Summer Crafts for Kids
- Katelynn
- Jun 20, 2018
- 5 min read
Enjoy these simple crafts with your little ones this summer.
Ladybugs Vs. Tadpoles Outdoor Tic Tac Toe Game What you'll need for this project: Patio Paint 2 oz. – Robin’s Egg Blue Patio Paint 2 oz. – Fern Green Patio Paint 2 oz. – Wrought Iron Black Patio Paint 2 oz – Sunshine Yellow Patio Paint 2 oz – Citrus Green Patio Paint 2 oz – Geranium Red Patio Paint 2 oz – Cloud White Patio Paint 2 oz – Sprout Green Large Basswood round plank Assorted paint brushes 10 smooth rocks wax paper or paint palatte
1. Paint the basswood round wooden plank with two coats of Patio Paint in Robin’s Egg Blue. 2. Paint half the rocks with Citrus Green Patio Paint and half with Geranium Red Patio Paint. Use 2-3 coats for full coverage, then repeat on the other side of the rocks. 3. When paint has dried on the wooden plank, paint a grid of nine lily pads — three rows of three. (To make a lily pad, draw a heart with a rounded base instead of a point.) Mix of Patio Paint in Sprout Green and Fern Green for my lily pads. 4. Once rocks have dried completely, decorate the red rocks to look like ladybugs, using Wrought Iron Black and Cloud White Patio Paint. 5. Paint eyes on the green rocks using Cloud White and Sunshine Yellow Patio Paint. Randomly decorate the tadpoles with spots in Sprout Green and Fern Green Patio Paint.Allow to dry completely before playing your first game of tic tac toe. While Patio Paint is weather and water resistant, let paint cure 72 hours before exposing to moisture.
Sidewalk Chalk "Pops" Materials: Plaster of Paris, tempera paint (neon works best), silicone pop mold, wood craft sticks, plastic cups and plastic spoons. You’ll also need cold water, scissors and measuring cups Notes before you start this project 1. Do not put Plaster of Paris down your drain! It will harden in your pipes and cause damage. We are using disposable cups and spoons for this reason. You can rinse very small amounts off your measuring cups and such, but get the majority of the excess (wet or dry) in the trashcan. 2. This can be messy. I would recommend doing it outside and using larger plastic cups than I did! 3. Cold water means between 40-50º F. Yes, it matters. Chill enough water in your fridge for 30 minutes prior to starting. 3. Tempera paint is egg-based and non-toxic, but Plaster of Paris should not be ingested. Older children may help with the mixing, but little ones probably shouldn’t. 4. The following measurements were enough for my specific Wilton Brownie Pop Mold. You may have to adjust your volumes for different silicone molds.
Begin by cutting down your craft sticks to about 3″ long. You will need one plastic cup for each color you wish to make. Since my mold has eight spaces, I decided to mix eight different colors. Fill each plastic cup with 1/3 cup cold water. Add 2 Tablespoons of tempera paint to each plastic cup. I measured the first one then just eyeballed the rest. Since my paint set only had six colors, I created the purple (pink+blue) and aqua (green+blue) Use your plastic spoons to gently stir the water and paint together. Don’t worry if it remains a little chunky or separated—it will smooth out in the next step. Add 2/3 cup Plaster of Paris to each plastic cup. This is where it got messy and I learned my cups were a little too small. Stir until thoroughly combined. Ideally, your mixture will have the consistency of thin yogurt. Carefully pour your colors into the silicone mold. Gently tap the mold on your work surface to release any air bubbles. After two minutes, the plaster will begin to firm up. Insert your craft sticks (cut side down) into the middle of the chalk “pops.” They should be easy to place without having to push hard or hold them up. Setting these out in the hot sun is a great way to cure them quickly. After an hour, you will be able to carefully remove them from the mold. Leave them in the sun to continue drying. Most sources recommend waiting 24 hours for the plaster to fully cure. This will ensure a nice solid chalking experience. But I’m not most sources. Are you kidding me? My kids saw these chalk “pops” baking in the sun all afternoon, and it was all I could do to keep their hands off of them. I finally relented after 4 hours of dry time. At that point the chalk was still a little “damp” but firm, and it didn’t crumble one bit.
ROCK CANDY EXPERIMENT Materials (per rock candy color) 2-3 cups of sugar 1 cup of water Skewers A jar or glass A large saucepan Clothespins Optional additions: Food coloring Candy flavoring Note: You can easily double and triple the above recipe. We wanted to make a rainbow of rock candy colors, so we ended up using 10 cups of water and close to 30 cups of sugar. As long as the sugar to water ratio is close to 3:1 the rock candy will grow.
Method Combine equal parts of sugar and water in a saucepan and heat until all of the sugar is dissolved. Then, slowly add more sugar and mix, slowly adding more sugar and mixing until the sugar will no longer dissolve in the water. The water should start to look a little cloudy. That is when you know that no more sugar is dissolving and the perfect sugar-saturation has been reached. The short version is that you are creating a saturated sugar solution, or a solution in which no more sugar can dissolve at a particular temperature. The amount of sugar verses water used should be roughly 3:1. You can easily double & triple the recipe as long as you mantain a 3:1 ratio. Add candy flavoring if desired, and then continue to heat the water until it comes to a simmer. Remove the sugar-water from the heat and allow it to cool.
Preparing the Candy Sticks Cut the skewers to a desirable size for the jar(s) that you are using. Then, dip the sticks in water and roll them in sugar. Set the sugar-coated sticks aside and allow them to dry. Prepping the Jars Once your sugar-water is cool enough pour it into jars, using one jar for each color of rock candy that you wish to make. Once the sticks are dry carefully place them into the jar(s). You want to make sure that the sugar-coated sticks are completely dry before placing them in the jars. The rock candy needs the sugar on the sticks to grow, and if the sugar isn't dry it will dissolve in the water. It is also important to make sure that the sticks are not touching the bottom or sides of the jar. Enjoying Your Rock candy After a week your rock candy can be removed from the jars and enjoyed. You can extend the fun and grow your rock candy longer if desired. Once you and the kids are ready remove the candy sticks from the jar(s), and then place them on a clean surface to dry. Once dry you will have a yummy treat to enjoy!