Making A Bird House With Twigs

Kids usually love wild animals. As parents we know it is not good for them to touch them even though they want to do it. What we can do is encourage them to love birds and how to keep them coming back to your garden, even in winter. You can do winter crafts for kids such as making a pine cone bird feeder or this birdhouse with twigs. Let them hang it near a window so they can watch, and you may have a budding ornithologist on your hands.

Birdhouses can be made from a variety of items. Milk jugs, boxes, and soda bottles are common crafts items for children to try. Here’s what your child will need if they want to make one from twigs they find lying around the yard.

Supplies:

• Clean, empty 1/2 gallon milk carton
• Paint in natural colors like brown or grey
• Twigs from around the yard, broken in to various sizes
• Tacky glue or a low-temp glue gun if an adult will be helping
• Safety scissors, depending upon the age of the child
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Fishing line to hang the finished birdhouse

Method:

Measure 3 inches up from the bottom of the clean milk carton and make a dark mark. Continue measuring and marking 3 inches from the bottom on the remaining sides. Using the marks as a guide, have them cut the carton into two pieces. Be sure to save both parts; they’ll need them.

Starting with the top piece, your child can cut a 2 inch circle in one side of the carton. Then moving to the bottom part, have them cut 2 inches from the height. Place glue on all the outer sides of the smaller carton and push the larger one into the bottom. This will make the carton smaller than it was.

Glue the spout closed and then paint the milk carton one of the darker natural colors. Allow the milk carton to dry completely.

If your child hasn’t already done so, have them find a lot of thin, straight twigs or sticks. Thinner twigs will allow your child to break them with their hands rather than having to be sawn. Then have them break the twigs into different lengths to fit the sides and top of the birdhouse.

An adult will want to poke a hole in the middle of the top ridge of the carton. Let your child thread string or heavy duty fishing line through the hole and tie a knot in it. This will be how to hang the birdhouse.

Using tacky glue, have your child cover the sides of the milk carton with twigs, but leave the hole they made open. They may also want to push a twig under the hole so the birds have a perch to land on before they enter their new birdhouse. Glue it well.

Finally, they’ll want to cover the top of the milk carton by gluing sticks on it. They may want to leave a little of the twig hanging over the sides. When the birdhouse is completely finished and has had ample time to dry, help them find the best place to hang it.

Give your child the joy of watching nature by helping them learn how to make a birdhouse with twigs. Having a birdhouse near a window allows them to learn about nature from the safety of your home. It’s a win-win situation for both your child and the birds.

Tips And Ideas For The Beginner Knitter And Kids

Learning to knit is a good idea. Knitting is not only for grannies any more and you will find kids knitting more and more. For a good resource to get the kids knitting having a look at Kids Knitting: Projects for Kids of all Ages is a very good idea.

Knitting is a pastime which has been enjoyed for hundreds of years, and with good reason. Knitting not only allows you to make some wonderful garments and household decorative items, but it also allows you to create while you relax.

Knitting gives you an amazing sense of accomplishment when you are finished with a project. Whether you are making a sweater or a scarf, you will be proud to show off your work when you have finished it.

Being new to knitting, there are a few things you need to keep in mind so that you will have the most success possible. They are:

1. Knitting Needles

Knitting needles are not all created equal. By far, the easiest needles to knit with are made from wood. Wooden knitting needles allow you to knit much easier because your yarn will stay in place on them. When you use plastic or metal knitting needles you will soon find that your yarns wants to slide off the needles if you are not careful in handling them. When you are new to knitting it really is best to stick to wooden needles.

If you cannot find wooden knitting needles in your area, you can take a dowel of wood and cut it to be about a foot long, sharpen the end with a pencil sharpener to a blunt point, and then rub it with a little candle wax. This makes a great pair of inexpensive and custom knitting needles.

When you are a beginner at knitting you should create your first project with large needles for a couple different reasons.

The first reason is that the large needles are easier to work with and allow you to see your mistakes much easier. If you drop a stitch you will immediately know it and can rip out and start again fairly easily.
The second reason is that large knitting needles make you complete your projects much quicke. You can very easily finish a scarf on large knitting needles in only a couple days. This sense of accomplishment is great for newbies.

2. Yarns and Fibers

When you are new to knitting you will want to start out with natural fibers such as cotton or wool. The reason you want to stick to the natural fibers is because they will not slide off of your knitting needles quite as easily as synthetic fibers will. While all those fancy yarns look inviting, they can be a challenge to work with if you are new to knitting. It is best to start off simple and move your way up.

When you purchase yarn or fibers for your projects make sure you take the time to get all of it from one dye lot. The packages of yarn will be marked with a number and you want to make sure they all match. This ensures that all of your yarn is an exact match to each other. You also have to make sure that the thickness of the yarn is the correct thickness for the needles you have.

3. Knit With Others

Being new to knitting offers some challenges. One of these is trying to learn to knit well from a book or off of the Internet or television. Knitting is one of those things which appears to be much harder than it really is. If you have a friend or relative who knits, ask them to show you how. If you do not know anyone who knits, then you might want to take a class at your local community college, or join a local knitting group. While you can learn to knit on your own, and many people have, it is a lot easier to learn when there are people around you who can show you what to do.

Fortunately with a resource, such as Kids Knitting: Projects for Kids of all Ages, you WILL be able to do it on your own. This book has lovely pictures and it explains all the detail you need to complete a simple project successfully

Stone by Stone Mosaic Art Kits

Mosaics are beautiful pieces of art – they not only look great as a decoration in any home, but they are also lots of fun to make.


The Stone by Stone Mosaic Art Kits include everything you need to create your own piece of mosaic artwork. The kits can be bought as a single piece of craft, but are also available as multi-packs. These packs are great for birthday parties or groups of children, such as Sunday school groups.

Available are the Mosaic Clock Kit Class Pack which includes enough mosaic stones and materials to make 12 unique clocks. The other option is the Mosaic House Number Kit Pack, the Mosaic Mirror Kit Pack and the Mosaic Sundial Kit Pack. All kits include easy-to-follow instructions and all the necessary tools.These kt packs are a very good option as mosaic crafts for beginners.

I like the look of mosaics and can really recommend these kits. They are fun to make and beautiful to look at. I am sure that they will be very much appreciated either as a gift or as a birthday craft activity.

How to Create a Vacation Scrapbook

Scrapbooking is fun and if you are looking for some beginner scrapbooking tips and ideas you can have a look at Beginner Scrapbooking and Greeting Card Basics. I'm sure though, with this article you will have no difficulty in making your vacation Scrapbook.

When you go on vacation you probably take you take pictures to help you remember the time spent with family and the locations you visited. Perhaps you’d like to know how to create a vacation scrapbook to keep your photographs organized.

A scrapbook will also provide a place to record memories and funny things which were said during your trip.

Vacation scrapbooks are similar to general scrapbooks except the subject matter is limited to your vacation. Use the scrapbook to store memorabilia gathered on your trip.

Here are some things you may want to have on hand when creating your vacation scrapbook:

• Scrapbook
• Acid-free scrapbook pages
• Photographs
• Photo corners
• Tacky glue
• Stickers
• Maps or other memorabilia
• Acid-free ink pens

Most people use digital cameras and have the capability to print their own photos. You can also take digital photos to be developed at a variety of stores. At any rate, you’ll need pictures to put in the scrapbook.

Besides photos you’ll need paper to place the pictures. There are so many printed papers to choose from along with stickers with a vacation theme. Purchase the paper and stickers you’ll use so they will be available when you need it.

Choose the photos you’ll use on the various pages of the scrapbook. Pages can be planned based on day of the trip, locations, or any number of other reasons. When you have your pictures picked out, and you don’t have to use all of them, you’ll have a better idea which stickers and printed papers you’ll use.

Rather than filling the pages entirely with photographs, be sure to leave space on the page for memorabilia from your trip. Maybe you picked up some postcards along your trip. They would be a great addition to your pages. Other memorabilia to consider putting in your scrapbook are matchbook covers, souvenirs, maps or receipts.

You’ll also want to leave space for journaling as well. Describe the places you visited, anything memorable that happened along the way, and the names of the people in the photographs. Adding the date to the journal area will help you remember even more.

Try to get the rest of the family help you create your vacation scrapbook. Write down some of the things they remember from the trip. You may even want to have each person write part of the narrative in the scrapbook.

Now you know how to create a vacation scrapbook, you can use the ideas above to stimulate your creativity. Make each page unique, but use similar elements so the overall vacation theme is consistent throughout. Then when you and your family look back through the vacation scrapbook you can remember the time with happiness.

If you still fell you need a few more pointers, go to: Beginner Scrapbooking and Greeting Card Basics