Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Thread Spool Dolls
Turn thread spools into quick, kooky characters. 
CRAFT MATERIALS:
Plastic thread spool
Yarn
Pipe cleaners
Buttons
Glue
1. Peel away the labels from the top and bottom of a plastic thread spool.
2. Cut yarn into 2 dozen 6-inch lengths and divide them into four groups of six. Sandwich each group in a pipe cleaner bent in half. Then fit each set of the pipe cleaner ends into a separate hole in the center of the spool, pulling the ends through just far enough to secure the yarn in place.
3. When all of the yarn hair is attached, trim 4 of the pipe cleaner ends protruding from the bottom of the spool so that they are flush with the plastic (a parent's job). Pose the remaining 4 ends to resemble arms and legs.
4. Glue button eyes and a nose to the thread-covered spool for a face.
CRAFT MATERIALS:
Plastic thread spool
Yarn
Pipe cleaners
Buttons
Glue
1. Peel away the labels from the top and bottom of a plastic thread spool.
2. Cut yarn into 2 dozen 6-inch lengths and divide them into four groups of six. Sandwich each group in a pipe cleaner bent in half. Then fit each set of the pipe cleaner ends into a separate hole in the center of the spool, pulling the ends through just far enough to secure the yarn in place.
3. When all of the yarn hair is attached, trim 4 of the pipe cleaner ends protruding from the bottom of the spool so that they are flush with the plastic (a parent's job). Pose the remaining 4 ends to resemble arms and legs.
4. Glue button eyes and a nose to the thread-covered spool for a face.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Sandals
Froot Loops flip-flops, Cheerios slippers, Kix sandals. Really now, who can resist this footwear of champions? Have your child cut or rip open an empty cereal box, stand on it, and draw around each shoe.
CRAFT MATERIALS:
Empty cereal box
Scissors
Pencil
Duct (or packing) tape
Time needed: About 1 Hour
1. Cut out the shoe shapes plus as many straps as your child wants. Tape the straps in place using masking, duct, or packing tape. For the best fit, wrap and tape the straps and soles together around the child's bare feet. Kids can leave the sandals au naturel or decorate them with whatever their feet desire. Note: these sandals are best as loungewear as they may be slippery on certain surfaces.
CRAFT MATERIALS:
Empty cereal box
Scissors
Pencil
Duct (or packing) tape
Time needed: About 1 Hour
1. Cut out the shoe shapes plus as many straps as your child wants. Tape the straps in place using masking, duct, or packing tape. For the best fit, wrap and tape the straps and soles together around the child's bare feet. Kids can leave the sandals au naturel or decorate them with whatever their feet desire. Note: these sandals are best as loungewear as they may be slippery on certain surfaces.
Farmer
Crossing the neighborhood can be a long haul for little farmhands. So here we've used a wagonpulled by a plow-momto make the harvesting of treats an easy job.
CRAFT MATERIALS:
wagon
overalls
plaid shirt
work boots
straw hat
bandana
stuffed animals
hay
Time needed: Under 1 Hour
1. Have your farmer (or farm family!) put on a pair of overalls, a plaid flannel shirt, a pair of work boots, and a straw hat.
2. Loosely tie a bandanna around her hat and add some freckles on her cheeks with orange face paint.
3. Have the farmer gather some furry friends from her stuffed animal collection and climb into a wagon filled with hay.
4. Hand her a bucket for collecting candy and take her on a Halloween hayride.
CRAFT MATERIALS:
wagon
overalls
plaid shirt
work boots
straw hat
bandana
stuffed animals
hay
Time needed: Under 1 Hour
1. Have your farmer (or farm family!) put on a pair of overalls, a plaid flannel shirt, a pair of work boots, and a straw hat.
2. Loosely tie a bandanna around her hat and add some freckles on her cheeks with orange face paint.
3. Have the farmer gather some furry friends from her stuffed animal collection and climb into a wagon filled with hay.
4. Hand her a bucket for collecting candy and take her on a Halloween hayride.
Bug Attack
Don't let the intricacy of these ants, centipedes, beetles and spiders deter you from trying your hand at this creepy design. All you need is an insect guide from your local library for reference. Besides, the shapes needn't be exact, just suggestive -- your mind will fill in the rest.
CRAFT MATERIALS:
black, white, orange, blue and red face paint
temporary silver hair color spray
bobby-pins
assorted plastic bugs
Time needed: Afternoon or Evening
1. To make these critters look three-dimensional, you'll want to paint them on in layers. Begin by mixing orange, blue and red face paint to create a beige shade that's just a little darker or lighter than your child's complexion. Then use the mixed hue to paint a shadow for each bug. (Note: The shadows should be a little bigger than the insects you plan to paint on top of them.) For an extra-creepy effect, you can even add bug bite marks near a couple of the shadows -- mix together white and red face paint and use a fingertip to dab it onto your child's skin.
2. Now use green, orange, red, blue and black face paint to paint the bugs on top of their shadows. A narrow margin of the beige undercoat should remain visible along the edges.
3. Top each bug with a dab of white face paint. This will make the bugs look like they have shiny shells.
4. For a finishing "cobweb" effect, you can spray your child's hair with temporary silver hair color and then bobby-pin on assorted plastic bugs. (Both the hair spray and the bugs are available at many pharmacies and novelty stores.)
CRAFT MATERIALS:
black, white, orange, blue and red face paint
temporary silver hair color spray
bobby-pins
assorted plastic bugs
Time needed: Afternoon or Evening
1. To make these critters look three-dimensional, you'll want to paint them on in layers. Begin by mixing orange, blue and red face paint to create a beige shade that's just a little darker or lighter than your child's complexion. Then use the mixed hue to paint a shadow for each bug. (Note: The shadows should be a little bigger than the insects you plan to paint on top of them.) For an extra-creepy effect, you can even add bug bite marks near a couple of the shadows -- mix together white and red face paint and use a fingertip to dab it onto your child's skin.
2. Now use green, orange, red, blue and black face paint to paint the bugs on top of their shadows. A narrow margin of the beige undercoat should remain visible along the edges.
3. Top each bug with a dab of white face paint. This will make the bugs look like they have shiny shells.
4. For a finishing "cobweb" effect, you can spray your child's hair with temporary silver hair color and then bobby-pin on assorted plastic bugs. (Both the hair spray and the bugs are available at many pharmacies and novelty stores.)
Sunflower
This glorious costume, featuring petals made from yellow craft foam, will have your child positively blooming. The directions below are for one sunflower costume. For detailed illustrations of the various parts of this costume.
CRAFT MATERIALS:
9- by 12-inch sheets of craft foam (3 yellow, 4 green, and 1 orange)
Scissors
Low-temperature hot glue gun
Cloth tape
Velcro fasteners
Pen
Sewing elastic
Red and black face paints
Time needed: Afternoon or Evening
1. For the flower petal headband, cut out 12 yellow craft foam petals that measure approximately 7 inches high and 3 inches wide, tapering to 1 1/4 inches at the base. Snip a 1/2-inch slit in the bottom center of each one. Glue together 1 1/2-inch-wide strips of orange craft foam, overlapping the ends a half inch to create a 23-inch-long headband. Starting 1 1/4 inches in from one end of the headband, cut 12 1 1/4-inch slits spaced a half inch apart.
2. Push the base of each petal through a slit, then bend each petal's tabs in opposite directions and secure them to the headband with cloth tape. Glue a Velcro fastener to the ends of the headband. To help hold the headband on your child's head, have her try it on and use a pen to mark a point above each ear. Make holes at the marks. Thread through the ends of a long piece of sewing elastic, adjust the length to fit around the back of your child's head, and knot the ends so they won't slip back through.
3. To make the leafy bib, cut out 10 green craft foam leaves that measure about 3 inches wide and 5 inches long. Hot-glue them by their tips, as shown, to a 1/2- by 18-inch strip of green craft foam. Glue a Velcro fastener to the ends. Use the same method to make leafy wrist and ankle cuffs.
4. Paint a ladybug on your little flower's cheek for good luck.
CRAFT MATERIALS:
9- by 12-inch sheets of craft foam (3 yellow, 4 green, and 1 orange)
Scissors
Low-temperature hot glue gun
Cloth tape
Velcro fasteners
Pen
Sewing elastic
Red and black face paints
Time needed: Afternoon or Evening
1. For the flower petal headband, cut out 12 yellow craft foam petals that measure approximately 7 inches high and 3 inches wide, tapering to 1 1/4 inches at the base. Snip a 1/2-inch slit in the bottom center of each one. Glue together 1 1/2-inch-wide strips of orange craft foam, overlapping the ends a half inch to create a 23-inch-long headband. Starting 1 1/4 inches in from one end of the headband, cut 12 1 1/4-inch slits spaced a half inch apart.
2. Push the base of each petal through a slit, then bend each petal's tabs in opposite directions and secure them to the headband with cloth tape. Glue a Velcro fastener to the ends of the headband. To help hold the headband on your child's head, have her try it on and use a pen to mark a point above each ear. Make holes at the marks. Thread through the ends of a long piece of sewing elastic, adjust the length to fit around the back of your child's head, and knot the ends so they won't slip back through.
3. To make the leafy bib, cut out 10 green craft foam leaves that measure about 3 inches wide and 5 inches long. Hot-glue them by their tips, as shown, to a 1/2- by 18-inch strip of green craft foam. Glue a Velcro fastener to the ends. Use the same method to make leafy wrist and ankle cuffs.
4. Paint a ladybug on your little flower's cheek for good luck.
Pizza Slice
This crafty pizza costume is one a parent and child can "cook" up together. Kids just love making the felt "toppings"!
CRAFT MATERIALS:
Sheet of 1/2-inch-thick foam (approximately twice your child's height by 2 feet wide)
6 large paper fasteners
Marker
Scissors
Clothespins
Hot glue gun
Spray paint
2 sponges
Acrylic paint
Paintbrushes
Felt
White sweatshirt
White tights
Pizza box
Red shoelaces (optional)
Time needed: Afternoon or Evening
1. To make the crust, fold over about 10 inches of foam at one of the narrow ends and attach it with evenly spaced paper fasteners. Fold the entire sheet of foam in half lengthwise. With a marker, draw a wide triangle rising from the crust to the top of the foam.
2. Cut out the triangle shape through both pieces of foam, using clothespins to connect the sheets. Apply a line of hot glue, about 6 inches at a time, approximately 1 inch from the outside edge. Press the layers together firmly for a few seconds after gluing.
3. When finished, slip the pizza over your child's head, and mark where her forehead and chin are on the front and where her shoulders are on the back. Cut out a circle for her face in the front layer and two circles for her arms in the back layer.
4. In a ventilated area, spray-paint the front of the pizza red, and the back and crust yellow. When dry, sponge-paint on white cheese and brown grill marks.
5. Together with your child, decide what "toppings" you want. Trace on felt, cut out, and attach with hot glue.
6. For the candy bag, tape closed a clean pizza box, cut out one flap, and tie on red shoelace handles.
CRAFT MATERIALS:
Sheet of 1/2-inch-thick foam (approximately twice your child's height by 2 feet wide)
6 large paper fasteners
Marker
Scissors
Clothespins
Hot glue gun
Spray paint
2 sponges
Acrylic paint
Paintbrushes
Felt
White sweatshirt
White tights
Pizza box
Red shoelaces (optional)
Time needed: Afternoon or Evening
1. To make the crust, fold over about 10 inches of foam at one of the narrow ends and attach it with evenly spaced paper fasteners. Fold the entire sheet of foam in half lengthwise. With a marker, draw a wide triangle rising from the crust to the top of the foam.
2. Cut out the triangle shape through both pieces of foam, using clothespins to connect the sheets. Apply a line of hot glue, about 6 inches at a time, approximately 1 inch from the outside edge. Press the layers together firmly for a few seconds after gluing.
3. When finished, slip the pizza over your child's head, and mark where her forehead and chin are on the front and where her shoulders are on the back. Cut out a circle for her face in the front layer and two circles for her arms in the back layer.
4. In a ventilated area, spray-paint the front of the pizza red, and the back and crust yellow. When dry, sponge-paint on white cheese and brown grill marks.
5. Together with your child, decide what "toppings" you want. Trace on felt, cut out, and attach with hot glue.
6. For the candy bag, tape closed a clean pizza box, cut out one flap, and tie on red shoelace handles.