Little Garden Gnomes ...

Here . I am back . After a very busy month in April and a crazy beginning in May , I finally have time to write a new post on this blog. Since Spring is in full spring , and gardening may have been in your mind , I thought it would be fun to find a project related to it . That is how I came out with the idea of making some little garden gnomes with toilet paper rolls and felt . If you are concerned by the cost of the project , you can easily replace the felt by color paper .

Grade Level : From kindergarten to 5th grade .It can easily be adapted for any grade level . With the smaller children , you may  want to precut the pieces of felt for them . For the older kids , measuring and cutting the felt themselves can be fun and a math exercice ! See what your students are capable of .

Material needed : for this project you will need the following :

                                       * toilet paper rolls (or paper towel rolls cut in smaller sizes )
                                       * felt of different colors
                                       * a ruler
                                       * pencils
                                       * scissors
                                       * fabric glue
                                       * paper plates
                                       * toothpicks
                                       * cotton balls

Activity : (1) The students will start by  measuring , tracing and cutting a piece of felt that will be seen as the face of their little garden gnome . So they should choose a felt color accordingly . This piece of felt , even though it will be the face of the little guy , will cover the entire toilet paper roll . (It is just easier that way .) Which means the length should be 4 inches and the width should be about 6.75 inches .

             (2) Each student should now pour a little bit of fabric glue into a paper plate . Using a toothpick they should apply the glue onto the felt rectangle and glue it neatly to the toilet paper roll .

             (3) Now they should use a different color of felt . This piece will be the jacket of the little garden gnome . This new rectangle should be slightly shorter than the previous one . It will be 2.25 inches long and still 6.75 inches wide .

             (4) The students should glue this new piece of felt on the top of the previous one , so it will look like this ,

             (5) At this time our little gnomes are slowly taking shape . We are going to need to add some  details . The students are going to choose a new piece of felt of another color. They will measure it , trace it and cut it . This one will be 0.5 inches by 6.75 inches . It will serve as a belt . It will be glued about the middle of the jacket . They will also need a small square (or rectangle or oval ) that will serve as a belt buckle .Mine measure about 0.5 inches by 0.5 inches . They should glue it on the top of their belt .

             

This is what we have so far ....

                   (6) Now your students will need to trace two circles (for the eyes ) and one oval (for the nose) .They can choose any color of felt they want to .

           
            (7)  Before gluing the eyes and nose however , you want your students to start working on the hat of the little gnome . They can choose the same color of felt than the belt , as it will be a neat match . It should be a rectangle of  3 inches (height) by 6.75 inches (width) . They should once again trace it , cut it and glue the base of the hat on the top of our toilet paper roll . And this is what it should look like now :    

                              

         
            (8) Now the students can glue the eyes and the nose of their garden gnome .

            (9) They should now try to pinch the top of the hat . This part is a little bit more tricky for the littler students and they may need some help . Once they like what they see , they should add a little bit of glue on the inside top of the hat and pinch it together , just like this :
                                          

       
           (10) Perfect ! Now we are almost done . It is time for your students to add the hair and the beard on the little guy . For that they will simply need to take some cotton balls , tear them apart gently and glue it onto the gnome .And here will be the result ...

               

           
             
                (11) Here is the finished project . Doesn't it look nice next to paper flowers ? This is a sweet indoor garden gnome !

Hope you will all having some fun making them ! See you soon for another project ! Thanks for stopping by :)

Easter Bunny

With Easter approaching ,today we will create some Easter bunnies .

Grade level : This craft is for preschoolers and kindergartners .

Material needed : * toilet paper rolls (1 per student)
                            * white construction paper
                            * sharpies (or pens or crayons)
                            * scissors
                            * pipe cleaners
                            * cotton balls
                            * glue
                            * anything else you would like to decorate your bunny  , like ribbons , pins , pompoms ,etc

And the teacher may want to have a needle handy to poke wholes for the mustache .

Activity :   

(1) The teacher should measure the white construction paper with the following size .
                                  Height : 4.25 inches
                                  Width : 6 inches

(2) The teacher should also trace the ears , and the feet on a white construction paper .

(3) Each student should have one toilet paper roll , one piece of construction paper measuring 4.35" X 6" and a piece of white construction paper with the ears and feet .

(4) The student should glue the white construction paper on the toilet paper roll so it will fit neatly .

(5) While this dries , the student need to cut the ears and the feet with scissors . Using a sharpie they should color the "inside" of the bunny's ears .

(6) Using Sharpies , the student should draw the eyes and the nose of the bunny . He / she should also glue the ears at the back of the bunny's head .

(7) Once all of the above is done , the student will go ask the teacher to poke six wholes to fit the mustache .

(8) After the teacher made the wholes , the student will choose a couple of pipe cleaner . In this example , I made a white bunny ...and I chose a white pipe cleaner . However you can use any color you want ! The student should put the pipe cleaner through the whole , twist the part that is inside the roll . He / she should cut the pipe cleaner outside , at the desired length .

(9) Now the student will take one cotton ball and glue it on the lower back of the bunny .

(10) Now it is time to glue the feet at the bottom of our bunny .

(11) Now our bunny is done . But to make it more fun you can add anything you wish to it . Like a ribbon ....

or pins or buttons (however watch for choking hazard !!!!) or pompoms ...

Have a Happy and Safe Easter everyone =)

Felt Monsters .

When I was in elementary school (from third to six grade), we used to have "sewing lessons" every other week . I remember doing some pretty cool stuff , such as a tote bag , pillows , a clown , and much more . I am not much of a "sewing teacher" but I thought it could be fun to introduce one of those fun projects once in a while . That is how I came up with these felt monsters idea .

Grade level : Any grade between 3rd and 6th grade . Make sure the kids are calm enough so they will not jump around with their needles !

Objective: Learn some basic sewing skills , while doing a fun little monster .

Material needed : * two pieces of felt (about   8.5" X  11" )
                               * more felt (use scrap pieces) to decorate the monster
                               * needles
                               * floss
                               * pins
                               * scissors
                               * synthetic fiberfill
                               * paper
                               * pencil
                       
Activity :
  (1) Ask you students to draw a monster on a regular piece of paper with a pencil . They should avoid making skinny legs and arms , as it would be awkward and difficult to fill it with the fiberfill .They should also not draw any details , as we only want them to draw a pattern of their monster at this time . Here is an example of how their pattern should look like :

  (2)The students should cut out the outline of their monster with scissors.

  (3) They will now place their pattern on one of the big piece of felt and trace around with their pencil .

 (4) Now the students have their monster drawn on one of the big pieces of felt . They should pinned BOTH big pieces of felt together . Using their pencil , they should draw a bigger outline around their original monster and cut around on this second line .

(5) Now your students should remove the pins . They have two separate pieces of felt .One piece will be the front of the monster , one piece , the back .

(6) On the leftover of paper , they can draw with their pencil , details they would like to add to their monsters . Such as eyes , a heart , a tooth , etc. Here is an example :

  

(7) By using scissors , the students will cut those eyes , heart , etc. They will take scraps of felt of different colors and trace those eyes , heart , etc . Once it is done , they will cut them .

(8) It is now time for the students to take the piece of felt that will be the front of their monster . Using pins , they should place and secure those eyes , heart  , tooth . 

  

 Show your students how to stitch them using a "blanket stitch" .If you don not know how to do that , you may want to take a look at this video by GulfCoastCottage . It will explain it very well .

  

For the mouth , you may want to show your student how to back stitch . Here again if you do not know how to do this , you may want to take a look at this video by Needlerific

(9) Now , is time to sew our monster together . Your student will put the back of their monster , flat on a table . They will then grab the front of their monster and put it on the top of it , neatly aligned and INSIDE OUT !  (You want the good front of their monster facing the back !)  They will use pins to secure the two sides in place . Like this :

(10) Using a back stitch , they will sew their monster following the line . 

 

(11) They will have to make sure to leave one area open  , so they will be able to turn their monster around (so it will be on the "good" side ) , and also so they can fill it with synthetic fiberfill .I like to let one of the leg open so the last few stitches are not too visible . But it can be a little tight and difficult for a child to turn it around . So you may prefer to leave the top of the head open . It is up to you . 

In this example , you can see , the leg is open so I can fill it with the synthetic fiberfill .

  

(12) Once your students are done with filling their monster , they should close up the open are using a slip stitch . If you do not know how to do that , you can easily learn it reading this tutorial from Taffy Talk

Here is an example of the finished project :

Have fun making your own monsters !

Thank you

Hello everyone ,
I just want to thank everyone who ever visited this site and every single person who is following it . We just reached the 4,000 total page views today ! I am so amazed that I was able to reach so many people , and it will definitively keep me going . I will be back next week with a new art project !

Salt dough magnets and plaques (Part 3)

In this third lesson , we will finish our plaques and magnets . As a teacher , art docent or mother , you have baked your  students art projects and it is now time for the finishing touches .

Materials needed:   * Old newspapers to cover the desks

                               * paintbrushes of different thickness

                               * old rags or paper towel to wipe your paintbrushes

                               * plastic cups (for water)

                               * acrylics paints of different colors

                               * gloss and matte varnishes

                               * paper plates (for acrylic paints)

                               * round magnets

                               * super glue

                               * thin colorful ribbons

Project :  (1) Each student will get their magnets and their plaque back .

               (2) Each student should get a little bit of acrylic paints of different colors . They should paint their magnets and their plaque . This stage should not take them very long .

               (3) Let it dry for at least 24 hours .

               (4) The teacher or art docent can apply some varnish on all the pieces .

               (5) Using the super glue , glue a round magnet on the back of the small art pieces to make the magnets . Let it dry !

               (6) Attach a beautiful ribbon to each plaque .

Examples : Here are the finished pieces I showed you last week :

 

Glass of lemonade magnet

 

Apple on a book magnet

 

Cactus magnet

 

Little mermaid plaque

And here are more beautiful pieces :

 

A head magnet

 

A green head magnet

 

An army shark magnet

 

A kid plaque

 

An Arizona landscape plaque

Here it is . This project is now done ! I certainly hope that you and your students had a lot of fun creating your very own magnets and plaques . Have a wonderful weekend :)

Salt dough magnets and plaque (Part 2)

In this second part of the lesson , we will make some magnets and a plaque . This is one of the most exciting process in this project .

Materials needed:
                               * Some salt dough we made last week  (give each student a generous amount so he/she will be able to make two magnets and one plaque)

                               * A rolling pin

                               * Some plastic knives (to cut the dough neatly)

                               * Some toothpicks (to make designs on the dough)
   
                               * Some plastic straws

                               * Small plastic cups for water

                               * Some plastic picture frames 5" X 8" (to measure the plaque )

                               * Wax paper

                               * You may want to have some flour handy , in case things get too sticky .

Project :
              Start by covering each desk with wax paper .

              (1) Each students will start by kneading the dough a little bit to get rid of the air bubbles .

              (2) Each student will then roll the dough flat with the rolling pin . He/she will use the plastic picture frame to measure the size of the plate . With a plastic knife he/she will cut around the frame . We now have the base of our plaque .

              (3) Use a plastic straw to make two holes at the top of the plaque (so we will be able to put a ribbon through later on , to hang the plaque) .

             (4) Now each student can decorate their plaque the way they want to . They can add flowers , ice cream , make a cat or a dog , or simply make a landscape . It is really up to their imagination ! When they add additional pieces of dough on the plaque , they should "glue" it by adding a little bit of water .

             (5) The student can add details to their design , by using toothpicks , a plastic knife ,a straw , etc.

             (6) Once the student is done with the plaque , he/she should set it aside on his/her desk .

             (7) With the extra dough that a student has , he/she can now make a couple of magnets , once again , simply ,using their imagination . They should just use the dough as they would using play dough . They can once again add details by using toothpicks , a plastic knife or a straw .

             (8) After the student is done , they should set the magnets aside on the wax paper .

Teacher's job :
Once every students are done with their salt dough art , it will be the teacher or art docent's job to bake every single piece . BE AWARE ! It will take some time . Use the oven at 350 F . The magnets could take about 2 hours (depending on their sizes ) and the plaques about 4 hours . Make sure each piece is completely dry on BOTH sides !!!!!!!!

Examples: Here are some examples of magnets and one plaque after they were baked .

 

A glass of refreshing lemonade . Look how the lines on the lemon and on the straw were added by using a plastic knife .

 

An apple on a book .

 

A cactus . This time the details were added with a toothpick .

 

A little mermaid . The mermaid , the flowers and the algae were all modeled separately and then glued onto the plaque by using water . As you can noticed , there is already a little bit of paint on this item , which bring us to our lesson next week  ,where I will explain how to paint and varnish the items . We will also add all the other finishing touches . 

Salt Dough Part 1

With the cold weather , I thought it would be a good idea to make some crafts with salt dough . I will divide this tutorial in 3 parts :

                                 (1) Salt dough recipe

                                 (2) How to make a plaque and magnets

                                 (3) Painting and varnishing your items .

Part 1 : Salt Dough Recipe 

I did this project with second graders . But once again , it can be adapted for any grade .

My mom knows how much I love to create things , so a few years back she sent me a book on how to make salted dough projects . The book was a French translation of "Salt Dough" written by Cheryl Owen . The book contains a lot of amazing creations and is very inspiring . I love her salt dough recipe and that is the recipe I use whenever I want to create something out of salt dough .

Here is the recipe :

                               2 cups of flour

                               1 cup of salt 

                               1 cup of water 

You need to mix the flour and salt in a big mixing bowl . Then you add the water , little by little until your dough becomes smooth and firm . 

Be careful , if you add too much water , your dough will be extremely sticky and it will be hard to do anything with it . If you add too much flour , some cracks will then appear in your creations after you baked them .

Take the dough out of the bowl and knead it for at least ten minutes . By doing so you will eliminate the air bubbles . You may used the dough immediately , but it is better to let it rest about 30 minutes in a closed container in your refrigerator . 

And it is done . As a teacher or an art docent , you may choose to make the dough yourself , in advance . If you are a mom and doing this with your kids at home , you may want to have them  help  you out .