Photo Keychain Upcycled Craft

I went to Knott's Berry Farm a while back and bought a keychain to accompany the photo that was taken by one of Knotts ever so eager employees.  Several years later...some way, some how, the photo disappeared leaving me with this.

 

 

Instead of throwing it in the trash (because it's not recyclable) I decided to "upcycle" it.  Ah, what to do with an old photo keychain.  The obvious answer is to put another Knott's Berry Farm photo in it.  Nah.  Besides, since this adventure, I've been on several other recent adventures I'd much rather attach a photo of to my car keys than this one.  So, I decided to create a name tag for my preschooler.  You know how every preschooler looses something as soon as they get to school.  Yep, that's the inspiration for this little upcycle.  Better yet, I thought it would be adorably noticeable to attach a name tag to his lunch pail.  When lunch time rolls around, there's going to be no way any of his classmates could mistake my sons lunch for theirs.  Muahahahah

 

SUPPLIES

• Old Photo Keychain
• Letter Stickers
• Other Shiny Stickers
• Star Confetti
• Old Greeting Card, white on one side

DIRECTIONS
1. Pop out the clear plastic cover.
2. Cut out a rectangle from the old greeting card to fit the inside of the keychain.
3. Decorate the white side of the old greeting card with your childs name and other shiny stickers. (The shiny is important.)
4. Put the decorated name tag inside of the keychain and place a pile of confetti stars in the middle.
5. Put the clear plastic cover back into the frame and be careful to keep the confetti away from the edges while you're trying to pop it back into place.

Not only did this idea work.  It had an element of awesome to it.  The preschooler "Aden" loved it's shininess, it's personalization and didn't mind it attached to his lunch pail one bit.  As a matter of fact, his classmates adored it.  Not that's something to hoot about!

 

 

Whoot Whoot!

Paper Plate Mayflower Craft Kit by Uppity Owl

"Paper Plate Mayflower"

by

Uppity Owl

 

With Thanksgiving right around the corner I'm sure you're already caught up in your planning. Traveling plans, dinner plans, dessert plans (yes, dessert gets it own mention), table setting plans...but, what about plans to keep the kiddos busy?

Here is an adorable craft to do just that. I truly enjoyed creating this easy to do "Paper Plate Mayflower." I wanted to add hearts all over the sails just because it's so cute, but in keeping it as traditional looking as possible, I refrained. This paper plate Mayflower is the perfect activity to do after reading any Thanksgiving story, waiting for dinner, keeping the kids busy while you cook or as a family activity. Enjoy!

Here's how you can make this season appropriate craft: (didn't that sound professional, or something lol)

SUPPLIES

• Scissors
• Glue Gun & Sticks
• Paste
• 2 Popsicle Sticks
• White Paper Plate
• Red Construction Paper
• Black Construction Paper
• White Construction Paper
• Brown Paint
• Brown Marker

NO GLUE GUN: If you want this activity to be completely kid friendly, just use Elmer's glue instead of the glue gun. I would paste the windows on first before the popsicle stick sails. That way, using the Elmers glue will be the last step and your kids can just walk away to play while it dries.

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut paper plate in half and use the brown marker to color boats rim.

2. Paint the rest of the boat with brown paint. Set aside to dry.

3. Cut out the red flats, 3 boat windows and 2 white sails.

4. While the paint is still drying, attach the sails and flats to the popsicle sticks with paste. Be sure to leave enough stick below the flag to attach to the plate.

5. When paint is dry, use glue gun to attach the popsicle sticks to the back of the boat. Leave enough space between them so the sails do not touch each other.

6. Cover the back of the windows with paste completely, then paste them to the boat. Turn the boat over and press the windows firmly.

{I'd love to add your finished "Paper Plate Mayflower" to my blog, just email me your photo with permission.}

Gobble Gobble!

Turkey Puppet by Uppity Owl

"Turkey Puppet"

by Uppity Owl

 

Recently, the 6 year old and I took a day to craft and play. This turkey puppet was the result of my craftiness and my sons was this...

 

He said he wanted to make an owl mask, so this was my quick design to do so. But, I'm sure you can see it looks more like a super hero, and after he decorated his mask...it really looked like a super hero. lol Who cares, we both we're having so much fun!

 

So while my son created his super hero mask, I mean owl mask...I planned what I wanted my puppet turkey to look like. Lucky me though, I did have inspiration. Recently, I was able to craft a turkey costume for my husband. It was a church thing. It was so funny and awesome! It would take another blog post just to talk about the entire night. So, back to the costume...let's just say I had a lot of left over feathers. lol

 

"Gobble Gobble!"

"Waddle Waddle!"

 

 I'm sorry, but my husband is so much fun! Love him! :)

So, now that you know where my inspiration came from, here's how to make your own...

SUPPLIES

• Scissors
• Hot Glue Gun
• Paste
• Brown Paper Lunch Bag
• Black Construction Paper
• White Construction Paper
• Orange Construction Paper
• One Quarter
• One Penny
• Assorted Feathers: I used red, yellow, orange, brown and light brown. (It's what came in the package.) You will need a red feather for the waddle.

DIRECTIONS

• Cut 2" - 3" off of the bottom of the bag.
• Use quarters to trace circles for the eyes.
• Use pennies to trace the black pupils.
• Cut two beaks...one to go under the flap and one to go directly on top of it.
• Paste all of the above onto the bag before adding the feathers.
• Arrange the feathers in the order you'd like them to appear on the bag. Make sure they bend forwards.
• Hot glue the feathers onto the back of the bag.
• Finally, hot glue the red feather waddle onto the beak. If your feather waddle is covering up the entire beak...slightly wet your finger with some water to tame it to the side.

When your children can use their imaginations and lose themselves in make believe play, you know you've created something right!

Gobble Gobble!

Baby Gobble Gobble Thanksgiving Craft

While my life is currently reflecting changes in tradition, I find that there will always be one tradition that never changes. Crafting. It's more than just paper and glue, more than glitter and yarn...its memories. I've had the privilege of having a very creative and crafty mother who gave us the love of creation. For as long as I can remember, we've always crafted and for as long as I can remember, she always created. At this moment, I'm recalling a crafting room...so many supplies to preoccupy the mind and feed creative intentions. I will forever be thankful for my mother loving us enough to create with us while encouraging our imaginations.


BABY GOBBLE GOBBLE

 

SUPPLIES

*White Paper Plate

*Brown Construction Paper

*Orange Construction Paper

*Red Construction Paper

*2 Large Google Eyes

*Tissue Paper Squares: red, blue, green, yellow

*Paste

*Scissors

Hint: I like to buy my tissue paper at the dollar store and cut them up myself...cheap!

 

DIRECTION

A. Cut paper plate in half.

B. Cut out body, beak, feet and waddle.

C. Assemble the body, bead, google eyes, feet and waddle where you'd like them to go, then paste them together.

D. Paste the tissue on the inner part of the body first, then paste the tissue on the outer rim to look like a flared tail.

E. Paste the assembled head to the body.

 

Send me a photo of your finished craft and I'll add it to my post.

 

Enjoy!

Rudolph Leaps Craft

I'm already planning fun crafts for the holidays. Speaking of holidays, I don't know if you've noticed but, they're officially here. It hardly seems fair. We dread the holidays coming (I secretly await them all year long!) and when they arrive we want them to last longer. (Christmas all year long, right!?) Then we're interrupted with an abrupt halt because the new year has arrived. (Back to work folks.) I guess what I'm really saying is, I already feel like I don't have enough time to add all the adorable crafts I'd like to! Oh well, at least we're starting off with an irresistible Rudolph Leaps craft that you're students will absolutely love you for! Just leave the kuddos and compliments below. ;)

RUDOLPH LEAPS

SUPPLIES
*Scissors
*Brown Watercolor Paint
*Paint Brush
*Jar of Warm Water (I always use warm/hot water)
*Google Eyes
*Black Construction Paper
*Brown Construction Paper
*Red Construction Paper
*Paste
*1 White Paper Plate

DIRECTIONS
1. Cut 1 white paper plate in half. Take one of the halves and cut the head out. It's about 1/3 of the half.
2. Paint the body and head.
3. While paint is drying, fold 1 sheet of black construction paper in half and then, trace your little one's hand on it. Cut it out. You can trace both hands onto one sheet and cut them out separately as well.
4. Cut out the tail and 4 legs from your brown construction sheet.
5. Cut out the nose from the red construction sheet...start off large then work your way down in size. Better to start too big than too small.
6. Cut the hooves out of the left over black construction paper.
7. Assemble your master piece, including the eyes, as you'd like to paste it together.
8. Paste accordingly. I pasted together the head first, then the legs and then added them to the body.

I'd love to see the results, with you're permission, I'll add your photos below.

Happy Holidays!