Craft Ideas to do with the kids that costs as close to nothing

**Jskell911** · 06-04-2008, 07:15 PM

How about taking an old T Shirt and tie dying it, or letting them paint on it with fabric paints?

Here's a cute "build a paper bag city" article:
http://familyfun.go.com/arts-and-cra...project01.html

Homemade Fingerpaint recipes:
http://parenting.ivillage.com/tp/tpa...,,88mf,00.html

Make potato stamps:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2067434_make...paign=yssp_art

**forHISglory** · 06-04-2008, 11:54 PM

My grandkids are staying with us some this summer, so this thread is awesome for me! I'm going to be using a lot of your ideas.

I went to Dollar Tree tonight and found these really cute little bug cages. They are made out of fine mesh wire stretched over a plastic frame. The idea is that kids can catch bugs (lightning bugs, crickets, etc) and feed and observe them in the cage. I also got a cheap flashlight and magnifying glasses there. My idea is to have them catch some bugs at night (hence the flashlight), look at the bugs with the magnifying glass, draw what they see, maybe color it. Sort of a cheap stab at the scientific method! My grandkids are 7 and 4, so thought this could be a good activity. The 4 year old has kept a bug farm for a year or so. He catches all kinds of woolly worms and other bugs and put them in peanut butter jars, diaper wipes containers, cheese boxes..... whatever is handy. He goes out every day and collects leaves to feed them. And he held funerals for them..... Anyway, I thought this would fit their interests and give them a lot of fun outside. Total cost: $4.

Dollar Tree also had kids T-shirts in solid red, white or blue. So I got a couple of those. I have all kinds of fabric paints, puff paints, etc. and I thought we would do the shirt decorating thing, too. Total cost: $2.

Keep posting ideas!

**nessarowdy** · 06-05-2008, 10:46 AM

I let my kids make worm paintings at least once every summer. And it is exactly what it sounds like. Find some worms in either your yard OR at the store (we can't ever find any!). Clean the worms off so that they aren't covered in mud/dirt, and place them in washable paint until their entire body is covered. Then place the worm on paper and let them crawl around, "painting" the page as they go. We usually have about 4 different colored worms going at a time on each page. The kids LOVE LOVE LOVE this! Then we wash off the worms and put them in the garden!

**sunshine** · 06-05-2008, 11:01 AM

Originally Posted by nessarowdy

I let my kids make worm paintings at least once every summer. And it is exactly what it sounds like. Find some worms in either your yard OR at the store (we can't ever find any!). Clean the worms off so that they aren't covered in mud/dirt, and place them in washable paint until their entire body is covered. Then place the worm on paper and let them crawl around, "painting" the page as they go. We usually have about 4 different colored worms going at a time on each page. The kids LOVE LOVE LOVE this! Then we wash off the worms and put them in the garden!

That's a great idea - I have my 5 yo great nephew this week. I might give that a try.

**amandajhh** · 07-06-2009, 04:30 PM

My son loves dressing up and making up stories and songs. We put on plays together (Go figure- his daddy and I met in drama school.) Well, he loves printable masks, and being an artist I started making them. Now I've got my own site that has free printable masks for everyone to print out for free. Everytime he or I come up with a new idea, I make a mask and we post them. It's really amazing how kids light up when it comes to masks and make believe. It's a lot of fun and doesn't cost anything, so give it a try sometime.

**craftypam** · 07-06-2009, 05:52 PM

Originally Posted by Momto2Boyz

This post has got me totally motivated! I think I am going to print out some calendars and try to "map out" our activities! Have a couple of activities planned for each day, so when the kids complain that they are bored, I can just pick an activity off the calendar!

I don't know if you have a site for printing calendars but here's another one printfree.com

**marjorie** · 07-06-2009, 07:51 PM

When I was a kid, some group or other I was involved in made castles, using cardboard boxes, toilet and paper towel rolls that were empty and contruction paper with kid glue. Great fun!