Crafts for kids

Last night I went to babysit for a family a block over. As I normally do, I brought some crafts. Last night we made socktopus (with out the eyes, because I forgot the felt ggrrr) and fabric wreaths. I do not have step by step instructions for you do to the fact that the kids made these and I do not take photos of anyone I babysit for. I waited til the kids we asleep to take the photo.




For the Wreath:

*You need a gold metal craft ring.
I found mine at Hobby Lobby in the leather section. I do know that Walmart carries them and I'm sure other craft stores do as
well. They come in many sizes
*Fabric 3-4 patterns- about 1/2 a yard each. cut into strips *you will need a lot of strips.

~Cut the fabric into strips that are about 2 in. wide and 4-6 inches tall. (I pre cut these at home)
It juts depends on how fluffy you want your wreath to be. You can see the shorter pieces were used on the wreath on the right
hand side where the longer pieces were used on the wreath to the left in the photo above)

~Next lay out all of your fabric in piles to make it easy to pull from and easy to stick to a pattern.

~Then you take one piece of fabric at a time and tie it to the ring, (we double knotted them) following the pattern. Fabric 1, Fabric 2, Fabric 3, Fabric 1....etc.

~ Make sure to tie them tight and squish them as close together as you can, so your wreath will look full.

~That's it. That's all there is too it.... Take a large piece of fabric and cut it into a long strip and use it to tie a loop around your wreath to hang it if you wish.



The Socktopus:
~To make 1

* 1 knee high sock in super fun colors.(if you wan longer legs, or 1 regular sock if you want short legs)
~I got mine at Target yesterday in the woman's section. They were on sale for $1.50 a pair

* Some fluffy stuffing (you'd use to stuff a plush)

* 2 rubberbands

What to do:

~Ok first tings first, take your sock and turn it inside out.

~next gather together just the toe of the sock (like you would a pony tail) and rubberband it as tight as you can.
*Adult may need to help with this depending on the age of the child.

~ Turn your sock back the correct way and begin filling with the stuffing. Stuff to heel. A*You're making the head.At this time you
can shape the head to be more oval or round.

~ Take you second rubberband and wrap it around the bottom of your head to keep the stuffing in place. Again make sure it's wrapped tightly and a grownup might need to assist.

~ Now you have the leg of the sock left. You are going to cut the leg in half. Then cut each half in half, and do it once more until
you have 8 legs.

~ From here you can cut felt or use buttons for the eyes, attaching them by sewing or hot gluing... we didn't because I forgot the felt pieces at home, BOOO! The kids didn't seem to mind.

~You're done, that's it! We had the BEST Socktopus wars after we were finished. Finally something the kids can toss around the house that won't hurt the house (stay away from the room with the decorative plates though) or each other.

Adventures in Babysitting

So last night I went to babysit for a neighbor and their friend. I had 4 kids ages 3,5,6, and 10), 3 girls and 1 boy. Now, as any good babysitter knows, you bring fun things for the little Monkey's to do. In my case it's usually some sort of craft or cooking/baking project. Usually we make craft projects that the families love and keep and not so much the paper and glue stuff.

However today we did use some paper (scrapbooking paper) and glue Mod Podge). We also used large Chip Board Letters (You can also use wooden ones that are easy to find). Everything needed for this project can be found at any craft store. I just happened to go to Hobby Lobby.

What you will need:
~Scrapbooking paper
~Stickers
~Sand Paper
~Foam Brushes

~Large Chipboard (or Wooden) letters

~Mod Podge
~Tin Foil or Wax Paper

*Ok first things first, line your workspace with the foil or wax paper (to prevent Mod Podge from slipping where you don't want it)

*Put your Chipboard letter down on the Foil.
*Start ripping your scrapbook paper and play around with the layout to see how you want it to look on your letter.
~~(Do not cut/rip it to fit. You want the pieces to hang off the letter and over lap... you'll see why in a bit).
*After you have a pattern lift all our pieces off and smother one section of your letter with the Mod Podge. Don't be afraid to put a lot on and place your first piece of scrapbooking paper down and press firmly.
*Repeat this process over and over until your entire letter is covered.
*Next brake out the stickers and add some if you wish.
*Take more Mod Podge and place a nice even layer over the paper and stickers. (Cover even the parts of the paper that are hanging over the edges) Don't worry it dries clear.
~~At this point your your letter wont look like it's suppose to since your paper pieces are majorly hanging over the edge (just like it's suppose to).
*Wait until the Mod Podge dries. If you get the glossy Mod Podge (It's cheaper than the matte) it will be shiny.
*When it's dry you are going to take you piece of sand paper and sand the edges of your letter. The sand paper acts almost like scissors and will rub off the scrapbook paper.

*That's it. Well that's all we did. You can get some ink pads and then go back and ink the edges or do whatever you want. The possibilities are endless. Just have fun and create.

Here is our finished products from last night (minus mine).