String + Trees = One Big Web

This kid made web was created from over 1000 feet of yarn. The kids really enjoyed spinning their tangled green web through the forest. It was huge! It was a huge (temporary) string art craft project of sorts. The only rules I made were no knots and don't tie one another up in your web which I am sure was very tempting.

The follow up activity was to create a big ball of yarn as the web was removed. This web was done on private property. Caution would have to be taken if doing it on public lands. We would not want strangers to get caught in our web!

Invention Crafts - 2 liter Bird Feeder

This is a simple nature craft using a plastic bottle, a wooden skewer, twine, and birdseed. The young inventor first removed the label off the bottle using kid safe scissors.

Wash the inside and the outside of the bottle. Drain as much water as you can from the bottle. Place the lid on the bottle and dry the outside of the bottle.

About 3 inches from the bottom of the bottle draw a 3 "x 3" square or an arched topped square on both sides of the bottle using a Sharpie marker. Make sure the openings match up on opposite sides of the bottle. You could give the child a pattern to trace. Cut out the marked sections. I started the opening for my grandchild using a sharp knife. The child then used a pair of kid safe scissors to finish the cutting.

Make sure that there are no sharp edges on the bottle openings. Using a paper towel and the bottle openings dry the inside of the bottle. Tie a 4-5 foot piece of twine or heavy string around the neck of the bottle. Center the twine/knot on the bottle neck to leave you matching lengths of twine to be used to tie to the feeder to a tree branch.

Cut a small "X" one inch below the center of your bottle openings using a sharp knife. (This should be done by an adult) A drill with a small bit could also be used by an adult. Don't make the wholes or "X's" too big, you want the wooden skewer to fit tightly.

Push the wooden skewer through one "X", now push the skewer through the bottle and out the "X" on the other side of the bottle. Center the skewer in the bottle. This creates a wooden perch for the birds to sit on on both sides of the bird feeder. Snip off the sharp end of the skewer and add a bit of masking or duct tape to both ends of the skewer to help protect eyes and skin from any sharp edges.

Take the bird feeder outdoors. Hang the bird feeder on a sturdy branch in a tree. Placing it where it can be seen from an indoor window is really fun. Fill the bottle/bird feeder to just above the wooden perch with wild birdseed. Now, sit back and watch the birds discover this very special treat!

Interesting note: Three of my granddaughters saw the finished bird feeder hanging in their cousins tree just minutes of him being home with his finished project. I received a frantic phone call that they all wanted to make one too. I was too busy that day but promised we would do the project the next day. They all arrived the next day and were thrilled to create their very own bird feeders. They took them home and hung them in their trees which are right across the street from the cousins feeder they had seen the day before.

The feeders were quickly found by the birds. With the kids watching they discovered that the birds finished the seed from the girls feeders before the one across the street which was the original bird feeder made by my grandson.

My eight year old grandson made the observation that the birds preferred the girls feeders because they were more attractive! Turns out the girls had added decorations to their feeders using colorful Sharpie markers. Regular girls stuff like flowers and hearts. Not science, but a very good observation. Who knew???

Invention Crafts - Working Elevator

On a recent visit to my home three of my grandsons pulled out my invention crafts tub for some crafting fun. This tub is where I store all kinds of things for my grand children to recycle into their very own one of a kind inventions.

This is not a time to worry about the clutter that fills the kitchen counters and floors as their very creative minds began to quickly gather items that are needed for their inventions. It is amazing what ideas can be sparked by the treasures that are found in "Grandmas invention craft tub."

Above is photos of the finished elevator system, it's inventor, and his younger brothers who marvel at their big brothers invention skills. The invention has an elevator car with opening doors, a pulley system that can lift and lower the elevator car for more than six feet. Even the balance of weight was considered by this young inventor. Vegetable cans were borrowed from the pantry to give him the weight needed for the invention to work safely and properly!

4th of July Gift Boxes

I created these small gift boxes for my nine grandchildren for the 4th of July. I found the boxes in the dollar store "Dollar Tree" in the wedding section. They were 12 for a $1. They are solid white and they could be used for any occasion or holiday by adding your own decor to them.

I decorated the boxes using patriotic stickers that I found in a Michael's Craft Store. The stickers were adorable and a great price. The book had 316 stickers for just .70 cents! The regular price was only $1 which is still a great price.

I also like getting the small white bottles of bubbles from the same section of the dollar store. They are 9 for a $1. I added a patriotic sticker and they became a 4th of July party favor for the small gift boxes. The boxes are a perfect size for a few goodies and favors. These boxes were filled with candy, party poppers, a light stick, a bottle of bubbles, and a red, white, and blue tinsel necklace!

Camp Out Search and Rescue Activity

I added a new activity to this year's camp out. It was such a hit with the kids that it just might become a new tradition. Every year I try to do a teaching unit. This year the topic was on emergency preparedness while camping. I talked to the children about how to be safe when you are in the outdoors. We then put together a survival necklace to wear around our necks. The necklace was a five in one survival necklace. It included a compass, flint, a mirror, whistle, and a waterproof space for matches. I did not want to give the children matches so we filled the small canister with several little things and we talked about what we could use them for. It created quite a discussion and they had some great ideas which I will share later.

To follow up on this activity we formed a search and rescue team. Six of the children and myself were the search and rescue team. We took turns having one of the campers leave the tent with Papa. They went to hide and we stayed quiet in the tent waiting and listening for the sound of their whistle. The whistle alerted us to a lost camper (the hiding child). We then discussed what the missing camper looked like and what they were wearing. We then headed out as a search and rescue team to find the lost camper. We had to work together to stay quiet, to listen for the whistle, and to search together as a united team. Each child took a turn being the lost camper with their Papa.

The kids absolutely loved this activity and they loved their new survival kits too. Later in the day three of my granddaughters were out shopping with their family. They were all still wearing their survival necklaces. One of the girls blew their whistle when the youngest one piped up and scolded her saying "Hey, are you lost?" I couldn't be more proud of my little camper!

Sand Art Craft

The kids LOVED this project. All you need are some stencil pictures on heavy paper, colored sand, craft glue, and paint brushes. All of our pictures were of birds for this project. They painted small sections of the pictures with glue then sprinkled on the color of sand that they wanted for that section. They loved the magic of the colored sand sticking to their pictures.

Once the sand was sprinkled on the entire area of wet glue the children used their papers to funnel the extra sand back into the sand container. I had only planned on the children doing one picture each but they all did three or four because they enjoyed this project so much!

I didn't get pictures of the finished project but they turned out great!

TIP: I had eight different sand colors. I found the sand in the dollar section of Target stores and once again I purchased it at the end of the summer season for half off! It did not take much sand at all to do this project. I still have quite a supply of colored sand so if you have any craft ideas that use sand.....please share!

Invention Crafts

These boys were in heaven with an afternoon of invention crafts and snacks at grandmas house. I had arranged it with them the day before. Before they arrived I pulled all of my resources out. These are items that most would throw away that I know are very useful in the minds of my young inventors. 

A variety of boxes, bits of wire, paper rolls, plastic bottles, and anything that I think may inspire an invention filled my kitchen island (their lab) when they arrived. I could see their minds working the minute they walked in the room and they began grabbing their resources.

With lots of tape, glue, string, paper, and grandmas helping hands occasionally the items quickly took form to create an airplane, and a remote controlled rocket. An old ink pen was turned into a joist stick for the remote control and the antenna was finished off with the inner spring of the pen. An applesauce cup into a cockpit. Plastic parmesan cheese bottles were turned into powerful rocket boosters and Pepsi bottles into booming airplane engines. 

The boys have a great time creating and I love seeing their creative minds in action. Most important of course, are the memories created for everyone in the lab!

A Grandmas Box

I heard a great idea this morning when reading another blog that I thought I would pass on. Another grandma shared that she has a "grandma box" where she keeps many of the things her grandchildren give her such as rocks, drawings, school programs that we attend, cards, and all of the little odds and end things (treasures) that they give us. I know we all make a fuss over these things when they are presented and maybe display them on our fridge or bulletin boards.

This grandma who shared her idea of the "grandma box" is thinking about making a strong impact on her grandchildren even after she is gone. She wants the box to be found by her family after her passing. She wants the things in the box to show the love she has for her grandchildren and the importance they were in her life. She also hopes that the box will bring back many memories of the time they shared here on earth.

Stay tuned: I will be creating my own "grandma box". I think it is a wonderful idea.

Arizona Snowman

This ornament was a gift from a friend. It is an Arizona snowman. It is one of my favorites!

Grandma and Great Grandma Crafting

During my mothers visit we worked together to make some Christmas Tree ornaments for my kids and their families. We painted them, added some buttons, and tied a bow on the top. They turned out cute don't you think?

Made with Love

Great Grandma (my mother) has made hundreds of tied quilts for her family over the years. She has 22 grandchildren and three times that in great grandchildren. Every child received a tied quilt or quilts as an infant, and special quilts were made for our family when she found fabric she thought a certain child or adult would like. Many other quilts were given to her children and their families as a gift of her love to keep us warm in our beds. Every grandchild received a king size quilt as a wedding gift too.

Quilts will forever be her legacy . They cover the beds and are snuggled with by her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren across the United States.

Great Grandma is in her eighties now and she is no longer able to make quilts. This makes the quilts she made for us very precious. I worked with my mother this year and together we made small tied quilt Christmas ornaments. It was a special time for my mother and I and I was very happy to see her enjoying using her quilting skills on a much smaller scale.

My mother was in my home when each of my children and grandchildren chose the quilt ornament to take home to put on their Christmas tree. They all loved them. These small quilt ornaments will be honored and kept for generations in our family as a reminder of great grandma and her legacy of the quilts she made with love for her family.

Indoor Playhouse Project

These indoor playhouses were inspired by the delivery of two new recliners in a couple of huge boxes in early December. I cut doors and windows, painted them, and decorated them. They were an absolute hit with the kids.

I did these myself since it was a surprise for my Grandkid's Christmas Day Camp but they would be a great project to have the kids help with any time of the year. Check with your local furniture or appliance store for the boxes.

Hands on Christmas Nativity

I know it is a bit early to be thinking of Christmas but this is a project that will take some time to collect the items you will need to create one for yourself. My grandkids absolutely love this nativity set. I made it for them last Christmas for one of the activities at the 2007 Grandkids Christmas Day Camp. (The Grandkids Christmas Day Camp is a 12 hour camp for all of my grandchildren. I have the entire day scheduled with activities and it allows the mom's and dad's to have a full day to start their Christmas shopping.) The nativity characters are like dolls that they can handle. The children use them to recreate the nativity over and over by each one of them playing their selected parts. I also have a  star on a tall pole that is  a very favorite part of this nativity. The stable is created from cardboard that can be easily folded and stored. 

When the parents returned for pick up last year the kids performed a nativity masterpiece for them!

How to make the nativity characters:

You will need: 

Plastic bottles (I used 64 oz. juice bottles)  My juice bottles were what inspired this project. The shape of them gave me a neck, shoulders, and a waist.

Fill the bottles with something to weight the bottoms. I used about 3 inches of pinto beans. You may want to insert some sort of plug into the bottle just in case you ever lose a head!

Heads: I used foam balls and some hollow plastic baseballs. Cover the heads with a piece of felt bringing it together at the bottom to create the base of the head. Tightly tie with a piece of string or yarn. The face side should be smoothed out by working the felt creases to the back.

The one's I made have no facial features, arms, or feet.

Trim excess felt from base of head. Using plenty of hot glue, glue head to top of bottle.

Baby Jesus was done the same was but using a much smaller bottle.

You can dress them with a variety of fabrics, ribbons, and jewels. There is no sewing. The clothing is securely attached using hot glue.  All of the adornments of trims and jewels were also hot glued on.

I created these on a whim late one night and pulled the materials from what I had on hand. So, save those juice bottles and dig through those closets and drawers. This is a quick and fun project for you to do that your grandkids will love!