Tree of Thanks

Tree of Thanks

Ages: All ages

Parental supervision suggested when working with scissors and bent paper clips

Difficulty: * * * * *

Time: 10-20 minutes

Celebrate everything you are thankful for!  Below is a list of supplies you will need to create this beautiful Tree of Thanks.  Ask holiday visitors to add their own leaves of thanks to your tree.

Materials Needed (located at your favorite craft store):

• Sticks or twigs from a tree or bush
• Vase
• Construction Paper (orange, brown, yellow, red)
•  Scissors
• Christmas ornament hanger or bent paper clips
•  Permanent markers

How-to Steps:

1. Choose a bare branch from a tree or shrub.  Choose one that has lots of little branches.
2. Place branch in vase.
3. Place each leaf on a hook or bent paper clip.
4. Have family and guests write things they are thankful for on one side of the leaf and their name and date on the other side.
5. Hang the leaves from your tree branch.
6. Save the leaves to use again next year and add more each year!Draw leaf shapes onto the colored paper and cut the leaves out.

Election Day Button

Election Day Button

Ages: 4 and up

Parental supervision recommended

Difficulty:  *****

Time: 15-30 minutes

This cute button is perfect for your little one when they tag along when you vote this Election Day!  He or she will be styling with their very own button identifying them as a future voice!

Materials Needed (located at your favorite craft store):

• Frozen juice can lid
• Felt: Red, white & blue
• Scissors
• Star Stickers
• Pin back
• White craft glue
• Black or blue marker

How-to Steps:

1. Place the juice can lid on top of a piece of red felt. Trace the lid onto the felt and set aside.
2. Cut a 5” triangle out of blue felt; cut a small triangle from bottom to make it look like a ribbon.
3. Cut a 4” triangle out of white felt; cut a small triangle from bottom to make it look like a ribbon.
4. Glue the white felt cutout onto the blue felt cutout.
5. Take the red felt that you traced the lid onto and cut a scallop (wavy) design around the traced line.
6. Glue lid to red felt.
7. Glue blue and white felt to the back of the red felt.
8. Use marker to write “future voter” on the juice lid.
9. Decorate with star stickers.
10. Glue a pin back to the back of the red felt and let dry.

Personalized Journal

Personalized Journal

Ages: 6 and up

Parental supervision recommended

Difficulty:  ***** 

Time:  about 10 minutes

Turn a boring notebook into a personal work of art!  The duct tape cover will also make the notebook more durable.  Use your book for class or keep a journal!

Materials Needed (located at your favorite craft store):

• Composition notebook
• Duct Tape (various colors and patterns now available)
• Permanent Markers
• Ruler
• Scissors

How-to Steps:

1. Measure your notebook from top to bottom.  Round up the number to the next full inch.  Add 4 inches to that number. 
2. Measure and cut a strip of duct tape to the above length.
3. Attach the tape to the notebook cover starting at the top, leaving about 2 inches to wrap around the inside cover.  Alternate between patterned and solid color tape to add interest if desired.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until the entire book is covered.
5. If you wish, use permanent markers to add more detail. 

Button Earrings

Button Earrings

Ages: 4 and up

Parental supervision recommended

Difficulty: * * * * *

Time: 15-30 minutes

If you have pierced ears, this is the craft for you!  Below are a list of materials and directions on how to make a new pair of earrings out of buttons!  You may need a parent or guardian to help you prepare the buttons and use the glue. 

Materials Needed (located at your favorite craft store):

• A pair of matching buttons (preferably with a flat back)
• A button shank remover (if the button does not have a flat back)
• Metal earring backs (one for each button)
• Gorilla glue (or other really strong glue)
• Scrapbook paper (to display or give as a gift)

How-to Steps:

1. Pick out your buttons & remove from packaging.
2. If the buttons have a shank, or stem, on the back, ask an adult to help you remove it with a button shank remover.
3.  Hold the buttons up to your ear to decide where you want to place the earring backs.  Then, put the buttons face-down on a flat surface. 
4. Carefully put gorilla glue on one earring back and place it on the back of your first button.  Repeat for the second button.  Let the glue dry for 1-2 hours.
5.  If giving as a gift, put the earrings on a square of scrapbook paper and put them in a small box or bag.

Magazine Tree

Magazine Tree

Ages: 3 and up
Parental supervision suggested
Difficulty Level: *****

Time: 45 minutes

Make your own unique tree in celebration of spring’s arrival.  This craft applies mosaic techniques using recyclable materials.

Materials Needed (located at your favorite craft store):

• White paper
• Brown paint (I used tempera)
• Paint brush
• Drinking straw
• Discarded magazines, junk mail, or newspaper inserts
• Glue

How-to Steps:

1. Using the brush, drip a little brown paint near the center of the paper.
2. Immediately, blow through the straw, spreading the paint into random lines.
3. Continue dripping and blowing paint, turning the paper as needed, until you are satisfied with the shape of your tree.
4. Use the brush to thicken the trunk if needed. (The tree trunk could also be drawn and colored or covered with torn brown paper, rather than painted.  One technique is to trace your hand and arm.) 
5. While the paint is drying, find 3 or 4 green pictures in your discarded papers.  Tear the pictures into small pieces. 
6. Apply glue to a small area of your tree and immediately place torn green paper “leaves” on the glue.  Repeat until you are satisfied with your tree’s shape.
7. You could also add a torn-paper sky or a picture of a tree-loving animal (bird, squirrel, frog, snake, bat, etc.).

Enchanted Kingdom

Enchanted Kingdom

Ages: 4 and up

Parental supervision recommended

Difficulty *****

Time 20-30 minutes

Create your own enchanted kingdom from everyday items, a few craft supplies, and a dash of imagination. A suggested supply list can be found below.

Materials Needed (located at your favorite craft store):

• Empty paper towel tubes
• Transparent tape or glue
• Pencil for tracing a circle
• Pretty wrapping paper
• Scissors
• Construction Paper
• Yarn, string, fishing line, streamers (any or all of these)
• Clip art or cut outs of animals and people you would like to have in your kingdom
• Clip art or cut outs of small flags, banners, Pom Poms, pipe cleaners, stars, stickers, or other decorations for your kingdom
• Cardboard or poster board to use as a foundation for your kingdom

How-to Steps:

1. Measure and cut paper of your choice to cover the outside of your paper towel tubes.
2. Secure the paper to the tube with glue and or tape. These tubes will be the towers in your kingdom.
3. Use construction paper for your tower roofs by tracing a circle onto construction paper, then cutting a single line to the center of the circle. Fold into a cone shape. Glue paper cone to the top of your decorated tube.
4. Repeat these steps until you have as many towers as you want in your kingdom. Glue the base of your towers to a large piece of cardboard or poster paper, then decorate with clip art, stickers, pom -poms and other items of your choice. This craft was inspired by the book 123 I Can Build! by Irene Luxbacher.

Bottle Top Fish Counting

Bottle Top Fish Counting Craft

Ages: 3-5 years

Parental assistance may be needed with smaller children

Difficulty: * * * * * (2/5)

Time: 20-30 minutes

This counting craft ties in with the summer reading theme, Reading is MathMagical.  You will be creating an underwater scene using plastic bottle lids to make fish.  A number on the fish determines how many air bubbles you’ll make for each, which encourages counting and number recognition.  Let your imagination swim away with you on this craft!

Materials Needed (located at your favorite craft store):

• One piece of blue construction paper (any shade of blue)
• 3-5 plastic bottle lids (any size you have, and enough to make as many fish as you like)
• Sharpies
• Construction paper scraps of any color
• Scraps of tissue paper
• Glue stick
• Glue Dots (to affix lids to paper – less messy, no dry time required)
• Small Styrofoam plate
• White paint
• Drinking straw

How-to Steps:

1. Choose how many fish to include in your underwater scene.  That’s how many lids you’ll need.  Use the Sharpies to draw on fish faces and gills.  Parents, write a random number somewhere on the fish.  This indicates how many bubbles we need to make later on.
2. Next you’ll use the construction paper scraps to make a tail and fins.  Arrange them on the construction paper however you choose.  Then attach Glue Dots to the edge of the lids, and place lids over paper fins and tail to form the fish.  You can use regular white glue or glue sticks if you don’t have Glue Dots. 
3. Take the tissue paper and scrunch it however you’d like to make the seaweed.  Rub the glue stick of the construction paper and arrange the tissue paper into seaweed stalks.
4. Squeeze some white paint onto a small Styrofoam plate.  Take the drinking straw and dip it into the paint.  Then press the straw onto the blue construction paper making the correct number of bubbles for each fish.

Your scene is complete!  Proudly display it for everyone to see!