Junk models Archives - Page 6 of 6

Lollipop stick craft: Popsicle Playground

11/07/2011 by Cathy James 12 Comments

I talked yesterday about one of the golden rules for a happy school holiday being to provide some great supplies for the kids to use, so I thought today I’d show you what fabulous play (and learning) can happen when we give children materials to try out.

This is B’s idea for a lollipop stick craft: a Popsicle Park. Lollipop sticks, along with paper plates, toilet roll tubes and egg boxes, are one of the craft supplies we always have in stock, ready and waiting for when inspiration strikes and my master crafter needs to make something. [Read more…]

The Very Hungry Caterpillar craft ideas: butterflies

22/06/2011 by Cathy James 12 Comments

Following on from yesterday’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar craft ideas for caterpillars, today we have a selection of butterfly crafts.

The designs are all very simple again, making them easy for very young children to try.

Working with the idea of butterflies gives the opportunity to talk about symmetry and with older children you might want to encourage them to focus on creating matching patterns, as part of a more mathematical activity.

With young children though I think the main purpose behind these crafts is to invite them to enjoy the colours and see what patterns they can make – so I wouldn’t worry about strict directions about making sure both sides match.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar craft ideas: butterfly printing

This idea is a childhood classic – painting on one side of a piece of paper, folding and squishing the paint, and then opening it up to reveal your butterfly.

I particularly love this technique because it’s open to all children – even babies. Everyone can join in: finger painting, smearing colour around, making hand prints, using brushes or sponges to apply the paint. And my kids really love the surprise reveal when the final pattern is peeled open and revealed.

Two tips I’d share:

1. It might be hard for the children to understand the idea of painting at first on one side of the paper only, and you won’t want to pester them all through the activity to stop painting on the other side. If you fold the paper over so the side to be kept clear is underneath and only the side that needs painting is presented to them (see above), then they can go for it, applying the paint wherever they like, without any restrictions. When they’ve finished you can fold it the other way to make your print.

2. I’d do a demonstration of the folding and squishing first before using their own art work – some children can be very upset if they think you’re spoiling their design, so best for them to be happy with the plan before you try it.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar craft ideas: butterfly mobiles

These twirling butterflies were inspired by an idea Amanda created for Make and Takes. Amanda’s children made ladybirds, but I think they’re also beautiful with a butterfly design, and the kids can paint, pattern or collage any design they choose.

Make and Takes has a step-by-step guide to assembling them.

A tip I’d add: if you laminate the pieces of card before assembling them they’ll withstand a little rain so you can have them twirling in the garden.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar craft ideas: peg butterflies

We used a wooden clothes peg to make a butterfly mobile: here’s our step-by-step guide showing how we made it.

Junk modelling giraffe

31/05/2011 by Cathy James 8 Comments

Taking my own advice for turning this half term holiday staycation into a fun filled PLAYcation, our making box is well stocked with packets and boxes and old wrapping paper this week. My eight-year-old especially loves junk modelling and it amazes me how she can delve into a box of junk, select a few boxes and re-appear an hour later with a creation.

I love encouraging junk modelling because of course it’s a fabulous free activity, and it challenges children to be creative, think about sizes and dimensions and problem-solve as they create their masterpiece.

Today B made a junk model giraffe. I asked her if she set out to make a giraffe or if the boxes she found suggested it to her and it seems this time she was fulfilling a brief requested by her little sister, who wanted a new animal to live in her safari park.

You can see she’s used sticky tape to fasten the body parts together, which is the girls’ favourite method for sticking as they never want to wait for glue to dry before they start playing. I’d recommend getting a weighted tape dispenser which makes it much easier for kids to use the tape by themselves, so they can grab some when they get a creative urge. The giraffe is stuck to a platform with a ribbon attached so it can be pulled along and go for a walk.

What might your kids junk model this week? If they’re in need of inspiration our archive has dragons, snakes, castles, double decker buses, houses and a city to spark some ideas.

Like our ideas? Please VOTE FOR US in the UK Mum and Dad Blog awards!

happily shared with child centred art party mini masterpieces and kids get crafty

Junk model ideas

20/04/2011 by Cathy James 10 Comments

Are you celebrating Earth Day with your children this Friday 22nd April 2011? For environmentally-friendly, creative play we love to make junk models. We love using items from our craft box which otherwise would be thrown away – turning them into toys and extending the life of the materials.

Here’s a showcase of our favourite upcycled junk models. If you have any more ideas you can share with us, please leave a link in the comments or on our Facebook page – we’re always looking for new inspiration and have a stack of boxes ready to go!

A riding stables created from the contents of our making box

A dragon made from egg boxes

A double decker bus from a shoe box

A cardboard box ride on train

A dinosaur world from a cardboard box

And have a look at our the ideas shared by all our Play Academy community in our Carnival of Junk Play

happily shared with made by little hands Monday and Friday’s nature table and preschool creations and the resource centre and creative Friday and for the kids Friday and It’s Playtime and upcycled awesome and kids get crafty

Junk model nativity

28/11/2010 by Cathy James 13 Comments

…. Click here …. for your guide to a cosy and connected winter with your family.

Do you have a nativity scene your children can play with? Advent begins today and I know my girls will spend December dressing up as kings, reading Christmas story picture books and generally bursting into a round of Away In A Manger at any opportunity. We have a beautiful nativity scene which decorates our sitting room each year but it is too delicate for the girls to play with, so this year we decided to make a version the girls can use. And you’ll probably guess what are figures are made of: toilet roll tubes (which does seem rather inapproriate for such holy characters but I hope we don’t offend.)

The figures were made by wrapping fabric and card around the tubes and glueing into place: a very simple design the girls can make with just a little adult help, and giving them their own nativity to play with to their hearts content.

Let’s make this winter the year when we delight in the cold and the dark.

Gather your children, get cosy, and make memories and connections together.

I’ll show you how with this guide to a cosy and connected winter:

…. CLICK HERE FOR YOUR GUIDE ….

Junk model horse riding stables

09/11/2010 by Cathy James 34 Comments

We’re getting ready for the Carnival of Junk Play on Friday 3rd December!

What do you think of our riding school? We have stables, jumps, a daisy filled paddock and some prize winning rosettes – and all made for free using re-cycled materials from our beloved making box. B has been off school ill this week and we needed a good ‘sitting down’ activity to keep us busy and cheer us up – and this is what we made. It was a totally spontaneous project, put together after a rummage through the junk box to see what materials we could find.

The base is made from a big piece of cardboard from a packing box, which happened to have a circular shape marked out in the centre which seemed to say ‘paddock’! The jump is made from two Smarties tubes, turned inside out, with a wooden skewer, snapped in half and poked through the tubes to make the cross bars.

The stables are made from tissue boxes, and the one on the end which has proper stable doors is made from a teabag box. We covered them in sugar paper, held in place with sticky tape – as you know we can’t wait for glue to dry when we want to get playing. The prize winning rosettes are made from little gift bows salvaged from some presents, with a ribbon made from sugar paper.

We have a bucket with a pipe-cleaner handle, wool for straw and a biscuit tray cut up and stuck inside each stable to make a feeding trough (there’s probably a proper horsey word for that isn’t there?) The bunting is made from wool, old wrapping paper and held up on wooden skewers. And the paddock was painted with poster paint, sprinkled with a little glitter while it was still wet, and with some daisies (cut from a remnant of edging from my sewing basket) glued on.

Not all our junk models are this grand – L’s boat was very simple, but they both sum up what I love best about junk modelling:

it’s recycled, it costs nothing, it’s creative and it’s makes a toy with lots more play value to it.

Want more happy handmade crafts?

Our Happy Handmade resource is bursting with colourful and imaginative crafts and DIY toys that are designed to add even more colour and creativity to your home. With easy-to-follow tutorials and free patterns and printables, you can read, make, and start playing today! See more of Happy Handmade here.

Peg dolls

29/06/2010 by Cathy James 15 Comments

We had so much fun making these peg dolls! The wooden pegs costs less than a pound for about 24 and everything else came from our making boxes, so they’re a great frugal activity – perfect for the summer holidays. What I always like about these kind of crafts is that there’s so much playing you can do with what you’ve made. You can put on a puppet show, take them for a ride on your double decker bus, let them move into your fairy garden… wherever the kids’ imaginations take them.

If you make some peg dolls, we would LOVE to see them. You can share a photo on our Facebook page.

Happily shared with and teach mama Craft Schooling Sunday