5 Inexpensive and Stress-free Crafts for Kids

by Guest Author on January 26, 2012

Crafts don’t have to be costly to be both enjoyable and handy. With some resourcefulness and creativity, inexpensive craft projects can become a masterpiece. Take crafting to the next level and make it an entertaining experience too with these five cheap and stress-free kids’ crafts.

1.      Journal – A custom-made journal is a fun way to get kids writing. A plain spiral notebook can be morphed into an electrifying work of art. Just have kids collage or decoupage the cover, adding a bit of their character to the notebook.

2.      Storybook – Akin to a journal, a storybook is an entertaining way to inspire artistic expression and originality. Have children invent their own story with illustrations and then bind it together in a book that they produced. Some type of thick paper, like construction paper, functions best to keep the book organized. Basically use a hole puncher and some yarn to tie it together.

3.      Treasure box – Any box will work. Discarded shoe boxes, gift boxes, almost any box with a lid can make an easy treasure box. Have the kids garnish it with decals, lively paper, material, or even pasta and they have a cool place to collect the little odds and ends they pick up

4.      Collage- Wall art was never cooler. Using old periodicals and snapshots have children ornament a piece of poster board with all their much loved things, people, and places. Include the year someplace on the collage and they can create a timeline of their interests and escapades. You can even make it a yearly activity that will stir upwonderful memories as they get older.

5.      Fun with boxes- A big box can become whatever kids wish. A spacecraft, a doll house, a train, no matter what they are fascinated with, a cardboard box can become it. All it takes is some markers or crayons and a little resourcefulness. You can lend a hand by cutting windows and doors, and the box can even become a robot or extra-terrestrial costume in a pinch. Let the kids go crazy and see what they create.

With very little effort and a lot of resourcefulness, kids can make handy, fun crafts with everyday items. Take a look around and see what you can find. You might be astonished at the imaginative crafts you can come up with too!

Heather Smith is an ex-nanny. Passionate about thought leadership and writing, Heather regularly contributes to various career, social media, public relations, branding, and parenting blogs/websites. She also provides value to nanny service by giving advice on site design as well as the features and functionality to provide more and more value to nannies and families across the U.S. and Canada. She can be available at H.smith7295 [at] gmail.com.

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Art of Crafts Interview: Karen From Just Bunting

by Alison Wood on January 22, 2012

For today’s interview please welcome Karen from Just Bunting.

1.       Firstly, please introduce yourself and tell us a little about where you are based, for example in which country and part of that country? My name is Karen Davey and I run a business called Just Bunting. I am based the far south west of the UK, in Cornwall.

2.       Please tell us a little about the nature of your craft/design based business. I make bunting from a range of recycled, vintage and new fabrics, which is available for both sale and hire.

3.       How did the idea for your business come about? The idea for the business originated out of the amount of fabric which I seemed to be recycling every week through the local council. I had a large supply of children’s duvet covers and it seemed such a shame not to put them to some use, so I decided to look into upcycling them into bunting. I’ve always wanted my own business, and the dissertation for my Open University degree about ‘Young People Achieving Aspirations’ was the catalyst I needed to make the leap into business ownership.

4.       How long now have you been established? I set up Just Bunting in April 2011, having given up my part time employment with a national children’s charity to work from home and be around more for my own children.

5.       How do you decide what to make, and how do you come up with your great ideas? Living close to the coast and the moors, I take inspiration from the environment around me. I love putting together fabrics and seeing if they work well together, I am always on the look out for interesting fabrics at car boot fairs and in vintage shops, for example, if I find an interesting piece of fabric, I try to co-ordinate, or contrast, with other fabrics. I have amassed a huge range of different colours and am now desperate for more storage space!

6.      Do you undertake your business on a full-time basis or do you have other work/family commitments? I work full time (and more) in my business, I have a very small part time job with a local primary school and have two children at home, currently aged eleven and thirteen. I am also a parent governor at my children’s secondary school.

7.       Tell us a little about your typical day and what is involved in running the business? My typical day would probably consist of checking emails / messages that have come in overnight and then pack the children off to school at 8am. I try to spend the first hour or so concentrating on my marketing and social media networking. I would then make up any outstanding orders, personalised orders and often prepare new examples for craft fairs and events. Late morning, I check emails / messages again and perhaps send a few tweets about hire bunting, weddings or any new designs that are available.

Afternoons are spent making up more bunting, tidying my workroom, doing accounts, marketing plans or just taking some time out to think about the business future! My children arrive home from school at 2.45pm, so I try to be around for them for the rest of the afternoon. Following the evening meal, I can often be found on my laptop doing social media marketing activities, writing my blog and generally finding out more about running a business.

I try to spend half a day per week working on my accounts, ensuring that all my expenses are recorded accurately and are kept up to date.

8.       What advice would you give to others who are considering running a craft based business?  Two things, ensure your book keeping is kept up to date, and don’t let the business take over your life / home! Both of which I am very bad at!

9.       As this is Art of Crafts I have to ask, do you enjoy any crafts yourself in your spare time? If so, please tell us more. I have just attended a freehand machine embroidery class, so I am trying to put this into practice to make applique pictures.

10.   Finally, if people want to learn more about your business/website do you have a web address, Facebook page or Twitter profile where they can find out more ?

www.justbunting.co.uk

http://www.facebook.com/JustBunting

Twitter: @justbunting

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Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway: Day 7 Me & My Sewing Machine

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