Kids Crafts: Outdoor Materials Collage

Children love to forage and collect "treasures." Send them outside with a basket, in search of all kinds of nature's trinkets:

pine cones
twigs
seed pods
leaves
stems
flowers
rocks
feathers
shells
moss

The list goes on...

Once the children have collected a pretty good haul of Mother Nature's gems, you can use them to make a nature collage:

The collage can be a free-flowing, abstract piece, or might make more realistic images, such as this old man, made with milkweed pods, twigs, and corn husks:

Make people using materials found outside.

Outdoor Materials Collage

1. Collect small items from outside, such as pine cones, small sticks, pebbles, or seed pods.

2. Use a sturdy material as your canvas, such as cardboard or tag board. It can be small, like a post card, or large, like a poster.

3. Older children may be able to use a hot glue gun (or an adult could do the gluing), otherwise, just use regular white school glue. Be sure that your outdoor pieces are not too heavy, otherwise they will fall off.

4. Very young children will likely glue the shapes on in a random, abstract fashion. Older children will be able to create people, animals, and scenes with their materials.

5. Allow the glue to thoroughly dry before displaying. They can be framed and hung as wall art or even used as greeting cards.


"Funny Man," by Palmer, Age 4.

"Boat of the Seas," by Lily, Age 4.

Soapmakers: Why You Shouldn't Use Vinegar if You Come into Contact with Lye

It was one of the first things I learned when I began making my own soap; I read it in books and on the internet: "Always keep a jug of vinegar on hand when you are working with lye. Vinegar neutralizes lye." Soapers, have you heard this? Do you practice the habit of keeping vinegar nearby when you make your soaps? So did I, until recently, when I read an interesting post on a soap forum, and then decided to research the claim myself.

My Experience Using Homemade Baby Formula: It Is Possible!

I wanted to exclusively breastfeed my twins, I really did. And I thought I could. While I was pregnant, I read books and articles all emphasizing the fact that the more milk you express, the more milk you will make, so there is no reason a mom shouldn't be able to feed twins or even triplets exclusively on breast milk. For whatever reason, however, my boobies didn't quite understand this theory. My babies were feeding constantly, but never seemed to get full. And worse, they were barely gaining any weight. I was starting to get very worried about my Baby Girl and Little Man. My pediatrician at the time was absolutely no help. I was told that I needed to offer them the breast more frequently, though I'm not sure how that was possible since I was already constantly feeding them--seriously, I couldn't even go to the bathroom without them screaming because my boob wasn't in their mouth. I was also told that they weren't latching on correc

Why Did My Chicken Lay That Strange Egg? {Decoding 10 Chicken Laying Issues}

What do you got? A huge egg with two yolks in it? A wrinkly misshapen egg? An egg with a soft shell? Or perhaps the all-inclusive just plain weird looking egg? Whatever it is, I hope to help clear up some of the mystery behind: Why Did My Chicken Lay That Strange Egg?

We Like Making Our Own Stuff

Search This Blog