Just Fun

There's a simple technique for creating cute toy insects from pompoms. For example, for such a honeybee you will need pompoms, colored paper, and a wooden toothpick or cocktail stick. Bee First, cut out three pairs of V-shaped paper legs. That is, every pair of legs is joined together to form a V shape. Similarly, make a pair of cellophane wings. Then thread the legs, wings and pompoms onto the toothpick in the following order: A pompom, so that the tip of the toothpick is left sticking out behind for the sting (remove its sharp tip for safety); A pair of legs and another pompom; Another pair of legs and a pompom; A pair of legs, the wings and the last pompom for the head. Apply some glue on the toothpick between the pompoms when assembling the toy. Glue two paper antennas, a mouth and wiggly eyes onto the head. Bzzzzz... Wiggly eyes can be easily made from an empty blister pack: put a small black paper circle into a blister and seal it with glue and a round piece of paper. Here ar...

Very special crafts can be made using wooden craft sticks (a.k.a. popsicle sticks or lolly sticks), like this ladybug and dragonfly collage. Find a simple picture for your design and color the sticks according to it. Then let your kids arrange and glue the colored sticks on a piece of construction paper. Using other supplies along with craft sticks and combining different techniques can be a good idea. For example, I used also black round stickers, a pipe cleaner and wiggly eyes for this simple project. Wiggly eyes can be easily made out of discarded tablet blister packs, or just purchased at a crafts store.