Get crafty with the kids without going broke

They say “April showers bring May flowers,” but what do you do with the kids on rainy days?

And how about the sweltering summer days, which seem to have come early this year?

When I was a kid, I remember spending many of those days making simple but fun crafts. Getting crafty with the kids inside doesn’t have to be expensive — or messy. In fact, you can create some fantastic original artwork and treats with items you probably have in your home.

Tie-dyeing shirts can be labor-intensvie, and possibly expensive when you have to buy multiple colors. A great alternative is dying pieces of clothing with permanent markers and rubbing alcohol. Kids will love this because they can pick out their own marker colors and help with each step.

Lay your shirt over a cup and place a rubber band around the base, creating a tight, round surface. Choose where you want your design to start and make a circle of 6 dots using whatever colors you like. Using a spray bottle or eye dropper, apply rubbing alcohol to the middle of the circle and watch the colors spread. Between 10 and 15 sprays/drops is the most you need for each circle. Let the alcohol dry and wash your creation before wearing it.

After trying this project myself, I decided I would definitely use at least two colors on each circle in the future. I’d also put more thought into the placement of my circles. I absolutely loved this project though. It’s almost identical to real tie-dye with much less mess.

When I was growing up, we had buckets and zip-top bags filled with small, broken pieces of crayons. No one ever wanted to use the leftovers, but it seemed silly to throw them away. While browsing Pinterest.com one day, I saw this technique for making your old crayons new again.

Peel any remaining paper off of each crayon and toss them in a lined muffin pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, place the pan in the oven, turn off the heat and let the crayons sit until melted (about 15 minutes). Then, place the pan in the freezer for about an hour. The liners will lift out easily when they’re solid. The end product is a bigger crayon that kids can be excited about using again.

When I did this project, I used paper pan liners, but some of the wax seeped out. To avoid ruining your pans, I would recommend layering three paper liners or using aluminum pan liners.

If you think you’ll be doing this project often, consider investing in a silicon pan (about $10). By using silicon, you can avoid using pan liners and they are available in shapes. However, if you don’t use pan liners or choose a silicon pan, the pan can no longer be used for cooking because a waxey residue remains on the pan after the crayons are removed. For some of the upcycled crayons, I mixed various colors. But the ones that turned out best were those with pieces from the same color family. Kids probably would love both.

Once you’ve got your new crayons, go online and print off some free coloring pages. Disney Family Fun (familyfun.go.com) always has a great selection of seasonal printables, both coloring and game pages. You can find more free pages online by searching for “free printable coloring pages.”

Newspaper hats are a classic craft for kids, but what about your girly girls? Try making newspaper flowers out of the comics page and attaching them to a headband or barrette.

Cut out a circle from your newspaper and then cut a spiral shape from the circle, leaving a base in the center. Roll up the spiral from the outside edge and then let it loosen over the base. When you have the look you want, hot-glue the “petals” to your base piece. These flowers can be glued directly onto your clips or headband, or easily attached with pipe cleaners for a temporary accessory.

You could try this with colorful magazine paper as well.

 There are tons of crafts that can be easily made with coffee filters, tissue boxes, rubber bands and watercolors, below are some examples:
Milk jug Easter baskets (also would make great buckets for the beach!)
Music makers
Rock paperweights
Coffee filter butterfly
Coffee filter sunflowers
Tissue box dinosaur feet
Tie dye window decorations