FUN CRAFT ACTIVITIES

Have fun with these simple craft activities. More crafts can be found here.

Make and decorate a mask

You will need:

• A4 sheet of thin card
• Assortment of decorations, eg feathers, small paper shapes, acrylic gemstones
• Thin elastic
• Scissors
• Felt-tip pens or colouring pencils
• PVA glue

1. Print out the mask template below onto a sheet of thin card.
   

   

   
   
2. Cut out around the outline and ask an adult to cut out the holes for the eyes and then make 2 small holes at each side for the elastic as marked.
   
3. Stick on an assortment of decorations and complete your design using felt-tip pens or colouring pencils.
   
4. Cut a length of elastic to the appropriate size and thread it through the holes at the sides, tying knots at the front to secure.

Paper doyley-framed picture

You will need:

• Background card
• Photograph or picture cut from an old magazine or your own drawing
• Circular paper doyley
• Glue stick
• Scissors

1. Cut a piece of card for the background slightly larger than your photograph or picture.
   
2. Glue your picture centrally onto the background card.
   
3. Cut a circular paper doyley into quarters and stick one piece onto each of the four corners of the framed picture, so that the doyley overlaps the picture and creates a decorative edge.
   

Helen's Top Tip:
The larger the picture, the larger the doyley you'll need. If the four sections of the doyley are too large when you lay them on top of your picture, simply cut an equal amount off each of the straight sides before gluing in place.

Moons and stars mobile

You will need:

• Thick card or greyboard
• Foam or paper shapes
• Sewing thread
• Paints and paint brush
• Pencil, ruler, scissors, a pair of compasses and play clay

1. Cut 2 strips of thick card approximately 25cm x 4cm.
   
2. Make a thin slit at the centre of each length, about 2cm high, so that the 2 pieces will slot together at right angles to form a balanced hanging frame.
   
3. Take the frame apart and make small holes (just enough for the sewing thread to go through) at approximately 4cm intervals along the bottom edge of each piece of the frame. Make another 2 holes in the top of one half of the frame, one 2cm either side of the centre.

Ask an adult to help make the holes - the point of a pair of compasses pushed carefully through the card into a lump of play clay is ideal for this stage.

4. Paint or decorate the frame as required and leave to dry.
   
5. Cut out moon and star shapes from paper, card or foam and decorate if required.
   
6. Make a small hole near the top of each shape and thread a length of sewing thread through the hole. Then pass the thread through one of the holes in the base of the frame and tie a knot in the thread to secure. Trim off any excess thread.

Use different lengths of thread so that the shapes hang at different levels. Hang only one shape through each hole in the frame and have a mixture of shapes and sizes on each of the 4 arms to ensure that your mobile is balanced.

7. Attach a loop of thread through the 2 holes in the top of the frame to enable you to hang and display your mobile.

(Plastic) Glass Painting

You will need:

• Clear plastic plate, picture frame or similar
• Glass paints
• Fine paint brush
• Peel off outline stickers

1. Make sure the surface of the object you are going to decorate is clean and dry.
   
2. Create an outline design by sticking a selection of peel off stickers of your choice onto the object.
   
3. Using the glass paints very sparingly, carefully fill in between the outlines with the brush. A little paint goes a long way! Wipe the brush on a tissue when changing colours.
   
4. When you have completed your design, leave your work to dry, wash the brush in warm water and close your paints securely.
   
5. Once dry, display your work near a window, so that the sunlight will pass through it and create a beautiful effect.
   

1. Objects such as plates and frames are much easier to decorate than tumblers, bottles and jars as they can be kept flat until they are dry, so your paint is less likely to run and spoil the design.
   
2. Peel off stickers provide a quick, easy and effective way of creating the outline of your design. However, with your glass paints you may have a liquid outliner which you can use to create freehand designs. Squeeze the outliner straight from the bottle or tube onto your project to create your design. Set aside to dry before filling in with your glass paints.

• Thin card
• Pencil, scissors, glue, felt-tip pens or colouring pencils

1. Print out the outline of an elephant onto thin card and cut around the shape.
   

   

    

2. Cut a hole in the middle (as shown) to put your finger through to form the elephant's trunk.
   
3. Cut out a pair of ears and glue in place to add extra dimension.
   
4. Draw on the elephant's eyes, tusks and toenails and add any other decorations as required.

• Thin card
• Photograph or picture cut from an old magazine
• Scissors, pencil, ruler and glue

1. Glue the picture onto the thin card to give it extra thickness, then trim around the edge of the picture to get rid of any excess card.
   
2. Turn the picture over and, using a pencil and ruler, mark the card into a random grid of geometric shapes. Don't make the shapes too small or complex, unless you want a very challenging puzzle at the end!
   
3. Cut along the lines you have marked.
   
4. Now you have your own jigsaw puzzle and are ready to reassemble the picture.
   
   

Have fun with your craft activities!