Cheap Arts and Crafts Ideas
For Kids
by Gail Miller
How many times have we heard the phrase Mum Im Bored Waaaa! Well here I want to bring you some ideas for cheap arts and crafts to keep the kiddies occupied. It is very easy to go down to the store and purchase a whole load of equipment, but sometimes,isnt it better to use some ingenuity by utilising various materials which can be found around the home and our environment. These things of course work out cheaper too. I hope you will find some of the ideas here useful for your situation. Kiddies can be very creative given a little encouragement so get your apron on and get stuck in!
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1; Crayons/pencils. Never go to the stationary store for these items. They can be bought much more cheaply from market stalls, cheap shops, or try your local car boot sales or garage sales. Never buy art products either as they are extremely expensive and totally unsuitable for youngsters.
Some uses for wax crayons; Crayon etchings. Get the kids to scribble black all over a sheet of paper and scratch out a spooky picture. This is especially nice around Halloween time.
Alternatively, get them to colour the page in different colours and then cover all over in black. Again, scratch out a picture and all the lovely colours will show through. They will be so proud of their efforts.
Rubbings. Using a favourite colour, get them to do rubbings of different textures such as tree bark, paving slabs, brickwork or any other raised of textured surface. These rubbings can be cut into shapes and mounted to make another picture in a collage effect.
2; Why not try chalks for once instead of crayons? They can be picked up for literally pennies. If you have concrete paving slabs in your garden they can draw straight onto the ground outside. When it rains the chalk will wash away. Some super jumbo chalks can be obtained these days and these last longer than the thinner type and they dont break as easily. Chalks can also be used on paper too of course; black being particularly effective.
3; Paper. Have you thought of asking your local newspaper office if they have any end of roll newsprint? Probably not, but if you ask nicely you have a good chance of picking some up FOR FREE! Large paper can be used for everything from murals, to banners, wall hangings to single works of art.
Do local offices throw out old dot matrix printer paper? I was walking down the street in town one day and there was a whole box of paper outside an office just waiting to be picked up by the bin men. It ended up in my boot! Have you got any tin foil in your cupboards, wrapping paper under the bed, cardboard boxes which can be cut down? Ask neighbours and friends if they have any unusual papers or card which are to be thrown away. Collect sweet wrappers, cookie papers, textured paper or corrugated card. All these can be brought out at craft time.
4; Household materials. Dont say you havent any fruit cartons, loo roll tubes which can be used for marble rolls, empty cereal boxes, bubble wrap, cardboard trays, wool or yarn, ribbon, braids or trims in the house. Styrene trays that large fruits come in are very useful for sewing with.
Large bodkins can be threaded with wool and used to practice very simple embroidery. The material is easy to push a needle through. It is amazing what a child can come up with when confronted by a pile of rubbish and a tub of PVA glue!
5; Modeling material. Why not make the kids some disposable modeling clay or play dough? Here is a recipe for modeling clay which your kids will gain hours of entertainment from. Select a large pan and place 1 cup of flour, a tablespoon of oil, half a cup of Salt, 1 cup of water and 2 tablespoons of Cream of tartar. You can use a few dashes of food colouring too (optional). Mix all the ingredients together and cook gently for about 3 minutes, but be careful not to over cook the mixture. When the clay is cool, knead it until smooth and store in an air tight container or plastic bag.
Another easy material for them to model with is 3 cups of flour, 1 1/2 cups of salt and 1 1/2 cups of water all mixed together. Add a little more water if the mixture is too dry. Knead until the material is plyable.
6; Crafts with food. Intriguing? Well not really. Why not let them stick different shapes and colours of pasta onto paper or card to make collages. You could also provide them with nuts and seeds to use too, and rice. See what they can come up with.
Alternatively mix up an instant chocolate cake pack. You only need to add an egg, then let them creative finger paintings without danger should they pop those little fingers in mouths. And speaking of eggs. Boil a few up beforehand and when they are cold, let the kids decorate them. They can paint, draw on them or stick glitter etc onto the shells.
7; Finally. When you visit your flea market or car boot sale look out for second hand craft kits and/or art materials for sale. Fuzzy felts, sewing kits, blackboards and chalks, all kinds of handicrafts come in kits and there are bargains to be had if you just keep your eye out - HAPPY CRAFTING!
Gail Miller is a freelance internet and business writer and author of Wild Child - A Mother, A Son and ADHD http://home.freeuk.net/theadhdgazette/wild She also writes and publishes two British on line newsletters; The ADD / ADHD Gazette - ADDGazette-subscribe@onelist.com and AFFILIATES UK - affiliatesuk-subscribe@onelist.com
Gail Miller is a freelance writer and author of Wild Child - A Mother,A Son and ADHD
http://home.freeuk.net/theadhdgazette/wild
She also publishes The ADD / ADHD Gazette ~ ADDGazette-subscribe@onelist.com
Affiliates UK ~ affiliatesuk-subscribe@onelist.com
and has 4 websites;
Special Needs UK http://home.freeuk.net/specialneedsuk
The ADHD (UK) Website http://home.freeuk.net/theadhdgazette
The Wild Child Website http://members.tripod.com/gailmill
and
Homeworking Parents http://home.freeuk.net/homeworking
