By engaging your kids in after-school crafts, you can give them the opportunity to use these hours productively instead of lounging in front of the television. By completing the simple crafts, your kids not only produce tokens of their efforts, but they also hone their fine motor skills and continue to build their creativity.
Toothbrush Bracelet
Transform a standard toothbrush into an attractive cuff bracelet with your kid. To make your toothbrush bracelet, purchase a new toothbrush or re-purpose one with tired bristles. Select a brush that is thin in nature, as bulky brushes do not bend as easily. Arm your kiddo with some standard pliers and help her grab and tug each cluster of bristles to remove them. These bristles should pull free of the toothbrush with relative ease. While your child removes these bristles, heat a pot of water to a boil.
Place the bristle-less brush into the pot of rapidly boiling water, and allow it to heat up. After approximately five minutes, remove the brush from the water with tongs, placing it on a kitchen towel. Move the heated brush to a hot pad and carefully form it into a cuff shape. If your child is a preteen or teen, you may want to allow her to complete this task herself. If not, it is best that you do the bending to ensure that your child doesn’t accidentally get burned. After molding the brush, allow it to cool. Your child can now add it to her collection of jewelry pieces.
Jeans Pocket Composition Book
Give a standard composition book a facelift by adding a jeans pocket. To create this craft, clip the back pocket off of an outgrown or worn pair of jeans. Using hot glue, attach this pocket to the front of a composition book. Give your kid some puffy paint, rhinestones and other decorations, and allow her to jazz up the cover, adding these additions to the pocket as well as to the surrounding composition book cover area. Place a pen in the pocket to ensure that your child always has the writing implement she needs at her disposal.
Photo Tote Bag
Transform a standard tote bag into a personalized photo bag with your child. Purchase a standard canvas tote in white or cream and standard printable photo-transfer paper. Help your child select a digital image to feature on her bag, or scan in an image if you do not have a digital version. Print the image onto the photo transfer paper in mirror image. Generally, you can accomplish this task by modifying the print properties on your computer. Trim away any extra transfer paper, and then place the transfer paper image on your bag. Allow your child to help you press the image onto the bag using a hot, dry iron. Peel away the backing to finish your project.
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