Stay Engaged: Crafting Time with the Kiddos

Are you looking for more ideas of easy crafts you can do at home? Here’s a few more fun ideas from our Lifestyle Team – that are easy to customize and you can use things you may already have on hand.

You’ll need:

Layer the two coffee filters on top of each other, and flatten them out a little. Then have your kids color their designs onto the filters using the markers.  After they are finished, take the eye dropper or spoon and a little water, and dampen the coffee filters completely, (we recommend on a baking sheet, to catch any mess!) Lay the filters outside to dry (which should happen pretty quickly with the Arizona summer right around the corner!)

Take them inside and separate the two layers. Then fold each one individually back and forth, (accordion style). You should end up with two strips. Then lay the two strips on top of each other, and twist the pipe cleaner around the middle. Pinch and bend the ends of the pipe cleaner to make little antennae. Finally, let your children pull apart the folds to reveal their beautiful butterfly!

Sand crafts and sand art are fun and easy, and serve as the base for lots of creative and sensory projects. Plus by making your own, you can better control the exact customized color and quantity of each. Got a lover of lavender? Make more of that. Shades of blue more your child’s preference? You can make a whole set of options from sky to navy.

You’ll need:

-5 heaping spoons of damp sand (The little bit of moisture in the sand will help it to hold to the color better)

-1 spoon of powdered paint

Place the combo into small Ziploc bags, and give to your kids to shake and mix it up. Have a dance party while you do! And don’t just stick to one color – mix the colors for new combos all your own. Put the result into empty water bottles, layering to make colorful keepsakes!