Halloween is approaching quickly! Do you remember the Five Little Pumpkins Song? Each of my kids has learned it in Preschool. I thought it would be fun to make our own miniature fences for 5 little pumpkins to sit on. Each of us made our fences completely different and we had so much fun. Read on to see how to make your own fence.

Five Little Pumpkins Song:
Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate,
First one said “Oh my, it’s getting late!”
Second one said “There are witches in the air,”
Third one said “but we don’t care!”
Fourth one said “Let’s run and run and run.”
Fifth one said “I’m ready for some fun!”
Ooo ooo went the wind, and out went the lights,
And five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

You can use a lot of different craft supplies to decorate your fence. My kids came up with all sorts of things to make and add to their fences to make it uniquely their own. Have the glue ready, LOL!

Supplies:

• Craft Sticks
• 1″ Orange Pom-Pom Balls
• Green Pipe Cleaners
• Leaf Punch
• Green Paper
• Moss
• Plastic Spiders and/or Ants
• Fake Spider Webs (I couldn’t find ours, but we wanted to stretch some on our fences!)
• Craft Glue
• 2 – Wooden Rectangle Spacer (can be made of balsa wood)
• Wire Cutter

How To: – click on the pics below for a closer view

1. 

   Lay out your craft sticks vertically to create your fence. Use two craft sticks and glue them horizontally to hold the vertical sticks in place. Let dry.

2. Create your second fence side the same way. Make sure you lay the two fences side by side. You need to have the horizontal sticks the same distance from the top and bottom as you did on the first fence. This will be important later when you add the wooden rectangles to the center to make your fence stand up and create a shelf for the pumpkins to sit on.
3. 

   Create your 5 pumpkins by cutting a stem from a green pipe cleaner. Glue stem to top of pom-pom ball. Use leaf shaped punch to punch out leaf from green paper. Glue leaf to pom-pom ball next to stem.

    

4. 

   Finish creating all your fence sides and your pumpkins and set them aside to dry.

    

5. 

   Cut the wood you will use for your spacer to be same length as a craft stick. They can be about 1″ – 1.5″ wide. Glue the a wooden rectangle to the each horizontal craft stick on one fence side. Next glue on the 2nd fence side. Let dry.

6. Now your fence should be complete. Add your own spooky and fun decorations to your fence. Sit your pumpkins on the top shelf of your fence.
7. Sing the Five Little Pumpkins song while you play with your fence.

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Emily from The Benson Street is our Summer Day Camp Instructor this week. This is our final week of the day camp series and we have all had so much fun sharing our summer craft project ideas with all of you. Thank you so much for being a reader of my site!

A little about Emily – After graduating from college and working for a couple of years, she needed to find an outlet for her creative juices and a way to learn new things. Not only is it an outlet for her, it is motivation. Blogging helps her to get her projects done, share ideas and connect with friends.

Head over to The Benson Street and check out her full instructions for making these fun stained glass paintings. You can find the full instructions by clicking here.

Again, thanks so much for following my Summer Day Camp series!

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Wow, summer is winding down here. Luckily in Michigan school doesn’t start until after Labor Day, so we have a few more weeks of keeping the kids busy and enjoying lazy summer days. How is your summer going?

Our camp instructor for this week is Sarah from LimeMade Designs. Sarah is a natural crafter and a truly talented sewer. She has an Etsy shop featuring an amazing array of sewn items. On her blog you don’t want to miss Insta Fridays!

This week Sarah is showing us how to make Sand Candles. You can find detailed instructions with lots of great photographs on how she made these fantastic candles by visiting her blog at LimeMade Designs.

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It’s a twofer this week! Our day camp instructor this week is Becky from Patchwork Posse. Becky’s site has some great patterns and tutorials. She has been sewing since she was 8 years old {her first sampler}.  Her first official quilt was finished in 1997 and it is ‘history’ as they say it since. She has 4 kids at home who help inspire her designs. She L O V E S to sew! She started quilting with a big girl machine in 2010.  She loves to design quilts, bags, but her favorite is dolls and stuffed animals. She collects buttons, lace and ric-rac. She loves tall socks, but has a hard time finding ones that fit her ‘athletic’ calves…thanks to her dad.

For our second summer day camp project of the week Becky is showing us how to make bleach dyed t-shirts! If your kids have an older shirt with a stain, this would be a great way to have some fun with a shirt that might have been thought of as ruined. Head over and visit Becky for the full instructions to make your own bleach dyed t-shirt: Patchwork Posse.

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Summer is flying by here at the George household! We are keeping busy camping, swimming and swinging on the tree swing. We have another summer day camp project this week from Kara from The Joys of Boys. Kara is a mom of 4 boys, which also makes her a nurse, referee, taxi driver, teacher, baker, ATM, maid, personal shopper, jungle gym, coach, puppeteer, motivator and negotiator. On her blog she shares fun activities, crafts, recipes and ideas designed just for boys.

Today for our Summer Day Camp Instructor Kara is showing you how to make boats using juice boxes. The full instructions can be found at her website by clicking this link: The Joys of Boys.

Visit us next Tuesday the 16th of July for another day camp project. And if you missed last weeks project, click here to see what you missed!

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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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It’s the second week of summer camp here at The Craft Nest and this week’s project features a free printable. Our day camp instructor this week is Donna from Swish Printables. Donna is a self-professed party junkie! She loves everything about parties. She loves planning them…going to them… and shopping for them. She loves it all! She’s a stay-at-home mom who tries to balance life with two small kids, a busy husband, and her love of all things printable!

Today Donna is showing you and your kids how to print and assemble an awesome banner for your family to hang in honor of the 4th of July. You can read more about her project and get this free 4th of July Printable by visiting her site at this link: Swish Printables.

Visit us next Tuesday the 2nd of July for another patriotic themed day camp project. And if you missed last weeks project, click here to see what you missed!

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This is the first week of our summer day camp! I am so excited to be kicking all the summer fun day camp style here at The Craft Nest. Our first day camp instructor is Rebecca from Finding My Blog. You can find the complete instructions for making your own summer shaving cream snowman by visiting Rebecca here.

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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)!

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Mother’s Day is just around the corner and I am sure you are searching for a perfect handmade gift for mom. Am I right? What about a small gift for Grandma? These tiny little windowsill planters made using recycled lids or a domed vending machine container are just the perfect project for Mother’s Day. You may already have the plants you need in your yard.

I recently attended SNAP! (a blogging conference) and my roommate Cynthia taught a class on making a DIY terrarium necklace with succulent plants. She has an amazing tutorial you can find here, you will want to look at her tutorial before making this little windowsill planter. Her class and knowledge inspired me to make these windowsill planters to give as gifts for Mother’s Day.

Supplies:

• Floral Adhesive (I bought it from my local flower shop)
• Assorted Succulents (You may have enough in your own yard or visit Lowe’s)
• Dried Moss (Michaels)
• Toothpick or Bamboo Skewer
• Paper Plate
• Assorted Sizes Lids from Recycling Bin (Baby food lids are the perfect size)
• Scissors

How To:

1. Gather succulents you want to use. I purchased mine from Lowe’s. You may already have some in your yard, succulents like Hen and Chicks work perfectly for this project.

2. Using a scissors, clip off a small piece from each of the succulents you want to use.

3. Squirt a small spot of floral adhesive onto a paper plate.

4. Use a toothpick or bamboo skewer to pick up some adhesive and spread it around the inside of your lid. Floral adhesive does not harm the plant tissue.

5. Adhere moss to the adhesive. The moss will provide a place for your succulents to grow new roots.

6. Use your toothpick to pick up adhesive and dab the adhesive on the ends of the succulent cuttings. Glue the succulents into the moss. Above I layered two different size lids to make a unique mini-planter.

7. Be sure to read Cynthia’s maintenance tips for caring for your succulents in her post here. The basics are that you will need to mist your plants with water about once a week and be careful not to over water.

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