snow speeder
It’s all Star Wars all the time!! (at least to my little bud, it is)
While my 4 year old friend is not making these projects all by himself, it’s the time we spend together.. digging through the recycle bin, tearing the tape, looking through books.. that makes doing projects together so much fun!
Not only that, but he truly cherishes his homemade toys. His x-wing fighter has been smooshed, squished and stomped on, but it still flies missions alongside the store-bought ones.
While I don’t expect everyone to have the same items we used, after reading through the rundown below, I hope you get some good ideas on how to fashion your own.
Here’s the rundown: The bottom of the snow speeder is a discarded plastic tray from dog bones. We used an awl to pop some holes in it and thread the orange straws through.
The top is a juice bottle bottom, cut with a sharp kitchen knife. The top and bottom are joined in the back with clear packing tape. We put 2 layers on the outside, then 2 layers on the inside, to create a hinge, so the top opens and closes.
We jazzed it up with some craft foam strips, and in the very back is a broken Nerf bullet.
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Now hit up the recycle bin and make some fun!!
floating herb garden
Creating this beautiful floating herb garden is simple, all you need are a few empty jars and a quick trip to the hardware store. The steps to make your own are outlined in the gallery below… be sure to click on the pictures to see the detail.
(click on an image to enlarge)
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Gather:
empty jar
needle nose pliers
s-hooks
clear picture wire
galvanized wire
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- Using the cutting part of the pliers, snip a piece of wire large enough to wrap around the mouth of the jar twice.
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- Find the center, then twist a loop into the wire.
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- Placing the loop on one side, wrap the wire tightly around the mouth of the jar.
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- Twist the wire into place opposite the first loop. Twist a couple more times to make it tight!
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- Using the pliers, make another loop. Twist and tighten the wire & then snip off any extra.
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- Cut a 15-20 inch piece of picture wire. Using the knot tying instructions on the package, tie one end to each loop (creating a handle).
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- Attach s-hook to hanging wire. I squeezed mine onto the wire so it would not get lost.
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- Measure how low you want your jar to hang. Cut and attach a piece of picture wire going from the s-hook to a nail in the wall to hang it on.
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- A detail shot of the hardware.
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- Add water, herbs or even flowers. Have fun!!
recreate an old frame
A few years back I scooped up these old frames someone left on their stoop for give away. They’ve been gathering dust in the corner for a while now, so I decided to follow my own advice… use or or loose it!
Here is what I did:
(click on an image to enlarge)
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- Start with an old frame. Clean thoroughly.
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- Think design! I thought I would collage/layer a picture I drew with some fancy paper.
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- A couple of paper choices…
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- Using a craft knife, cut out any pictures you will use.
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- Ooops, extra step: After it was cut, I decided I wanted to color my picture.I would have colored BEFORE I cut, had I known.
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- Before getting messy, layout how you want your picture to look. Next, tape the edges of your frame with painters tape (or masking tape).
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- Apply a thin layer of glue to the background picture & press firmly into place. Cover entire area with a thin layer or Mod Podge.
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- Allow to dry completely, add your next image layer, then apply another coat. Make sure to press firmly into place.
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- Allow to dry overnight.
plastic bag paratroopers
When my young friend started pretending his Star Wars toys were parachuting in the other room, I instantly remembered those cheapo plastic parachute toys I used to get from the gum ball machine as a child. They were so much fun! So I dug through the cabinets and constructed this quickie craft…
The steps are outlined below. Click to see a larger, more detailed image:
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- Gather: plastic bag, pipe cleaners, string, tape, scissors, hole puncher.
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- Cut bag into small square.
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- Cut 2 pieces of string slightly larger than the square.
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- Tape corners then punch holes.
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- Tie string through holes then twist pipe cleaner around center of strings.
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- Twist on, from back to front, loop around arms..
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- .. then fasten with a twist in the back.
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- Play!
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- Weeeeeee!
use it or loose it! (thebabysitter files)
Spending too much time with me can turn you into a collector, of sorts. Instead of collecting things you think will be of value to someone in a number of years, you collect random things (okay… trash, more or less) that you think you’ll use for an art project!
You’ll find yourself hanging on to empty spice jars, socks, stockings, styrofoam, boxes, broken jewelry, empty food containers, juice bottles, sippy boxes, baby food jars… you name it, I can make something with it!!
Fine! Good! Reuse!
But you must remember to USE WHAT YOU SAVE, otherwise you just end up with a heap of junk.
This recycled sculpture was done by a 7 1/2 year old girl (who held herself up in her room with her little brother so that she could surprise me with this awesome gift).
There got to be such a mound of ‘collectibles’ in the house that the old ‘Use it or loose it’ adage was tossed around a tad too frequently! So.. she stepped up to the plate.
This project was made entirely out of things she saved, rescued from the trash, or collected around the house.
The Rundown: There’s a sock wrapped around a juice bottle, on top of an empty cookie container. Then another sock balled up, with an empty ribbon wheel, some craft straws and pipe cleaners holding up an ART sign, written with Sharpie on a fabric scrap. The sculpture is cleverly held together by (massive amounts of) clear packing tape.
