Rodeo banks from juice bottles

Juice bottle banks are ever popular because there is so much you can do to make them personal. We used 2 qt size bottles with 16 oz water bottles for the cowboy. First we covered the bottle with school glue then slipped on a lunch sized paper bag and patted it on securely. For the horse we added a mane and tail, for the long horn we added horns. We tried to get ears on to all of them but some are earless. We had large wiggle eyes to use this time but could have drawn on eyes or used felt cuts. 


For the cowboy we got creative with our donated materials--paper mache eggs glued into bottle caps make the head secure. The bottle cap is then glued to the bottle cap and a hat added to complete the illusion of a cowboy. We pulled out the fabric bin and everyone dressed them as they wished. We even had jute rope available for the lasso! One of the horses has his rider mounted on his back using an egg cup section to attach him. 


Very creative group here each week. This is a fun was for families to work on something together without the frustration of "what do I do next" or the mess.

Kite making @ WBCL

This is a fun and easy kite and it probably won't really fly. Well, to kids all kites fly and they wanted to prove it at the end of the class. These are more the "run with it" kind of kites but that is what most kids do. This kite requires no cutting, only folding and gluing. I marked it in advance for the class. We did the same kite in the 1st grade the previous day with great results as well. I used legal size card stock for the kite and ribbons of stiff tissue paper for the tail. We did add a thin dowel at the cross point to hold on to. On a couple of the kites we had to make a ribbon handhold as the kids taped down the whole dowel from side to side.

Butterfly masks for Mardi Gras @ WBCL

Using fun foam is not my favorite from an environmental point of view but there was little to select from in ready to use masks in any form. I was able to get a bonus pack of butterflies and a package of cardboard butterfly masks and create enough for the group to use and not break the bank!

We had lots of Mardi Gras beads and sequins to use, a few jewels, and of course, feathers.  Some of the parents were reluctant to use lots of glue but assurances that it takes a lot to hold the beads on won out. We cut the long strands of beads to fit the spaces or the border and went from there. Every one of the masks is unique and were really fun to make.

Creating with woodsies @WBCL

So what do you do with boxes of small wooden pieces and about a zillion wooden beads? This was the challenge this week for the group at the Wells Branch Community Library and they took it on successfully. Some of the wood pieces were undrilled so we had to make our own connections to string them. In an aha! moment we just hot glued a bead to the top of the pieces and added them where we wanted them. 
They made necklaces, bracelets, key chains and just strings of items. Once the creation was complete the unpainted pieces got either a bit of color from markers or some individualization from glitter glue. As usual, this is a real family activity as everyone works together on the projects. 
The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donated or recyclable materials and imagination into great projects.
You may also want to take a look at the Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. Check the library website for detail.

Finger puppets @ WBCL

What a great project this was! Initially we were going to make presidential finger puppets to celebrate Presiden'ts day. I had a boxfull of tubes from serger thread that were donated to me last summer and home made clay from the project at school today.

This was a great combination to make these from. After the faces were constructed we added yarn for hair and put a bit of Aleen's tacky glue on the plastic to adhere the clay face to the plastic tube. we then used felt to create clothes and glue them onto the tube.

I ran out of the tubes and we tried out using old medication bottles as a base and they were great for the littler fingers of our last 2 kids. This class is truely a family class and more fun for that. Join us any Wednesday night at 6 pm for a great arts & crafts project.

f you missed the recipe for the clay, I'll share it again so that anyone who wants to make some can do that. I found it on the internet and am in love with it as you can make volumes of great colored clay for pennies!

Thanks to Susan Caplan at Suite101 for this great air dry clay. http://kidscrafts.suite101.com/article.cfm/salt_and_flour_craft_dough_recipes

Cooked Flour Dough

This is another play clay, although this one needs to be cooked.

· 1 cup flour

· 1 tablespoon salad oil

· 1 cup water

· ½ cup salt

· 2 teaspoons cream of tartar

· A few drops of food coloring or tempera paint until deep enough color is achieved

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and use a wooden spoon to stir over medium heat. Stir constantly. The mixture will be soupy for several minutes and then will suddenly stick together and can be stirred into a ball. When the dough thickens, remove the pan from the heat and continue stirring. Turn the hot ball of dough onto a floured surface and knead as it cools.

Making paper dragons to celebrate Chinese New Year

Brrrrr! it was cold Wednesday night but a few families still turned out for a really fun project. These paper dragons were as fierce as any I've seen with fire coming out of their snouts and a row of very sharp looking teeth. 


We used a 6" paper plate, paper towel tube and a white sandwich bag as the base, added shredded paper from the diamond cutter and tissue paper cut into strips for the embellishments.

The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donated or recyclable materials and imagination into great projects.

You may also want to take a look at the Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. Check the library website for detail