This week I am hosting the summer day camp project here on The Craft Nest! When summer time hits our neck of the woods it often means parade time. No parade is complete (at least not where we live) without candy to catch. Usually we grab a plastic grocery bag and head out, but this summer my kids and I crafted candy catchers to take along to the parade sidelines. One of the best features is that we used containers out of the recycle bin!

A special thanks to American Crafts for sending me these beautiful patriotic supplies to use for our project!

Supplies:

• Empty Plastic Container (we used vinegar jugs)
• Patriotic Paper Supplies by American Crafts
• Zazz Glitter Glue by American Crafts
• Glitter Tape by American Crafts
• This to That tape by American Crafts or Double-sided Tape or Craft Glue
• Thickers (letter stickers) by American Crafts
• Scissors or Paper Cutter

How To:

1. Find an empty container. Wash and dry the container. Cut an opening in the side of the container.
2. Use a scissors or paper trimmer and cut your paper to size and adhere it to the container using This to That tape by American Crafts.
3. Add other embellishments and stickers to your candy catcher.
4. Use glitter glue to add more sparkle to your container. Let dry.

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Looking for a last minute Mother’s Day project? I just made this today and I admit it is for me. Don’t you just want to capture their little (or not so little) hand print size forever? And check out the cute heart in the palm of their hands. I came up with this project based upon the quote, “Mother’s hold their children’s hands for awhile, but their hearts forever.”

So maybe when you look at the first picture you are thinking, whoa someone needs to call TruGreen and get those weeds under control! Or maybe you are thinking your little one would have a hoot trying to pic all those dandelions and bring them to you for Mother’s Day. I personally want to get my kids all dressed nicely and sit them in that field for a picture, I am not sure they will cooperate with my idea though.

Anyway, back to the craft project you clicked over here to see. This project goes really fast once you have all the supplies on hand. If you have more than 4 hand prints to put on the canvas you might want to go up a canvas size or two.

Supplies:

• 8×10 Canvas
• Assorted Acrylic Paints
• Foam Brush
• Paper Plate
• Diaper Wipes
• Hand Cut Heart
• Thickers by American Crafts (that is what I used for the raised lettering)
• Marker
• Double-sided Tape
• Scissors
• Paper

How To:

1. Measure the size of the smallest child’s hand. Cut a heart out of paper so it fits in the palm of their hand.
2. You will use the same paper heart and stick it onto the canvas using double-sided tape before each child makes their hand print and then peel it up when they are finished to reveal a heart-shaped void.
3. To get ready, squirt the paint colors onto a paper plate and have a diaper wipe handy. You will want to quickly wipe the paint off a small child’s hand when they are finished with their hand print.
4. Start with the largest child’s hand first. Stick the paper heart to the canvas where the middle of their palm print will be. Use the foam brush and paint their hand with acrylic paint. Press their hand to the canvas making sure to push down on all their fingers and their thumb for an even print. Pull their hand off and remove the heart.
5. Repeat the above step for each child’s hand print. Make sure you use the largest hand first and the smallest last. Also think about what paint colors will layer well over others.
6. Let dry.
7. Add the quote by laying the stickers out (don’t press them down yet) and lightly penciling in the words. Write very light with the pencil because it does not erase well off of the canvas.
8. When you have it all arranged use a marker to permanently write in the words that aren’t spelled out using stickers. If your stickers aren’t sticking add a little drop of glue to each one.
9. Use a pencil to write in the name and age of each child along the edge of their hand print.
10. Wrap and give to Mom (or yourself)!

The post How To | Mother’s Day Hand Print Craft appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

Look at this beautiful Candy Shop! My good friend Rebecca Bischoff (check out her website) was nice enough to create this Free Printable for me to post on my website. This sweet little candy shop prints out all on one page and you can color it and cut it out to create the Candy Shop you see above.

 How To | Cut and Color 3D Candy Shop

Supplies:

• Paper and Printer
• Crayons or Markers
• Pom-pom Balls
• Small Bottle Brush Tree
• Small Bottle Brush Wreath
• Tiny Candy Canes
• Assorted Embellishments
• Glue
• Paint Brush
• Scissors
• White Glitter
• Gold Glitter
• Cardboard
• Cut and Color 3D Candy Shop

How To:

1. Print out the Cut and Color 3D Candy Shop and color it in.
2. Cut out the candy shop and assemble it using glue or tape.
3. Cut out a large circle from cardboard (make sure it is larger than the house) to form the ground/base. I used a scalloped edge scissors around the edge of my circle.
4. Adhere the assembled candy shop to the cardboard circle near the back.
5. Use a paint brush to paint glue onto the top of the cardboard circle and around the bottom of the house. Sprinkle glitter on top of the glue and shake off extra glitter into the trash can. We also added touches of white glitter to the roof and then gold glitter onto the word Candy.
6. Add extra embellishments, like pom-pom balls and bottle brush trees to your Candy Shop and to the ground in front of the Candy Shop.
7. Add an electric tea light inside and watch it glow at night!

Thank you Rebecca for creating this fun candy shop for us to craft!

Free Download

Click Here – Cut and Color 3D Candy Shop

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Ohh, Christmas is so close! Are you looking for an easy gift for the kids to make Grandma? These paper maché bulbs covered in tissue paper squares and a handmade drawing would work!

How To | Tissue Paper Ornament

Supplies:

• Tissue Paper Squares
• Paper Maché Bulb
• White Piece of Paper
• Crayons or Markers
• School Glue
• Paint Brush or Sponge
• Wax Paper
• Plastic Container or Lid
• Scissors

How To:

1. Have your child draw a small picture. (I drew a circle with a pen first, then had my kids draw inside of it. Cut out the artwork.)
2. Use a small paint brush or sponge to paint glue in small patches on the paper maché bulb. Add tissue paper over the glue as you go. Be careful not to get too much glue on the bulb or the tissue paper will rip because it is too soggy. Let the glued tissue paper dry.
3. To get your artwork to lay flat on the round bulb, use a scissors to make a few small cuts inward around the edges. Then paint glue on the back of the artwork piece and then add the artwork to the bulb. Smooth artwork down with fingers, some areas of the art will overlap a bit. Paint a thin layer of glue over the artwork to preserve it. Let dry.
4. Wrap and give as a gift to grandma!

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Have you written your letter to Santa yet? Have you been Naughty or Nice? Young kids will love filling out this letter. It has big lines and spaces for early writers. Ours are going in the mail and heading off to the North Pole tomorrow!

The days are going by so quickly. I still have presents to wrap! How about you guys, are you all caught up? I am looking forward to this weekend, I can’t wait to see my kids faces on Christmas morning!

Free Download: Click Here – Letter To Santa

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I must have jinxed myself by posting that we were doing really good at keeping up with our Advent Activities. Now we have fallen a little bit behind, but no pressure right? We were able to make these cute sock snowmen. My daughter said, “I want to use the biggest googly eyes we have so it looks really cute.” She was right the sock snow-woman looks cute with those big eyes.

How To | Sock Snowman

Supplies:

• White Sock from Each Child
• Googly Eyes
• Pom-Pom Balls
• Embroidery Floss
• Assorted Ribbon
• Assorted Fabric Scraps and Felt
• Scissors
• Glue
• Stuffing

How To:

1. Choose your sock and stuff it 3/4 full using Poly-fil Stuffing.
2. Tuck the end of the sock up inside itself. (See pic below.)
3. Use a piece of embroidery floss and tie it tightly around the stuffed sock to form the head and body shape.
4. Glue on eyes, nose and other trims to make it look like a snowman.
5. (To create the pink hat, we used another sock and slid it over the top of the head and tied the end of the sock in a knot.)
6. Let your kids play with their new buddy or put them on display.

Bottom of Sock Snowman

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You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen… but do you recall the most famous reindeer of all? Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer had a very shiny nose… You will want to make your own version of Rudolph using a toilet paper tube and the free download you can find below!

How To | Toilet Paper Tube Reindeer

Supplies:

• Toilet Paper Tube
• Googly Eyes
• Red Pom-Pom Ball
• Dark Brown Construction Paper
• Light Brown Construction Paper
• Pink Construction Paper
• Glue
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Black Marker
• Toilet Paper Tube Reindeer Template Download

How To:

1. Download Toilet Paper Tube Reindeer Template. Print it out. (You can choose to color in the shapes on the template or use the shapes to cut out pieces from colored construction paper.) Cut out pieces from construction paper or color all the pieces on the template. Set cut out pieces aside.
2. Trace your child’s hand print onto a piece of paper. Cut it out to use as the antlers.
3. Assembly the ears by gluing the inner ear piece onto the ear. Let dry. Glue assembled ears to toilet paper tube.
4. Next glue on the antlers behind the ears.
5. Glue on googly eyes.
6. Glue pom-pom ball to nose base. Let dry. Glue nose base with pom-pom ball to toilet paper tube.
7. Crease the hooves on the dotted fold-line. Glue hooves to toilet paper tube.
8. Use black marker to add a mouth.

Free Download:

Click Here – Toilet Paper Tube Reindeer Template

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I wanted to show all of you the Snowman Family Frame we made yesterday for our Advent Activity. I love it, it looks so cute on the shelf with all the other Christmas decorations. We have been able to keep on schedule for our Advent Activities this far. How about you guys, are you able to keep on track? Some nights are a bit tricky and we have to do some catch up the next day, but the kids don’t know what day I planned the activity for, so it’s all the same to them!

If you want to create one of these Snowman Family Frames for yourself, or make one to give as a gift, you can find the instructions for it here: ChildMadeTutorials. She does a great job of explaining it and has lots of pictures. Just a hint, I found my frame at Dollar Tree, I can see from the picture she has the same frame. So if you are doing your crafts on the cheap, like I try to do, take a look at Dollar Tree for this frame. It is deep inside, but looks pretty much like a normal frame and is in the same section.

Stay tuned, tomorrow you can see the Toilet Paper Tube Reindeer we are making and it includes a Free Download Template to cut out your own pieces. Also, don’t forget to like us on Facebook!

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My daughter always wants to make presents for everyone come holiday time. She came up with this Felt Heart Ornament project all on her own. I think she did an excellent job. I’m still waiting to receive mine! She gave everyone else their ornament yesterday. She had tucked them in their stockings for St. Nicholas day, so sweet that she is always thinking about others.

Handmade Holidays | How To | Felt Heart Ornament

Supplies:

• Pink Craft Felt
• Embroidery Floss
• Needle
• Scissors
• Poly-fil Stuffing
• Black Stamping Ink (We used Staz-on)
• Letter Stamps
• Assorted Picture Stamps
• Ribbon or Beads

How To:

1. Cut two identical heart shapes from felt.
2. Use your stamps and ink to personalize each side of the heart with an image.
3. Sew your hearts together using a needle and embroidery floss.
4. Add any embellishments such as beads and ribbon as you sew.
5. Before sewing the entire heart closed add some stuffing, then finish sewing the heart closed.
6. Use the embroidery floss to sew a loop at the top of the heart so it can hang.
7. Tuck in a stocking for a Christmas morning surprise!

The post Handmade Holidays | Felt Heart Ornaments appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

Making your own kite is fun and easy. You probably already have the materials to make this recycled bag kite on hand. We made other versions where my kids used permanent markers and crayons to color their own designs on the plastic before we assembled the kite. They’ve had fun flying the kites. One kite already bit the dust because L tried to fly it while riding her bike…the string got tangled in her wheels before lift off! Not a suggested way to get your kite into the air! No harm done, we just made a new one.

I had most of the supplies we needed already at my house and most were along the lines of being recycled. The bag was from a previous shopping trip to Old Navy. To be fair the bamboo skewers were unused, but you could use them first if you wanted too. The twist tie was in our junk drawer. For the kite line I tried to use embroidery floss, but it kept causing the kite to twist, so my husband found this neon spool of string in the garage. You could probably use some sort of fishing line or nylon string. The only item I had to purchase was the balloon stick, it did come with a balloon on it for $1.99 and the kids had fun bopping the balloon around the house. I based this kite design off of a website about diamond kites I found awhile ago, you can find it here.

This project would be perfect for a Girl Scout troop or any other similar group project!

How To | Recycled Bag Kite

Supplies:

• Large Plastic Shopping Bag
• Bamboo Skewers
• Long Twist Tie or Wire
• 2″ of Balloon Stick or Plastic Tube
• Kite String
• 3/4″ Wide Scotch Tape
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Pen
• Thumb Tack

How To:

1. Download and print the Diamond Kite Template. (You will need to print it on 11×17 paper.)
2. Fold plastic bag in half and trace template onto bag. (Keep long edge of template along the fold.) Cut out kite shape from bag, make sure to cut out the circle from the center as marked on the template.
3. Use two bamboo skewers to create the vertical spine of the kite. Trim off the pointed ends, make sure the skewers will overlap each other when they create the spine. Lay them on the kite and once you determine the needed length of the skewers tape them together (see photo below).
4. Cut a 2″ piece from your balloon stick. Bend it slightly in the center. Do not create a crease in the balloon stick (see photo below).
5. Insert a bamboo skewer into each end of the balloon stick. Trim the ends off of skewers so they span the width of the kite.
6. Lay the vertical bamboo spine on top of the horizontal bamboo spine piece. Arrange the sticks so they overlap in the correct spot (use your plastic kite shape for reference) and twist tie the two pieces together (see photo below).
7. Lay the entire spine on the back (unprinted) side of the kite. Use 4″ long pieces of tape to attach the spine to the kite. Start the tape on the front side of the kite and wrap around to the back side. Press the tape down on both sides of the skewer. You may need to run a shorter piece of tape across the existing piece in the opposite direction. Do this for each end of the spine, make sure you pull the kite taut as you tape.
8. Cut 23″ of kite line. Use the thumb tack to pierce a hole 3/4″ from the bottom kite tip, on each side of the bamboo skewer spine. Tie one end to the top of the kite through the hole and around the overlapping bamboo skewer spine. Tie the other end of the kite line through the bottom holes and around the spine (see photo below).
9. Use the remaining plastic pieces from your bag to make the kite tail. Cut 2″ wide strips and tie them together to create a tail that is about 10 feet long.
10. Attach the tail to the bottom of the kite by threading behind the skewer and wrapping it around the skewer once. No need to knot it, it will stay in place (see photo below).
11. Your kite is finished, but you will tie your spool of string to the kite line you already attached to your kite. I attached this knot to the kite line already attached to my kite, then tied my spool of kite line onto this knotted loop. Using this knot will let you slide the string up and down the line to find the balance point when flying the kite.

Free Download: Diamond Kite Template

The post How To | Recycled Bag Handmade Kite appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.