duct tape kids craft

Last night my niece came home from grandma's house with a new craft project for us to do together! She told my mom that she wanted to do them with yaya (that's what she has called me since she was a baby!) because I'm crafty! Her craft came in a kit, but it would be simple to buy the pieces separately or use things you may already have and create your own little kit.

Here is what you would need:
~ plastic (or really any kind of) bangles. {These could be old wooden or plastic bangles that need an update or I'm sure they sell plain plastic bangles at craft stores}
~ funky duct tape {Any color or pattern that you want!}
~ scissors

You can either cover the whole bangle with tape or just make different patterns on top of the existing color. Wrapping the duct tape around the bangle is pretty simple. The only thing to pay attention to is that it makes it easier if you start at an angle and wrap by overlapping a bit. Not only does it make the tape bubble less, but it also helps to make sure the tape covers the whole bangle.

I took a few pictures of the process, but I will add more when we work on them again.

She's really excited!

So you can see some of the steps and ideas you can take from this project. It is really easy and great for kids. Plus, it really helps kids with fine motor skills. Teachers will like that!!

Little helpers

Renovation is hard work... just ask these little helpers!

 

A sprained ankle to show for all her efforts! Her first major injury at the new house! (I'm sure there are many more to come.)

This is a weird face, but I was trying to show the big paint splotch on his nose left over from last night's painting adventure! He was so tired, he fell asleep on the ride back to my parents' house and was out cold for the night, so no bath for him last night!!
Both kids were big helpers and so excited to do whatever we needed! Kids love to help and if you give them small projects you can keep them busy for hours!!

Kid's Craft ~ Look at the pretty bird

I live with my niece and nephew and they are energetic kids! Sometimes before bed they have a hard time settling down {as I would imagine most kids do} so I thought it might be a good idea to have them do a craft to get their minds and bodies to calm down before bed. I generally make a template of what I am shooting for and let them go crazy from there! This probably comes from my years working in a daycare center and planning crafts and lessons for the kids.

I made a template last night for a bird craft that I am going to have them do tonight before bed. I got this idea from one of those packages of crafts at JoAnn's and thought I wanted it to be a little different from the example and I could probably do it for cheaper! The package was at least $5 and was only for one bird. So it was going to cost me at least $10 to make with Madison and Ryan.

I started out by making a template on regular paper so it was easier to trace and cut out on the foam.

I bought this foam piece from JoAnn's for a couple dollars and it was big enough to make 3 birds

Trace the template as many times as will fit on the foam. It was convenient that the birds fit together so well to save some space!

Then cut them out. Pretty self-explanatory!

Mark where you want the wing to start on the body and poke a hole with scissors.

Take a piece of tissue paper, cut out a small piece and crinkle to your desired look and push the end through the hole. There will be enough tissue paper on the backside of the foam that it should stay, but if you want you could put a piece of tape over the end to hold it in place

Here is my final result! I think he's pretty cute! He could use some more color or decoration, but I will leave that up to the little ones to do!

Do you have bored kids at home this summer and need some craft ideas? Stay tuned and I will try to update you on things that I try with the little ones in our house!