Stacey’s Mayhem Management Tip #18

Ways to avoid Armageddon from an always moving mom to Seven

A Pumpkin Craft

This week, I thought I would try something a little different. I often do activities and crafts with my kids as a way to kill time when they are out of school. So, today I thought I would share one that we did last week as well as giving my tips on how to craft with children!

Tips on Crafting with children

1. Make it age appropriate. Some crafts I only do at nap time, or I will provide a coloring page or something simple.

2. Don’t expect the kids to want to make it just like you show them. One of the best things about crafting with children is to watch their imagination. Show them the basics and let them have at it!

And that’s it! So now for the How-to.

Last week, we made this cute little paper pumpkin with things we had around the house. And although pumpkins can be very Halloweeny, I think they are very Thanksgivingy as well!

Here’s what you’ll need.

An 8 1/2 X 11″ paper cut into 1″ strips
Brads
Cutting board or scissors
Glue
Items to decorate with…I used more brads, some ribbon and some paper flowers I had.
I also used a brad punch, which is just the sharp tool on the cutting board.

First, poke holes in the end of each strip of paper. This makes it very simple for children to put the brads in by themselves.

Next, have your child poke the brad through the holes so the paper ends up stacked. Repeat on both ends.

Help flatten the brad on the back side and then spread the paper strips apart!

And Voila! Now it’s just a matter of decoration!

Miss L made hers into a basket by using less strips of paper and gluing a ribbon on both sides.

Miss O made bracelets.

And Mr. M told me his was a clown pumpkin. He used foam stickers to decorate his.

And there you have it! The kids come up with ideas I never would have thought of and even though they didn’t make a pumpkin exactly like I showed them, they had fun and it entertained them for a good 45 minutes!

Do you have tips for crafting with your children?

Venus

November 1, 2011 at 8:09 AM · Reply

This is great Stacey, thanks! While little G at 8 months is a wee bit to young for this right now, you can bet I’m putting this into my arsenal for when he’s older!
Venus´s last [type] ..How to Measure Your Breasts for a Blog Post

Betsy @ Romance on a Dime

November 1, 2011 at 9:50 AM · Reply

That pumpkin is soo cute!!!

Thanks for linking up!!! I didn’t link the look of no thumbnails, so I had to delete the other and add a new linky with thumbnails. Could you link up again?

Thanks so much!
Betsy @ Romance on a Dime´s last [type] ..Take it on Tuesday Blog Hop: Dehydrating Fruit

Sonora

November 1, 2011 at 10:19 AM · Reply

This is so clever. I like the step by step process with pictures. I usually can’t imagine how to actually do some of these cute things. This is a great way to manage mayhem!!

Carrie @ In the sweet sunshine

November 1, 2011 at 1:53 PM · Reply

How fun!! I can’t wait ’til my daughter is old enough to do crafts like this. I’m a new follower, thanks for linking up to Betsy’s Take it on Tuesday!
Carrie @ In the sweet sunshine´s last [type] ..Soup’s perfect companion

Diane

November 1, 2011 at 3:51 PM · Reply

That’s really cute. I may try that next year.
Diane´s last [type] ..A Week About Faith

June @ mamawearpapashirt

November 1, 2011 at 11:52 PM · Reply

That is such a cute pumpkin craft. Going to try that with my girl the next time we’re stuck indoors from the rain, which is rather frequently these days. Thanks Stacey!
June @ mamawearpapashirt´s last [type] ..Let’s play: ‘What’s the caption?’

C @ Kid Things

November 2, 2011 at 9:25 AM · Reply

Great idea! I have grand plans to do fun things like this with my kids, but I am unfortunately and sadly craft-challenged.
C @ Kid Things´s last [type] ..The Stories We Tell Over Breakfast