Lance Winslow asked:




There are many materials that are used as craft supplies, and we often think of materials used to make blankets, bird houses, pottery, clothing, scrapbooks, dolls, and other nifty creations as common craft supplies like yarn, cloth, wood, clay, paints, and perhaps even plastics. Not often do we think about vinyl, still many of the crafts that we make do need vinyls. We cannot make everything out of leather, nor does it make sense to.
Vinyls are a very cheap material, and it comes in an array of colors, not to mention it’s very easy to get. If you are truly into arts and crafts I recommend that you can retake a look at using more vinyls in your projects. Now, I realize many people are purists, and they’ve been handed down their talents and crafts from previous generations, generations, which never had the abundance of vinyl material have today, but we live in the present and we makes crafts and gifts and present periods, not in past periods.

Of course, everyone that makes crafts-and-gifts and has wonderful projects as well as a certain way of doing things, and they like to do things their way. I am not one to stand in the way of your concepts, or ideas of how things should be done, rather I am simply reminding you of potential opportunities that you may be passing up, or may not have thought of.

Often, I find it amazing that folks spend so much time going to thrift stores, scouting throwaway materials, and walking up and down each child of arts and crafts stores, and yet, forget about one of the easiest materials to use; vinyl. Please consider all this.

Renee Kirchner asked:




Summer has just started, but all across the country mothers are already hearing the dreaded phrase, “I’m bored! There’s nothing to do.” Don’t panic. You can help your kids entertain themselves with a little creativity. I have compiled a list of ten summer boredom buster. Most of these activities cost little or no money and most of them do not require hours of your time. Once you get your children to think creatively, they will be able to come up with many ways to entertain themselves.

1. ARTS AND CRAFTS CENTER

Set up an arts and crafts center on your dining room table. You only use the table for Thanksgiving and Christmas anyway. You will be amazed at what your children can create with a few simple supplies. Set out construction paper, scissors, crayons, glue sticks, craft sticks, cotton balls, markers, and glitter. If you have an arts and crafts book handy, put that on the table too. One idea will act as a springboard for many more. My daughter can entertain herself all day with an arts and crafts center.

2. TAKE A LISTENING WALK

I do this activity with my students at school and they just love it. First we read “The Listening Walk” by Paul Showers. The story is about a little boy who goes on a walk and hears all kinds of interesting things. Tell your children that they are going on a listening walk. They will not be able to talk during your walk. Instead they must listen to all the sounds they hear around them. When you get back from the walk see who can list the most sounds that they heard. Did everyone hear the same sounds? The results might surprise you.

3. PET SITTING

Your family could offer to pet sit for a neighbor. Take your children with you to the neighbor’s house and ask them to help you. If you are taking care of a dog, your kids could feed the dog, take him on a walk, and brush him. If you are pet sitting a cat, your kids could help change the litter box and play with the cat. This activity is great during the summer months when your family is less busy. Your neighbor will appreciate your help and your kids can learn about responsibility.

4. MAKE A MOVIE

Does your family own a camcorder? If so, you can keep your kids occupied for days by letting them make their own movie. Ask them to write a script and hand out parts to everyone in the family or to some of their friends. They will need to learn their lines and make props. Once they film their movie they could sell tickets and have a screening at your house. You can pop some popcorn for your guests to eat while they watch the show.

5. BREAK A WORLD RECORD

When I was a kid I always thought it would be great to break a world record. My goal was to be in the Guinness Book of World Records for something. Get your kids a copy of the book from the library and have them flip through it until they find a record they think they can break. Maybe they could blow the largest bubble with bubblegum or jump rope the longest. You get the idea. This could occupy your children for many hours.

6. GROW A GARDEN

Give your children a small plot of land to grow a garden this summer. For a small amount of money you could buy them flower or vegetable seeds and let them test their green thumb. They can borrow your gardening tools or you could get them a small trowel and gardening gloves. Just imagine how satisfied they will be when their flowers bloom or they can serve their vegetables at the dinner table one evening. They may develop a life long love of gardening.

7. CHILDREN’S YARD SALE

Have you ever noticed a lot of clutter in your children’s bedrooms? Do they have way too many toys that they’ve outgrown? Let them host a yard sale in your front yard. Your kids can sort through their clothes and toys and mark them for sale. Give them a few tables and chairs and maybe some clothing line to string across two trees. They can set up a lemonade stand to quench the thirst of shoppers.

8. MAKE ERRANDS MORE FUN

Every day can’t be a party. You have errands to run and household chores that need to be tended to. Make your everyday errands more fun by turning them into a game. When you go to the grocery store you can give older kids a list and see who is the first to bring back everything on their list. If you’re running errands in the car, have children play the alphabet game. Ask them to find all of the letters of the alphabet on signs before you get back to the house. The one who finds the most letters gets a prize.

9. TAKE A DAY TRIP

Once in a while you need to get out of the house. Take a day trip with your kids. If you live in the suburbs, go to the city. You could visit a science museum and have a picnic at a city park. An outing to the city zoo would be popular with older and younger kids. If you’re feeling really adventurous you could travel to a small town that you’ve never visited. Find a local town that has an interesting draw like a lake, a wildlife preserve, an aviation museum or something that your kids would be interested in.

10. CAMPING IN THE BACKYARD

You don’t have to travel far to get back to nature. It can be found as close as your back door. Plan a camping trip in your backyard one evening. Start with a cookout on the grill complete with roasted marshmallows. You and your family can sing campfire songs, tell stories, and look at the stars. If your family is not the camping type, you could probably borrow a tent from a neighbor who camps. Roll out the sleeping bags and spend an evening under the stars. Kids love anything out of the ordinary and this definitely qualifies as out of the ordinary.

Wendy Pan asked:




The kids are out of school, the heat is on, soon the novelty of no more school wears off and the kids are bored. They can’t stay in the community pool eight hours a day, so what else can they do?

Summer Arts and Crafts – Makeover the Mailbox

The most important item for this craft is the craft foam because craft foam is water resistant. This means you’ll certainly have to bring it in before it downpours, but a sprinkle or two won’t hurt it.

You’ll need scissors, scrap paper, tape, colored tape, ribbon, rope, double sided tape, craft foam and of course, the mailbox!

Use the scrap paper as a sort of template for the craft foam. The ideas that work best for mailboxes are animals and sea creatures. Draw the eyes, fins, ears, nose, any of the “pieces” that will be stuck on the mailbox on the scrap paper (brown paper bags work well for this) then trace them onto the craft foam and cut them out. If making a dog, create a tongue for the inside part of the mailbox for a little extra treat for the mailman when he makes his deliveries! For the mane of a horse, gather polyester rope and hang off the back!

Summer Arts and Crafts – Kitchen Wind Chime

This craft is not only musical but attractive as well. Use a smaller colander to feed fishing wire through and hang various metal items found around the kitchen. What can you use?

-spoons
-spatula
-whisk
-apple slicer
-anything you can find that isn’t dangerous (like a knife)

Add some crystal beads or beautiful clear plastic beads to the monofilament and you have a fun, interesting craft the kids can enjoy making themselves!

The most important thing to keep in mind when coming up with these crafts is the age of children (their motor skills), their likes and dislikes, the level of “messiness” the craft will create (should it be done outdoors or in), and if the craft will actually be useful around the house (both items above can be used and enjoyed).

Summer Arts and Crafts – Gemstone Rocks

All kids love rocks. Especially the ones they find in the creeks and lakes, the large flat ones that are shaped like diamonds, triangles, hearts or ovals. What you’ll need for this craft are the rocks, aluminum foil, newspaper, crayons (the old, broken variety), and an oven mitt.

Once the rocks have been chosen, they need to be baked on a cookie sheet (lined with foil) in a 225 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Remove the rocks from the oven with the oven mitt (they will be extremely hot!) and put them on the papers. Unwrap the old crayons then draw on the rocks. The crayons will melt like liquid magic. Move the crayon around for a swirl effect and you’ve got your gemstone rocks!

Summer arts and crafts are an enjoyable and constructive way to spend a day with the children while creating beautiful projects they can be proud of all year long.