Silver Picture Frame- a new twist on macaroni

We had a lot of fun making these frames. We used silver and gold paint with different shaped macaroni noodles to make metallic picture frame ornaments for Christmas. The metallic paint gives the macaroni a more grown up look.

Supplies:
Cardboard
Glue
Macaroni (different shapes)
Spray Paint
Picture
Yarn
Scissors
Hole Puncher

Directions:
1) Cut out a 5" x 5" piece of cardboard and draw a 2" x 2" square in the middle

2) Use the hole puncher to make a hole in the top middle of the cardboard.

3) Cover the cardboard with a thick layer of glue around the outside of the middle square, and quickly sprinkle the macaroni on it.

4) Spray pain the whole thing with silver or gold metallic spray paint.

5) After the paint dries, glue on picture of kids or pets in the middle square. Let it dry.

6) Cut a piece of yarn about 8" long and tie a loop for hanging your picture up on the tree.

Voila you have a perfect ornament that can last for years. Enjoy!

A colorful Shoe

What happens to all those shoes that don't fit anymore or one pair gets lost?? Why you turn them into art of course. This is a great activity to teach children about recycling and the loss of a shoe or some other toy that needs parts.

Supplies:
Shoe, straw/hay, tissue paper, & paint

Directions:
1)Find an old shoe and start painting it different colors or paint a pattern onto it.
2) Stuff the shoe full of some straw/hay
3) paint tissue paper or use colored paper
4) Pour glue into the bottom of the shoe and put in the straw and tissue paper.
5) Let Dry!

Your shoe can be used as a paper weight or a decoration. Just keep it away from the cats and dogs!!

Sea Shell Swirl

This was fun and easy! We put it in a frame holder to display it.

Supplies: Seashells, Glue, Paper Plate

Directions: Grab a small paper plate and start by gluing a single shell in the middle.
Pick a different color shell and glue around the first.
Continue until you have filled the whole plate.

You can use rhinestones, buttons, and add some charms for a little flair!

Paper Fans

Paper Fans by Chloe & Lucas

Supplies: Construction Paper, Tape, Stickers, (also Rhinestones, Markers, Glue, anything you can glue on to paper)

Directions:
Take piece of construction paper lengthwise and fold 1 inch, then flip over and fold backwards.

Keep folding back and forth until it looks like an accordion.

Put stickers on folds. You can put stickers on every other fold or do a pattern of stickers.

Gather paper at the bottom and tape together a 1-2 inch high handle.

Voila, now you can stay cool in the hot summer heat!! No batteries required!

Make A Solar Oven!

We cooked some Smores and hot dogs in our solar oven. It is easy to make, and took 20 minutes to put together.

Supplies: 1 box , newspapers, scissors, tape, black construction paper, clear plastic wrap, aluminum foil, ruler. Our box was 14" length X 11" wide X 3" tall. You can use a pizza box also.

Directions:
1) On top of box, Draw an 8.5" X 11" 3 sided square, this is the flap on top.

2) Cut out the 3 sides of the square and fold flap back.

3) Cover inside of flap with aluminum foil using tape to secure the edges.

4) Line inside of box bottom with black paper. Tape or glue down.

5) Roll up newspapers to 1.5" thick and tape closed. Fit these around the inside edges of the box.

6) Tightly stretch and tape plastic wrap to inside/ underside of top opening.

7) Prop the flap open with a ruler while cooking.

Place the oven in the sun, on a table or chair. The sun will bounce off the aluminum foil and warm up the food inside. It took about an hour for the hot dog to be warm and the Smores to melt.
ENJOY!

Play dough

After a being sick and then getting hit by a car, I haven't been able to make crafts, so here is a recipe for play dough.

3 cups flour
1/4 cup salt
1 cup water
1 tablespoon oil
liquid food coloring

Mix flour with salt. Add water, food coloring, and oil slowly. If mixture is too stiff add more water. If it is too sticky, add more flour. Store dough in air tight container or zip-lock bag.

Here is the website where I got the recipe, and many more. Play dough is always fun! http://www.geocities.com/holidayzone/recipes/dough.html

Lack of posts!

Sorry for the lack of recent posts. There has been a cold making the rounds at our house, and I just haven't had the time or energy.
I will be reposting crafts by mid May.
Thank you for your patience.

FUN BOARD!

We took this piece of wood, found on the street and created art worthy of hanging on the wall.

Supplies:

wood or other flat thick material

fabric scraps

paper (we cut out iron on letters for the word)

glue

scissors

beads

ornaments/ keychains/ jewelry

Directions:

Cut scraps of fabric into triangles and squares.

Glue on to board and arrange however you want, you will most likely overlap a bit.

Allow about 10 minutes for the fabric to dry, then glue on your word, beads and other decorations.

Let dry.

I think I had more fun than the kids with this one! All of the work took about 30 minutes.

3-D Painting

We made this 3-D piece of work with some glue and water color!

Supplies

Cardboard (we cut up a cereal box)

regular Glue

Watercolor Paint

Draw a picture with a pencil, crayon, or pen

Trace the picture with glue

Let Dry!

After about 10-20 minutes you can paint over the glue with different colors.

This creates a cool 3-D effect the kids will love!

Non-Craft Activities

I am out of town this week without a craft, so here is an activity to do with the kids.

• Fill up a bag of 30 water balloons and have the kids help you wash the car. For little kids standing high on a treehouse or porch will help them throw the balloons hard enough to break.

• Add food coloring to a few buckets of soapy water for a rainbow wash.

Beware, You will probably end up soaking wet!

I will be back next week with a new craft. Thank you!

Paper Bead Bracelet

SUPPLIES:

Magazines

Scissors

Tape

Stretchy cord or Elastic

Beads and Buttons (optional)

Cut magazine pages into small strips, about 1/2 "wide by 4"long

Roll into small beads

Tape closed , all the way round so they can get wet and not fall apart.

Bead onto stretchy cord and tie tightly.

You can add beads or buttons in between the magazine beads for a little spice! Or make more beads for a necklace.

what to do with all that candy

My niece came home with a bag of candy that she couldn't eat, she's allergic to corn syrup!

So we painted a small canvas and glued the candy on to make a work of art!

Supplies:

Small Canvas or Cardboard

Paint

Glue

Candy

Paint the Canvas and let dry.

Place candy in a design, then glue each piece on! After it dries you can hang it up.

You could also use small plastic toys or pieces of jewelry for a really unique work of art.

Magnetic Bug Clip

SUPPLIES:
Clothespins
Flat Magnets
Glue
Bug (or other shape) palain wood pieces
Paint

• Glue magnet to clothespin, let dry.
• Paint bug shape
• Glue bug to other side of clothespin and let dry 30 minutes.

After it dries you'll have a handy little clip to hold pictures or lists on your fridge.

Little People: A fun easy craft

The kids loved this one! We set them in the windowsill to greet our guests!

Supplies

• Toilet Paper Rolls
• Sraws
• Stryofoam
• Rubber bands or Glue
  
• Markers/paint

Draw or Paint faces and bodies on the rolls.
Glue on some eyelashes and yarn or ribbon for hair
Glue or Rubber band 2 straws to the roll!

Voila! A masterpiece indeed!

I am the Craft Nanny

Welcome to the Craft Nanny!

I have been a professional Nanny for years, and started watching my niece and nephew when I was just 12 years old!

My favorite activities to do with kids are....................CRAFTS!
Crafts from anything, especially using recycled materials, paper, bottles, clothing, books, anything that can be glued or tied together.

A lot of the crafts I showcase will be for the 3-7 year old set, but can be done by older children and adults too! My goal will be to post a new craft every week. If you have suggestions for crafts or photos please share, as this is a public blog.

Have Fun!!!