Fun Kids Crafts: Three Projects You Can Make Using Things Found in Nature

Nature is abundant, and summer time is the best time to find things found in nature to make crafts with because everything is growing, and there are a lot of natural materials to choose from. In this article I will describe three awesome nature craft projects that will provide you and your kids with hours of fun.

One of my favorite nature craft project is making wreaths. I know many people have heard about making wreaths, and this project seems kind of boring to them, but I am here to tell you that there are more fun uses for wreath than you may be aware of, and making wreaths are pretty easy. All you will need are some vines, flowers, sticks, or leaves. Now simply wrap these vines around in a circle. If you are using leaves o flowers the stems and branches can be used to make a circle, but you can also use twine or cord to help the wreath stay in place.

Now that you have your wreath you can hang it around your house, wear it in your hair, or you can play ring toss with it. For ring toss simply bang some sticks in the ground a length across from each other. Next the 2 players will stand at opposite sticks and throw the wreaths at the sticks. The same rules for horseshoes apply in this game. It is a lot of fun, and a great use for your nature wreath crafts.

Another fun nature craft is making a bark and twig birdhouse.
You will need an empty milk box, glue, bird seed, twigs, bark, pine c ones, and other natural material Simply cut the side out of an old milk box and glue pieces of bark, pine cones, and twigs onto the outside of the bird house. Next fill the birdhouse with bird seed and hang in a tree.

One of my favorite nature crafts is a nature frame and print. You can use twigs, pine cones, leaves, acorns, and other items you may find and like. Simple glue them to a cardboard frame or tie the twigs together using wire and glue the other materials to the twig frame. To fill the frame you can make a simple leaf print by putting some leaves in between two pieces of paper and holding it in place. Next slowly tap the leaves with a hammer. Hit it hard enough to see the color come through. Do this to the entire leaf and you will have a nice print to fill the frame.

I love nature crafts, and there is no better time than now t get out in nature and do some crafting!

Fun Kids Crafts: Rock Animals

Rocks and stones are a plentiful resource in our world, and many people over look them when they are considering doing nature crafts. I have been experimenting a lot with rock crafts lately, and here I will show you how to make some rock animals. This is a great project for kids and adults alike.

Stone pigs are adorable and simple to make. For this project you will need glue, pink and black paint, a round stone, two smaller pointed stones, and a small round stone. Now paint all of these stones pink and let them dry. Glue the pointed stones to the top of the large round rock because they will be the ears. Next glue the smaller round stone in the middle of the large stone for the nose. Now use your black paint to add to nose holes, eyes, and a smile, and you have completed your pig. You can add a magnet to it if you would like to hang it.

Stone caterpillars are a fun project that is also simple to complete. You will need green and black paint, glue, several round stones of various sizes, and a pipe cleaner for this project. First you will paint all of the stones green. You can add spots or strips of different colors if you like. Now line the stones up in a S shape or a shape that you find appealing, and glue them together. Cut to small pieces of pipe cleaner and bend the ends; you will then glue these pipe cleaners to the head as antennas and paint eyes on your caterpillar. You may have to hold the pipe cleaner for a minute or so because the glue may take some time to set.

Ducks can even be made using stones, and they are so cute and easy. To make a rock duck you will need an oval or pointy shaped stone, a smaller pointy or oval stone, some paint, and glue. The larger pointy stone will be the base of the duck so paint wings on the side of it. Next glue the smaller stone to the top of the pointy stone, but remember to glue it further to one side. Now paint eyes and a beak on the stone, and you will have completed your duck.

Heavy duty model glue is the best glue for this project, but make sure there is adult supervision and you are working in a well ventilated area when using this glue. You can make many fun animals using stones, and I hope you have enjoyed these projects!

Fun Kids Crafts: More Rock Animals

Rocks are everywhere, and there are many different shapes and sizes that can be found all over the world. These stone make a great base for crafting, and it is fun to get kids in the yard on a rock hunt for these craft projects. Here are some more rock animals that you can make at home with your children for little money.

Frogs can be made out of rocks, and they are simple and awesome additions to your rock farm. All you need for this project is one large round stone, two smaller round stones, two flat medium sized stones, glue, and some paint. Simply glue the flat stones underneath the large stone because they are the frogs feet. Next paint the small round stones like eyes, and glue them to the top of the frog. You can then paint green spots on the frog's body or you can paint all of the stones except the eyes green before gluing them together. Remember to paint a big smile on your frog as well.

A Rabbit can be made easily using stones. For this project you will need one round large stone for the body, 4 small stones for feet, two long flat stones for ears, glue, and paint. Now paint all of the rocks the color of your rabbit, and glue the ears to the top and the feet to the bottom. Paint a nose and whiskers on the face of your rabbit, and he is ready to go.

A really cute mouse can be made out of stones, and he can be used as a toy or as a paperweight. All you will need for this project is a long pointy rock, two round rocks, a tiny pebble, glue, paint, and a pipe cleaner or piece of yarn. Glue the piece of yarn onto the end of the long rock. This will be your tail. Next paint the two smaller stones because they will be your mouse's ears and paint the small pebble pink because it will be the nose. Now glue the ears onto the top and the nose onto the pointy side of the rock. Finally add eyes and whiskers and your stone mouse will be complete.

These rock animals are a lot of fun to make and they can be given as gifts or collected around the house. Heavy duty model glue is best used for these projects, but always use it in a room with good ventilation, and always use it with an adult around. Acrylic spray can be sprayed on these animals in order to help the paint stay.

Fun Kids Crafts: How to Make Your Own Ugly Monster Dolls

Ugly dolls are a lot of fun; they are cute, cuddly, and their ugliness makes them adorable. I started making dolls using socks that I couldn't find matches for, but over time I have started using all sorts of scrap materials, and here is an article that will describe how you can make your own ugly monster doll.

Ugly monster dolls can be any shape, size, color, or style, and that is part of the fun part of these making these dolls. You can use anything as a base for them. If you have some old socks that works great, but if not a weirdly cut piece of fabric can work great so feel free to experiment. So pick a shape for the body; if you are unsure of what type of shape start with a rectangle with one rounded edge, and make sure you cut 2 of these pieces so the doll has a front and a back side.. Next cut a slit in the square side opposite of the rounded side; this part will be your legs.

Now pick the side that is going to be the front, and start to make your doll a face. I like to use different colored buttons that are also different sizes. I will then stitch some eyelashes onto the doll or I will use sequins to add details. Finally I will stitch the mouth using embroidery floss. I will also add any other special touches to the doll at this point such as pockets or a bow. If you are going to give your doll a necktie or a necklace you should wait until the doll is stuffed.

Now turn the doll inside out and sow around all of the seams except the inside slit for the legs. Turn the doll right side out, and fill it with stuffing. Continue filling until you have reached the legs, and sewing one at a time continue to fill with stuffing.

Now that your doll is stuffed you can add hair and clothes to it. You can also add necklaces and funny charms. I specifically like to add facial expression to my doll after it is stuffed. You c an also add the nose t this point, and to achieve these affects you simply need to pinch the part of the face between the eyes and sew through the doll. Pulling the string tighter o looser will give the face different expressions. Feel free to experiment.

Some materials that you can use when making these dolls are pipe cleaners, felt, rhinestones, sequins, pom-poms, and foam. Monster dolls are a lot of fun to make, and kids of many different ages will enjoy this project.