What are/were you & your kids fave crafty/art activities to do at home? I keep seeing the same things on pinterest. Yesterday they picked some pebbles from the garden and put them in the oven and coloured the 'hot rocks' with crayons (from pinterest ) and made Lego ziplines with wool between dining chairs. Today looks like making sock puppets. I can't swing $20 each for watercolour paintings at the local art studio and we have a cupboard full of stuff anyway, just need ideas so feel free to share!
I don't have the pics available right this second, but last summer I froze little toys in an IKEA Trofast bin. Then the kids "excavated" the big ice block to get out the toys. I used cheap dollar store toys that, if broken, it wouldn't be a big deal. Oh, and eye protection: DD really went for it with the hammer! I filled the bin with a bit of water and let that freeze, then I added some toys and more water and repeated that once more. (Helps the toys from all sinking or floating.) But IDK if this works for you weather-wise cuz it is definitely an outdoor project. I saw something about making your own "I spy" tube of a soda bottle filled with dried beans and little toys. I haven't done that but I want to. IDK if I can post links in here but but Google "PBS DIY i spy bottle" and the link should come up. What about homemade play doh? My kids love making it! Or slime is big over here (we haven't made it but it's supposed to be easy.) Those take time to do and take time to enjoy, which is nice. Plus we use the measuring as a math lesson (not that I'd ever tell the kids they're learning about fractions when we're in the kitchen!) This isn't a craft, but my kids are obsessed with the telephone game. For those of you who may not be familiar with the US title: you sit in a row (or a circle if you have enough people) and the first person whispers a short sentence to the person on their right, and that person repeats what they heard to the person on his/her right, and this continues until the last person to hear it (this is the person to the left of the initial speaker) says it out loud to the group. And then laughter ensues cuz of course the message got mixed up in between the initial speaker and the second speaker. The kids and I play a variant where DD sits on one side of me and DS sit on the other and I relay messages between them.
My kids loves perler beads & playdough. My older girls like those fancy coloring books. They usually go back and forth between those. Sometimes I'll get the paint out...ugh (not my favorite)! They also just love playing board games, legos or keva blocks. I'm not a "crafty" mom....so I keep it simple.
Now my kids are older they like to spend the school/uni holidays hanging out with friends not doing craft anymore . The best I can get them to do on a rainy day is camp on the couch with Netflix or (if I am lucky) a book . My uni student DD has been working during her holidays this time building up her bank account before she is back at study!
School holidays start next week for mine. Going off the last two weekends, two weeks of my monsters being together all day is going to be rough! I am watching this thread with great interest, lol! And when I get back to my computer, I will share some of my ideas so far!
What about making a dream catcher? Pendulum Painting...there's a few different ways to make a tripod if you don't have one for your camera. I think these ice cream cones look like they'd be fun to make. What about growing borax crystals? Towards the end of the month, my middle will be making a doodle bot at the library using the motor from an electric toothbrush, I can let you know how that turns out if you'd like? I've seen a few different ways to make doodle bots on Pinterest, but they've used a different motor. My oldest daughter LOVED the Ed Emberley drawing books...I keep forgetting to see if they have them at the library.
I decided to make a Pinterest board to collect all my ideas for the holidays. Most of mine are indoor ideas, because it is winter and it has been quite wet so far this winter. And most are things I don't have to prepare (much) for, a lot of around the house things. Not Going Insane This Holidays! Hope it is ok to post the link!
Do you like movies? We did a friend pj party tonight. We watched Cars, so that was the theme. During the day, muchkin and us made cones to hold popcorn, cookie 'wheels' (I used my doughnut cutter), and churros. So when the friends came, we grabbed treats and started the movie. It was a lot of fun, easy craft, and would not have to include friends {poor only child of mine}. Maybe a family movie night and letting the kids make things for the theme?
How old are the kids? We do a lot of random crafts, and i don't do pinterest, so they are old ideas The ages might give me a better idea of what to share.
My children are all adults now but how do you feel about making a fort out of sheets? They would pull out the couch from the wall put two chairs on either side of the couch and tie the sheets over all to make the 'fort'. Our kids did this all the time then they would bring games/books inside. One summer I remember my hubby asking how long that was going to stay up.... my answer was 'as long as they are happy!' They have made them outside too. with sheets hung from our clothesline. Or a Table that you throw a blanket over and their fort is under the table. How old are they? I had one summer too where I printed off a lot of photographs and bought a cheap journal book that they would create their own scrapbook with. At the time I was a all paper scrapbooker so it kept them entertained while I was doing my own book
