Over the last few weeks the grandkids have been hanging around at my house, we've tried several crafts and experiences to entertain them.
This is T, hard at work on her first "book". First day--2000 words. I have to admit that I didn't do nearly so well.
This is yesterday's craft. Soft foam. A kit that purported to be suitable for a four year old. Uh-huh. After the first five minutes, D, the five year old showed her eminent good sense by deserting us while T and I spent the next two hours puzzling over the instructions. The resulting pictures were the result approximately five minutes after I finished construction. The thing sort of exploded. I believe it will not stay together without super glue.
This was last week's project--paper making. It was a Bill Nye kit purchased at Wal-Mart in a real steal of a deal. I think the instructions were written by someone who was on LSD. One piece broke almost immediately. The "paper" which was supposed to dry in twenty-four hours was still wet 72 hours later.Oh yeah, we ended up with food coloring and water all over the balcony--and us.
This was the most successful project. The kids love Sculpey clay. That metal thing (for the uninitiated) is a pasta roller. You use it to flatten and mix the clay. Over the weekend, we picked up some more clay--on sale.I have to say that I'm really, really disappointed in the quality and instructions for kid's crafts. It's ridiculous when the instructions are so bad they require interpretation and/or translation. The shoddy quality of the contents is... worse than disappointing. For a kid, it's a betrayal. They pick out the toy with anticipation and excitement. When they finally have the chance to "play", the workmanship is so terrible nothing lasts the hour it takes to put it together.
The girls decided that they'll stick to beads and clay for the rest of their projects. Can't say that I blame them.
What's your craft story?
anny
Oh how fun! I love the sculpture thingy! Did you like playdough when you were a kid? I still love the way it smells. Your post makes me want to go out and buy some.
ReplyDeleteHow right you are! Kids' crafts suck. I usually buy all sorts of wooden and clay beads, multi colored strings, clasps, fasteners, and a few crystal beads for glitter, and turn them loose making necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. Even the three-year old grandson loves making necklaces. He loves the wood and black beads. If they break, they get a new piece of string and start over. :P
ReplyDeleteYa know...you can buy paper Anny...
ReplyDeleteLet us know how the beads go. I've always been fascinated by bead jewelry.
ReplyDeleteOnce had a little girl birthday party, a sleepover, and the girls went outside on the patio with bags of beads, sequins and glue to decorate pictures. The girls had a blast but we were finding big colorful sequins in the backyard for about a yr.
ReplyDeleteWe used to love Spirograph, spool-knitting, and cross-stitch. We once bought the spatter-paint thingy, but only used it once. My sis moved on to tie-dye.
ReplyDeleteYeah...not very crafty over here...
Unfortunately I have the attention span of a gnat when it comes to crafts. I start out enthused, but it never lasts.
ReplyDeleteMy kids always followed their dad out into the garage (which was why his projects always took longer than anticipated) and put together their own "creatures" and play guns from left over scraps of his projects. It was sort of recycling and crafts:-)
ReplyDeleteLooks like you all had fun even if all the projects weren't quite what you expected them to be.
ReplyDeleteI agree that simple is best. You can't go wrong with beads and clay.
I remember getting a weaving kit as a kid and a needpoint one. They were fairly self explanatory and both were relatively successful. I also remember spool knitting. LOL And I got a flower-making kit...making flowers out of tissue paper...not so successful. *g*
I remember we used to renovate the house when we were bored. The house we lived in was old, and it was always fun to knock a wall down here and there.
ReplyDeleteMy brothers and I once were allowed to paint our bedrooms whatever color we wanted. I chose purple, because I thought it was sort of a neutral color in case we ever moved out. My brothers chose splatter paint. Needless to say they had more fun painting than I did.
They filled up old hair spray bottles with paint and went to town! After about three hours I had to join in on the fun! Kept us busy for a couple days...then on to a new project!