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rainbows

Did you know that you can create a rainbow with clear nail polish? Try this quick experiment using clear nail polish and black paper to make a swirling mix of colors. Since it involves nail polish, younger kids shouldn't attempt this on their own. Although with supervision, it's simple enough for elementary age kids to enjoy as well. I tried this out with my 5-year-old, and he loved watching the rainbow colors appears. Just make sure to supervise and protect your table or work surface from spills.

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Prepare your black paper for marbling by cutting it to fit in your bowl. Fill a bowl with about 1 inch (2.5 cm)&nbsp;of water.

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Place your black paper into the bowl of water. Push the paper under water, and then let it float near the surface of the water. 

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This step must be done quickly! Pour 3-4 drops of clear nail polish above the black piece of paper, and then remove the black piece of paper within seconds.&nbsp;

Pinch the edge of the paper to help you pull it out.

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Place the wet piece of paper onto a paper towel to dry. To speed up dry time, place it in the sun. Look at all the rainbow colors that appear!

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We mounted our marble paper onto a notebook, but you can display the paper however you’d like. Or get creative and use it as an art material for other projects and see what you can make with your rainbow paper!

So how does clear nail polish turn rainbow-y? The colors aren’t in the nail polish (or the paper) — they’re created by reflected light. When you dripped the nail polish into the bowl, it spread out into a very, very thin film floating on the surface of the water. That thinner-than-tissue film is what you picked up onto the paper. When light shines on the paper, some of it reflects off the front of the nail polish film (like a mirror). But since the nail polish is clear, some of the light passes through (like a window) and then reflects off the back of the nail polish film.The rainbow-y effect comes from the combination of those two reflections. White light (like light from the Sun) is made up of all the colors of the rainbow. As the reflections combine, some of the colors are amplified and become more intense — those are the colors you see! And if you’re thinking this looks a little like the colors in soap bubbles, you’re right! A bubble’s “skin” is a thin film of soap and water that creates reflections, just like the nail polish. So break out the bubbles, and let your colors shine!

black paper

clear nail polish

water

bowl

paper towel

gloves (optional)

Rainbow Paper

Christmas

Hanukkah

circuit

Sending handmade holiday cards is a tradition in our family. We love sending mail through the post and the recipients love receiving them! Since Christmas is quickly approaching, we found a way to really spread the holiday cheer with these creative Holiday Card Circuits!Looking for more ways to pair art with engineering? <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo's</a> <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/light-up-wire-art-project-kit/5734" target="_self">Light-Up Wire Art</a> is sure to brighten things up, and contains all of the materials needed to create a stunning decoration!

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Decide how you want to decorate the front of your card and cut out paper shapes. 
Looking for a gift? Checkout KiwiCo's <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/christmas-toys/?diy=inline">Christmas gifts here</a>.

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Plan where you will place the LEDs. In this example we will have an LED shine from the bottom of the UFO so we cut a hole in the paper there.

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Lay out your paper shapes and stick them down with a glue stick. We also used double sided sticky foam squares under some of the stars and the UFO for a 3D look. Feel free to decorate more with glitter, markers, and more! We covered the hole with a piece of tissue paper. This is optional, but we wanted to go for a different lighting effect.

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Before you start making circuits, take a look at the examples as shown. - The simple circuit is the most basic circuit to lighting up an LED. One foil strip connects one side of the battery to one wire of the LED. The second foil strip connects to the second wire of the LED and the second side of the battery to loop around the current.

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- If you want to use more than one LED, make sure to use the parallel configuration. We recommend using no more than two LEDs for this configuration because the battery is not powerful enough to light the parallel circuit with more than two LEDs. Make sure that all the positive side (longer lead on a regular LED) are in the same orientation. In our parallel circuit example, the positive sides are pointed to the top. - We don't recommend using the series configuration because the battery is not powerful enough to light the series circuit with two LEDs. Note: In this step we used regular LEDs (they have the two wires!), and sewable LEDs (looks like an oval!). Any kind of LEDs work - just be sure the LED, as well as the battery have good contact with the foil and that there is no tape in between the parts and the foil.

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To build a circuit, glue some aluminum foil to a piece of paper. We used surface mount spray, but regular white glue or rubber cement should work too.

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Draw out a circuit with a colored sharpie. In our example, we used a blue marker to draw our circuit. Cut out a piece of foil to practice drawing a circuit! Trace your battery, and LED(s) onto the foil with a black marker. It might be helpful to also draw a black line to visualize the path of the current.

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Cut out the foil paths by following the colored lines. Use clear tape to tape the foil paths to the back of your card. Next tape your LED and battery to the foil. Make sure the LED shines through a hole you've made. Notice the LED bridges a 1 mm gap in the foil paths and that the battery is only sitting on one of the foil paths.

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Cut a small piece of rectangular foil with paper backing (from step 5). This flap of foil is used to connect the second foil path to the top of the battery to complete the circuit.

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Once the connections are made, your LED should light up. If it doesn't, make sure the connections are secure or try flipping the battery over.

What's going on?
You made a circuit! Electricity flows through circuits as charged particles move from the battery through the LED and back to the other side of the battery forming a closed loop. This flow of electrons is called current. Certain materials like aluminum foil allow electricity to flow whereas other materials like wood and rubber do not.

construction paper (any type, multiple colors)

3v coin cell batteries (available on amazon)

aluminum foil

leds (any type of LEDs work, available on amazon)

clear tape

Glue Stick

permanent marker (black and one other color)

spray adhesive (optional)

double stick foam (optional)

glitter (optional)

decorative paper (optional)

Winter Break

Holiday Card Circuits

art project

art-science projects

optical illusions

at-home learning

learning activity

math

Learn a simple way to understand drawing in perspective by writing your name in 3D! What's going on? You've just used a common artistic technique, called "one point perspective," to create the illusion of three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional piece of paper. By drawing lines from your original letters back to the perspective point, you're setting up boundaries that show how much smaller your block letters would look if you slid them into the distance. Connecting the lines between your original and distant block letters makes it look like the letters are taking up 3D space. This technique can be used to draw even more complicated 3D objects and scenes - experiment with it and see what happens! You can also use a second perspective point, or shadows, to add even more depth to your drawings.Want to explore more hands-on crafts without the hassle of gathering materials? Learn about chemistry and design out-of-this-world bath bombs with <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/planet-bath-bombs/3702" target="_self">Planet Bath Bombs</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>!

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Draw your name in block letters in pencil. Then, trace each of the letters in marker. 

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Make a small mark in pencil anywhere on your paper. This mark will be the vanishing point of your perspective drawing. 
 
What is a vanishing point?
A vanishing point is the point where all parallel lines in a perspective drawing intersect. 

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Draw a line in pencil connecting every point of every letter to the vanishing point. Make sure these lines are light as you will erase them when you have finished your drawing. 

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Trace these lines with marker any distance. Keep in mind that these lines will dictate how long your letters are. 

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When you have finished, connect each of these lines with a horizontal or vertical line. Notice that these lines run parallel to the original letter you drew.&nbsp;

Some letters, like B and Y, have lines where it doesn't make sense to draw horizontal lines. In these instances, draw a line that is parallel to the line in the original letter you drew.

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Erase the pencil lines and then color in your name! If you want more of a challenge, try making your name into a cityscape. 

pencil

Ruler

markers (colored)

eraser

3D Name Drawing

homemade craft

Handmade Christmas Gifts & Cards

Learn how to make a pull-tab card for a special someone or occasion using sticky foam squares. If you have extra sticky foam squares from old KiwiCo crates, use them for this project!Looking for the perfect gift for young crafters? The <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/craft-carry-supply-station/5699" target="_self">Craft and Carry Supply Station</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a> contains over 1,000 craft-ready pieces safely tucked away in a snap-together storage box!

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Cut an 8-inch by 6-inch piece of cardstock. Then, fold it in half lengthwise. This will be your card. 

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Cut a hole in the front of your card. This hole can be any shape you choose. We made a small circle. 

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Cut out a slightly larger version of the shape you made in the previous step. We made a large circle.

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Now, cut out the shape you want to “appear” when you pull on the tab. We made a small square. 

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Cut out a strip of paper as wide as your shape from step 5 and about 5-inches long. Then, glue the shape from step 5 to the top of it. This will be your pull tab.

To make your pull tab blend in, make this the same color as the shape from step 4. 

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Put it all together! Open up the card so that the inside is facing up. Then, place the pull tab in the center of the hole on the card. 

Make sure the pull tab is upside down, meaning that the shape is facing away from you. 

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Remove one side of backing on the sticky foam squares and place them along either side of the pull tab. Then, place some sticky foam squares around the outside of the hole.

The pull tab should only move up and down or right to left. 

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Leave the pull tab in place. Remove the other backing on the sticky foam squares. Then, stick the large circle down onto the sticky foam to cover up the hole on the front of the card. 

If any of your sticky foam squares are sticking out, just stick the backing back on them! 

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Close the card and flip it over! You’ve just made a pull-tab card! Now try pulling on the tab hanging out at the bottom! 

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What else you can make using this technique?

cardstock

Scissors

Sticky Foam

Glue

Pull Tab Card

Mother’s Day gifts

Father's Day gifts

birthday

birthday party crafts

arts & crafts

craft

Add some pizazz to your greeting cards with clay confetti! In just a few simple steps, you can take your cards to the next level.

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Need clay confetti? Order some from<a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/cp/supplies" target="_blank"> the KiwiCo store</a>&nbsp;today!

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Cut out an 8”x4” rectangle of card stock. Fold in half, then unfold flat.

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Draw your design on the right half of the card.

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Cut out the windows in the front of your card with a craft knife. Save any “islands,” like the middle of an O or Q.

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Cut out a transparency that is large enough to cover your window, but small enough to tape onto half of the card. Repeat so you have 2 matching transparencies.

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Tape one transparency onto the back of the front of the card.

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Put the confetti over the transparency, add a second sheet of transparency on top, and tape to seal.

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(Optional) Put a solid piece of paper on the inside of the card to hide the tape.

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Clay Confetti Set

Cardstock or Construction Paper

Clear Acetate Sheets

Craft Knife

Clear Tape

Pens or Pencils

Confetti Cards

handmade gifts

This project is adaptable for all ages... the youngest children can use one piece of paper and cut slits into it, and older children can weave with more varied sizes and shapes.  Either way, it's sure to be beautiful and appreciated!

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Another project for Maddie's treasured new stack of paper!  She chose one for the card, and four others to make the weave. We cut out lots of paper strips to get started.

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For a simpler project, make parallel horizontal cuts across a piece of paper, stopping 1" from the edges. For our more advanced version, we lined up paper strips on a table and taped them to the table along the top edge. This made our paper "loom". Okay!  Ready to start!

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She wove strips over and under until the "loom" was full. After she remembered how it was done (it had been a while since our last weave), it went very quickly!

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When she was done, we carefully flipped up the finished paper (it was still attached to the table),


46 easy handmade cards projects for kids

Screen-free fun!