With Summer upon us and kids out of school (For many of us - I realize some homeschooling parents school year around) what is there to do with the kiddos to keep them occupied? Here are a few projects to keep your young minds busy with crafts that reuse and recycle items in your homes.

1) Rag Cloth Pencil Holders

Supplies:
Empty aluminum can
White acrylic paint
Paintbrush
Fabric scraps
Scissors
White craft glue
Water

Instructions:
Mix together equal parts of white craft glue and water. Mixture should be paintable but not too thin.
Paint can with one coat of white craft paint. Let dry.
Start anywhere on the can, paint a small amount of glue mixture on to the surface. Apply a fabric scrap and paint more of the mixture over the top of the fabric and smooth it out. Repeat this process, overlapping the fabric scraps so that none of the can’s surface shows through.
Use scissors to trim any pieces of fabric that are sticking out above the can.
Let dry completely before using.

2) Poster Puzzles (One-or two-sided)

Supplies:
Small printed posters or colored postcards or drawings, collages or 2-D works of your own
Cardboard or matte board
Yard of clear contact paper
Pair of scissors
Glue stick
Ruler or yard stick
Exacto knife

Instructions:
Trim poster or artwork to fit the size of your cardboard or matte board. (Trim art slightly smaller than the board to create a border.)
Glue trimmed artwork onto board.
When glue has dried, cover the entire board with clear contact paper to protect the newly mounted artwork. (Trim away excess contact paper.)
Using an Exacto knife and ruler, cut your mounted artwork into a variety of sizes and shapes.
To make a two-sized puzzle, follow steps 1 and 2 on one side of your board and on the other side, mount another piece of artwork. Then cover both sides of the board with clear contact paper (step 3). Cut the pieces with an exacto knife and ruler (step 4).

If you skip step 4, you'll have a wonderful placemat.

3) Birdhouse

Supplies:
Milk carton
Stapler and staples
Masking tape
A soft cloth, rag or chamois
Brown shoe polish
Scissors or a knife
Twine

Instructions:
Clean and dry the milk carton thoroughly.
Staple the top of the carton shut.
Tear off small pieces of masking tape and cover the entire carton with the pieces of tape.
Using a soft cloth, rub brown shoe polish all over the tape. This will give the carton a rough, bark-like finish.
Cut a hole (WITH ADULT ASSISTANCE) about 4" above the bottom of the carton. The hole should be approximately 1" to 1 1/2" in diameter. This hole is for the birds to get in and out of the house.
Poke a few drainage holes in the bottom of the carton and two ventilation holes in the top of the carton.
Poke a hole through the top of the feeder, string a piece of twine through the hole and hang your feeder on a tree.

4) Make your own paper
The Green Parent has a very interesting instructional on how to make your own recycled paper.


Looking for gifts, apparels and novelties with a green theme? Check us out at
Sha~Dou!