KIDS CRAFTS FOR SPRING

Spring time signifies the start of longer days and shorter nights, but craft activities and projects can be a fabulous way to keep the kids busy if the British weather is keeping them indoors. 

• A4 sheet of thin card
• Coloured paper modelling straws
• Foam or paper flowers, insect and heart shapes
• Shredded brown sugar paper
• Scissors
• PVA glue

1. Print out or draw the box template below onto thin A4 card. 
   Cut out around the outside lines, cut along the four dotted lines, then score and fold along the solid lines.



 

2. Glue the four square corner tabs you have created to the inside of the side sections to form a simple rectangular box as the base for your window box.
3. Cover the outside of the box by sticking on coloured paper modelling straws with PVA glue. Straws are easy to cut to the required length with scissors.
4. Decorate the outside of the box with foam insect and heart shapes.

1. Cut green straws to make flower stems of the length you require. Flatten one end of the stem and glue to the back of a foam or paper flower. Add a circular centre to the flower if required.
2. Flatten the other end of the stem and fold at right angles to enable you to glue the stem to the inside base of the window box.
3. Repeat with the other flowers to fill your window box.
4. Fill in around your flower stems with the shredded brown sugar paper ('potting compost') to support the flowers and cover the 'roots'!

SPRING Bunny Puppet

• Thin card or thick paper approximately 10cm x 15cm
• Pencil, scissors, felt-tip pens or coloured pencils

1. Draw a bunny outline onto thin card or thick paper and cut out.
2. Cut 2 holes large enough to put your fingers through.
3. Draw on the eyes and whiskers and colour or decorate the bunny as you wish.
4. Put your fingers through the holes from behind to imitate the rabbit's paws.

SPRING Bunny join-the-dots

Print a large spring bunny dot-to-dot

CARD MAKING

You will need:

• Thin card and paper in assorted colours
• Assorted foam or paper shapes or pictures cut from an old magazine
• Coloured paper modelling straws
• PVA glue
• Pencil, ruler, scissors and felt-tip pens or coloured pencils.

You can make a variety of greetings cards with just a few crafty bits and pieces.

Flower pot card

1. Fold an A4 sheet of card in half to form a basic A5 greetings card.
2. Cut some red paper modelling straws into approximately 5cm lengths and glue onto the card to form the flower pot. Flatten the ends of a couple of the straws and cut them slightly shorter than the others to enable you to make the sloping sides of the pot.
3. Cut 3 different lengths of green modelling straw for the flower stems and glue into place.
4. Cut 2 lengths of straw slightly longer than the width of the top of the flower pot and glue in place to form the rim (and cover the bottoms of the stems).
5. Make each flower by flattening a full length straw and cutting slits into the straw for about 10 cm from one end. Starting with the uncut end, roll up the straw tightly around a pencil, and then glue down the other end. Bend the straw back where you have made the slits to open up the flower and form the petals.
6. Glue the flowers around the tops of the stems.
7. Add other decorations as required using foam or paper shapes, felt-tip pens or coloured pencils.
8. Then simply add a special message!

Helen's Top Tip:
Don't forget when giving a handmade greetings card, you can also decorate the envelope to make it extra-special.

Quick and easy daisy card for any occasion

1. Fold a piece of coloured card in half to form your basic card.
2. Stick on foam shapes as shown to form the daisy petals and centres.
3. Add your message and any other decorations as required.

Caterpillar card

1. Fold a piece of coloured card in half to form your basic card - black works well here.
2. Stick on gummed paper circles (or cut your own from coloured paper) to make a caterpillar shape as shown.
3. Add your message and any other decorations as required.

Welly Boot Keepers

You will need:

• Scraps of thin card or foam
• Wooden clothes pegs (with spring)
• PVA glue
• Pencil, scissors and felt-tip pens

1. Cut a rectangle of foam or card approximately 8cm x 4cm (big enough to hide the clothes peg but not so big that the card will bend when the peg is used).
2. Decorate with foam shapes or draw a design onto card with felt-tip pens. Add a name if you wish.
3. You could also cut a fancy edge around the rectangle with fancy cut scissors if you have them.
4. Glue the clothes peg onto the centre back of the rectangle and set aside to allow the glue to dry.
5. When dry, use the peg to clip the tops of your 2 wellington boots together so that you'll always be able to find both of them!

Variations:
You could also use these pegs to hang up your painted pictures to dry or if you attach a magnet to the other side of the peg, you will have a decorative fridge magnet.