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Who doesn’t love The Lorax by Dr. Seuss? These adorable pencil toppers, inspired by Truffula Trees, are great for taking notes in style or brightening up your desk with fun pops of color.

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To make your tree trunk, wrap your pencil in colored washi tape. We wanted to make our trunks yellow and black, so we started with yellow as our base. 

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Then wrap your next color around the pencil as well. We wrapped black tape around the tree trunk, this time spacing the tape out to create yellow and black stripes.

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Now take your styrofoam ball and apply tacky glue to one half of the ball. Hold the ball by the side without glue and wrap the boa around the ball, over the glue. Cut the any excess boa, and do the same for the other side of the ball. This will make your tree top!

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Take your pencil and push the pointed end into the styrofoam ball. Remove the pencil, flip it around, and then insert the eraser end into the styrofoam ball to attach the topper. If you want to keep the topper secure, add some glue to the eraser before inserting it into the ball. If you like, create more pencil topper trees! We created a bunch and loved how all the colors looked together.

pencils

tacky glue

feather boa

washi tape (multiple colors)

small styrofoam balls

Fluffy Tree Pencil Toppers

sounds

sound science

craft

science project

construction

Make a rockin' customizable speaker for you and your friends to enjoy with just a few household items! Understand how sound vibrations can travel through different mediums and how the shape of the mediums can cause the sounds to be amplified!

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Measure the width and depth of the music playing device you plan to use, like a cell phone. Using these dimensions, cut out a slot in the kraft tube to fit the phone. The speaker portion will need to fit into the tube when you’re finished.

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Now it’s time to decorate! There’s no one way to do this! We painted our kraft tube with acrylic paint, added polka-dots with a circular sponge brush, and dip-dyed our cups by dunking them into a bowl of liquid watercolors. Get creative with your crafting techniques, this speaker could make a great accent to any room! 

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Hold your kraft tube to the side of the cup near the bottom. Use a marker to trace the edge of the tube on the cup. Do this to both cups. Using a craft knife, cut out the holes you just traced. If needed, an adult should do any major cutting.

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Insert the kraft tube into the holes in the both of cups. Angle the kraft tube so that the slot is pointing almost directly upright, but slightly backwards. When the kraft tube positioned in the cups, use hot glue to secure it in place.

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Now insert the music device into the slot and crank up the tunes. You should hear music playing from the cups louder than the device can do on its own.

After some trial and error, we found that plastic cups worked better than paper cups! Try experimenting with your cups to see what works best for you.

2 paper cups

1 kraft tube

knife

marker

hot glue

DIY Phone Speaker

Easter crafts

bunny

spring

Use staples and felt and learn this no-fuss way to make a festive tote for all your goodies. Or, replace the staples with metal rivets for a sturdier version.

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Take your felt sheet (ours measured 12 in. x 12 in.), and fold it in thirds to create a 4 in. x 12 in. long rectangle.  Press firmly along the creases. Open the sheet and fold it into thirds the other way.  Press firmly along these creases as well.

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Following the crease lines, trim
 two 4-inch slits on opposite ends.  If you need help following the 
crease lines, use a pencil to lightly trace the lines so you can cut 
more easily.

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The felt sheet should now have 
three square flaps on opposite ends.  Align the three flaps on one end 
together to create three sides of the basket.  Staple the felt together 
neatly along the top.  Tuck the loose bottom flap in underneath.  Adult 
supervision may be required!

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Do the same for the opposite end.  You should now have the basic bottom of the basket.

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To make the handle, pick three pipe cleaners of different colors.  Braid these together.

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To attach the handle to the 
basket, pinch together the folded flap on the side of the basket. 
   Using scissors, make a small quarter-inch long cut about 1-inch below
 the edge of the basket.  Do the same for the opposite end.

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Take your pipe cleaner handle 
and insert one end into the hole and fold up the ends on the inside to 
secure it.  Do the same for the opposite end.

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You now have your basket!  Use 
extra felt or pipe cleaners to decorate your new basket.  Try adding 
ears, a nose, and a bunny tail.

felt sheets

pipe cleaners

wiggly eyes

scissors

stapler

ruler

pencil (optional)

permanent markers (e.g. sharpies)

No-Sew Basket

decorations

luminary

quick craft

indoor project

Use ping-pong balls to put your own creative spin on a simple light string. Go with simple glowing globes or add details with permanent markers for unique room decor.

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It is important to use LED lights because these do not get hot when used with the ping-pong balls.

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If you have multi-colored ping-pong balls, plan out a pattern for your light string before attaching your ping-pong balls to the LEDs. Make sure you have enough ping-pong balls for the project.

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Take a pair of scissors or an X-Acto knife and carefully puncture a hole into the ping-pong ball. Be very careful not to hurt yourself here! You may need to puncture the hole multiple times to get the hole large enough for the LED to go through. I used scissors to make an "X" slit. My holes were about 1/4-inch, which worked well for attaching and detaching the ping-pong balls. Repeat this step for all the ping-pong balls you plan to use.

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If you'd like, take a permanent marker and draw designs on your ping-pong balls. Let the marker ink dry before you touch them again to avoid smudges.&nbsp;

Draw away from the punctured hole as this portion of the ping-pong ball will be covered by the wires of the LED light string and may cover your designs.

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Once all your ping-pong balls have been punctured, take one ping-pong ball and push the LED light through the hole on the ping-pong ball to attach them to the light string.

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Repeat step 5 for all the ping-pong balls that will go on your LED light string. As mentioned before, I would suggest planning your pattern before attaching the ping-pong balls. I didn't do this and spent extra time taking the ping-pong balls on and off.

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You are done! Now you can show off your glowing light string.

ping-pong balls (enough for the number of lights, and a few extra)

led string light

Ping Pong Glow Lights

sustainable crafts

reused craft materials

Do you have a ton of pink erasers scattered around the house or filling up your junk drawer? Give them a new purpose and make your own stamps!

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Draw a design on an eraser with a pencil. For designs with words, make sure to write the letters backwards and starting from the right side of the eraser. For asymmetrical designs, flip them vertically so that they appear correctly when stamped.

It helps to shade in the areas you want to carve out and not see on the stamp.

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Using your carving tool, carefully carve out the shaded areas. 

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Blot your eraser stamp into the ink pad. 

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Press your stamp onto a piece of cardstock - and voila! You made a stamp! 

eraser

pencil

carving tool

ink pad

cardstock

Eraser Stamps

ornaments

Christmas

Handmade Christmas Gifts & Cards

Christmas tree

Christmas crafts

gift

winter

winter crafts

art-science projects

We have favorite crystal ornaments, and these are it! No waiting for weeks for these crystals to form...using borax instead of salt or sugar will give us completed ornaments in one day! Borax (sodium tetraborate) is a naturally-occurring mineral salt commonly used as a laundry booster or cleaner. As with any other cleaning product, it should be kept away from children not under direct supervision of an adult. Do not allow children to ingest Borax. If consumed, contact a poison control center immediately. Wash hands after play, as prolonged skin exposure may cause irritation.Looking for more crafts to decorate for the holidays? Create awesome decorations and have hands-on fun with a <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/rainbow-air-dry-clay-project-kit/5612" target="_self">Rainbow Air Dry Clay</a> set from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store!</a>

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There are lots of different recipes for growing borax crystals, but we've done this lots over the years, and you don't need nearly as much as some recipes say!
Three tablespoons of borax per cup of water does it just fine. (For simple measuring, remember that 16 Tbs is equal to 1 cup.)

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For a precise water amount, you could put water in your jars, then pour it into a measuring cup to measure exactly how much you'll need, but I just guessed 12 cups for three jars.  (Actually, I underestimated, and we had to go back and make two more cups, but easily done!)  We heated up the water.  We boiled it, but that isn't strictly necessary, as long as it's very hot--hot enough to dissolve the borax.  

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We stir, stir, stirred.... and then got the snowflakes ready.  (Over the years, we've done icicles, pink hearts...lots of different shapes!)  This time Madeleine had a brilliant idea for a candy cane!

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When they were shaped the way the children wanted -leaving one end very tall to reach well over the top of the glass- they wrapped the top (longer piece) around a pencil.  There are two more steps here: Make sure that your creation is narrow enough to fit through the mouth of your jar (it can be tilted, and "worked" out), and put your shape inside the jar and make sure it is hanging freely, and not resting at the bottom.  Some of the borax will settle to the bottom of the jar, and you don't want your snowflake stuck to the crystals forming there.

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After checking that everything was just right, the kids were ready to stir again and then pour in the solution!

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We made sure the designs were hanging freely (not stuck to the bottom or sides), and filled them up the jars. 

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Next, we moved the jars to a shelf where they could sit for several hours. (Where we kept a close eye on them!)
After a couple of hours, as the water cooled, we could see the crystals forming.  While salt and sugar form cube-shaped crystals, borax forms six-sided structures.  We like to leave them in for a whole day.  You could try for longer!

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The science behind it all:  The hot water holds more borax than cold, because heated molecules move further apart from each other, leaving room for the borax crystals.  As the solution cools, the water molecules move closer together again.  Now there's less room, and the crystals begin to form and build on one another.
Snowflakes in the wintertime are formed in the same way!

borax

water

jar / glass jar / mason jar (wide-mouth)

pot (for heating water)

Borax Ornaments

art project

My son and I have found a hobby and that is making homemade gifts. We love to find fun items to make for his teachers and our family. A lot of the time we enjoy what we make so much we keep one for ourselves. With the holidays around the corner it was time for us to make his teachers a gift. This homemade hand scrub was perfect.Looking for more ways to help your little one create handmade gifts? <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/animal-bath-bombs-project-kit/2784" target="_self">Animal Bath Bombs</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a> are the perfect way for your little crafter to dip their toes into bubbly bathtime chemistry!

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Gather supplies needed.  At this point I call my son (almost 4yr) to help.

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Together we measure the sugar and oil.  Then he pours it into the bowl.

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We take turns mixing it until it is well mixed.

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We chose peppermint essential oils to add to one jar. Once added mix again.

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Now that the hand scrub is ready we transferred it to our jars.  We made two batches to be able to fill both of these 8 oz jars.  My son and I both enjoyed washing our hands  with what was left in the mixing bowl when we cleaned up.   

100 cool useful craft project projects for kids

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