DIY Inspiration For At-Home Projects
Most parents have one crafty
thing that they can pull out of their back pocket for rainy day entertainment.
But what happens when your go-to craft has been done one too many times?
Lindsey Johnson, owner of The Craft Studio, has some helpful tips for crafting
at home. —
How do I get my not-so-artsy
kid into art?
Start small and appeal to what
they are already into. Have a sporty guy who doesn’t like art? When you’re
heading to a Yankees game, buy a plain T-shirt and fabric markers and encourage
him to make a rally shirt to take or wear. The first step is making the effort
to change it up.
What to I do when we are
stuck at home on a bad weather day and don’t have any paints in the house?
When Johnson was a little kid,
she would take wrapping paper and a cardboard box and make a collage. It was
enough for an afternoon of fun. Open your junk drawer. Grab buttons or pieces
of fabric, some glue and go to town.
What do you do with 10 girls at a sleepover?
Grab plain boxer shorts from Modell’s, some fabric paint,
ribbons and glue. Then have a ball making cute customized shorts.
What is your favorite crafty
thing to give as a gift right now?
A blank canvas: you can do anything
with it. They make great gifts for teachers and grandparents. There is
something relaxing about painting them, and it always turns out beautiful.
A How-To Guide For At-Home Projects
Johnson of The Craft Studio lays out a step-by-step process for some of her best crafting projects.
NYC Photo Frame
Materials needed:
- Plain picture frame (wood or cardboard)
- Modge Podge Glue
- Foam Brush
- Paint Brush
- Kitchen Sponge
- Blue and White Paint
- News Paper
This project is simple and turns out great no matter how
talented the artist is! We made these with little ones at summer camp and the
kids were so proud and their parents were stunned at the outcome.
Start by painting your frame all sky blue with a regular
paintbrush and leave to air dry for 5-10 minutes. Next make clouds by dipping a
torn piece of kitchen sponge into white paint. Begin dabbing it onto the frame. Tell your kids to peck it on like a
wood pecker instead of using it like a paint brush with brush strokes. Let dry
for another 5-10 minutes.
Next, its time to build our newspaper skyline! Rip 20-30 12” pieces of newspaper for your kids, varying in thickness from
1-3”. Roll them up as if rolling into
a tube. Brush Modge Podge glue all over your paper roll with the foam brush, to the
point that it is almost soaking in glue. Now, place it on the bottom of the
frame by simply pressing firmly and letting the Modge Podge absorb onto the
frame. Keep the frame flat and apply all
of your little paper buildings in whatever skyline shape your little artist
likes. Let air dry for two hours and viola! All of your friends will be asking where you picked up your trendy and
unique frame!
Cupcake Trinket Box
Materials Needed:
- Small round paper mache box
- Styrofoam Ball, the same diameter of your box
- Seed Beads
- Tacky Glue
- Aluminum Foil
- Paint
- Paint Brushes
- Model Magic Clay
The cupcake has become one of the most beloved treats. Kids
get so excited to make this box that looks good enough to eat!
First, before you get the kids involved, carefully use
scissors to cut the styrofoam ball in half. Next, have the kids spread tacky glue all over the bottom of one half of
the styrofoam all and the top of the lid of the box. Set aside to dry.
Next take the model magic and play with it for a minute to
get it nice and fluffy. Start forming it
into a ball by rolling it on a hard surface and begin to flat like a
pancake. Drape clay over the top of the
foam ball covered lid to form the icing. Take another small piece and make a cherry by forming it into a ball and
using your pinky to make a small indent on top. Next, paint the icing and cherry
and set aside to dry.
Grownups, rip a piece
of aluminum foil and have the kids paint stripes for the cupcake wrapper. While the wrapper dries, drizzle tacky glue
on the top of the cupcake. Pour seed
beads into a shallow bowl. Dip the
cupcake top into the seed beads and the glue will grab them to look like real
sprinkles! Finally, wrap the foil around
the bottom of the box. Now you and your
kids can get a healthy dose of sugar by only looking at the delicious treat
instead of eating one…almost as good as the real thing!
Pop Art Storage Box
Materials Needed:
- Plain white heavy-duty storage box in whatever size meets
your needs - Bright Colored Tissue Paper
- Tubes of bright colored paint
- Newspaper
- Feathers
- Gems
- Buttons
- Modge Podge glue
- Tacky Glue
- Foam Paint Brush
We all could use a little more organization, and with these
adorable boxes kids will get excited about staying neat! Let them help decorate where their stuff
belongs, and clean-up time might be a little less painful.
Start by laying newspaper all over your work area. The first
step is to decoupage the entire lid and bottom of the box. Have your kids rip
whatever sizes of tissue paper they like, there is no wrong way. To decoupage, paint with the foam brush a
small amount of Modge Podge on the box, place a piece of tissue paper on top of
the glue and, finally, paint on a little more glue over the top of the
paper. Repeat until box is covered. If a piece rips in the process, no worries,
just stick another piece on top!
Next, splatter paint over the decoupaged box. Younger kids have grownups guide little ones
by placing your hands over theirs and control the amount of squeezing done to
the tube of paint. You want just a
little to come out at a time and to keep your hand moving so it forms nice this
splattered lines all over the box. Set
aside to dry.
Lastly, use tacky glue to decorate the lid with buttons,
gems, and feathers. These boxes are so
much fun to look at. Watch your kids
become organizing machines!
Milk Jug Piggy Bags
Materials Needed:
- Washed and dried plastic milk jug
- Scissors (for grown ups)
- Pink Pipe Cleaner
- Assorted colors of paint
- Paint brush
- Pink Felt Hearts (about 1” in diameter)
Saving money and being eco-friendly go hand and hand. This project teaches kids the value of
re-using, reducing, recycling, and saving!
First grownups cut a 2″ long and a half an inch wide
slit on the middle of the side of the jug where the handle is. Also, poke a small hole for the end of the
pipe cleaner on the bottom of the jug. The lid will be the nose with the jug laid down flat on the opposite side
of the handle.
Next, have the kiddies paint the jug all pink, cap and
all. Set aside to dry for 5-10
minutes. After it is dry to the touch
have the kids paint two ovals on the cap to become the snout, and directly
above to circles to become the eyes. Let
the kids go to town and make polka or stripes if desired for their pig.
Lastly, help them coil the pink pipe cleaner around a pencil
to become the curly-cue tail. Once
shaped, remove the pencil and stick the end into the small little whole on the
bottom of the jug. Glue on the pink felt
hearts on either side of the snout nose to become your piggy’s ears.
Saving your milk money will take on a whole new
meaning! The only trick will be not
letting them break into the bank!
Work Shirt Apron
Materials Needed:
- A washed old button-down men’s shirt
- Puffy Paint
- Gems
- Buttons
- Tacky Glue
Growing up, my smocks were always just one of Dad’s old
workshirts. As summer approaches, get a
jump on next year’s school supplies by using one of these long hot days to make your school apron!
What was old becomes new again! Use puffy fabric paint and
let your kids go to town. Splatters are
just as fun as actual designs. You
might want to help them out by writing their name and maybe a few fun catch
phrases like “peace and love”. Let the
puffy paint dry over night.
The next day, finish your smock by gluing on gems and fun
buttons. Your child will be the most
eco-chic student in the class next year!
Gilded Pasta Mirrors
Materials Needed:
- Wooden framed mirror
- Various shaped un-cooked pasta (Bow-ties, elbows, any thing
small) - Various colors of paint but gold and silver a must
- Tacky Glue
- Paint Brush
- Glitter Paint
With the newly-married couple, the world is mad for
everything regal and royal. This mirror
made out of the household staple, pasta, is fit for any queen or king!
Start by lining the mirror part with masking tape to protect
it from the paint. Don’t worry, Windex will take care of any little oops.
Use a plastic plate and dump various pasta pieces (smaller
pieces, spaghetti or linguine are too long). Drizzle gold and silver paint over
the pasta for the little ones and let them take a paintbrush and dab it all
over the pasta. If desired, they can paint bright colors on a few pasta pieces
to ad a pop of color. It is okay if not
all of it gets covered. Set aside to
dry.
Have the kids pick one solid color to paint the wood frame,
and let dry for 5-10 minutes. Once the gilded pasta is dry glue on to the mirror in
whatever pattern they like. The pasta
ends up looking very ornate and regal. Let dry for 5-10 minutes. Finish by painting a touch of glitter on top
of the pasta mirror.
Grown-ups help the kids remove the masking tape and then
marvel at how something as basic as macaroni can become so dazzling!
Feather Jeweled Hair Clips
Materials Needed:
- Plain Metal Hair Barrette
- Fun Colored Feathers
- Assorted Gems
- Tacky glue
Feathers and fun hair accessories are all the rage this
summer! Create your own one-of-a-kind
hair accessory and stand out in the crowd with this simple craft!
Pick out one or two feathers in your favorite color hues and
a gem that you think will pop in contrast and set aside. Place a thin line of tacky glue all the way down the length
of the top of a barrette. Line up the
end of the barrette with the bottom of the feather and place on glue
strip. Set aside to dry for about a half
hour.
Next, put a small dot of glue on the end, stem part of the
feather and place your gem on top. Let
dry for about an hour.
That’s it you’re
done, but the oooos and ahhhhs of your friends and family will continue for
days!
