Bunchland

Melt them, shave them, or mold them; crayons make a great Valentines

Crayon Stained Glass Cards

You’ll need: waxed paper, a pencil sharpener, crayons, a bone folder, and a warm iron.

Remove the paper from crayons and shave them using a pencil sharpener. Sprinkle the waxed paper with the shavings. (The more wax you sprinkle, the more opaque the colours will be). Fold the paper in half, then fold along the edges to prevent the melted crayon wax from leaking. Iron the folded wax paper on a medium setting until the shavings melt. To prevent leaks, place a few sheets of scrap paper on the top and bottom. Cut the “stained glass” wax paper slightly smaller than the card and tape it closed using double sided tape.  Read more...

A great craft to celebrate Lunar New Year

Children born this year, between now and February 9, 2013 are thought to be extra lucky. Celebrate the Year of the Dragon by crafting this easy and colourful recycled beast.

You’ll need:

• egg cartons
• paint
• construction paper
• tissue paper
• markers
• glue
• scissors

To learn how to make this Chinese New Year craft, head over to Activity Village.

Image via Activity Village

Krista Rao blogs about crafty adventures with her kids

Growing up I was very particular about my crayons. I loved the box of 64 Crayola crayons with built-in sharpener and protected them with my life and a very specific set of rules. I kept them organized by colour, refused to allow people to colour “hard” with them (especially the metallic ones as they were very soft), and tried to use them evenly on all sides so that they were kept to a point at all times.

My children on the other hand, do not have the respect for crayons that I did; they love to break them. The snapping sound of a breaking crayon seems to send them into a violent rampage breaking all crayons in their path. Not liking anything to go to waste, I have found a use for all of these little bits of crayons laying around. We melted the bits down and made easy to hold chunky crayons. The process was very easy and rewarding for the kids as they were able to help with almost every step.  Read more...

Super easy, super fast, super predator

Ah, the dreaded Cardboard Tube Snapping Shark. Native to living rooms across North America, the Cardboard Tube Snapping Shark preys on fingers and toes of parents and siblings. We found the instructions to make our very own snapping shark on HighlightsKids.com. Classic Highlights, right?

You’ll need:

• A small cardboard tube
• marker/paint
• glue
• scissors
• We covered our shark in glitter glue, but just because we had it on hand and we love glitter.

The Highlights instructions called for regular white craft glue and paperclips, but we used a glue gun since it was the first glue we located in the craft room. White glue and paperclips to hold the shark while it dries is a better option for smaller people making this craft.

1. Flatten the tube and cut out your shark’s mouth  Read more...

Catherine Romano blogs about crafty projects for kids and parents

This week, my plan was to create a little city. I love model cities (the Queens Museum of Art has a great model of New York designed by Robert Moses), and my son likes to imagine driving trains and buses through neighbourhoods, so I thought this would be a fun craft project.  This is what we’ve made so far.

Materials:

• Recycled boxes from household products
• Construction paper
• White Glue
• Scissors

Process:
1. Collect recycled boxes from around the house.
2. Sketch out a general idea for your city (What kind of buildings will you include? Which box is best suited for each kind of building?)
3. Cover each box with a sheet of construction paper. Add decorative details such as windows, flowers, doors.  Read more...

Catherine Romano blogs about crafty projects for kids and parents

Since we’ve enjoyed a few days of beautiful sunshine, my son has been spending alot of time outside. One of his new favourite things to do is search for bumble bees and spiders. (Which I happen to think are two of the creepiest critters around.) In my attempt to stay away from the real life buzzing and creepy-crawling, I made my son these less threatening friends (and I threw in a butterfly to pretty things up). The only problem was that once I complete the craft, my son suggested we bring his new friends outside to play with the real critters. Nice.

Anyhow, here are the materials and instructions:

• Toilet paper rolls
• Construction paper
• Scissors
• Glue

 Read more...

Don’t throw out those juice cartons just yet!

Great idea from Jennie Lyon at Inhabitots! This activity is perfect for a rainy afternoon, or if you and your kids just feel the need to create something. With many possibilities for furniture, teeny tiny home decor and sprucing up the exterior, this is the craft that keeps on giving.

You’ll need:

• 2 empty juice cartons, washed and dried
• Packing tape (or very strong glue)
• An X-acto knife
• Scissors
• String/ribbon
• Small toys/Legos
• Construction paper and crayons/markers (Optional)

Steps:  Read more...

1. Using X-acto knife, cut out the side of one or both cartons (Depending on how you want the house’s rooms separated)
2. Tape cartons together so that the fronts of each carton are side by side
3. Using X-acto knife, open up the front of carton like it’s a giant drawbridge