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Christmas crafts

These lanterns are especially charming in the autumn and winter, thanks to cozy indoor craft projects and soft golden candlelight...

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Grownup supervision is required for this project. (My daughter just 
turned seven, but we tackled this project for the first time when she 
was just four...and we still love it!) 

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The day before we planned to make our lanterns, we washed the cans, 
filled them near the top with water, and put them in the freezer. (The 
ice will keep the cans from smashing and denting as you hammer on the 
cans.)

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Working on a towel to provide stability, Maddie dried off a spot on our 
frosty can and drew a very simple design. (Very young kids may prefer 
that someone else draws their design for them.) Kids who just want to 
hammer free-style on the can might not want a drawn picture.

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Holding the nail securely over the design, Maddie carefully hammered small holes over the design.

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She continued to work on creating holes for her pattern until the can 
was completely outlined in small holes. We made two more holes on the 
two sides of her design to string it with a wire handle.

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We dumped out the ice, and washed off the drawn pattern. We added a wire handle and a little tea light.

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Our lanterns cast a soft, gentle glow in our front porch. Aren't they lovely?!

tin can

hammer

nail

towel

battery-operated tea light

wire (optional)

markers (optional)

Tin Lanterns

Thanksgiving

craft

gratitude project

Every Thanksgiving holiday, we have a family tradition where each of us writes down what we are thankful for. Typically, we just jot them down on some post-it notes and read them out loud, but this year, we wanted to create a centerpiece of gratitude. This tree is a simple but elegant way to display what we are are thankful for. Going forward, the tree will be a part of our holiday tradition.

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Collect some branches outdoors, or pick up a bundle from a craft store. Using your brush, paint them with white acrylic paint and let them dry.

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Fill your mason jar with whatever items you would like - we found these sequined balls and thought they would be a great festive addition! Finish the top of your mason jar with yarn or string.

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Using your scissors, cut out leaf shapes from your paper. Cut small strips of string and glue them to the back of the leaves. Or, punch holes in the leaves and thread the string through the holes. Write down what you are thankful for on each leaf.

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You are now ready to display this tree of gratitude! Use it as a centerpiece for your Thanksgiving table.

white acrylic paint

paint brush

glue

string

scissors

mason jar

branches

construction paper

Summer Break

Tree of Gratitude

indoor project

nature crafts

nature walk

nature

leaves

Thanksgiving crafts

decorations

household craft

homemade craft

easy craft

This year we wanted to make our family's place card holders for Thanksgiving feel festive and fun. Using a folding technique, we were able to create beautiful leaves and created a colorful and unique place card holder for everyone.

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Leaves: First, fold your paper in half vertically, and cut a "U" shape.

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Then accordion fold your paper upwards, and with every fold cut the end with your scissor. 

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Once you are finished folding your paper, open it back up, and cut down the center line. 

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Accordion fold the two pieces of paper up, and glue together to make a leaf shape. You can finesse the shape by creating a mini fan. Tie and glue a piece of string at the bottom of the leaf to create a stem. 

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Stands: Glue one cork to one block. Let it dry. Once dry, paint the cork gold, and the wooden block brown.

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Then glue a paper leaf onto one side of the wooden block. 

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Wire: If you are using wire, ask a grown-up assistant to use wire cutters to cut a 5-inch long strand. Poke the wire or paper clip into the cork. Curl one end into a circle. This will be where you place your notecard.

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Display! Write down the names of the guests at your Thanksgiving table and set up the cardholders.

Glue

cork

Scissors

colored paper

Leaf Place Card Holders

Halloween

Halloween decorations

Halloween crafts

Candles make for a perfectly eerie Halloween glow. Watching them dance in the center of the dinner table last night, I was inspired to create this "ghostly" Halloween project. I molded ghosts from some air dry clay to illuminate Halloween dinner-time stories. These ghosts fit in nicely with Halloween room decor, and can serve as fun gifts! 

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To make a mold for your ghost luminaries, place a ball (foam, plastic, or aluminum) on a cup. Make sure the ball is bigger than the opening of the cup. Then, use tape to secure them together. We used a foam ball and a few aluminum balls we made ourselves. To make an aluminum ball, crumple up a sheet of aluminum foil and push down any sharp edges.&nbsp;

If you use a softer ball, it will be easier to separate the clay from the ball once dry.

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Lay a sheet of plastic wrap over the mold and tape it in place.

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Roll out the clay into a 2D circle with a 1/8" thickness. Use a plastic knife to cut off uneven edges if needed.

Before you roll out the clay, tape a piece of wax paper onto your work surface to prevent the clay from leaving marks on your table.

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Carefully lift the clay from the table, and drape it over the mold. Try to line up the center of the clay with the top of the mold for the ghost to stand up straight later on.

When you drape the clay over the mold, don't press your clay against the space between the ball and the cup. This will make it easier for you to take the ball out of the mold once your clay has dried.

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Use a large straw to punch holes out for the eyes of the ghost. Then, let your ghost(s) dry for a few hours. Depending on your air-dry clay, you may have to wait just a few hours or all night for the ghost to be completely dry. Repeat steps 1-5 to make a few friends for your spooky little ghost! Try making different size molds to make larger and smaller ghosts. 

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Once the ghost is dry, carefully remove it from the mold.

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Finally, place your ghost over a tea light, turn off the lights, and get a little spooked! 

air-dry clay

straws (in various sizes)

cups

soft balls (or aluminum foil)

plastic wrap

rolling pin

Tape

wax paper (as a mess mat)

battery-powered tea light

Ghost Tealights

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science experiment

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plants

Fall is coming, which means apple season is right around the corner. We love eating apple slices as a healthy snack. Try out this apple experiment with some basic kitchen goods to see how you can keep your slices from browning!Want to explore more kitchen science experiments? Explore the tastier side of learning with <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/science-of-cooking-bread-butter-project-kit/5463" target="_self">Science of Cooking: Bread &amp; Butter </a>from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>!

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Cut the apples into eight slices each. If needed, have an adult assist with this step! 

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Place 2-3 wedges in five separate bowls and cover the apples with each of the liquids: water, baking soda, lemon juice, milk, white vinegar.&nbsp;

Place three spoonfuls of baking soda in water to make a baking soda solution. Make your predictions-- what do you think will happen to each of the apple mixtures? One of these solutions will prevent the apples from oxidizing (or turning brown!). Which solution do you think it is and why? Let the apples sit, and check up on them the next day. Were your guesses correct?

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What's going on? When apples are cut, an enzyme (polyphenol oxidase),  that reacts with oxygen, is released-- causing the apple to turn brown. Lemon juice is full of ascorbic acid, which will react with oxygen before the enzymes in the apple. Lemon juice also is very acidic, about 2.0 pH, and the enzyme in the apple oxidizes in environments between 5.0-7.0 pH. Can you find other acidic ingredients that could prevent apples from browning?

2-3 apples

knife

5 bowls

water

baking soda

lemon juice

milk

white vinegar

Apple Experiment

painting

art project

quick craft

With fall around the corner and brisk air upon us, we decided to create nature-inspired paintbrushes! All you need are some leaves, twigs, twine, and your creativity.

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Take a walk outside and find different kinds of branches / leaves to make your paint brushes.

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Bundle the leaves to wrap around one end of a branch. 

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Hold the bundle of leaves and the branch with one hand, and wrap your string to secure the leaves onto the branch. 

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Securely tie the string with a double knot! We created an assortment of leaves with findings from different trees.

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Once you have made all your leaf paintbrushes, test them out with some paint! What kinds of textures do they create? Which type of brush is your favorite? 

string / twine

paint

cup (for water)

watercolor paper

Leaf Paintbrushes

pumpkin

eruptions

chemical reactions

If you have a ton of rotting pumpkins on your porch, try this to get one last use out of them before you throw them away!&nbsp;Want more spooktacular Halloween fun without the hassle of gathering materials? Explore Halloween science and art projects from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/cp/halloween" target="_blank">KiwiCo Store</a>!

57 at-home fall projects for kids

Screen-free fun!