Clothespin Airplane

This is a pretty simple craft that only requires a clothespin and 2 craft popsicle sticks.  You glue down one popsicle stick to the "teeth" or closed side of the clothespin.  You cut off a small amount of each edge of the other popsicle stick and glue it down to the open side of the clothespin.  Regular glue works fine, but I like to use a hot glue gun.  You can also cut out a triangle from craft foam and add it to the backside of the plane, but this is optional.  Decorate with markers and you're done :)

Popsicle Stick Catapult

This craft is super fun to play with, but requires a bit of prep work.

What you'll need is 11 craft popsicle sticks, 11 rubber bands, a hot glue gun/crazy glue, and something to use as a launcher (I created my own by cutting pieces of craft foam and gluing them together with a hot glue gun.

How to make this:
1. Take 7 craft popsicle sticks and stack them together. Bind them with 2 rubber bands--1 on each edge.
2. Take 2 craft popsicle sticks and place one on top of the other so that they overlap a couple of inches.  Bind them together with 3 rubber bands side by side. (If you're using larger rubber bands, you may not need to use 3)
3. Repeat step 2 with the last couple of craft sticks.
4. Take the two sets of sticks from steps 1 & 2, and place one set on the bottom of the sticks from Step 1, and one set on the top so that they're kind of centered.  Bind them together with two rubber bands so that they form an "X" shape.
5. Bind together one edge of the catapult with a rubber band.
6. Find or create a launcher.  You can use foam pieces like I did, or you can you other household materials like a bottle cap.  Glue this to one side of the catapult.
7. Decorate

Spaceship Frisbee

Materials Needed:
-2 Paper plates (Dixie Ultra plates work great)
-1 Paper Bowl
-Hot glue gun or crazy glue
-Markers and/or colored pencils. Sharpies also work
-Aluminum foil (Optional)
-Cute foam alien or star stickers (Optional)

How to make it:
1. Glue 2 paper plates together using either a hot glue gun or crazy glue.  You only need to glue the edges together.  It doesn't seem to fly as well with just one plate.
2. Glue the paper bowl to the top center of the paper plates.
3. Decorate with markers or colored pencils
4. You can cut out and glue (with regular Elmer's glue) aluminum foil to make it shine :)
5. You can add cute foam stickers if you want to, also.

This cute spaceship Frisbee/flying disc works pretty good and is extra cool!  Kids can have lots of fun making it and then testing it out outside.  You can add your own little tweeks to this craft to make it your own. :)

Cute "Reading" Glasses

 

Save (click on the small image and then right-click to save) and print out one of the templates below on cardstock paper and decorate.  I found that it's best to then glue the paper to another sheet of cardstock paper to make them stronger and less flimsy. 

 

After you're finished decorating all of the pieces, you cut them out and glue the handles to the sides.  It's best to use a stronger glue like crazy glue or a hot glue gun, but regular Elmer's glue should work okay, too.  I used an X-Acto knife to cut out the eye holes.  These were really popular with the kids at my work. :)

 

Another optional variation of this craft I've tried was taking some colored transparent saran wrap or plastic wrap and gluing it to the inside of the eye-holes to make them look more like sunglasses.

 

   

 

 

*Note: I did not create these templates

Superhero Masks & New Years Glasses!

 

This is a cute craft your kids can make easily.  I did two variations of this craft- masks and glasses.  You can click on the templates below and right-click to save and print out on cardstock paper. 

 

If you want to make a mask, you just decorate and cut them out.  Then you can punch holes in the sides and attach string. 

 

If you want to make them into New Years glasses, you decorate and cut them out, then you can use colorful pipe cleaners to cut out and create the numbers of the year.  To attach them, you need to use either a hot glue gun or crazy glue.  For the handles, you use the pipe cleaners and twist them around the holes and shape them to fit your ears.

 

   

 

*Note: I did not create these mask templates

Spinning Tops

This spinning top craft is so much fun and it works great!

What you'll need:
-Cardboard
-X-Acto Knife or box cutter
-Scissors
-Paper (preferably cardstock)
-Drinking straw
-2 small beads
-Crayons, markers, or colored pencils
-Hot glue gun or crazy glue

How to make it:
1. Cut out a circle from cardboard, roughly 3-inches in diameter.
2. Cut a straw so that it's about 2 1/2 inches long. (It doesn't have to be exact)
3. Take two small beads and push them gently into each end of the straw so they fit snuggly inside.  Not all beads will work, you'll need to use trial and error to find the right size.
4. Trace the cardboard circle onto a piece of cardstock paper and decorate it with crayons, markers, or colored pencils.
5. Cut out your decorated circle.
6. Glue the decorated cardstock circle to the cardboard circle using a hot glue gun or crazy glue.
7. Poke a hole through the cardboard and cardstock paper directly in the center of the circle.
8. Stick the straw through the hole to make sure it fits nicely. If it warps the straw, the hole is too small, if the straw falls through, it's too loose. Adjust the hole accordingly if needed.
9. Take the straw back out, and using the hot glue gun or crazy glue, glue around the rim of the straw roughly an inch up from the bottom of the straw.
10.  Gently push the straw through the hole until the rim of glue is level with the cardboard and hold it there for a few seconds until the glue dries.

If you have any other suggestions or variations of this craft, feel free to let me know! Enjoy :)

Disney Bookmarks

Here are some fun Disney bookmarks I made from different coloring pages I found on Google.  Just click to enlarge and right-click to save; then you can print, color, and cut out!  A great way to make reading more fun for kids. *For personal use only

Disney Door Knob Hangers

 

Here are a couple of custom door knob hangers I've created for the kids at the daycare I work at.  They are Disney-themed and can be printed out (preferably on cardstock paper) and colored in.

To download this template, click on the image to enlarge it, then right-click and save the picture. Then you may print it out, color it in, cut it out and enjoy! :) *For personal use only