just for kids

november 98

December is a month of turmoil for many families. Parties, visitors, family events, and cooking make many of us feel overwhelmed so that when our children come to us the second week of December, with a list of gifts they ‘must’ give, we either blow our wad or our stack. November, on the other hand, is blessed with at least two weeks, maybe three, when you can help plan and make gifts with younger children, and just help plan gifts with teens, both young and old. The benefits of making at least some of your own gifts are many. First, your children give of themselves in terms of thought going into an appropriate gift, and time to make the gift. Second, the crafts we suggest here have nothing to do with food to eat, that bug-a-boo at this time of the year. Why not make something that will bring a smile to your great aunt’s face, while you don’t have to worry about feeling deprived? From my own experience, sometimes it’s hard baking and cooking sweets, when you know that you can eat so little of them. Thirdly, this is another way to make family memories and have family time together, and that is always good. Words of caution when teaching or working with your children on anything, even something as easy as some of these ideas: Set firm safety rules for children of all ages depending on their maturity and dexterity. Make sure that what they plan to make is do-able without your needing to purchase expensive supplies and tools that you may never use again. For older children you may want a budget so that they learn how to both budget time and funds. Block out time when you are not pulled in many directions to oversee your child’s craft time. The first example may take more time, but especially with younger children and preadolescents, you can count on the fact that they will need your input. Don’t plan on tackling many crafts. Keep it simple in terms of how many different projects to start. There seems to be a direct relationship between how many you start and the number not finished by anyone but you know who. Never expect the craft you and your child decide on to look like the picture you have in your mind. Give as little help as possible and know that the final product will bring joy to the friend or relative who receives it irregardless of its ability to stand upright without that funny list to the right. What I’m implying is that the product will look like the age of your child. If your child becomes frustrated, you can count on the fact that the skill required is a difficult one. Take some responsibility here and help him or her over this step, or pull the plug on that craft and try something a bit easier. If this happens, it’s a good time to talk about making mistakes and correcting them by changing tactics or choices. If your child sees that you can problem solve and not give up the concept, then they will model your behavior, or at least the professionals say that will happen sooner or later. Here’s Some Project Suggestions: A Picture Tree This is a wonderful idea to give to relatives and close friends from younger children who can help gather the pictures and paste frames on them. It makes an excellent gift for the teen to make for school friends with memories from the school year or to send to a camp friends with reminders of the previous summer. You will need the following items: Paper covered wire cut into 18-inch (45 cm) lengths. For 16 pictures use 36 of these lengths; for fewer pictures, use less wire. Scissors. If you child is young, make sure they are the small, safety scissors used in preschools and elementary grades. Photographs of family or friends. Framing materials including dried flowers, store-bought metal confetti in Christmas shapes, small pieces of colored paper in different shapes, potpourri, or any light, small trims that you like. We like to change the shape depending on the picture. For example, our son’s picture have miniature stick on tennis racquets or footballs while our daughter’s might have dancing shoes or riding hats. White glue like Elmer’s. Ribbon in different colors. Styrofoam base and sheet moss. To make the tree: Leave 2 1/2 inches (6.25 cm) of wire at the bottom, and begin to twist the length of wires together for about six inches. Fan the bottom wires out and then twist together to make five roots. At the top of the tree divide the wires into groups of four, fanning them out on all sides of the tree. Form branches by twisting the wires, leaving some of the single wires on each branch to form twigs. Use a scissors to form the shape of the tree you want when you are finished twisting the branches. Select the pictures you want to use and cut into circles, squares, and ovals about 1 1/2 inches (3.75 cm) in size. Leave a bit of extra space to cover for the frame. Attach a loop of 2 inch (5 cm) long ribbon to the top of the picture with glue. Place a bead of glue around the picture and glue on the dried flowers or confetti to form a frame. Allow to dry. Tie each picture to the tree. Cover the Styrofoam square with sheet moss. and stick the root ends into the base to hold the tree to the base. Decorate the base with extra flowers or decorations used for frames. Decoupage Gift Box or Tray This can be as sophisticatedly theme oriented as the child is capable of making it. You will need the following items: Paper cutouts, either from magazines, rice papers or wrappings you purchase 2 paper cups White glue like Elmer’s Paint brushes Wooden or plastic box or tray to cover with decoupage Small pieces of kitchen sponge Clear acrylic polymer spray To Assemble: Gather the cutouts and lay them out on the table in the design you plan for the finished product. Fill 1 cup with water and the other with a squirt of glue diluted with a few drops of water thinned so that it can be painted on with brushes. If the glue beads on a scrap of paper it needs thickening with more glue. Apply the thinned glue to paper cutouts, one by one, and then place on the box or tray, overlapping in an attractive design. Once the cutouts are in place, press down gently with your fingers. Wipe off the excess paste with the sponge which has been dampened. Allow the box or tray to dry. Spray with acrylic polymer finish or Liquitex gloss which can be painted on according to directions (most likely you, the adult, will need to do this step). You will need about 15 to 20 coats for a wooden box or tray and 3 to 5 coats for a plastic box or tray. Remember to allow each coat to dry before applying the next. Vegetable Prints This is a fun project for the very young and young at heart. If you can find beautiful rice papers, the creative teen can design papers for gifts that will be treasured for as long as they last and then some. You will need to purchase: Butcher’s paper, tissue paper, rice paper, or shelf paper, 9 X 12 inches (22.5 X 30 cm) or larger for wrapping paper, or smaller for writing paper. Newspaper Jar of water Paintbrushes Various fruits and vegetables Tempera paints To Assemble: Arrange the paper on top of newspaper on a work space. Fill jar with water to hold brushes. Cut mushrooms and cauliflower florets top to bottom and an apple crosswise, removing the seeds. Allow the vegetables and fruit halves to dry on paper towels for at least an hour. You can also use lemon and orange halves, but they take at least 2 days to dry. Brush the cut surface of the vegetables and fruits with tempera paint and print by pressing firmly on the paper. You will be able to make 3 impressions before you need to repaint. Make a random pattern using fruits and vegetables or make rows of the same vegetable and fruits in different colors. The palate and your imagination set the limit. When the paint is dry, the paper is ready to use or give as a gift. Popcorn Christmas Trees These are not for eating, but are for decorating a children’s table or giving to a hostess as a gift. They make a wonderful center piece when placed in a circle with moss, artificial snow and colorful seasonal confetti. For this project, you will need: Icing-glue Ice cream cones Popped corn M&M candies in Christmas colors Colored sugar To assemble: Make icing glue by mixing 1 cup (105 g) confectioner’s sugar with 4 teaspoons condensed milk (20 ml) and green food coloring. Recipe makes 1 cup. Spread the icing-glue over ice cream cones, using about 2 tablespoons (30 ml) per cone. Before the icing hardens press popped corn all over the cones. Use M& M’s for ornaments and sprinkle with green colored sugar. Play Clay Ornaments These seasonal favorites can be as simple or complex as you have time to supervise or as long as your child can decorate them before he or she loses interest. You will need: 2 cups (416 g) baking soda 1 cup (128 g) cornstarch 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) water Metal cookie cutters, preferably ones with both ends open Plastic drinking straw Tempera paints or acrylics Brushes Acrylics Cord or ribbon To assemble: To make play clay, combine the baking soda and cornstarch in a saucepan. Mix well. Add 1/2 of the water, mix, then stir in rest of water. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. When mixture reaches the consistency of moist mashed potatoes, remove to a plate. Cover with a damp cloth and cool. Kneed for a few minutes. Place in a plastic bag until ready to use. Sprinkle work surface with cornstarch. Roll out clay to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Before the shapes harden punch a hanging hole with straw. Blow on opposite end of the straw to clear out clay. Transfer the ornaments to drying surface with a spatula. Paint the dry ornaments. If you want to use more than one color of tempera, spray with acrylic spray. Let dry for a few seconds, then apply color as desired. Spray finished ornament with acrylic, If you want to use glitter, brush with a thin coating of glue. Sprinkle with glitter and shake off excess. Let dry. Place the hanging cord or ribbon through the hole and tie. Stitched Tree Ornaments With adult supervision, even small children of four to five years can learn to whipstitch these charming ornaments using a large plastic embroidery needle and embroidery floss. You’ll need: Hand-drawn patterns (Christmas trees, bells, stars, etc) or simple cut-outs from a Christmas coloring book to use as a pattern Pieces of felt in festive colors and white (for making hand-prints) Paint marker or fabric paint and a brush Coordinating embroidery floss Large plastic embroidery needle Short lengths of twisted metallic ribbon for hangers To assemble: Cut out two matching pieces of felt for each ornament. With a paint marker or fabric paint, write a holiday message on one of the two felt pieces. Using embroidery floss, whipstitch the two felt pieces together, making sure the message side is facing out. Just before finishing the stitching, stuff the ornament with cotton balls. Don’t look for perfection. Stitches of different lengths and spaces are what add charm while instilling a pride of accomplishment. Thread a length of metallic ribbon and pull through top end of ornament. Remove needle and securely tie with a knot. Note: If you wish to make hand prints of your child to treasure over the years as he/she grows to adulthood, trace one of their hands (position their fingers slightly spread out) onto a piece of white paper. Use the pattern to cut out two matching pieces of white felt. Write their name and date on one side; continue to stitch and fill as the ornaments above. You’ll wonder ‘where did the years go?’ when you hang the hand-print of a teenager next to one when he/she was a toddling toddler! Chenille Icicles Very easy to make for even small children. We still have some from more than 25 to 30 years ago that our sons made for the small trees they each had in their rooms. You will need: Chenille stems in different sparkly colors Pencil To assemble: Wrap each chenille stem around a pencil. Gently pull the stem off the pencil, taking care to keep the swirled shape. To hang on the tree, bend one end of the stem to form a short hook.