creative jewish mom

Fruit Orchard Kid's Craft With Pine Cones

This pine cone fruit tree orchard craft (hanging out in my archives with so many other great projects) is just as cute as can be and perfect for Tu B'shebat, coming up on the evening of Sunday Jan 16, so there is plenty of time to get into this fun craft, and enjoy!

Collecting pine cones on a nature walk is always a fun activity to do with the little ones, but what to use them for afterwards? Here's a good one for you: make a pine cone orange orchard! This idea is so simple yet with great results and fun for a variety of ages. And maybe they'll even take the time to make a popsicle stick shed for their orchard, and some little crates to fill up with oranges. That would be a good start to encourage creative activities rather than anything with batteries or that plugs into a wall, right? And of course if you want to get particularly crafty, how about making a plan to build an entire farm, or little town with all the usual amenities, just from simple supplies like these?

Modeling Clay Craft For Kids: A Pink Rabbit With Carrots

A cute little pink rabbit made from modeling clay appeared in our house last week, and of course I just had to share it with you! Sculpting with modeling clay is a great little activity or craft, (depending on the child's age) that is quite different from most of the other projects I share with you, and certainly a worthwhile activity— tactile/fine motor skills development for the little ones, and three dimensional/sculptural learning for the bigger ones!

My ten year old daughter happens to be quite talented when it come to making little things from polymer clay and modeling clay, and I always love seeing her creations. And thanks to this blog, we have photographs to enjoy in the future!

You'll Need: modeling clay in an assortment of colors, and a plastic plate. That's it, of course except for some imagination or possibly a book with some step by step instructions, which is how my daughter created this bunny.

There are many  books out there in both Hebrew and English with lots of modeling clay projects, and I do think that they're a worthwhile investment to add to your crafting library. These are the kinds of projects that kids can do on their own with their friends, and while I don't love crafts that involve copying an example, learning to follow directions and make a small sculpture consisting of parts is a valuable activity that certainly builds skills!

Of course, this kind of modeling clay craft will not appeal to everyone, just the detail oriented types, so you'll have to assess whether it's for your kids, or maybe even you?

And while you have the modeling clay at hand, check out some of our previous projects using modeling clay: modeling clay pictures and more artful modeling clay pictures, and modeling clay room signs! Oh and the cutest little modeling clay doll house my daughter made two years ago. Enjoy!

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Textured Rolling Pin DIY

Here's a simple DIY for a textured rolling pin that you can use in so many ways: to texture clay of all kinds, for play dough and salt dough and maybe even as a printing tool for painting some wrapping paper, though don't take my word for it, haven't tried it! I made this one for myself, but it would be a great project to do with the kiddos who can afterwords go to town on playdough. How about giving the child a tube and a pencil, and then make a textured rolling pin from his drawing? This is a quick project and the more practice you have directing the glue gun, the better your results will be.

I used my textured rolling pin to make some texture on some hand built oval plant pots that I made this morning at my ceramics class. Can't wait to try some more ideas next week! 

You'll Need:

• an old rolling pin, a heavy cardboard tube, a piece of pvc pipe etc.
• hot glue gun, preferable the mini size which is easier to handle
• a pencil or permanent marker

How To:

Draw your design in pencil on the cardboard tube, or use a permanent market for plastic or wood. Go over the design with hot glue and voila! Now I was also thinking that silicone would be great for this too, if you happen to have some in a applicator that's fine enough.

And by the way, can't take credit for this great idea, I found it here. Worth checking out for some more examples of the types of patterns that work well with this project. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Polymer Clay Pencil Toppers Craft For Kids

Polymer clay crafts are lots of fun, and once baked polymer clay is quite sturdy and can be used to make so many things. Aren't these sheep pencil toppers just the cutest? The one on the right is listening to his MP4! Those headphone cords are a bit fragile, but kuddos to my 9 year old daughter for coming up with this adorable idea and pulling it off, with as you may already know, no help from mom whatsoever. 

Of course I squealed with delight when I saw her creations, but that's about all I can take credit for, other than being grateful for her help in coming up with a project to share with you today!

Polymer Clay Miniature Food Craft For Kids

Polymer clay is a great thing to have on hand when the kids are in need of a fun project. And if you happen to have kids, like my daughter, who enjoy making teeny tiny things, well you're in luck because a little polymer clay will go a long way!

Once baked, items made from polymer clay can become magnets, pins, or even be glued to a picture frame. The possibilities are really endless, and of course one could make doll house miniatures too. I mean really who would have though that one could make such a great looking pita sandwich with falafel and fries (that's how it's eaten here.....), and check out that bagel! And just for the record, this project was made with zero input from mom.....zero, zilch, nada, really!

Polymer Clay Tree Collage Art

 

Ever thought about making a picture with polymer clay? Well, me neither actually, but I'm so happy with this joyful little piece of art that I made together with my six year old to honor trees and their important role in the environment. I've never done a project like this before, and am so glad that I was able to pull it off in time to share it with you all at the Forest Fiesta organized by Rashmie over at Mommy Labs!

You'll Need:

• polymer clay elements, see my previous post here
• a piece of up cycled wood, a shelf in this case
• mod podge
• tissue paper, I actually used some pieces of a papel picado Mexican tissue paper banner
• any other elements that work for you, ric rac, buttons, patterned papers.....

How To: Quite simply, stick it all together with mod podge! I used the regular mod podge which worked fine for my smallish pieces, large pieces may require something stronger first. Enjoy, and have fun making meaningful works of art with your children.

To see the projects contributed by the wonderful group of bloggers that have teamed up with Mommy Labs, for the Forest Fiesta, continue reading and enjoy!

Polymer Clay Tree Project To Do With The Kids

Polymer clay is great for all ages, and you can do so many things with it beyond making beads and jewelry. Today I sat with my six year old and we made leaves and some other elements for a project dedicated to the subject of trees. We looked out the window at the forrest nearby and I talked to him about the importance of trees. Then we sat down and got to work, first softening up the clay by rolling it in our hands, and then actually combining yellow and blue clay to make the green you see here! The trunk was also made by combining black, gold and beige, and the lettered pieces were made with rubber stamps!

Once the pieces have been baked they are ready to be applied to just about any surface you desire. We'll share the next stage of this project with you when we can, an do keep in mind that polymer clay is also great for making small mosaic tiles or elements that one can use for collage projects!

Craft For Kids With Polymer Clay And Fabric!

Looking for a new twist on crafting with polymer clay? My eight year old daughter enjoyed making this decorative plaque, and of course this is just inspiration for your own unique creation. You can use just about anything for a sculputural picture like this one, and you could make something really great too without the polymer clay.

You'll Need:

• polymer clay
• quilting weight (light cotton) fabric
• beads
• a base, we used an mdf plaque from the dollar store
• glue of some kind, we used Paverpol, a fabric stiffener, you can also use modgepodge for fabric or woodworker's white glue, which I've found works quite well with fabric.

How To:

• Make shapes from polymer clay and bake according to manufacturer's instructions
• In the mean time, cover your base with light weight fabric and set aside to dry. Use enough glue such that it saturates the fabric. If you use Paverpol you can dip the fabric into the paverpol and then apply to the base.
• Glue beads, polymer clay shapes and other pieces of fabric to the base using the same glue, again, we used Paverpol.
• Set aside to dry and enjoy!

Paverpol is available in Israel here. And no, this is not a paid advertisement, but rather a small effort on my part to help a nice family make a living in Israel!