Tuesday 18 December 2012

Lightning Bug Glowing Magnet

Lightning Bug Glowing Magnet

Summer nights usually bring around lots of lightning bugs to catch in a jar or watch lighting up the sky! Make your own Glow in the Dark Lightning Bug Magnet that you can stick on the fridge and light your way for a late night snack!
Lightning Bug Glowing Magnet
Materials
Shimmer Sticks 12 Pack
Magnetic Tape Strips 18 pack
Rainbow Poms Medium Size 125 Pack
Pony Beads Glow In The Dark
Wood Clothespins
Craft Glue
Scissors
Instructions

Step 1. Gather your supplies.
Make a Magnet with Glow in the Dark Pony Beads

Craft a Pony Bead Magnet

Step 2.

Let’s first create the wings of the lightning bug. Thread (15) Glow In the Dark Pony Beads onto a Shimmer Stick. In our example, we used all of the same color, however you are welcome to use different colors if you want!
Kids Craft Magnet

Step 3.

After stringing the (15) beads, twist the end of the Shimmer Stick to form one side of the wing.
Lightening Bug Magnet

Step 4.

Repeat with (15) beads on the other side of the Shimmer Stick. Make sure to leave a 1/4-inch gap of Shimmer Stick in between the two wings. Trim any excess Shimmer Stick material.
Make a magnet with pony beads and a clothespin

Step 5.

Open the Wooden Clothespin and notice the small notch in the clip pointed out here.
Make a Pony Bead Lightening Bug Magnet

Step 6.

Insert wings into mouth placing the gap of the Shimmer Stick down at small notch. This will allow the wings to sit more comfortably in the Clothespin for the craft but still allow you to use the Clothespin to hold items.
Lightening Bug Magnet with Glow in the Dark Pony Beads

Step 7.

Glue (5) small black Poms onto the Clothespin, beginning at the top mouth area. This is the body of the lightning bug.
How to make a kids craft magnet

Step 8.

Glue (3) yellow Glow In the Dark Pony beads at the tail end of the lightning bug’s body.  In a real lightning bug, this is the area that you usually see flashing at night.
make a glow in the dark lightening bug magnet

Step 9.

Once dry, adhere a Magnetic Strip to the other side of the Clothespin to complete your Lightning Bug Glowing Magnet. Tip: as we have added a lot of weight to this clothespin with the beads, you may need to use glue to adhere the Magnetic Strip for some extra adhesive support.
Now your lightening bug is ready for display!

Magnetic Pencil Holder

Magnetic Pencil Holder

Recycle your cardboard cereal boxes, decorate and turn into a fun pencil holder! Add super strong Magnetic Neo Buttons to the back and you have created a great locker accessory.
Magnetic Pencil Holder
Materials
Paint Brushes 30 Pack
Magnets Neo-Buttons
Acrylic Paint Jars 24 Pack
Skinny Sticks
Recycled cereal box
Heavy Duty Scissors **May require adult assistance
Ruler
Pencil
Craft Glue
Instructions
Step 1. Gather your supplies.


Step 2.

Cut a cereal box bottom down so that you have a 2” half box as shown. Begin gluing Skinny Sticks horizontally across the bottom left of the box. Continue to attach skinny Sticks until you reach the top of the box.

Step 3.

Using your ruler, measure the length of the remainder of the box that still needs to be covered. Next measure the sides of the box.

Step 4.

Use heavy duty scissors to cut your sticks to the size needed.* Ask for assistance from an adult for this step.

Step 5.

Glue the cut sticks into place on the front and sides of the box. Tip:you will not need to cover the back of the box as it will be hung with magnets and hidden from view.

Step 6.

Cut (3) 2 inch pieces of Skinny Sticks. Glue the pieces vertically along the front corner edges and the middle seam where the sticks meet as shown.

Step 7.

Paint your pencil holder with Acrylic Paint.

Step 8.

Glue your Magnetic Neo Buttons to the back of the pencil holder. Place (3) magnets evenly across the back.
Once dry choose a magnetic spot -such as a locker to keep your pencil holder!

Pinwheel Pencil Topper

Pinwheel Pencil Topper

Get geared up to head back to school! Learn how to make a pinwheel then add it to the top of your pencil and make writing assignments fun!
Pinwheel Pencil Topper
Materials
Paint Brushes 6 Pack Triangle Handle
Fuzzy Sticks 100 Pack Princess Color
Shimmer Sticks 12 Pack
Acrylic Paint Jars 24 Pack
Aluminum Foil
Paper
Scissors
Push Pin **be careful of sharp point
Pencil
Glue Stick
Instructions
Step 1. Gather your supplies.
back to school pencil topper with a pinwheel accessory


Step 2.

Cut a 3 inch piece of paper and then use a glue stick to glue it onto the dull side of a piece of aluminum foil. Tip: Use a piece of foil that is larger than the 3 inch square as you will cut it down later in another step. 

Step 3.

Use your Acrylic Paint to decorate the paper with a unique design. It is best to use bright colors and simple patterns. Make sure to allow the paint to dry thoroughly before continuing. 

Step 4.

Trim the extra foil from your paper.
How to make a pinwheel

Step 5.

Cut  a slit in each corner of the paper toward the middle, but stop about halfway. Do not cut the paper all the way across.
learn how to form a pinwheel

Step 6.

Using a glue stick, add glue to the middle of the foil. 

Step 7.

You will now begin forming your pinwheel shape. Take one corner of your paper and fold to the middle. Press down to make sure it sticks.

Step 8.

Add some more glue to the middle of your pinwheel. Fold in every other corner to create the pinwheel effect. You'll want to overlap these pieces slightly in the middle. 

Step 9.

Gently press your push pin through the center of the pinwheel to secure the shape. 

Step 10.

Push the sharp end of the pin into eraser on your pencil. Don't push through too far, you want to leave room  the pinwheel to spin.  Test your pinwheel by gently blowing it.


Step 11.

Decorate the pencil by wrapping aShimmer Stick and a Fuzzy Stick around it. Tip: don't wrap the sticks too high on the pencil or you won't be able to spin the pinwheel.

Homework Pencil Door Hanger

Homework Pencil Door Hanger

If you need some privacy while working on your homework, why not make a fun Homework Pencil Door Hanger to let family members know that you're hard at work?!
Homework Pencil Door Hanger
Materials
Hemp Cord in White, Tan, Black
Acrylic Paint Pots 12 pack
Stamp Pad Rainbow Colors
Wood Craft Sticks 75 Pack Jumbo
Craft Glue
Heavy Duty Scissors - may require adult assistance
Newspaper or scrap paper
Instructions
Step 1. Gather your supplies.


Step 2. 

Using heavy duty scissors, cut (1) jumbo craft stick in half. *This might require adult assistance. 

Step 3.

Using heavy duty scissors, cut (1) jumbo craft stick into three equal parts. * This might require adult assistance.

Step 4.

Lay (4) jumbo craft sticks side by side to form the pencil body. Use the rectangular center piece cut in step 3 and lay on center of pencil body as shown. Use glue to adhere the pieces together.
 

Step 5.

Form the tip of the pencil by placing the two half pieces from Step 1 on pencil body to form tip.

Step 6. 

To fill in the gap, use the last two smaller pieces from Step 3 on the pencil as shown. Use glue to adhere together.

Step 7.

Once the glue is dry, flip pencil sign over and paint the sign. Paint the pencil body orange, the tip area tan, and the very end of the tip black, like you would find on a real pencil.

Step 8. 

To write words on your sign, press foam stamp letters onto the blue ink of your Rainbow Stamp Pad. Press inked foam stamp onto pencil sign. Spell "Doing Homework" with foam stamps.

Step 9.

Glue a ribbon or piece of Hemp Cord to back of pencil sign. Once dry, hang on the door handle whenever you're doing your homework!

Beaded Mosaic Inspired by Turkish Tile

Beaded Mosaic Inspired by Turkish Tile

The art of Turkish tile making dates back to the Byzantine Era, and has been continually evolving in style through the centuries. The tiles were used in architectural decor in places such as Mosques and bath houses. The tiles tend to feature the same glaze palette, especially colors, such as turquoises and blues. The motif of the tiles features floral, plants and arabesque scroll designs. Here is one simple kid’s craft project inspired by Turkish tile making using beads!
 Beaded Mosaic Inspired by Turkish Tile
Materials
Pony Beads Dark Pearl Colors
Pony Beads Red
Pony Beads White
cardboard - 5 x 5 inch piece
Template
Craft Glue
Pencil
Scissors
Instructions
Step 1. Gather your supplies.


Step 2. 

For this project, we have provided a template you can download by clicking the “template” button under the picture of the Turkish Tile project. Page 1 of the template is blank so that you can fill in your own design, as shown here. After drawing your design, fill in each square with a letter that corresponds to a bead color.

Step 3.

Page 2 of the template contains a pre-printed design we created. Colors are already listed on each square with a key that shows what the letters represent.
 

Step 4. 

Cut out your template and glue to a piece of cardboard that is cut to the same size as the template.

Step 5.

Apply glue to each square and place on a bead with a coordinating color to that listed on your template.

Step 6.

Continue placing the glue and beads row by row until your design is complete.
You will now have a gorgeous tile to display!

Beaded Collage inspired by Aboriginal Dream Paintings

Beaded Collage inspired by Aboriginal Dream Paintings

Aboriginal Dream Paintings are beautiful in their detailed imagery and incredible use of dots, lines and patterns. Inspire children by reading about Aboriginal creation myths and then create beaded collages based on these myths. Or have children create their own stories which they use as inspiration in their beaded art collage.
Beaded Collage inspired by Aboriginal Dream Paintings
Materials
Paint Brushes 6 Pack Triangle Handle
Hemp Cord in White, Tan, Black
Acrylic Paint Jars 24 Pack
Pony Beads Pearl Brights Mix
Wood Craft Sticks 75 Pack Jumbo
Pencil
Craft Glue
Instructions
Step 1. Gather your supplies.
Beaded Collage

Beaded Collage

Step 2.

To create your frame, take (8) Jumbo Craft Sticks and place them down vertically adjacent to each other to form a square. Take (3) additional Jumbo Craft Sticks and glue them horizontally across the (8) vertical craft sticks.

Step 3.

Paint the front of your frame. We used a mixture of blue and gold Acrylic Paint.
Beaded Collage

Step 4.

Using a pencil, draw in your design. We chose to paint a snake, which is often depicted in Aboriginal dream paintings.

Step 5.

Paint your design and also paint any background elements. 
Beaded Collage

Step 6.

As Aboriginal Dream Paintings are often made using dots, lines and patterns, we chose Pony Beads to represent the dotted look. Once your frame is dry, begin to decorate your images with Pony Beads, such as Bright Pearl Pony Beads or a Tub of Pony Beads. 
Beaded Collage

Step 7.

Once all your beads are glued down, finish your design with painted dots in other open spaces. 

Step 8.

To create a hanger for your painting, glue (2) Pony Beads on the top edges and thread a piece of Hemp Cord through.
Further Discussion: In our painting we painted a Rainbow Snake. In Aboriginal tales, the Rainbow Snake, is believed to have helped to create mountains and valleys throughout the world. Have your class create their own myth or folktale and paint a "Dream Painting" based on their story.