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Create a traditional pinata from flour paste, newspaper and paint.

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Tear the newspaper into long strips. (Don't cut the strips with scissors, because the clean edges don't blend well when paper mache-ed.)

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Mix flour and water together until you reach your desired consistency. I made my mixture the consistency of pancake batter and it worked fine. Add more water or flour if needed.

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Dip one strip at a time into the flour and water mixtures.  Slide two fingers down the strip to rid it of excess paste.

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Lay newspaper strips on the balloon and smooth them flat. 

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Continue until the balloon is covered completely.

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Set aside to dry. I put our balloon in a pot to dry and rotated it a few times so all "sides" were able to dry.

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Paper mache all 6 toilet paper rolls, be sure to only cover one open end with the newspaper/paste. Leave the other end clear.

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When the balloon and the 6 toilet paper rolls are dry--about one day--cut the open bottom of each tube as shown in the picture.

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Use a hot glue gun to attach the tubes to the ballon or dip the end of the tube in the paste and affix it to the balloon.

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Add another layer of paper mache around the balloon and the tubes. Be sure to cover the area where the tubes meet the balloon with strips of paper mache so they stay in place.  Allow to dry (another day or so)

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Paint the sun pinata yellow, with every other ray orange. Allow to dry.

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Draw lines where you would like the opening to the pinata to be.

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Cut along the lines with a sharp knife or blade. Don't worry when you hear the balloon pop! It is normal.  When you're opening the flap, the piece may crack off. This is okay. Fill the pinata with candies and other goodies, then paper mache over the hole so it looks like the rest of the pinata. Let dry.

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To make the streamers, cut one inch wide strips from both yellow and orange tissue paper.

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Staple together 3 orange and 3 yellow strips. Cut the strips to the desired length. Use a hot glue gun to attach the strips to the ends of the toilet paper tube rays. 

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Twist a yellow and orange pipe cleaner together as shown in the picture and hot glue it to the top ray of the pinata. Allow to dry and use it for hanging the pinata.

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Now your pinata is finished and ready for your Cinco de Mayo celebration or birthday party!

newspaper (torn into strips)

flour

water

Balloons

hot glue gun

paint (orange and yellow)

tissue paper (orange and yellow)

toilet paper tubes (6)

pipe cleaners (one orange and one yellow)

Sun Piñata

handmade cards

easy craft

printable

Valentine's Day wouldn’t be complete without chocolate! What better way to celebrate than with these easy cut-out cards that include a sweet little surprise?
Download the printable <a href="http://images.kiwicrate.com/diy_ad/KiwiCo-Candy-Hugger-Cards.pdf">here</a>.

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Carefully cut out the cards along the red solid lines. Alternatively, draw your own little critters and cut them out!  

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Crease the arms on the green dotted lines.

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Time to add the chocolates! Unfold the arms and use the sticky foam squares (or double-sided tape) to tape a chocolate down in the center of the belly of each critter.

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Place a sticky foam square on the tip of each hand and fold them down to touch the chocolate. 

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Now your chocolate treats are ready for gifting!

cardstock

Scissors

sticky foam (or double-sided tape)

chocolate

Valentine's Day

Candy Hugger Cards

Your kids will love to make and break these adorable mini pinatas!

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I found these decorative paper cones (originally used for snow cones) and knew they would be perfect for our mini piñatas. Party hats will also work. Decorate two cones with stickers, markers, crepe paper, tissue paper, or other materials. I had fun decorating right along with the kids!

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Cut a very small piece off of the end of one cone. Use a piece of ribbon, string, or yarn to make a loop and put the ends in the hole at the top. Tie the ends of the string in a large knot inside the cone so that you can hold the piñata by the loop and the knot keeps it from sliding through. 

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Put pieces of candy in the bottom cone. (Selecting the candy was my kids' favorite part.) Put a line of hot glue around the rim of the cone and seal the two cones together. You may also want to use a dot of hot glue to secure the knot inside the top cone. 

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Hang your mini piñata using the loop and extra string. Get ready for action! 

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I'm glad we each made one because it gave everyone an opportunity to take a swing at a piñata. It only took a few swings to crack it open. These are a great addition to any party! 

paper cone cups

markers crayons or paint

stickers (optional)

crepe paper (optional)

hot glue / hot glue gun

candy

string

Mini Piñatas

Valentine’s Day crafts

bugs

quick craft

treat

handmade gifts

heart

We are a honey-loving family, so it seemed like the perfect alternative to candy this Valentine's Day. Kids will still get something sweet, but it's natural and good for them! I think farmers' markets everywhere have these great honey sticks, and my kids can spot them like an eagle the moment we arrive. These individual honey sticks work perfectly for this Valentine craft (and sometimes you can even find flavored honey). 
When we decided to hand out honey, it was pretty easy to figure out our little honey stick passenger. A bee of course!--and he couldn't be any cuter.

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Once you take a trip to the local farmers' market for some natural sweetness, you can gather your other materials. You will need googly eyes, glue, pipe cleaners (1 yellow, 1 black, and a half of another color of your choice for wings), heart cut out, and tape.

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First, use the half pipe cleaner to shape two loops for wings. 

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Next, attach the wings right onto the honey stick. My daughter needed some help with this step. 

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Once your wings are on, you can start wrapping the black and yellow pipe cleaners at the same time. (This will secure the wings in place more too.) After I started this step, I handed it off to Emma and she had a lot of fun creating the bee body. She was a little disappointed that there was no stinger. (I have no idea why, but I guess she really appreciates a good bee stinger) 

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After the pipe cleaner is wrapped around the stick, add on the googly eyes with a dab of glue. 

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Bee mine! We used some heart cut-out for this, but construction paper would work like a charm as well. Emma personalized these tags for her friends.

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We used some tape to stick on the heart cut outs--then we were all set! Aren't homemade valentines fantastic?! 

pipe cleaners

honey straw

Glue

Wiggle Eye Set

Markers

Tape

heart cut out

"Bee Mine" Honey Stick Valentine

These DIY piñatas are festive and fun for kids to create and then to break!

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Decorate a paper bag with markers, crayons, or paint. You can also add stickers, construction paper, or crepe paper. Make your piñata into a princess, robot, monster, animal, or bright abstract piece. 

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Put candy or stickers in the bag. Fold over or scrunch the top and tie it shut with string or yarn. Hang up your piñata and get ready for some fun! 

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If your children are older, you may want to use two bags for the piñata (one inside of the other) so that it will hold up to multiple hits. If you decide to double bag it, cut a small slit in each side of the bag so it isn't impossible to break open. 

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We have made SO many of these piñatas over the weekend! The kids can't get enough and have had so much fun! I love that they can create them on their own and I can just hang them up and enjoy watching the fun. 

paper bag

construction paper (optional)

Make Your Own Piñata

Saint Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick’s Day crafts

rainbows

rainbow craft

playdate activities

gold

My children enjoyed making these fun little "pots of gold" for a St. Patrick's Day play-date at our house. There will be rainbows and shamrocks all over for this fun afternoon!

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We found some fluffy pipe cleaner that made our rainbows very full, but any pipe cleaner will do. 

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We painted our little pots all black and let them dry while we made the rainbows.

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My five-year old twisted all the pipe cleaners together at the ends and fit each finished rainbow into a pot. She loved this part the best!

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We topped each off with some gold coins and we were ready for a fun day of green!

13 best candy crafts projects for kids

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