Friday, February 25, 2011

Cardboard Box Robot Costume

Homemade costume for Halloween or anytime!

What You Need: A cardboard box, Silver spray paint, Razor/Box Cutter, silver pipe cleaners, roll of duct tape, brightly colored buttons & gems, glow sticks, anything else you can find, glue


What To DoADULTS Measure and trim the cardboard box to fit your child, making sure to make arm and head holes that will not obstruct child's movements. You may need to cut the pieces and tape them back together to get the right fit. Once you have the right fit them spray paint it silver and let dry -  make sure you spray in a well ventilated area and away from children!! 

Once the base is dry, let children help you determine where the robot's buttons, knobs, screens, lights, and switches will go and glue the decorations in place. SOME MAY NEED TO BE HOT GLUED!  Also make sure you activate the glow sticks- if using them- before gluing them on.

Note: You can make the back with a slit, so that children can put it on without putting the box over their heads

The hat and shoes are a spray painted party hat and a shoe box top.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Valentines Day Cookies

Regular sugarcookies need not be boring. Have fun making and decorating these.

What You Need: SugarCookie recipe (coming soon) or store bought cookie dough, rolling pin, heart shaped cookie cutter or piece of cardboard, icing, red food coloring, sprinkles, baking sheet, a spatula and butter knife.

What To Do: Prepare cookie dough, flour countertop and rolling pin. Roll out dough and cut cookies. place on cookie sheet and bake.  Once cookies are baked and cool, ice them with icing of your choice, to make red just add a few drops of red food coloring to white icing. Then carefully add sprinkles on top.

if you don't have a cookie cutter draw a heart on a piece of heavy paper or cardboard and carefully cut it out. Use it to trace out heart shape cookies.

No rolling pin? Use a can of corn! or any other can you have in the pantry...

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Happy Dragon/Lion Mask

Turn a Paper Plate into a fun Chinese New Year Mask!

 What You Need: A Paper Plate, Crayons/Markers, Colored Paper or Construction Paper, Scissors, Tape/Glue, other decorations

What To Do: Help your child create a Dragon face on the bottom (outside) of the paper plate. Since dragons are fictional let their imaginations run wild!

Adults: Cut out the eyes. 

Cut the construction paper into strips and glue or tape them on to the back of the paper plate. To create a curl like in the picture just roll the paper around your finger.

Use a hole punch and ribbon or glue a craft stick to complete your mask.

Dragon Stick Puppet

A simple and easy craft that you can make almost anywhere!

What You Need: Construction or Colored Paper, Scissors, Glue, Tape, 2 Straws, Crayons/Markers, Decorations

What to Do: ADULTS, draw and cut out the head, tail and body strip. Let child decorate with crayons, markers, glitter, feathers, etc. Fan fold the body strip like an accordion. Glue or tape the head on one end of the body strip and the tail on the opposite end. Turn over and tape the straws in the first fold of the body strip.


* You can use unsharpened pencils or craft sticks instead of the straws. And feel free to make any animal you kid likes. 

*We made this Dragon in honor of the Chinese New Year, but Lions, Tigers, Alligators even Kangaroos are fun to make!