Summer Crafts for Kids #1: Aqua Beads

It’s summer once again and for parents, this means that a lot of time will be spent on thinking of what to do with the kids at home. Luckily, I’ve discovered that there are a lot of simple and relatively inexpensive crafts to do with the kiddos to make sure that their time is occupied on meaningful endeavors, and not just mindless play (eg. Internet surfing, etc.).

Level of Difficulty: Beginners

For this craft activity, you will need:

  • Aqua beads set (which includes templates, aqua beads, water spray, and layout tray)
  • Clean bottle with lid
  • Glue gun

What to Do:

  1. Put the layout tray on top of the bottle lid so that you can measure how big your design can be.
  2. Start putting the beads on the tray to make your design.
  3. Once you’re happy with the design, spritz the entire thing with water. Let it dry overnight as the beads will not attach properly if the water is not completely dry.
  4. Glue the pattern to the lid using glue gun.

The advantage of this craft is that the beads come in a variety of colors. They also sell beads by the pack. The disadvantage is that once the kids get a hang of making them, they can finish quite quickly. Challenge them to a game of making the most number of designs.

Watch out every Wednesday for a new set of summer crafts!

Cinderspectarella Illustrated!

character design

It’s been a while since I last posted anything, and it’s because I’ve been having my stories illustrated. Just look at how cute my Cinderspectarella is turning out to be! Excited because it’s almost done. What do you think of it?

Oh This Cat!

Cat on My Window Sill

As I sit on this window sill
Unmoving, silent, very still
Watch my blue eyes speaking
Is your heart melting?

I lick my lips and you get it
You bring out a bowl and you fill it
I purr to show satisfaction
Of our unspoken connection

Okay, so it’s my first time to make a poem about my craft. I made the cat using polymer clay, and the window sill using an empty matchbox. It’s really quite an adorable yellow cat, and it’s one of the few crafts I’ve kept with me because for some reason, I can’t bear to give it away.

It also inspired me to write the poem that accompanies it. I imagine the cat, looking oh-so-cute, using only its hypnotizing eyes to communicate its desire to drink some milk. And of course, all I can do is comply. After all, who can resist those eyes? Oh this cat!

Sweet Cellphone Case

image

It’s been a long time since I posted a D.I.Y. project, and it’s mostly because I’ve been concentrating on my writing. But, sometimes, a good distraction is what one needs to unclog her fantasy-filled brain, so I gave myself a five-minute craft break. Super easy and cheap, you will need ribbons, a felt flower, super glue, metal findings and a blank celphone case. Step 1: Glue the ribbons on the celphone case. Step 2: Glue the metal finding (in this case, the Eiffel Tower). Step 3: Glue the felt flower on the top of the Eiffel Tower. Step 4: Let the glue dry completely. That’s it! Cheap AND cute!

Tiny Monster Loot Bag

Tiny Monster Loot Bag

This is perfect to give away to kids knocking on your door this Halloween. Step 1 is to cut and punch out all the circles and moons. Step 2 is to glue the punched moons at the back of the biggest circle, and to stick the eye at the center of the circle. Step 3 is to glue the mouth. That’s it! You can use recycled materials to punch out so you don’t need to spend too much on this craft. Enjoy!