The Crafty Librarian - Recently Updated Pages

Craft Stick Box with Lid

MissTrish — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:02:34 CDT

This craft box is very easy, but there is a little trick to the lid. It can be made quite quickly.

Materials: 22 sticks for the base of the box and the top of the lid.
30 or more sticks to build the box and finish the lid
1 craft bead for the lid. You can add an additional 4 beads to complete the bottom corners if desired.
Elmers Glue-All.

Time: 25 minutes

Method: 1) Glue 11 sticks to each other side by side for the bottom of the box. Repeat this process for the lid.
2) When they have dried, begin to build up the box. Glue two sticks on opposite sides of the square, then two more on the remaining sides. You may build your box to any size, but the higher you go, the easier it is for the box to become out of square.
3) For the lid use only 4 sticks, 2 on one side then on the other.
4) Wait until the glue is at least tackily dry. The kids will want to rush this process.
5) Build up the inside of the lid. This is done by breaking craft sticks and then gluing them on top of one another inside the lid. This keeps the lid from sliding immediately off, although it only works in one direction.
6) Break the craft sticks in half. They seem to fit perfectly and build up a 4 stick section, or higher for more stability, and glue them to the lid.
7) When the glue is dry, add the bead to lift the lid and your project is complete!

Newspaper Heart

MissTrish — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:01:38 CDT

This heart looks a little crumpled, but it is stuffed and full in real life!

This is very easy to make with either staples or glue or both. The only things you need are newspaper and construction paper!

Materials:
Newspaper. The heart must be big enough to fill up 1/4 of a full newspaper page.
Newspaper for stuffing.
Red Construction Paper.
Stapler.
Glue.
Marker.

Time: About 15 minutes.

Method:
1) Cut a template for your heart. I used a stiff cardboard that I could trace around. Measure the heart so that 4 hearts can be cut from 1 sheet of newspaper. It will take 2 hearts to make the craft.
2) Cut out your hearts.
3) Cut a smaller heart from red construction paper. The craft only requires one red heart.
4) Cut a wavy pattern from red construction paper. You will need enough to encircle the heart. If the waves are narrow enough, it will curve a little as you glue it in place.
5) Construct your heart:- staple your two pieces of heart shaped newspaper together, leaving a space in the side big enough for your hand.
6) Stuff crumpled newspaper in the side of the heart until it is full. Move the newspaper as needed to make a nice shapely heart.
7) Finish stapling the side of the heart.
8) Write your sentiment on the red construction paper heart. Glue it to the front of the newspaper heart.
9) Glue your wavy paper around your heart.
10) Give it away to someone you love!!!

TIPS FOR WORKING WITH KIDS:
Have the newspaper hearts pre-cut in order to have matching hearts. Let them cut out the red hearts from a pattern on red construction paper. This will give them cutting practice and still have a nice result. I would also suggest pre-cutting the wavy pattern. Many kids are not skilled enough with scissors to make a wavy pattern, but you could have them do it as a learning operation. Good Luck!

Egg Carton Tulip

MissTrish — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:00:50 CDT

This is it! A craft tulip that is nice enough for adults and easy enough for children. It is perfect for an Easter or Mother's Day gift.

Materials:
1 cup of a styrofoam egg carton
Green construction paper
Moderately stiff floral wire. Cut one at 7" and 2 at 5" pieces.
floral tape
yarn
Elmer's Glue.

Method:
1) Start by cutting your egg cup into a flower shape.
2) Make a hook with the end of your floral wire and instert 4 pieces of 2" yarn.
3) Twist the wire around the yarn as shown.

You can see the sharp edge on the wire. Try to trim this or warn parents that there is a sharp edge. I had very stiff wire and had to do this step for the parents.

4) Insert wire through the egg cup flower. Use the floral tape to wrap the wire stem to the end. TIP: Floral tape sticks best when stretched.

5) Make leaves. Follow the outline of the leaf and make 4 identical leaves for each flower.

6) Assemble your leaves. Use Elmer's Glue-All to cover the inside of a pair of leaf shapes and glue them together with about 2 inches of wire hanging out like a stem. Wrap your stem with floral tape and repeat to make the second leaf.
7) Use floral tape to wrap your leaves and stem together up to the level of the top of the leaves.
8) Shape your leaves as desired.

Grid Art Poster

MissTrish — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 09:56:50 CDT

This is a template page

Use this template when you want to use photos and text to tell your story. Click EasyEdit, then highlight this text with your cursor and type over it with your own words: You can write as much as you want!

This sample photo is easy to replace with one of your own: Click the EasyEdit button, highlight the placeholder image at left and hit "delete." Then click the "image" button in the toolbar and use the "browse" button to find the image you want to insert from your computer. It's that easy.

The text can be wrapped around your image, or you can have the text start below the photo. You can also move the photo to the right side of the page. See your choices for photo and text placement by clickin on the photo with your mouse and then clicking "image" on the toolbar.

You can also change the size of your photo by clicking on it once to highlight it, then by clicking the "plus" or "minus" sign in the "Edit Image" toolbox. When you're all done, save your page.

Egg Carton Box Turtle

MissTrish — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:02:08 CDT

This This is the final version of the Egg Carton Box Turtle. It is done in at least 4 steps, all of which will be shown in photographs. It is an advanced project, so don't expect very young children to be able to do it alone.

Materials: 1/2 cardboard egg carton.
Masking tape.
Cardboard, light weight
Green, orange, black and brown acrylic paints.
Foam paintbrush and fine detail brush.
White out

Time: 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Method: First make your head.
1) This is done by crumpling a half sheet of newspaper into a head with a long neck. The head should be squarish.

2) Use masking tape to help shape the head into the squarish shape and form the rest into a long neck.
3) Paint the head with green acrylic paint. Add orange stripes, a black dot for an eye and white out for the white of the eye.
4) Cut and paint the other turtle parts.
5) Make 4 rectangles of light weight cardboard and cut a curve on one end.
6) The next picture shows the inside of the turtle with its parts taped in place. At the tip, you can see the tail. It is a 4" triangle with the outer end painted with green, brown, and orange. The head is taped in place between the egg"cups". The legs are taped on. You can see they are painted green with brown stripes.
7) Close the carton.
8) Paint the turtle according to the colors you choose, although I have recommended the Box Turtle. My example would have been better if I had put stripes instead of x's on the turtle's back.
TIP: If you have questions about this craft, please contact me via the contact page and I will try to sort it out for you.

Seascape

MissTrish — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:25:31 CDT

Use
This is an easy craft with a sophisticated look. It depends on how crafty you are!

Materials: Construction paper
Tissue paper
Chenille Stems
Elmer's Glue-all

Method:
1) Cut sea shapes from construction paper. You can do fish of various colors and sizes, shells, and starfish. Anything that has to do with the sea. Glue them on your piece of construction paper. When I worked with a group of young kids, age 5, I let them draw their fish instead of cutting them out.
2) Tear various colors of green and blue tissue paper into seaweed like strips.
3) Glue the seaweed into place. Make some of it come from the bottom of the page, but remember that seaweed waves in the current and some of your strips should go sideways.
4) Add the chenille stems. I chose to use 3, for economy's sake, but any number could be used. They are meant to stand for reeds and so the bottom should be glued and the top crumpled a little and left free to move with the current.

Toilet Paper Bat

MissTrish — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 15:38:04 CST

This bat requires a little freehand drawing, but really is quite satisfying. It can be made more realistic than I made it. I'll tell you about that, too.

Materials: toilet tissue roll
Brown construction paper
Black tagboard
Tape
Black Marker
Elmer's Glue All
Pencil

Time: About 25 minutes

Method: 1) Cut a piece of brown construction paper that will encircle the roll and extend out about 2 inches on one end.
2) Tape the paper together. This will go on top of the wings.
3) Cut the overhanging paper into 6 slits. Make two of the slits a bit wider to make the front of the face.
4) Fold the cut pieces inward in a cone shape, finishing with the wider strips for the face. This can be tricky. Tape the face together. .
5) Cut two triangular shapes for ears. These can be colored black in the center and taped into place. Take the black marker and make facial features, as well as markings along the rest of the body to indicate hair. These should be a cross between a dot and a stripe.
6) Cut the black tagboard. Your goal is one piece of tagboard that has a middle section to glue to the bat's body and two matching wings.
7) First, measure how much room you will need for the body. It must curl up around it halfway. Mark this on the tagboard with pencil.
8) Draw a bat's wing on a separate piece of white tagboard as a template. I made a swoop with 2 points underneath. Cut it out. Use this to trace the wings to the body you have already measured out.
9) Curve the body section of the wings under the bat's body and glue with Elmer's Glue All. You will need to hold the tagboard until it has taken shape.
10) If you wish to demonstrate how a bat flies, you can glue toothpicks to the underside of the wings, showing where the bones are located.

Jingle Shaker Doll

MissTrish — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:51:53 CST

This little doll is easily made and the kids really enjoy the jingling noise it makes. There is fairly extensive preparation time on this one, and quick crafting time.

Materials:
Strips of felt or other soft cloth about an inch to and inch and a half wide and about 6 to 8 inches long. The strips can be various sizes and lengths. You will want a fairly wide one for the face. Each child will need 50 strips of cloth.
Dowel. I used very short pieces, but larger ones would be nicer.
Rubber Bands: Each child will need 2 strong rubber bands.
Google eyes
String
Jingle Bells. I used 1/2 inch bells, but they are a bit large and I would recommend smaller ones. 2 or more per child.

Time: Preparation time depends on how many strips of cloth you have to cut. The more strips in the doll, the better it will look. Crafting time: 15 minutes.

Method: 1) Gather a hand full of strips and bind them with the rubber band near the end.
2) Bind the strips again, about an inch and a half from the first binding. This forms the head.
3) Insert the dowel into the doll. The bindings should be tight enough to hold the dowel in place.
4) Tie a string around the neck of the doll and add jingle bells.
5) Enjoy!

Martian

MissTrish — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:30:37 CST

This little Martian requires a bit of preparation by you before you begin to give the kids a chance at it. It is fairly easy once you gather the materials, and the children will try to make a much better alien than you did!

Materials: Green acrylic paint.
Duck sized styrofoam eggs
Green Shenille stems
Green Felt
Green or other color yarn.
Google eyes.
Elmer's Glue All.
Foam paint brush.
Wire Cutters.
Paper Punch.

Time: Preparation, about 2 hours.
Actual craft time, about 15 minutes.

Method:1) Paint your eggs with green paint. Use a foam brush to get into all the little crevices in the styrofoam. It is best to paint one side and allow it to dry before going on to the other side.
2) Bend chenille stems in half and then cut them with wire cutters.
3) Cut feet and hands from green felt. These are rather free-form, with three toes and fingers. They will help the monster stand up.
4) Use a paper punch to punch holes in the feet.
5) Cut yarn for a mouth and proboscsis.

Assembly:
1) Use 3 chenille stems for the legs, 2 for the arms. If they are spaced properly, the creature will stand.
2) Bend the bottom of the legs into feet. Slide the felt feet over the chenille stem and glue into place.
3) Bend the ends of the arms into hands. Glue on the felt hands with Elmer's Glue All.
4) Add the google eye to the center of the forehead.
5) Glue on a mouth and nose.
6) Allow to dry.

TIPS FOR WORKING WITH KIDS
The kids will want to individualize their Martian more than the pattern above allows. You may want to give them the green eggs and an assortment of google eyes, sequins, pieces of cloth or craft foam and let them go to it, creating their very own Martian.

Paper Bag Snowman

MissTrish — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 09:27:15 CST

This paper bag snowman is a difficult craft for an adult, and a child will need a lot of help in order to complete it successfully.

Materials: 1 grocery size paper bag. I got my grocery to donate them.
3 lunch size paper bags.
Newspaper
String
Masking Tape
Acrylic fiber-fill
Black Construction paper.
Orange Construction paper
White Acrylic Paint.
Elmers Glue-All

Time: 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Method:
1) Stuff the grocery bag loosely with crumpled newspaper.
2) Roll a support by opening up a full page of newspaper and rolling it lengthwise into a tube. Tape it closed. Insert it into the grocery bag.
3) Gather the top of the grocery bag together and tie it with string around the support tube. This is quite difficult, as parts of the grocery bag will try to avoid being tied. Take heart. This can be done.
4) Roll a second support tube by opening a full page of newspaper and roll it from the short side. Tape it closed. Tie it to the upright support tube. This will support the arms of the snowman.
5) Stuff the lunch bags with loosely crumpled newspaper and slide over the supports. Gather and tie the lunch bags around the support. This is a little easier than the grocery bag, because the lunch bags are less stiff.
6) Stuff another lunch bag to make the head. Slide it over the upright support and tie it as previously done. This will make an awkward looking snowman from the back as you can see from this picture.

If you have tied all the bags tightly, they should stay in a position that looks like a snowman. If you haven't managed that, they will droop. Sometimes using a bit of masking tape will help the bag to stay tied, or improve its position. In this case, I had one droopy arm no matter what I did.
7) Paint your snowman with white acrylic paint. I found that if I painted the front, by the time I was ready to paint the back, at least one arm was dry enough to hold on to. Don't expect yourself, or your kids to completely turn the paper bags white. Remind them that sometimes dirt and grass get rolled into the snowman and that 8) Use the orange construction paper to make the nose. First fold the paper, then cut the triangle, then cut open the ends in order to have a gluing surface. Put in place on the face and hold until the glue dries.
9) Cut circles from black paper to make the eyes, mouth, and buttons if you wish.
10) Take the fiberfill and make a beard, eyebrows, and if you wish, hair. The beard covers up the string and the supports. It improves the look of the snowman from the front immensely.
11) Enjoy your accomplishment! You worked hard for this one!

Paper Beads

MissTrish — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 08:37:40 CST

This is a very easy craft that can be made more difficult by using a pin to wrap around.

Materials:
round pencil
glue stick
paper triangles made from any sort of colorful paper. I used newspaper ads.
yarn

Time: 10 minutes to 30 minutes

Method:
1) First cut your paper triangles. Choose whatever size you wish. A if your triangle has a larger base, it will make a larger bead, a longer triangle will make a thicker bead.
2) Plan on at least 25 beads per child. This will make a necklace that will fit over the head.
3) Leaving about 1/2 inch free at the bottom of the triangle, put glue over the rest of the paper.
4) Place the pencil at the unglued end of the triangle and begin rolling. Roll until the very tip is glued in place.
5) Slip the bead off the pencil. IMPORTANT: If the bead will not slip off, it is because you got glue on the pencil. At this point, the only thing to do is either unroll the bead or cut it off and then wash the pencil.
6) When you have enough beads, string them on a length of yarn long enough to slip over the head of the child.

TIPS FOR WORKING WITH CHILDREN
Boys will like doing this craft, but will probably be satisfied with less than a complete necklace.

Jingle Bell Bracelet

MissTrish — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:49:36 CST

Ho Ho HO!

" This jingle bell bracelet is adapted from Family Fun magazine Vol 13, no. 1, from one of three versions of the jingle bell bracelet.

Materials:
Holiday colored chenille stems. Straight stems can be used, or the bumpy ones for a fuller effect.
1/2" jingle bells. It took 8 for this bracelet. Note: Smaller bells could be used.

Time: About 20-30 minutes, as the kids need more help with this craft than usual.

Method: 1) Size one chenille stem to fit over your hand and twist the ends tightly.
2) Attach the second colored stem to the bracelet. Twist the wires so the cut ends don't scratch the skin.
3) Thread on a bell. Bend the stem, go around the bracelet, come back out and add another bell. Do this around the entire bracelet.
4) Attach the end of the chenille stem to the bracelet, and start jingling.

Corn collage

MissTrish — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:33:51 CST

This is the front and back of the completed corn collage craft.

This is a thumbnail of the corncob. Please scroll down to find a full size attachment.

This is a thumbnail of the shape of the leaves. The text area of the wiki doesn't allow a full size photo. But, you will get the idea. It doesn't have to be exactly like mine. Scroll down the page for an attachment of the leaves, full size.

This is an extremely easy craft. The hardest part is cutting out the leaves!

Materials:
Yellow construction paper
Green construction paper
Glue stick
Scissors
Wide craft stick
Air popped popcorn. No butter or oil should be on this popcorn.

Time: 10 minutes easily.

Method: 1) Make copies of the corn cobs. You can photocopy them if your machine is capable, but they are so easy to trace!.
2) Enlarge and make copies of the green leaves. The leaves should be sized to allow the cob to be glued on the top of it without holes showing.
3) Cut out the pieces of corn and leaves.
4) Glue them together.
5) Glue a craft stick to the back of the picture. Leave only a small amount of stick for the child to hold below the corn. The craft stick needs to support the length of the corn.
6) Using generous amounts of glue stick, mark out places on the paper for the popcorn to go. The glue goes on the paper, not the corn. There is room for less than 2 dozen pieces.

Golden Sunburst

MissTrish — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 14:46:08 CST

This craft is a summertime snowflake for your window! It was adapted from the Jumbo Book of Paper Crafts by Amanda Lewis.

Materials:
Foil paper, such as florists use to wrap pots of flowers.
Scissors
Stapler

Time: 10 minutes

Method:
1) Cut a piece of paper 9" by 18."
2) Fan fold the short end in 1" folds until you reach the other end.
3) Fold your folded strip in half and staple it at the fold.
4) Use your scissors to cut out snips of paper on -the fold lines.
5) Open the folds into a fan shape and staple the edges closed. Do this on both sides.
6) Hang in your window by a piece of ribbon or fishing wire.

Light Switch Cover

MissTrish — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 14:23:57 CST

I would like to give credit for this idea to the proper book and author, but I have lost the information. If anyone knows where this great idea came from, please edit this wiki!

This craft is sort of light switch meets witch doctor! It is a paper mask for your light switch, and it can be as wild as you can make it. Mine has red eyes with half circles around them, flowered cheeks, curls of paper for hair, green and blue ears, a curled up moustache, a red tongue coming from black lips, and a goatee.

Materials: Tagboard cut to fit over a light switch cover. I suggest using a real light switch cover rather than a template which is what I did. Round the corners so they can be snipped and pasted.
Magazine or catalog pages
Glue stick
Scissors
Craft knife

Time: About 20 minutes. Perhaps longer if the kids are particular about how they want to decorate.

Method: 1) Cut out the light switch cover from tagboard. Use a knife to make the holes where the screws will go. Cut the hole for the "nose."
2) Slit the edges just enough to allow the ends to cross over. This makes the cover fit snugly.
3) Glue the ends over each other. You will probably have to hold them together for a minute or so in order for the glue to dry properly.
4) Begin to decorate your mask. Look for patches of bright color or interesting patterns to make the parts of the face. As you can see, I used red eyes with black outlines for a striking effect.
5) The cheeks are 3-dimensional. Cut a circle, then slit it and glue the edges over each other to make a cone. You will need to use a lot of glue to make the sharp edges stick to the mask.
6) Curl hair or tongue by rolling the paper around a pencil.
7) Allow it all to dry.

TIPS FOR WORKING WITH KIDS
The kids I did this with were 5-8 years old and they were very literal. They combed through the magazines for photos of eyes to use for eyes. They hunted noses. They found lips in lipstick ads. The abstract quality of this art was lost on them, and I would expect an older group of kids, say 10-12 to have great fun with more creativity than the younger group.

Craft Stick Doll

MissTrish — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 17:50:13 CST

Kids absolutely love dressing this doll. All it takes is scraps of cloth.

Materials:
Large craft sticks
Google eyes
Markers
Fabric scraps
Elmer's Glue-All
Scissors

Time: 20-30 minutes. I found it took so long because the kids were very serious about how the doll should be dressed, and tried several things before they were satisfied.

Method:
1) Gather cloth scraps. The size of the scraps doesn't matter too much, because the kids will cut the size they want.
2) To make the circle skirt on this doll, cut a circle from your desired fabric. I went for a satiny brocade look. Slit the circle to the center and then cut across the fabric to allow the stick to fit. If you then glue the back of the skirt to the craft stick, it will flare out nicely. The measurements for this are very individual, so almost any size circle will do.
3) Glue all your fabric to the stick, not to itself. Note: Elmer's School Glue will not glue fabric.
4) Decorate the face with markers, and if desired, add shoes to the bottom of the stick.
5) Glue on Google Eyes.
6) Let everything dry.

NOTES FOR WORKING WITH KIDS
I had several kids want the doll to have arms. The best I could do was cut a craft stick in half. This requires adult scissors. The arms were over long and looked out of place, but it made some children happy. Also, I had an African American girl color the stick a nice brown color. Be sure to have markers that will allow ethnic Americans to express themselves.

What about using pipe cleaners for arms?

Bubble Prints

MissTrish — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 13:57:33 CDT

This is one example of abstract art that you can make with a little kitchen wizardry and some hot air. This craft comes from Family Fun Magazine of February 2004.

Materials: Bubble Solution.
Straws
Low edged dishes, like pie plates
Newspaper to reduce clean up
Plain printer paper, or construction paper
Liquid tempra paint in several colors

Time: Prep time 20 minutes. Craft time 5-25 minutes.
Method: 1) Make Bubble Solution
Bubble Solution Recipe:
3 cups water
1 cup dish soap
1/4 cup corn syrup
Mix thoroughly.
2) Blend 1 cup of solution with 1/2 cup tempra paint.
3) Pour about an inch of solution into each of the pie pans.
4) Use the straws to blow a mountain of bubbles almost ready to roll off the edge of the pan.
5) Press the paper gently into the bubbles to burst them.
6) Lift the paper and see what you have done and where you'd like more bubbles.
7) Repeat. The layering of bubbles gives your art color and depth.

Tips for Working With Kids
They will try to make this into a contest: Who can blow the most/biggest bubbles. It is actually the smaller bubbles that make the prettiest picture.
Provide about 6 sheets of paper per child. Perhaps more. They will want to make a lot of these sheets.
If you do this in multiple colors, encourage the children to try layering blue over yellow or another combination.

Quilling Card

MissTrish — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 11:44:30 CDT

This is the inside of a greeting card done with quilling, an old-fashioned craft that comes from using a quill to wrap paper. Now it is done with a T-pin, but the results are easy and impressive.
Materials: Strips of paper, 1/4-1/8" wide. The length varies. I used 11" paper for my strips and tore off the excess as needed.
T-pins
Glue Sticks
Card Stock, or pre-made purchased card templates which is what I used. The had a frame, seen in the photo, that was attached at the top, but free on 3 sides. It made a nice look for the card, but wasn't necessary.

Time: 30 min to 1 hour, depending on how large your design is.

Method: 1) There are two basic quilling shapes. The rest come from these two. The first is what I call a button. To make it, take a strip of paper, lick the end to moisten it just a bit, and begin to roll it around the T-pin. It must roll around itself, not spiral, making a tight little button. At some point, it may be easier to slip the quilling off the pin and finish rolling it with your fingers. This is fine. When you have a button the size you desire, put a fair amount of glue stick on the end of the paper and hold it until it sticks very well. This works well as the center of a flower.
2) The second basic form begins just the same as above, but when you have finished your button, let it unroll itself a bit. Certain papers behave differently here, and some will unroll a lot, some only a little. Glue the end of the paper.
3) Shape your quill into: teardrops, by pinching the glued end of the paper;
leaves by pinching both ends of the paper; bells by lightly pinching one end and pushing in the other end at the same time.
4) You can make squares, diamonds, and most anything you can imagine by pinching your partially unrolled form.Scrolls are made by rolling half of a strip in one direction, pulling it with the pin to unroll it, and then repeating in the opposite direction. These make nice stems or vines.
5) Put plenty of glue on the flat sides of the quilling, so it will adhere to the card stock.
6) To make the above design, you will need buttons, teardrops, leaves, scrolls, and bells. Follow the photograph. 7) The front of the card can be anything you
desire. For my card, I searched the clip art in Microsoft word until I came across a picture that I believed would compliment the quilling inside.
8) Find some clip art and glue it on, or decorate your card as you desire.
9) Since your card won't be able to close flat, it will need special handling in the mail - or maybe hand delivery!

Accordion Fold Caterpillar

MissTrish — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:10:20 CDT

Just Hangin' Around! This little caterpillar is very easy, even for kindergartners! The idea was adapted from the book What Shall I Make by Ray Gibson.
Materials: Strips of paper, 1 1/2" x 11", in two colors. You will need two strips of each color.
Glue Stick
Chenille Stem
Google Eyes
String
Straw, or something similar to hang to caterpillar from.

Time: 15 minutes

Method: 1)Glue 2 strips of different colors to each other at a right angle.
2) Begin to fold the strips over one another. This is like making a stack, not wrapping the strips around, but simply putting one color in one direction, then putting the other color in the opposite direction.
3) When you reach the end, which happens very quickly, attach the second strips to the end. Continue folding until you reach the end.
4) Glue the ends securely.
5) Turn the caterpillar so it is not a square but a diamond. Attach two google eyes near the top of the diamond.
6) Cut a 2" piece from your chenille stem and bend it into a V to make antennae. Take care to fold over the sharp ends. Glue them just behind the eyes.
7) Cut two pieces of string. They can be any length you choose, but I would suggest 12".
8) Tie the string near the ends of the straw.
9) Tape the ends of the string at the front and back of the caterpillar.
10) Suspend him and enjoy him as he wiggles in the breeze.

Kitty Pillow

MissTrish — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 09:26:48 CDT

This is a full size picture of the kitty pillow, You may use it as a pattern. It can also be enlarged easily if you want to do a pillow to hold your head. This was adapted from a craft found in Crafting Fun Stuff with a Crowd of Kids by Carol Scheffler.

Materials: Felt
Polyester stuffing
Embroidery Floss, white and black
Embroidery needles
Buttons.

Time: 30-45 minutes

Method: 1) Cut out your kitties from the felt.
2) Stitch on your buttons for the eyes and nose.
3) Stitch your whiskers on with a running stitch. A running stitch merely goes in and out of the material. Use knots at the end to stop the stitching.
4) Stitch around the edges with a running stitch. Leave a space at the top for putting in the stuffing. The opening does not have to be very large.
5) Finish the stitching to complete the pillow.
EasyEdit button, highlight the placeholder image at left and hit "delete." Then click the "image" button in the toolbar and use the "browse" button to find the image you want to insert from your computer. It's that easy.

The text can be wrapped around your image, or you can have the text start below the photo. You can also move the photo to the right side of the page. See your choices for photo and text placement by clickin on the photo with your mouse and then clicking "image" on the toolbar.

You can also change the size of your photo by clicking on it once to highlight it, then by clicking the "plus" or "minus" sign in the "Edit Image" toolbox. When you're all done, save your page.