Arts & Crafts

Arts and crafts serve as a great substitution or addition to playing games.  It is important to keep the children busy and interested during the course of the party and it’s even more fun for them to be able to take home their creations.  Here are some ideas for you:

Lady Bug Rocks – This is a fun and inexpensive craft project for both children and adults. They can take them home to use as paperweights or put them in the garden.

Materials needed:

• River rocks – You can purchase them by the bag from your local home improvement store or garden supply.  
• Red, black & white acrylic paint.
• Paint brushes or paint sponges (one per person).
• Q-Tips

Instructions:

1. Prepare your work area by covering your table or work station with newspaper or plastic.
2. Squeeze a small amount of each color of paint onto a small paper plates or into bowls and set it in the center of the table for several kids to work out of.
3. Give each child a river rock, paint brush & Q-Tip.
4. Instruct the children to paint ¾ of the rock in red paint (This will become the ladybug wings).  Let it dry.
5. Paint the other ¼ of the rock with the black paint (This will become the ladybugs head).  Also use the black paint to draw a line down the center of the red paint (long wise).  This will separate the wings.
6. Using the black paint and the Q-Tips, place the spots on the ladybugs wings.  Usually 4 – 5 spots will fit on each wing.
7. Using another Q-tip, make the ladybugs eyes.

Flower Pot Decorating – There are many ways to decorate a clay flower pot but we’ve found that the most fun for the kids is by making a colorful design on them using nothing but torn tissue paper!

Materials needed:

• Clay flower pots can be purchased from most craft and floral supply stores as well as the garden center of your local home improvement store.  A medium size works best.
• Bottle of mod podge.  This is a glue like substance that goes on white however dries clear. 
• Paint brush or paint sponge for each participant.
• Several colors of tissue paper, torn in strips and in small odd shapes.

Instructions:

1.      This can get messy so you should prepare an area for the children to work.

2.      Give each child a clay pot, paint brush (or paint sponge).

3.      Pour some mod podge onto a paper plate or into a bowl and place in the center of the table for several children to work from.

4.      Dip the paint brush into the mod podge and dab some onto an area of the clay pot. 

5.      Place a piece of the tissue paper on the area of the pot that you put the mod podge on.

6.      Brush more mod podge over the piece of tissue paper to cover it completely.  It will go on white but will dry clear and harden.

7.      Continue brushing on the mod podge, placing the tissue papers and covering with mod podge until the entire pot is covered.

8.      You can use one color tissue paper or multiple colors to create your own design.