Craft

Celebrate the Snow!

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It’s the perfect time of year to celebrate the snow.  A fun, simple craft that your Cloverbuds can complete is making a snow globe.

Let’s get started:

Collect the following simple supplies:

  • A small jar for each child. This can be a baby food jar, a pickle jar or a mason jar.
  • Glitter in silver, white, blue or a combination of all. You can add the reflective snowflake confetti if you like.
  • Water resistant glue and distilled water. Using distilled water ensures that all the minerals and bacteria are removed making sure that you don’t end up with water that can get cloudy.
  • Something to put in your globe. Choose something simple like a small figurine or a toy.  I like collecting items from outside.  Small pine cones, acorns, pretty rocks are all good too (and free!).

What to Do:

  1. Fill the bottom of the jar with glitter.  Be generous, but not overwhelming.  About ¼ of the way full is a good guideline.
  2. Glue the figurine to the bottom of the lid making sure you keep them centered.
  3. Fill the jar with the water leaving approximately ¾ of an inch of air space at the top.
  4. Run the glue around the perimeter of the inside of the lid to form a waterproof seal when you screw the lid in place. Allow to dry for a bit so your glitter doesn’t stick to the glue.

Turn it upside down and enjoy!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

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Fall is a wonderful time of year with the cooler temperatures and leaves changing colors, but it also means there is more time spent indoors. For Cloverbud members, it’s important to find fun and educational activities to keep them busy so you don’t hear those dreaded words…. “I’m bored!”

Have you considered the 3 Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) as a topic for a meeting?

Here are some ideas to get you started:

  • Read a story – There are many books about preventing litter or recycling. A favorite is: The Wartville Wizard by Dan Madden
  • Invite a guest speaker from your Community Action group or local Recycling Facility to talk about the importance of recycling and reducing waste
  • Make a craft out of items that can’t be recycled, for example Tops or Light Catchers made from old CDs. Search for other ideas or make your own! Creativity is part of the fun.

Craft 1: CD Spinning Top

Supplies Needed:

  • Old CDs
  • Plastic Bottle Caps
  • Marble
  • Markers
  • Stickers
  • Hot Glue Gun

Directions:

  1. Decorate the top of your CD, allow kids to use markers and stickers to make it as creative as they want.
  2. Turn the decorated CD over and use a hot glue gun to glue a marble into the center hole of the CD. This step is best done by an adult when working with younger kids.
  3. Turn the CD right side up and glue a plastic cap to the top of the CD. This step also needs to be done by an adult when working with younger kids.
  4. Allow the top to dry! Then use the plastic cap to spin your top.

Craft 2: Light Catchers

Supplies Needed:

  • Old CDs
  • Ribbon
  • Hot Glue Gun
  • Tacky glue
  • Decorations –Silk Flowers, Markers, Stickers

Directions:

  1. Decorate the top of your CD, allows kids to use markers, stickers, or glue on sequins. Remember that the back will be attached to ribbon, so they don’t need to decorate that side.
  2. If silk flowers are being used, use a hot glue gun to glue the flower into the center hole of the CD. This step is best done by an adult when working with younger kids. Allow the glue to dry before attaching to the ribbon.
  3. After the CDs are all decorated, use hot glue to attach the backside side of the CD to the ribbon. Leave some space at the beginning and end of the CD strand and between each CD.
  4. Hang the ribbon in a spot where it can catch light or in an area that needs brightening up!

No-Sew Sock Bunny

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Spring has arrived and so have the sights and sounds of baby chicks and baby bunnies.  Whether you are looking outside, walking through the holiday/seasonal section at the store, or viewing the live animals for sale at your local farm store, bunnies are easy to find.

A No-Sew Sock Bunny is an easy craft for Cloverbuds.  It also provides the opportunity to share additional information about the benefits and responsibility of owning and caring for your own animal.

Supplies Needed:

  • Cup
  • Funnel
  • Permanent Marker (fine point tip)
  • Ribbon
  • Rice
  • Rubber bands
  • Scissors
  • Sock

Steps:

  1. Use the cup and funnel to pour rice into the sock up to the bottom of the heel. Use a rubber band to seal off the sock and keep the rice inside.
  2. Use a rubber band to section off the head from the body of the bunny.
  3. Depending on the length of the sock, part of the unused sock may need trimmed to shorten the ears of the rabbit. Use the scissors to cut the sock into two ears above the head and trim each ear to have a curved tip to the ear.
  4. Cut a piece of ribbon and tie it around the neck of the bunny to hide the rubber band.
  5. Use the permanent marker to mark one small dot for each eye and mark an X for the mouth of the bunny.
  6. Make a tail using a small rubber band to section off a small part of the back of the bunny’s body to form a round tail. You can also glue part of a white cotton ball to the bunny as an alternative tail option.

*Adjustments may be necessary based on the size of sock utilized for the craft.