as that may be for what ever I choose to do in the future online, it’s not my favorite part.

I actually could not have chosen a more better blog to intern on, because the best part about working on this blog is being able to do all of these great crafts with my kids. At the same time that this blog is a learning experience for me, its an entertaining experience for my kids that I just don’t think they would have had, had I not been working on this blog.

Would we have done crafts anyway without the blog? Of course. Would we have done so many or with any of the themes and series we have done? Probably not! So with all of the great things that working on the Crafts for Kidlets blog has to offer me, the best part really is the joy that it brings my kids (and I could never thank Kelly enough for the double value her blog brings me).

Now Heather, here is my next question for you:

Where do you think the Dollar Store Crafts blog will be in five years? Will you still be writing it? More often, less often, more guest posts, etc.

Keep a look out for Heather’s answer on her blog at DollarStoreCrafts.com

Here in New York, I still have over a week before my kids go back to school, but they are getting excited. For my older son, he is looking forward to another year of  learning with his friends he hasn’t seen all Summer long. For my younger son, he is looking forward to his individual trips with mommy to the library, the children’s museum, the indoor zoo and aquarium.

For our last week together, we will be completing a few more back to school crafts!

To continue refreshing my son’s mind on how to tell time, DLTK’s has a great “Time for School” printable mini-book for kids to make and complete.

For all of those school craft projects and high test scores, I’ll be creating Activity Village’s Washing Line Display to maximize my display space and free up some room on the refrigerator.

To keep all of those extra special memories, like school pictures and class trip memorabilia, we’ll also be creating the Making Friends School Keepsake Box.

Be sure to also check out Part One of Back to School links, for more back to school crafting fun!

There has been some really good and crafty back to school blog posts made lately, but I haven’t forgotten about those great tweeters.

AmyColgate has tweeted a link on creating a back to school time capsule with your kids that they can open at the end of the school year.

Middle school kids may like the back to school organization craft by Sarah Ganly. The link was tweeted by livelovescrap

For younger students, you can give JuicyJuiceUSA‘s activity planner craft a try too.

Last but not least, create some back to school fabric bookmarks and book covers tweeted by FasterCraft

Today I am continuing my Cross Blog Conversation with Heather Mann from www.dollarstorecrafts.com

After answering my question about what her favorite crafting tool is, she asked me what crafts I have done that were successful with my boys.

Well Heather, you have boys and I have boys. And as they say, boys will be boys. So, anything that requires making a mess is a successful craft project with my boys. I know that is very vague, so I will elaborate.

My son’s favorite craft projects are anything that has to do with paper mache, glue, glitter, and paint. For example, my older son’s favorite project thus far was the Under the Sea series, where we mixed and mingled with a lot of different techniques.

I also found anything that requires attention to detail, my boys are very interested in doing too; like making key chains out of seed beads or necklaces for me out of pony beads. I will be blogging about how to make Pony Bead Flag Necklaces next week sometime before Labor Day, and my younger son had such a blast when we made them.

Both of my children also enjoy any craft that involves food, such as when we made Homemade Ice-Cream.

I know that I have had a lot of success with my boys and crafts. But the messy ones are always the more successful ones.

Now Heather, here is my next question for you:

Crafts created from merchandise that you buy at the dollar store makes crafting affordable for everyone, and is a truly unique idea. What inspired you to start the Dollar Store Crafts blog?

Keep a look out on Heather’s blog for her answer at www.dollarstorecrafts.com

The very first day of school each year is a special day to my son. To ease his rattled nerves, I always take a picture of him just before we leave the house. It was his idea to create a photo frame for each school year, so that we can both see how much he has grown.

For this project you will need:

• 2 pieces of craft foam 5 1/2 inches by 8 1/2 inches
• a stapler with staples
• a stencil cutter
• a ruler
• a marker
• white glue
• craft foam decorative pieces or other decorations
• self-adhesive craft foam letters
• a piece of magnetic strip
• a picture of your child on the first day of school

Take a piece of the craft foam and measure 1 1/4 inches from each edge of the sheet, and trace the measurements straight across. This will result in a box being drawn in the center.

Take the stencil cutter and cut out the box.

Flip the cut piece of craft foam over, line it up to the uncut piece of craft foam and staple them together (being sure to leave one side open for when you are ready to insert your child’s picture).

Using the self-adhesive foam letters, spell out “back to school” across the top. You could do the same across the bottom, or glue on large shapes and write “First Day of (your child’s grade) Grade” on them.

Let your child continue to decorate the frame as desired.

When the decorations have dried, you can flip the frame over and glue the magnet on to the back.

After you have your child’s picture on their first day printed, slide it into the frame and hang it on the refrigerator.

Today I am starting a Cross Blog Conversation with Heather Mann from DollarStoreCrafts.com

When I first had kids, crafting became a big thing in my house, until I could no longer afford it with my stay-at-home mom salary. I wish I had came across the DollarStoreCrafts.com website a few years ago, it would have saved me from loads of boring rainy days where my kids would watch the same old movies over and over again.

Heather has been inspiring to me! With all of her supplies coming from the dollar store, I want to know what her favorite crafting tools are that she uses on all of those dollar store items Heather crafts in to awesome ideas?!

I know for me, I could not live in a crafting world without my hot glue gun. There have been projects (like the lunch money pouch I recently posted), where I thought white glue was going to hold it and it just didn’t. But my hot glue gun was there to save the day!

I have recently, contacted Heather to discuss her favorite tools with me, so look out for Heather’s response post at www.dollarstorecrafts.com