Tag Archives: craft

Simply Elegant Valentines Decorations

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Every week we feature a fun and/or educational activity you can try at home or in the classroom. With Valentine’s Day approaching, I thought this was a very fitting activity. 

Heart Craft

Photo credit: www.sillysimpleliving.com

This heart garland valentines craft is an easy activity that will produce a festive decoration both simple and elegant.

Materials You Will Need: 

  • Newspaper
  • Pink card stock or construction paper
  • Scissors
  • Glue Stick
  • Paper Clips
  • Hot Glue
  • Heart templates; one big and one little (make your own or use these)
  • Twine or string

Print and cut out the templates. You can use regular paper, but if you are making a big garland with lots of pieces, or you are working with kids you might consider creating templates from card stock. Take a half-page of newspaper and fold it in half, then fold it in half again. Trace your large template twice onto the newspaper, then cut the hearts out, making sure you are cutting through all the paper layers. Repeat this process with your pink paper and the smaller template. Glue the pink hearts onto the middle of each newspaper heart. Use hot glue and a bent paper clip to make the hanger for the back. Hang a piece of twine where you would like your garland to go, and then add each heart to the twine.

For more details on this or other activities, go to www.sillysimpleliving.com.

Looking for a gift for your loved ones this Valentine’s Day? Check out our special selection of Valentine’s Day gift ideas to find just the right one.

Make Your Own Rainbow People Like the Artisans of South Africa

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Once a week we will be featuring a fun and/or educational activity you can try at home or in the classroom. This week’s activity is a craft project straight from South Africa, in honor of the birthday of Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first democratic president.

DSC_0339When I think of South Africa vibrant, colorful images come to mind, so when I saw this activity I really wanted to share it here. According to the blog, this craft can be found at corners and stoplights where vendors sell their wares. We can replicate this leather craft using cardboard from old boxes.

Materials:

  • Cardboard
  • Paper
  • Scissors
  • Crayons, markers or paint
  • Variety of fabric scraps
  • Split pins
  • Beads
  • Safety pins
  • Hammer and nail (or sharp object to poke holes in cardboard for split pins)

DSC_0217Draw a template like the one pictured in the shapes you would like to build your people or animals. Cut the template out and trace the shapes onto the cardboard. Then cut out the cardboard shapes. Color or paint them as you like, and lay them out to dry. Use a hammer and nail (or other sharp object) to poke holes to insert the split pins to hold the pieces together. Dress them with fabric scraps, pinning them on with beady safety pins.

There you have your rainbow people based on this popular South African craft.

See The Crafty Crow blog for more photos and details about South Africa and this craft.

For more activities, check out Heifer’s lesson plans and classroom activities in the Classroom Resources section of our website. You may also want to read about our projects in South Africa on the Heifer blog.

 

 

Make a Bowl and a Statement on Earth Day

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Once a week we will be featuring a fun and/or educational activity you can try at home or in the classroom.

Bowl made from magazine pages

Photo Credit: artprojectsforkids.org

This year to help celebrate Earth Day we have compiled a number of activities you can try on a Pinterest board. One I’ve always wanted to try is making recycled magazine bowls. I’ve seen them at craft shops for the last few years and have always been intrigued by them.

All you need to do this activity is:

  • 1″ x 12″ cardboard stick
  • Scotch tape
  • Magazine

Tear out the magazine pages, the more colorful, the better. Put the stick on the corner of the page and wrap the paper around it tightly, carefully folding and creasing. When done wrapping, pull the stick out add tape the corner down to prevent unwrapping. Coil the completed strip tightly, and tape the end. Each new strip is attached with tape where the last one ended. The result will be a flat roll. Keep adding strips until it is the desired size and shape it into a bowl. Apply a generous coat of Mod Podge on one side and let dry. After it is dry, coat the outside.

For a more detailed description of this activity, go to the original blog post on Art Projects for Kids. For ideas and inspiration of different bowl designs, check out these pins we found on Pinterest.

Other cool Earth Day activities can be found on the Earth Day board on Heifer’s Pinterest or in the Classroom Resources section of Heifer’s website.

As always, once you do this activity, we’d love to hear about your experience in the comments and/or see photos that we can share to inspire others.