Kids Craft Ideas You Can Make for Free at Home

Does your child have a very short attention span? Are they predisposed to getting bored very quickly? Well, no need to worry because you are not alone. Because there is so much going on around them, children have the tendency to focus on one thing for a short period of time before moving on to something else of greater interest. The Key to holding their attention is two-fold. The first element you need is to have an activity or object that they find interesting. The second thing you need to keep your child’s attention is to have them sit down and focus on the task or activity presented to them. Now how can you go about this without spending lots of money on expensive toys and games? Well we’ve compiled a list of do-it-yourself kids craft projects that can be created with simple, everyday household items. With these fun new craft projects, you won’t need to worry about how to entertain your child without spending a lot of money.

Paper Mache - All you require for this craft project is some old newspaper cut into strips, water and flour for paste, and some cardboard or balloons to create a base shape to cover with the homemade glue. Once the paste has dried, the object you’ve created can be decorated!

Paper Dolls - You can easily locate a template online and simply print the pages out. Your child can cut, colour and decorate to their hearts content. All you’ll need is a pair of scissors and some crayons or felt pens.

Dioramas - This timeless craft project is great for any type of child. Depending on their interests, the diorama can be made to showcase pretty much anything you child wants. From a miniature hockey rink to a dollhouse, the possibilities are endless. An open box, and a random assortment of buttons, figurines, cardboard, scissors, tape, felt-pens and other trinkets should be enough to build just about anything your child wants.

Rock Painting - Simply locate a few smooth, palm-size rocks from your backyard or local park. Be sure to scrub any dirt off of them so that decorating will be easier. Following this, all you’ll require is some paint or nail polish and whatever items you desire for added effects. Pipe cleaners, googly eyes, and paper strips work quite well, just be sure to let the paint dry before attaching add-ons.

Cave Painting - Much like colouring pages but with an added effect, cave painting is meant to look as though your child’s artwork is really old and unique. To do this craft, you’ll need to crumple up a paper bag then spread it flat again. Then simply colour or paint an image on the bags surface with charcoal or other earthy tones such as red and orange. The finished product will look like the work of a caveman or cave-woman!

Homemade Chia-Pets - This craft project is a great one that lasts a long time! First, you’ll need to hard-boil a couple of eggs. Once the eggs have cooled, you need to carefully cut the top of the egg off and empty the contents. If you’re really thinking, you can incorporate an easy lunch into this craft! Then, let your child decorate the egg shell with a face. When they’re done, place a cotton ball or two inside the shell, sprinkle some alfalfa seeds inside and pour some water on top. Place the egg in a holder on a windowsill and watch over the next few days as your child’s egg sprouts some crazy green hair! Not only will your child love decorating the egg but wait till you see the joy on their faces as it grows and changes over the next few days!

With kids craft ideas like these, you’ll have no need to spend your hard earned money on unnecessary toys and crafts at hobby stores. With a bit of creativity and some household items, you and your child can spend hours having fun and being entertained for on a very small budget!

Paper Chain Arts and Crafts

In a new initiative from the Cackleberries Team, we’ll be providing some great arts and crafts projects that you and your children can easily do from the comfort of your own home.  Today, we start off with a relatively simple and fun craft assignment – Paper chains!  Good luck.

Here’s a list of what you’ll need

1. Paper
2. Scissors
3. Crayons or felt pens

Step 1 - Fold a number of pieces of paper in half and draw a horseshoe shape out from the fold (see image to the right)  If you want to save on paper, you can draw more smaller shapes on each piece of paper you use.

Step 2 - Color the horseshoes desired color or colors.  Feel free to use as many colors as you like.

Step 3 - Cut out the horseshoe shape leaving the bottoms of the horseshoe where they meet the edge intact (see image 1)

Step 4 – After cutting out 2 or 3 shapes, loop one side of a horseshoe into another to make sure you are making them properly.  See the image to the right for details.  If correct, the horseshoes should hang together like in the image to the right.

Step 5 - Begin looping horseshoes from end to end as shown in the image to the right.

Step 6 - Connect all the horseshoe pieces together until complete and that’s it!  You’ve successfully completed your first Cackleberries arts and crafts project!

Stay tuned next week for another great kids home craft project.

drawing lessons

Hey Drawing Fans!!!  We wanted to give you all a quick update on The Cackleberries Club’s latest offering for the new year – Printable step by step drawing lesson sheets!  As promised, we’re working feverishly to expand our collection of drawing sheets and wanted to let you all know that these great learning tools are on there way!  Prepare your children’s favourite felt pens, pencils, and crayons because these great learning tools will be available very shortly – Stay tuned…….

Full of unique art, easy to follow instructions, and handy tips to follow, these step by step drawing lessons for kids will be a great source of entertainment and education for your family and with new content coming each week, you’ll never run out of new art projects to draw and color!

Hey everybody!  The Cackleberries Team is back from the Christmas break and is looking forward to having another successful year with all of you.  For 2010, we’ll be providing the same great content that you’ve come to expect as well as a few new features that we think you’ll enjoy.  On top of our regular offerings of drawing lessons, recipes, expert articles, and product profiles, we at Cackleberries.com will be trying out some new topics and content as well.  Be sure to let us know what you think.  If you have any ideas for other content or suggestions about our current posts, please let us know and we’ll make it happen – we are here to give you what you and your kids want.  We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and wish everyone the best in 2010!

Here’s a snippet of what’s to come here at The Cackleberries Club….

• After the over-indulging and always filling holiday feasts, we will be providing some healthy recipes for you and your family in the near future
• Continuing with our drawing lessons series, we’ll be offering printable step-by-step drawing lesson sheets that you and your kids can practice at home
• Expect more pertinent and timely expert articles covering a wide range of parenting and family related topics
• Watch for our our latest regular feature for you and your kids – Do it yourself arts and crafts!
• More reviews and features on family friendly companies and products we think you should know about
• Not to mention our video posts, relevant news stories, the latest about our website for kids – cackleberries.com, and much more……

With all these features, we hope to see you back here each and every day!

It is often quite difficult to keep your child entertained for any stretch of time if they aren’t interested in the activity they’re participating in.  In order to keep your child’s attention, you’ll need to have a fun and interesting project that not only captures their attention but also requires them to focus on the task at hand.  The best projects are ones that allow adults to participate, supervise, and lend a helping hand when necessary.  One such project that is sure to please is…..

Crazy Hair Cackleberries – Who hasn’t heard of a Chia Pet?  And who didn’t want a Chia Pet when they were younger?  Well, your child is no different and with this craft project, you can help your child create their very own by following these simple steps to create fully functional hair growing…….

Crazy Hair Cackleberries!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• -Hard-boiled eggs
• -Alfalfa or quick growing seeds
• -Cotton balls
• -Paint and paintbrushes or markers and felt tip pens
• -Spray lacquer (optional)

Step 1 – Help your child cut the top off the egg.  Make sure to make a neat cut.

Step 2 – Remove the egg from the shell.

Step 3 – Have your child carefully paint their favourite cackleberry face on the shell.

*If your child desires, they can paint the whole egg a different colour before painting the face on it.

Step 4 – When your child is finished painting the egg, you may want to spray a thin lacquer coat on the egg to protect it and to give it a more finished look.

Step 5 – Have your child place a cotton ball inside the shell and sprinkle some alfalfa seeds on top.  Then get them to add a little bit of water.

*be careful not to get the outside of the egg wet.  It could ruin the painting.

Step 6 – Have your child place the egg or eggs in a cup near a window.

*The seeds will sprout in a couple of days and will keep growing to create "crazy hair" for your child’s new Cackleberry friend.

That’s all there is to it!  You’re child can now have their very own Crazy Hair Cackleberry!