I LOVE these!!!!!! One of my new favourite sites, Give me a purl!These are just too cool and make the greatest juggling balls as well.
It has been puring rain for last few days so this will be a great craft t week on over the weekend, my kids have gone a little stir crazy
I have been meaning to do some kind of felted wool project and this is IT! I think I will do a workshop at church this winter and I have been looking for fun, cheap crafts to do and this will be perfect.

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Posted by Administrator as Crafts- General, Crafts for All Ages at 11:28 AM EDT

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Love these! These would be great to make for loot bags or for kids to make at birthday party. Also terrific if you are looking for crafts to do over the summer or summer camp crafts.
You could also have a lot of fun at the Holidays and make shrink plastic Halloween rings and ones for Christmas.

These are a good craft for boys - you can get lots of stamps now with boy theme like spider web or bugs. This would also be a good craft for kids to do for a gift- would make a nice mother’s day gift (for grandmas too) or teachers gift.

The full tutorial for making these nice shrink plastic rings is on the blog Planet June.

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Posted by Administrator as Crafts- General, Crafts for All Ages, Crafts for Boys at 6:50 AM EDT

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This is a nice craft for older girls in 8 year old + range. Moms like them too.
From the Craft Chica craft blog Beaded Bobby Pins. Nice pictures, supply list and good instruction. Younger kids may need help clipping wire.

These would make a really good craft idea for girls birthday party or to make for little gifts- stocking stuffers, etc.

And what a great way to use up left over beads from cross stitch projects!

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Posted by Administrator as Crafts- General, Crafts for All Ages, Crafts for Girls at 12:22 PM EDT

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Wow- how cool is this! I think I may try this with a group of kids- making an area rug with fabric scraps! Remember the old fashion rugs your great grandmother had- or ones you see in a cozy cottage? Well You can make your own area rug just like it.
This site has quite a bit of information on making your own braided area rug:

Make a Braided Area Rug

This site has still more ideas- area rugs and a bath mat made from old maternity clothes:)
http://www.4ormore.co.uk/projects/ragrug.htm

Books on Making Your Own Braided Rugs and Area Rugs:

The Braided Rug Book: Creating Your Own American Folk ArtInstructions for making your own hooked and braided rugs

How to Make Braided Rugs

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Posted by Administrator as Great Kids Craft Ideas, Crafts- General, Crafts for All Ages at 10:53 PM EDT

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Whatever you call it- kids love it and find it addictive!
Gimp, also known as boondoggle is a type of flat, plastic thread used for making many types of crafts, necklaces or bracelets, zipper pulls. The designs can be fairly easy or complicated so they are good for a wide range of ages. I think under 5 years old can be pretty frustrating without a lot of help from someone older.
Scoubidou is very similar to gimp- the difference is the thread is round and hollow and not flat like gimp. The knots and techniques are exactly the same, and end appearance very similar.

The standard size for gimp is 3/32″ wide but there are larger sizes (1/4″ and 3/8″) You can get 100 yard spools, but most projects only take 3-6 yards. You can buy at most dollar stores, Walmart and Michael’s or other craft stores in many different colours- from bright neons to glow in the dark.

Boondoggle, Gimp, Plastic Lacing and Scoubidou Projects and Sites

Very cute barrette made with gimp a neat boondoggle craft for girls. Plastic Lacing Project: Boondoggle Barrette - A Gimp Craft

Boondoggle/Gimp Craft Ideas: This site has some pretty neat ideas- some are pretty far out! The instructions are very well laid out.

Boondoggle: Making Bracelets with Plastic Lace (Kids Can Do It)

TONS of free gimp/plastic lacing craft ideas here Some very nice ideas- well worth the look. Including a nice backpack USA flag made from plastic lacing, also a neat first aid kit using gimp and film canister. Each craft comes with supply list and instructions.

Cute Boondoggle Dragon Fly pin

Lots of nice ideas for gimp/scoubidou/boondoggle crafts Also shows you how to make different types of knots- from easy to complicated. Very nice, easy to understand instructions.

Nice scoubidou site
Scoubidou Site Lots of nice knots well explained.

Nice photos of Scoubidou/Gimp knots

Gimp Pencil wrapper Craft
Gimp Key chain Craft
Buy Gimp plastic lacing in bulk

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Posted by Administrator as Great Kids Craft Ideas, Crafts- General, Crafts for All Ages, Gimp-Boondoggle-Scoubidou at 10:14 PM EDT

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One of the earliest memories I have of doing a craft with my mother is when she my sisters and I do our own batiks. I was about 6 years old and to this day it remains one of my favourite memories of me and my mom.
I have often done this kind of batik with my daughter- it is an easy batik to try and do as a beginner or to try batik with younger children, It does involve hot wax so be careful.

You will need:
old muffin tins ( this is will be your “pallet”) You could also use disposable foil ones or pick up at garage sale, goodwill, etc.
old crayons ( every mom has PLENTY of these!!) This will be for color. Put like colours together, it doesn’t matter if a bit of pink get in with the red.
Paraffin canning wax
electric plate warmer or electric frying pan ( to melt wax and keep wax melted)
something to do your batik on- pillow case, T-shirt, old sheet - silk and cotton work best.
fabric dye ( use cold water dye if you can)
artists paint brush
pencil or charcoal

Divide colours in you muffin tins and add some paraffin wax. Put the muffin tin in the electric frying pan- make sure the frying pan has about 1-2 inches of water in it ( to keep wax from burning) and set the temperature VERY low- maybe around 200 degrees or less.

You can also place the muffin tin with the cups filled with wax on one of the electric plate/food warmers from the 70’s if you have kicking around- I see them all the time at garage sales- they are neat for another craft involving oil pastels.

Make sure whatever fabric you are using is NATURAL and does not have any polyester in it- it will not dye properly.

Draw your design with your pencil or charcoal- or go freestyle. Paint on the colours using your melted crayon/wax “paint”.
Keep you design simple- try not to go for too much detail. You can;t make a mistake with batik- it really is an easy and fun craft to do with kids - and a craft for both boys and girls.
As for ages this is suitable for- I think about 4 years old depending on the child- the wax can get hot so you would need to supervise.
When you have finished and wax is hardened- crumple of your fabric to crack the wax- this creates the beautiful veins you see in batik- this is where your fabric dye will go into.

Dye your fabric and let dry.

Now, fun part is to take of the wax. I use newspapers. On an ironing board I place newspapers over the fabric and using hot iron iron off the wax until it is all gone. This should NOT be done by young children .

When its done you will have a beautiful batik to treasure for years to come! My mom still has our orginal batiks hanging on her wall 30 years later

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Posted by Administrator as Great Kids Craft Ideas, Crafts- General, Batik, Crafts for Boys and Girls, Crafts for All Ages at 6:52 PM EDT

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